NPR posted an interview today with director Vincent Morisset about the reflexive filmmaking he used for his 75-minute Sigur Ros documentary, "INNI." Morisset previously directed Arcade Fire doc "Mirroir Noir," but this time around he took inspiration from Neil Young's organic approach to the "Dead Man" soundtrack, which Young composed as he watched the finished visual footage. This was the "direct and simple" foundation for Morisset's complex harnessing of instincts:
We printed a positive copy of the film and then projected INNI on a screen. With hands and different translucent objects in front of the projector's lens, we were able to distort and transform the image. The handmade effects were then recaptured by a digital camera filming the screen. The music was playing in the dark room. The whole process was instinctive. We shot several times each song and then re-edited the whole film with the most interesting moments. With these multiple generations of transfer we lost details in the image. The mood became dreamy, the gestures and compositions almost abstract. We never wanted to do something retro. For us, it was about taking advantage of the best of two worlds. For the animation interludes, Olivier Goulx, Raoul Paulet and I also worked with our hands, recreating in a living room natural phenomena that echoed the visuals from the tour. Raindrops done with broken mirrors, clouds in aquarium, flashlight tricks, etc...
In the end though, what we wanted was to translate the intensity and immense beauty of the Sigur Rós live experience.
Sounds complicated, but it makes sense when you see it in action. Here's a gorgeous clip of the song "Festival":
"Inni" is set to release this November. You can read the rest of the interview at NPR's All Songs Considered blog.