Get to know me in 90 seconds

Push Me artist Jez Colborne meeting a friend from Boomba Down the TyneGreat to be down at the Southbank and see so many of our PUSH ME artists sharing there work with wider audiences – and also with each other. Although we on the team know the artists and their work well – it’s easy to forget that they don’t know each other.

It’s brilliant for PUSH ME that some artists are using their 90 second films as calling cards, inviting people they know and people they’ve just met, to explore their work through the glimpses that PUSH ME offers.

90 seconds is such a interesting length – it’s a tease, a distillation that can only leave you wanting more. It’s enough to make a connection, and as we keep saying – everyone has 90 seconds.

We asked John Durrant why 90 seconds?

It’s not a specific format – short films can be anything up to 20 minutes – but 90 seconds seemed to be a good length to go for. We knew we had 12 artists to cover, and didn’t want to overwhelm an audience. To be faced by long pieces on 12 artists could be intimidating. We wanted to reference YouTube too – where stories are told and spread in seconds not minutes.

I suppose also I was influenced by Encounters, Bristol’s short film and animation festival and Watershed’s super-short filmmaking competition that runs as part of it (DepicT! and its challenge to film makers – can you do it in 90 seconds?)

I like the countdown too – if I’m watching a piece and I’m a minute in and my attention is starting to waiver, I know I’ve only 30 seconds left to go!

So no excuses then. We’ve chosen 90 seconds for the artists individual films and everyone has 90 seconds – although you only need just over quarter of an hour to meet them all. Go on. Push yourself.