Final Blog

       This has been my favorite film class I have ever taken. Hands down. When I first joined this class I was not particularly excited because I thought it would just be us watching a bunch of weird videos but wow was I wrong. This class instilled in me a new thought process. A new way of thinking about how I interact with the film medium. It opened up my creative process and allowed me to interpret cinema as an art form. In my opinion, this is the greatest gift you can hope to receive from taking a film course. My perception of 'making a movie' has now been expanded into the never ending universe of experimental film. This class has taught me how to channel my interior visuals into an exterior piece that can be seen by all. I think I really have found a love for experimental film. After taking this class, I honestly believe that experimental is the most important form of film because it is the purest form of originality. When you are given boundless parameters to explore, your finished product is going to be as unique as the medium allows. These concepts don't have to just be used in film either, they can be used in every facet of life. Looking at the world without filters allows for you to see things with complete honesty. I have learned to follow my mind wherever its nonlinear path may take me. My opinions are no longer binding. This course has inspired me to endlessly create. I wish this class wouldn't come to an end. I hope to take this open mindset with me into my future endeavors in and out of filmmaking.

Post-Cucalorus

To be completely honest, I was not expecting Cucalorus to be so much fun. I got the Film Pass and was not volunteering so I actually ended up seeing and experiencing a lot more than I had initially planned. One thing that I was not anticipating was the events. I found that people were very open to sparking conversation and it was interesting to talk to all the different creatives that Cucalorus attracted. At the Oyster Party, I went in expecting to see very few people I know but ended up seeing dozens of people who I had worked with in the past on different films and creative projects. My favorite event area was the filmmakers lounge because I could go whenever and there was always someone interesting to talk to. Also, I had no clue that the pass included free alcohol which I was extremely happy about. In my blog last week I said my goal was to talk to at least 5 people at each event. At the events I did not keep track of how many people I spoke with but I am sure that it was always at least 5 people and usually a lot more. One thing that really surprised me was the overall quality of the films. Other than the Eyeslicer screening, all of the films I attended were extremely well produced. The first film I saw was The Light of The Moon which was serious and had a great storyline. The film was about a girl who got sexually assaulted but it focused more on her emotions following the assault than the actual assault itself which differs from how the film would have most likely been made if it was a Hollywood production. Another film that I really enjoyed was Infinity Baby. The humor was very dry which is my personal favorite. I also liked that the film was entirely in black and white but it still seemed very contemporary. Overall, I loved the festival so much that it inspired me to start creating festival pieces so that when next year comes around I can be even more involved. If I was a filmmaker presenting at a festival I would now know that its important to be yourself and show your personality because it will affect how people interpret your film.

Cucalorus

   Since I have never attended Cucalorus before, I decided to buy the all access pass. My goal is to attend as many screenings as possible and meet as many people as possible. Since the majority of these films were made with fairly small budgets, I really want to learn about their production process and how they were able to pull it off. Every small budget production seems to have tips and tricks to help reduce production costs. Since I want to work in the production side of film, primarily as director of photography, I feel like learning from the process of others will help me gain knowledge that will help me out once I graduate. In order to make the most of the experience, I want to try and speak to as many filmmakers as possible. Another one of my goals is to talk to at least 5 filmmakers at each party/event. Since I don't know any filmmakers or films that will be playing in the festival, I want to go to as many as possible. After class on Thursday I want to go to the keynote with George Taylor and then see the film Mr.Roosevelt that evening. On Friday I have class all day but I want to see Barn Door Shorts: Southern Stories and I also want to attend the Oyster Party at the Bellamy Mansion. On Saturday I have to film in the morning but later in the day I want to see Dr. Brinks and Dr. Brinks as well as the Secret Screening that evening. On Sunday we are finishing up filming for our music video but I hope to see The Strange Ones as well as The Price. This will be my first film festival that I have ever intended so I am slightly nervous. I am hoping to see classmates at the events because a lot of people seem to have experience with Cucalorus. This will be a good chance for me to get out of my comfort zone and do something I have never done before.

Music Video Roles

For the music video my job is the assistant cameraman/grip. This role particularly challenging for me because I always seem to have a very strong opinion and with this role I am not really supposed to be voicing much of an opinion. I am a complete gear-head so that aspect of it should be fairly easy for me. My goal in film is to be a director of photography and that is basically the only thing I ever really do. I come from a photography background so being in charge of actually capturing the shots is most definitely my strong-suit. I am really excited for this project because I think our group seems to be very likeminded and excited to create a fun piece. One thing that I really want to incorporate in our video is long smooth movement shots that were taken with a gimbal. For music videos, these shots always seem to be the most dynamic and engaging. I also want to utilize the natural lighting underneath the forest canopy because it provides very cool textures and shadows on the subjects.

