Haruka Mitani
2021
Blue Movement
Michael Lyons, Haruka Mitani
An optisonic exploration of a world of primordial shapes created through various chemical treatments of a Super 8 emulsion. The sonic counterpart was made using a generative patch on an analogue synth, with voltage inputs from light sensors on the projection screen – the film itself steering the dynamics of sound synthesis.
Blue Movement
Caffenol
Haruka Mitani
Visionaries intoxicated by the smell of coffee start to dream, and eventually end up sinking into a bottomless black sea. This silent short was filmed in 8mm during the director's first visit to Europe in the summer of 2011, and hand-developed using a homemade coffee-based developer. Colours were added by painting directly onto the film.
Caffenol
恋愛の大饗宴
Michael Lyons, Haruka Mitani
Insects in their final moments chatter noisily, displaying extravagant colors and patterns – it is their great feast of love. The work celebrates the 100th anniversary of Norman McLaren’s birth. The film was made by scratching and painting directly on overexposed 8mm film. The soundtrack was created using ‘The Octopus’, which allows the film itself acts as a score.
Banquet of Love
Riko
Haruka Mitani
This short film was shot with a Super 8 camera during a photo session with butoh dancer Riko Murakami, and part of the film was developed by Caffenol. The soundtrack was created by Michael Lyons and Paule Dahlstedt using the optoelectronic device Octopus. Riko dances. It was just a daydream. The white-painted skin stands out in the vague twilight.
Riko
METAMORPHOSE
Haruka Mitani
Having wavered in her thoughts a young girl establishes in her new self, a chrysalis. The girl, who has now hatched and transformed herself into a butterfly, dances wildly. This silent short was filmed in 8mm in Kyoto during the summer of 2012, and hand-developed using Caffenol, a home-made vitamin C and instant coffee-based developer. Selected for screening and nominated for an award at the 27th Image Forum Festival Japan.
METAMORPHOSE
