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Design Source Mart detobo
デザインのアイデアになるもの色々
)) " from an..
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Encyclopedia Pictura’s Isaiah Saxon, Sean Hellfritsch, and Daren Rabinovitch are looking for new ways to create.
By Matthew Newton | Senior Editor
If you were asked how artists of the future will work and what they will create, Encyclopedia Pictura might provide a fitting answer to such a question. Founded in 2003, the three-man collaborative of Isaiah Saxon, Sean Hellfritsch, and Daren Rabinovitch are focused on self-reliance and learning new ways of working as they go. Instead of fixating on a single skill (i.e., design, illustration, sculpture, etc.), Saxon, Hellfritsch, and Rabinovitch apply a do-it-yourself approach to their myriad film, video, and technology-based art projects.
For example, if they don’t have the right creature for a film project, they create one from scratch. Or if they lack a structure that might be integral to a shot, they grab hammer and nails and wood and get to building one. It’s an ethos inspired by the maker movement and the by-any-means-necessary aesthetic of DIY culture. “We’ve
always had this attraction towards making overly ambitious things by
hand, and that even if you could see the illusion and it wasn’t
seamless, that those seams would be part of the enchantment,” Saxon says. Computerlove recently had the opportunity to talk with Isaiah Saxon about Encyclopedia Pictura’s origins, work practices, and the feature film the collaborative is producing.
Pictured above: Encyclopedia Pictura’s River God.
When did Encyclopedia Pictura begin and what brought the three of you together?
Sean
and I are from the same small area of the Central Coast (California), and we
started hanging out after high school. In 2003, Sean and I started a
collaboration around a 30 second short, “Grow,” about a guy who gets hit
by a beam of light and becomes vegetal. At first, I thought maybe I was
the director and he was the cinematographer, but as we continued to work
together, we realized those distinctions weren’t totally accurate—so
we started a “directing team”— Encyclopedia Pictura. In 2006, I read an
interview with Daren on fecalface.com.
I was blown away by his still photos of surreal sculptural scenes. This
is where I was trying to take things at the time and was beginning to
learn prosthetics, puppets, and physical effects. He was already an
established pro working at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM)—having made the puppets for “The Life
Aquatic with Steve Zissou,” among other films. Upon meeting, we also
realized that we shared the same small town roots and that he knew my
family. Various collaborations ensued until Daren became full directing
partner in 2008.
Pictured above: Still from the video for Grizzly Bear’s “Knife.”
The look and feel of your films and art is reminiscent of Jim Henson’s
creature shop, or the work of Sid and Marty Krofft, but mixed with
documentary-style footage and high-concept illustration/animation. How
would you say your collective visual style evolved?
creature shop, or the work of Sid and Marty Krofft, but mixed with
documentary-style footage and high-concept illustration/animation. How
would you say your collective visual style evolved?
We’ve
always had this attraction towards making overly ambitious things by
hand, and that even if you could see the illusion and it wasn’t
seamless, that those seams would be part of the enchantment. We’re very
interested in how textures and forms have their own meaning and that if
you give them their proper spotlight, they can say a lot. Daren and I
both come from a fine arts background, so doing lots of painting and
sculpting to achieve these results is just our natural mode of
expression. The American Museum of Natural History in New York was a major eye
opener for us. Exploring and contemplating the essences of nature and
the history of memes, under the influence of Psilocybin mushrooms, was
transformational. In film, our big influences have been Miyazaki, Disney
(30′s-40′s), and Kubrick. I look up to Jim Henson a lot, but I don’t
think he ever achieved anything very detailed that I like—his real
talent was in reducing things to their most primitive essential.
always had this attraction towards making overly ambitious things by
hand, and that even if you could see the illusion and it wasn’t
seamless, that those seams would be part of the enchantment. We’re very
interested in how textures and forms have their own meaning and that if
you give them their proper spotlight, they can say a lot. Daren and I
both come from a fine arts background, so doing lots of painting and
sculpting to achieve these results is just our natural mode of
expression. The American Museum of Natural History in New York was a major eye
opener for us. Exploring and contemplating the essences of nature and
the history of memes, under the influence of Psilocybin mushrooms, was
transformational. In film, our big influences have been Miyazaki, Disney
(30′s-40′s), and Kubrick. I look up to Jim Henson a lot, but I don’t
think he ever achieved anything very detailed that I like—his real
talent was in reducing things to their most primitive essential.
Pictured above: Still from the video for Bjork’s “Wanderlust.”What attracted you to music videos as a medium?
