Marie Schuller: "Cool video can be removed for $ 1"
Video about fashion is gaining momentum: Two advanced editions, Dazed & Confused and i-D, have recently re-launched the online version with the addition of large sections with movies. In addition, the video plays a significant role in the positioning of clothing brands. Adidas, for example, releases interactive videos with Run-D.M.C., And Gucci, Chanel and Hermès share their story through sentimental videos of tanners, seamstresses and lace makers. This trend is picked up in Russia. October 2014 will be marked by a large multimedia exhibition of fashionable video by Alexander McQueen, Burberry, Hussein Chalayan and others, which will be held with the support of The British Council.
Not only short stamps with budgets and names will be exposed there, but also films of Russian brands. At the end of last year, a dozen local designers shot a video led by four curators from Britain as part of a workshop on fashionable video. Among the participating designers are famous names like Dmitry Loginov, Oleg Ovsiev and Dasha Gauzer and their young colleagues Asiya Bareeva, Yulya Vorobyeva, Arthur Lomakin, Panic Trees and Sasha Weider. The curators will be envied by any: directors of dozens of videos for brands from Cassette Playa to Nike Sportswear Alex Tervi and Grace Ladoya, lecturer at Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion Catherine Ferguson and director of the SHOWstudio fashion video section Marie Schuller. Last we asked about how she worked with two Russian designers, why the demand for fashion videos is growing and how to make a really cool movie.
You helped to shoot Sasha Weider and Oleg Ovsiev from Viva Vox. What do you think about their collections? It seems difficult to surprise a person who considers the clothes of the best designers of the generation to watch in the smallest detail.
I was struck by the integrity of these designers. They make beautiful and high-quality clothes. When I came to the shooting to Sasha, who was held outdoors at a low temperature, I thought: "God, how cold it is to the models." The second thought was “God, how can I get such a dress”, because they were gorgeous: minimalistic and clean, on a dozen models together they looked amazingly concise. These are the clothes that I personally would like to wear. One feels that Sasha is confident in her aesthetics and understands what she does, and this is wonderful. Oleg ... I saw only two of his dresses: according to the video plot, a white outfit flows into black. But they made this video and fully gave an idea of the style of Viva Vox. I think Oleg perfectly knows how to work with a cloth: the way he simply but beautifully drapes it deserves a lot of respect.
Agree! How did the teams of Sasha and Oleg work on film sets?
I was pleasantly surprised - this is rare in our time. Locations, lights, models - everything is on the level. I expected that they would be pretty good, because we were discussing the concept of filming by mail, but still everything in life turned out to be more impressive. The teams of both designers proved to be professionals, their work felt passion and commitment. I'm not being cunning.
Oh, I heard Sasha Weider chased seven almost naked models in the cold.
You know, at first I thought that Sasha Weider would have problems already with the models. Imagine: seven skinny girls in open dresses step on their heels, and it is snowing. But in the end everything turned out. The main thing in the video is a powerful visual message. Sasha's idea about the USSR and some mysterious leader who leads models from the past to the future, is expressed very clearly and makes a great impression. Here, a group of models, large-scale Soviet architecture and clothing work flawlessly.
Oleg Ovsiev and his good friend and photographer Natalie Arefieva, one of the main fashion photographers in Russia, made a studio video. So you can still surprise someone?
Yes, Oleg had the opposite story. You know, when I got to the site and saw the whole picture, I thought: "God, what are the advanced guys here: they clearly understand how fashion and video interact." Model and make-up, light, idea - this can be expected from London brands and directors!
Noticed any roughness in the work of both teams?
I do not really want to talk about it! You know, I think there are no perfectly aligned processes or concepts. Irregularities and mistakes give rise to the very unique picture for which we all chase.
You have seen excerpts from the video of all the designers who participate in the project. Asiya Bareeva reflected on Eastern culture, Julia Vorobyeva made a video in 3D. Who is your favorite?
These videos simply can not be compared, they are so different, and that is what attracts me. I got a crush on the movie Panic Trees. She did something completely different from Sasha and Oleg. This is a tuned video clip without a clear scenario in the location that has completely conquered us all - on the Central Telegraph. The video of Asiya Bareeva is another solid one and not much like a similar story. She powerfully worked on the theme of Islamic culture, a follower of which is, she herself acted as a model, and how the music of the Islamic artist Fatima Al Kadiri came up here! Animation accessories designer Julia Vorobyeva is also just amazing.
Five years ago, fashion videos were of little interest to anyone. How did you start working in this industry?
My brother is a fashion photographer, and at first I worked with him. We filmed everything that was possible, including the backstage of his shooting, and later I decided to try it more professionally. I was immediately attracted to the fact that the director has a lot of freedom in fashion: you can do almost anything you want. Where is the opportunity now?
EACH FINE-VIDEO DIRECTOR HAS OWN OWN STYLE: ALEX, GRACE AND YOU ARE SO DIFFERENT, A FEW LUNCH, FINCHER AND TARANTINO. WHAT DOES YOUR VISUAL STYLE FORM?
I think I am still developing and have not shaped my handwriting to the end. Obviously, I adore making abstract and surreal videos that do not dictate to the viewer. Everyone can interpret their content in their own way.
Now you are working in, without a shadow of a doubt, the main project about fashion video in the world. How did you join Nick Knight and the SHOWstudio team?
I started working with them thanks to the most classical way: I sent my resume. I was called for an interview with Nick Knight himself, and now I was preparing to show him my work and tell about my vision of the world, and he hands me a hard disk with a clock of his video and asks me to mount it. The same task gave another ten candidates. Then choose the best.
What have you been doing since then?
I am the head of the fashion video department. I think up a work plan for the season, look for new talents and watch all the videos that come to us in the mail, edit all Nick Knight's films and edit other directors. In general, it can be said that I watch that the fashion clips move in the direction that our team considers best.
You are doing completely different projects: Iris Van Herpen on the air creates the famous plastic dress resembling falling water, You devote a series of commercials fashion illustrations. Who and how come up with ideas?
Most ideas come up with Nick Knight. It happens naturally. We love to be inspired. We can be inspired by a big social theme or something important at the moment - for example, technologies. In general, we take what we are interested in and talk about it.
Showstudio is one of the most popular resources for watching trendy videos, along with Nowness, for example. I'm sure you have just mad traffic, it would be a sin not to earn. Are you commercially successful?
No, we are completely independent of advertisers or anyone else. The only source of income - the store at the site. You know, sometimes when money is definitely not enough, Nick Knight invests his savings.
Wow, and you add? In our edition, when you want to make a cool shot, but there is no money, you can easily invest the editor-in-chief or photo editor.
No, I never invest my money! With this kind of work one would go mad. At the very least, she would definitely have to leave.
Are the budgets of fashion videos small?
In general, they grow rapidly. People are beginning to understand how important videos are in support of their brand or any other phenomenon. Now not to make some video for your collection or project is to be a fool. One of the biggest budgets I know about is almost a million dollars. But I'm sure that cool videos can be shot for $ 1. We did it: everyone worked for free, we just bought a sandwich model.