Lessons Learned

So avant-garde cinema is over and I can't say I'm sorry to see it go. However, I do feel conflicted about that class because part of me absolutely hated it. I feel like I did not learn anything and that it was a waste of time. But at the same time, I feel like it was a good experience to have. I would have never watched any of those films on my own. It did open me up to some new styles of film-making. And I didn't hate all of the films. Some I genuinely liked, like the Maya Deren and Shana Moulton films. Part of me wished I paid more attention sometimes because people in class would mention things they thought about the films that I had completely missed because I zoned out or feel asleep. So maybe I didn't learn anything because of the limits of my own mind. I did try very hard to keep an open mind. It didn't always work. To me, cinema has form, conventions, narrative, all things that avant-garde films lack. I couldn't get past that sometimes. I guess its the same as modern art; not everyone likes or even understands modern art (I sure don't) but at least they look at it and try to figure out what it is that they do or do not like about it. That is what I did with this class. It really made me appreciate cinema more and recognize the things I really like about it, the reason I love films. I love them because of the stories they tell, the worlds they transport me to. And while avant-garde cinema brought me to some very strange worlds, it was just not the same.
At least the semester is over. Now I get to make my own films next semester. That should be fun...

Relax, Turn Off Your Mind, & Float Downstream

So this week, the films we watched in cinema were all focused on the film at the simplest level: that of the frame. The films either used the element of the flicker film or paid close attention to the use of the individual frame and speed. The thing that struck me this week was the experience I gained from watching these films. As my professor said, these films are the "yoga of cinema." Each person mediates on them in their own way and comes from them with their own interpretation. And while most films are like that, I feel like these films are that much more individualized because there is no narrative structure to guide the viewer. Each person completely creates their own perceptions, so I realized for the first time while looking around the class that every other student was thinking something different about the images on the screen. I just thought that was kind of cool.
Also, this week was the exact opposite of last week. While last week in class we focused on new kinds of narrative structures, the films this week in no way even attempted to have a narrative, they were much more open ended. 
Also also, this is my last journal entry/post about avant garde films!
Serene Velocity, Ernie Gehr (1970)
This film takes an ordinary hallway (one from my university in fact) and with a stationary camera zooms in and out, capturing all the distances of the camera. The pulsing motion created by the movement of the camera for me brought back echoes of previous films, specifically Paul Sharits' T,O,U,C,H,I,N,G. I did not know that I even remembered that film, but somehow watching Serene Velocity the repetition of the word "destroy" came into my head, sounding to the rhythm of  the movement on screen. Also, since I have been in this hallway before, I could hear the sounds of the hallway and the echoing of footsteps and people talking. It was a strange combination of sounds going on in my mind, especially since the film itself was silent.
Market Street, Tomonari Nishikawa (2005)
This film was made by a professor in my university (seemed to be a theme this week) who I will actually have next semester for my video production class. This film showed images of San Fransisco flashing by pretty quickly. I felt like I was in a car looking out the window at the landscape as it went by. Sometimes the car flipped and the images turned upside down. I really liked how the film stopped abruptly because it was like the car had paused at a red light to let people cross the street. It reminded me of a cartoon where the car is going very fast but stops just in time to let the little old lady/cat/small child cross the street before driving away. This film had a more interesting subject matter because it was not just one room, it was a changing landscape shot in multiple directions and layered in different ways.
Mothlight, Stan Brakhage (1963)
This film was interesting because Brakhage taped moth wings and plant life to the film itself. Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference between which was plant and which was animal, they all look the same at the most basic level. There was a very natural feeling about this film, it seemed very organic and textural. It seemed almost like looking at slides under a microscope. The way the film transitioned seamlessly from plant to animal parts really speaks to the interconnectedness of nature, especially on such a basic level.
What the Water Said #'s 1-3, David Gatten (1997)
I think the concept of this film was the most unique. Gatten placed the film stock into crab traps and placed it in the ocean at all different times of day and tides. The images on the film stock are a result of the natural weathering that occurred in the water. I think if I did not know how the film was made, I would have just seen it as another film with scratches on it. Due to the fact that I know how it was made, it added another element to the film. I found myself questioning how the film had gotten that way. What caused that color? What was the ocean like that day? All these things heightened the experience of watching the film for me. The sound created by the ocean was very interesting as well because some days it actually sounded like the ocean whereas other times it sounded more like popcorn in a microwave or other garbled sounds. It brought the viewer that much closer to the source of the film. I could almost imagine the ocean as I watched the film and what it must have looked like on that specific day and time.
The Flicker, Tony Conrad (1965)
This film was an experience to say the least. I found myself thinking of a roller coaster early on in the film because it started slow and then built up in speed. I found myself focusing not on the screen itself, but on the exit sign to the left of the screen. It seemed like it was moving due to the flashing screen and the neon green color of the lights added a new element to the film. For awhile I sat transfixed; I literally could not look away from the screen despite the burning of my eyes. I lost sense of time and location. There was this great sense of lethargy created as well. It was a very strange experience. I like how Conrad describes his film. He say that, "it is a space you can enter-in the way you can enter the narrative space of a regular Hollywood cinema" (MacDonald 67). You never really think about cinema as a space, an actual location. Sure, in watching a film with a good story the audience is drawn in and forgets the world around them. It is only when the lights come up that we realize what has passed. Conrad is drawing attention to this fact by constructing this very specific space in for the viewer to become involved. Since there is no narrative and the mind is permitted to wander, there is more of a sense of awareness of the space being created.
Source: MacDonald, Scott. "On the Sixties." A Critical Cinema 5