Our
real goal has always been to make an epic, populist feature film that
could define an entire realm of imagination for a generation—the way
that “Star Wars” or “2001″ did. In 2004, when we tried to strategize our
path through the industry in order to get to the point where we would
have that level of creative empowerment, we decided that music videos
were the only medium that would work for us to get there. [Spike] Jonze and
[Michel] Gondry demonstrated that you could make music videos as a route to
becoming a feature director—and this model was the closest fit for
the type of work we wanted to do. We are passionate about music, but
honestly the genre of the music video is sometimes pretty stilted in our
view. Even our own videos we find a bit stilted—because sometimes you
are forced into having the artist performing on camera when that’s just
not what you want to be filming, you have all these other ideas that are
more interesting to you and you are compromised into this format. Daren
has always been the most allergic to music videos because he was
pursuing an art world path, which has its own genre limitations I think.
After completing Wanderlust, we finally achieved our goal of having
Hollywood open their doors to us to make a feature, so we have retired
from the world of music videos.
Pictured above: Behind the scenes of Encyclopedia Pictura’s short film “Tactical Advantage.”
real goal has always been to make an epic, populist feature film that
could define an entire realm of imagination for a generation—the way
that “Star Wars” or “2001″ did. In 2004, when we tried to strategize our
path through the industry in order to get to the point where we would
have that level of creative empowerment, we decided that music videos
were the only medium that would work for us to get there. [Spike] Jonze and
[Michel] Gondry demonstrated that you could make music videos as a route to
becoming a feature director—and this model was the closest fit for
the type of work we wanted to do. We are passionate about music, but
honestly the genre of the music video is sometimes pretty stilted in our
view. Even our own videos we find a bit stilted—because sometimes you
are forced into having the artist performing on camera when that’s just
not what you want to be filming, you have all these other ideas that are
more interesting to you and you are compromised into this format. Daren
has always been the most allergic to music videos because he was
pursuing an art world path, which has its own genre limitations I think.
After completing Wanderlust, we finally achieved our goal of having
Hollywood open their doors to us to make a feature, so we have retired
from the world of music videos.
Pictured above: Behind the scenes of Encyclopedia Pictura’s short film “Tactical Advantage.”Your short films, like “Tactical Advantage” and “Grow,” rely on visual
storytelling with very little or no verbal communication. What’s the
challenge in making films without dialogue?
storytelling with very little or no verbal communication. What’s the
challenge in making films without dialogue?
For
us, it would be more challenging to force our characters to say
something. We think visually, and we experience visually, so creating
film sequences without dialogue is just very first nature for us.
Dialogue always feels less timeless to me, and also much harder to
achieve a totally convincing performance. Images don’t date themselves
as much as words. Imagine if there was some recorded dialogue that
accompanied some of the great visual works of art, like if the Mona Lisa
had a specific voice and specific words she said that played alongside
the painting – it would ruin everything that works about experiencing
that picture. Our favorite use of dialogue is in Disney’s “Robin Hood.”
There you have a cast of highly trained theatre actors who are true
artists with their voice and are achieving greatness on a purely sonic
level—and it is timeless. Actors, performing for the camera, never
reach this level of auditory richness. The feature we’re writing now
aspires to achieve this quality in the dialogue.
Pictured above: An example of Encyclopedia Pictura’s Visual Language.
us, it would be more challenging to force our characters to say
something. We think visually, and we experience visually, so creating
film sequences without dialogue is just very first nature for us.
Dialogue always feels less timeless to me, and also much harder to
achieve a totally convincing performance. Images don’t date themselves
as much as words. Imagine if there was some recorded dialogue that
accompanied some of the great visual works of art, like if the Mona Lisa
had a specific voice and specific words she said that played alongside
the painting – it would ruin everything that works about experiencing
that picture. Our favorite use of dialogue is in Disney’s “Robin Hood.”
There you have a cast of highly trained theatre actors who are true
artists with their voice and are achieving greatness on a purely sonic
level—and it is timeless. Actors, performing for the camera, never
reach this level of auditory richness. The feature we’re writing now
aspires to achieve this quality in the dialogue.
Pictured above: An example of Encyclopedia Pictura’s Visual Language.
The relationship between visuals and language is a concept of interest
to you. What are you doing with your Visual Language project to examine
this relationship?
to you. What are you doing with your Visual Language project to examine
this relationship?
