Pastel Wasteland – An Interview with Rob Ulitski
Back in December I reviewed Rob Ulitski’s VR – a potent and fascinating short concerning emerging technologies, social media and a vicious spirit with a distressing interest in cosmetics.
A prolific film-maker based in Portsmouth; Ulitski has a number of projects on the go, but was able to spare some time to talk urban legends, K-Pop, conspiracy theories and our place in an increasingly virtual world.
Hello Rob, thanks for talking to us.
Thank you for having me.
Can you tell us what you’re working on right now? Your schedule seems to have exploded since you made VR.
Sure! So I’ve just signed on to do three more horror anthologies. One is coming up next month and is based on conspiracy theories, and I’m also doing segments for two Italian horror anthologies. I also shot another short called Awake which is out at the end of the month.
I’m also keeping busy in the music video world and have just signed on to do a small video for a Korean artist.
How did you become involved with so many projects?
Sam Mason Bell, who produced Maniacal [the anthology which includes VR] showed my work to an Italian filmmaker called Domiziano Christopharo. He was already working with him on these two anthologies and a director dropped out, so Domiziano invited me to contribute.
I imagine a lot of people would find having so many irons in the fire intimidating.
Ha ha, I only work well if I have a hundred other things I should be doing. I thrive under the pressure of it all, and I have so much fun doing it. I want to do as much as I can as often as I can.
I notice you actively search for musicians on social media, just to see if you can do videos for them.
It’s a common thread when I’m trying to find my next projects. All of my best projects and even work experience opportunities when I was younger were down to cold-calling people on social media. It’s the most efficient way to get yourself out there and it’s absolutely free.
It must give you a lot of scope for experimentation and discovery too I bet – collaborating with a wide array of artists with varying styles.
Yeah definitely. Collaboration is my favourite thing about film-making. It’s only through working with a wide variety of people that I’ve been able to discover my style and what works for me. Film-making is a team sport and I like to surround myself with the best people possible.
You have developed a pretty distinct identity of your own as a film-maker though. Particularly in terms of the themes you’re interested in.
Yeah, I mean I think style is something that changes and develops as you get better and do more projects. That said, I’m at a place now where I’m recognising recurrent themes and techniques in my work, so it’s the first time I’ve ever considered my work having a distinctive style. I like first person camerawork (in moderation), I take a lot of inspiration from Korean cinema and music videos.
And obviously a huge amount of inspiration from the horror genre.
Where does your love of Korean culture come from? I know it’s had a huge influence on you.
It happened completely randomly. I was at uni back in 2012, and I came across a music video by a group called 4MINUTE. I basically listened to that and became obsessed, and then the whole ‘Gangnam Style’ thing happened. I did a lot of research and was blown away by Korean artists’ music videos. They are in another arena to the US and UK when it comes to their videos. You really have to check some out to get what I mean, but they are so original and stylised. It’s impossible not to binge-watch them.
2NE1 seem to have a pretty damn devoted fanbase.
They do! They were my favourite group and they just disbanded, it’s so sad. Their breakup single ‘Goodbye’ is a great example of a good K-Pop video. Simple, conceptual and emotional. I’ll miss the girls.
Would you say there’s a marked difference between K-Pop idols and aidoru artists from Japan?
I don’t know a huge amount about the aidoru artists but as far as I am aware, they are similar to the idols in Korea. The idea of ‘idols’ fascinates me. Most Korean artists train for a number of years before debuting, and usually have a wide variety of talents. To be an idol, you need to have the look, the voice, the acting chops, a media-friendly personality. And most of all, a thick skin. Idol’s fans are viciously loyal, and it isn’t uncommon to see huge arguments erupting on social media.
I’m sure all of this pressure must take a toll, but their level of fame isn’t reached without that kind of work ethic.
A Japanese urban legend, Kuchisake-onna, features in VR. I take it these are another fascination?
Yes! I love a good urban legend. It plays on people’s deepest fears, and by placing the stories in real-life settings and creating this air of mystery around them, it makes them that much scarier.
The virtual reality headset in VR certainly gave Onna a lot to toy with. Is the eroding barrier between “real life” and what’s on screen something which interests you?
Yeah, I mean technology has informed a huge amount of my life. We grew up with the growth of the internet, social media, mobile phones. The fear of technology that appears in J-Horror such as The Ring and Pulse in the early 2000’s is still very much present today. The blur between fiction and reality is something that appears a lot in my work, I like to toy with expectations a little bit. And I think the line is really being blurred nowadays anyway. On social media, you have a totally separate brand that you are showing to the world. But you only show them the best parts of your life, the highlight reel. And then some people get depressed when they don’t live up to that expectation that they have set for themselves. That barrier is eroding in real life too, and it’s interesting to explore that in a fictional context.
Would you say then, that a number of your projects come at this from slightly different angles? VR focused on consequences for us as individuals. And your contributions to Conspiracy X and Deep Web XXX look at wider ideas in different playgrounds?
I think so, yeah. The Deep Web XXX anthology is going to be very technology focused, though I’m still working out exactly how to tackle it. I think one big theme I’m exploring at the moment is what reality is, and what happens when someone’s idea of reality is tampered with. It’s something that is present in VR, Awake and will no doubt make an appearance in my next segments.
And the idea of reality being tampered with is a key part of urban legends, regardless of technology.
Exactly. I think as people, we like to have a good idea of how everything works, how things all fit together. We find comfort in knowing things, and therefore discomfort in the unknown. All of the scariest and best stories tamper with your idea of reality, and make you question your beliefs.
Is Awake a little different to your other works?
Yeah I think so. I’ve made zombie films before, but never from the perspective of the undead. The two characters we follow have made a happy life for themselves in this post-apocalyptic situation, and the virus is the least of their worries.
Can you tell us about Pastel Wasteland? Was Awake inspired by your promo for that?
The two aren’t actually related! Pastel Wasteland is like a side-project for me. They are projects that are very representative of my style, but might not be so commercially viable, or to everyone’s taste. I look at it as an experiment, a way to test what works and what might not work, without the pressure of being an official release. I’m also looking to keep all of the projects under a minute, so they are true experimentation and are produced and put out fast.
It’s an awesome technique to see if the work you want to make will resonate with people.
Well thanks for your time. Where can people see your work?
Thank you! I update my website all the time, at www.robulitski.com I also keep up the experimentation over at Instagram, where I’m always trying out new glitchy filters and colour palettes. You can find me there at @robulitski.
VR is part of the upcoming anthology series Maniacal. My review of it is here:
