35 mm, 6'
1970
In collaboration with Tadeusz Junak, Ryszard Meissner
The film was shot on location at the Czerwony Rynek in Łódź which, until 1972, was the site of a popular open-air market. Nine hours of footage recorded with a still camera was condensed into six minutes. Dynamic animation produces the illusion of viewing a continuous recording shown in fast motion. This is enhanced by a soundtrack with an accelerated clicking sound. Deceptive animation replaced the filmic ‘reality effect’ achieved through the 24 frames-per-second method.
In 1971, Robakowski wrote about the perception-manipulating experiments employed in The Market: ‘I endeavour to distort real film time by mechanically condensing images that capture reality more or less objectively, using a time-lapse camera. A view of the marketplace was recorded from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 2 frames per 5 seconds. The resulting condensation of a normal recording is often perceived as continuous footage of the event.’* The Market was the Workshop of the Film Form’s first work, and the first public-space film animation to be made in Poland.
* Józef Robakowski, ‘Jeszcze raz o ‘czysty film’’, Polska, no. 10, 1971; reprinted in Józef Robakowski, Teksty interwencyjne 1970–1995, Koszalin: Moje Archiwum, 1995.
