5/6/13 Screening our Experimental Films

En Quête de la Raison - George, Travis, Jacob, Lawrence

• Isolated and explored each element of a film to great comedic effect; cinematography, editing, plot/content.
• Breaking the 4th wall to create a warped version of their first film-Standard Case-with manipulated cinematography and effectively, a severed plot. Suggested a film within a film.
• Complete rejection of cinematic conventions led the audience to think about the basic elements of a film.

How Doth the Alligator - Angela, Allissa, Wilson, Henry

• artistic cinematic techniques (projections, superimposition, reflections)
• separation between reality and fantasy; from "outside looking in"
• choppy soundtrack enhanced thematic elements of film
• highly stylistic and conceptual, great experimental film.

Self Decadence - Erik, Max, Darien, Denis

• interesting variety of shots to portray the different sins (long, unedited shots for sloth and quick, jarring pace for wrath)
• great sound design to create a sad and spooky atmosphere
• anonymity of character was powerful and helped convey the conceptual elements of the film
• good exploration of the experimental genre and quite philosophical in the film's investigation of pride and sin

Audience's Response to My Film

• Sad, dejected tone and timbre
• A person who is trapped and lonely
• Symbols: gates of hell, materialistic obsession

Reflection 20/5/13 Brainstorming My Experimental Film

   After MADD week, we returned to our unit on experimental film. In today's class, we got into groups and started discussing potential ideas for our film and also our individual production roles. We decided our production roles by picking a paper slip with one of the four roles written on them. I was the director of this film; although this is not my first time taking on this role, I will relish this challenge by building on what I have learnt and experienced as a director and further improving myself and my work.
   As the director, I decided to lead the group discussion by first offering the three possible investigations into experimental film in which we can explore: what constitutes a film; a philosophical/political/aesthetic theme; the basic medium of a film. We decided to explore a philosophical theme through this experimental film, in which we agreed on humanity's tendency to sin. More specifically, I am going to focus on the infamous "Seven Deadly Sins", and how pride (excessive love of self) is the root of all the other sins. Ms Wong liked my idea, but encouraged me to draw our thought process out so that we had a visual blueprint to refer to.

   After having plotted our basic framework for our experimental film, Ms Wong advised us to start thinking about the technical and cinematic elements of this work. For example, the sound designer should think about how to represent "pride" through sounds; what does pride itself sound like? How can the editor suggest envy, for instance, by manipulating the pacing and the shot lengths? As a reflector in the IB learner profile, I learnt a lot about the making of an experimental film in this class by isolating each cinematic element, and ended up thinking about film in a completely different way.

30/4/13 Class Notes on Experimental Subgenres

Abstract Film

• Non representational forms (does not depict the physical appearance of things)
• Instead focuses on basic materials of the film medium
• Played greater attention to graphic form and rhythmic editing
• Often considered as "filmmaking painting with motion"

• non-narrative visual/sound experiences with no story and no acting. Rely on the unique qualities of motion, rhythm, light and composition inherent in the technical medium of cinema to create emotional experiences.

"The drama of vision, a vision that implies a belief that the first priority is to see and record, the second to structure and interpret." -David Curtis

   Stan Brakhage

Sought to liberate human perception from "goal seeking" in favour of "open, receptive seeing"'

Analyzing "Black Ice"

What I saw/Description

• Flash of radiant colours on a completely black background
• Illusion of movement
• Inconstant tempo, accelerating and dying down at times
• Colours mainly blue, red and white (ice?), appears like the splash of paint on a canvas

Interpretation/Associations

• Spirituality
• Stream of consciousness
• Death

Compilation Films

• Reuses pre-existing film footage in a new context to generate new idea
• Raises the question of what art is; Marcel Duchamp's response of any type and form of art as entirely subjective, and that art is what we decide for it to be.

Contemporary Avant Garde Films

 led by influential video artist Bill Viola whose artistic expression includes the use of electric, sound and image technology.

