Vanessa Vox, A Journey Through Mobile Artistry

As the protagonist of my own visual narratives, I found liberation in being my own muse—available anytime, anywhere, without the need for permissions. My inspiration springs from the world around me: the whimsical dance of insects, the ever-changing tapestry of clouds, the stoic beauty of trees. These encounters fuel my passion for spontaneity and improvisation, allowing my creativity to flow unbounded.

You can follow my mobile phone video work:

2013-2017: on the VIMEO CHANNEL and since 2018: on the YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Celestial Drama (March 2024).

In the short film “Celestial Drama,” Vanessa Vox draws inspiration from the ever-changing canvas of the sky. Over the course of 2 minutes and 50 seconds, a series of time-lapse sequences shot in the south of France reveal the stunning ephemeral beauty and the dynamic nature of clouds—a symphony of natural elements choreographed by the forces of weather.
The hammering and echoing piano contrasts with the visuals and builds tension in the charged and unpredictable atmosphere. Viewers are invited to fully immerse themselves in this celestial drama, from the tranquil and delicate clouds to the brooding grey skies that crescendo into a stormy forte, before returning to peace with the colorful rainbows.
Captured with an iPhone SE and edited on an iPad Pro, the film features a musical score co-created by Orlando Bay and Vanessa Vox.

Digital (May 2022). Music and Film by Vanessa Vox. 0'58 minutes.

Aren't we trapped in a world of screens? - «Digital» is a one minute selfie video filmed from the perspective of a smartphone front camera. Not only reading, searching, writing, but also waiting is part of our daily life routines. Forced passivity is getting a kind of activity. Looking at tiny spinning wheels, hourglasses, bars and frozen or crashed screens become challenges to train our patience, our serenity and last not least our creativity to solve sometimes unsolvable problems.
«Digital» was created 2022 entirely on an iPhoneSE & an iPad Pro using the apps LumaFusion, Clips, GlitchVideo, Hyperspective for the images and the app GarageBand for the music.

The Missing Snowflake (February 2022). Music and Film by Vanessa Vox. 1'17 minutes.

"The Missing Snowflake" is an instropective selfie video, a visual snapshot of the images in my mind driven and enlivened by the rhythm and the dynamic of the soundtrack.

The open hands at the beginning are conjuring up a surreal flood of images and a flow of vibrant colors. Nature is pulsating in a round dance somewhere between earth and sky. It is an expression of feeling alive and embeddedness in the surroundings. But… is it a whole and perfect world?

In a cycle of transformation everything changes.

If you dive deeper into life you always feel a desire of something else, something missing, something new that doesn't exist yet or doesn't exist just where you are right now, even if it is small and inconspicuous.

In this short video, the missing snowflake (in the title) stands for the missing link in life, something you can feel but can‘t see or give a name.

"WHERE ARE YOU?" (1'40) August 2021, Film & Music by Vanessa Vox, Copyright 2021.

This is an experimental short music video based on a single selfie shot. Vanessa Vox has created an impression of the invisible inner floating which is hidden behind the visual appearance of a frozen moment. All metamorphoses and layers as well as the soundscape are created using a lot of photo, video and music apps on an iPhoneSE and an iPad4. "WHERE ARE YOU?" is a question directed to the picture. Where is the soul of the person in the picture? Where am I? When I grow older what’s about my selfie? Will it grow old too? Where is the time? What’s about the future? Is photography really stopping time? A photo is also a trigger provoking emotions. And emotions are causing motion. The onlooker is recreating time in itself. He is catching a story in a fraction of a second like in a dream or a memory flash. But this video is not a story. It‘s just the moment before, when it starts awakening to life. Nothing is able to stay still. No matter if it makes sense or not. No matter if it is conscious or not.

"No Comment (2'14)" October 2020, Film by Vanessa Vox & Music by Orlando Bay, Copyright 2020.

