Four New Cinéma Vérité Music Videos by Kristie Muller

In the cinematic world Kristie Muller, characters seem contented to simply exist. Outside of time inside her unconventionally-sized frames, they writhe, speak to themselves, and truly dance like no one's watching. Produced by Dylan Aiello, the newest set comprises four music videos made in collaboration with four different artists. In "a dope hit" for Torontonian beatmaker Guy Dallas, a woman suns herself near what looks like a sewer; silhouetted against the sunset, a man who could be an oil worker kicks and falls like a court jester in "drive right" for Dylan iii; a child plays in a pile of cinder blocks in "animal" for LA Timpa; while a woman smokes and sips from a 2-liter soda bottle (reminiscent of Swansea Love Story) in "Young 'n' EZ" for Soupcans.

Muller's work previously appeared on VICE back in 2013 under the name "Baller." Since then, the photographer and video artist has pursued her particular style of shooting, earning herself a place in the artist-run Feelings Film Festival earlier this year. "Up till this year most of my work has been photography and some sculpture. This is some of the first video work I'm making public," Muller tells The Creators Project.

"For the series I collaborated with four different musicians that were all able to give me full creative freedom. […] In my photos I've formed different characters and themes that I further expose through motion in these videos. I like the idea of the camera playing a role in the plot development and physically reacting to what's happening. The editing was focused on the manipulation of movement, choreographed with and against the music."

Of her directorial process, Muller explains, "I give the people I'm filming approximate scenarios, how they're feeling, what they're seeing, where they are. The instruction is mostly suggestive and separate from the final intention. I'll provoke them with conversation, with physical direction, and gather improvised reactions until I have what I need to paint the picture. It's fast and exhausting, continually shooting, while they're responding or resting unaware of the camera." The results are not unlike the more-experimental earlier works of Harmony Korine or Ulrich Seidl; in a word, sublime.

Watch the collection below:

Click here to visit Kristie Muller's website.

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