Story Telling 2.0

This week's film were avant garde, but attempted to have some sort of narrative structure whereas most of the films we have watched so far do not try and even pretend to make a cohesive story. The films deconstructed or experimented with the idea of narrative so there was still an abstract element that was going on.
Hold Me While I'm Naked, George Kuchar (1966)
Hold Me While I'm Naked is a film about film; it shows an independent director and the struggles he is having in making his masterpiece come to life. He faces many obstacles on the way to making his creation: the lead actress quits and the director cannot find a replacement. The director himself is a weak and almost pathetic character as all his attempts fail. He lives miserably with his mother and cannot achieve his dreams. This film would be horribly depressing if not for the stylistic element of camp. The film is so over the top and overly dramatic in terms of acting, the setting and costumes are garishly bright. This helps add some humor and some good natured self deprecation to the film. Kuchar is showing that all artists struggle for their art, it is just the way in which some go about it that is better than others. Also, the campy-ness makes the film more fun in general and more visually pleasing.
Tommy Chat Just Emailed Me, Ryan Trecartin (2006)
Move 40 years away from Hold Me While I'm Naked and you get Tommy Chat Just Emailed Me. This film takes camp to a completely new level. The colors are even brighter, hair make-up, furniture, nothing is safe from paintbrush like hues. The use of camp in this film seems to apply more to the currently social issues rather than just poking fun at a small group like Kuchar. The over the top acting and colors, along with the use of digitization for the actors voices makes the film seem artificial. There seems to be an emphasis on superficiality throughout the film from the way the characters are dressed to the things they discus, everything is just noise, excess, fluff; there is nothing substantial going on. This idea seems to mirror Trecartin's ideas of society. With the reliance on technology, people have become increasingly fake. There is a distance and a disconnect that individuals experience from each other and that viewers feel in watching the film because of the surrealist aspect caused by the film's campiness.
Nest of Tens, Miranda July (2000)
I was not a fan of July's first film and I feel the same way about this one. Her attempt at narrative was disconnected at best. The jumble of the four separate stories confused me because they all had so little connection to one another. One thing July did do to bring together the dissimilar stories is through the use of a sound bridge. Especially with the man reading the list of phobias, the sound could be heard over the images of the next scene, bringing with it some sense of cohesion. There is just this element of questioning that comes with all her films. I found myself constantly wondering why the characters were doing what they were doing; part of me believe that the film was occurring in medias res.
Guest Filmmaker Melika Bass
The guest filmmaker this week had a very specific style. Her two films Songs from the Shed and Shoals both had this very vintage, ethereal feel about them. The characters and settings could have been from modern times or years in the past; there was this sense of frozen time or the fact that time did not really seem to matter in her films. This sense was also conveyed by the length of the films. They were both rather long and seemed to drag the viewer into this strange dream-like state.
I also liked hearing her speak at the end about the use of sound and how important it is to her. She films sound first and then develops the film around that, something I found very interesting.

Outerspace & Our Space: Deborah Stratman Films

This week in cinema a guest director Deborah Stratman, came in to speak about her films. I found that staying for the question and answer session after the film really helped me gain new insight into the world of the film and what goals the director was trying to achieve.
These Blazing Starrs (2011)
The contrast of silence and sound made an impact in this film. For the most part, the silence accompanied the images that came from the still images from books and paintings. It gave the viewer more room to think about the images and follow along with the words on the screen. The noise from the electromagnetic spectrum is paired with the images from NASA of actual comets. This created more of a connection because it was possible to hear the diegetic sounds of atmosphere of the planet. These two seemingly separate parts of the film blended well together to create a cohesive film about our fear and wonder over these spacial bodies.
O'er the Land (2008)
I found the discussion about O'er the Land fascinating. Hearing the director speak firsthand about how she viewed the film helped to inform my own opinions and shape them in new ways. I saw the film as a representation of violence created because of the amount of freedom in the country. The overt displays of power with the flamethrowers and men shooting guns seemed to show American freedom as destructive and irresponsible. However, Stratman discussed how to her the film is a representation of "ritualized warfare" and "war as theater." Having taken a class entitled "Cinema at War," I understand all about the glorification of war and its representation throughout our culture. At the same time, the film did represent the more subtle side of freedom with the long shots of nature and Niagara Falls. I think it was the juxtaposition of the two elements that says a lot about America as a nation.
Another interesting point brought up by Stratman is how freedom has become inextricably tied with boarders. There are many images that define boarders in her film whether it is the Mexico/US border or the air as protected by planes. Seeing these images while watching the film made me confused. I was not really sure what birds or bombers had to do with freedom. After hearing her speak about her reasoning for these images, I understood the film and her goals much clearer.

