Kraftwerk has a stage setup that is fantastic and minimalistic. No clutter on the stage, just the necessary, and a big screen with minimal graphics, no photos, no distracting elements.

Photographers can learn from this, use elements sparingly and they will be noticed.

Le jour de l’assassinat de John Lennon devant l’immeuble du Dakota, Raymond Depardon est à New York. Le lendemain, à Central Park, il filme en plan séquence les dix minutes de silence à la mémoire de l’artiste.

« C’était la première fois que je faisais ça. Je suis à New York et j’apprends qu’il y a « dix minutes pour John Lennon ». Ce n’était pas la minute pour Jan Palach mais dix minutes ! Je me dis que c’est l’autonomie d’un magasin 16 mm et je donc pars. Arrivé sur place, je ne suis pas avec la presse, je suis dans la foule et je ne sais plus quoi faire. Je filme autour de moi sans savoir si je tourne à gauche ou à droite… À un moment, sans doute vers 4/5 minutes, je suis paniqué et je me dis : « C’est une catastrophe, ton plan séquence est foutu ». Je ne peux pas marcher, des gens sont allongés partout, mais je ne m’arrête pas de tourner et là, c’est formidable, on est vraiment dans quelque chose d’autre que le cinéma, il n’y a plus de moteur, il n’y a plus d’actualité, il n’y a plus de Jan Palach, il n’y a pas de scoop… Il y a des gens qui pleurent et d’autres qui viennent du bas de Wall Street, en imperméable, impeccables, des gens qui sont cadres supérieurs à Wall Street mais qui sont venus quand même car c’était leur héros… On voit aussi que ça ne les gêne pas d’être filmés. Je suis tout seul puisque mon micro est sur la caméra mais je suis avec eux. C’est impensable d’imaginer ce film monté plan par plan. Cela ne voudrait rien dire. Cela n’aurait aucune force. »

Propos recueillis par Bertrand Loutte pour Court-Circuit (le magazine), Arte, mars 2004

Ten Minutes For John Lennon

Des O’Rawe

2. Shortly before 11.00pm on December 8, 1980, John Lennon and Yoko Ono parked their limousine outside the Dakota Building on the corner of 72nd Street, Manhattan. They were returning home from ‘The Record Plant’ where Ono was recording a new song, ‘Walking on Thin Ice’. As they made their way to the entrance of the building, Mark David Chapman confronted Lennon and shot him repeatedly with a .38 calibre handgun. Lennon was rushed to the Roosevelt Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Later, Ono was taken back to their apartment where groups of mourners had now gathered to light candles, place flowers, sing, and play music. In the early hours of the morning, she sent a message to the growing crowd below instructing them to leave and reassemble the following Sunday at 2.00pm in Central Park for ‘ten minutes of silent prayer’.

On Assignment_Andrew Hetherington from andrew hetherington on Vimeo.

Photographer Andrew Hetherington on the road shooting for Marie Claire magazine.

Do you think the photographer’s life is glamorous ? Think again!

Here is the playlist of all the videos i made during FMM 2010 and a selected choice of photos in a Best Of set.

Na Matriz – OMIRI Maxim Club from Mário Pires on Vimeo.

OMIRI plays “Na Matriz” at Maxim club in Lisbon on 26-02-2010

Flickr Photo Set

Flickr Photoset: Dazkarieh – Hemisférios – S.Jorge

Flickr Photoset: Luísa Amaro-InCanto – Museu do Oriente

Estas reportagens já foram feitas há algum tempo, estavam á espera de um texto que nunca chegou, pelo que mas vale publicar assim do que esperar mais tempo.

These reportage works were made some time ago, better publish now than never.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puSkP3uym5k[/youtube]

I believe that music is the greatest art form there is, it doesn’t matter the instrument you express it, only matters the will and the capacity to express it. In these videos, you can see that magic can be possible with humble instruments.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17ojj7tgrqw[/youtube]

And listen to this recording made in the seventies, of schools kids covering Space Oddity from David Bowie, it’s not perfect in terms of tunning, but that is not really important:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inQlxNy3wdk[/youtube]

(no video, just the music, none was made originaly)

The Langley Schools Music Project

These 1976-77 recordings, captured on a 2-track tape deck in a school gymnasium, weren’t staged to achieve money or fame, to sell albums or land a record contract. These kids played music because they loved it. Innocent, flawed and bittersweet, guided by Fenger’s unsuspecting genius, these recordings deserve to be heard and preserved. They brim with charm and youthful élan, sparked by flashes of lo-fi Spectorian majesty and Pet Sounds subtlety. Call it folk art, outsider, or campfire rock — the labels don’t matter. These are gorgeous, heavenly artifacts. Period.

Dead Combo – FMM 2008 – Malibou Fair from Mário Pires on Vimeo.

Também no / Also on: Youtube

Fui à Galeria Zé dos Bois, para assistir à estreia do documentário de Tiago Pereira B. Fachada – Tradição Oral Contemporânea.
O espaço não tem condições para projecção, já que quem não se sentou teve de ver de pé se não tivesse muitas pessoas mais altas à sua frente, mas eu sou provavelmente um comodista esquisito.
O documentário em si pareceu-me interessante, exclusivamente focado na pessoa de B. Fachada e da sua exploração peculiar da tradição oral e músical portuguesa. Nada contra, irritam-me as interpretações demasiado bafientas e falsamente respeitosas da nossa “tradição”.
As nossas tradições estão disponíveis em livro e gravações, mas raros foram os que se atreveram a reformular isso e a produzir trabalhos que soassem bem e nos quais ainda se pudessem detectar raízes nacionais.

Entrevista a Tiago Pereira from Mário Pires on Vimeo.

Aqui ficam uma curta entrevista que fiz com Tiago Pereira (também disponível no Youtube) e o “trailer” do documentário.

TRAILER bfachada Tradição oral contemporânea from Tiago Pereira on Vimeo.

I attended the premiere of B. Fachada – Tradição Oral Contemporânea, directed by Tiago Pereira, at the Galeria Zé dos Bois. Unfortunately the space is not really made to film projection, and i had a lot of taller people in front of me, so i only managed to see 3/4 of the screen. he documentary is based on the way B. Fachada mingles traditional songs with is urban experience. I have nothing against it, i can’t stand “let’s be respectful of tradition” mode music that only produces crappy music.
Our musical traditions have been preserved in books and records, but rarely has been put to good use.

I made a short interview to Tiago Pereira (also on Youtube), and you can also see the documentary trailer.