Tryst

‘Tryst’ is a film project; devised, created, developed and edited by Nelson diplexcito and Sheila Churcher over a three-year period. The initial motivation was to research the relationship between the material of film and digital technologies through the processes of collation and editorial decision-making to examine whether, with the advent of digital technologies in moving image production, a hybrid form of film production was possible. Such a cinematic form would not rely on the orthodox ‘script to screen’ procedures but would develop through process, intuition and Proustian association as a form as direct as writing or drawing, where images and sound could be added, recalled and retrieved instantly, mirroring aspects of perception, sensory and associative memory.

Through the processes of production, Tryst explored temporal and spatial coherence through its distinctive visual appearance and juxtaposition of analogue and digital technologies. The images and sounds were comprised of documentary and fictional approaches, where the aim was to produce an interdisciplinary and polysemic work.

In addition to crossing boundaries and genres, the work also attempted to be self-reflexive, examining the filmmaking process itself. The processes involved highlighted the ontology of selected images, sequences and shots that offered resistance, whilst others were conducive to temporal/ spatial manipulation and subsequent change in meaning. This was an important discovery in working with both analogue and digital technologies and in the development of future projects.