The World Forgetting, by the World Forgot

"How happy is the blameless vestal's lot! / The world forgetting, by the world forgot / Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! / Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd"- Eloisa to Abelard, Alexander Pope

There was only one film viewed in class today, Chris Marker's San Soleil (1983). The way they describe Marker in the articles is as if he is like some Banksy-esq character; no one really knows much about him or where he has come from, all they know is that he knows how to make films and influence other people throughout the industry. The extent to which he has done both is unknown.
Out of all of his films, San Soleil is perhaps his best known. It explores the ideas of "memory, history, and representation" through footage from Japan, Africa, Iceland, France, and San Fransisco (Lupton 152). The idea of this film reminded me of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004), one of my favorite films. Both films play with the idea of memory and how we as humans remember and recreate the events of our past in our minds. Together the films look at memory and how it creates both the past and future, as well as the identities of those that share in the collective memory.
The narrator of San Soleil, Alexandra Stewart, quotes from a letter wondering how people who do not video tape or photograph memories remember them. The film questions the central notions of what makes up such things as individual and collective memory. There are no answers, just more questions posed as to the notion of what makes up how we remember our past.
With its reoccurring images, the film itself becomes a memory. Throughout the film several images reappear: cats, the wing of the plane, the children playing on the hill in Iceland. Seeing these images again serves as an instant creation of memory in the mind of the viewer. The audience is able to think back on the first time seeing the image which has become part of the memory since seeing it in the beginning of the film. This is a very powerful effect.
Another effect that worked well in the film was the use of synthesized images. These images that have become mutated represent what film cannot express. Through the grainy, strange colored pixels we "see" the Japanese unmentionables, the horrors of soldiers preparing for war, and at the end of the film, images from the entire film. These images represent the way memories themselves appear in the mind, blurry and without real definition. The outline can be seen, but there is no clear image and it is up to the mind to fill in the spaces and create the image and memory.
Source:  Lupton, Catherine. "Into the Zone." 148-163.

City Love

The films viewed in class this week all dealt with urban settings and the way the filmmakers portrayed such environments. The films displayed cities as diverse as Odessa in Russia, Montreal in Canada, and New York in the United States. Each film served as a kind of postcard to these locations and the feelings they brought to the director.
Man With a Movie Camera, Dziga Vertov (1929)
Man with a Movie Camera is a symphony of the Russian cities of Moscow, Kiev, and Odessa. An important element of the film is the use of editing and how it creates not only the rhythm and pace of the film, but also how it creates the film's self reflection. The fast pace cuts in between scenes serves to capture and transmit the high energy life of the city. The film seems to constantly be moving, whether it is through the image itself or the editing. The scenes that compared film editing to women in a beauty parlor and using sewing machines were some of the best edited scenes. It flawlessly combines the production of a film with other commercial goods and the movement of the city showing how the creation of films can be incorporated into the flow of society. Vertov is showing at the power of cinema in transforming images into meaning as the filmmaker's job compared to all the other working people seen throughout the film.
Silvercup, Jim Jennings (1998)
This film was of a slow ode to a city than a symphony. It is a drastic change in pace from the first film because of its slow moving pace and quiet. The cuts of the film are quick, but there is slowness in subject matter that makes the movie feel almost languid. Jennings mixes urban and natural scenes to create a multifaceted picture of a city; he works to show not just the busy life, but also the slower moments.
Confederation Park, Bill Brown (1999)
This was probably my favorite film of the week because it truly was about one man's love for numerous cities and how they have come to affect his personality. While Man With a Movie Camera could be called a symphony of a city, Confederation Park is more of a love song to Canada. The voice-over narration plays an integral role in the film because Brown is proving his own narration to the landscapes that seem so important to him. The language is very beautiful and has a very poem-like quality to it. Most of the time the image could be of any city, the important thing are the memories he has and how he attaches them to the location. The pace of this film is much slower and gives more time to appreciate the natural beauty of the environment.
Castro Street, Bruce Baillie (1966)
 This portrait of a city was much different than that of the first two films. There was a semi-narrative flow that went along with both two earlier films as well as sounds that played an important role in the viewing experience. Castro Street is a more abstract, silent appreciation of a city. The close-up, overlapping images make it hard to always tell what is being depicted. The fact that the pictures are not as clear makes the idea of a specific city hard to see at all times. There are a few times when monuments like the Chrysler Building can be seen through the slots in the bridge, but at the same time most of these images could be of any industrial area of any city.
 The last two films had to deal less with specific cities and more with urban settings in general. They also made use of voice-over narration, similar to Confederation Park.The Girl Chewing Gum, John Smith (1976)
In this film, Smith uses the technique of voice-over narration to display his power as a director over the action that occurs in his film. Almost humorously the narrator of the film comments on and directs the movement of the individuals and the camera. In doing so, it seems that the narrator is the director himself. As a director he is showing his complete control over all elements in the film. Small things, like the image not matching up perfectly with the sound or the directing of birds to fly in certain directions makes the viewer aware that the sound was recorded after the fact. The playing around with sound and image makes this film playful and at the same time makes the viewer aware of the fact that we are watching a film and the affect that sound has on the way we interpret images.
The Subconscious Art of Graffiti Removal, Matt McCormick (2002)

This was another one of my favorite films this week. I loved the approach and subject of the film, having recently seen Exit Through the Gift Shop. The voice-over narration served a very different purpose in this film worked differently than in the previous films. Here, the narration was used to add an "authenticity" to the documentary like style of film. Through the style and type of narration, the film was taken by some as a documentary critiquing graffiti. However, I believe that the piece actually works to satirize the bureaucracy that goes into removing art by calling the removal process art itself. It is a pro-graffiti film because it considers it a form of art. The film works to get its point across about a serious subject through the use of a playful tone.

