Hannah Ford
UK videomaker
biography
Her video
Terry’s Last Intern, 2014, 00:03:13
is participating in
artvideoKOELN – audiovisual experiences 01
Interview: 10 questions
1. Tell me something about your life and the educational background
It took me a while to finish school since I kept taking a year out here and there to go off and do something else. I graduated from The Glasgow School of Art’s Communication Design department in 2015 but throughout the course I struggled to express my ideas in print or drawing, it wasn’t until 2013 when I was studying film on exchange at RISD that things started to click. Whilst there I made Terry’s Last Intern but I didn’t finish editing it until I was on another year out working at MTV as an intern, it felt like a bit of a life imitates art scenario, without the phallic prop cupboard or tyrant boss.
2. When, how and why started you filming?
I was getting frustrated with drawing.
3. What kinds of topics have your films?
I’m always super inspired by poorly developed supporting characters in films- the stereotypes that sit on the sidelines, especially as a lot of them tend to be female.
That and sensationalist media, news journalism is as fictional as cinema sometimes.
4. How do you develop your films, do you follow certain principles, styles etc?
It usually starts with a few sentences or a particular scene, Terry’s Last Intern was obviously inspired by the Wrecking Ball music video but also by Maria’s Whore of Babylon dance scene in Metropolis. Then there’s some drawing and writing and I just go back and forth between the two until something works out.
5. Tell me something about the technical equipment you use.
Just whatever’s there.
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?
The immediacy of digital is something I kind of poke fun of in this film, I’ve only made two films on 16mm but the images mean a lot more to me.
7. How do you finance your films?
Just using whatever I’ve managed to save by not leaving the house. I’ve only just started to think seriously about applying for funding.
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 much prefer the dynamic of a team, usually the writing and storyboarding process is quite a solitary one, by the time it gets to filming I’m glad to have friends there helping me, it stops me taking things too seriously.
9. Who or what has a lasting influence on your film/video making?
Film is so self referential that I love spotting the patterns and tracing the origins of certain shots or the lineage of a certain type of character.
10. What are your future plans or dreams as a film/video maker?
I’m trying to get past the 5 minute mark for my films. So far my work sits more comfortably in a video art setting but I’m keen to try something more narrative that might reach a wider audience.
Can works of yours viewed online besides on the CologneOFF/artvideoKOELN platform? Where?
Sure thing, my work’s on all of these…
http://cargocollective.com/hannahfordfilm
https://vimeo.com/hannahfordfilm
http://hannahfordfilm.tumblr.com/