Hey guys.
My name is Cristian Straub. I’m a Romanian born film director, currently residing in Hamburg, Germany. To cut a long story short: this blog is a by-product of my research into the nebulous realm most people call “Fashion Film”. No one really knows what it is. I don’t either. I don’t even know if it really exists. And if it does, will it stay or if is just the current belle de jour?
But I know I will direct some fashion films in the near future. So it’s time for me to up my game and seriously get involved in this … genre.
Wait.
A genre? Is it? Wikipedia doesn’t mention it. And people call it many names – Fashion Film, Fashion Video, Mood Film, Fashion Cinepornography… ok, the last one I made up. Wonder where it comes from. You have a lot of stuff under this umbrella. From very arty to artsy to totally avantgarde stuff to (half) naked girls in sleazy poses dancing (in slow-motion) and trying very hard to look sexy in front of a photographer turned film director/cameraman/editor over night…
You see where I’m coming from. I’m a film guy. I made lots of short films and some commercial stuff as an director and editor (»> my homepage). So, yeah, there already are some people exploring this “genre” already. Most prominently, there is Nick Knight’s Showstudio project (“The home of fashion film”) and Diane Pernet’s Blog turned film festival A Shaded View on Fashion Film. And there are some very cool blogs like Coûte que Coûte or personal blogs from fashion film directors like Zaiba Jabbar and Jason Last.
An now, there’s this one. After lots and lots of hours talking to fashion designers, going to exhibitions, rifling through hundreds of blogs, youtube and vimeo channels (and in doing so also exploring the bordering regions of this foggy and obscure realm) i think i got an idea what THIS could be. Could eventually turn into.
Well, firstly, I’m aiming for some kind of compendium… something like a continuously updated database with all the classic examples and all the new exciting works from the field. A harbor on the net for all things fashion film. I couldn’t find one, so I’ll do it by myself.
Secondly, it’s time to write about it from a different point of view. And even my modest English is better than not to verbalize it at all. Most of the stuff that already exists has it’s roots the fashion world. I think it could be interesting what a filmmaker thinks and sees in it. Maybe it’s not. We’ll see.
Lastly, I really love film. From any genre, era and from every part of the world. So, I won’t stick to the genre formula. I’ll include anything worthwhile and any visually interesting stuff coming up my way. This blog will help me keep track of all the wonderful cinematographic stuff floating through the net.
So, here we go. I really hope you’re into it. Or rather, i really hope you’re so much into it, that you like to take part in this quest for a new and vibrant film genre. Yeah, i really think it is one. I’ll write the Wikipedia entry soon. Anyone wanna help me? My English sucks.
So, please feel free to comment. Any corrections and complements are very much appreciated.
Cheers,
Cristian