The
Visual Language concept is partly about the idea that visual forms have
inherent meaning—like “cute, scary, bold, sludgy, etc.” and that if
you created an easy way for people to use their voice to trigger the
animation of forms—it would be a kind of emotional language. But
beyond this notion, which has its limits, I’m mostly interested in this
from the perspective of creating healthy technology interfaces. There’s a
test I have for a technology interface, whether its a guitar or a
typewriter or a bicycle or a segway; it’s the idea that if you take away
the technology from the picture and just examine the human and what’s
going on physiologically with them as they use this interface—is it
good, is it healthy? Every device that you play or use or ride, is
actually using you—you become the tool of the tool. I want to create
interfaces that bring out the most liberating, exciting, juicy, healthy
bodily actions from people. So the Visual Language, which, if anyone is
interested in should just read up more on our website, is mostly a way
to invite people to behave in ways that they normally don’t because
there is no current interface technology that is guiding them to do so.
To be more specific, I want people to use their voice like Meredith Monk
and to use their body like they are playing charades, all at once.
Visual Language concept is partly about the idea that visual forms have
inherent meaning—like “cute, scary, bold, sludgy, etc.” and that if
you created an easy way for people to use their voice to trigger the
animation of forms—it would be a kind of emotional language. But
beyond this notion, which has its limits, I’m mostly interested in this
from the perspective of creating healthy technology interfaces. There’s a
test I have for a technology interface, whether its a guitar or a
typewriter or a bicycle or a segway; it’s the idea that if you take away
the technology from the picture and just examine the human and what’s
going on physiologically with them as they use this interface—is it
good, is it healthy? Every device that you play or use or ride, is
actually using you—you become the tool of the tool. I want to create
interfaces that bring out the most liberating, exciting, juicy, healthy
bodily actions from people. So the Visual Language, which, if anyone is
interested in should just read up more on our website, is mostly a way
to invite people to behave in ways that they normally don’t because
there is no current interface technology that is guiding them to do so.
To be more specific, I want people to use their voice like Meredith Monk
and to use their body like they are playing charades, all at once.
Pictured above: Title treatment and scenes from Encyclopedia Pictura’s feature film in development, “DIY.”
Your working on your first feature film, called “DIY,” which you
describe as “a futuristic action-adventure children’s movie about a gang
of kids who hack, scout, make, farm, and build their way out of a
catastrophic situation in Pennsylvania 2023.” How did the idea for the
film come about, and how is production coming along?
“DIY”
really comes out of the transformations we’ve experienced as people
since moving to the country and learning all of these physical skills
that we didn’t have before. We’ve learned how to do most of the things
that our film is about and we’ve become obsessed with the
transformational power of practical skills. “DIY” is about promoting
engagement with life, and about how everyone has the potential to change
the balance of their life and to feel connected to the things that keep
them materially alive. These days, the popular lifestyle model is to be
a specialist in one thing (usually something rather abstract) and get
payed for it and then to use that money to provide for every other thing
in your life. It’s the consumer lifestyle and nearly everyone in the
first world subscribes to it. I think it creates very strange societies.
We didn’t feel satisfied with it and we were very eager to learn how to
do more things ourselves. Robert Heinlein said “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give
orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem,
pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently,
die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
really comes out of the transformations we’ve experienced as people
since moving to the country and learning all of these physical skills
that we didn’t have before. We’ve learned how to do most of the things
that our film is about and we’ve become obsessed with the
transformational power of practical skills. “DIY” is about promoting
engagement with life, and about how everyone has the potential to change
the balance of their life and to feel connected to the things that keep
them materially alive. These days, the popular lifestyle model is to be
a specialist in one thing (usually something rather abstract) and get
payed for it and then to use that money to provide for every other thing
in your life. It’s the consumer lifestyle and nearly everyone in the
first world subscribes to it. I think it creates very strange societies.
We didn’t feel satisfied with it and we were very eager to learn how to
do more things ourselves. Robert Heinlein said “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give
orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem,
pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently,
die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
With
all of this inside us, we set out to try and create a heroic myth for
this movement—something that would inspire and embolden and define
what this movement is. We’re trying to join together a lot of groups
into one unified force—the maker movement, the local/organic food
movement, the youth doing things smarter because of the Internet
movement, the livable cities movement, the green technology movement,
etc. We want it all to be crafted in such a way that we can speak to the
hearts of all the blue collar auto mechanics and building contractors
and libertarians and country people—who are currently on the sidelines
of this broad coalition but are totally compatible with it.
all of this inside us, we set out to try and create a heroic myth for
this movement—something that would inspire and embolden and define
what this movement is. We’re trying to join together a lot of groups
into one unified force—the maker movement, the local/organic food
movement, the youth doing things smarter because of the Internet
movement, the livable cities movement, the green technology movement,
etc. We want it all to be crafted in such a way that we can speak to the
hearts of all the blue collar auto mechanics and building contractors
and libertarians and country people—who are currently on the sidelines
of this broad coalition but are totally compatible with it.
