Mesmerising Video Pairs Drone Videography with Motion Graphics In today’s landscape of visual motion graphics, if you can think it you can make it. The Swiss experimental filmmaker Dirk Koy embodies this principle. His latest work, LUFTRAUM combines the latest filmmaking capabilities made possible by drone cinematography with techniques made possible with the advancement of motion graphics. LUFTRAUM is a continually expanding and unfolding texture of video clips, shot through a drone over the roads, bypasses and urban architecture and then spliced together. For the work, Dirk also made the music using another type of drone: a synth drone. We hung out with the experimental creative to get to know more about his vision. THE PLUS: Tell us a bit about how you got into motion graphics and video work in general? Dirk Koy: When I was fourteen years old I got my first video camera – a Sony Video 8. I saw the environment more through the viewfinder of the camera than in reality. I took it everywhere with me and used it to sketch ideas and make experiments. The video camera was, and still is, a kind of pencil. Later I studied Visual Communication at the Academy of Art and Design in Basel. I focused on interaction design and time-based media like video and animation. This was the time when I started to combine graphic design with video and animation. TP: What was the idea behind this video? What were you going for? DK: I was interested in creating constantly moving and changing city spaces. TP: What was the creation process for LUFTRAUM like? Are you happy with how it turned out? DK: I started to film and to collect city pieces with a drone. Then I combined the different clips. Similar to the process of painting an image, I began to place and overlay the clips. The process of cutting the drone recording was a long and hard process. I also decided to work with a 4k resolution to keep the details. The rendering took a while but it was worth in the end. TP: What is experimentalism all about for you? DK: It is very important to me! I start almost every project with an experimental phase. Most of the time I am following a detailed experimental arrangement. But coincidence also plays an important role in the process to get inspired. So it is working between coincidence and control. TP: You created the music as well. Which came first, the music or the visuals? Or did they both evolve together? DK: During the post-production I already had the sound in my mind. I worked on the sound composition after the image creation. TP: Given the wealth of experience you have in visual communication, what most excites you about the future of the field? DK: In the recent years the cost of equipment and computer programs has dramatically fallen, which is fantastic in a creative sense. The democratisation of technology is ongoing. So a lot more people have the chance to express their creativity. I am looking forward to see all the creations that come! TP: Any worries about anything to do with the future of the field? DK: None. TP: What can we expect to see next from you? DK: I am working on a film project, both animation and video, that deals with the balance between naturalness and artificiality. It is called Intersect and will hopefully be finished this year. TP: What do you enjoy doing most when you’re not making films? DK: Observing things in everyday life to get inspired.
