Raw Power from alex mckenzie on Vimeo.
This is a short and very rough experimental piece of film - showing Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station from about 12 miles away (seen across some fields in Lambley, Nottinghamshire).
I filmed this on Friday February 3rd 2012 - at about 7.30am. A few days earlier I had noticed this cloud being created at the power station - visible only on bright, extremely cold mornings. I thought it was worth trying to film.
In the end I was disappointed with the footage I took. I only let the camera run for 6 minutes - and it didn't look very well focussed. Whilst I didn't think I could use this footage in my film - I still wanted to play around with it. In the end I speeded the film up, cutting its duration down to 10 seconds (from the original 6 minutes) - to emphasise the billowing clouds. To sidestep the quality issue I applied a 'sharpen' filter - which I think gives the footage an unusual quality. I have then looped the footage four times - just to make it last a little longer.
I felt that this surge of power - seen visually - as Nottinghamshire wakes up and pops the kettle on (and 'Good Morning Britain' or whatever dreadful breakfast TV show is currently doing the rounds) seen remotely, from the peace and calm of a countryside field, provided an interesting contrast.
I have left the audio run at the same fast speed - but I actually think that it might work better in real time, hearing the chattering birdsong whilst the distant power station seems to exist in a completely different, speeded-up world.
I now need to wait until next winter to try to capture the scene again.