Blog #10: From Art House to 'Microcinema'

I found the reading from this week to be very informational as it provided me with an opinion I haven't heard before. It is clearly apparent that the Art House cinema has changed drastically due to increased popularity and funding. With the expansion of this style of cinema into less urban areas, the underground uniqueness began to fade. Microcinema is a very unique form of cinema because due to its low overhead and low funding, the pieces that are created are extremely unique and artistically expressionistic. Without someone constantly telling you what you can and cannot do, artists have the ability to openly create. Of course, having little funding means lower quality productions, but that is what makes them special.

Marlon Riggs seems very prevalent in modern culture. You can see his influence on modern pop culture icons such as Kendrick Lamar and many others. In Tongues Untied, Riggs pushes the comfort of late 1980's culture and shows sensual acts that pop culture generally shied away from. Being both gay and African American during his time was fairly uncommon so he provided a very unique perspective which helped in the adaptation of perception towards gays. 

Unfortunately for Su Friedrich I was in charge of the slides so I couldn't take notes on the interesting facts that Catherine presented. I know that she was very influential in the development of queer cinema. Also, props to Catherine for actually interviewing Friedrich because she was able to get opinionated answers from the actual artist instead of just the artist summaries. 

Blog #9: Self-Portrait

    I've got to admit, I am both extremely excited and extremely apprehensive about this project. I have no fear of sharing my personal feelings, but I worry that I will fail to truly portray my feelings in a way that I am satisfied with in such a short period of time. For my equipment, I plan on using all of my personal camera gear such as my DSLR and mirrorless cameras as well as my drone and GoPro. To me its not about what you capture the visuals on, its about how you capture it. In my film I will be in some of the scenes, but most will be fairly abstract and figurative. I don't want to just be standing in the frame, so when I put myself into the film it will be using unique perspectives. As far as content goes, I have written a piece that I will speak as a voiceover for the film. The main theme of the piece is being lost and not knowing where to go. I feel like these emotions are prevalent in the majority of college students lives. Instead of further explaining what I'm writing about I'll just post the piece, so here it is.

Completely and entirely lost. I choose a path one day and the next it’s changed. Is it because I have complete control over my life or because I have no control at all? I escape as much as possible. Is being lost a bad thing? My options are completely open. Don’t close any doors. I could go anywhere, do anything or be anyone I wanted to be. I am beginning to enjoy the feeling of being lost. In a world of identities I don’t want to have to choose, I just want to be whatever I want. People change, places change, relationships grow and fade. The more I experience life the more I want to be lost. I set no goals because once you achieve a goal the journey is over, but I want it to be everlasting. Ill admit it, Im a dreamer. The person I believe I am is nothing close to the person I actually am. I live in my head to further escape. The goal is blocking me from dissolving this issue. I must forget the goal and focus on the process. Being happy with your reality is more important than striving to be something you’re not, but I continuously tend to forget that. Be inspired, be truth, be vibrant, be youth. Just let me be lost, thats all I want. 

I really enjoyed learning about the works of Jan Svankmajer. His passion for animated filmmaking is quite remarkable and very progressive for his time. When watching his films it is clear that he had a major influence on stop motion animation and the Czech new wave in the 1960's. Although his visuals are captivating, I think the unique sounds Svankmajer uses make the films really pop. His films are generally not very satisfying to watch but at the same time you can't look away. He captivates you with visuals you have never even thought of before which in my opinion is the most important aspect of his work. 

Blog #8: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Creating Community

As far as undergraduate majors go, Film Studies is very unique. From the very beginning in FST200, there is a sense of community and collaboration that isn't found in other majors. Since there is such a wide variety of talents within film, every individual is going to have different strengths and weaknesses. Because of this, it is imperative that the student body operate as a team in order to accomplish their goals to the fullest potential. Being open to collaboration in film allows for endless opportunity in school and after graduation.

Expanding Your Creative Body of Work

This assignment has allowed us to create a work of art as well as put our name on others' works of art. These works were all accomplished with no budget, just a group of creative individuals who work collaboratively towards a common goal. Even though we are all creating different final pieces, the content library that we pulled from was all the same and was created by everyone who is also making a final piece.

Expanding Your Technical Skills

This assignment has really opened me up to different aspects of film that I had never experienced before. I am and have always been a DP, thats it. I have essentially no experience with sound or editing. I broke out of my comfort zone with this project and now feel much more comfortable with the entire filmmaking process. However, this wouldn't have been possible without the help of people guiding me in the areas I struggled with, which is what makes the group work so special.

