In the early 1980s, Jarman struggled to get feature film projects off the ground and invested his energies in different fields, including music videos. In 1984 he made the promo for ‘What Presence?!’ by Scottish post-punk band Orange Juice, as fronted by Edwyn Collins. Before the official shoot, however, he visited the location and made this tape, trying out shots with a newly acquired Olympus VHS camera. The warm colours and fuzzy softness of the format, plus the decision to shoot handheld, imbue this little-known, rarely seen artefact with a palpable directness.
Derek Jarman
Director
The Class of ‘9271%
A Plastic Ocean75%
Public Speaking70%
In the Realms of the Unreal71%
LA Originals69%
John Candy: I Like Me78%
Directed by John Ford70%
Tricked: The Documentary61%
Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story62%
The Summers of It - Chapter Two: It Ends71%
Harmontown66%
Seduced and Abandoned62%
180° South72%
As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty77%
Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return67%
The Carter Effect70%
Being James Bond77%
The Walking Dead: The Return73%
Love, Antosha74%
Above Majestic73%