2020 is all about a tiny, for our eyes invisible virus that has gotten the center of attention. Our social life is severely restricted while this virus can hardly be stopped. It is rocking, shocking and rolling all over the world, day by day, moving forward from country to country, accompanied by a huge wave of news and statistics.
"No Comment" (2‘14) was created in October 2020, in the hotspot of the crisis, just a few days before a second lockdown took place in France.
This short experimental doesn't need words, doesn't need a title. Thus everyone recognizes the image of a ball peppered with spikes all around. Even the younger ones among us who can barely speak know what it is. "I can‘t visit my grandma because of Corona", said my neighbours kid.
The repetitive music of Orlando Bay supports the relentless course of events in which we are imprisoned. And the flow of pictures and signs suggests that this virus could also be understood as a hacker attack which penetrates our brave new world, both in real and viral. We feel persecuted by this little thing which dances around like a naughty child. We feel desperate or ignorant, we react frightened or disgusted. We want to grasp it, want it gone, wiping it away.
But it is in fact a living being which wants to spread out. And honestly it is almost as successful as we are when we take the planet‘s ressources as granted. – So… Don‘t we look in the mirror when we face this tiny little thing?

„Shadows’ Life, in the Streets, on the Walls“ (1‘26 minutes, 1080p)

It's Corona time in an old stone village of the south of France. Shadows of a family who runs lonely through the deserted streets. The permitted time out is limited. Caution is advised. But our shadows stay close, move and dance around us. A moment of encounter. These words flowed out of my soul:

I can feel the light of the shadows

And follow the night of the daytime

What do they do, the shadows?

Where are they looking to go, the shadows?

Sliding on surfaces

Where are their faces?

Depthless black wholes

Where are their magnetic pole?

„Shadows’ Life, in the Streets, on the Walls“ is an experimental video. The film as well as the soundscape were created 2020 on an iPhone and an iPad using diverse apps. Vanessa has been regularly creating short videos since 2014 that reflect her mood and interests, her spontaneous view of the moment.

"Unlocked Door (1'19) June 2019": Film by Vanessa Vox, Soundscape by V.Vox & Family.

Screening "BLAUE STUNDE X, All Star", January 2020, "Alte Feuerwehr", Köln, Germany. 

The Location: an abandoned former transformer house in a southern French village. Accompanied by: three voices, the wind, and an iron door.

The video “UNLOCKED DOOR” bears witness to a “spontaneous performance” in an old, abandoned transformer house. The Mistral wind constantly slams the heavy, iron security door open and shut. The camera remains focused on the defective door lock for a minute and a half in a single shot. The animistic movement of the door is accompanied by three voices echoing in the steep, high concrete interior.

Time has once again opened free access to a world that was once dominated by life-threatening power generators and sealed off due to danger. Now, the wind, nature, and people play in and with this forgotten and enchanted space. It invites curious passersby to explore, listen, and experience it. Trapped and locked out at the same time, shaken by the sudden slamming of the door, one feels in a strangely foreign scene. 

German version for the filmfestival:

Die Location: ein verlassenes ehemaliges Transformatorenhaus in einem süd-französischen Dorf. Dazu: Drei Stimmen, der Wind und eine Eisentür.

Das Video „UNLOCKED DOOR“ (unverschlossene Tür) legt Zeugnis ab einer „Spontan-Performance“ in einem alten, verlassenen Transformatorenhaus. Der Mistralwind schlägt die schwere, eiserne Sicherheitstüre ständig auf und zu. Die Kamera bleibt anderthalb Minuten in einer einzigen Einstellung auf das defekte Türschloss fokusiert. Die animistisch anmutende Bewegung der Tür wird von drei Stimmen begleitet, die im steilen, hohen Innenraum aus Beton verhallen.

