John Ulfr Lovell is, undoubtedly, under your radar, and that's a damn shame. Located in the Winnipeg, the city of "Muddy Waters," John works in the medium of film. Producing short, DIY movies, he explores themes of personal darkness and despair. His work is characterized by its minimalism. He is the only actor, there is normally one camera, and there is no audio save one song that he chooses. But minimalism does not mean thoughtlessness. I talked to John about his work and his themes. "Dark" is the operative word.
I really enjoyed your piece "Empty." It's very well put together for a one camera independent film. How did you go about making it?
I'm really happy you enjoyed it, for me personally, in terms of the technical side, filming, editing, etc., it's some of my weakest work. On the other hand it's also one of the darkest, most depressing things I've created. I put it together mostly out of anger and sadness. It was kind of impromptu. No real plans or scripts or anything like that. I filmed each scene as it came to me and kept it as minimalistic as possible. I feel for what I was trying to express, minimalism is best.
I really enjoyed your piece "Empty." It's very well put together for a one camera independent film. How did you go about making it?
I'm really happy you enjoyed it, for me personally, in terms of the technical side, filming, editing, etc., it's some of my weakest work. On the other hand it's also one of the darkest, most depressing things I've created. I put it together mostly out of anger and sadness. It was kind of impromptu. No real plans or scripts or anything like that. I filmed each scene as it came to me and kept it as minimalistic as possible. I feel for what I was trying to express, minimalism is best.
Your works come from a very personal place. What fuels their existence?
Most of my work comes, as you said, from a very personal place. Life experiences, current thoughts and feelings, and ideas of the future all are a part of the work I do. I take these powerful, strong feelings, often (but not always) very negative, and I channel them out of me through my expression rather than smashing something or roaring. The work is often very symbolic and metaphorical, as I feel there is a much broader meaning through the surreal visuals I try to create, and people can interpret that in different ways. Overall, the strong emotion, as well as my tendency to get rather obsessed with current ideas and projects is the "fuel" of it all.
Why film? What drew you to the medium?
I guess the first time I got into it was when I was around 11 or 12 years old. I got a video camera and started making videos and editing them on my computer. Really corny, stupid stuff, but hey, I was a kid! I dropped it for a lot of years. I picked up video making when I started my youtube channel originally called Mrcannibalspork (great name choice I know) near the end of 2010 and made music reviews. I started editing them a lot more, making them look snazzy with Sony Vegas. I am a huge fan of really surreal, dark, avant-garde film work. I'm a huge fan of David Lynch and dark, silent films like Begotten, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, things like that. The idea of expression through film is just so powerful to me. I feel it can express a larger and broader range of emotion than just a simple picture can. In January 2013, I posted Purify, my first attempt at doing something like this, and enjoyed the process so much that I knew I wanted to do more. Although I'm still very much an amateur, I've had no proper training, I'm going to keep working with it and learning.
I guess the first time I got into it was when I was around 11 or 12 years old. I got a video camera and started making videos and editing them on my computer. Really corny, stupid stuff, but hey, I was a kid! I dropped it for a lot of years. I picked up video making when I started my youtube channel originally called Mrcannibalspork (great name choice I know) near the end of 2010 and made music reviews. I started editing them a lot more, making them look snazzy with Sony Vegas. I am a huge fan of really surreal, dark, avant-garde film work. I'm a huge fan of David Lynch and dark, silent films like Begotten, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, things like that. The idea of expression through film is just so powerful to me. I feel it can express a larger and broader range of emotion than just a simple picture can. In January 2013, I posted Purify, my first attempt at doing something like this, and enjoyed the process so much that I knew I wanted to do more. Although I'm still very much an amateur, I've had no proper training, I'm going to keep working with it and learning.
You use music heavily in your work, especially metal. Does the song you pick inspire the film or do you choose the music based on based on the tone of the piece?