Lost & Found (Footage)

This week was by far my favorite in the world of the avant garde because I found the films viewed in class to be entertaining and enjoyable. The theme was also very interesting: found footage. None of the directors this week shot their own material, they solely used footage they had found and reassembled the images to create new meaning. This was a very interesting premise which created some unique results.
Report, Bruce Conner (1967)
This film dealt well with a very heavy subject: the assassination of a much loved president and what it did to a nation. At the same time, it comments on the issues of the media and the ways in which it portrayed the event. By making a film that criticizes the media, I feel that Conner is being contradictory. Through his film he is saying that the media took advantage of Kennedy's death, but at the same time he is doing the exact same thing. However, Conner's film does not exploit the event. The moment of the assassination is not even shown in the film; at that moment there is a cut to a screen that resembles one of a flicker film. We can hear what is being said by the announcer but we cannot see the actual action. This makes the moment of Kennedy's death more personal to the individual viewer. This flickering, image-less screen made it easier to be absorbed into the moment. There was nothing to distract from the words being said. I felt myself tearing up because I was able to put myself into what it must have been like to suffer such a tragedy as a nation.
Home Stories, Mathius Muller (1990)
I really liked this film for its use of sound and editing techniques. The music and sound effects helped to heighten the tension of the film and add a sense of paranoia. It allowed the viewer to become a part of the film and experience the same emotions as the women in the scenes. The editing of Home Stories was also really well done because it helped to tie these diverse images together into a cohesive story. Muller picked images of women that are typical of classic Hollywood films. With the use of editing he was able to tie the images together to create a seeming narrative flow different than that of the narrative from which the image originally came. As stated in the article about Home Stories, "Thoughts on the Transformation of Meaning in Found Footage Film," by Lucy Reynolds, the film only gains meaning through its dual layers. The "original histories inscribed in the found footage images" is used in order for the film to comment on another societal issue (p 3). There cannot be an idea of subversion without the original idea already in place. In this film, Muller seems to be subverting the idea of the female character in classic Hollywood cinema.
Removed, Naomi Uman (1999)
I felt that this film was similar to Connor's in its contradictions. Through her film Uman is commenting on the female body and how it is exploited by men through pornography. In those types of films, women are seen solely as objects of sexual desire. Through removing the female figure, with nail polish remover, a very female object in and of itself, she is taking away the idea of women as a objects of desire. At the same time, she is exploiting the female form for the sake of her art. She is using the void of the female body to make a point and to make a film.
Somewhere Only We Know, Jess McClean (2009)
This film used reality television clips to express the obsession of Americans of the genre. Through here film, McClean is showing the range of human emotions of people getting their dreams crushed and comparing them to the very real event of an earthquake. In doing so she is showing how unrealistic reality television can be. I would have liked her to compare the faces of the people losing competitions with people suffering actual devastation as a result of the earthquake or other real events. I think that could have added a stronger emotional impact and a larger social commentary.
Rehearsals for Retirement, Phil Solomon (2007)
Hearing that this film would use clips from the Grand Theft Auto video games, I assumed that there would be violence and maybe some commentary on violence of video games and the affect it has on children. However, I was hugely mistaken. This film takes a somber look a life all through the use of actual video game images. I thought the concept was interesting, but I'm not sure if it was executed in the right way. The scenes of the cars flying and the people just walking did not seem true to real life game play. Also, I wasn't sure where the film was actually going for the most part.
For a Blonde...For a Brunette...For Someone...For Her...For You, Mike Olenick (2006)
This film was unique because of its interactive experience. At first, I was afraid that no one in the class would be interested or enthusiastic about reading the lines aloud. I was surprised at the response at which we all joined in and took part in the film. There was a feeling of collectivity that came with the experience of reading it together; it took away the act of the film as an insular, personal experience and made it a group event.
Security Anthem, Kent Lampert (2003)

There is something very strange and haunting about this film. Lampert uses simple phrases to create a haunting poem that to us living in the post 9/11 world seems like a morbid threat to our security. The words being said are all banal but it is the way they are read, the expressionless tone accompanied by the alarm sound in the background that creates the air of creepiness and paranoia. Phrases such as "they have only one son" and "the car is going too fast" no longer seem like simple statements but warnings of violence and loss. There was also something hypnotic with the way the words were being read that pulled the viewer in and never let go.
Passage A L'Acte, Martin Arnold (1993)

This film, with all its stuttering and stops reminded me of a broken down animatronics ride in Disney World or as someone put it in class "a DJ mixing on a turntable." Arnold was able to take such a simple 15 second scene and break it down so far as to be able to see every small detail, and then some. There is a musical quality that comes from this breakdown of image; the characters seem to almost dance and create music with their bodies and the objects around them. He is taking a very serious movie and removing the realism, breaking it down to its most simple cinematic form. The film reminded me of a flicker film in the way that it distorted language until there was almost no meaning and the way the images flashed on the screen.