Die Zeit hat wieder einen freien Zugang in eine Welt erschlossen,die früher von lebensgefährlichen Stromaggregaten beherrscht und aufgrund von Lebensgefahr abgeriegelt und hermetisch verschlossen war. Nun spielt der Wind, die Natur, die Menschen in und mit diesem vergessenen und verwunschenen Freiraum. Er lädt neugierige Passanten ein, ihn zu erkunden, zu erlauschen, zu erfahren. Eingesperrt und ausgesperrt zugleich, vom plötzlichen Zuknallen der Tür erschüttert, fühlt man sich in einer eigenartig fremd anmutenden Szenerie.

Can you hear a dream?

Can you feel a dream?

Can you touch a dream?

Can you move in a dream?

Can you dream a dream?

„Drifting Dream Drafts“ (1'53 min, March 2019) invites the viewer to immerse in an inner and vivid colored cosmos. A world of inner images free of concepts such as time or space, a brief and sketchy glimpse into a colorful dream world. From being awake to the state of sleeping... or waking up from the dreaming point of view of a sleeping person? There is no story, just a feeling. Living in the momentum. Drifting under the spell of the imperative flow of the moment. The intense colors, the chopped up movements draw us in a feeling of letting go in the transition, in a world in between, into the fountain of the unconscious existence of the night.

„Look There“ (February 2018, 1‘07 minutes)

Look there... there... or there! We are living in a visual society. Out of joy, interest, exploration drive, out of stress out of fear or as a compulsory act, we jump from one impression to another. Hyperactive, intrinsically or extrinsically motivated, the directed attention flickers like a fire.

The close picture of a woman jumps quickly from one shot to the next, timeless black and white and with motion blur. The stretched finger of one hand shows all possible directions, like a wind sock or a bike in the wind.

In a negative sense, she is overwhelmed by the impressions and loses her head, loses her orientation. But in a positive sense it guides them to their self. The neurons dance nimbly and skillfully there, a dance of their own interests, collect and find everything that speaks to this person, consciously or mostly unconsciously, grasped by the eye.

„Look There“ (February 2018, 1‘07 minutes) is a short experimental video entirely created on an iPhone and an iPad, the film, as well as the music.

Vanessa has been regularly creating short experimental videos since 2014 that reflect her mood and interests, her spontaneous view of the moment. Like weekly or monthly entries in a diary.

"Urban Ethnologie" (2017-08-08)

The sequence was captured at the end of a stressful day. Filling out forms had left the mind feeling crushed. Driven by an accelerated, primal rhythm, the soul bursts out of its tight corset. It longs to return to its roots, to the spontaneous expression of physicality through movement. Life. Emotions. Movement. Ecstasy. Liberation.

Screened in "Blaue STunde VIII, Köln, Germany: http://8.te-blauestunde.de/vanessa-vox/

Die Sequenz entstand am Ende eines stressigen Tags. Das Ausfüllen von Formularen hat das Gehirn zermantscht. Angetrieben von einem verschnellerten, archaischen Rhythmus platzt die Seele nun aus ihrem engen Korsett heraus. Sie will zurück zu ihren Wurzeln, zurück zum spontanen Ausdruck der eigenen Körperlichkeit in Bewegung. Leben. Emotionen. Bewegung. Extase. Befreiung.

'Living in the Daily Flow of News' (2'09, July 2017) is a short experimental film entirely created on mobile devices. This film can be interpreted as a response to our 'brave new world' which is flooded with loads of information. Staring at our smartphones, pads, laptops, TVs or newspapers, we are constantly caught, attracted, distracted, affected, engaged, astonished, amused or frightened by worldwide updated news. And although all of these informations pretend to be important, the emotional and psychological patterns behind the scene stay the same. Actually it is a boring repetition, like a loop of hollow phrases. 
The film is layouted with retro design elements which evokes the impression of a déja-vu leading back to the days when the 'news-production-machine' began to tick and the onlooker became a pale zombie spellbound by the lunatic dance of information. 
The film was entirely shot and edited on an iPhone SE & an iPad 4, using diverse apps: Luma Fusion,TouchViz, Musemage, Fused, Legend, Mega Photo or Bent. The music was created on the app Garage Band with the help of an UR22mkII interface (Steinberg) which has allowed me to record my guitar direct to the iPad 4.
Film & Music © Vanessa Vox, 2017

„Facing the Matrix“ (May 2017), 0'47 minutes. Music by Orlando Bay.

