Lie back, take your tablets and soak up Manflu – full frame and up loud. Shot by newbie Flyn Vibert we find out why he switched his camera over from shooting fashion stills to video mode. We’re captivated.

So you’ve just graduated – where from and what was your degree?

Yes, I studied at the London College of Fashion for about 18 months – MA Fashion Photography. My whole background was in the arts, but I was looking for new inspiration. I needed that change. I don’t tell many people this, but I’d stopped shooting for a period of time. Things just felt a little stale. So I wanted to do something that would take me completely out of my comfort zone. And it did. It pushed me so much further than I could’ve imagined. Both practically and (just as crucially) on a personal level. I still have a bit of a love-hate relationship with fashion, but then I also have that with the arts. And I do love conflict.

We love your filming of Manflu – can you tell us how that came about and about the shoot please?

It was more of a subconscious drive than anything carefully planned out. I’d actually never filmed Manflu before that night. I’d seen them play several times before and each time they drew me that little bit further in. They had something about them that I knew I had to capture on film. I was going to see them that night anyway, so I brought my camera along as always. I never quite feel complete without it on me. The shoot itself was all about feeling. I was reacting to what I was experiencing. Somewhere between intensity, passion, fire and even brutality. I had to be strong that night, I had to hold my ground, compete for space, force angles. It was a hell of a rush.

There are moments when I’m knocked to the ground and shoved aside, but I never stop filming. It’s all there. More than a document of a live event, for me it was all about performance, not only what was playing out in front of me but mine too. And this fits in with my own photography. I shoot the way I always shoot, as an active, subjective participant. I want my presence to be felt throughout. I want the spectator to experience rather than just observe.

What camera did you use and did you use any additional lighting other than what the band was using?

I used the same camera I shoot all my photography with now, a Canon powershot G10. I’ve never been much into larger formats I prefer to be as agile and nimble as possible when I shoot. It’s pretty limited, but it fits my practice. In everything I do, I’m working towards what I call a ‘poorer photography’ – a rejection of professional means in producing the image. In limiting my tools, I believe that I push myself further creatively.

Manflu use a strobe on their final song, so I was conscious of making use of that. Lighting is very important to me, it’s always played a big part in my photography work and that continues through to my use of video. I think it was (Federico) Fellini who said “Light is everything ……light is life”.

Did you change it to b&w in the edit? Did you edit it yourself?

Yes, I shot it in colour initially, as I like to always leave the option there. In this case, I think black & white fitted the experience. I wanted to further emphasise those clashes between darkness and light.

I used a long take here, so the edit is pretty minimal.

How do you think your stills photography informed your film?

Framing is an under-rated skill, I think. It’s always been very important to my photography. I love disecting lines, creating angles, and closing the frame right down. So when I film, I’m faced with the challenge of holding a good frame continuously and I find that amazingly exciting.

Are there any other films you’d like to show us – please tell us about those too.

I’m still working with Manflu. I shot with them again a few weeks back, experimenting with some new ideas, holding more intimate frames. I think the results are interesting. Though it’s all a bit work in progress at this stage. I’d like to share it with you though.

When did you first pick up a camera and realise images were something you wanted to be involved in?

I was 16 and I wasn’t sure where I was going. My whole family are creatives, so I was drawn to that side. I loved music, but I couldn’t sing or play. I loved art, but I couldn’t paint. So I took up photography. There was no real reasoning behind it. I had no idea whether I’d actually be any good at it, but something drew me to it. My father gave me his camera, taught me the basics and my love affair began there. I’d spend hours on the streets, sneaking into building sites, creeping through fences, searching for unseen (ugly) beauty, shooting til every last drop of energy was sapped from me. And then I’d do it all again the next day. I felt so completely alive. And that feeling has never left me.

What’s your five year plan?

To look back and have no regrets.

Flyn’s photography can be found here: http://callmeflyn.blogspot.com