The Structure of Avant Garde Film

This week was all about structure, and to some extent deconstruction and the differences between these two different types of forms. There are many specific techniques that go into a structural film which are used to make the film more complex in structure than the average avant garde film.
1). Kiss, Andy Warhol (1963)
This film was the only film of the week to represent deconstruction. Warhol's process was mostly indifference to cinema; he believed in "turning on the camera and walking away" (Sitney 349). Kiss shows Warhol's disregard for cinema because it does not use any classical cinematic or avant garde techniques. The film is solely images of different couples kissing. It is awkward to watch because the viewer feels like they are intruding into these personal moments. However, there is also something beautiful in the watching of the couples expressing their love for each other.
2.) Wavelength, Michael Snow (1966)
This film by Snow was very different than that of Warhol's; there was a definite structure and technique that went into the film. One of the most important elements that Snow brought into his film was the sound of the sine wave. In the beginning of the film the sound is a deep buzzing noise that lulls the viewer into a trance. I found myself watching the film, but not really focusing on anything in particular. The action on the screen was occurring without me being mentally present. However, when the pitch changed I was immediately jolted back into watching the film. The higher sound pierced my consciousness and made me pay attention to what was going on.
As the camera moved closer and closer to its final objective I was slightly disappointed at having done the reading. I knew that at the end of the film came a picture of the waves. While I was still tense with anticipation to actually see this picture, the fact that I knew what it would be made it less exciting. When the picture finally did come and was accompanied by silence and I could almost imagine the sound and smell of the waves crashing. It was a very calming moment that seemed like it took years to get to.
3.) Lemon, Hollis Frampton (1969)

I honestly did not expect this film to be so literal. It was very representative of one of the main ideas that expressed through film: cinema is light. Your eyes automatically are attracted to the light that is the lemon, the one bright spot on the black background. As the picture gets darker with the shadow moving across the screen, the image resembles the phases of the moon. The eye goes to the piece of light that is the remaining part of the lemon.
4.) (Nostalgia), Hollis Frampton (1971)
This film seemed to be one of the few we've seen this semester that actually has a narrative structure. However, the way Frampton went about it was very unique. I did not realize until halfway through the film that the images and sound were not synchronous. When that happened there was a very jarring effect, almost like when you are trying to remember something but realize that your memory is wrong. As soon as I became aware of the change, I wanted the picture he was describing to burn so I could see the actual image he was describing. The film created a strange mix of language and image that lead to the image matching what was being said even though they were dissimilar.
Also, the burnt pictures themselves seemed to take on a life of their own. As they burned, they moved and disintegrated in different way. It seemed like a much more final process than deleting a picture from a camera; burning them made the memories come alive for an instant and then die in front of another camera. It was interesting subject matter for a film because it seems to be about the destruction of memory. By creating a film out of this material it seems paradoxical because the film will be a memory in and of itself. 

5.) T,O,U,C,H,I,N,G, Paul Sharits (1969)

This was my first experience with a flicker film and I have to say it was a very unique one. I felt that the feelings created by the film were akin to those of being brainwashed or what Alex had to go through with the Ludovico Treatment in A Clockwork Orange. The images assaulted your eyes and induced a trance like state; I could not look away. Despite the fact that the reading said that the film, "represents the viewing experience of erotic violence" that is not what I experienced (Sitney 362). To me, the film was more about a personal experience, I don't think it could be said that everyone saw the same things. The way the images flash before your eyes creates this dream-like state where the images and words began to lose meaning and everything began to blend together. The word repeated over and over in the film was apparently only said "destroy" but throughout the course of the film I heard many different things from "you must be strong" to "it's gone"; sometimes I heard nothing intelligible at all.
Source: Sitney, P. Adams. "Structural Film." Visionary Film: the American Avant-Garde, 1943-2000. 3rd Ed. University Press: Oxford, 2002. 348-370.

Straight Out of a Frost Poem

This week we only watched three films in my cinema class since we had Robert Todd, a guest director, come to discuss some of his films. (More on him later). All of the films this week used elements of nature in some way (hence the title of this post) to get their point across. Nature has the dual purpose of being something both tranquil and powerful at the same time. It reflects the theme of this week: spirituality and simplicity because it represents a higher power, but does so in an uncomplicated manner.
1. 31/75 Asyl, Kurt Kren (1975)

 The process of how this film was made is as important as the film itself. Kren recorded the same location over a period of time and covered the lens, cutting different holes so that each time, different locations could be seen. He used the same strip of film for the entire project. The effect gained is one that appears like a puzzle. Small pieces are put together to make a bigger scene that shows variations in times of day and weather. It seems at times that the elements are competing with each other for dominance in the scene and in the viewer's line of sight.
The process of using only one strip of film reminded me of the theory of the hyperreal as put forth by Jean Baudrillard. Since the images are layered over each other there is no way to tell which is the original or which occurred on a certain day. The images have become a copy of a copy of a copy, there is no longer a point of origin. I feel like this is what Kren is trying to say with his film. It is just showing a certain environment at a certain period of time. There is no beginning or end to this place; it has existed before and will exist after he stops shooting.
2. Kristallnact, Chick Strand (1979)
This film was arranged in a very particular manner to tell a story about the Holocaust and the film's namesake, the Night of Broken Glass. The film begins with dietetic sounds of nature and splashing. It is also very dark so while the beginning seems innocent, there is something sinister hiding underneath. The camera is too close to tell for sure what is really going on. With the sound of a train going by there is a definite shift in the tone of the film. The sounds shift from those of day to that of night. The film is no longer an innocent romp in the water. One of the swimmers disappears and non-dietetic, hypnotic music is added as the other swimmer searches for her missing companion. When the final scene shows solely moving water with no girls swimming in it, there is a sense that the water is trying to erase what has happened; covering and hiding all things. The film can be seen as representative of the actions the Nazis took first destroying the innocence and ending youth, the tearing apart of families, and finally an attempt at removing an entire population of people from the globe.
3. Story of a River, Peter Hutton (1997)

