Tony Hill
2021He has presented his work at many Art Galleries and in Film Festivals worldwide. His films have been broadcast on television in many countries and have won several awards.
His commercial work includes directing music videos and TV commercials.
He taught film and video from 1982 until 2002 at the University of Derby becoming Professor of Film, taught filmmaking at Plymouth College of Art from 2004 until 2011 and is currently an Associate Lecturer at the University of Plymouth.
Downside Up
Tony Hill
A film which, by the use of a simple camera movement, explores and reviews some relationships to the ground. The viewpoint continuously orbits places, objects, people and events. The observations gradually speed up to reveal a double sided ground flipping like a tossed coin, then slow again to oscillate about the earths edge.
Downside Up
Holding the Viewer
Tony Hill
A cinematic roller-coaster ride at the hands of a performer who is literally holding the viewer on the end of a pole. Swoop above his head on a rooftop then fall to his feet. Watch him strain to lift you up and swing you round. Balance precariously above his head as he hurries to get back before the magic wears off.
Holding the Viewer
Farm Film
Tony Hill
Part intimate portrait and part observational documentary, this film looks at how a Dartmoor farming family relate to the land and their animals. Closely observed and beautifully captured over a period of 6 months in 2003, it gives a privileged insight into the world of farmers' perceptions, their knowledge and skills accumulated over generations and their sensitivity to working with nature.
Farm Film
Camera Obscura
Tony Hill
‘Camera Obscura’ is an experimental documentary which draws sounds and images from the Dartington Estate in Devon and constructs an idiosyncratic portrait. Verbal and textual definitions attempt to pin down what it is and play against elusive images. Archive material and re-invented historical events evoke the ethos of the past and combine with stories and contemporary details to illuminate the spirit of the place.
Camera Obscura
100 Heads
Tony Hill
"A multiperson head, on the border between live action and animation, struggles to assert itself against the rapid succession of personal appearances. Made while I was a student at St Martin’s School of Art and featuring a lively collection of students from the time." -TH
100 Heads
To See
Tony Hill
Film eyes open, blink and see, looking about with all-round vision. Shapes, lines and spaces are not constant but ebb and flow with the camera movement. This spherical view of things redefines geometry creating an almost four dimensional appearance which ultimately seems to turn space inside out.
To See
Geometry & Gravity
Tony Hill
An experiment with orientation movement and shape combined with musical improvisation. A continuous rolling, tumbling motion determined by a geometric shape creates a visual rhythm and images that roll, dip and soar with the improvised soundtrack.
Geometry & Gravity
2nd Floor Film
Tony Hill
"Originally designed to be projected back up onto a screen on the glass floor on which it was made, this film uses people to explore the space beneath the floor. It was more recently screened as a ceiling film. Made while I was a Student at St Martin’s School of Art." -TH
2nd Floor Film
Expanded Movie
Tony Hill
An experimental anamorphic film with optically squashed and squeezed images which raises some questions about the perception of shapes. From the longest cow to the shortest car, the film contains bizarre and sometimes hilarious images. It weaves a path between home, street and playground, finally meeting with its own musical ending.
Expanded Movie
Laban Manoeuvres
Tony Hill
Shot during a workshop at the Laban Dance Centre in London, the film explores some of the visual opportunities offered by the architecture and participants without dwelling on formal dance movement. The ‘Framework’ section uses a 4×3 space frame to create a ‘camera space’ which plays against the architecture and movement of performers. In ‘Window’ performers are both illuminated and reflected as they move beside the translucent window.
Laban Manoeuvres
Striking Images
Tony Hill
Big Ben strikes twelve while rotating around its own clockface as day turns into night. Twelve shots from twelve locations in one minute, the images fading with the bell chime at each strike. Broadcast in the UK and France. Screened at Rencontres Internationales Sciences et Cinémas, Marseille.
Striking Images
Water Work
Tony Hill
A sculptural film which explores the space on and just below the surface of a swimming pool. It plays with orientation, weightlessness and particularly the surface itself, that peculiar boundary between worlds that is both window and mirror, visible and invisible.
Water Work