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W: Hello Stefan, I have discovered your work on phonocake.org where the video “Staubkaskade”, a fractal based animation, has been released. You said there is nothing new about fractals, but your visual interpretation is something new, don’t you think so?
S: Some aspects about the particular fractal I used for my video are new. Instead of using a Julia- or a Mandelbrot-set or one of its derivatives I used the most simple and earliest fractal, the Koch-Curve.
The classical Koch-Curve is “self-avoiding”, that just means it does not cut itself. In the beginning the results of my experiments looked somehow strange. So I decided not to care about the lines and to focus on the “corners” of the curve instead. The result is a set of points I like to call “Koch-Dust”.
I personally believe that many artists limit themselves by trying to do something new instead of doing something they really like. Something, that is worth exploring and understanding. The “new” will appear as a side effect.
W: I’ve stopped right on it at first watch for two reasons. The fractal images are always fascinating and its soundtrack is a cool lift up electro track by Skies Unlimited that has been released on phonocake.org also. The mix between audio and video seems perfect, why did you choose this track for your fractals video?
S: Oh, this is a long story. In the beginning I asked Phonocake’s artists to create a track for me. I got one reply. Fortunately it was a good tune. Later I was bothered by the “Winamp-Effect”. If you show abstract pictures together with sound it might often be misinterpreted as a visual plug-in. So, much to my regret I decided to use a fractal sound instead. This is the reason why two versions of the video exist: The “Festival Version” with the fractal audio was finished in February 2008, its length is 4′:35” and it was mainly sent to film festivals. The “Finale Version” was finished in December 2009, its length is 5′:46”. It is the version that has been released on phonocake.org. Since a lot of film festivals do not accept movies which are already available online I had to delay the release of the “Finale Version” for a long time.
W: In fact you are taking part in a few short film and cinema festivals around Europe where you present your video. How did the audience feel about this fractal video? How is the feedback about this concept?
S: A few? The count is around 40 worldwide except Africa and Antarctica :-) Of course I am not able to travel to every festival, this is just a question of time and money. In real life I am engineer with a 9 to 5 job and a limited number of holidays. However, I managed to travel to Beijing, Los Angeles, Lucca, Weimar and some others. The feedback was quite positive, despite the fact that my way of doing an experimental movie was a little exotic.
Some festivals have a familiar and cosy atmosphere and between all the screenings you might have time to meet some interesting people who do something completely different to what you do.
W: The fractal concept you designed is something like a fractal rebirth in video production. The audience of the festival screenings of your movie is open minded and familiar with new trends in video production. They watch hundreds of films, music videos and video art. What is their first impression about your movie?
S: I would not go so far to call my video a rebirth. The Video – especially the “Festival Version“ – is quite relaxing, and so the audience reacted accordingly. Actually, you do not need to know what a fractal is when you watch my movie, it is more like meditation.
Sometimes I was a bit sad, when my movie was screened in an exhausting “classical experimental” programme. It happened that a screening started with fifty visitors and by the time my movie was screened half of them had left already.
W: Some people worked with you on this project. They are musicians and producers. Do you usually work with them or do you choose different sources for every project you do?
S: This one was a growing project. The first seed was a programme I wrote for a computer science course during my studies in 1996 after I read “The Fractal Geometry of Nature” by Bernoit Mandelbrot. Then nothing happened until 2003 while I finished my studies, found my first job and moved to another city. In the beginning I just wanted to improve my skills in Matlab but the project kept growing. Doing 2D fractals is OK, but why not in 3D? Single pictures are OK, but why not a video? When I faced a problem I tried to solve it by myself. But I am neither a musician nor a programming expert, so from time to time I asked friends for help. Matthias Kramm I knew from a Commodore 64 demo group called Reflex. The guys behind Phonocake I knew because I was involved in some techno party crews in Dresden during the 90’s. In the end it is all about networking.
W: It should be a must to see that video on a giant screen. Where will the next screenings of your video take place? What’s next in 2010?
S: Indeed, a big screen can not be replaced by anything but an even bigger screen. The next chances to prove this are the Cannes Independent Film Festival and the Urban Nomad Film Festival in Taipeh, both in May 2010. At the moment “Staubkaskade” is also touring with the Euroshorts Festival across Poland. Some more applications are pending.
W: Do you plan on performing live with Skies Unlimited?
S: I do not think there will be any live performances with Skis Unlimited for two reasons: On one hand the software behind “Staubkaskade” is not capable for real-time purposes. Matlab is easy to learn but slow. On the other hand the project Skies Unlimited is not active any more. At least Rico Honisch is still quite busy making music.
W: So you are telling me that there is no way to perform this kind of fractal effects live with the currently available technology?
S: It would be possible if an expert rewrites my code. The demo scene proved that a long time ago with Doomsday by Complex and Complex by Doomsday. Adding a suitable user interface would also help a lot.
W: I have browsed a lot of Web sites which feature your video. There are your personal web sites such as pautze.info and staubkaska.de and of course phonocake.org where everything has been released. So what is the best Web location to keep up to date with your next projects and screenings?
S: To keep up to date it does not matter if you check staubkaska.de or pautze.info.
W: Do you use social network pages such as facebook or myspace and if yes how do these channels help you in the promotion and distribution of your works? Are these social networks efficient for self-promoting something like “Staubkaskade”?
S: I try to avoid social networks as good as I can. There is too much data in one hand and I am always bothered about the integrity of the provider. I’ve had many discussions about this topic. A lot of people disagree with my opinion, but I have a strong feeling of uneasiness when I think about this topic.
W: As you told me you are/were working on something new for the 22nd Filmfest Dresden, would you tell us more about that?
S: During all the festivals I sometimes wondered about the very positive feedback. Of course I was very happy about it but I expected much more criticism. Later I realised that my standards have been still those of the demoscene, but hardly any film maker, festival organiser or art enthusiast ever took notice of this scene. It is like two worlds exist parallel to each other. So the idea was to choose demos for a screening in a special programme of a film festival. It turned out that the Filmfest Dresden wanted to give it a try.
It will take place from Tue. 2010-04-20 till Sun 2010-04-25 in different locations in Dresden, Germany. Details can be found at: filmfest-dresden.de
W: So the Filmfest Dresden and two other major film festivals, but what will be next? A new video, a new Phonocake release? What can we expect in 2010? Maybe more fractals?
S: At the moment I just focus on the very last festival applications for the Staubkaskade and the programme about the demoscene for the Filmfest Dresden. I am more and more in the mood of doing some graphics the old fashioned way, just ink and paper. I spend a lot of time in front of a computer, at home and at my job and I feel, a little break would be nice.
W: Thanks for your time, congratulations on your productions and the success they deserve, looking forward to seeing and hearing from you.
staubkaskade.de
pautze.info
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