Christina Lykoka
Greek Videomaker
The W:OW Project
Animate Cologne
Interview : 10 Questions
1. Tell me something about your life and the educational background
I am an interior design and architecture graduate from Greece. I have worked as a designer and I have had the opportunity to engage with the media arts field concurrently, while my works have been presented in exhibitions and festivals around the world.
2. When, how and why started you filming?
I think the main impetus started from my drawing and sketching background when I was younger and continued in my undergraduate years and it sort of grew out of the need to expand on my creative expression organically.
3. What kinds of topics have your films?
It depends on what motivates my interest in certain periods of time really, but I have engaged with notions of how one redefines perception and themes like science, knowledge and social events.
4. Concerning your included video: please tell me more about the aims and the contents.
The central point I tried to engage in ‘’Death of the Blackbird’’ is whether someone can be free of one’s own past, actions thoughts and perceptions, the film is a ‘garbled’ collage of moments that are very much connected by emotion and reason and are all part of a struggle for freedom or the notion of it.
5. How do you develop your films, do you follow certain principles, styles etc?
I try to use whatever works for the theme I’m looking for. I work based on my own aesthetic and the influences I’ve accumulated throughout the years, that includes techniques that have naturally evolved whilst experimenting and working on different projects.
6. Tell me more about the technical equipment you use.
I use a variety of tools and software depending on what I’m working on. From the software side, I use: After Effects with VideoCopilot and numerous plugins, Premiere, Cinema 4D with Arnold Renderer, Reason Sampler with Reaper and other Instruments, Adobe Audition for sound design. In the camera department, I use a Canon 650D with vintage lens adapters a Sony A7S with Minolta and Sony lenses, a Manfrotto tripod, my Android and iPhone mobile device. From the computer side, I use MacBook Pro ‘15 retina and a Ryzen 7 fully equipped desktop system and finally a Wacom Tablet for drawing and rotoscoping mainly on Photoshop and After Effects.
7. How do you finance your films?
All of my films have been self-financed until now since I can handle a lot of production aspects I can keep the overall cost minimal.
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 have experience in both, and each has its own benefits. Teamwork allows you to see different aspects of the subject while working alone can provide you a unique and valuable insight into the creative process. I am not partial to any specific method, as long as it works for the project.
9. Who or what has a lasting influence on your film/video making?
I think they are too many to mention. If I could name one, I believe that Norman McLaren has been incredibly influential to me and I admire his work very much.
10. What are your future plans or dreams as a film/video maker?
I look forward to materializing certain ideas that are in a planning phase for now, and I’m also actively working on other very short, online only projects to be presented shortly.