Lack of funding will not stop Michael Almereyda from creating a film. With only $3,000, he created the short film "The Rocking Horse Winner," shot entirely on PXLvision. While the plot and performances in that film were unremarkable, Almereyda achieved a mesmerizing elegance in his images by using such a low-quality, low-cost format.
Likewise, the raw, unfinished quality of the low-end video used in "William Eggleston in the Real World" creates an engaging visual landscape for the viewer. At times, it is even reminiscent of the ethereal portraits in Eggleston's own film, "Stranded in Canton." The quality of the video exists in contrast to the sharp, exquisitely composed photographs taken by Eggleston, which are peppered throughout the film. Indeed, the video seems to be an apt metaphor for Eggleston's approach to photography: an approach that is raw and innocent, unencumbered by the philosophy and metaphysics of image and meaning, an approach rooted in a simple, unadulterated love of creating art of all kinds.
Driven by a similar passion for film, Almereyda proves with this portrait of Eggleston that creating film is not something to be restrained by a lack of money, to be reserved for someone with a crew of scores and a budget of millions. Instead, film can be as simple and inexpensive as one man, with a video camera, talking to another man. Such simplicity allows an intimacy and spontaneity that is impossible to achieve in larger productions and that is especially important in exploring the life of someone like William Eggleston.
Likewise, the raw, unfinished quality of the low-end video used in "William Eggleston in the Real World" creates an engaging visual landscape for the viewer. At times, it is even reminiscent of the ethereal portraits in Eggleston's own film, "Stranded in Canton." The quality of the video exists in contrast to the sharp, exquisitely composed photographs taken by Eggleston, which are peppered throughout the film. Indeed, the video seems to be an apt metaphor for Eggleston's approach to photography: an approach that is raw and innocent, unencumbered by the philosophy and metaphysics of image and meaning, an approach rooted in a simple, unadulterated love of creating art of all kinds.
Driven by a similar passion for film, Almereyda proves with this portrait of Eggleston that creating film is not something to be restrained by a lack of money, to be reserved for someone with a crew of scores and a budget of millions. Instead, film can be as simple and inexpensive as one man, with a video camera, talking to another man. Such simplicity allows an intimacy and spontaneity that is impossible to achieve in larger productions and that is especially important in exploring the life of someone like William Eggleston.