In 2018, we had the honor of collaborating on an impressive five-channel video installation called "Addressable Volume" with a running time of 4:45 minutes. The artist Edith Kollath, known for her profound and innovative concepts, approached us with an intriguing vision.
Breathing means vitality. But breathing also assures us of the presence, warmth and immediacy of the other person. Air moves not only within us, but also between us. How can this be made visible? In the art of glass blowing, bodies are formed with the help of escaping breath, bodies that envelop it. In the video, scenes from a glass blowing workshop are assembled in such a way that the glass bubbles, with their growing expansion until they burst, symbolize the divided cycle of breathing. The apparent immateriality of the air becomes so powerful that the glass wall becomes thinner and more fragile and must necessarily be destroyed in order to release the valuable contents for the other.
Our collaboration with Edith Kollath, glassblower Ralf Reichert, cinematographer Heiko Rahnenführer and other talented artists and technicians led to an innovative idea: setting up five large screens in a semi-circle and having the protagonists, including renowned actors Ursula Werner (Wolke 9) and Tom Wlaschiha (Game of Thrones, Stranger Things), interact from one screen to another and even across the auditorium.
The artist and cinematographer's original concept was for the bubbles to appear small at the mouth and then explode into space. Maxim Matthew, our VFX artist, took Edith's vision and gave it a special depth and clarity through months of detailed compositing work. His signature style, especially in terms of layers and color, gave the film a unique touch without overpowering the artist's original vision.
We added various layers on top of the original material, including dust spots, blurred areas and fingerprints. Each layer is spaced in 3D space and moves slightly paralax. Shots of old film burns and light leaks, integrated into the cool color world of the project, provide the final layer and additional dynamics.
To give the particles more depth, Maxim used a technique he has been using for years in various music videos. Additional particles rendered in 3D were transformed into a beautiful bokeh using camera lens blurs.
Due to its impressive size of 19200×2160 pixels (5x 4K), the large number of layers and post-production steps, the film is rendered three times in five separate films, which later run synchronously on the screens. To render the entire film with all settings and effects, we need up to 86 hours.
The project was kindly supported by Goethe-Institut Australia supported.
2022 issued in Art Museum Bonn, "World in the balance"
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Danish