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9/18/12 3:01 PM
THE MACGUFFIN LIBRARY | Electric Sheep Features, essays & interviews from the mavericks of the film world
9/18/12 3:01 PM
psychological level. This allowed us a space to play with and to come up with a series of our own objects and synopses. Although we are not making the film we are hopefully producing a space between the object and the synopsis where an audience can create the film themselves, and where they can think of what we are intending to present cinematically. PJ: It seems quite a brave venture given that the nature of the MacGuffin is that it is irrelevant, or as Hitchcock says, it can be anything or nothing at all NT: Thats right, and thats exactly where we find the challenge. We started to look at dramatising historical events; for example, if you shot a film about Christopher Columbus you could argue that America is the MacGuffin. But then, how does one represent America? Because its not just the continent, its perhaps also the idea of America for an individual. Is there something physical, even if its totally abstract, that we could design that would represent that thought? Its a struggle, but this is also what makes it very interesting. So, in some cases we are playing with scale, whereby some of the objects become representations of things that are architectural or even continental in scale. PJ: What sort of objects does the library consist of? NT: Some of the objects are mundane objects; they are pre-existing objects and we are providing them with this sort of value and importance through the narrative. Other objects have been designed specifically for the purpose: we have created them and worked with engineers and sculptors to get them made just the way we want. OK: For example, there is a videotape. People may think that videotapes are used as MacGuffins in a number of other films, but we are actually writing a new film plot based on the idea of the tape PJ:How are the MacGuffins presented in the exhibition? OK: Each object will be presented with a 100-150-word film synopsis. We are hoping that the two elements will provide enough of a framework for people to interpret or have their own vision of what this film could be about. NT: Its the beginnings of a library, but that library is one that is based on a process of producing a piece of work. And weve found that this medium, the object and the synopsis together, is the basis for conversations that we have between ourselves about art themes and other interests that we have, for example, alternative histories, unorthodox fantasies, the way cinema influences reality and vice versa. To some extent, we hope that audiences will also add their own ideas to that, and that the library will become an open source. PJ: Where do you take your ideas from to develop the film plots and objects? NT: We are shameless in that way literature and cinema are our main sources of course; we are taking some films and using them as the basis for a story that happens afterwards. So, not so much a sequel but, say, in a new film a character is influenced by a character taken from an existing film. Part of the pleasure is to get people to say, oh, I know that film, thats Peeping Tom or thats Strangers on a Train, based on the information that they have been given. So there are clues. However, the themes are not necessarily immediately cinematic; the stories are based on our interests, and then we write them to make them feel like films, including the action, characters, conflicts the things that make up cinema. PJ: So, there are no remakes of films? OK: Oh, yeah, there is one. Among the 20 objects we felt that it would be nice to recreate one existing
http://www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk/features/2008/09/04/the-macguffin-library/ Page 2 of 3
THE MACGUFFIN LIBRARY | Electric Sheep Features, essays & interviews from the mavericks of the film world
9/18/12 3:01 PM
MacGuffin and see how the audience might read that, or if they would recognise the original film because of the object and synopsis given. PJ: And the remake-MacGuffin is NT: Its the lighter its the homage-MacGuffin to Hitchcock. PJ: Do you follow a set of rules to create the objects or the stories? NT: Yes, there is a certain structure in the way we create the stories and objects, but we are happy to go beyond those rules and go wherever our creativity takes us. We are already limited by scale, we are limited by the material, and we are limited by a definition of the MacGuffin, which a lot of people are happy to argue about. We use these rules as the basis of the project in order to express the themes that we find interesting, and to create a space that allows us to engage with the audience. PJ: Are you planning to make the MacGuffin library available for filmmakers, scriptwriters or producers once the exhibition is finished? OK: I suppose there is a chance that could happenI would feel flattered if someone wanted to make a film out of one of the MacGuffins, absolutely. NT: Mmmh, maybe we should copyright everything Some of the MacGuffins are based on films that we wanted to do, one in particular, that I wanted to do. Getting the budget to produce this film is currently totally unfeasible, so actually getting it out there in this manifestation is great. PJ:What is your favourite MacGuffin at present? NT:Its hard to say, I think I like some of the objects more than others and I think some of the synopses are better or more interesting than others. I like this piece very much (points at a bunch of twisted cables) because OK:because it is your story (laughs) NT:(laughs) because even physically, the object itself isnt so rigid, and there is a lot that can be interpreted through this, as to what it is, what its function is; potentially it could be a very unpleasant function; and that space where the audience will perhaps come up with their own sick ideas or fantasies is a nice one. Interview by Pamela Jahn See also: THE CLOSE-UP VIDEO LIBRARY With its friendly, modest style, heartfelt passion for film and refreshing lack of interest in profit,... Share |
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