Julian Hand Follows Emma Tricca to NYC with the LomoChrome Purple Film

Analogue film maker Julian Hand took a trip to New York last year to shoot a series of music videos of folk musician Emma Tricca. He armed himself with a Super 8 camera, Lomo LC-A+, and some LomoChrome Purple film and set out into the bright city lights.

Tell us a bit about yourself?

I explore moving image through cine-film, analogue and digital video and various forms of light projection. I incorporate these image-making practices into experimental video work, music video, site-specific installation and light show performance. I often use analogue film for its aesthetic and expressive possibilities. I work in what I consider a hybrid fashion, combining photo-chemical film and digital processes, usually electing to finish my films in a digital format. My process is a marriage between analogue and digital technologies.

Tell us about these shots and why you decided to shoot film for this?

Back in January, I flew out to New York with folk musician Emma Tricca. Our aim was to explore the metropolis and shoot a series of Super 8mm film cartridges.In addition to my Super 8mm camera, I took out a Lomo LC-A+ with a small stock of LomoChrome Purple film to document my journey and our filmmaking quest.

Did you have any ideas in mind when shooting?

We aimed to shoot enough footage to complete a series of music videos for use as promotional material for her forthcoming studio album. I believe it is set for release next year.

I drew inspiration from her songwriting to create a filmic and poetic response to her music. During my time in the sprawling metropolis, Emma took me to places she frequented and introduce me to the people she loved, hoping to add a deeper and more personal feel to the content of the film.I also explored the city alone (just the camera and me) and discovered places and roads less walked by newcomers to the city. One such journey took me to the former docks and industrial hub of the once infamous Red Hook. There I took in magnificent views of the East River and the soaring Manhatten skyline. Through the lens, I set out to gather images of life in the city. I desired to create a picture of the urban landscape and the dwellers within, the source of Emma’s original inspiration. We wanted to stay true to the poetry inherent in the city. Follow in the creative footsteps of Robert Frank, Frank O’Hara, Edward Hopper and the likes. Details illuminated in photo-chemical flare now flash in my mind’s eye; Street signs and signals, cafes and their patrons, street markings and traffic, window displays and reflection, guitars and gunslingers, brickwork and paving, concrete and glass, fire escapes and steam vents, rooftops and skyline, subway trains, commuters, Coney Island baby’s, sunsets over Manhatten from way-up-high to dirty canals and the Hudson shimmering in the winter haze with the lights upon the distant towering horizon. All things I believe indicative of New York from a strangers cine-eye.

How did you like the results?

I was very keen to see how the LomoChrome Purple reacted in an urban environment. It picked up those New York winter skies so beautifully. Crisp and clear against the purple stone and crisscrossing telephone wires. I was most happy with the results!

What’s coming up in 2017?

The year ahead holds prospects of study and adventures in a new city for myself. Come September I will be working towards an MA in Moving Image and Sound at Norwich University of the Arts. Time to raise the magnifying glass to my practice as an image maker.

The LomoChrome Purple film used in this photo shoot is the original formulation.

To see more of Julian's work, please visit his Vimeo.

2017-09-27 #people #movie #lomochrome #purplechrome #julian-hand #emma-tricca