This page was last updated on 25 January 2010
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Following the completion of his first epic Da draußen – Lakonie in Subversion, Peter Brecht decided to continue his rambles through the South German countryside, philosophy, music, literature and art with a new three-piece filmic opus entitled Da draußen – Reiseschatten. In its first part, Wald und Wiese, Peter Brecht pays homage to the late Karlheinz Stockhausen while reflecting on forests, meadows, life and absurdity. The second part, Wein und Berg, recorded during the very final days of the wine harvest 2009, focuses on what made Peter Brecht's hometown Weinsberg famous: naturally, the wine. Once again, much room is given to various forms of art, referenced artists include, amongst others, Bertolt Brecht, Richard Wagner, the inevitable Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Weinsberg's local hero Justinus Kerner. Both Wald und Wiese and Wein und Berg are presented in different edits. Their full length versions largely preserve the chronology of events and locations, thus being most similar to the previous project Lakonie in Subversion. In contrast, the shorter edits make extensive use of montage technique, thereby abandoning the last remnants of a documentary style in favour of creating a filmic opus that transcribes Richard Wagner's Gesamtkunstwerk concept into our postmodern era. As before, my main contribution consists of my very presence in part of the pictures and the occasional word, for which I am credited as playing a character called 'Person'. The character's laconic nature best shines through in the short edit of Wein und Berg, in which I utter almost no words at all, while frequently walking with a subtle limp that was the unplanned-for effect resulting from an unexpected encounter with a staircase. |
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The (increasingly inappropriately named) Clockwork Mouse Trilogy Clockwork Mouse was my first ever attempt at stop-frame animation and introduces the cute-looking, yet malicious title character. Clockwork Mouse Strikes Back looks at animal experiments from a fresh perspective. The film is also available from the onsuper8 podcast, along with a 5-minute interview I gave during Strawberry Super 8 film festival 2007. Clockwork Mouse Can't Get Enough is a tale of boundless greed, filmed on a clockwork motor driven Paillard-Bolex B8 camera from 1956. Clockwork Mouse meets Robot 7 introduces a new character who is sent on a mission to restore clockwork and order. The film won an audience award at Szeged Super 8 Film Festival 2009. A 7-minute video recording of a Question & Answer session I gave during Cambridge Super 8 Film Festival is available to watch at Dailymotion, and you can also have a look at some production stills and a short behind the scenes documentary. Clockwork Mouse for President is the final film of the series and brings together many characters well known from the previous films. It was plagued by technical difficulties which you can read about here where you will also find some production stills. You can watch better quality 640x480 versions of three Clockwork Mouse movies on my vimeo page. Festival screenings:
Clockwork Mouse Strikes Back
Clockwork Mouse Can't Get Enough
Clockwork Mouse meets Robot 7 |
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I'm just popping over to the shop Alan Ipstein (played by Marcus Gutjahr) sets off to his local shop. His seemingly simple errand is met with increasing obstacles. Will he ever make it? You can find out for yourself by clicking on the link below: The film is also available to watch on the onsuper8 podcast, Shooters Films, Vimeo, and on Youtube. Click here for some production stills and a full list of credits.
"Thoughtful and quirky"
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Reclaimed Written by Neville Steenson, Reclaimed is a chilling tale about a haunted wardrobe starring Michelle Hands and Rebecca Tromans. The film was jointly produced and directed by Neville and myself, with Neville doing most of the directing and me doing most of the producing. The interior scenes were recorded in my flat in Bristol, the exteriors in a spot of quiet North Bristolian countryside I had found during one of my many rambles. Click here for some production stills and a full list of credits and here for an interview with Neville Steenson featured on the Shooters Films website.
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Etude Capitale Train journeys in May and September 2007 brought me and my Super 8 camera to Paris, Berlin, Vienna and Prague. The footage taken there was then re-arranged according to different moods, visually following the four-part structure of a classical symphony. The film is accompanied by the piece Requiem für Karlheinz Stockhausen in e-moll con vacuum that I spontaneously created on 8 December 2007, the very day I first heard about the avantgarde composer's death. The film project was completed five days later, on the day of Stockhausen's funeral. To watch the film as a QuickTime movie, click on the link below:
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Da draußen – Lakonie in Subversion For a change, I spent most of my time in front of a camera rather than behind it, to help Peter Brecht realize his vision of a film about the South German Hohenlohe region. The principal photography of this epic project took place over seven days, stretched out over a period of 21 months. The first part, shot over the turn of the year 2005/06, introduces us to the wintery landscape between Heilbronn and Schwäbisch Hall and to the art collected by 'Schraubenkönig' ('King of the Screws') Reinhold Würth. The latter theme is reprised in the film's second part, created in August 2006, and supplemented by various appearances of a Richard Wagner bust. The third part, filmed in September 2007, focuses on industrial landscapes between Neckarsulm and Bad Wimpfen, and Peter Brecht concludes his visual opus with a solo performance that encapsulates Da draußen's laconic character. Peter Brecht continues his laconic filmmaking with a new project entitled Da draußen – Reiseschatten. |
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Presentations to IPPR Commission on National Security in the 21st century At the core of the Peace Leadership Programme, piloted in 2007 by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT), was a residential workshop held in Birmingham at the end of August 2007, culminating in a session where participants had to give presentations on issues raised by the recent report of the IPPR Commission on National Security in the 21st century. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is one of the UK's major policymaking think-tanks, and to make the workshop exercise more realistic, the organisers invited IPPR staff member Alexander Ramsbotham to listen to and discuss the presentations. JRCT commissioned me to record this particular session, using two digital cameras simultaneously, and to deliver an edited version on DVD. |
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Sea Level Wise Silent film portraying the approaches of a scientist and a modern-day Druid towards dangerous climate change, this could also be called a tale of knowledge versus wisdom. The film stars Sandra Langley as the Druid and a cartoon professor illustrated by Ann Xiao. Original score by Andrea Caro. Click here to watch the movie, or, if your computer can handle it, you can watch it in better quality on Vimeo.
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Paddy's Last Hour Surreal comedy short made in collaboration with Paddy Uglow who played the title role and created the original score. Features Lazy Dog and a pair of sunglasses of a certain significance. The movie is available to watch online in a QuickTime version: |
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We know who you are My (digital) filmmaking debut, this silent black and white comedy short was inspired by a past TV Licensing poster campaign. It features Katharine Peachey as a woman who gets into trouble with two TV Licensing Officers, played by Sandra Langley and Peter Brent. Original score by Edward Lewis. Three QuickTime versions of the movie are available to watch online (courtesy of Watershed Media Centre as part of their 90-second challenge):
240 x 180 pixels (3.2 MB)
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