Virginia Eleuteri Serpieri
Italian videomaker
biography
Interview 10 questions
1. Tell me something about your life and the educational background
1. I am the daughter of an artist. My father is a painter and a creator of comic books. Since I was a child, he instilled in me the pleasure of imagination and of drawing stories. But the comics I used to draw as a child were not exactly comics, but something more ‘articulated’, that the unlucky reader had not only to read, but also to listen to. In fact there was a point when I disturbed him/her and said “music starts here†and I pushed the play button of the cassette player. I can remember the endless time spent looking at the drawings, waiting for the end of the music, and the patience of who had kindly offered his attention. I realized I rather liked to connect images with sounds and that comics were not really my thing. So, I chose film studies at the University and sound studies at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. But I still keep the solitary kind of work of comics creators and this is why I work with videos rather than cinema, which is more a collective art.
2. When, how and why started you filming?
2. Like many teenagers in the 90s, I listened to music and went to concerts. And every time I closed my eyes I could see images. So, my very first works were rudimentary video clips, analogically edited with two video recorders. I later felt the need to buy a camera, a wonderful S-VHS that I miss so much now. In that period some friends who were musicians asked me to work on visuals of their concerts and video clips..
3. What kinds of topics have your films?
4. How do you develop your films, do you follow certain principles, styles etc?
3. / 4. Initially there was no subject. Music was what inspired me. Later, after many years, I can see the theme that connected my works. I would say it is the act of seeing, of remembering. “If I see, I rememberâ€, that is what Confucius says. Making a video makes me think I can stop time, recreate the magic of a past vision.
5. Tell me something about the technical equipment you use.
5. Now I use a camera and a audio digital recorder and I do the editing with video editing software of Adobe (Premiere, After Effects) and audio editing software (Pro Tools).
6. These days digital technology is dominating also video as a medium. In which way the digital aspect is entering the creation of your videos, technologically and/or conceptually?
6. Digital programs made my works more refined during post-production. Yet, I generally prefer to find technical ways of modifying images while shooting and later improve them on computer. Anyway, I think that the tool greatly affects, both conceptually and formally, the work you’re making. My generation lived the historical shift from the analogical to the digital. And this entails artistic as well as emotional consequences.
7. How do you finance your films?
7. Usually, I produce my films by myself.
8. Do you work individually as a video artist/film maker or do you work in a team?
if you have experience in both, what is the difference, what do you prefer?
8. I often work alone, although I have sometimes collaborated with musicians, video artists and directors. When you work in a group it is different, somehow funnier.
9. Who or what has a lasting influence on your film/video making?
9. Many directors are a point of reference for me. As film director, Werner Herzog. As video maker, Jem Cohen.
10. What are your future plans or dreams as a film/video maker?
10. My only dream is to be able to keep doing what I’m doing.
Can works of yours viewed online besides on the CologneOFF platform? Where?
List some links & resources
http://www.virginiaeleuteriserpieri.com
http://www.microbioma.com