SPIN: "Memory" Spiral (2013) 03:30
A crude depiction of time, using old home movies from the artist's childhood.
Collage of digitised analogue Video footage
For their 3rd Birthday celebrations in June 2013, Whirlygig Cinema asked filmmakers who'd previously screened with them to create a short film around the theme 'spin'.
Helen Nias’ version is a "memory" spiral, created in After Effects using video 8 footage her Dad shot during her childhood.
The film is an attempt to visualise a simplified perception of time: Before an event has happened, there is nothing. When it's happened, it always exists. But as time passes it gets harder to see.
Does time work this way? Is it always this uniform? Does an event exist before it's happened?
It is in effect a very crude rendition or interpretation of memory. The video footage is most definitely not memory in itself. Just because it was caught on camera doesn’t mean the memories are recollected by the people who were there. But what is remembered instead is the feeling of being in a certain place, or with certain people, at a certain time.
Thank you to Helena Vagnolini and Brad Purnell for advice on After Effects.
You can watch the other nine films which also screened on the night on Whirlygig Cinema's vimeo channel.