Production
hasn’t begun yet. We are writing it and creating super detailed concept
art for 26 of the major scenes. We haven’t yet begun our pitching, but
we have maintained a dialogue with most of the studios and they have
been very excited all around. We are simultaneously creating a company
with Zach Klein (co-founder of Vimeo) that uses the same IP and aims to
recreate Scouting for a new generation. The idea is to build a youth
skill sharing platform that uses augmented reality and real world games
to empower kids to get outside and explore and learn and level up their
skills, using handheld computers. We are just as excited about trying to
build the future of interfaces as we are about building our film. If
anyone reading this has a gaming background and/or AR development
skills, please contact us, we’re hiring.
Pictured above: Encyclopedia Pictura’s DIY botany.
hasn’t begun yet. We are writing it and creating super detailed concept
art for 26 of the major scenes. We haven’t yet begun our pitching, but
we have maintained a dialogue with most of the studios and they have
been very excited all around. We are simultaneously creating a company
with Zach Klein (co-founder of Vimeo) that uses the same IP and aims to
recreate Scouting for a new generation. The idea is to build a youth
skill sharing platform that uses augmented reality and real world games
to empower kids to get outside and explore and learn and level up their
skills, using handheld computers. We are just as excited about trying to
build the future of interfaces as we are about building our film. If
anyone reading this has a gaming background and/or AR development
skills, please contact us, we’re hiring.
Pictured above: Encyclopedia Pictura’s DIY botany.I’m interested in hearing about Trout Gulch, the neighborhood you’re
helping to build in Aptos, California. Can you tell me about that?
helping to build in Aptos, California. Can you tell me about that?
Trout
Gulch is our attempt at living a good life. It’s a strange mix of
country ways of life and futuristic technological ways of life. It’s
about learning by doing and making the road by walking. Its about
architecture, agriculture, social ecology, community, adventure,
challenges, self actualization.
Gulch is our attempt at living a good life. It’s a strange mix of
country ways of life and futuristic technological ways of life. It’s
about learning by doing and making the road by walking. Its about
architecture, agriculture, social ecology, community, adventure,
challenges, self actualization.
What’s refreshing about Encyclopedia Pictura’s work is that, as a
group, you seem to look outside the classical confines of art, film, and
design and use a critical/theoretical eye to create art — i.e., you
are more connected to your surroundings and environment than a firm
that, say, produces branding and logo designs. Is there an overarching
goal you hope to meet with your work?
group, you seem to look outside the classical confines of art, film, and
design and use a critical/theoretical eye to create art — i.e., you
are more connected to your surroundings and environment than a firm
that, say, produces branding and logo designs. Is there an overarching
goal you hope to meet with your work?
Our
short-term goal has been to take people on these mysterious journeys of
self discovery that are all about violating expectations in order to
get people to pay attention and open up to a certain way of being. Our
long-term goal is to bridge the gap between information and
understanding through new learning interfaces that are more visual and
visceral. Its more of an educational mission—to spread healthy memes
and to make learning about science just as engaging as playing the
Legend of Zelda. We’d also like to continue to find ever more elegant
integrations of our work and life.
Additional information:
Encyclopedia Pictura | Trout Gulch | DIY | Visual Language
short-term goal has been to take people on these mysterious journeys of
self discovery that are all about violating expectations in order to
get people to pay attention and open up to a certain way of being. Our
long-term goal is to bridge the gap between information and
understanding through new learning interfaces that are more visual and
visceral. Its more of an educational mission—to spread healthy memes
and to make learning about science just as engaging as playing the
Legend of Zelda. We’d also like to continue to find ever more elegant
integrations of our work and life.
Additional information:
Encyclopedia Pictura | Trout Gulch | DIY | Visual Language
“We work all
over the land [at Trout Gulch], drawing, writing, computer often outside or in buildings
we’ve built,” says Encyclopedia Pictura’s Isaiah Saxon. “This picture (below) is our office proper, where our creative
gravity is. We’ve gone mostly digital, so we no longer have a big
warehouse space like before.”
Pictured above: Encyclopedia Pictura’s official office at Trout Gulch.
Pictured above: A thatch hut on the grounds of Trout Gulch.
Pictured above: Treehouse that looks out over Trout Gulch.
Pictured above: Some of of Trout Gulch’s 18 residents.
Pictured above: Fresh-cut trees that will be used for building materials at Trout Gulch. 
Pictured above: Irrigation project in progress at Trout Gulch.
Pictured above: The frame for a house being built at Trout Gulch.
Pictured above: Behind-the-scenes of the Grizzly Bear video shoot at Trout Gulch.
