A music video for Chriam

I haven't given many news as I was busy having a personal life in various countries...

However, I'm back on the scene! I have quite a few news to give, so will do so little by little...

I am about to shoot (by mid-may) a music video for Chriam, a member of my brother's band Tag, who makes electronic music in solo, and has asked me to do a video for one of his tunes; I chose "Love", in which I like the reggae rhythm, the warm colour, the melancholy of the voices and the personal resonnances.

I am working on this with Shakti, a spanish dancer I met last year at Manchester's Moves festival where my dance film Composition in Black & White got screened. Ever since Shakti and I wanted to work together, so I thought this commission was the right occasion!

The video is of a simple concept, for the shoot anyway; I am indeed also using it for my own post-production experimentation.

We will film Shakti dressed in white, dancing in front of a black background; all light concentrated on her. Then, in post-production, I will work on the picture: change the colour and texture of the dancer (for instance by superposing (?) another image on her), make mirroring or kaleidoscopic effects, etc.

So there will be no story: only movement, colour, rather abstract images. I think it suits electronic music well, matching Chriam's sound motives with my visual ones. And as Shakti dances mainly in improvisation, it leaves me great freedom to play around with her movements in the editing.

I'll let you know how it goes...

A residency in Brazil? Oh yes I would love that.

At the end of October, thanks to my friend João Guarantani who works at the gallery of London's Brazilian embassy, I learnt about Artist Links, the exchange programme by the British Council and the England Arts Council. It was with China a couple of years ago, and now with Brazil. Uk artists go for a residency in the other country, and artists from that other country come here.

So I am obviously interested. Very much so.
I felt, and still feel actually, that I am too much of a beginner to dare applying for this sort of things, but João tells me that the people selected were not always established artists, and that I should try. Alright.

The deadline for the proposal is the 23rd of january, but I have to finish it by the 17th because then, I'm off. My idea is quite vague for the moment.

I would like to film people dancing, one little video per person. And then, pick and choose movements and elements from each video to compose a new choreography.
The installation could look like this: small TVs, one for each looped video (red rectangles), and then a bigger screen for the synthesis choreography (orange rectangle). And we could, when the occasion rises, replace the orange screen by a performance.
I need to develop the idea, to do some research on dance in Brazil. But this is the basis. It would be the opportunity to extend my work to fields I haven't much explored so far: dance (I want to do a masters in choreography), documentary and video installation.

Please comment and ask things, it will help me!

Scratch (Edit Assistant)

During the first half of december, I worked for Breakthru Films again (after The Last Thakur and a trailer for Peter & The Wolf): this time, for a 50 min film, Scratch.

I was assistant editor: digitising, synchronising and organising the rushes, and then cutting the first assembly.

- I would have liked to follow the editing a bit, but it seems like they are doing it in Copenhagen, so... -

Though I wasn't paid, this has been a useful experience as I hadn't done that kind of work for someone else and on that scale before (save the digitising... done loads of that as a runner for the Club. I am the Queen of Digitising, sir).

And the wrap party was great. There are still times when I think that I definitely chose the right line of work.

Are you a bored web designer?

As I said in the previous post, I am not so happy with the shabby site I have built, and I am thinking that really I should have something better if I want to sell myself.

So: would anyone be interested in making something for me? I'm afraid I can't pay you for the moment, so either:

• you are a newcomer in web design and need more stuff to show off.
  
• as the title suggests, you're bored to death and are craving for some activity.
  
• my favourite solution, you have some work I can do in return, like editing a film. For instance.

A lot more

It's difficult not to feel stupid while writing the first post, but something has to be the first post, right...

I have had a drifting blog in french for a few years, but I thought that it was about time to show and explain my work properly on internet.

So first, I have finally created www.anaisleroux.com , my main site, which is for now very basic as I made it myself, and I'd rather spend time working on films.

And now, this English-speaking annex, to provide news more easily, and also, I hope, to talk about all this with people! (please help)