Orms Air: The Orms Podcast

This week on Orms Air we are joined by curator and growing force in the art community Anelisa Mangcu who gives us the inside scoop on Orms Circle, the mentorship programme she is spearheading along with Orms.

What is Orms Circle?
Orms celebrates the importance of belonging to a strong professional network as a powerful means to share experiences, resources and establish invaluable relationships. This womxn’s month, Orms welcomes the launch of a programme which provides one young female-identifying artist with the platform to break into the art industry! The selected artist will have access to the necessary facilities for the creation of a body of work to be exhibited in collaboration with Orms in February 2020.

Spearheaded by Anelisa Mangcu – a curator and growing force in the art community – Orms Circle will also include several other mentors with a range of expertise within the creative industry such as Haneem Christian, Tyra Naidoo, Toby Orford, and Savannah Feeke. Together, this group of industry professionals will educate, challenge and empower the selected artist.

To find out more about Orms Circle and to submit your portfolio follow this link to Orms Connect.

You can find and follow Anelisa Mangcu on Instagram on @anelisamangcu
You can find and follow Orms on Instagram on @ormsdirect

Producer Jess Semple and host Rachel Reeves are back and this week are discussing the terribly unoriginal notion that no ideas are truly original. Stick around to find out why none of your ideas are original and why it really doesn't matter.

Jess and Rachel reference the following videos, articles and books in this episode:

• Everything Is  A Remix by Kirby Ferguson 
• Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon
• Are You Unknowingly Committing Plagiarism? by Jamie Windsor   
• How Sampling Transformed Music, a TED Talk by Mark Ronson
• Your Brain Can't Create New Ideas by Thoughty2
• Why YOUR IDEA’S NOT ORIGINAL (and what YOU can do about it) by Jamie Windsor
• The YouTuber Copying David Dobrik | Cryptomnesia by Psych IRL
• The Movies That Influenced Call Me By Your Name by Nerdwriter1
• Why Is Nothing Original Anymore? by Channel Awesome
• Steal like An Artist: Austin Kleon at TEDxKC
• How To Be Creative: Steal Like Tarantino by Storytellers

Have feedback? We'd love to hear it! Get in touch with us by emailing [email protected]
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Want to know more about Orms?

ORMS IS FOR EVERYONE

Orms services extend beyond the needs of photographers alone. We’ve helped everyone from photobook creators to graphic designers, artists, interior decorators and more, to turn a single creative spark into something tangible - something to be proud of. 

WHEN WE SAY “ALL YOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC NEEDS,” WE MEAN IT. 

Born from the commitment to evolving with the needs of photographers of every level, Orms Print Room & Framing is what ultimately set us apart from your average photography store. It’s our way of bringing your prized work to life, and keeping creativity alive through excellence and craftsmanship. 

In this episode of Orms Air we're changing things up and are turning the microphones on ourselves to give you a glimpse into where producer Jess Semple and host Rachel Reeves seek creative enrichment.

We'd love to hear where you go to seek inspiration, get in touch with us by emailing [email protected] or by rating and commenting on this episode of Orms Air wherever you listen to your podcasts.

In this episode Jess Semple mentions:

• The Collective now known as Anthill Films and suggests the following documentaries ROAM and Seasons.
• Andrew Siwicki and suggests the following YouTube videos to find out more; I'm Into That Episode 4 and Investigating Conspiracies with Shane Dawson
• YouTuber Cody Ko and recommends the following article and YouTube video to find out more; Forbes article written by Tom Ward and BUILD series video
• Musician Logic, whose work can be found on Spotify and Apple Music. Jess suggests watching the Band Together documentary which can be found on YouTube here. If you're interested in her recommendations of which music videos are a great introduction to Logic's music be sure to check out Black SpiderMan, 1-800-273-8255 and Take It Back.

In this episode Rachel Reeves mentions:

• Author Philip Pullman and specifically his trilogy His Dark Materials, you can find out more information about Philip Pullmans work here. If you're interested in reading the His Dark Materials trilogy mentioned you can find it on Loot.co.za here.
• The following authors; Margaret Atwood, Zadie Smith, the late Toni Morrison and poet Naomi Shihab Nye.
• Musician Frank Ocean whose work can be found on Apple Music and Spotify. Frank Ocean's work can be found via his Blonded website as well as his Tumblr account. Rachel also references his photographic work a part of which can be found on Orms Connect here.
• Musician Moses Sumney whose work can be found on Apple Music

This week on Orms Air we discuss the importance of visual literacy across all aspects of our lives with Orms Cape Town School of Photography lecturer Jess Bosworth Smith. We unpack what it means to be visually literate, why this is such an important skill set to develop and are given a look behind Jess's own creative process.

To find out more about Jess Bosworth Smith's illustrative work with Imagnary House be sure to check out her artist profile here.

Don't miss the reading of Jess's new book Liefie at The Book Lounge, 17 August 2019. Find out more about this event via their website or Facebook page.