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31
5月
Encyclopedia Pictura’s Isaiah Saxon, Sean Hellfritsch, and Daren Rabinovitch are looking for new ways to create.
By Matthew Newton | Senior Editor
If you were asked how artists of the future will work and what they will create, Encyclopedia Pictura might provide a fitting answer to such a question. Founded in 2003, the three-man collaborative of Isaiah Saxon, Sean Hellfritsch, and Daren Rabinovitch are focused on self-reliance and learning new ways of working as they go. Instead of fixating on a single skill (i.e., design, illustration, sculpture, etc.), Saxon, Hellfritsch, and Rabinovitch apply a do-it-yourself approach to their myriad film, video, and technology-based art projects.
For example, if they don’t have the right creature for a film project, they create one from scratch. Or if they lack a structure that might be integral to a shot, they grab hammer and nails and wood and get to building one. It’s an ethos inspired by the maker movement and the by-any-means-necessary aesthetic of DIY culture. “We’ve
always had this attraction towards making overly ambitious things by
hand, and that even if you could see the illusion and it wasn’t
seamless, that those seams would be part of the enchantment,” Saxon says. Computerlove recently had the opportunity to talk with Isaiah Saxon about Encyclopedia Pictura’s origins, work practices, and the feature film the collaborative is producing.
Pictured above: Encyclopedia Pictura’s River God.
When did Encyclopedia Pictura begin and what brought the three of you together?
Sean
and I are from the same small area of the Central Coast (California), and we
started hanging out after high school. In 2003, Sean and I started a
collaboration around a 30 second short, “Grow,” about a guy who gets hit
by a beam of light and becomes vegetal. At first, I thought maybe I was
the director and he was the cinematographer, but as we continued to work
together, we realized those distinctions weren’t totally accurate—so
we started a “directing team”— Encyclopedia Pictura. In 2006, I read an
interview with Daren on fecalface.com.
I was blown away by his still photos of surreal sculptural scenes. This
is where I was trying to take things at the time and was beginning to
learn prosthetics, puppets, and physical effects. He was already an
established pro working at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM)—having made the puppets for “The Life
Aquatic with Steve Zissou,” among other films. Upon meeting, we also
realized that we shared the same small town roots and that he knew my
family. Various collaborations ensued until Daren became full directing
partner in 2008.
Pictured above: Still from the video for Grizzly Bear’s “Knife.”
The look and feel of your films and art is reminiscent of Jim Henson’s
creature shop, or the work of Sid and Marty Krofft, but mixed with
documentary-style footage and high-concept illustration/animation. How
would you say your collective visual style evolved?
creature shop, or the work of Sid and Marty Krofft, but mixed with
documentary-style footage and high-concept illustration/animation. How
would you say your collective visual style evolved?
We’ve
always had this attraction towards making overly ambitious things by
hand, and that even if you could see the illusion and it wasn’t
seamless, that those seams would be part of the enchantment. We’re very
interested in how textures and forms have their own meaning and that if
you give them their proper spotlight, they can say a lot. Daren and I
both come from a fine arts background, so doing lots of painting and
sculpting to achieve these results is just our natural mode of
expression. The American Museum of Natural History in New York was a major eye
opener for us. Exploring and contemplating the essences of nature and
the history of memes, under the influence of Psilocybin mushrooms, was
transformational. In film, our big influences have been Miyazaki, Disney
(30′s-40′s), and Kubrick. I look up to Jim Henson a lot, but I don’t
think he ever achieved anything very detailed that I like—his real
talent was in reducing things to their most primitive essential.
always had this attraction towards making overly ambitious things by
hand, and that even if you could see the illusion and it wasn’t
seamless, that those seams would be part of the enchantment. We’re very
interested in how textures and forms have their own meaning and that if
you give them their proper spotlight, they can say a lot. Daren and I
both come from a fine arts background, so doing lots of painting and
sculpting to achieve these results is just our natural mode of
expression. The American Museum of Natural History in New York was a major eye
opener for us. Exploring and contemplating the essences of nature and
the history of memes, under the influence of Psilocybin mushrooms, was
transformational. In film, our big influences have been Miyazaki, Disney
(30′s-40′s), and Kubrick. I look up to Jim Henson a lot, but I don’t
think he ever achieved anything very detailed that I like—his real
talent was in reducing things to their most primitive essential.
Pictured above: Still from the video for Bjork’s “Wanderlust.”What attracted you to music videos as a medium?