My view of the Hudson River from the Railway Bridge seen in the film

As a person who has spent fifteen of their twenty years of life living in the Hudson River Valley, this film struck a chord for me. I even saw the old Railway Bridge near my house in one of the film's scenes.  I liked the idea of telling a story of a location through nature, specifically the Hudson River. There was a very majestic feel to the film; there are many gorgeous shots of the river in different seasons covered in ice or as smooth as glass. There is a balletic quality that comes with the film and in seeing the water. The way it moves and the way the boats move through it is very graceful but at the same time very powerful. The power of nature is also transmitted through the silence of the film which helps the viewer appreciate the full effect of nature. 
The editing also adds a nice touch to this film. Hutton solely uses the fade out technique to transition between scenes. With the screen fading to black every time the image changes it gives the viewer the impression of blinking or closing one's eyes in sleep. Each time the eye closes, the location changes which gives the sense of dreaming or traveling through locations in the blink of an eye.
Robert Todd
(Fable, Stable, Interplay, Bliss, After Morning, Groundplay, & Golden Hour)
It was very interesting to have a director in class and see his interpretation of his own films and the creative process he went through to make them. However, I was not a huge fan of Todd's work. While most of it was aesthetically pleasing, I felt that it lacked real depth and did not evoke a response in me as a viewer. The one film I did like that he showed was "Bliss." That film has a great ominous feel that was built up with the dietetic sound and the images of the rolling storm clouds. The shots of the people walking along the beach ignoring the storm brewing behind them shows how unaware people are of power of nature and the world around them in general. "Bliss" was also one of the shorter films Todd showed. I felt that many of the others just ran too long with no important purpose.

Enter the Void

So the theme of cinema this week was montage and mind control. Some veered a little more to one side than the other and all used different techniques (as always) to get their feelings across.
Since I ended the last (avant garde) post about Kenneth Anger, that's where I'll start today.
1. Scorpio Rising, Kenneth Anger (1964)
With Scorpio Rising, Anger uses montage to tell a story about a biker and the world he inhabits. An important technique he uses to tell this story is setting. Setting helps to establish the character. In the opening scene, Anger uses the setting of the garage to establish the Scorpio's masculinity. He is seen surrounded by tools and parts of motorcycles and clearly feels comfortable in this environment. This image of masculinity is juxtaposed with the pop music. Anger uses this music to call attention to the images on the screen. He choose the songs specifically for their lyrics and how they will work with the images displayed on screen. In one part of the film, as the cyclist is getting ready for the night we can hear the threatening lyrics "my boyfriend's back and there's gonna be trouble..." playing. This synchronicity between image and lyric occurs throughout the film. Anger edited the film so that the "punch shot" will match up with the "central phrases" of the song lyrics  (Sitney 104).
Later on, we see Scorpio in another setting he is equally comfortable in: his bedroom. The walls adorned with pictures of James Dean and Elvis and the TV playing The Wild One with Marlon Brando.This is one of the first examples of the idea of an idol as shown throughout the film. Idols are shown in various forms from the repetition of the skull and scorpion representing the gang to the actual celebrity idols of Dean and Brando. These representations of idols show how culture has moved away from worshiping God or other religious ideas and has placed undo importance on commodities.
2. Invocation of My Demon Brother, Kenneth Anger (1969)This film leans more towards the mind control side of the spectrum. Here Anger uses sound to get his point across. The music was a droning sound made by Mick Jagger and I felt like it was drilling a hole into my skull. There was a definite trance element that came into play that comes from the sound mixed with the images.
The images themselves are intermixed pictures of war, sex, religion, drugs, and destruction. The message here is about the aestheticism of violence in popular culture and what it does to culture as a whole. The images of soldiers exiting helicopters are contrasted with those of a man preaching on a pulpit and the of the albino man who began the film. The film is seen through his eyes; he witnesses the violence and corruption of the world. The film is not only our brainwashing, but his as well.
3. Cat's Cradle, Stan Brakhage (1959)

This film was on the side of the montage, but unlike the films of Anger, there is less of a narrative structure. Brakhage is appreciating the small details of life and spends time showing them all. I felt like the cuts between images occur too quickly; he does not allow for a connection to be created between the images.
These quick cuts reminded me of other films I have seen in which the director is trying to portray the effects of drugs on a character. I do not believe this was Brakhage's intention however I feel like that is the response gained from the quick moving images and lack of sound.
4. Gently Down the Stream, Su Friedrich (1981)