In this episode Jess references the following creatives, books and shows:

• Writer and cultural theorist Ashraf Jamal
• Author and illustrator John Klassen
• TV series Black Books created by and starring comedian Dylan Moran
• Author of Duck, Death and the Tulip Wolf Erlbruch
• Illustrator and author  Brecht Evens
• Illustrator and author Oliver Jeffers
• Illustrator and author Maurice Sendak
• Illustrator Ruby Lou 
• Illustrator Kirsten Sims
• Visual artist Rosie Mudge
• Photographer Matthew Kay
• Our very own Jess Semple

To find out more about the Orms Cape Town School of Photography as well as the range of courses on offer find more on their website here.

On this episode of Orms Air, producer Jess Semple switches over to the host chair and speaks all things colour with fellow colourist Francesca Vervekken. 

Not sure what a colourist is or does? Don’t worry, Jess and Francesca will talk you through it and bring their secret world of colour out of the bat cave and straight into your ears.

You can find more of Francesca's work on her Vimeo here.

In this episode

Francesca references the following people and resources:

•  Ermi Apostolli of 744 Digital whose work can be found here 
• Alexis Van Hurkman as a big inspiration for her. 
• Warren Eagles, his podcast can be found here.
• Colouristpodcast.com 
• Preist Creative Studio

Jess references the following people and resources:

• Jess speaks about her first attempt at colour grading a video project which you can find here.
• Colourist Donovan Bush who worked on for The Crown, Black Sails, Outlander and Marco Polo.
• International Colourist Academy
• Lowepost
• Mixing Light
• Robbie Carmen's seminar on YouTube can be found here
• Courses on Udemy
• Cape Town School of Photography short courses which can be found here
• The article referencing the scientific difference between male and female vision can be found here
• Scanographer Mishal West, who joined us on Orms Air. You can find his episode here

Visual artist Justice Mukheli joins Rachel in studio to discuss his creative push towards creating authentic visual representation and the power in sharing.

Justice Mukheli recently hosted a talk at the Orms Cape Town School of Photography, which Rachel references throughout this episode. Make sure you never miss one by signing up for newsletters here, or by following on Facebook and Instagram.

Justice mentions author Toni Morrison's book Sula which broke him apart and put him back together again.

The Lauren Rachel refers to is Lauren Theunissen who you will remember from her episode of Orms Air.

Find out more about Justice Mukheli and his body of work by having a look at his website here, and be sure to give him a follow on Instagram for more inspiration.

Justice mentions Neil Roberts as a major influence for his move towards films, you can find out more about Neil here.

You can find Justice's short film War Child on his website here.

Justice touches on the following when referencing his inspiration bank:
Director Greg Gray, a selection of whose work can be found here.
Creative Paul Gilpin, whose website can be found here.

Justice draws inspiration from the following places:

• Gordon Parks who Justice says inspires him by having the courage to create when his reality was opposed to it. You can find out more about him on his website here.
• Brett Ford Young as another source of constant inspiration.
• Author Toni Morrison's work, more specifically; Beloved, Sula and The Bluest Eye.
• Author Wilbur Smith's River God.
• Author Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers.
• Director Terence Neale, whose work can be found here.
• Director Tristan Holmes, whose work can be found here.
• Director Teboho Mahlatsi, who directed TV Show Yizo Yizo and whose work can be found here.

In this episode of Orms Air, we're putting on our gloves and stepping into the ring where Deon and Rachel will be settling the age old photographic battle of analogue versus digital photography.

Listen as the discussion turns from the expected pros and cons of analogue and digital photography to the emotional attachment we form with our cameras, and how each focus can affect your creative growth.

Deon and Rachel both mention the upcoming OrmsTV episode where Deon and Andre take the Fujifilm GFX 100 for a spin, which is up and available here.

If you've enjoyed this episode of Orms Air and want to join us again in conversation be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts and never miss a moment of creative enrichment. 

______________________________________________________________________________

Want to know more about Orms?

ORMS IS FOR EVERYONE

Orms services extend beyond the needs of photographers alone. We’ve helped everyone from photobook creators to graphic designers, artists, interior decorators and more, to turn a single creative spark into something tangible - something to be proud of. 

WHEN WE SAY “ALL YOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC NEEDS,” WE MEAN IT. 

Born from the commitment to evolving with the needs of photographers of every level, Orms Print Room & Framing is what ultimately set us apart from your average photography store. It’s our way of bringing your prized work to life, and keeping creativity alive through excellence and craftsmanship. 

A well thought out collaboration has the potential to jump send your visibility as a creative skyrocketing but what about the other, rather darker side of creative collaborations that leave one or more contributor feeling like project assistant rather than collaborator?

Today that’s what we’re going to be discussing with Lauren Theunissen of the Orms Cape Town School of Photography.

As an Artist and Educator Lauren understands the difficulties and joys of entering into a creative collaboration. In this episode of Orms Air she kindly shares with us her experiences and advice as to how to approach, handle and ultimately ensure that your contribution stays just that; yours.