We look at the mirrored face of a young man in the dark. He seems to be absorbed by the screen in front of his eyes, trapped in a digital world of codes and algorithms which work in their own self-satisfied manner.

The face is frozen, the eyes seem to be spellbound. A bizarre life unfolds in this rotating movement of digital patterns which look like a strange clockwork mechanism.

The film is based only on two simple elements: a photo of my son and a moving sentence ('This is a Kaleidoscope') which is fragmented by special effects.

Personal note: My son is autist and since his early age he is fascinated by gyroscopes and circular motions.

"Portrayed Ol' Man Talking Silly Things" (January 2017), 1'06 minutes. Music by Orlando Bay.

it is about an old man losing his mind and becoming confused. A strange and sad impression of someone becoming out of control in life. The film is a satirical remark considering a world which sold out its values. If money loses its social responsibility, the wise man on the banknote goes mad.

"Kaleidospace (December 2016)",  2'31 minutes. 

"Kaleidospace" is an homage to '2001: A Space Odyssey'. It is about entering a new dimension, another space beyond the rational, beyond the obvious things. Imagine being transformed, confused and squeezed by a black hole which ejects you to an alternative universe.
This video is the result of a collaboration between Vanessa Vox (film and editing) and Orlando Bay (music).
Vanessa had the opportunity to use the beta version of a wholly new app called Luma Fusion which enabled complex layering and effects on her iPad4. This video editing app breaks the barriers of the usual and opens a new state of the art on mobile phones and tablets.

"In the Heart of the Kaleidoscope", 2'25minutes, is a freaky experimental short mobile movie. The viewer immerses in the inside perspective of a kaleidoscope. In the heart of this surreal world an abundance of seemingly abstract and permanent transforming images are pulsating on the groove of Orlando Bay's music 'Dark Bit Flow'. The flesh-colored images are not an endoscopy. No, we are looking at a deconstructed selfie of the filmmaker Vanessa Vox who was dancing in the front of her iPod. Some eyes, hands, fingers, teeth, ears, thin braids shortly appear but remain trapped in the world of mirrored patterns. They shape a playful floating choreography.
The film was shot with the application 'VideoFXLive' and afterwards edited on an iPad with 'iMovie'. So to say it is a no budget film with only one acting person dancing on an exclusively new piece of music which is composed by Vanessa's husband Orlando Bay.

Screened in Melbourne, Australia: #MINA 2015

"Dreaming (August the 7th, 2016)",  Runtime: 2'55, is a short experimental movie highlighted with music.

In the reality of our dreams we often feel like prisoners. We would like to escape but we cannot. We turn around and around. We follow pathways which lead to nowhere. We hurry downstairs, but we don't reach the end. The only exit is waking up. But sometimes our dreams won't let us go.

We are trapped by their mysterious image sequences.

'Dreaming' is part of a mobile movie series which started in January 2014. This piece is entirely shot on an iPhone SE. The film as well as the music is edited on an iPad4.

Film and Music (c) Vanessa Vox, 2016

Dreaming was screened 2017:in San Diego (official selections MFF), in Los Angeles ('Third Annual Femmes’organized by Micol Hebron), in Melbourne at ACMI(#MINA2017, organized by Max Schleser).

