FUTURE-ROCKER'S FIRST ISSUE STARTS HERE! - scroll down to view contents!

BITING ELBOWS - 'BAD MOTHERFUCKER' - VIDEO AND INTERVIEW

'R' RATING: Mildly bloody, extreme jeopardy, crazy stunts, bad language and time travel. 

INTERVIEW WITH SINGER / DIRECTOR ILYA NAISHULLER

A friend forwarded the jaw-dropping video from Russia's Biting Elbows the other day. Entitled 'Bad Motherfucker ( Insane Office Escape 2 )', it's a wildly inventive and sprawling gangster shoot-em-up, with a nifty sci-fi element. We had to call up the director Ilya Naishuller and find out how they did it.

Hi Ilya. The Biting Elbows video is, quite possibly, the greatest pop promo I've ever seen. The band is not known yet in the West - how long have Biting Elbows been going?

- We've been around in our current form since 2009, and this is our third release.


- It's a pretty high-energy track - what are the band's musical influences?

- Everyone in the band loves different stuff, like Sublime, Rancid, Pixies, Violent Femmes, Smiths, Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, The Clash etc.

- Did you study at film school? The video is amazing!

- No, I haven't studied film-making anywhere. Rodriguez and Woo were an influence, but only among many others on a long list.

- I would definitely recommend Rodriguez' classic book 'Rebel without a Crew'.

- I'm gonna sound pompous but I read that book in '95 or so..!

- Ha-ha, I'm putting that in the interview! So how long did the video take to prepare?

- We had a total of nine shooting days, however, it took almost a year to make, as a lot of time was invested into planning and finding finances.

- I was going to say that all the actors all look like professional stuntmen. Was it very expensive to shoot?

- All our budget went into stunts. We had one professional stuntman - he is the guy running away from the main character - and he was also directing the stunts. We had a group of four professionals behind the cameras making sure all the stunts ( jumps, falls, etc. ) go smoothly. The main character is performed by Sergey Valyaev, who is a parcour performer. The rest were just friends.

- Was it complicated to choreograph?

- The choreography was difficult indeed, and was a result of many trials and error. You come up with an idea, then find a location, then come up with an idea again; then come up with a filming crew and come up with yet another idea... And every time you have to look and change, look and change, and so on. The only simple scenes are those where it's just running.

- Thanks for the interview, and congratulations on a great piece of work!

- Thanks Alexi, and good luck out there - !

BITING ELBOWS WEBSITE

Breaking News: There will be an announcement from Ilya soon, regarding a full-blown feature film. Stay tuned!

- Interview by Alexi K with Ivan Borisov.

ASTRONAUT CHRIS HADFIELD'S COVER OF 'SPACE ODDITY'

Going viral as we speak: Superb cover version and beautiful video. Probably the best PR move for the space program since one giant leap..!

Plus! New films about ''sitting in a tin can''...

FRANK SAUER - 'LIGHT-EMITTING DUDES' - LED FREERUNNING

There will be a FUTURE-ROCKER interview, and more films from Frank, in the near future.

CANDAS SISMAN: 'AVATAR' ( 2009 ) - A SYNTHESIS OF TECHNOLOGY AND DANCE

''I think my best teacher was the internet and my observations.''

10 min.

2009

Visuals: Candas Sisman - csismn.com

Sound design: Mert Kizilay - myspace.com/mertkizilay

Choreography: Yigit Daldikler

Concept: Neylan Ogutveren

Performance: Yigit Daldikler

'Avatar', a 2009 film by Candas Sisman, is from a dance performance based around the idea of a person's on-screen alter-ego. It questions how much of ourselves we upload, and the subsequent 'disconnection' from real life.

- It's a mesmerising film, Candas. Who and what inspires you?

- I had a lot of influences in that period, my main influence was everything :)...If I can be more specific: Music, technology, science, nature, culture, psychology and the internet. Artists and festivals were also my influence, such as  Olafur Eliasson, Carsten Nikolai, Ryoichi Kurokawa, Mauricio Kagel, Anti VJ, Pe Lang, Tokujin Yoshioka, Tristan Perich, UVA, Antoni Tapies, Thomas McIntosh, Ars Electronica, Elektra, Transmediale. 

- How did you put the film together - the film is a blend of computer graphics and organic shapes. Did you design the computer graphics, too?

- Yes, I designed a lot of different graphics with different techniques and combined them together. I love combining contrasting things, because everything has its own value.

On the technical side, I created the digital animations in After Effects and Cinema 4D, and  some video shots. Then I mixed and composited them together in After Effects.

- Where did you learn to make these beautiful visuals? College? University? Life?

- I graduated from fine art school ten years ago, but there was no teacher that helped me  or that saw my point of view. In Turkey, art education is more conservative. I think my best teacher was the internet and my observations.

Candas Sisman's Website 

PREVIEW: PILOTPRIEST

There will be an interview with Anthony Scott Burns about his quasi-eighties-soundtrack revivalism in the next issue. In the meantime, here's a great fan video from Youtube, using footage from the movies of French New Wave Director Georges-Henri Clouzot ( of Les Diaboliques fame )...

PILOTPRIEST / BODY DOUBLE

From ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK, 2012

THE FUTURE-ROCKER, by ALEXI K

This is a character I developed a while back. He symbolises a do-it-yourself, gung-ho attitude. He has an optimism of the future: You have to forge ahead regardless, and not let anything get in your way.

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ALEXI K WEBSITE

If you want to be in FUTURE-ROCKER, send us your art / photography / words.

3 jpegs, reasonably sized. Go to CONTACT tab at the top of this page.

VIDEODROME: RETRO-FUTUROID POP PROMOS

JANELLE MONAE feat. ERYKAH BADU / Q.U.E.E.N.

From THE ELECTRIC LADY, 2013

Directed by Alan Ferguson

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PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING / SIGNAL 30

From EDUCATE ENTERTAIN, 2013



Directed by Alex Kemp

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LADYHAWKE / MY DELIRIUM

From LADYHAWKE, 2008

Directed by Benji Davies and Jim Field / Frater

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STRAIGHT TO BETAMAX - OUR BONUS MOVIE PRESENTATION!

ELIMINATORS (1986)

Our Beta-scholar Tom Lee Rutter says: This little sci-fi action gem was brought to us back in the glorious days of Empire films, before Charles Band introduced us to Full Moon Features. The films had stronger characters - and more charm - than in the later Full Moon-produced flicks. ( Tom is Director of Carnie Film Productions, UK ).

AI WEIWEI - 'DUMBASS'

SONG: AI WEIWEI / MUSIC: ZUOXIAO ZUZHUO

CINEMATOGRAPHY: CHRISTOPHER DOYLE

From: The Divine Comedy, 2013 ( released 22nd June ).