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‘Frames, Lens’, 2012 by Sam Smith is a 2-channel video installation that explores perception, time and space of video by exposing the raw actions of film, instead of disguising or hiding them. This work is one of his most progressed pieces as an artist and shows his developed interest in the processes of film. The work exposes the temporal and special possibilities of two cameras in one location (QAGOMA, 2012). Using a 16mm film camera from 1875 alongside a contemporary digital cinema camera, the action of Smith, the director, and the camera movements, explore the interior of an art-deco office space (UQ Art Museum, 2012).
The interplay of subject matter, the device, and the plain Smith uses to explore the space invites a philosophical contemplation on seeing and looking as well as on the relationship between the observed and the observer (UQ Art Museum, 2012). Traditional and popular video works generally aim to totally hide the presence of mechanics of film, whereas Smith’s intention is to create a unique perspective to each channel. Smith uses the art-deco office space to explore and expose cinematic language, reduced to its most basic composition and montage, in order to achieve a unique perspective (QAGOMA, 2012). Smith plays the role of the director and operates the action from within the frame (QAGOMA, 2012). He controls the tension between the camera-object and the camera-angle. The two cameras capture the subject matter and in doing so expose their age, mechanics, optics, and recording media delivery, creating a unique perspective to each channel (QAGOMA, 2012).
Smith uses a two-channel video and techniques of zoom and rotation to establish perspective and “fractured narrative”. One channel of video conveys the action of the film set, while the other interweaves the perspective of the film being shot, ultimately creating the ‘film within the film’ (QAGOMA, 2012). The film starts with Smith manually adjusting the focus on an older model 16mm camera, while at the same time, the right channel displays the camera’s progress constructed by him (UQ Art Museum, 2012). The video is silent, which heightens the visual aesthetics and intention of the film in order to expose the raw qualities of film and assess the interplay of camera-subject and camera-angle. The 2-channel perspective invites the viewer to contemplate the way they see everyday spaces by always being able to see two versions of viewing. Lighting is used to capture and illuminate different spaces and objects within the room, often fading in and out of darkness. This emphasizes the opposing camera-channel, which is continuously changing position. Circular objects are a recurring theme in this work. Natural light forms in circles, objects on the walls are circular, and the camera lenses are circular. These shapes contrast with the ridged rectangular shapes of the rooms framing. These shapes are formed when Smith zooms in on a circular object so far it turns to blackness and transforms into the rectangular shape of the screen.
During the film, the cameras focus on each other twice. It appears as though one camera faces its future and the other its history (UQ Art Museum, 2012). While one lens is heavily focused on an object, the other screen is black or showing an opposing perspective of the space. Smith often comes into the camera and video space, again challenging perspective and the barriers of film. Instead of hiding the process of film making, Smith shows his control of both devices (UQ Art Museum, 2012).
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