A video created for an exhibition of work with the theme of fame.
What is often thought to be a creative’s dream, an open brief was presented. Simply submit a piece of work with the theme of fame in mind. Often what becomes the biggest challenge with no limitations advised is picking just one idea and executing it. My mind was in overdrive as I challenged myself to nail down just one idea and hit the deadline.
The parameters I decided upon were to create a short film that would encourage a conversation. One the viewer might then have with another viewer. The film needed to be quick and it needed to be engaging. I also wanted hand lettering to play a role in the project as it’s another creative element I always like to explore. The final film included a mixture of hand lettering and various typefaces, some of which could be considered to be famous typefaces like Arial, Papyrus and Futura.
24 Fames Per Second was born. A title with a play on words but that also set a further direction on this piece. A short video at 24fps and for some portion of this video it should show 24 different frames of fame in one second. 24 fames per second. This helped guide the imagery of the piece as I collected a series of pictures of the most recognisable people of our time to combine with the typography I had chosen.
To address my criteria of encouraging a conversation between the viewers, I wanted to explore what some common questions were around fame. I did some research, seeking out famous quotes; quotes that were more specifically about the experience of fame. There were two quotes that quickly stood out and I felt would feel impactful.
The first was from Fred Rogers and helped me in posing a question to the viewer to prompt a conversation.
“Fame is a four-letter word; And like tape or zoom or face or pain or life or love, what ultimately matters is what we do with it.”
Fred Rogers
The second being a comment of irony that may apply for some individuals chasing fame.
“Trying to get famous, so one day I can afford to live in full anonymity”
Killua
I found this beautiful piece of music that helped really set the tone. It aligned well with these ideas of fame being affirming but almost like a curse. Woodfire By The Lake by Alejandro Magaña is a track that has an almost haunting sound, but is also somewhat hopeful. To imply this is being viewed on a big projector I paired this with tracks of an antique movie projector spinning, emphasising the flicking frames and enhancing that filmic feel. I also added a visual film speckle effect to echo the feeling that this is being viewed on a projector.
I loved working on this project. It was such an interesting process, to consider the idea of fame and how it can have a positive and negative effect on the people that come to possess it. The influence someone that is deemed famous can have on the world is such a fascinating thing.
Rachael K B 