Our
real goal has always been to make an epic, populist feature film that
could define an entire realm of imagination for a generation—the way
that “Star Wars” or “2001″ did. In 2004, when we tried to strategize our
path through the industry in order to get to the point where we would
have that level of creative empowerment, we decided that music videos
were the only medium that would work for us to get there. [Spike] Jonze and
[Michel] Gondry demonstrated that you could make music videos as a route to
becoming a feature director—and this model was the closest fit for
the type of work we wanted to do. We are passionate about music, but
honestly the genre of the music video is sometimes pretty stilted in our
view. Even our own videos we find a bit stilted—because sometimes you
are forced into having the artist performing on camera when that’s just
not what you want to be filming, you have all these other ideas that are
more interesting to you and you are compromised into this format. Daren
has always been the most allergic to music videos because he was
pursuing an art world path, which has its own genre limitations I think.
After completing Wanderlust, we finally achieved our goal of having
Hollywood open their doors to us to make a feature, so we have retired
from the world of music videos.
Pictured above: Behind the scenes of Encyclopedia Pictura’s short film “Tactical Advantage.”
real goal has always been to make an epic, populist feature film that
could define an entire realm of imagination for a generation—the way
that “Star Wars” or “2001″ did. In 2004, when we tried to strategize our
path through the industry in order to get to the point where we would
have that level of creative empowerment, we decided that music videos
were the only medium that would work for us to get there. [Spike] Jonze and
[Michel] Gondry demonstrated that you could make music videos as a route to
becoming a feature director—and this model was the closest fit for
the type of work we wanted to do. We are passionate about music, but
honestly the genre of the music video is sometimes pretty stilted in our
view. Even our own videos we find a bit stilted—because sometimes you
are forced into having the artist performing on camera when that’s just
not what you want to be filming, you have all these other ideas that are
more interesting to you and you are compromised into this format. Daren
has always been the most allergic to music videos because he was
pursuing an art world path, which has its own genre limitations I think.
After completing Wanderlust, we finally achieved our goal of having
Hollywood open their doors to us to make a feature, so we have retired
from the world of music videos.
Pictured above: Behind the scenes of Encyclopedia Pictura’s short film “Tactical Advantage.”Your short films, like “Tactical Advantage” and “Grow,” rely on visual
storytelling with very little or no verbal communication. What’s the
challenge in making films without dialogue?
storytelling with very little or no verbal communication. What’s the
challenge in making films without dialogue?
For
us, it would be more challenging to force our characters to say
something. We think visually, and we experience visually, so creating
film sequences without dialogue is just very first nature for us.
Dialogue always feels less timeless to me, and also much harder to
achieve a totally convincing performance. Images don’t date themselves
as much as words. Imagine if there was some recorded dialogue that
accompanied some of the great visual works of art, like if the Mona Lisa
had a specific voice and specific words she said that played alongside
the painting – it would ruin everything that works about experiencing
that picture. Our favorite use of dialogue is in Disney’s “Robin Hood.”
There you have a cast of highly trained theatre actors who are true
artists with their voice and are achieving greatness on a purely sonic
level—and it is timeless. Actors, performing for the camera, never
reach this level of auditory richness. The feature we’re writing now
aspires to achieve this quality in the dialogue.
Pictured above: An example of Encyclopedia Pictura’s Visual Language.
us, it would be more challenging to force our characters to say
something. We think visually, and we experience visually, so creating
film sequences without dialogue is just very first nature for us.
Dialogue always feels less timeless to me, and also much harder to
achieve a totally convincing performance. Images don’t date themselves
as much as words. Imagine if there was some recorded dialogue that
accompanied some of the great visual works of art, like if the Mona Lisa
had a specific voice and specific words she said that played alongside
the painting – it would ruin everything that works about experiencing
that picture. Our favorite use of dialogue is in Disney’s “Robin Hood.”
There you have a cast of highly trained theatre actors who are true
artists with their voice and are achieving greatness on a purely sonic
level—and it is timeless. Actors, performing for the camera, never
reach this level of auditory richness. The feature we’re writing now
aspires to achieve this quality in the dialogue.
Pictured above: An example of Encyclopedia Pictura’s Visual Language.
The relationship between visuals and language is a concept of interest
to you. What are you doing with your Visual Language project to examine
this relationship?
to you. What are you doing with your Visual Language project to examine
this relationship?