The Importance of Project Management

The process of making a film has always been very daunting to me, particularly because I had trouble seeing the different steps. The way that this project was spread out over 8 weeks made the process seem much more manageable because we were taking it one step at a time. This method also allowed me to see where my strengths and weaknesses were in the filmmaking process.

Building New Pathways

Personally I think this is the most important objective for the project. It is so easy to fall into the trap of basic storylines and unoriginal ideas that will generally always work in your favor, but you don't grow in the process. The ability to think freely and creatively allows for the generation of content that is unpredictable and completely unique to the individual. Everyone has their own vision and this project enables each student to delve into their personal artist. While the final product might not be as polished or easy to watch as usual films, it will be unique. In my opinion, making a unique film is far more appealing than making film that is 'good'.

Blog #7: Shooting on Film

       I love photography. Ever since I could say the word 'camera', I had one in my hand, ready to capture whatever my heart desired. However, in my 12 year relationship with photography I have never delved into the world of film. Don't get me wrong I really enjoy the look of film photography, but something about it just seemed intimidating and unnecessary. It never fit my style of action photography so I just stayed away, until now. There is something so pure about shooting with a film camera. You have to actually put a lot of thought into every shot because you can't reshoot on a roll of film. When shooting for this assignment, our groups first attempt was unsuccessful because of poor communication but we learned from our mistakes and redid the assignment. Taking similar images at 3 different apertures is a great way to show the difference that depth of field makes on lighting, composure, tone, and mood of the image. When shooting wide open, the depth of field on the film camera is extremely shallow which allows you to choose the exact plane that you want to be in focus. This is very beneficial when trying to separate foreground from background and gives the image an overall softer look. The background blur, or 'bokeh' can also be used artistically with shallow depth of field. When shooting at a higher aperture you have a much wider plane of focus which results in a more realistic looking image that allows the viewer to see more subject matter in focus.  I personally prefer a shallow depth of field because I want to guide my viewer as to what I want them to look at.

      In Stan's presentation of Stan Brakhage, I was initially disturbed by "Window Water Baby Moving", but after watching the film entirely I find it incredibly intimate and progressive.

      

      Christian's presentation was awesome primarily because of her enthusiasm and love for Kuchar. I was really drawn to his work as it reminded me a lot of Warhol. 

      

Blog #6: Looking at Light

Light Observation #1
    It is about 7pm and I am sitting on the South End of Wrightsville beach. The sun is low in the sky over the mainland but is still very bright. The harsh light is creating very dramatic shadows when it hits any structure or standing object. Since the beach is flat with no overgrown trees the light hits the sand gives it a warm glow. There is a very bright reflection of the sun over the water making it the mainland seem dark because the high exposure of the sun. The shadows created by the low sun make for good dramatic lighting.

Light Observation #2
     Its early. Around 6:30am. I am at my parents house overlooking the intracoastal waterway. The sun has not risen yet but there is an rich fiery glow on the horizon. The light has not really hit directly yet so if you are not looking directly at he horizon it seems to be dark. As I sit on the dock the light quickly intensifies as the sunlight spills over the ocean. The glassy morning water reflects the suns light as it illuminates the clouds. Like the first light observation, there is a lot of contrast in the environment because the sun is unable to provide even lighting from such a low angle.

Blog #5: Think Differently

   This sound project really opened my eyes to the vision of sound. Instead of thinking about sound as something that is produced by a visible object, we had to think of sound as the visible object, even though there is nothing to see. Since my brain already works in very obscure ways, I found this project to be quite fun. Although I have a lot of experience with music and instruments, I have never made a film with only sound. We wanted our piece to portray a feeling, so we used sounds that we felt brought out certain emotions in people. The feelings of uneasiness and grotesqueness seemed most fitting for our term "A nastiness when she drank".

   Lynne Sach has a very unique perspective on things. She has the ability to look at something normal and come up with a totally different use or meaning for it. In the interview, one thing I found very interesting was her point on drawing from others opinions. When Sach was interviewing the people living in the shared beds, she was expecting to get some pretty generic answers, but instead she got very personal and powerful stories. In my opinion this is one of the most important facets of filmmaking. Actually delving into the world you are attempting to create with no predetermined conceptions allows you to generate an entirely new perspective.

     Lynne Sach's films seem to be deeply rooted in patterns. She seems to want to create a relationship that is entirely visual with no story or underlying meaning. For instance, in Same Stream Twice, she films her daughter running in a circle around her. The first video is of her as a young child and the second is her as an early teen. The film shows how although her daughter obviously looked different, there were still things that were very similar to her as a child. This use of pattern and repetition could also be her way of directing the audiences eyes to a specific visual element.

