Intro to cinema powerpoint: Experimental
- 1. EXPERIMENTAL FILM By: Elizabeth Tripp and Maxwell Palmer
- 2. What is Experimental Film? Experimental films are nonconformist and set out to challenge the orthodox ideas about what films can show and how they show them There are no set rules and thus various styles of experimental film exist: they can express more personal experiences or feature more eccentric topics(Damned if You Don't: about a nun discovering her sexuality). They can also test the limits of the medium itself by manipulating audiovisual elements in strange or novel ways(Dog Star Man or Warhol’s Eat)
- 3. Brahkage’s Dog Star Man(1961) Consists of fast moving layers of colors, shapes, splotches that create a disorienting and unique experience. Also makes use of some recognizable forms
- 4. Warhol’s Eat (1963) Eat: Consists of a nearly 40 minute, high contrast shot of a man slowly eating, transcends the expectations of what a movie should be
- 5. What is Experimental Film? Cont. Experimental films can use any type of footage. Many artists create found-footage films that re-contextualize previously existing material, like in Bruce Conner’s A Movie(1958) in which historical footage is contrasted to give the sense of an apocalyptic world
- 6. Kenneth Anger’s Scorpio Rising (1963) The extensive possibilities of experimental exemplified by Kenneth Anger’s Scorpio Rising. Anger explores 60’s motorcycle culture using a combination of staged events with found content such as old photos, comic strips, and Nazi posters. Also syncs visual elements with rock and roll songs. An observation of how the homoerotic side of motorcycle culture has ritualistic behaviors that can be compared to the rituals of fascism and Christianity. Also explores how people model themselves after images provided by the media.
- 7. Scorpio Rising link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trueLeCUnC A
- 8. Abstract Form There are various forms of Experimental Film, the abstract form organizes entire films around colors, shapes, sizes, and movements in the images. This is in contrast to other types of film(such as a documentary) in which these abstract elements may exist, but are “subordinate to the rhetorical purposes” Abstract films can seem completely random, but are often organized through theme and variation. An introductory section shows the base relationships the film will explore, and then other segments will show similar yet different kinds of relationships. Abstract films are usually dependent on building greater and greater distance from the introductory material, increasing the contrast of elements as time goes on. If the film uses this format correctly, all the content presented will be connected by a uniting them or principle.
- 9. J.J. Murphy’s Print Generation (1974) Is a an example of the theme and variation principle in abstract films Murphy selected 60 shots from home movies and re- photographed them until they became unrecognizable. The film shows these images starting with the most abstract forms that build up to the original identifiable image and then move back into abstraction. The opposite is done to the audio, which begins with the clearest audio which loses its quality as the images become more clear.
- 10. J.J. Murphy’s Print Generation (1974)
- 11. Abstract Form Cont. Films like Print Generation show that when we call a film abstract, we do not necessarily mean that it has no recognizable objects. Although there are films that use no recognizable images, there is also a method of abstract filmmaking in which the abstract quality of common objects is highlighted. A creative juxtaposition of colors, images and sounds can remove objects from their practical, everyday context in order to accomplish this. Abstract films encourage us to turn off the part of our brain that uses the senses for practical purposes in order to notice new relationships and qualities among objects
- 12. Ballet mecanique (1924) One of the earliest and also most influential abstract films, created by American Dudley Murphy and Frenchman Fernand Leger The title represents its concept, creating a “mechanical ballet” by juxtaposing machines with humans and everyday objects. Machines and humans moving rhythmically in sync draws interesting similarities between the two
- 13. Ballet mecanique (1924) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_bboH9p1 Ys
- 14. Ballet mecanique Cont. The film follows a complex form of the theme and variation structure that is noticeable when looking at an overview of the movie. 1. introduction of the film’s rhythmic elements. 2. A treatment of objects viewed through prisms 3. Rhythmic movements 4. A comparison of people and machines 5. Rhythmic movements of intertitles and pictures 6 .More rhythmic movements, mostly of circular objects 7. Quick dances of objects 8. A return to Charlot and the opening sequence
- 15. Ballet mechanique Segment 2 In segment two, a shiny ball is shown through a prism, followed by other similar objects also shown through the same prism. This is an example of mundane objects being taken out of context to be used for new, abstract aesthetic purposes There are also elements of humor, such as the scene to the right where a pair of eyes is shown, and then inverted almost without the viewer realizing
- 16. Ballet mecanique Eye Inversion
- 17. Ballet mechanique Segment 4 One of the most famous scenes involves repeated rhythmic shots of a woman walking up the stairs with laundry contrasted with shots of mechanical pistons. This repetition makes the viewer focus on her not for character or personality, but as an object with movement. This depersonalization is intended to further show the similarities between the film’s human and machine subjects.
- 18. Associational Form Definition: “A type of organization in which the film’s parts are juxtaposed to suggest similarities, contrasts, concepts, emotions, and expressive qualities”
- 19. Continued: Associational Form It’s impossible to define a conventional set of parts into which an associational film will fall General principles Large sets Repeated motifs Invites interpretation
- 20. Example: A Movie Bruce Conner worked in the found-footage genre Principle: large sets– here, divided into 4 The film’s title, director’s name, projectionists’ markings Lively music with images of moving animals & vehicles on land A more tense section stressing precariously balanced objects in air and water Frightening images of disaster & war intermixed with more mysterious scenes
- 21. Video Clip from A Movie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FMjBtvsx2 o Uses the three principles Excerpt from text book
- 22. The end!
Editor's Notes
- #19: The definition of associational form is that it is “A type of organization in which the film’s parts are juxtaposed to suggest similarities, contrasts, concepts, emotions, and expressive qualities.” This sort of system suggests ideas and expressive qualities by grouping images that may not have any immediate logical connection. But by the very fact that the images and sounds are juxtaposed prods us to look for some connection, some sort of an association that binds them together.
- #20: Associational formal systems are unlimited in their subjects and means of organization, so because of this it’s impossible to define a conventional set of parts into which an associational film will fall. But we can understand associational form by noticing that it usually accords with a few general principles.First, the filmmaker typically groups images together in larger sets, each of which creates a distinct part of the film. Each group of images can then contrast with other groups of images. Second, as in other types of form, the film uses repeated motifs to reinforce associational connections. Third, associational form strongly invites interpretation. They say a little but suggest a lot.
- #21: An example of Associational Form that the text-book provides is a film called A Movie, which was already briefly mentioned by Max. The maker of the movie, Bruce Conner, worked in the found-footage genre, typically using footage from old newsreels, Hollywood movies, soft-core pornography and the like. By working in this genre, Conner juxtaposed shots from widely different sources. A Movie illustrates how associational form can confront us with evocative and mysterious juxtapositions, yet at the same time create a coherent film that has an intense impact on the viewer. The text book explains how this is done in A Movie by breaking up the film into four segments. By doing so, it’s evident that the general principle of associational forms having large sets is met. The first segment is an introductory portion with the film’s title and director’s name and projectionists’ markings.The second is quick, dynamic music with images of moving animals & vehicles on land.The third is a more mysterious, tense section stressing precariously balanced objects in air and water.And then the last segment is frightening images of disaster and war interspersed with more lyrical, mysterious scenes.
- #22: Now I’m going to show a clip from the movie. Just seeing a small bit of the movie will show that it takes on an associational form in that there are no categorical similarities between many of the things Conner juxtaposes and no story told about them. -----show clip----My final point is that, along with grouping images together in large sets, Bruce Conner uses the general principle of repetition and also invites interpretation. There is no argument about why we should find these images disturbing or why we should link volcanoes and earthquakes to sexual or military aggression.