Ben Rivers - Artist Study

LINK - AV Festival 12: Ben Rivers Interview

Slow Action + Two Years at Sea.

Ben Rivers is an artist and experimental filmmaker. He does not make conventional cinema. Much of his work is documentary and ethnographic. He looks a lot at people and location.
ETHNOGRAPHIC:
The systematic study of people and cultures.

Some of the documentary work I find tedious to watch, but oddly enough the silent shots are the ones that interest me the most. They are almost like moving paintings in a way.
Take the Lake scene from Two Years at Sea. Nothing particular exciting happens for the entirety of the 8 minute shot but there is something oddly interesting about it.

Rivers has mentioned before that he likes to use time, "when you slow things down, there's more of an invitation to bring in more of the audiences own mind". There is certainly an element of art here, over an ordinary, 'commercial' film. It may seem like a boring long shot, but it gives you time to ponder.

I am reminded in this scene of The Revenant, a film that is so beautiful to watch. For me, the scenic shots could have gone of forever, while I know others would have found these tiresome to watch. I do believe it is a lot about personal opinion, but also open-mindedness. What can you take and understand from what you are seeing?