FROM FORM
Jurjen Versteeg and Ashley Govers. They are From Form.
Interview by Silvia Pino

Brief Festival:
Thinking about the next edition of the festival that will take place this October, we wanted to collect a series of interviews that will be published in our blog. In order to speak not only about projects, but mainly about the people behind each design studio. Exclusive interviews of the teams who have taken part or will take part in the festival. That means, everything is going to stay in the family. And you are already part of the Brief family.
So, what do you think if we start to reveal something of your past? What made you to group a filmmaker, an interior designer and a professional in the world of advertising? When did you meet? And when did you realize that you could and you wanted to work together?

Ashley:
It all started at the Willem the Kooning art academy were we all graduated in 2011.
We’ve met during the first year and Jurjen and I started working together on his graduation film (A History of the Title Sequence).

The production size was very small and it was only with the two of us. It all felt really comfortable. With our different backgrounds in filmmaking and interior design, we started to see things in different perspectives.
One year later we started From Form. Wouter, our former partner, needed a workspace at that time and joined us in the studio. When the OFFF project came in, Wouter brought in him great storytelling and writing skills.

Brief Festival:
In such a multidisciplinary team, I understand that everyone has a specific role. How do you organize yourselves in daily work in the studio?

Jurjen:
Actually, our roles are divided really naturally. Of course, each of us has it’s own specialities, but in every day work it all blends together.
Ashley is really all about materials and building and she also has a keen eye for structure and planning. I am more focussed on the design aspect and technical details in each project. After 6 o’clock we’re also a couple, so we think we naturally build up this balance

Brief Festival:
Clearly, you are a good team. Your videos have become real handicraft pieces that have achieved international recognition. Watching your making of videos, one realizes that this job requires a lot of time in designing as well as in preparation, building and editing. ¿How much time did you invest in OFFF Main Titles 2013?

Ashley:
It was crazy! After we send Hector -the organizer of the festival- an e-mail with the question if we could make something for the festival, he immediately responded. He was very enthusiastic about the idea of us doing the main titles. Then the clock started ticking and we got 6 weeks left. We decided to build the 19th century room from scratch in our own studio, so we didn’t make it easy for ourselves.

Brief Festival:
Is the making of thing a beautiful obsession of yours? It is incredible to see all those processes.

Jurjen:
We think it’s always fun to capture the process. You tend to lose yourself in all the production work and stress, but when the project is finished, it’s so great to see how it all came to life.
We also think that is helps clients and people who we work with give an idea of how we work.

Brief Festival:
We have read in your Twitter account that you launched your latest project: for Into The Great Wide Open Festival, that takes place on the Dutch island of Vlieland. Can you tell us a little bit about the project? And about the festival? It sounds very intriguing…

Ashley:
Yes, it is!! This is one the best things that happened to us last year! We really had a rough time behind us, so when this e-mail came in, we literally danced in the studio, until we realized we were still in a pitch hahaha.

Jurjen:
It’s a festival that takes place for 3 days on the isle of Vlieland. It’s a very small isle, where no cars are allowed and you are surrounded by beautiful nature. I spend my whole childhood there in the summers, so the place itself already means a lot to me.

Ashley:
In 2012 we visited the festival. It is just so beautiful! Listening to beautiful music surrounded by trees, roasted pig in the woods and campfires at night on the beach.
Each year, the festival chooses a Designer in Residence. They give full freedom to the designer and give room to be inspired by the island and the festival.
We are very excited by their approach on design! The surreal paintings from the Belgium artist Rene Magritte are a huge inspiration to us.
We’d love to stay at the island for a while to immerse ourselves with the nature and characteristics of the island.

Brief Festival:
Eventually we have compiled a few questions from various members of the organizing team of the Brief Festival. Those are personal questions from: Gloria, Charles and myself. And here they are!
The first one is about influences and inspirations. What artists, creatives, movements or movies inspire you in your work ? How do you see the creative scene in the Netherlands and more specifically that of Rotterdam?

Ashley:
A few weeks ago we bought another book on the Eames couple. They are really a huge inspiration to us. The way they see things, how they work and the work itself. Play was just such an important element throughout their work. They really lived by that philosophy.

Jurjen:
Another artist we really admire is the Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf. His photographs really behave like paintings. You could stare at them for so long. He’s really a man of building worlds and does not care for “reality photography”. We love to build worlds too!
We like the creative scene in The Netherlands. It’s quite bold. Rotterdam is very good place to live and work in. It has room to breathe. That’s something that is hard to find in other big cities. You can feel that Rotterdam is very vibrant and lively city. There are a lot of things happening right now, so come over!

Brief Festival:
What would be your most exciting assignment? What would you love to do?

Jurjen:
Haha, we have so many!! A music video, building a set for a film (Wes, are you reading?), doing a great shopping window. Our list of things we still want to do is endless we could say 😉

Brief Festival:
And we end with the big question. What is your favorite credit sequence in the whole world?

Jurjen:
Ooh! Again, so many! The one we can think of right now is “Catch me if you can” by Kuntzel + Deygas. It fits so well with the feel of movie. When we read an article on artofthetitle.com about the process of the title sequence and realized that it was all hand stamped, we loved it even more!