Sancaklar Mosque

Designed by EAA – Emre Arolat Architects and commissioned by Sancaklar Foundation, this film is a semi-documentary salute to this distinguished example of modern architecture, which stands out among Turkey’s Islamic places of worship that is dominated by historicist building typologies.

Sarraf | Galeyan | Mekanik visualized the transformation of steel, concrete and stone into a place of worship by documenting Sancaklar Mosque from the start of its construction in May 2012. While recording the progress of the construction throughout passing seasons, the film aims to portray the building’s existence within nature and its percept of space with the sensibility of the structure it purposes to narrate.

Due to the inaccessibility of the area during harsh winter times, the snowbound imagery of the construction was recreated with the help of photo manipulation, matte painting, 3D effects and compositing techniques. By utilizing both sharp timelapse shots and soft videos of NTSC 30 footage conformed to cinematic 24 for its visual narrative, the film dwells on the tension between the technical and engineering-centric implementation process and humble and tranquil art of the building with its pacing.

The original soundtrack of the film also integrates the modern silhouette and the Islamic references of the building. The musical piece combines classical music with the oriental ney*, allowing the coexistence of the hectic beat of construction and the peaceful serenity of worship within one picture. For the musical composition, which steers the pace and feel of the film with the help of audio samples like blowing wind and flowing water, all the instruments, including the ney, were mixed in a fully digital environment.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ney