Cadence

Abstract

Animated film poem created with a constellation of common wayside flowers, gathered during walks on land reclaimed from the sea along the shore of the Laira estuary, on the coast of south-west Britain, an endangered habitat now threatened by coastal erosion and climate change. The haunting soundscape uses audio field recordings from this place. It responds to the suspended animation of the petals flowing past and evokes the cries of curlews foraging on the mudflats at low tide as the twice-daily tide pushes inland from the ocean.

The imagery is created using an innovative, hybrid direct animation method evolved by the film-makers through their project work with watery places, particularly river environments and coastal zones. Moore and Parker develop their response to the chosen environment through repeated visits to the location, becoming attuned to the place and noticing the changes that have occurred during different seasons and weather conditions. The term 'direct animation' applies to techniques in which animated imagery is created through physical engagement with film by ‘directly’ marking, or placing small objects onto, the filmstrip. refinement of a hybrid direct animation practice that upcycles unwanted or discarded celluloid film to create 4K digital films. The authors take the everyday and make it extraordinary, engaging with and becoming attuned to nondescript, unremarkable places by walking and kayaking through the seasons.