Blog Post #4: Inspired

   I have to say Matt's presentation on Jonas Mekas was awesome I was very intrigued the entire time. One thing that really stood out to me about Mekas was his connection with the pop art culture in New York. I have always been fascinated by the works of Andy Warhol but have never heard of Jonas Mekas until now. It is very apparent they both had an influence on one another in their on respective art mediums.

   In Melody-Fayth's presentation on Eggeling and Richter I was blown away at the amount of detail that these artists put into each and every frame of their films. The use of film for its plasticity is an entirely new idea to me, but it seems very fitting. Films are much more malleable than other art mediums in the physical and non-physical form.

   Len Lye seems like a very unique individual. I would be very interested to see what kind of work he would be doing now if he was still alive. His film 'Colour Box' is quite a trip. His use of sound with specific movements and colors definitely seems to fit into the absolute cinema.

   I feel like if I was alive the same time as Harry Smith we would be best friends. His use of actual popular music in his films rather that a compilation of sounds brings a sort of new attractiveness. I also really like how he talked about the interconnectedness of art and culture, which becomes very apparent during his time.

  Unfortunately I could not find the article on absolute cinema anywhere online of in my email, but I do know it talks about absolute cinema being purely the sound and visuals being looked at just for their form. There are no people or stories involved, it is all about looking at the art as a form of art.

Blog Post #3: Forgot about 2

     It was a Tuesday evening at 6pm. The humidity was low, the wind was light, and the bustling energy of the ending work day lingered throughout campus. Our team of elite sound recorders set out on a creative mission to capture unique and captivating sounds. This was my first mission with sound and I was quite uncertain as to what sounds we were going to record. My first impulse was to just start hitting stuff. Then I began to hit stuff with other stuff. Slowly the world around me became a living, breathing instrument. Sounds make an inanimate object come to life and have a voice.

    I didn't realize that I had synesthesia until we watched that video on it. While we were watching and she talked about painting Superstition the colors she was using were actually the colors that I was thinking about. Ever since watching that video, I have begun to realize my synesthesia more and more in my daily life and it has become more conscious than subconscious. I have always been really drawn to the sounds of certain songs because of the objects/emotions/colors they portray to me. I just thought that was how everyone experienced music.The cymatics video was very entertaining because it gave you a physical representation of sound, essentially combining your sense of sight and sound.  Cymatics gives a completely new meaning to music. Instead of creating a song that sounds good, you can technically make a song that LOOKS good. Cymatics almost seems like it is forced synesthesia in the physical world. You are seeing sound, which is what synesthetes do internally, but having an external real representation means sound can be seen by everyone, synesthete or not. Although what your seeing is not what synesthesia looks like, it is as close as we can get in the physical form. 

Blog Post #1: Chick-Fil-A

 Hello, I am Jake. I am not a very lateral thinker. I am the definition of scatterbrained. Photography and Film are just about the only things I can focus on for more than 5 minutes before I begin to get lost in my thoughts. I discovered my love for the art at the age of 11 when I took a family vacation to Yosemite and was drawn to the uniqueness of its natural beauty. On that trip I learned that through visual imagery I can portray my view of the world to others in a way that is totally unique to me. I continue to strive to show others my vision through a different lens. Oh, and I eat Chick-Fil-A almost everyday. Wabi-sabi. 

Wrightsville Beach, NC (Hermine 2016)

      After reading Fred Camper's piece I begin to get the feeling that I will really like experimental film. He talks about experimental film being unique to the individual and essentially says that it shouldn't make sense to everyone. Since the creator of an experimental  film most likely did all of the work with little to no help and money, the final piece is a direct interpretation of their idea visually, sonically, and temporally. While my opinion is less valid than his, I believe that a film can be experimental and have unique perspectives without containing the majority of these traits. After all, isn't experimental film about breaking the 'norm' and expressing unique perspectives? By that logic, putting these defining terms to experimental film is just a contradiction to the subject itself. 

The amateur filmmaker is the realist filmmaker out there. The ability to have absolutely no limits except the ones you put on yourself allows for the development of the art form in a personal and unique manner. From this article it becomes apparent why experimental filmmakers are generally amateurs. If an experimental film was made like a large production, the freedom would be taken away from the original creator, thus dissolving its originality. The overall message that Deren is trying to convey is essentially that for the amateur, their ability to do what they want, when they want, how they want, with no care for gear or deadlines, is what gives them the creative and artistic advantage over a 'professional' filmmaker.