KICKSTART THIS

Kickstart This: Jeff Frost's Mesmerizing Time Lapse Art 'Modern Ruin'

by Ben Pearson
August 18, 2013

Welcome back to another edition of Kickstart This, FirstShowing's weekly column dedicated to spreading the word about cool and interesting crowdfunded indie projects that need your help to become a reality. We've highlighted a lot of narrative features and short films in the history of this column, but there have rarely been times when a film project's visuals have truly blown me away. Jeff Frost's Modern Ruin: White Hole has done just that, and if you're a fan of photography or appreciate visual storytelling, you will probably dig this one. Take a look at his amazing pitch video below and don't forget to donate if you can.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm a total sucker for time lapse photography. No matter how many times I see a still shot of the endlessly spinning sky full of stars at night, it still wows me. Photographer and filmmaker Jeff Frost's work features some of that, but it's also far more involved than your typical time lapse videos. His 2012 video, Flawed Symmetry of Prediction, has a beauty and uneasy sense to it that reminds me of some moments in films by David Lynch or Calvin Lee Reeder. The addition of the slow dolly moves adds some solid production value and separates his stuff from the guys who just set up a camera and walk away. Anyone can do that - Frost's work takes some serious planning.

He's trying to raise funds to complete his new project Modern Ruin: White Hole. In it, he finds abandoned buildings and begins painting optical illusions in them, taking still photos and compiling them all into a video which he calls "art for the sake of art." But though the interior work he does is incredible, he's not done there: he actually managed to mix in footage from a riot interspersed with photos from his painted walls, adding an insane level of complexity to the whole project. (How does one get moving time lapse footage during a riot?) Frost has released the first half of this project online for free (called Modern Ruin: Black Hole) in an effort to drum up support so he can finish the whole thing, and once you take a look at his pitch video below, you'll get a good sense of the kind of insane visuals he can accomplish. Check this out:

For more information on Jeff Frost's Modern Ruin: White Hole, and to help support the project, visit its Kickstarter page. The filmmaker is hoping to raise a total of $10,000 by Friday, September 13th, and he needs your help to make that happen. If you'd like to support visually innovative filmmaking, please donate and spread the word about this project on Facebook, Twitter, and anywhere else you can.

That's all for this week's edition of Kickstart This. Feel free to e-mail me at BenPears85@gmail.com if you find a cool film-related project that needs some extra attention to meet its goal. My inbox is always open, and if you send in any Kickstarter or IndieGoGo film project, I can't promise we'll feature it, but I will always at least take a look at it. Thanks for your continued suggestions, and as always, thanks so much for your support of these independent projects because they couldn't be completed without the help of film lovers like you. Feel free to browse our full Kickstart This archives and donate to other projects running.

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