Ostrako

This stop-motion or time-lapse film by Hans Muller was shot from the bow of the bulk carrier Ostrako, sailing empty from the port of Amsterdam and through the North Sea Channel to sea to pick up a new load of soy beans in Brazil. It is the largest ship that can pass through the sea locks at IJmuiden. A big ship is inertial mass and makes flowing movements: it is a kind of steady-cam. This stable, 15-metre-high standpoint gives the spectator the feeling of soaring high above the water, and the distance from the surroundings produces the experience of watching a miniature world. This is intensified because all events and movements are fifty times faster than in reality. The film begins in the Mercurius Port, where apparent toy cranes, like the ones in model railroads, are unloading another ship like lightning. Ostrako departs from Amsterdam at 7 PM and arrives at the large sea lock of IJmuiden four hours later. The music for Ostrako was composed by Hans Muller himself. Using the midi-sequence programme Cakewalk, he entered the notes click by click with the mouse. The piano play is mechanical, industrial and loud. The sound is tinny, whereas the musical themes contrastingly try to express the melancholy of going to distant countries. This emphasises the atmosphere of a mechanised world. The musical score is a computer file, so it is also possible to screen the Ostrako with the “live” accompaniment of a midi-controlled grand piano.