Exploring in-camera filmmaking using the Bolex camera & 16mm film
Experiments in 16mm
Spring 2025. The New School.
Below are 4 “experimental” films that were shot on 16mm Kodak film as short intensive projects as one-day shoots. The only edits are in sound & colorgrade. Every effect seen is done in camera while shooting with the Bolex. Thematically they explore my love for the fantastical and surreal as well as history & the influences behind my work (ranging from Medieval imagery to the New York 60s Factory avant-garde scene).
Using techniques that date back to the birth of cinema and the trick films of Georges Melies to create in-camera effects and "ready-made" projects that go straight from the camera to the screen.
Matte
Kodak Tri-X Black-and-White Reversal Film/7266. Hand processed, developed, & scanned at Parsons.
“This was my second time shooting on my own with the Bolex and on 16mm with a group of two other first time bolex using classmates. We ran into a pickle loading the film as it all unraveled inside the camera while shooting instead of feeding into the take up spool which led to 1/9 of the roll getting exposed to light. But the 9 feet of film that we captured reflects a wonderfully fun and creative time we had playing with a matte box. It reminded me of The Factory & The Velvet Underground…very 60s…” —Jessie Keogh
“Portrait of A girl written by Lewis Carroll, Perhaps”
Kodak VISION3 500T Color Negative Film 5219/7219. Processed, developed, & scanned by Mono No Aware.
“I was assigned to do a portrait of something on one 100 foot roll of film. Katherine Lightman, a dear friend of mine, became my muse for this project as she is full of all sorts of whimsical oddities that remind me of Alice in Wonderland and her curious mind while also being the most entertaining and groovy dancer I know. I explored all sorts of fun with double exposures and in camera effects that tell a dreamlike anecdote of Katie in Wonderland.” — Jessie Keogh
“Medieval Yearrning”
Kodak VISION3 500T Color Negative Film 5219/7219. Processed, developed, & scanned by Mono No Aware.
“Over the past year and a half while I was researching traditional Irish & Celtic folklore I found myself growing fond of the medieval era imagery and aesthetics. The Met Cloisters has become a little haven of escape from the modern world in NYC and so I decided to capture this ever inspiring and comforting museum on 16mm” — Jessie Keogh
“All of The Angels”
Kodak VISION3 500T Color Negative Film 5219/7219. Processed, developed, & scanned by Kodak Labs NYC.
“I watched Wild At Heart (1992) by David Lynch after his passing and it changed my life and this is a result of that. Make what you will of it. It’s a metaphor to a million things, whichever resonates with you let it be that meaning. Starring my angel Saoise Reynolds.” — Jessie Keogh