In this episode Lauren mentions:

• Andrew Juries & Francis Burger of the A4 Arts Foundation, you can find out more about the A4 Arts Foundation here.

Interested in finding out more about Lauren and her work at Orms Cape Town School of Photography? You can find out more on the Orms Cape Town School of Photography's website here.

This episode of Orms Air, the Orms Podcast is split into two parts, this is part two.

Join us as we dive beneath the skin of Katya Abedian; writer, producer and director of breath-taking short film Skin Diver. 

Referred to as an ode to the tender hearted, this coming-of-age short short sheds much needed light on the power hidden beneath the surface of the empathic at heart who are unapologetically themselves. 

In this episode of Orms Air, host Rachel Reeves and producer Jess Semple continue the conversation with Katya as she shares her creative beginnings, the female-centric future of the film industry and takes us on a journey to the well from which she draws creative enrichment.  

Haven’t watched Skin Diver? We would highly recommend that you do. Preferably on a screen bigger than your smartphone! It can be found on Vimeo with a simple title search or by following this link. 

In this episode Katya references the following books, films and creatives who enriched her childhood and her current creative journey:

• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
• Atonement by Ian McEwan, and film by Joe Wright
• Both 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon by director Stanley Kubrick 
• Composer Max Richter’s music

The 2014 UNESCO study that Rachel references when the discussion turns to the representation of female creatives within the film industry can be found in this document by the National Film and Video Foundation here.

Katya shares with us a saying from her Baha'i upbringing relating to the power of equality, which can be found here.

Katya references the following creatives as being a part of her well of creative enrichment:

• South African photographer and filmmaker Kristin Lee Moolman
• South African photographer and creative Tony Gum
• South African photographer Adriaan Louw
• Singer Yoza Mnyanda of Darkie Fiction, you can find their music via their SoundCloud here
• Allison Swank of The Swank Group
• Writer, director and producer Jenna Cato Bass
• Xavier Dolan as a constant inspiration in her work whose latest release Mommy Katya encourages everyone to watch immediately! Find out more about Xavier Dolan here.
• Filmmaker Andrea Arnold and specifically her film American Honey
• American filmmaker Ava DuVernay 
• Terrance Malick and specifically his film The Tree of Life
• Twelve Years a Slave by filmmaker Steve McQueen
• Actress, director and writer 

This episode of Orms Air, the Orms Podcast is split into two parts, this is part one. 

Join us as we dive beneath the skin of Katya Abedian; writer, producer and director of breath-taking short film Skin Diver. 

Referred to as an ode to the tender hearted, this coming-of-age short film sheds much needed light on the power hidden beneath the surface of the empathic at heart who are unapologetically themselves. 

In this episode Jess Semple the producer of Orms Air takes the lead in the conversation and discusses Katya’s pre-production, shooting and post-production from one filmmaker to another.

Haven’t watched Skin Diver? We would highly recommend that you do. Preferably on a screen bigger than your smartphone! It can be found on Vimeo with a simple title search or by following this link. 

In Part One of this episode Katya mentions:

The cast and crew of Skin Diver in order of reference;

• Liam Solo, Cinematographer for this short film whose work can be found here.
• Tony Gum, who plays Amazi and whose work can be found here.
• Demi Van Der Westhuizen, who plays Saffron.
• Thami Cumngce Giyose, who plays the young girl at the open and close of this short film.
• Holmes Awa, Editor & Colourist for this short film whose work can be found here.
• Caroline Mackintosh, who shot the underwater scenes for this short film and whose work can be found here.
• Max Richter, whose piece On The Nature of Daylight which you will recognise throughout this short film and whose work can be found here.
• James Harvey, whose original score plays throughout this short film.
• Daniel Thackwray of Big House Recording Studios who did the Sound Design and Final Mix for this short film. 

Katya touches on the following filmmakers whose work she drew inspiration from when creating Skin Diver;

• In terms of the central framing you’ll notice throughout Skin Diver, Katya references Wes Anderson as an inspiration for the symmetry and her interesting use of framing techniques. You can find out more about Wes Anderson here.
• Xavier Dolan as a constant inspiration in her work whose latest release Mommy Katya encourages everyone to watch immediately! Find out more about Xavier Dolan here.
• Terrance Malick whose work inspired the ethereal bubble and water scenes in Skin Diver, you can find out more about his work here.

Bahá’í Faith: Katya references her faith that inspires and drives her to striving to make a difference and extend her helping hand towards those outside of and therefore within her own community. You can find out more about the Bahá’í Faith here.

Katya mentions Tyla Mason the artist who designed the movie poster for Skin Diver in a beautiful homage to one of the films inspirations Wes Anderson. You can find more of Tyla's work here.

Allison Swank of the Swank Group who advised Katya on handling production companies and staying independent.

The site that Katya used to submit Skin Diver to international film festivals, FilmFreeway.