CALIFORNIA GROWTH MACHINE is an experimental documentary film that details the potential ramifications of unchecked urbanization and the idiosyncratic allure of sprawl developments. It was directed by Gielen, and shot by Emmy Award-winning cinematographer Michael Kelem.
This video presents five locations in California, loosely tracing a trajectory from natural setting to one of the birthplaces of sprawl at nighttime. We start our journey hovering close to the ground over arid territory, a region known to be prone to wildfires and already slated for development. It is shown in weather conditions conducive to wildfire. Here, the helicopter itself becomes an integral part of the work, as it is used to manipulate the dusty topography directly below.
Then spiraling down from high up in the air, the video features a purposefully disorienting perspective that sometimes plunges the viewer to the ground and into close proximity with the subject being filmed.
An accompanying voiceover provides the viewer with some key issues to consider while contemplating the sites, as a background audio track marked by use of distant location noise develops into an enveloping soundscape.
California Growth Machine was filmed in high definition for large-scale projection.