Tarkovsky Polaroids

For the most part I will try to write something daily that I'm either researching or feel that is going to influence this upcoming project.

For today, here's a link to the Guardian Unlimited post of a few Tarkovsky polaroids from, Instant Light : Tarkovsky Polaroids, a book which is finally being published stateside June 5th, 2006.

After doing some real traveling outside of suburban California, the images of Tarkovsky's films and those of Hou Hsiao Hsien's have been somewhat surreal. Their films (Tark: STALKER, THE MIRROR; HHH: THE BOYS FROM FENGKUEI) really capture a visceral element that many films never come close to. From my own experiences traveling in Taiwan, I feel that HHH really translated "life" in his homeland onto the moving screen. Not that I've ever been to Russia, but I imagine that Tarkovsky has the same ability to do the same.

To go back to the link I posted, I think the polaroids have a quality that captures earthtones similar to how Tarkovsky's films were shot. The browns, the greens, the subtle shades of blue & yellow, the "washed-out-but-still-saturated" quality on those photos all evoke a state of nostalgia instilled in a single frame. It always got to me that even if you had just shot a polaroid, the resulting picture would always have a faded look making it already appear aged ten years.

How does this all relate to the upcoming project?

Well, in Japan I bought about 5 rolls of Super8 Ektachrome film. The film stock reacts to color in a way that reminds me of how polaroids look. Here are some stills from a Super8 feature, SLEEP ALWAYS. The stock has a washed out and faded look to it (not that you can't do that now in Post, but getting things in camera has always been my thing) that gets me all warm and fuzzy inside. The rolls were dirt cheap (900 yen) and were out of production here in the States, I figured why not buy a few... Looking back, I should've bought something like 50 rolls, oh well.