Over five years in the making, we’ve finally now delivered the masters for the Stark Insider ‘3 Days’ Short Film Trilogy (Studio: Atelier Stark).
You can watch them on Vimeo or YouTube or using the embeds below.
In order here’s the releases:
- 3 Days in Sonoma (2018)
- 3 Days in Paris (2019)
- 3 Days in Iceland (2020)
These shorts are shot in a quasi mix of docu and narrative that I call Neo Vérité — a modern day interpretation of the French new wave movement of the 1960s.
Look Book: The ‘3 Days’ Trilogy
BTS stills and promos for ‘3 Days’ by Atelier Stark.
SONOMA
PARIS
ICELAND
Neo Vérité
Loni Stark and I planned these about 4-5 years ago. We wondered what would happen if we took conventional touristy travel footage you might typically shoot on a vacation, and then combine that with abstraction and push the visual surrealism envelope when possible using scenes shot in studio. Ultimately we wanted something unexpected, leaving the viewer to wonder what was happening next, and to attempt to decode the symbolism and dialog in the process.
So we took travel footage shot over about a five to seven year period, storyboarded some ideas and then hit the edit bay.
Licensing music and effects takes time as does figuring out how to stitch the various sequences together. Iceland represented the most amount of digital effects used, hopefully you can’t tell, even on a large theatrical screen.
Thoughts on DSLR, Mirrorless & Cinema Cameras
Regular Stark Insider readers will now that I enjoy talking about camera tech. For this project we used all manner of camera. From GoPros to Canon DSLRs (EOS 70D, 80D) to mirrorless cameras from Panasonic (GH5) and to more dedicated cinema cameras like those from Blackmagic (Micro Cinema Camera for Sonoma) and RED (studio scenes for Paris and Iceland shot at the Citadel Art Studios in downtown San Jose, California).
The most important thing is of course to capture the moment. However, if I had to choose a favorite camera it would be the RED Scarlet-W (Dragon sensor). To my eye at least it yields that gorgeous and organic, unsharpened look that is less common these days thanks to the advent of super sharp, hyper noise-reduced digital processing — especially as popularized by the Apple iPhone. I love film grain. RED is as close to its analog forebear as I’ve come across. And, then there’s Redcode — just an amazing codec that you can bend and shape and push pretty much however you like, providing tremendous creative freedom.
If I were just starting out, a RED camera (such as the new Komodo 6K) would be way out of the question. Instead, I’d look at something from Blackmagic Design (Pocket Cinema Camera). Maybe look for something used on eBay. Or, even do what I did, and start shooting on a Canon EOS T2i. No 4k, but never mind that it’s more than good enough to capture your ideas and dreams.
With that, this project is officially in the bag. We’ve let the baby loose. Au revoir good friend.
The ‘3 Days’ Trilogy by Atelier Stark Films
WATCH: 3 Days in Sonoma
A Woman in Wine Country. A Woman in Trouble. Again.
Also: Directors commentary for 3 Days in Sonoma with Clinton and Loni Stark
WATCH: 3 Days in Paris
It Was Just a Holiday in Paris…
… Or Was It?
WATCH: 3 Days in Iceland
A Place in Time. A Woman in Time.
Also: Production Notes for 3 Days in Iceland
Stay tuned for more shorts on Stark Insider. COVID-19 has restricted some of our ability to shoot — as it has impacted so many far more critical things in life — but we will be sharing more experimental video adventures soon, Neo Vérité among others.
The beats goes on.