When STAR WARS came to my local cinema in 1977 I was 7 and it spawned my interest for visual effects and fantasy driven storytelling! I grew up in the golden age of optical and in-camera effects- the 1980s. By the time I studied film in Ludwigsburg, Germany the analog way of movie making was dying out. All the things that fascinated me were replaced by new tools or more specifically by one - the computer.

Although today digital is the go-to way to make stop motion, I wanted to go back to the old way of doing things for “The Lighthouse Keeper” in a way paying tribute to all the idols that I continue to look up to.

I was fortunate to still be able to learn and shoot on 35mm film during my film school days and in the first years of my working life thereafter. Lucky for me analog equipment got cheaper because of the digital revolution, so I could afford to buy my first Mitchell camera.

For the “The Lighthouse Keeper” I wanted to go down a new route and shoot it in the classic visual effects format Vista Vision that  ILM used in the 70dies and 80dies!

It took me years and a lot of patience to get all the Vista Vision gear together. I ended up with a Stein Vista Vision that was owned by Robert Blalack a FRIES-Vista Vision that belonged to DIGITAL DOMAIN and finally a Vista Vision-Projector that was used in the Matte-Department at ILM. And I also got hold of an OXBERRY optical printer with VV-movements to do the composites. 

In a way I was using the tools or “weapons” of the of the past analogue “war” long gone, against the now digital might of the present day visual effects world in a David against Goliath fight in Stop Motion done Guerrilla Style! 

My small budget required that this guerrilla work ethic continue down to the way I made my sets with repurposed found objects or materials for everything down to costumes, props and even puppets.

In my talk I will tell the story of how I tried to stick to my analogue approach through Covid and the increasing lack of film labs and infrastructure keeping my dream alive to make a project with the tools that inspired me to be a filmmaker in the first place.