Reflection 24/4/13 Class Notes

The spectrum of major film making forms:
 Documentary (closest to realism) ---  Narrative (story telling in a fictional world) ---  Avant-Garde

Avant Garde Films

• a form of film making that uses only highly stylized image and sound to create a visual landscape that often has no clearly definable story
• POETIC FILM; VISUAL ABSTRACTION; EXPRESSIONISM

Common characteristics:

• Autobiographical elements
• Own language and symbology
• Value chance and spontaneity

Differences from mainstream commerical films:

• Rarely present straightforward stories/characters (deliberately making every viewer bring their own agendas to interpret the film's meaning)
• Aesthetic, political or even philosophical means of expression
• Often isolates and scrutinizes one technical aspect of filmography (e.g sound)

Specific Aspects:

• Manipulation of time (through time lapse photography and fast/slow/reverse motion)
• Negative and superimposition of images
• Non-synchronized sound
• Represents a sensual, emotional and aesthetic experience (to invoke emotions) instead of telling a story

Lithuanian filmmaker Jonas Mekas, considered as the "godfather of american Avant-garde cinema"

"These films confront us with the necessity of redefining an experience we were sure we understood". 

-Scott McDonald

Reflection 24/4/13 Screening Day Two

GEMINI - Alwin, Max, Denis:

• Interesting variety of shot choices (many close ups) to capture the brotherly emotions and conflict
• Often there was a lack of focus in shots 
• Experimented with techniques that we've learnt 
• Great sequences (pacing, blocking)

MARATHON - Robbie, Bryan, Henry:

• "conveyed the perseverance and determination embodied in the spirit of marathon"
• beautiful visuals (e.g dissolving images of marathon runner and sprinting leopard)
• great music choice and transition to enhance narrative
• more artistic detail and thought (such as the pace and flow of the running)

17/4/13 Screening our Soviet Montage films

FIVE DAYS LEFT -- Darien, Adrian, Erik:

• appropriate use of symbolism but repetitive at times (e.g the wilting rose)
• fitting soundtrack but more sound design would have enhanced the narrative 
• deliberate increase in pacing as the plot moved towards its climax (mirrored by faster cuts) 
• more thoughtful in mise-en-scène (background of newspaper could have been much more meaningful)

ENDGAME -- George, Travis, Lawrence, Jacob:

• interesting exploration of a variety of Soviet Montage styles: metric, rhythmic and tonal
• close up shots mirrored claustrophobic undertone
• some symbolizing shots were slightly irrelevant (e.g rocket)
• rich and interspersing soundtracks intensified the plot and built up to climax. Also reflected the psychologic effects of drugs

LIGURIRE -- Angela, Wilson, Angela:

• Creative use of symbolism (skeletons, fingerprints, butcher)
• Soundtrack was ominous and helped the direction and pacing of the plot
• Enjoyed the juxtaposition of butcher scene and cooking scene to suggest cannibalism

10/4/13 Filming Stage

   Our production group returned from Easter holiday fresh and full of ideas for our upcoming film shoot. Although we were unable to get any footage during the holiday (due to all of us being away for vacation), we were fully prepared for filming our soviet montage production owing to our detailled shot list. As soon as class started, we briefed Ms Wong on what we were going to film and set off collecting footage.
  Being a reflective film student today, I bore in mind George's advice on filming throughout this lesson. He had warned us to always, always film more than what you would deem necessary, since each shot in a montage lasts only a couple of seconds and thus it would do no harm to have extra clips of the same shot. I responded to this piece of feedback by making sure we always filmed multiple shots for the same scene (for example a crumbled piece of paper dropping on the floor). Not only did we do several takes, we also experimented with different camera angles and framing so that we would have a larger selection of clips when it came to editing our film.
   Whilst the editor was importing the footage onto the computer, I started brainstorming possible soundtracks that would enhance and represent my artistic vision for this film. The following song had a complex timbre and fitted our theme and plot quite snugly, and therefore I have chosen it as one of the possible songs for this film.