ideas for 48 hour race

Not knowing what the mystery prop will be I focused on how I was going to capture the film. I found a child's underwater still camera and thought I would try shooting whatever the prop will be underwater.

scratch film junkies 2

St Louise - Watching this after working on our own cameraless piece I had a greater appreciation for the amount of time and intent that goes these films. I found myself trying to figure out what technique they had used during the sequences, especially the way their animation seemed to move horizontally, I had only dealt with it in a vertical fashion. I also like the use of stock footage, something I wish I used more in the 1st project. The rhythm of the film impressed me, I found this to be a challenge in the piece I did. For some reason I wrote crazy pig man but I do not remember why, I think it had something to do with the use of actually footage and opposed to purely hand manipulation. Although I do not foresee doing this type of film, I think elements of manipulation can be used to enhance narrative film form. I again use the example of tests, using different techniques and experimentation can lead to further creativity and expansion in the art of film.

Chion reading

Sound plays a huge role in influencing your interpretation of image. I am often impressed by the manipulation of sound in film. Chion's explanation of how sound affects the temporal and image the spatial I believe is very accurate way of articulating this phenomenon. His point on vectorization of sound I found especially interesting, although I understood this conceptually, I never really found the words to express this idea. One can look at an image, such as a painting for as long as the like to appreciate the aesthetics, but film is moving images and without sound giving you that added value of temporal rhythm it is easy to lose yourself in the images and construct your own temporal context.

Wells reading

Wells has some interesting points about animation. Growing up on mostly Saturday morning cartoons- big Wanner Bros. fan not so much Disney- I equate his notion of orthodox animation as a character based structural form and unorthodox as focusing on abstract form and rhythm in much the same way I respond to avant-garde vs narrative film. I respect the form as far as creativity and experimentation is concerned, but I still see them as "tests". I believe that our minds are either hardwired or conditioned to create connections through images and sound that create a story. When emphasis is on the media itself without attempting to create a narrative structure it is difficult for me to see it as a complete form, it is an element which can be appreciated in itself but falls short of constituting something for the mind to create concrete associations. Cell animation is extremely laborious and time consuming, before computer animation took over, traditional animation almost did not make it because of the vast amount time and resources it takes. So I do appreciate the creative effort involved with experimental animation, and I believe experimentation is essential to progression and creativity in structutral forms.

Direct Film Manipulation

I find this sort of hands on artistic manipulation of film very refreshing. The creative possibilities seem endless. I have no idea of what direction I am taking this but it does bring out the artist in me. Exploring film making in this fashion help losens the preconceived notion of what film should be. Looking at the film strip itself as a canvas, one can achieve a more organic and self aware art form. Thinking of color and how it creates its own resonance, you can juxtaposes images color and shapes to evoke a mood or inner experience much like a painting.

Synesthesia

Synesthesia is an interesting "condition" of the collision of our senses. Our perception of the world "reality" is based on information given to us by our senses. The assumption that our senses are mutually exclusive from each other reveal our limited understanding of the interconnectedness all things. Color has sound, sound has color is not so strange when you break everything down to our brains ability to interpret electrical impulses and assign meaning.

To The Beat - Scratch Film Junkies

I enjoyed the visual stimulus of this short film. To The Beat, accomplished by direct manipulation of film stock as opposed to using a camera, has an unusually organic feel. The bleaching of the film stock along with the warm red hues evokes images in my mind of molten rock, or some primordial ooze. While the cooler blue/greens and scratching technique reminds me of earth and trees. The film also incorporates some discernible images, which I feel helps ground the viewer and refocuses the eye. The images shift in color, texture and tone creating a visual rhythm that is reflected by the sound track. The work is reminiscent of abstract expressionism, the scratches dance like the paint strokes of Joan Mitchell or splatters of Pollock. The bleaching and coloring, geometric shapes and the “in the moment” look of the film reflect the art movement.

While this film is active, it does not go to far, the stillness of the black juxtaposed with the color and movement helps keep this film from being what I refer to as a headache film (seizure inducing images accompanied by irritating noise). The film's duration is also appropriate, while stimulating; if it were longer I would lose interest and become annoyed. The soundtrack enhances rather than distracts from the lyrical quality of the images that also makes this piece successful in my opinion.

I look forward to experimenting with this direct manipulation of film. As an artist it is intriguing as a tactile rather than technological approach to film image creation. I also welcome the break from countless hours staring at the computer screen.