Monday 12 November:

John Smith’s Wurst Case Scenario employed two techniques not often associated with expertimental filmmaking: patience and a droll wit. Using only stills, Smith recreated a beautiful and vibrant world of black and white. Displaying an image dense with power-lines, trolley tracks, roadways and crosswalks leading the eye in every direction, a human figure waiting for the train or to cross the street stands calmly among the utilitarian art of the urbane he will swap out the photo for another that suggests a single frame animation. The human subject checks his or her watch, drags on a cigarette, hails a taxi, or kisses a girl, this is the only change with in a frame. The composition of each shot is so beautiful that even a single variation can seem overwhelming and rushed in the glacial beauty of the piece. Many of the shorter pieces we watched, such as Porter Springs 3 by Harry Hills, felt as though they were longer, stretched out beyond their logical threshold of interest. At 18 minutes, Smith commanded time to compress and expand as he wanted, not only manipulating the images but crafting a rich audio mix that alternated between the street and apartment, between sync and rhythmic.

Smith also used audience expectations of cinematic conventions to create humor with in the piece. By trapping pedestrians in the crosswalk, he would switch the signs from walk to don’t, sound a trolley bell, and swap the photo to one where the trolley is passing directly through the crosswalk. The next image is of the same pedestrians continuing their journey across the street. In a normal film that doesn’t make extensive use of CGI, editing such as this would imply to the viewer that those pedestrians had been hit by the trolley. This image sequence is startling. By drawing our attention to these conventions and manipulating them for his own purposes, Smith highlights the viewer’s gullibility and belief in the narrative cinema, reminding us that the images are only images as those apparently hit by the trolley are unharmed.

Response for Wednesday Nov. 14th

One of the other films viewed on Wednesday was an unconventional film of the 60s/70s; Shirley Clarke's short film "Bridges-Go-Round." To me, what made this film unique and original in it's own right was a few different elements...most notably the rythm, continuity, and lyrical editing. In the beginning of the piece, we see a city (presumably San Francisco) from many different shots. The array of colors and manipulations that are presented are very effective. The bridges and skyscrapers are seen at first in a motion as if one was looking out of the passenger seat of a passing vehicle. Then as the film continues on, we see these giant bridges and skyscrapers travel from side to side like the traffic itself. There is a rythm involved, the lines of each subject crosses through and the colors fade and expand in contrast. The use of jazz music in the first portion really gives us a documentary-like view of the city and the images move is similar style and pattern. The mood and flow are articulated with each note and continuous movement of every image adds a bit of lyrical tone. Following the same motion and image effect, the second portion inhibits more freedom in its movement. Although both portions are essentially the same shots manipulated in different styles, the freedom of movement appears more evident in the second portion. This is mostly due to the bubbly music found behind each shift. This adds a bit of a roller-coaster feeling to the piece that was missing in portion one and as we continue on the ride come to the end of the bridge and the ride is over. Two interesting styles displayed from very different perspectives. Works quite well.

Response for Monday Nov. 12th

As for the films shown in class on Monday, the one I found most interesting was John Smith's 2004 British film "Worst Case Scenario." In this film, the use of both observation and humor serve the direction quite well. With the focus on individual characters as they go about their business on a busy weekday, obvious parallels are drawn to Alfred Hitchcock's classic "Rear Window." What I mean is that we, "the viewer", are observing other people, almost in a spy-like nature. We see an older man reading a newspaper, the woman walking her dogs, an afternoon romance between a young couple. These are all things that we are focused on at one point during the film from an above location and without the subjects own acknowledgement. Rather than remaining passive, we have become investigative viewers like Jimmy Stewart's character (minus the binoculars and broken leg). As for the humor, that is represented in the pristine editing. The traffic intersection is the first example that comes to mind. Here you have the subjects of pedestrians anxiously awaiting to cross as well as the subjects of impatient drivers nervously awaiting a green light. We hear horns blasting and car engines reving and at once the cars and pedestrians clash as each goes it's own way. At one point we see people walking and then a sudden cut to a car passing over them; giving us the impression that the car turned on red and made a hit-and-run. However as the fast edits continue we see the pedestrians and cars blend into one another panning through each image, representing a hurried chaotic motion. This was very interesting to see the balance of both subjects interacting in a heavy traffic jam...giving us the irony of testy mood swings following after-work hours. Again, with quick focused edits both humor and observation were exemplified and personified the film quite well. Fun little film.

