An Abandoned Collaboration by Caleb Stumpfl

As a filmmaker, I’m always looking for new projects, developing short film ideas and collaborating with creative individuals. I found Nicholai’s work online and liked his style as an artist straight away. His photos of abandoned houses stood out to me and I thought it would make an interesting film. I contacted him, discussed some ideas and a few days later we were shooting.

The premise was pretty simple – drive around Minnesota for a few hours and look for abandoned houses. I interviewed him the day before and wanted to get some shots that captured the abandoned vibes found in his work. When I started this project, I set out to document him exploring these places without interfering with his creative process. When he would find a cool looking place, I followed him with my camera while he searched for the right shot. He would look for a spot with an interesting background or good light and I would just sit back and film his natural workflow.

The houses we found looked untouched. There was a calendar from the early 90’s tacked on the wall, toothbrushes by the sink, floral couches and old televisions… It was surreal. Definitely makes you think about the house’s history, who lived there before and why they left. Going somewhere unknown and being a little out of your comfort zone is my idea of an adventure, even if it did get pretty sketchy at times. You never know what you might find in those places when you turn a corner. But from a cinematography standpoint, every direction I pointed my lens at looked interesting because it was an environment I had never seen before.

The purpose behind his work is to capture the feel of places that rarely get noticed. It’s a brilliant example of what you can find if you explore and look for things that normally get passed up. I’m glad I got to go along for the ride and document everything. Nicholai just moved out to LA so be sure to keep an eye on him and his upcoming projects.