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.