On the
scene festival
On the
scene festival
Pigeon Holding
Spotlight on ...
Liv Douglas
(Director)
Where did the idea of Pigeon Holding come from?
Role Play sees Tim and Lucy, a couple struggling to revive their relationship, experiment with some role-playing, in a failing attempt to spice things up. But things take a bizarre turn when a unexpected visitor named Mick appears in their home. Pigeon Holding is a project I made when I was studying at the Glasgow School of Art, researching the community of pigeon keepers based in Glasgow. I cycled past these strange looking huts one day and wanted to learn more about what they are and the people who use them. They’re known as Dookits and they’re usually built by hand from sheets of metal, by people who use them to keep pigeons in. People compete with each other to try and catch each other’s birds. I became really interested in the close relationship that seems to exist between the men who use the huts and the birds they look after. There is a real tenderness there that I found reflected in the relationship between people and birds more generally. I wanted to try and find ways to communicate that closeness, the way we live alongside each other.
Your animation style includes mixed media. Can you tell us about your technical process for making this short?
The visual language of this film developed alongside all the research I was doing into the pigeon keepers, and it felt like the two grew together in a really nice way. I was doing lots of material experimentation, initially using drawing to try and capture the movement of birds in as few shapes or frames as possible. Some experimenting with photocopying and collaging photographs together to recreate these shapes led me to the technique I use in this film. Using photos felt like the best way to communicate all the ideas I wanted to get across from my research - connecting people and birds in a simple visual language. I liked the way the photos felt like they already had a story within them, that could bring a kind of nostalgic feeling into the film, adding more than just the movement.
How did you initially find your style? And do you have any advice for an animator who is looking to build their own visual style?
I’m not sure how much advice I can give as I feel like I’m definitely still finding my style as an animator! I think just making work and trying new things is the only way to really find what works - and showing people! From my experience, if you have any small idea, it’s best to get it down on paper or test it out as soon as possible, and often those small ideas are what develop into bigger projects. If you lead from making the things you just want to make, even if you’re not sure why, then the outcome is a lot more likely to feel like your own.
What are you currently working on? Do you have any upcoming projects we can keep an eye out for?
I actually just finished working on a new film which will be out next year! The film is called ‘Hereabouts’, and it follows a young woman’s journey home on a commuter train. It’s about the in-between nature of travelling, sharing such an intimate space (and part of your day) with strangers. I wanted to show the way a commute can give you the time to drift off in the rhythms of the train and the landscape passing by out the window. This film is also mixed media - combining recorded footage and hand drawn animation. ‘Hereabouts’ was commissioned as part of a funding scheme called Little Pictures, run by GMAC. You can see some more information about the film on their website - or some drawings and snippets on my instagram @liv.dugdale.art
What’s your biggest piece of filmmaking advice for making a short film? Do you have any art/film/creative inspirations that help influence you work?
I take inspiration from a lot of different mediums, but recently I’ve been a lot more interested in photography. I saw an exhibition of Francesca Woodman’s photographs at the National Portrait Gallery last year and I was so moved by them! I love their dream-like quality, and something in the simplicity and high contrast in the compositions really interests me. They feel so emotive and atmospheric, like each photo has a story or memory behind it. In terms of film, I have a few favourites but one director I always come back to is Mike Mills. I love the way he combines so many different mediums - essays, photographs, music, archive footage - in a way that just makes his films feel really exciting to me, even after watching them so many times. Somehow he manages to fit themes that feel so big and universal into really intimate stories. In terms of drawing, I’m forever inspired by David Hockney. His work spanned across so many different mediums and his lifelong commitment to observing the world around him is really inspiring!
"I love their dream-like quality, and something in the simplicity and high contrast in the compositions really interests me. They feel so emotive and atmospheric, like each photo has a story or memory behind it"
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