The
Visual Language concept is partly about the idea that visual forms have
inherent meaning—like “cute, scary, bold, sludgy, etc.” and that if
you created an easy way for people to use their voice to trigger the
animation of forms—it would be a kind of emotional language. But
beyond this notion, which has its limits, I’m mostly interested in this
from the perspective of creating healthy technology interfaces. There’s a
test I have for a technology interface, whether its a guitar or a
typewriter or a bicycle or a segway; it’s the idea that if you take away
the technology from the picture and just examine the human and what’s
going on physiologically with them as they use this interface—is it
good, is it healthy? Every device that you play or use or ride, is
actually using you—you become the tool of the tool. I want to create
interfaces that bring out the most liberating, exciting, juicy, healthy
bodily actions from people. So the Visual Language, which, if anyone is
interested in should just read up more on our website, is mostly a way
to invite people to behave in ways that they normally don’t because
there is no current interface technology that is guiding them to do so.
To be more specific, I want people to use their voice like Meredith Monk
and to use their body like they are playing charades, all at once.
Visual Language concept is partly about the idea that visual forms have
inherent meaning—like “cute, scary, bold, sludgy, etc.” and that if
you created an easy way for people to use their voice to trigger the
animation of forms—it would be a kind of emotional language. But
beyond this notion, which has its limits, I’m mostly interested in this
from the perspective of creating healthy technology interfaces. There’s a
test I have for a technology interface, whether its a guitar or a
typewriter or a bicycle or a segway; it’s the idea that if you take away
the technology from the picture and just examine the human and what’s
going on physiologically with them as they use this interface—is it
good, is it healthy? Every device that you play or use or ride, is
actually using you—you become the tool of the tool. I want to create
interfaces that bring out the most liberating, exciting, juicy, healthy
bodily actions from people. So the Visual Language, which, if anyone is
interested in should just read up more on our website, is mostly a way
to invite people to behave in ways that they normally don’t because
there is no current interface technology that is guiding them to do so.
To be more specific, I want people to use their voice like Meredith Monk
and to use their body like they are playing charades, all at once.
Pictured above: Title treatment and scenes from Encyclopedia Pictura’s feature film in development, “DIY.”
Your working on your first feature film, called “DIY,” which you
describe as “a futuristic action-adventure children’s movie about a gang
of kids who hack, scout, make, farm, and build their way out of a
catastrophic situation in Pennsylvania 2023.” How did the idea for the
film come about, and how is production coming along?
“DIY”
really comes out of the transformations we’ve experienced as people
since moving to the country and learning all of these physical skills
that we didn’t have before. We’ve learned how to do most of the things
that our film is about and we’ve become obsessed with the
transformational power of practical skills. “DIY” is about promoting
engagement with life, and about how everyone has the potential to change
the balance of their life and to feel connected to the things that keep
them materially alive. These days, the popular lifestyle model is to be
a specialist in one thing (usually something rather abstract) and get
payed for it and then to use that money to provide for every other thing
in your life. It’s the consumer lifestyle and nearly everyone in the
first world subscribes to it. I think it creates very strange societies.
We didn’t feel satisfied with it and we were very eager to learn how to
do more things ourselves. Robert Heinlein said “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give
orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem,
pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently,
die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
really comes out of the transformations we’ve experienced as people
since moving to the country and learning all of these physical skills
that we didn’t have before. We’ve learned how to do most of the things
that our film is about and we’ve become obsessed with the
transformational power of practical skills. “DIY” is about promoting
engagement with life, and about how everyone has the potential to change
the balance of their life and to feel connected to the things that keep
them materially alive. These days, the popular lifestyle model is to be
a specialist in one thing (usually something rather abstract) and get
payed for it and then to use that money to provide for every other thing
in your life. It’s the consumer lifestyle and nearly everyone in the
first world subscribes to it. I think it creates very strange societies.
We didn’t feel satisfied with it and we were very eager to learn how to
do more things ourselves. Robert Heinlein said “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give
orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem,
pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently,
die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
With
all of this inside us, we set out to try and create a heroic myth for
this movement—something that would inspire and embolden and define
what this movement is. We’re trying to join together a lot of groups
into one unified force—the maker movement, the local/organic food
movement, the youth doing things smarter because of the Internet
movement, the livable cities movement, the green technology movement,
etc. We want it all to be crafted in such a way that we can speak to the
hearts of all the blue collar auto mechanics and building contractors
and libertarians and country people—who are currently on the sidelines
of this broad coalition but are totally compatible with it.
all of this inside us, we set out to try and create a heroic myth for
this movement—something that would inspire and embolden and define
what this movement is. We’re trying to join together a lot of groups
into one unified force—the maker movement, the local/organic food
movement, the youth doing things smarter because of the Internet
movement, the livable cities movement, the green technology movement,
etc. We want it all to be crafted in such a way that we can speak to the
hearts of all the blue collar auto mechanics and building contractors
and libertarians and country people—who are currently on the sidelines
of this broad coalition but are totally compatible with it.
