Dirk Rauscher

Sansula HD, 3'39'', 2009 Germany

Tell me something about you and artistic background.
I am an Autodidact Artist and Designer from cologne. 15 years ago I started taking photography and creating graphic designs for musicians. I spent some years with Web-design and Flash animations. It was when i have bought my first video camera and discovered After Effects and cinema 4D that I started to become addicted to creating motion design. I was kind of confused about what  i wanted to do in the future and i had never visited a design- or artist-school, so there was no guidance or specific goal. It took a while for me to realise that the combination of all types of media i know  defines my work, and that there is no reason to specialise in one of them. This gives me the chance the cross boundaries much easier, and let me experience more between the lines.

Tell me about this film, initial idea and work process.
When i met Riley Reinold from the label for the first time, he told me a little bit about the person Dominik Eulberg. One of things that stood out in my mind was that he was described as a nature lover. He lives in the middle of a forrest here in Germany. And when he is not making music there, or performing dj sets all over the world, he is a ornithologist and takes care about the birds and the forrest itself. So I really wanted to make something which combines both. The beauty of nature and the blinking flickering world of techno music. The Idea was born. Since the budget was very small, I had to find a location which looked like wild german nature but close to a house. There was no budget to hire a generator. We found this place behind the house of a father of a friend. Thanks to Isis and Helmut Zerlett. With a video projector, an HD Panasonic Cam and a MacBook with Modul8 (our VJ software) we went there and shot all the material in one night. Most of the time it was down to trial and error and to see what's working and what's not. I created later the shots of the flowers in my Studio with stop motion and a DSLR camera. One of the funniest things was that Dominik asked me before the shoot what i think about frogs, and how we can organise and integrate them in the video. I told him politely that this is a stupid Idea.  But then at the shoot, there where frogs everywhere. So i just turned them into actors.

Are you working on new projects at the moment?
Right now I'm directing and producing a music video togeher with Kjell Rijntjes and Tasso Treis from okinawa 69 for the cologne based electronic music artist Popnoname.  The single and the video will be released next month.

Do you have specific influences in your film/video making?
Music was first Love ... Its definitely my most inspiring source. This is also the reason why I like my graphics animated.  The moment when an animated sequence runs with sound or music is a very magical one to me. Also iam very fascinated about the complexity of visuals in the nature. Like fractals, spirals or patterns ... "Mathematic is the Language of Nature". Its like a mirror from which we can learn so much about the universe and our human beeing.

Why is it important for you to show your film/video in a festival?
Because its almost the only way to bring animated art to an bigger audience in an nice environment. (Big Screen, relax seated in a chair ...)
None of my friends and colleagues are watching any kind of Music Television anymore. The Internet is great a place to get your work seen to an huge audience all over the World, but not the best place to have impressive impact.

What role do you think Oslo Screen Festival should have to promote your work?
What i expect from a festival is primary showing my film to people, that's it.  When I visit filmfestivals, I'm also interested to listen and talk to other filmmakers about their backgrounds, work process, ideas etc. This is also something i would like to do, as you can see ... i like having something to tell.