THE TELLA MANIFESTO
We believe in trying.
We believe in starting before you know where you are going.
We believe an accident can be an idea.
A mistake can be a method.
A broken image can be a beautiful image.
A bad recording can contain the perfect sound.
A camera does not have to behave like a camera.
A film does not have to behave like a film.
We believe in starting before you know where you are going.
We believe an accident can be an idea.
A mistake can be a method.
A broken image can be a beautiful image.
A bad recording can contain the perfect sound.
A camera does not have to behave like a camera.
A film does not have to behave like a film.
WE DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE RIGHT
WAY TO MAKE A FILM.
WAY TO MAKE A FILM.
Take an image.
Break it.
Repeat it.
Slow it down.
Speed it up.
Turn it upside down.
Put another image next to it.
Listen to it.
Remove the sound.
Add the wrong sound.
Do it again.
Then do something completely different.
Break it.
Repeat it.
Slow it down.
Speed it up.
Turn it upside down.
Put another image next to it.
Listen to it.
Remove the sound.
Add the wrong sound.
Do it again.
Then do something completely different.
WE BELIEVE IN EXPERIMENTATION.
It can be a story.
It can be a memory.
It can be a texture.
It can be a rhythm.
It can be a performance.
It can be a dream.
It can be a question.
It can be nothing at all.
It does not always need to explain itself.
It can be a memory.
It can be a texture.
It can be a rhythm.
It can be a performance.
It can be a dream.
It can be a question.
It can be nothing at all.
It does not always need to explain itself.
WE BELIEVE THAT MOVING
IMAGE IS AN ART FORM.
IMAGE IS AN ART FORM.
Let the unexpected enter the work.
Use randomness.
Follow a strange idea.
Keep the thing you nearly deleted.
Allow the machine to make a decision.
Allow yourself to make a bad decision.
Sometimes the most interesting image is the one you didn't intend to make.
Use randomness.
Follow a strange idea.
Keep the thing you nearly deleted.
Allow the machine to make a decision.
Allow yourself to make a bad decision.
Sometimes the most interesting image is the one you didn't intend to make.
WE BELIEVE IN CHANCE.
Experimentation should be serious.
But it should also be fun.
Play with images.
Play with sound.
Play with time.
Play with technology.
Play with rules.
And when the rules stop being useful
break them.
But it should also be fun.
Play with images.
Play with sound.
Play with time.
Play with technology.
Play with rules.
And when the rules stop being useful
break them.
WE BELIEVE IN PLAY.
Look at the familiar until it becomes strange.
Look at the strange until it becomes familiar.
Look outside the frame.
Look at what is missing.
Look at what should not be there.
Look again.
Look at the strange until it becomes familiar.
Look outside the frame.
Look at what is missing.
Look at what should not be there.
Look again.
WE BELIEVE IN LOOKING.
A film can begin with an image.
Or it can begin with a noise.
A voice.
A rhythm.
A silence.
A piece of music.
A recording from somewhere you have never been.
Sometimes you should make the sound first.
Then discover what the image wants to become.
Or it can begin with a noise.
A voice.
A rhythm.
A silence.
A piece of music.
A recording from somewhere you have never been.
Sometimes you should make the sound first.
Then discover what the image wants to become.
WE BELIEVE IN SOUND.
And new ones.
Film.
Video.
Found footage.
Cameras.
Phones.
Projectors.
Scanners.
Computers.
Film.
Video.
Found footage.
Cameras.
Phones.
Projectors.
Scanners.
Computers.
AI.
Tape.
Pixels.
Light.
Darkness.
Use whatever helps you make the work.
The tool is not the artwork.
The experiment is.
Tape.
Pixels.
Light.
Darkness.
Use whatever helps you make the work.
The tool is not the artwork.
The experiment is.
WE BELIEVE IN OLD TOOLS.
You do not need to have all the answers before you begin.
You do not even need to know what the film is about.
Start with a question.
Start with an image.
Start with a feeling.
Start with something you don't understand.
The meaning might arrive later.
Or it might never arrive.
That is OK.
You do not even need to know what the film is about.
Start with a question.
Start with an image.
Start with a feeling.
Start with something you don't understand.
The meaning might arrive later.
Or it might never arrive.
That is OK.
WE BELIEVE IN
NOT KNOWING.
NOT KNOWING.
You don't need expensive equipment.
You don't need a film degree.
You don't need permission.
You don't need to call yourself a filmmaker.
You only need curiosity.
The rest can be learned.
You don't need a film degree.
You don't need permission.
You don't need to call yourself a filmmaker.
You only need curiosity.
The rest can be learned.
WE BELIEVE EVERYONE CAN
MAKE EXPERIMENTAL ART.
MAKE EXPERIMENTAL ART.
Not just watching.
Not just talking.
Not just collecting ideas.
Make something.
Then make another thing.
Show it.
Share it.
Change it.
Destroy it.
Start again.
Not just talking.
Not just collecting ideas.
Make something.
Then make another thing.
Show it.
Share it.
Change it.
Destroy it.
Start again.
WE BELIEVE IN MAKING.
There is no single definition of experimental film.
There is no single way to make art.
Your film does not need to look like anyone else's.
Your mistakes are yours.
Your discoveries are yours.
Your strange ideas are yours.
Find your own visual language.
There is no single way to make art.
Your film does not need to look like anyone else's.
Your mistakes are yours.
Your discoveries are yours.
Your strange ideas are yours.
Find your own visual language.
WE BELIEVE IN EACH OTHER.
A place to learn.
A place to play.
A place to make mistakes.
A place to discover.
A place to make moving images that could not have existed any other way.
A place to play.
A place to make mistakes.
A place to discover.
A place to make moving images that could not have existed any other way.
TELLA IS A PLACE TO EXPERIMENT.
DON'T MAKE THE FILM YOU THINK YOU SHOULD MAKE.
MAKE THE FILM YOU HAVEN'T MADE YET.
MAKE THE FILM YOU HAVEN'T MADE YET.