Production
hasn’t begun yet. We are writing it and creating super detailed concept
art for 26 of the major scenes. We haven’t yet begun our pitching, but
we have maintained a dialogue with most of the studios and they have
been very excited all around. We are simultaneously creating a company
with Zach Klein (co-founder of Vimeo) that uses the same IP and aims to
recreate Scouting for a new generation. The idea is to build a youth
skill sharing platform that uses augmented reality and real world games
to empower kids to get outside and explore and learn and level up their
skills, using handheld computers. We are just as excited about trying to
build the future of interfaces as we are about building our film. If
anyone reading this has a gaming background and/or AR development
skills, please contact us, we’re hiring.
Pictured above: Encyclopedia Pictura’s DIY botany.
hasn’t begun yet. We are writing it and creating super detailed concept
art for 26 of the major scenes. We haven’t yet begun our pitching, but
we have maintained a dialogue with most of the studios and they have
been very excited all around. We are simultaneously creating a company
with Zach Klein (co-founder of Vimeo) that uses the same IP and aims to
recreate Scouting for a new generation. The idea is to build a youth
skill sharing platform that uses augmented reality and real world games
to empower kids to get outside and explore and learn and level up their
skills, using handheld computers. We are just as excited about trying to
build the future of interfaces as we are about building our film. If
anyone reading this has a gaming background and/or AR development
skills, please contact us, we’re hiring.
Pictured above: Encyclopedia Pictura’s DIY botany.I’m interested in hearing about Trout Gulch, the neighborhood you’re
helping to build in Aptos, California. Can you tell me about that?
helping to build in Aptos, California. Can you tell me about that?
Trout
Gulch is our attempt at living a good life. It’s a strange mix of
country ways of life and futuristic technological ways of life. It’s
about learning by doing and making the road by walking. Its about
architecture, agriculture, social ecology, community, adventure,
challenges, self actualization.
Gulch is our attempt at living a good life. It’s a strange mix of
country ways of life and futuristic technological ways of life. It’s
about learning by doing and making the road by walking. Its about
architecture, agriculture, social ecology, community, adventure,
challenges, self actualization.
What’s refreshing about Encyclopedia Pictura’s work is that, as a
group, you seem to look outside the classical confines of art, film, and
design and use a critical/theoretical eye to create art — i.e., you
are more connected to your surroundings and environment than a firm
that, say, produces branding and logo designs. Is there an overarching
goal you hope to meet with your work?
group, you seem to look outside the classical confines of art, film, and
design and use a critical/theoretical eye to create art — i.e., you
are more connected to your surroundings and environment than a firm
that, say, produces branding and logo designs. Is there an overarching
goal you hope to meet with your work?
Our
short-term goal has been to take people on these mysterious journeys of
self discovery that are all about violating expectations in order to
get people to pay attention and open up to a certain way of being. Our
long-term goal is to bridge the gap between information and
understanding through new learning interfaces that are more visual and
visceral. Its more of an educational mission—to spread healthy memes
and to make learning about science just as engaging as playing the
Legend of Zelda. We’d also like to continue to find ever more elegant
integrations of our work and life.
Additional information:
Encyclopedia Pictura | Trout Gulch | DIY | Visual Language
short-term goal has been to take people on these mysterious journeys of
self discovery that are all about violating expectations in order to
get people to pay attention and open up to a certain way of being. Our
long-term goal is to bridge the gap between information and
understanding through new learning interfaces that are more visual and
visceral. Its more of an educational mission—to spread healthy memes
and to make learning about science just as engaging as playing the
Legend of Zelda. We’d also like to continue to find ever more elegant
integrations of our work and life.
Additional information:
Encyclopedia Pictura | Trout Gulch | DIY | Visual Language
“We work all
over the land [at Trout Gulch], drawing, writing, computer often outside or in buildings
we’ve built,” says Encyclopedia Pictura’s Isaiah Saxon. “This picture (below) is our office proper, where our creative
gravity is. We’ve gone mostly digital, so we no longer have a big
warehouse space like before.”
Pictured above: Encyclopedia Pictura’s official office at Trout Gulch.
Pictured above: A thatch hut on the grounds of Trout Gulch.
Pictured above: Treehouse that looks out over Trout Gulch.
Pictured above: Some of of Trout Gulch’s 18 residents.
Pictured above: Fresh-cut trees that will be used for building materials at Trout Gulch. 
Pictured above: Irrigation project in progress at Trout Gulch.
Pictured above: The frame for a house being built at Trout Gulch.
Pictured above: Behind-the-scenes of the Grizzly Bear video shoot at Trout Gulch.
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