"Screen Reading (April the 27th, 2016)" (0'41,1080p) is a short experimental movie, part of a mobile movie diary which started in January 2014. This piece is entirely done on a mobile device with apps: the shot, the music and the editing.
Background: Today you spend so much time in front of all these different LED screens everywhere! Staring at them for hours has become a part of our everyday's life. At home, on the way to work and even during the free time to relax. Like a cameleon which is searching for the fly to catch, our eyes are always looking for new informations, new contacts, new trends. These rapid eye movements are like a daydream when we are caught by the matrix of this Brave New World.
Screened at ‪#‎HeForShe‬ LA Media Summit 2016 // YouTube Space LA - May 21, 2016 // Miami Independent Film Festival 2016

'March the 7th, 2015', 2'07 minutes

Was tut eine Videokünstlerin und ehemalige Tänzerin, wenn ihr Atelier unfreiwillig von Musik erfüllt ist? - Nun, ganz einfach: Sie tanzt spontan vor ihrem iPad. Während Orlando Bay in seinem Studio seine musikalischen „Schichten“ legte und sich das Motiv ständig wiederholte, packte Vanessa Vox die Gelegenheit beim Schopf und experimentierte mit ihren Bewegungen wie vor einem Spiegel. Der starke „halftone“-Bildeffekt (Druckraster), der an Roy Lichtenstein erinnert, wurde bereits während der Aufnahme als gestalterisches Mittel eingesetzt. The Now/das Jetzt als Inspiration für ein kleines Gesamtkunstwerk und Teil der videographischen Tagebuchreihe.

Screened 2016 in Köln, Germany: Blaue Stunde VII

'AUGUST THE 31TH, 2015', 3'44minutes,  is an experimental mobile short movie, so to say a filmed artist 'selfie'. Vanessa Vox is all in one: actress, musician, filmmaker, editor.
I am alone in a swimming pool. A sudden strange feeling appears in my mind, like a breeze touching the skin. Looking under the water surface I discover an olive branch floating towards me. I dive into the pool and start to play around with the branch. The throbbing and reverberant sound of the guitar accompanies this fugitive moment. No words, only music.
Vanessa created a short parable of dipping into another reality. The strange flickering light patterns and the soundscape convey the impression of a dreamy and unreal inner world. The olive branch symbolizes the search of peace within yourself.
This film was shot with the slow motion camera application 'SloMo' and the front camera of an iPod5 protected by a watercase. Afterwards edited on an iPad with the app 'iMovie'. The music is a guitar improvisation, recorded in her husband's project studio and played by Vanessa, exclusively for this movie.

 'OCTOBER THE 7TH, 2015 - Sucking Pattern' (1'45, HD 1080p) is an abstract experimental movie. A fusion of visuals and music. Various moving and vibrating patterns carry us into a surreal and spherical world. The forms react highly sensitively or almost hysterically on Orlando Bay's hypnotic music 'Storenid'. Here and there some garish short interruptions suddenly appear like flashes.

Film and music, both are new creations from 2015. Orlando Bay shapes his soundscapes in his own music studio for Vanessa's video experiments. On January 2014 Vanessa Vox started to work on a mobile film series in a diary form. All of these short experimental videos were recorded and edited on an iPod5 and/or iPad4. It is part of her challenge to apply new mobile movie apps.

Film: Vanessa Vox
Music: 'Storenid' by Orlando Bay

March the 7th, 2015 (Tryviertel), 2:06 min

Music: ‚Tryviertel‘ from Orlando Bay

What does a video artist and former dancer do when her studio is spontaneously filled with music? – Quite simply: She dances just as spontaneously in front of her iPad. While Orlando Bay was practicing his musical motif on the piano, Vanessa Vox seized the opportunity and experimented with her movements as if in front of a mirror. The strong halftone effect, reminiscent of Roy Lichtenstein, was used as a design element during the recording. The Now as inspiration for a small Gesamtkunstwerk and part of her videographic diary entries.