This was one of my favorite films of this week. It was simple, but it worked so well. The words scratched onto the film read very much like a poem. The film uses montage, but this time it includes words along with the images. It gives the film a much different feeling because the viewer has to pay attention and read what is going on as well as look at the images. The words carry so much meaning, but when paired with the images they are given even more. One of the lines that stood out to me was "Which is the original?" To me, that comments on the notion of cinema and art in general and how nothing can ever really be original. Friedrich and these other film makers are trying to change this notion and create completely new forms.
The images of water scenes such as swimmers and people using rowing machines all tie the words together nicely. It adds a flow and calmness to the words and helps to make it more of a story.
5. Black and White Trypps #3, Ben Russell (2007)

 
This film uses both the montage and mind control aspect. In the sense of mind control, it immerses the viewer completely in the act of viewing a live concert. It is a film that anyone who has ever been to a concert can relate to. The film captures the heightened, almost animalistic feelings caused by fans and their love for the music and band. These people are reveling in their idols, similarly to Scorpio in Scorpio Rising.
In terms of montage, the film focuses on the different concert goers and their responses to the music. The camera tries not to remain on one individual for too long. The images create a semblance of a story of these people, brought together by their love of music and the primal pleasure that comes with seeing a band live. The unconventional, narrow framing helps focus the viewer's eye on a specific image. In such a location as a concert, it is extremely helpful to be told where to focus your attention.
6. Whispering Pines, Shana Moulton #6-8 (2006)
I also liked this film because of the kitschy colors and surprising twists. This film falls into both categories as well because it uses images to tell a story as well as to play with the viewers. The effects of the film are purposefully low budget; you can tell Moulton is not in the scene. Most of the time it seems like an episode of Blue's Clues, the actor is the only real thing in the room and is surrounded by a green screen location. This effect adds an ethereal quality to a mundane beginning of the film. Also, through the way she films, Moulton is making a statement about society. She is the only real thing in this film. Even when she takes the ladder to the party, the viewer cannot see the other party goers faces. They do not seem like real people, only projections. Moulton seems to realize that herself when she ends up in crying in the corner. The only way to return to her world is by throwing up (literally) everything inside of her.
Source: Sitney, P. Adams. "Magnus." Visionary Film: the American Avant-Garde, 1943-2000. 3rd Ed. University Press: Oxford, 2002. 3-15 and 89-119.

Dream A Little Dream of Me

So this week's adventures into avant garde went slightly better. I think I'm starting to grasp the concepts of the films (a bit) better and I'm starting to like them more as well. The theme of this week was psychodrama and surrealism.
So again, my review/thoughts (in order of viewing this time):
1. "Symphonie Diagonal," Viking Eggeling (1924)

This movie reminded me of what "Fantasia" might have looked like if it was made in the 1920's and without music. The images are compelling in and of themselves, but for me I feel like music is necessary to evoke a certain response. I'm not quite sure what to think when shown this film of geometric shapes dancing across the screen. I do feel that the shapes start out complex and then break down to singular lines, their simplest forms. I think that's what Eggeling was trying to do with the film; he was breaking cinema into its most basic form. In this short, there is no need for narrative or other techniques; the film can exist completely on its own as a look at form and elemental parts.
2. "Rhymthus 21," Hans Richter (1921)

The same thing that goes for Eggeling goes for Richter. He wanted to break cinema down and show it at its most simplest form. However, I feel like the images that Richter uses are slightly more interesting. Maybe this has to do with the fact that shapes are more familiar and presented in a more interesting manner. The effect can be quiet hypnotizing at times. Also about half way through the film (minute 1:28 to be exact), I realized that this film reminded me of an opening sequence of another movie: Monsters INC.  Monsters INC uses colors and music but I feel like the shapes and the way they move are reminiscent of each other.

 The final four films viewed in class all had the similar theme of dreaming executed in a number of different ways. The diverse techniques and styles express not only the director's own unique perspectives, but also the type of dream-like state they want the viewer to experience.
3.) "Un Chein Andalou," Luis Bunel & Salvidor Dali (1929)

In "Un Chien Andalou" Bunuel and Dali have created a dream that means something different to each individual. The film was created in the style of the exquisite corps, with each piece created separately and with no relation to each other. Any image connected to a "remembrance," "cultural pattern," or "conscious association" was immediately disregarded because the directors did not want images that were previously tied to any feelings, thoguhts, or ideas (Bunuel qtd. in Sitney 4). The association comes only from the viewer of the film and the connection they make with the images on the screen and their own personal life.I found myself trying to create a narrative out of the images despite the fact that they were disjointed. I think that Hollywood cinema has indoctrinated us so much that we crave narrative structure, it is what we expect in seeing a film.
This film does not have to follow a narrative structure or any conventional cinematic forms because it takes place with in the world of the dream. It can play with time and space and image because in a dream these things are often distorted. Also, the film pokes fun at conventional cinema by using title cards displaying common phrases such as "once upon a time" and "eight years later." These lure the audience into thinking that perhaps this film may share something in common with films that they are used to seeing. However, this is not the case. The directors use these cards to show time and how it changes throughout the film. Many times, the card does not signal a change in time but a change in scene, almost like hitting a reset button.

