Films : Black, White & Green – the way of pie : all
animate! synopsis
In the setting of a traditional London eel and pie house, solitary diners ponder their steaming dinners, each glimpsing a personal landscape within the food on the plate.
Black, White & Green is a meditation on the aesthetics of pie, mash and green liquor, an exploration of the terrain and a revelation of what wriggles just below the surface.
one sentence synopsis
What do YOU see in a plate of pie and mash?
long synopsis
In this world of marble tables, etched glass and tiles the humble London dish of pie, mashed potato and thick green liquor acts as a catalyst for excursions into memory, fantasy or to places best forgotten.
Black White & Green is a meditation on the pie and mash aesthetic – an exploration of the terrain and a revelation of what wriggles just below the surface.
key credits
- director
- Ian Bourn
- writer
- Ian Bourn
- lighting camera
- Patrick Duval
- digital effects
- Asher Edwards
- Max Horton
- compositor
- Daniel Saul
- sound designer
- Graeme Miller
Ian Bourn
biography
Ian is an established artist, working in video since 1978. The East End of London, where he was born and still lives, is also the site of his work. In 1985 he founded Housewatch, the artists’ group specialising in public film events.
His films draw on characters from his past and present, their language and sense of humour, to create fiction and metaphor that has an authentic ring to it.
Recent video works include Monolog and The Kiss . Computer imaging is a significant departure for his practice.
September 2003
filmography
Lenny’s Documentary 1978 B/W video 45minsThe End Of The World 1982 Col video 10minsSick As A Dog 1989 Col video 25minsOut Of It 1991 Col video 1minBreathing Days 1992 Col video 14minsMonolog 1998 Col video 46minsThe Kiss 1999 Col video 5mins (also gallery installation)Alfred Hitchcock 2000 Col video 26minsBlack White & Green 2003 Col video 7mins
a film by Ian Bourn
direction
- director
- Ian Bourn
script
- writer
- Ian Bourn
cast in picture
- players
- John Ellis
- Dave Bourn
- Eileen Bourn
- Elaine McIntyre
- Yoshimi Kihara
- Alan Freedman
live-action personnel
- lighting camera
- Patrick Duval
image personnel
- digital effects
- Asher Edwards
- Max Horton
- compositor
- Daniel Saul
sound personnel
- sound designer
- Graeme Miller
support
- primary funding
An animate! production through Finetake for Arts Council England and Channel 4
© Ian Bourn 2003
Black, White & Green title card
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“It’s definitely a horse. It is a horse. Definitely… Look at the shape of the head.”
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“It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I like miniature villages.”
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“The best time is in winter…. That’s when it does you the most good.”
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“At an appointed time, after a certain number of days, after work and before what you are going to make of the evening…”
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“It’s that lull between the schedules, when there’s pleasure to be had in allowing yourself to be administered to.”
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“... And there is a cowboy.”
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“Slide along… Don’t worry about a knife. You won’t need that.”
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“You sit in the relative peace and calm, contemplating your untouched dinner… Its virgin landscape.”
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“Pies are not cut. They are broken.”
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“Remember. Vinegar is unavoidable. Without it there is nothing.”
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“The green is the chopped leaves of parsley…”
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“... held in suspension.”
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“It’s the whole world on a plate.”
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“Elephant. Mammoth. Africa.”
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“It is not England, I’m sure. It could be Italy I suppose but…”
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“There is a group of people sitting on the rocks by the shore…”
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“... and they are all looking at the boat.”
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“And behind those people is a wavy expanse of big fat rocks.”
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“And everyone was running towards the sea except me…”
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“Looks very hot there… Very hot…”
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“I couldn’t get away from it quick enough…”
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“I can see a block of flats…”
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“The basement… Into the basement.”
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“I’ve got no idea how you get rid of toads. There’s no such thing as toad poison is there?”
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“I just felt myself being pulled over… over the edge…”
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technical
process summary
A combination of live-action, shot on DigiBeta, and digitally-recreated 3D space.
Black, White & Green is a mixture of live action and computer generated imagery, with real people and food shot against blue-screen and composited into an imaginary restaurant environment created in a 3D graphics program. The close-up food shots were done using a borescope lens and the ‘animation’ of the food was in fact filmed ‘live’ and moved by means of (off screen) forks and spoons.
The voice over narration is that of the author (Ian Bourn) and contributions by the participating actors, who were responding to images of pie and mash dinners and asked to describe what these images suggested to them. The sound recordings and the overall sound design was devised by sound artist Graeme Miller.
master copy format
- format
- DigiBeta
- colour or black & white
- colour
video distribution format
- video format
- DigiBeta
- screen aspect ratio
- 16:9
- video standard
- PAL
- sound type
- stereo
distributor
LUX
info@lux.org.uk
+44 (0)20 7503 3980
www.lux.org.uk