Response for Wednesday Nov. 14th

All of the films viewed in class this past week have an ostensibly unique quality about them. I particularly enjoyed Maya Deren's 1947 short "Meshes of the Afternoon". Not only was this film ahead of it's time (as far as psychological independent thrillers go), but it was well-crafted in a variety of different forms. For one I noticed that the use of sound to this picture complemented the flow of images, moods, and settings perfectly. With such dark eerie themes of murder and mysterious shadowy figures, the film reflected a sense of conflict and possibly an internal battle or struggle within the psyche of our main character. Along with these disturbing themes, you have a grim-like haunting musical score which only characterizes and illustrates this effect even further. It almost seemed like there was a bit of Asian cultural influence in the sound, like a harp or flute that we would hear in films like Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon" or "Seven Samuraii." In addition this aspect, there was a very deep toned organ sound when the suspense built up, sounding both ironically corny and quite chilling at the same time (Similar to that in the 1964 comedy "A Shot in the Dark"). The dark moods were also fluctuated by dark scenes and subject matter. Take for instance the use of black and white. Honestly, whether it was capable or not with this piece, would the film have the same lasting effect if presented in color? My guess is probably not. The fact that this film was shot in this manner makes it much easier and simplistic for the actors as well. As we follow the camera up the staircase, around the garden, through the window, the consistency of light and shadows undoubtedly outweighs and overpowers any specific individual performance (I'm sure Orson Welles would be proud). This again is credited to the masterful use of sound and cinematography that we followed from beginning to end. Very smooth flow, great attention to detail...excellent film.

Response for Wednesday Nov. 14th

A lot of good films on Wednesday. I especially enjoyed Maya Deren's "meshes of the afternoon" it was the second time I saw the film and I really developed a higher appreciation for the film the second time around. The first time I saw this film I didn't notice the sutler details like the way the compositions match from shot to shot, It makes the transitions very smooth and organic. I am not exactly sure what happened in the narrative, but I interpreted it as a suicide I'm not sure if that's what the filmmakers were going for but for some reason that's how i saw it maybe because of the shots of the women chasing after death. also all the different versions of the women sitting at the table gave me the impression of some kind of internal struggle she was having with herself (e.g. depression, schizophrenia), but there were so many different things going on I'm sure the film could be interpreted many different ways. The film really had some powerful symbolism like the way they portrayed death with a mirror face or the key which kept reappearring and the reflection of the knive. the ending of the film was surprising I expected the ending to involve the knife in some kind of way and was surprised when they showed the women covered in pieces of broken mirror bleeding. I also liked the Shirley Clarke piece "bridges go around" the cinematography in film was amazing. I loved the scene where she layered the different shots of buildings filmed from the top panning to the bottom, when layered it really felt like you were watching buildings grow as plants do. the film had amazing patterns in it as well when it first started i noticed alot of x's and intersecting lines in the structures and then the film goes on to layer shots into more intersecting lines. the colors used in the film were incredible I wonder if she used any type of filters or effects. the scenes with pinkish, orangish sky was very surreal. this film gave me a lot of ideas about how I could shoot my third trek. after seeing it I really want to experiment with layering shots. the only film I didn't really like was the Leighton Pierce piece entitled "you can drive the big rigs" I found this film extremely boring It seemed to go on forever and I think the filmmaker could have made his point in a lot less time, Although i was intrigued by some of the sound clips but about half way through the movie my A.D.D. kicked in and I don't really remember much of the ending of that film.

-Gary Ahmed

Response for Monday Nov. 11th

I really enjoyed some of the videos we watched in class. I wasn't sure how I felt about Man, Road, River. After watching it though, I was really intrigued. I couldn't figure out at what point it came into focus. It was so gradual that it ended up pulling me in at the end. One of the pieces that I really enjoyed was Worst Case Scenario. I liked how Smith used still frames and had some tailored in a comedic fashion. I have tried to replicate some of the things that he has done in his piece and realized that they are not just cut from frame to frame like they Jekyll video we watched. In Worst Case Scenario when the bike is moving back and forth it appears to be two frames alternating but there was something about it that made me know that it was more than that. It was too smooth of a transition so I realized that smith was using a morph in between his frames. So one picture would morph into the other, but it was done so closely that it appears as only two frames. So its not a frame from video and its not "just" a still picture alternating. I really enjoyed it. He really did some neat things with breaking up the frame with the cross walk and the horizontal and vertical lines of buildings. The viewpoints were also great, they were really voyeuristic. There were many shot from above so it made the viewer feel like they were in smiths shoes, watching these people. Then at the end when they look and they finally see him its almost as if he has been caught. Or I should say "we" have been caught.

-Chris Elkendier

Response for Monday Nov. 12th

I enjoyed all the films shown in class on Monday especially the John Smith Film "worst case scenario" the way he made all of the still images come alive by breaking down peoples actions into two or three different shots was amazing. Now that I think about the film, I wonder if he used a still camera to capture images or if he used a video camera and selected which frames he wanted to turn into stills. If he did use a still camera it must have been very difficult to take pictures rapidly enough to capture peoples motions in multiple shots. either way it made for an interesting film. when the film first started by slowly showing still images I didnt expect the pace to become as quik as it eventually did. The soundtrack of the film really made it seem like watching a video with sync sound, except for a few sound fx which were kinda cartoonish, but for the most part they did a great job capturing the sounds of the city. I was very surprised to see an experimental film with a comedic element. It was great the way the filmmakers used dead air to build up tension in between movement. I thought the arial perspective was very different for a film with people as the subject. It really gives you a sense of omnipresence seeing everyone from above. I especially liked the scene with the motor bike waiting at the stop light. when the driver starts revving his engine impatiently the other people waiting copy his movement until the green light breaks the cycle. I like the way the filmmakers ended the piece with shots of the people in the film making a direct address, recognizing the camera and the fact that they are being filmed, plus the shot of the camera in the window.
-Gary Ahmed