The Limitless Talent of Selina Miles

Minds Eye have just signed Australian directing talent Selina Miles to their roster and surely this short film-cum-music-video-cum-art-film is a big reason why.

The time-lapse film, called Limitless, features graffiti artist, Sofles, plus other artists - Fintan Magee, Treas and Quench - as they add their signature touches to a warehouse and is an amazing and mesmerising short, with a great soundtrack from DJ Butcher.

Below, Miles explains how she made the film and discusses her background and career plans.

Tell us a bit about this film, who’s in it and how it came to be?

Limitless is a five-minute film featuring a combination of stop-motion and hyperlapse techniques, documenting the process of four artists as they take over a huge abandoned warehouse space. 

This film is actually a sequel to another video entitled Infinite that I shot during a holiday in Portugal earlier this year. Sofles and I had seen some success with Infinite, it was really well received within the graffiti community but didn't go much further. We knew we wanted to make another video, with bigger and better artwork and production.

We brought some more artists on board, Fintan Magee who is making quite a name for himself both as a gallery artist and a street artist, and Treas and Quench from a more traditional graffiti background.

I think many people are baffled as to how I achieved the smooth camera motion. It wasn't a motion track of any kind. I shot the whole project on my Canon 6D using a cheap tripod and a three-wheel dolly. The intro was shot on a Sony FS700. 

Who exactly is Sofles?

Sofles is the moniker of the artist who features in both videos. He is my dear friend and collaborator of the past six years, and could be described as one of the best graffiti writers in the world right now. He's a rare combination of unbelievable, prodigious technical ability and relentless work ethic. He has worked as a tattoo artist, a gallery artist, he designs for brands of all sorts, but all he really cares about is graffiti. I think that shows in the video.

Where was the film shot and how did you get the location?

The film was shot in Brisbane, Australia. Anyone who knows Brisbane may find this quite surprising, as state government is unsupportive of public art to say the least. We knew of the location, which had been abandoned for several years, and it took two phone calls and one very well written proposal letter to secure the locaiton. We were very, very lucky. 

How long did the project take?

To shoot to project took around 10 full eight-hour days. From securing the location to rendering the final video was just over a month. 

What was the hardest part?

Different parts were hard for different reasons. When there are five copies of Sofles that run across frame after the IN CASE OF EMERGENCY can is popped, he had to remember the exact position of each character and animate each one in succession, with what would end up being one frame of video requiring five photographs.That was a long day.

The post production was hard just for the pure volume of data. Shooting this kind of project is really draining mentally, as it requires just enough concentration that you can't read a book or work on your laptop while shooting, but not enough concentration to keep you from dying of boredom.

It was really physically challenging for the artists, the day of the spinning throw-up wall, Sofles had to run out of frame about 400 times, we estimate he ran in and out of frame for eight kilometres over five hours carrying a milk crate and a spray can. It was hard to persevere when you couldn't watch the day's footage without six-to-eight hours of processing and rendering, and subsequently had no idea if you had succeeded. 

Tell us a bit about your background and how you got into directing?

I'm self taught, I attended two years of Multimedia Design at the University of Queensland which I loved but left to start my first business at 23. I got my start editing part-time for Australian spray-paint brand Ironlak about six years ago.

I started directing music video about three years ago, my first major film clip was for the Hilltop Hoods. One of my videos for them was nominated for Australian Music Video of the Year in 2012 at the J Awards. I have continued to work with Ironlak and have a keen interest in documenting graffiti. 

What are your plans for the future?

I am becoming more and more interested in exploring that which can't be seen in the every day with the human eye. I like experimenting with time, light, and space. Travel has become a priority, I think, for me, it's crucial in the formation of new ideas.  

Why did you decide to sign with Mind’s Eye?

Because everything they produce is smart, beautiful, and real.