This one isn’t quite as long as the other takes I’ve uploaded so far, although it does make connections with some discoveries and points of interest from previous pieces of footage.

After filming the water ripple footage I was inspired to capture more abstract footage with no clear human activity in it. As I stepped onto an escalator in Melbourne Central, a similar inspiration struck me which I decided to roll with. Filming the space between two escalators, I was able to capture some interesting reflections, distortions and movement.

Fragments of the surroundings appear in these reflections – brief glimpses of people, advertising, lights, etc. Each of them come and go so quickly that they’re almost immediately forgotten, fleeting past as they do in the environment itself. The only real constants apart from the escalator are the lights that stretch across the frame, twisting and bending to span across the separate spaces. These stand out as they stretch in an opposite diagonal line to every other line in the frame, which urge towards the top right corner of the frame. These lights are possibly the most interesting ‘mistakes’ of this shot in the way that they contort and glisten in what it otherwise a frame with quite rigid movement and a dull palette.

I think this is one of the most well-composed pieces of footage I have gathered so far in my collection of portrait shots. The height of the frame is considered to accommodate the multiple layers of space, building diagonals from the bottom to the top of the frame. There is also a distinct push/pull effect happening as the focal point of the frame – which I see to be the reflection of the descending stairs which I am standing on in the centre of the frame – pushes towards the top right corner whereas almost everything else pulls in the opposite direction.

Conceptually I think that this footage ties in with the Train Platform shot as both spaces represented are typically treated as in-between spaces. In both instances, any persons featured in the footage only appear briefly, eager to continue on to their destinations. They are both spaces of movement, transport, distraction and disjointed activity (i.e: everyone is either daydreaming or on their phone, not engaging with anyone or anything else in the same space).

My only issue with this footage is that it is quite short due to the spontaneity of my recording. I am interested in this effect and aesthetic and may attempt it again on a larger escalator so as to allow as much unanticipated magic to seep into the footage as possible. If I continue to work with this footage, I may experiment with the speed of the footage to see if that enhances it in any way.

Escalator from Timothy Palstra on Vimeo.