DAN TASSELL

Artwork and music video for British post-rock group nedry for their latest album 'In a Dim Light' released March 2012 through Monotreme records.

The Battersea Experiment from Dan Tassell on Vimeo.

FACTORY FIFTEEN TEASER from Factory Fifteen on Vimeo.

Im very excited to announce the launch of Factory Fifteen - a creative studio specialising in animation, film and architectural representation formed of myself and five other ex-unit15 students Jonathan Gales, Kibwe Tavares, Paul Nicholls, Richard Young and Christopher Lees. Details of our launch party below:



FACTORY FIFTEEN are proud to present Robots of Brixton and other fantastic short films.

Come and join us for the launch of FACTORY FIFTEEN, a new creative design studio specialising in film, animation & architectural representation.

Get there early to enjoy free drinks and meet the artists.

Diagram showing the main film environments.

Responding to some of the feedback I got at the crit I have been trying to make more out of the simulation and testing that has underpinned the Battersea project. This is a new sequence showing protocells forming lattice structures at a small scale. This will feed back into the film (or possibly form a short stand alone sequence/interlude)

This is short extract from a scene I am working on for my latest film showing a 'protocell construction site.' I used real footage of protocells provided by Rachel Armstrong and combined with animation techniques in Adobe After Effects and 3D Studio Max. Note: clip has no audio.

Protocells from Dan Tassell on Vimeo.

A test render for a sequence that shows microscopic living structures forming.

I have been developing some sequences to try and build up the character of the scientist and explain some of the back story to the project.

This week I have been constructing the external landscape of the hollowed out shell of Battersea power station. The images present an architectural ecology, cultivated over time. These visuals are part of the ongoing development of a short film which will be released in June.

A set of composition and grading tests showing how the female character interacts with Oliver Deuces' living worlds.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of working with Vic Ranger and Eve Randle, whose acting skills made for an enjoyable day of green screen shooting. Above are a couple of grading/compositing tests. Now for the epic task of sorting through the mountain of footage.

I have created a new photography website. There is not a huge amount on there yet but will hopefully add to it when I get a chance. Below are some shots I took in China:

Today has been all about the timeline. I have tried to lay out the entire film in animatic form so I have a clear idea of the shape of the edit. This has also allowed me to start designing the audio and writing a script for the narrative. There are still plenty of holes to fill and one or two messy transitions but for the first time it is possible to get an idea for the overall look and feel of the film. Its actually becoming more somber than I originally intended but think this is a good thing, after all a film about what it means to be 'alive' should also be able to deal with mortality.

This is a matte painting for a scene that takes in a vista of the power station hemmed in by the encroaching city (best viewed in high-res, click image to link to flickr)

I couldnt resist getting the 300mm lens out to capture tonight's full moon from our North London balcony.

Earlier I was struck with a rare but overwhelming urge to do a 'proper' architectural drawing. A long section through the reconfigured roof of the western turbine hall seemed like a good idea:

I wanted to revisit some of the last project's research into alternative screens. Here the dark expanse of the western turbine hall is illuminated by bioluminescent algae circulated from cultivating tanks on the roof through a network of pipes and tubes into vessels. These vessels become electrically charged screens showing the time-lapse footage of the building growing.

“Already stately forms are arising, gigantic scintillating glass domes, serrated and pinnacled -spheres and strips - cones and flowery cylinders - a glistening, a shimmering, a shower of sparks. The inmost depths of craters congeal into a molten foundation, and spiral structures radiate leapfrogging from the centre. The mighty airship is launched forth, seven airplanes part from it and orbit the building site.” Wenzel Hablik, 1920 (Whyte, 1982, p197)

Wenzel Habik’s 1920 vision for a home for artists and scholars led him in search for a “self-forming substance which could approximate to the building materials of the plant and animal world.” His idea was to fuse sand on-location to create glass structures made through earth and fire. The building rises from the sand dunes of Sylt forming a spiral structure. Through the excitement of high technology an architectural form rises out of the desert with the aid of ships, airships, aeroplanes, gas-pumps and complex electrical systems. Hablik’s vision was for an architecture that could grow, and whilst his is a vision that never made it into the realm of scientific reality, recent technological advancements have made the notion of self-forming architecture a very real possibility.

It would be naive to assume that the advent of new technologies will lead to a complete paradigm shift, in the same way it would have been naïve for early modernists to assume that prefabrication would become the de facto mode of architectural production. However, it is possible to begin to speculate on appropriate applications of this technology and how it could be used to engage with specific architectural problems. My thesis will explore how recent advancements in living architecture research might be applied in the conservation of Battersea Power Station and to test the intellectual and technical feasibility of the project against a number of empirical and theoretical research sources.

I am exhibiting some work at Specs Gallery, a pop up gallery off old street roundabout from 5th May.