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Jeremy Pelzer's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' - 20 filmic tableaux

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Move to stills thumb

Move to stills

This is a post from the weareoca.com archive. Information contained within it may now be out of date.

‘Then there were the movies.

From the great films I learned

To look and to see.’

(Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1952)

David Puttnam, the British film producer and educator, has observed that more people see a movie still than will see the movie. The potential to reach an audience of millions through a single image has captured the imagination of OCA photography student Jeremy Pelzer to such an extent that he is making the move from movies to stills, a change in carer direction the opposite direction of that which most people might expect. 

Jeremy was given his first camera, a 35mm film Pentax, when he was just 11 years old. He was still using the SLR as he approached his late teens, documenting family and school life right through to when he took his A levels, before accepting a place at Aberystwyth University to study for a degree in film and theatre studies. The first year of a degree in theatre and film studies at Aberystwyth University behind him, Jeremy decided the best way to learn about the film industry was to work in it. 15 years in film production and at Ealing and Elstree Studios followed.
The real glamour of the film industry for Jeremy comes from the single shot that, for a major release, will gain an international following of movie enthusiasts even before the film is on general release. The ambition to become a still photographer is rooted in Jeremy’s childhood. His stepfather was head of exhibition photography at the National History Museum and his stepson had the freedom to explore the empty galleries when the museum was closed to the public.  Jeremy was even used as a model for photographs featured in the gallery Origin of Species.
JP
Today, 20 new images will be introduced to a public audience for the first time when his one-man show Jeremy Pelzer’s Midsummer Night’s Dream’ opens at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre. The series of composed filmic tableaux, which Jeremy submitted for his latest level 3 OCA assignment, examine the themes and ironies in Shakespeare’s comedy. The dramatist was the starting point for Jeremy as he saw plays as a way to experiment as a photographer with the idea of taking on the joint roles of director, designer, cinematographer and editor. When he began the project, he had no fixed idea about whether the work would be in colour or black and white. In the final 20 images, there are both.
The planning and organisation of the photographic shoot mirrored a film production process, highly collaborative with call sheets for each of the cast and crew across two intense days photographing, complete with a synopsis of the action being shot. Call, make-up and on-set times for each member of the cast were accompanied by notes for electrical, props, costume, make-up and hair. Storyboards, which Jeremy drew himself, were put together for each of the featured scenes and used to pre-visualise the positioning of the characters, scenes, lighting, and set design.
A major influence on his work is the unit photographer Keith Hamshere, who has been creating stills of James Bond films since 1980 and who Jeremy assisted as a runner on the 1995 Bond film Goldeneye. Other influences are George Whitear (Star Wars Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back), Terry O’Neill (portraits of, amongst others, Frank Sinatra, Bridget Bardot, Elizabeth Taylor and David Bowie), Jay Maidment (Cloud Atlas and The Bourne Supremacy) and Alex Bailey  (The Iron Lady and Never Let Me Go).
Jeremy Pelzer’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ coincides with Sheffield Theatre’s new production of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys, a play about a group of pupils who find their education is to continue for longer than they thought as they embark on studying for Oxbridge entry. The venue and the show couldn’t be more appropriate for Jeremy’s exhibition, as his early love was theatre and his studies have begun again – in his thirties.
Plans to become a still photographer haven’t replaced his love of making movies. He is currently co-producing Dream On, a feature film based upon the critical hit and international best-selling book of the true-life golfing challenge undertaken by John Richardson. The film follows the comic trials, tribulations and ultimate alienation of a simple man in pursuit of a dream. Production begins at the end of this month (May 2013).
 


Posted by author: Elizabeth Underwood

9 thoughts on “Move to stills

  • I wonder if David sees any difference in filmic and theatrical stills- the construction of them, the logistics and the finished look. It would be interesting to know as both plays and films are referred to.

  • Both are very similar disciplines, focusing heavily upon performance, gesture and expression. Theatre is by definition more staged, often with a heightened sense of drama; film more often favours naturalism, and whilst conveying the performance remains central, perhaps there is greater emphasis in the film still is upon capturing the wider design, lighting and ‘look’ of a motion picture. I’d suggest that in equal measure both require close collaboration and strong relationships with cast and crew alike. JP

  • I’m really pleased that you are exhibiting this work, Jeremy. I saw it at assessment last year and was extremely impressed by the quality of your imagery and the depth of your research. All the best for the show and for your future photography.

  • I was disappointed that there’s no link to look at more of Jeremy’s work. Level 3 students do seem to hide their light behind a bushel a lot of the time which is a shame as there’s a lot to learn from them. I was expecting Jeff Wall to be mentioned somewhere a I’ve often thought his work is like film stills.
    Best of luck with the exhibition and feature film Jeremy.

  • Thanks Jesse & hi Catherine. Sorry for ‘hiding’ away, I’ve found that returning to the authenticity of a physical handwritten journal for Level 3 has proven the best medium to record my thoughts and progress. It also allows me to collate a wider variety of visual materials and references along the way, an invaluable resource when communicating or collaborating with others. I’ve referenced Jeff Wall lots in the past couple of years and naturally continue to enjoy his work, often drawing upon it for inspiration –
    “Photography, cinema and painting, have been interrelated since the appearance of the newer arts, and the aesthetic criteria of each are informed by the other two media to the extent that it could be claimed that there is almost a single set of criteria for the three art forms. The only additional or new element is movement in the cinema.” (Jeff Wall cited on p.80, Costello, D. (2007) After Medium Specificity Chez Fried: Jeff Wall as a Painter; Gerhard Richter as a Photographer. In: Elkins, J. (ed.) Photography Theory. 1stEdition. New York: Routledge
    Coincidentally Jesse kindly recommended a book to me a couple of years ago – Campany, D. (2008) Photography and Cinema. 1st Edition. London: Reaktion Books in which the author likewise cites Jeff Wall, as saying “no picture could exist today without having the trace of the film still in it, at least no photograph” (p.127).

    • Thanks for the links Jeremy. I have often wondered why Jeff Wall didn’t move into directing films. Also, it’s often occurred to me, when watching TV, that much of what I see, in drama, for example, would be excellent as individual photographs and yet the cameramen/women never seem to get recognised for that.

  • Hi Jeremy….first of all congratulations on your exhibition! I would love to see the photographs but don’t think I will be able to get to see them in real life. Are the images available to view on-line.
    I was wondering also about your comment above that ‘there is almost a single set of criteria for the three art forms’ and trying to figure out if I agree with this statement. For example it seems to me that in cinema the direct frontal gaze is a ‘no no’ whereas in photographic portraiture it is very common. Another difference is that with a still photograph has to be constructed to stand alone and the viewer is able to pause, observe and read the image in their own terms. In cinema on the other hand the action moves on and what is seen when is controlled by the director
    ….just my thoughts…very best wishes and congrats once again.

  • Hi Keith, apologies for the delay in responding however I’ve recently been immersed in another project. The comment you’ve drawn upon is a cited quotation from Jeff Wall, not my own.
    A ‘signpost’, rather than a statement, to the similarities between the different mediums, my interpretation is that Wall simply proposes each medium may inform the other two heavily in an interdisciplinary environment; that no format can be mutually exclusive of another.
    With some notable exceptions (Olivier’s Richard III), you’re quite right to point out that direct address is uncommon in cinema.
    A ‘little’ smaller than the prints produced, if you wanted to peruse some of the images from my series, I’ve reordered some of the stills so that they’re at the top of my personal website gallery – http://www.jeremypelzer.com/portfolio/Productions
    Thanks and best wishes

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