Francesca Fini
Italian videomaker
biography
http://and.nmartproject.net/?p=3262
Interview: 10 questions
1. Tell me something about your life and the educational background
I’m a professional videomaker, I work for Italian tv and independent productions. I studied at IED European Institute and at the Istituto Quasar Design University in Rome.
2. When, how and why started you filming?
I started in 1996 when I was working for a video production company and I had the opportunity to handle the first digital camcoder of my life. I was really fascinated by the potential of digital filming.
3. What kind of subjects have your films?
In my videos the presence of the body in action is almost essential. In video performance there is a body that acts in space and time, in a sort of cinematic reworking of a piece of live art, or the image is crushed in formal abstraction and bright explosion of color. The body becomes pure energy, because those spots of bright color still arise from the electronic manipulation of the image of the body in action. The body acting in space and time is what guides me to essential knowledge and to the final kinesthetic representation of my inner world.
My performances, especially those in which I use interaction design tools (webcams, sensors and electrodes), arise from an attempt to create a significant dialogue between the body in action and its virtual nemesis, which is a living material made of dynamic images and sounds.
I would say that maybe this is the obvious characteristic of my work on the body, which is expressed in the boundary where the kinesthesia becomes synesthesia. The video and sounds are my alter ego. They look for an interaction with my body, in a real time exchange that takes place through the manipulation of sensors that turn the color into sound, the intensity of light into geometric shapes, the movement of the body into verbal flow.
4. How do you develop your films, do you follow certain principles, styles etc?
Well I don’t follow consciously a particular style but I can see that the style comes naturally, that all my works are pretty recognizable. I take a big effort in making sure that all my videos have a very high visual quality. I film all my videoperformances in neutral all-black or all-white studios, because I like to isolate the action from the contest in order to focus on the symbolic aspects of the gesture and of the composition of the space. Action in this way takes on a solemn and ritual value and I think that this is some sort of “signature†so to speak.
5. Tell me something about the technical equipment you use.
I use a HD camera (sony Xdcam) and a Canon 60D for video.
6. What are the chances of the digital video technologies for creating art using “moving images†generally, and for you personally?
digital video technology has made available to a larger number of people the basic instruments to express their visions and ideas through. This possibility once was really a privilege of a few, because of the high costs of film production at any level. In particular, the digital culture has really democratized the world of filmmaking that in recent years has developed exponentially and thus the quality of the works around has reached the highest levels. I feel challenged everyday and I feel that this sensation improves my work.
7. How do you finance your films?
My work is entirely self-financed. I can carry it on through hard work and a very deep planning of all the aspects of production – I think I’m a very good producer as weel – in order to save costs. If you have no money you must at least have the time.
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?
I generally work individually, but many of my works are made in a team, it depends on the type of production.
9. Who or what has a lasting influence on your film/video making?
Performance Art and Theater have a huge influence on my video work . In all my videos, as you can see, I focus on the gesture, on the action, on the presence of the body in space and so are the suggestions coming from performance art that impact most on my work.
10. What are your future plans or dreams as a film/video maker?
To improve and improve and improve, technically and conceptually. My earlier videos look so primitive to me today! I can see that I’m improving very fast every day and I want this to last. I want to keep the fire burning and never stop experimenting and improving.
Can works of yours viewed online besides on the CologneOFF platform? Where?
List some links & resources
The best place is my vimeo channel, where you can find all my production: https://vimeo.com/francescafini70/videos