In the debate between vertical and horizontal filming, the most persuasive arguments are the movies. Frederic van Strydonck, a 28-year-old Belgian filmmaker currently based in London, adds to the discussion with “Spltch,” an experimental vertical video that won an honorable mention award in the 2018 FiLMiC Pro One World Film Contest. In the interview (below), van Strydonck reveals the creative challenges of experimental filmmaking.
Interview
MMM: When did you begin filming with an iPhone?
van Strydonck: In 2014. I found the experience incredibly freeing and exciting. I felt that there was a tremendous potential and a lot of uncharted territory in mobile filmmaking. I still feel that way, more than ever.
MMM: How did you develop your filmmaking skills?
van Strydonck: I went to film school where I worked on lots and lots of short films. This gave me the chance to work with some of the best film cameras, both 35mm and digital. And I learned how every job on a film set operates, from the sound recordist to the electrician. When I got my hands on an iPhone, I began to test out the camera meticulously. I spent hundreds of hours recording things on my phone. Most of it was rubbish, but I kept at it. Through trial and error I learned what the strengths of the iPhone are.
MMM: Have any filmmakers influenced your work?
van Strydonck: I’m very much influenced by filmmakers who break new ground. These directors often have a few ‘failures’ under their belt, but also some fantastic films that push the medium forward. Orson Welles is one of those.
I’m also very much influenced by directors whose work could only function in a cinematic format. Directors like Sergio Leone, Wong Kar Wai or even Charlie Chaplin made films that wouldn’t work as well as a play or a piece of literature.
I was also quite heavily influenced by a director called Shunji Iwai. He began to make films that completely embrace the look of digital cameras. Watching his film All About Lilly Chou-Chou was one of the films that inspired me to get into mobile filmmaking.
MMM: How did you come up with the concept of “Spltch”?
van Strydonck: I was walking through a park and noticed some ducks fighting over bread that had been thrown into the lake. Their feet were creating a lot of movement underwater. So I dipped my iPhone underwater to try and capture that. It didn’t work. But the idea of sticking my iPhone underwater remained. And a few months later I decided to make “Spltch”. The filming was somewhat improvisational. I just kept on dipping my phone into different places with water without knowing how I would cut it together. I just really liked the images I recorded.
MMM: And the title?
van Strydonck: It’s the onomatopoeia ‘splotch’ or ‘splatch’ without the vowels. I didn’t really want to call it anything that implied the film was about anything more than water.
MMM: Why did you choose the vertical form for your movie?
van Strydonck: I was a vertical filmmaking sceptic until my youngest sister showed me some music videos that had been shot in vertical form. I was very pleasantly surprised and it seeded the idea in my head. But I didn’t see the point in doing it until platforms like YouTube and Vimeo would embrace it, which they eventually did. In a world where most online videos are being watched on phones, I think the vertical video could quickly become more part of the norm. It’s already the case on instagram and snapchat.
MMM: But was there something about this subject that suggested verticality would be the way to go?
van Strydonck: In this case, I thought it could emphasise the depth of water. And since the camera moves up and down through out the video, it just felt right. It was also easier to hold the iPhone that way when dipping it underwater. So maybe that had a subconscious influence too.
MMM: What gear did you use?
van Strydonck: It was filmed with my iPhone X and a simple Apple protective case that I use daily. I also used Filmic Pro, without which this would have been very difficult to pull off.
MMM: Exactly how did FiLMiC Pro help?
van Strydonck: Filmic Pro is great because it gives you so much more control. For one, I can much more easily control the focus and exposure of a shot. But it also opens up a lot more control when it comes to frame rates, frame sizes, colour correction, etc. And I absolutely love their guides that allow you to quickly check if your image is sharp and correctly exposed. This can be a godsend if you are unable to look at the screen properly.
MMM: Were you concerned about how the water might affect your phone?
van Strydonck:The iPhone rarely was fully underwater. I quickly discovered that all that needed to be underwater was the corner where the camera lens is located. I was a little afraid that it would damage my phone, but I kept going and never really experience any issues. The seawater did fog up the inside of my camera lens a bit, but otherwise my phone still works perfectly fine.
MMM: Were you working with a crew?
van Strydonck: Since the actual filming was so unplanned and spanning a month, I filmed the whole thing on my own. All I needed to do was dip my iPhone into water. I definitely did get some weird looks as I would drop my iPhone into a fountain or a river. But that was part of the fun.
MMM: Could you talk about location scouting?
van Strydonck: I live in London. So anytime I would go somewhere, I quickly looked at the map and noted down if there was any water to be found in the vicinity. And so pretty much every day I would quickly film a few takes around the city. I became very aware of the water of any kind. So when it began to rain I would run outside to find a nice puddle. Or a canal suddenly became a location full of opportunities. The only location I specifically drove to was the seaside in the beginning of the video. That was one of the last things I filmed.
MMM: Did you encounter any big challenge during the production?
van Strydonck: The technical challenge of filming underwater did require a lot of testing. I very quickly realised that the touch screen stops working when it touches water. So I had to overcome this by setting up the camera and pressing record before dipping the camera underwater. Additionally, most of the time I couldn’t see what was being recorded. And since I was filming all of it at 120-240 fps, I wouldn’t really know what I had until I converted the footage on my laptop. Which lead to a second challenge: determining what the film actually was. While shooting I had no idea what the film would be about or how I would put it together so I decided I would let the form tell me what the story would be. And ultimately settled on the film just being about the water itself. Deep down I feel that there is a more interesting story to tell with this visual gimmick. Maybe a Spltch 2? Do you have any suggestions?
MMM: Perhaps our readers will have some ideas. But meanwhile, can you talk about the intriguing soundtrack?
van Strydonck: That was the genius of Nigel Woodford, the sound editor. He added all of the sound effects in post-production. Nigel is a friend of a friend and based in Singapore. We have never met. But he took on the challenge and created all of the sound from scratch. None of the sound was recorded during filming. He did an incredible job. I think the sound here is 70% of why the film works.
MMM: What about the post production?
van Strydonck: “Spltch” was edited on Premiere Pro. I had about 6 hours of footage that I cut down to 2 minutes. I used the same app to color-grade the video. This was all about bringing out the texture of the water as much as possible. Aadding contrast and colour to it gave it a much more palpable feel.
MMM: What advice would you give to someone just beginning to shoot an experimental vertical video or any other genre.
van Strydonck: The great thing about filming with phones is that you can film wherever and whenever you want. Phone cameras are like the Swiss Army knife of cameras. They are incredibly versatile. So go out there and film. You don’t need to ask anyone’s permission. You don’t have to rent expensive equipment to see how good a location will look. Instead, you can go there right now. Film it. Then look at the shots on a bigger screen. Evaluate what doesn’t work. Then go back the next day and try again. And repeat that process as much as it takes.
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“Spltch” was chosen as a Mobile Movie of the Week by the editors of MobileMovieMaking.com
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