German version for the film festival "Blaue Stunde" by Köln:

Was tut eine Videokünstlerin und ehemalige Tänzerin, wenn ihr Atelier spontan von Musik erfüllt wird? – Nun, ganz einfach: Sie tanzt ebenso spontan vor ihrem iPad. Während Orlando Bay an seinem Klavier sein musikalisches Motiv probte, packte Vanessa Vox die Gelegenheit beim Schopf und experimentierte mit ihren Bewegungen wie vor einem Spiegel. Der starke Druckrastereffekt, der an Roy Lichtenstein erinnert, wurde bereits während der Aufnahme als gestalterisches Mittel eingesetzt. The Now/das Jetzt als Inspiration für ein kleines Gesamtkunstwerk und Teil ihrer videographischen Tagebucheinträge.

 "April the 30th, 2014 (Dying momentum)", 2'10 minutes, is about movement and turning around like pirouettes. My autistic son always loved to play with spin ... In the video he is the one who makes the toys and figures turning around. But each momentum comes to an end. So I tried to express this dying energy using a slow motion effect and the music of Orlando Bay.

Donna Donato says in the Mobile Movies Showcase – Week 28:

'Found that I watched this piece both with and without sound. Liked the frenetic, slightly claustrophobic music and the way the vignetted edges of the frames and the featured tops with their shadows danced and pulsated to the beat. Watching it silently I was aware of the elegance of the toys and the skill involved in ‘throwing’ them to maintain a spin for such longer periods of time. Smiled at the last shot of what appeared to be eyes'

 "March the 24th, 2015", 0'50 minutes.

This short time lapse let us immerse in the mesmerizing course of time where everything is in a permanent metamorphosis. The early spring sun shines deep into the room and makes all the shadows on the wall slowly dance like on a screen: The window frame and a plant. Only the golden lamp stand remains on its place. It is like a metapher for perpetual change around an axis of resistance.

The spherical music 'Violinwald 2' (violin forest) was initially a recording of a blackbird's morning song. Vox's husband, Orlando Bay transferred and transposed the tune into a violin melody. The result is very touching.

 'TO CARE FOR' (15 seconds, HD-1080p) is based on a selfie mobile movie. It was taken on an iPod and edited on an iPad.

Vanessa Vox tried to catch the very moment of attention. Like in Hitchcock's Spellbound where Dali designed the dream scenes the eyes become guardians. They are everywhere constantly present. A symbol of awareness and attentiveness. Together with the repeated and destorted message „to care for“ the impression is given of a latent and not explainable suspense.

In this micro movie Vanessa Vox experimented with many of her apps (Video Magic, Movie FX, Old Video Pro, Ghost Lens+, Frame Blast) to achieve these multi layering collage with its refined colors and textures. The end cut was done on iMovie.

The music is a part of Orlando Bay's 'TO CARE FOR'.

 "May the 9th, 2014 (Lost in a Dream)", 1'23 minutes, a self-portraits series on a music by Orlando Bay

Screening 2014 in Italy, Rovereto: ISMA (International Salon Mobile Art in the Museo di Arte Contemporanea di Trento), curator Giancarlo Beltrame

24 Seconds of my Life (2012-03-28), created with a pocket camera, 

Screening 2018 in Germany: Blaue Stunde VIII (Köln) & IX (Wetzlar), Topic: Longing (http://8.te-blauestunde.de/)

The series “24 Seconds of my Life” emphasizes the key moments in our everyday life that are both unremarkable and yet so mood-evocative and symbolically powerful.

Here, a swan invests a lot of effort to take off and disappear into the distance. However, this hopeful flight only serves to get him a few meters further.

The improvised piano music by Orlando Bay gives the moment a mood of longing and melancholy.

Die Reihe „24 Seconds of my Life“ betont die Schlüsselmomente in unserem Alltag, die zugleich unspektakulär und dennoch so Stimmungsprägnant und Symbolstark sind.

Hier ein Schwan, der viel Kraft investiert, um in die Lüfte zu kommen und in die Ferne zu verschwinden. Doch dieser Hoffnungsvoller Anflug dient ihm nur dazu ein paar wenige Meter weiterzukommen.

Die improvisierte pianomusik von Orlando Bay gibt den Moment die Stimmung der Sehnsucht und Melancholie.