“Fault” By Mike Walsh

Minimal and elegant, “Fault” is a music video directed by Niquel for Mike Walsh.

The short film IN MEDIAS RUSH is an experimental cinematic journey into the depths of a manic mind. A poetic retro-sci-fi narrative unfolded in a string of unsettling tableaus that encapsulates the male protagonist’s ambiguous feelings about his birthday. While balancing between realities in his silent struggle with severe mental illness, we plunge into the film at a neatly orchestrated birthday party. The protagonist is accompanied by his girlfriend, and they are drinking cocoa on the couch in their mutual home. The setting breathes pure perfection, but through the voice over we sense that another reality is soon to be revealed. With one foot on the accelerator, he is heading towards the edge. The thematic focal point of IN MEDIAS RUSH is mental health problems among young adults, and the social/personal consequences related to the existing taboo on the subject. The film wishes to formulate an honest cinematic space in which words, sound, and image artistically interprets and articulates some of the perspectives related to especially bipolar, anxiety, and psychotic disorders. IN MEDIAS RUSH was nominated in the category 'Best Danish Short Film' at Copenhagen Short Film Festival in 2020. Original title: IN MEDIAS RÆS Directed by: Esben Persson -------------------- DK: IN MEDIAS RÆS IN MEDIAS RÆS er en filmisk rejse ind i dybderne af et manisk sind. En ung mand fejrer sin fødselsdag, mens hans tanker tordner afsted. Med en uvillig fod på speederen har han kurs mod kanten. FR: IN MEDIA RES IN MEDIA RES est un voyage dans les profondeurs d’un esprit maniaque. Un jeune homme fête son anniversaire tandis que ses pensées se multiplient. Malgré lui, il se dirige vers un point de non-retour. -------------------- Cast: Peter Alexander Bach & Amanda Overby Drew Director // Script writer // Set designer // Costume designer // Editor // Speaker: Esben Persson Photographer // Editor: Lasse Mølsted Producer: Latifa Lykke Ben Mabrouk Assistant producer: Cecilie Creutsberg Music composer: Martin Bejder Sound designer: Mads Hye Chief Lighting Technician: Rasmus Bruun Liboriussen VFX: Jonas Fonnesbæk Lodahl Colorist: Kristopher Paterson Graphic designer: Jakob Toft Kristensen -------------------- Shot on RED Monstro 8K with Lomo Squarefront Anamorphics.

Fault is a song about forgiveness and forgetting, and we wanted both Her (Susana Oriot) and Him (Mike Walsh) to subtly reflect these ideas. They strip off their clothes, revealing vulnerable bodies that contrast with minimalist ceramic sculptures: incorruptible, solid and alien to the passage of time. The relationships that are established between the bodies and their clothes, the sculptures and the protagonists, the lights and shadows, are the axis of the music video.

The art direction, by Inés Azagra Prego, was key in marking the stylistic character of the video: the 2D red and blue squares that frame the characters work well with the movements of the camera, adding depth to the image.

The costume design, by Paddy Walsh, is also more prominent than usual, since the clothes themselves and how they are removed have a narrative meaning. His sober choices of straight and symmetrical cuts mark how Him and Her interact, and mimics their forced poses.

Finally, Alberto León, the project’s director of photography, opted to work with celluloid film (in this case super 16mm) as it generates many more textures on flat surfaces (such as the studio wall) than digital film. Also, the reaction of the natural grain of the film adds organic movement to shots where the camera is fixed. It was shot with a Kodak 500T, and the film was overexposed a step and a half to have a less contrasted image and a more controlled grain, which Teresa Giménez finished off through remarkable colour grading.

Credits

Starring: Susana Oriot, Mike Walsh
Director and editor: Niquel
Producer: Eva Bodas
DOP: Alberto Leon
Gaffer: Andrea Moran
1st AC: Mario de Barrio
Auxi: Marina de Tena
Grip: Aitana Rodriguez
Art Director: Ines Azagra
Art Assistants: Placido R. Bonnin, Pia Kala
Stylist: Patrick Walsh
Driver: Sara Escribano
Still photo: Rodrigo Moran
Make-up: Maria Hernandez
Color grading: Teresa Gimenez (color en movimiento)

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