Perch (a.k.a. My Roll for Peter)

2016, 16mm, black & white, silent, 2 minutes 45 seconds.

My first Occasional Missive mentioned my film Perch only in passing but, in response, several people inquired as to whether I'd ever made prints from the film. I'd considered making an elaborate portfolio of prints – using collotype and screenprint – from To No End Gathered but it seemed financially irresponsible, but I hadn't considered making prints from Perch. It's an idea worth exploring.

There are 20 shots in Perch. Shot onto long-expired 16mm Kodak 4-X using a Switar zoom on my Bolex over the course of a day, there is some similarity between the framing of the shots, but there's no exact duplication. The late-afternoon passage of time covers the period when the reflections of sunsset grow in number, and wax and wane in intensity. The roll is unedited so the sequence is chronological.

8 picked by me, no sequences; edition TBD, signed, dated, numbered 12+ picked by me, focus on sequence; edition TBD, signed, dated, numbered 1, 6, 12 picked by you; unique, signed, dated 11 x 14" on Hannemuhle

Because I'd waited for an evening when there was both fog in San Francisco and a clear view of the sunset reflecting from windows of Berkeley and Oakland homes I had the lab ship the only struck workprint directly to New York for inclusion in the project. It would be several months before I could see my own footage, which led off the right reel in the double projection portion of the project. Ultra-grainy and low-contrast, it would never be mistaken for Hutton's own footage but I'm pleased with the results, especially having captured the controversial Salesforce Tower while it was still under construction.

Eric Theise, March 2022, Nice & Lisbon

Digital scan made possible through a January 2019 Interbay Cinema Society Lightpress Grant.