Film Concept

Play soundtrack while reading about the concept for the film.

Walking around the city of Palma, I was struck by the rhythmic nature of the urban grain. There is a clear pattern formed from contraction and expansion of the built fabric.

As you walk through narrow city streets of old Palma and Es Jonquet with tall buildings on either side there is a strong feeling of enclosure, often very shaded with an acoustic echo which reinforces the constrained nature of the space. There is a subtle sense of mounting anticipation when at the end of a long narrow route one sees a light space with a suggestion of more activity beyond.

These spaces, are public squares or could be defined as ‘city courtyards’ which are the pulse of the city. They punctuate its otherwise dense and claustrophobic nature, with light spaces for leisure and social interactions. These spaces can be varied in form, function, feeling but can be defined by their affect on the pedestrian walking through the streets. They offer a sort of relief from the narrowness and these spaces seem to be where Mallorcan daily life plays out.

The concept is to capture the rhythm of the city within a short film, which documents the nature of the spaces that have become the pulse of Palma, the ‘city of courtyards’.

The film will be edited to illustrate a proportional representation of time and space within the city. This will give the viewer a real experience of the 'lungs of the city' idea and will be achieved by speeding the footage up through the long and narrow alleys of old Palma and then slowing down to absorb the ‘pulse’ of light and activity in one of Palmas many public courtyard spaces.

This journey through the city will start in the district of Es Jonquet before traveling inside the old city walls and the old city and back to the site again through Santa Catalina.

The rhythm of the city will be highlighted along this journey with glimpses of key events, such as profiles of the local people going about their daily routines and influential architectural patterns, which form a rhythmic beat along which the city follows.

The music, ‘God moving over the face of the waters’ by Moby, was selected for its feeling of anticipation. It has two overlapping rhythms, the quick but slightly erratic beat relates to the narrow streets and lively activities, with a slow and steady interlude relating to the city courtyards with a feeling of space.

Below are some of my sketches from our field trip, which illustrate the types of spatial experiences I have described above.