la mer grand-vide Peter Lindbergh andreas Gerhardt schwarzweiss Fotografie Trouville deauville linda turek

The Project Grand-Vide

Grand-Vide is based on the Dogma95 set up by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg at the time. The following basic rules for this photographic project are based on these principles and are its guideline

The photography of the last few years has increasingly become a defining perfection, often missing the content of a story, a conditioned reality. This applies in particular to fashion photography, but also to other areas. Action is replaced by emptiness resulting from the intended perfect symmetry.

The following rules respect the authenticity that must before all be reproduced:

  1. Photos are shot in real locations.
  2. Chronology is above everything.
  3. Requisites, clothes and outfits are authentic and are neither borrowed nor purchased. Unless individual garments or collections are part of the action; they must, however, always be subordinated to it.
  4. Artificial light is not used wherever possible. This applies both to daylight pictures and to indoor rooms.
  5. Auxiliaries such as diffuser, brighteners, mirrors, etc. may be used for simple technical improvement, but not to serve as a light source.
  6. Photos must exclusively be made out of the hand. No tripod is allowed.
  7. Analogue photography is not only permitted, but desired. Digital photography is permitted under the same conditions.
  8. Subsequent processing is limited to analogue improvement during development. Prints must be made with conventional laboratory technology. Scanned negatives/dials may not be processed in DTP programs. This excludes the rework of technical flaws such as dust and scratches.
  9. Digital data must only be developed in a RAW conversion program. Further development in a DTP program – e.g. Photoshop is not accepted.
  10. The production team is limited to the protagonists.
  11. History and action are above all.
  12. The camera’s direction is subjective, obeys no rules, and shall not follow current trends.
  13. In the sense of Dogma95, images and scenes that depict or glorify violence and use weapons for their own ends, i.e. not as part of the action, are prohibited.

All parties refrain from personal fulfillment and are in principle subordinate to the action or topic. The ultimate goal is to achieve credibility for the characters and locations. This shall be implemented independently of all aesthetic considerations.