4.) "Meshes of the Afternoon," Maya Deren (1943)

Deren also plays with time, but over all there is more of a structure and narrative flow in her film. We talked a lot in class about the reoccurring symbols of the flower, the phone, the key, the knife, and the mirror and what part they play in the film. Some saw them as symbols (the key for freedom and the mirror for the inner self etc), while others saw them as entities that exist separately from the cyclical form of the film. I see these objects as markers of time and space in a film which takes a liberal use of both.The objects show the viewer where in the dream they are in relation to the other dreams. There is always something on the staircase, but depending on what level of the dream you are viewing it could be anything from the phone to the knife that ends up there. I think these objects just gauge the time and show that since they moved they must be in a new location because of what happened in the previous dream.
The layers of dreams and their relation to each other made me wonder if Chris Nolan found inspiration in Deren's films in his creation of "Inception" and the multilayered dream-state. 
5.) "At Land," Maya Deren (1944)

This was by far my favorite film of the group. Deren's editing, specifically her cuts between scenes creates an effortless dream that switches from a dinner party to the beach with ease. The actress in the film finds herself crawling across a dinning room table, surrounded and ignored by the fancily dressed guests. This image is juxtaposed with that of the same woman crawling and climbing through grass. These images seem to suggest that the woman does not belong in the world of the dinner party, she is exploring unfamiliar territory. The way the scenes were shot it seems almost as if the one party of the scene was reality, while the other was the imagination of the character.
One time in the film, the actress finds herself in a room framed by doors and unable to escape. This is showing the close mindedness of society and her inability to escape. The only way the woman can find freedom is through nature and a return to the sea where she belongs. The chess piece she knocks off the table is able to do this because it returns to the natural world, escaping the confines of society. I also think that the people at the dinner party stand for more than just the confines of society. They represent the ideas of "conventional" cinema that looks down at abstract cinema as something "experimental" and not for the masses.
6.) "Fireworks," Kenneth Anger (1947)

 Anger's film is more of a social commentary revealed through a dream rather than something to build your own opinion on. In the beginning the voice-over narration explains that this film documents desires that can only come about at night. "These imaginary displays," the narration says, "provide a temporary release." This is the first film of the bunch to directly express its aims and to explain what is being viewed. I found this helpful because it was easier to follow and see the point that the director was trying to make.
The images of Anger's film are much more substantial because they are paired with a message and a desire for social change. The violent scenes and disturbing images are much more powerful because they seem less like a dream. Anger himself says that the film was inspired by his feelings on "being seventeen, the United States Navy, American Christmas, and the Fourth of July" (Sitney 91).

Sources:
Sitney, P. Adams. "Magnus" & "Meshes of the Afternoon." Visionary Film: the American Avant-Garde, 1943-2000. 3rd Ed. University Press: Oxford, 2002. 3-15 and 89-119.

Welcome to Avant Garde Land. Population: 1

For the cinema class that I am taking this semester we are watching all avant garde short films from directors I have never heard of. To be honest, I'm slightly disappointed because I wanted to a chance to be introduced to new films like I was last semester, which I am, but I wanted them to be films/directors that I have actually heard of before. However, that being said, I'm trying to keep an open mind. And for class I have to keep a journal analyzing the films/ reflecting/ making connections/asking questions so I figured I could kill two birds with one stone and just talk about the films here for my "journal."
In order of preference:
1. "Black Ice," Stan Brakhage (1994)

(Yes, that was the entire movie.)
Brakhage's film seems like a journey down a rabbit hole, with a Wonderland that never comes. The forward momentum created by the moving frames pulls the viewer in and never allowing you to look away. The length of the film is perfect because after the allotted time, your eyes are blurred from the colored frames on the screen. The whiteness that comes abruptly at the end of the film seems jarring because of the drastic change from the previous images.
With "Black Ice," you constantly expect something to happen, almost like actual black ice itself. There is a sense of impending doom that I think is caused especially by the lack of sound. The darkness of it all leads to feelings of foreboding, the same that come from driving on black ice. Out of the four films viewed, I really liked this one because of how much of a response it evoked with so little.
2. "Necrology," Standish Lawder (1969)

 I did not get the premise of this film until halfway through when there was a dissolve of a river over the image of the people riding on the escalator. For some reason, with the upward motion of the people and the juxtaposition of the river over them reminded me of the River Styx. It was the first time I thought about death in relation to the action occurring on the screen (having no knowledge of what "Necrology" actually is). The people seemed like they were being ferried across the screen to a land beyond. This feeling was enforced as they people disappeared on the top of the screen.
I liked how much effort was put into the credits; each character came with their own back story, a life they had lead before ending up on the escalator. As I read, I remembered some of the people that I had seen and wished that I had seen others or paid more close attention. When the film was over I wish that I gotten what was going on from the beginning or just understood more in general because upon the first watching of all these films I was slightly confused as to what I was supposed to be getting out of it. 
3. "A Movie," Bruce Connor (1958)
Before discussing this film in class I was not really sure what was going on. The images seemed disconnected to me, I did not understand that the point of the film was to be incongruous. Having "the end" displayed numerous time throughout the film confused me because I always believed the film was actually ending, except when it did. I think it does comment on the way we watch films because watching a film comes with such high expectations and this film used these expectations to trick the viewer. With "A Movie," Connor breaks traditional film expectations.
4. "The Amateurist," Miranda July (1998)
This is the film I liked the least because I did not understand the point. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to anything that happened. Half of the time the actress (July herself) seemed to be addressing the camera or an omniscient figure that the audience was unaware of and occasionally she addressed the TV she was holding and the girl there. I feel like there was some metaphysical stuff going on that went completely over my head since July played both characters.