Futurism

Photograph speed itself: the figure multiplied by its own motion and the page set off like an engine.

Everything leans forward. Put the diagonal in first and multiply every moving edge along it. Type is image here: let the words explode rather than read. Take the speed and the machines and leave the politics behind; the movement had a manifesto and a war, and none of that belongs in the frame.

Director's note

Leave with every frame on this list.

Shot list

1. 01Wide shot of a cyclist or runner in motion rendered as five overlapping exposures fanned across the frame, force lines drawn in orange across the ground, an industrial shed behind
2. 02Frontal shot of a poster wall where a single word explodes across the sheet at every size along diagonal force lines, orange and black on white, no readable sentence
3. 03Close detail of riveted steel and a spinning flywheel caught at a long exposure so the spokes multiply, a single electric-yellow highlight on chrome
4. 04Low-angle shot of a figure in angular tailoring striding through a station concourse, the architecture leaning with the motion, steel blue and engine black
5. 05Overhead shot of a workbench of cut card letters, rules and a T-square laid along diagonals mid-composition, a hand pushing one letter into place

Hard, directional light that makes edges multiply: strong side light, long exposures for anything that moves, one specular highlight on metal. Avoid soft or even light; softness kills the force.

Light

Scout these before anything else.

Locations

1. 01A railway station or transit hall with strong diagonals
2. 02A factory floor or machine shop with visible mechanism
3. 03A velodrome, track or road with a clear line of motion
4. 04A print works with wood type and a proofing press

Angular, sharply tailored, in orange, steel blue, black and chrome white. Nothing that flows. Accessories with a mechanical edge: goggles, gauntlets, buckles. No period costume, no leather-and-brass steampunk.

Wardrobe