At various points on this blog I have talked about the film project I am currently working on. Here I want to outline what I think that film might consist of.
As I've explained elsewhere I was beginning to get frustrated by the lack of progress on some of the other ideas I had for my Masters (An exploration of poetry as a visual form) and subsequently decided that creating a film documenting what I was doing, particularly in relation to the 'Cowslip Sunday' event I am involved with, seemed the only viable way I had of challenging myself artistically - and of creating work that was appropriate to my Masters. It is also important to state that the actual process of being able to create (hopefully interesting and high-quality) work - using equipment that is fairly easily available - is as important to me as the actual finished film.
Again as I've mentioned elsewhere, the film project is (for various reasons) still evolving to some extent, but here is the basic structure as I see it.
Sunday 6th May (this year's 'Cowslip Sunday) will obviously provide the focal point of the film (and the filming). I particularly want to film some of the local landscape early that morning. The morning will also be the opportunity to film the people and participants in the days activities as they make their final preparations.
There will then be the procession through the village – with people decked-out in appropriate costumes.
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Photo above (and top) by Jane Williams & Mel Smith |
This procession will be followed, mid-afternoon, by the performance of the free, open-air 'Spring pantomime' – Lambley Jack and the Golden Stockings:
"Combining a well-known fairy tale with the history of the stocking-frame industry in Lambley, this year's cowslip play is the usual mix of fun, frolics and audience participation."
I think the activities mentioned above are well worth documenting in themselves – for their links to 'Britain's Ancient Folk Traditions':
I'm especially interested in Cowslip Sunday as the revival of a celebration of 'Spring' - the kind of celebration that goes back deep into the history of civilisation. Equally I'm interested in the way that the arrival of Spring seems to be greeted with joy and elation by the natural world itself - a celebration of the survival of Winter and of the rebirth and new life that Spring heralds.
So for the purposes of my film I want to capture some of those changes - to the local landscape and the natural world - occurring between January and May - and make the connection between that process and the kind of Spring festivals that human societies have long created.
Elsewhere on this blog I refer to some comments David Hockney has made about his recent work - and his attempts to capture the arrival of Spring:
'It's a great subject for artists, but how do you record it? It is too slow for movies, but too fast for a single picture, so it takes quite a few pictures to show the changes. But that's true of most things.'
The rehearsals for 'Lambley Jack and the Golden Stockings' begin next weekend (March 11) so I want to start filming those - and blend that footage with film of the local landscape over the next couple of months.
Below are some photographs (of Pussy Willow and Hazel Catkins, as well as a landscape shot) taken in Lambley this afternoon.
