Vocabulary: “Artisanal”

A term that denotes a general approach towards the acoustic and visual materials that are used, and a general artistic philosophy. It thus belongs in the same category as Artificial and Experimental Realism. In artisanal productions the makers want to stress that real people have been working at it, using natural materials. Stylistically this often results in productions with rough edges, whereby imperfactions have not always been polished.

Case 1: F = m.a

‘F = m.a’ (2014) by Melanie Kellens and Anouck Vaassen

Filmmaker: Melanie Kellens.

In this film the material of reference is chalk on a wooden blackboard. The lines are deliberately made sloppy and sketchy, which suggests that the images have been manually drawn before having been edited.

Music composer: Anouck Vaassen.

Only the harp and the violin were used to record the score. As such the essence of these classical instruments is maintained and the interplay between both takes a central role. Hardly any effects like reverb or compression have been used during the mix and mastering phase, in order to guard any imperfections the sound may contain.

Case 2: Temps Perdu

‘Temps Perdu’ (2014) by Femke De Bruyne and Annechien Strouven

Filmmaker: Annechien Strouven.

In this film the act of drawing on paper is suggested by the use of rough, uneven textures. The heavy movements of the characters refer to the heydays of classical 2D animation.

Music composer: Femke De Bruyne.

A minimal setup of instruments is chosen (piano, contrabass, violin, trombone) that are all played in a robust, unpolished way. As a result the attention of the listener is automatically directed towards individual sounds. This is supported by an edgy, staccato style of writing, with frequent use of contrarious accents.