On this episode of the Film Sessions Podcast, we are excited to feature Isabeau Colls:
“Hey! I'm Isabeau Colls (Beau, they/them) and I am an illustrator, animator and street artist specialising in the human form. A signature characteristic of my work is manipulating the body into unnatural flowing forms with an emphasis on hands. During the last 3 years of studying Animation full-time at Swinburne, I have been given amazing opportunities such as directing and creating my short-film Bite (2022), becoming the 2021 NAIDOC Design Competition winner where my design was printed onto shirts and bags for purchase through Swinburne, a Content Ambassador for Swinburne in 2021 designing digital art for their mascot’s Instagram, as well as amazing commissions including a 20x10 metre mural for a Disability Support Centre in Grovedale. I am proficient in many physical mediums as well as digital with my favourites being graphite and Adobe Suite. I will invest myself into any form of art that challenges my thinking, whether it be in a group or solo.My main inspiration behind Bite was to create a dynamic visualisation through my Aphantasia. Aphantasia is a phenomenon where you are unable to visualise with your “minds eye”, meaning when I close my eyes I cannot visualise anything and only see black. This has meant that my creative process is quite different to others, and my form of expression has been through other outlets. I have always expressed myself through movement and dance, which for me focuses on how we can portray emotion through our hands as well as music. This is what set the ball rolling for Bite.The goal for Bite was to create a piece in first person that visualises the emotion in harmony with an original song. This is the only way I have ever been able to create art, I have to physically feel the emotion I want the art to portray, and create the piece from there. Bite plays with this concept in a fun and engaging way, and allows each of my amazing team to add a piece of themselves into the final film. Creating a film that allows the audience to place themselves into the shoes of a main character in such an abstract and weird piece is a really exciting concept, especially since we are working with an awesome band to bring the original music to life. I want the audience to feel the emotion of the music, to feel each and every fluctuation of mood in the main character, and most importantly, immerse themselves in the film.”
This episode was hosted by Sarah Adams, a Podcast Host at the Student World Impact Film Festival, and produced by Mark Leschinsky, the Festival Director of the Student World Impact Film Festival.