Mixed Art Contest Entry: ELEMENTAL

Ready for a “making of the movie” post?

This is an entry to @Lilyraabe’s Art Mix-Up contest, which encourages genre-bending and multidisciplinary artists to show their stuff! Love it!!!

I’m bringing out my short film, ELEMENTAL, because of everything I’ve done creatively, this work showcases the widest range of my artistic experience, and also my love for the Earth.

This film was a finalist at the 72 Hour Filmmaker’s Showdown, which is an annual part of the Whistler Ski and Snowboard Festival. The contest rules are to make a short film from start to finish in 72 hours, not leaving a certain radius around Whistler, BC (which is like the Hollywood of ski towns).

I’d done entries for this festival with teams in previous years, usually as the main video editor, but wanted to do a solo project the year this was entered. I actually don’t even remember what year it was, but it's been 12 years or more since I did this film. Ha!

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The Film:

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Here is ELEMENTAL, an artsy, elven-inspired piece that is almost like a spell, or a meditation.

The film only 4 minutes long.

Lets break down the different mediums of art involved here, and I’ll recount as much of the process as I can remember. ;)

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The Poem and the Music

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I started with music, an idea, and a poem. I’ve published this poem on Steemit before, but I’ll include it here so everything is in one place.

I walk with mindful steps
And peaceful breath
I am part of every breath and
Heartbeat of this planet
Every tree’s roots are intertwined
And all the earth is one
The fire of the sun will ever circle
And water flows endlessly into itself

Earth is my body
Amar nin rhaw

Water is my blood
Gaearon nin iar

Air is my breath
Gwelu nin thul

Fire is my spirit
Naur nin faer

Words in Italics are in Sindarin, the language created by J.R.R. Tolkien.

This poem was the foundation of the film.

To add to the elvish theme, I had sourced some music from a singer named Jessica Butler, and gotten her permission to use her song, Lamathlim, in the film.

The drum, percussion, and more primal vocals are mine, while the ethereal singing is Jessica’s. I used the separate tracks in different parts of the film, sometimes blending them (like when the drum comes in over Jessica's singing in the scene by the river).

Also, that’s my voice reading the poem, layering in the parts whispered in Elvish.

Here's my Goddess drum, which wasn't in the film (the big one next to it was) but embodies the natural power of Divine Feminine, which was a large part of what I was trying to communicate in this work.

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Mediums of art used in this film:

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The following are roles I played in this production:

• Writer/Director
• Vocalist
• Percussionist
• Cinematographer
• Actor
• Dancer
• Video editor

I had some help with camerawork and audio mixing (from my talented ex, Dom Koric, who also made a film that year), and had Jessica Butler’s song, but I did the majority of the film myself, including the additional music.

It was a lot of work, but I had complete creative freedom! Yay for creative freedom!!!

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The mad dash to film and edit in 72 hours.

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The first day of the film fest, just before Go Time (when the 72 hours begins), I attended a meeting at one of the pubs at the base of Whistler Mountain. They went over the rules, then let us loose! Dozens of director/producers went scurrying off to get their projects started. I can't remember if I ran to my truck or not. lol!

I had a list of locations, a couple of costumes, a drum, and a beat to drive the filming.

Everything stemmed from the poem, and the intent of making a tribute to the elements that create life. Earth. Air. Fire. Water. I was going for primal, to speak to the spirits of people, to remember our connection to the earth.

I recorded some drum sounds and vocals in a parking garage, going for a natural reverb effect. Then I headed for the forest.

I shot several takes at one location, and later used multiple layers of video to create a double/split-screen effect.

I got lots of shots of me walking around barefoot, dancing, drumming, and basically being in nature.

The twisting shot of the river is super powerful to me, with the power of rock, flow of water, and slow spiral of the camera. This spot was already a favourite of mine. I’m glad I got it on film, since I don’t hike there any more, having moved a half-day’s drive away from Whistler, now.

I did a time lapse of clouds moving behind a mountain. Because, when you only have 72 hours to shoot and run post-production, why not do a time lapse?

I even got in the bathtub and surrounded myself with plants to do this shot for the water element.

And then there was the fire scene. This still gets me excited!

I did a ton of takes for this “coven of selves,” if you will, then split them up in Final Cut (the editing program I used) to give the effect of multiple dancers, multiple drummers. I was pretty proud of this trick.

Needless to say, there wasn't a lot of sleep involved in the making of this film, but it was so much fun, and a super satisfying project to take on. Definitely my most ambitious solo project as a filmmaker.

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Artist Takeaway

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Here I sit on my drum, today, contemplating something I created at least a dozen years ago. This is the beauty of art: its ability to communicate across time and space. I don't have film equipment anymore, having left it behind in my divorce, but that's okay. I have this accomplishment to watch, to relive.

Because of this film, I can revisit trails my feet no longer walk. I can remember that time I recorded a prayer to the earth, and got to see it on the big screen in a room full of people who watched the spell I wove into ELEMENTAL.

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Thanks for reading. Let your creative soul shine!

Peace. @katrina-ariel

All photos mine unless otherwise stated.

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Author bio: Katrina Hokule’a Ariel is an old-soul rebel, a musician, a tree-hugging yogini and mama bear to twins. Author of Yoga for Dragon Riders (non-fiction) and Wild Horse Heart (romance), she's another free-spirit swimming in the ocean of Steemit.

dragon art: Liiga Smilshkalne

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