How Long Is “Mechanical Ballet”?

The original material that forms the basis for Mechanical Ballet is an anonymous short reel of film of what appears to be car crash tests, carried out in a deadpan and somewhat cumbersome manner. Reworked into a two-screen film and divorced from their original context, they take on both a sinister and humorous quality. Mechanical Ballet was born out of an interest in ‘found footage’ film (in its relation to collage and assemblage) and the possibilities offered by the London Film-Makers’ Co-op workshop in terms of manipulation of the filmstrip and the film frame, projection, duration and the film printing process.