EVENT: JORDY VEENSTRA (JUNE 7—20 2024, ONLINE)

Regression 5

digital video 4096 x 1716 (4k Scope), color, sound (Stereo, -16LUFS; Stereo), 23’ 14”, 2024, The Netherlands

Created by Jordy Veenstra

 

Regression 5 marks a significant evolution in Jordy Veenstra’s acclaimed machinima series, following the groundbreaking technical upgrades introduced in Regression 4. This installment presents a 23-minute experimental “fly-on-the-wall” visual study of the Grand Theft Auto V map through the perspective of a volatile taxi driver. The film’s unique approach mirrors the submarine exploration seen in Regression 4, but shifts to the dynamic, ever-changing surroundings and weather experienced from a taxi cab. By following the taxi driver over several days, the film explores various locales, streets and corners across San Andreas.

Jordy Veenstra is a video editor, experimental filmmaker, machinima artist, and front end developer based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In his practice, Veenstra connects video games, experimental narratives and technology through the medium of machinima and his practice of distortion framework, consisting of rules and values that revolve around the distortion of otherwise clear video-game generated images and audio, with the intent of moving away from perceiving the film as a product from a videogame and more as a product of cinema”by using various values found in traditional cinema such as cinematic resolutions and aspect ratios, 24 frames per second, color grading, motion blur and grain. Veenstra’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at the 2020 and 2022 editions of the Milan Machinima Festival.

EVENT: JORDY VEENSTRA (OCTOBER 13—26 2023, ONLINE)

REGRESSION 4

digital video 4096 x 1716 (4k Scope), color, sound (Stereo, -14LUFS; Stereo, -23LUFS), 13’ 51” (original), 2023, The Netherlands

Created by Jordy Veenstra

 

Three years have passed since the unveiling of Veenstra’s Regression 3, a machinima that explored the aerial expanses of Grand Theft Auto V’s vast territory. Today, we stand at a significant juncture as Regression 4 further solidifies the significance of the series. This installment takes audiences on a highly experimental cinematic journey, focusing on the underwater realms of Los Santos and Blaine County and some of the many secrets found within.

Jordy Veenstra is a video editor, experimental filmmaker, machinima artist, and front end developer based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In his practice, Veenstra connects videogames, experimental narratives and technology through the medium of machinima and his “practice of distortion” framework, consisting of rules and values that revolve around the “distortion” of otherwise clear video-game generated images and audio, with the intent of moving away from perceiving the film as a “product from a videogame” and more as a “product of cinema” by using various values found in traditional cinema such as cinematic resolutions and aspect ratios, 24 frames per second, color grading, motion blur and grain. Veenstra’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at the 2020 and 2022 editions of the Milan Machinima Festival, while Regression Trilogy has been featured on VRAL in 2020.

EVENT: JORDY VEENSTRA (DECEMBER 19 2022 - JANUARY 5 2023, ONLINE)

AR3NA

digital video/machinima (2048x858), color, sound, 35’ (original), 2022, The Netherlands

Created by Jordy Veenstra, 2022

AR3NA is a visual study of Quake III Arena; its environments and its textures. It is also a complex work of media anthropology: a deeper critical look at more than two-hundred maps in which millions of battles have been fought since 1999. With a production time frame and a duration exceeding those of most experimental machinima, Veenstra’s AR3NA is a meta-commentary on video game play, architecture, space and places.

Jordy Veenstra is a video editor, motion graphics designer, 2D animator, and experimental filmmaker based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In his practice, Veenstra connects art and narrative with technology and software through the medium of experimental film. His work examines often overlooked social and artistic concerns. His works have been exhibited during the 2020 and 2022 editions of the Milan Machinima Festival and the equally astounding Regression Trilogy was featured as a show on VRAL in 2020.

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EVENT: JORDY VEENSTRA (JUNE 5 - JUNE 18 2020)

REGRESSION (TRILOGY)

Digital video, color, sound, 16’ 32”, 2020

June 5 - June 18 2020

VRAL

Introduced by Matteo Bittanti

Several cinematic productions of the 1920s and 1930s became known as city symphonies. Some, like The Man with a Movie Camera (1929) by Dziga Vertov or Berlin, Symphony of a Great City (1927) by Walter Ruttmann were explicitly avant-garde in style. Their aesthetics were influenced by modern art, with an emphasis on fast cutting and pulsating scores. Others were more contemplative and ruminative, the equivalent of a cinematic dérive. All of them portrayed and celebrated the life, rhythms, and activities of urban environments. Today, several filmmakers are creating visual poems extolling the virtues of Los Santos and Liberty City. Like their predecessors, these machinima are situated halfway between the documentary and the avant-garde film insofar as they showcase virtual vistas with a style reminiscent of a longstanding cinematic tradition. With Regression, Jordy Veenstra portrays different facets of Grand Theft Auto V’s state of San Andreas, highlighting both the idiosyncrasies of simulations as well as the act of travelling without moving.

Jordy Veenstra is a video editor, motion graphics designer, 2D animator, and experimental filmmaker based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. His works connect art and narratives with technology or software through the medium of experimental film. His work often examines overlooked social, artistic or personal issues.

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