Usually it's half and half. Sometimes I'll have an idea floating around in my head I think is good, but then it never sees the light of day. The music is huge and yes, often the starting point is the music. I'll hear a piece that really hits me in some way and often syncs up with the strong emotions I'm feeling. When I'm hit hard enough by a song, and I feel it represents my feelings, the video and the visual aspect is crafted on that structure. I guess you could call what I do music videos, but I'm not directly creating to represent the song, using the music to make my visual expression all the more powerful. That might sound a little bit pretentious, that's just the way I do things.
I've noticed your older work, at least to me, deals with themes of despair and internal conflict while your newer work "Reclaim," is more rebellious in spirit, presenting a man staking his claim against outside forces. Am I right in this analysis? Does your work have a message to others?
Very good analysis! The theme of that was definitely breaking away from something. The "Demon" character, as I sort of named him when I was editing the scenes together, represented the darkness that grows inside us when we are discontent with. That could be locationwise, jobwise, lifewise, whatever. We are discontent, but it's not that bad when people look at it, however, YOU hate it, so the sadness, anger, and impatience builds and grows into something ugly, and makes things worse. I tried to represent taking a leap of faith, whatever that may be, breaking free from this and being free. Of course I had other ideas I sewed in with it, but that is the core theme of it definitely. I don't know about giving people messages. When I make anything I'm making it the way I feel it. I'm not deliberately trying to send a message to the people, just expressing myself. These videos show my thoughts, my feelings. I'm opening up my minds eye for people to see, and if they take a message from that that makes them think, then I feel great that my work work had an impact on someone.
You seem to be a linguist, learning Icelandic. What part does language play in your work? I've noticed you use a lot of text overlays.
Ja, Islenski er frabaer tungumal! Language is of importance, hence why I use so many overlays of text. I write a lot of poetry every now and again, so I often implement that into my work. The words I use in the videos are often very metaphorical, and often vague, sometimes even nonsensical so it doesn't give away everything. It's something to think about, and also combined with the surreal visuals I feel makes it all the more atmospheric and powerful. I've only used English so far, but don't be surprised to see Icelandic make a few appearances very soon. As far as general linguistics go, I really have gotten very interested in language the past few years. I've always had a love for northern Germanic tongues but I'd love to explore more. For example, I find the Hungarian language to be very interesting. I do want to try to learn more in the coming years.
Reclaim included animated segments. Do you consider yourself an artist in the medium of drawing or painting? Should we expect more of these segments in future works?
That was a huge experiment since I've never done any kind of animation before, so that was my first real exploration of that territory. Painting, drawing, etc. is actually one of my favourite mediums. I've been doing it for as long as I can remember. I did it heavily through age 16 to 18, and have done less of it recently, but I really want to pick it up again. I want to also combine my painting work with video. Not sure I have the ideas or know how yet, but it's in the cards so you will see more painting, drawing and what not from me for sure.
To wind things down, what music are you currently digging?
Kind of all over the place. I've been listening to a lot of Inquisition, Thrawsunblat, and a lot of old school Death Metal, and some Neo-folk here and there. I've also been really loving the album "Fearless" by the Electronic, Dark-wave group called Legend. Brilliant album I'd recommend if you like dark, well made electronic music. The song "Runaway Train" from that album was used in "Reclaim" as well.
Kind of all over the place. I've been listening to a lot of Inquisition, Thrawsunblat, and a lot of old school Death Metal, and some Neo-folk here and there. I've also been really loving the album "Fearless" by the Electronic, Dark-wave group called Legend. Brilliant album I'd recommend if you like dark, well made electronic music. The song "Runaway Train" from that album was used in "Reclaim" as well.
Any final words?
Well thank you for the interview, great questions. They make me think, which I like. Also "Reclaim" taught me something else. Getting copious amounts of fake blood off clothing, your face, hair, and the floors is quite challenging.
Well thank you for the interview, great questions. They make me think, which I like. Also "Reclaim" taught me something else. Getting copious amounts of fake blood off clothing, your face, hair, and the floors is quite challenging.
Worthless: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVuUeWZNnMQ
Ides of Winter- The Cinder Kingdom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTUvYQAp5g0
Dissonance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVqxzsmSnVA
Reclaim: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCm--nRQqfU
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