My Final Words

Experimental Film was definitely a challenge for me. Like i said in one of my previous post, i was introduced to a new world of art. I was unfamiliar with this work, and had no idea how to interpret it. Then the semester progressed, and i slowly realised that the work had more meaning then what was being projected one screen, you just had to go in depth in order to understand it more. Throughout the different works i viewed fro m different artist i learned that artist work in many different ways, and expresses there thoughts in different ways as well. We viewed feature length films, that dealt with reality, then we had movies that dealt with isolation, other topics that came up were the use of space, camera movement, words, and so on. I'm not gonna lie, i still don't feel that i have a full understanding of the this medium, but by taking this class, i know i got an idea of what it is, and what it can represent. Some of the work i didn't like, and some of it i enjoyed, i guess it all depended on the subject, or the way the work was being presented. This is the end of my journey (well, at least for three months) and i hope that i can further my understanding of this medium in the future.

VIEWMASTERS




When the artist Vladamir presented her work to us I was amazed in the way she did it. She went out of the ordinary and made her work through view masters. This was a refreshing experience in class. Her medium was individually owned and was a medium that no one else would work with. What I loved about this medium was that it was all viewed through view masters. It told a complete story, a narrative, in pieces. I think that what made this work so unique was that she made it all, she literally handcrafted her work, which in a way made the work more meaningful. The way she presented her work her work, where as every single person had a viewfinder of their own, gave her work more meaning. I like the fact that everyone had their own viewfinder to view, and the fact that it was our own yet you knew everyone else was looking at the exact same thing. My favorite work by Vladamir was Actaeon at Home. The reason I found this piece to be more interesting then the others, was because of the fast moving pace. Unlike this one, her other work asked us to changed images at a slower pace. Actaeon at Home constantly changed the pace from fast to slow. This had more of an impact to me because I felt as if I were getting an adrenalin rush, I felt that I had to change the frame faster and faster. I didn’t even have to listen to the cue, in order to change the frame. With this particular piece you kind of got a sense of when you should change it. Besides her having different frames, she also had them in interesting angles, like the train, where you got a close up, then a long shot, then back to the train tracks. This work was an interesting piece that makes interact with the artist as much as possible.

Goshogaoka

The Film Goshogaoka has by far been one of my favorite films throughout the semester. First of all, i thought the subject of the film was what made the film as interesting as it was. The choice of filming a girl's basketball team in china, and using choreographed moves to portray them on camera was fascinating.

First I’d like to say that even though this film seemed real ( by real I mean that the characters are doing this as a daily routine) it was staged like a play. Lockhart's use of a camera allows us to only see what's in the frame. So basically one can only see what’s going on within the stage, and like a play things happen offstage that sometimes we can't see which makes the movie and use of camera more effective. The use of a long shot also makes us as viewers focus on the whole team as a whole, and not only on one player. we see the team as unit, that is unified by one thing, and that is basketball. By watching these girls, you can also see them as performers and not only basketball players. The reason one can see them as performers, is because the way they are choreographed.

One thing that also stands out within this film is that there are never actual shots of the players playing, or even of them doing anything that one can say they're even players. The shots of them choreographed really don't mean anything if you think of it, they all simply do the same thing, which means that what they are doing could be a show, and all they are doing is something anyone else can do with practice.

. By viewing the film Hamilton by Matthew Porterfield, I noticed that it had many similarities with the Film D'est by Chantal Akerman. Both Des't and Hamilton use time duration, isolation, and location.

One similarity that i found between Hamilton and D'est is the way they the director's used time within their films. In both films time was an essence, one can say that the use of time is what made the movie more interesting. Well, to start off, both films were feature length films. Can one say that them being feature length films was necessary? I for one felt that it wasn't necessary for them to be feature length films, in order for them to put their point across.

Apart from being feature length films, they both used scenes where that same scene was shot for long period's of time. In Des't there are many scenes where Akerman films the same shot for more then seconds, she actually films them in long periods of minutes. One that comes to mind was around the middle of the film, when there is a girl that is cutting a piece of bread and sausage. That same scene last about 3 minutes, and all you see the character doing, is cutting the bread and meat, then placing it on a plate. On Hamilton, there is a specific scene where the Joe, the main character and his mother are driving a car for a long period. All you seeing this shot, is them sitting in the car as the mom is driving and he is smoking. Yes, the mom does glance at him a few times but never says anything, it is a silent and passive. A lot of the scenes i felt could be shortened, but then again, those certain scene's that lasted long period's also gave the film a mood, a feeling of truth.

Ackerman captures realism and experimental mood throughout the film by filming real people doing normal things, things that any other person would do. In Hamilton, the characters and narrative are used to set up time. Although the formats used by both films are different, they both set a similar mood to a viewer.

In both films the use of time is slow therefore you get a feeling of isolation. In D’est the camera is in constantly panning across the peoples faces, but it seems that the characters can care less for it, as they glance at it and choose to ignore it. There is never an act of conversation or interaction with each other. In Hamilton there is a slow camera movement taking place where situations are never established and all you see is a jump from situation to situation. By looking at the film, you could never tell if there is any relation to the characters seeing that it is never established. We know that there is a relationship amongst each other, but them barely speaking to each other gives you a feeling of isolation. It seems that they are all living there own worlds, and the only reason they are connected is because of the baby.

When i saw the film Age 12: Love with a Little L (Jennifer Montgomery, Super8 on DVCam, color/sound, 22 minutes, 1990) I thought it was the strangest thing i had ever seen. Apart from it being strange, i thought that the whole pissing on another person scene was a little to much for me as a viewer. Perhaps it was her work i didn't enjoy watching. I really don't know what to say to not offend the artist work, because after all it is art. I guess there were certain scenes were one as a viewer could see as a personal thing, and not something that you should display on camera for the public to see. This is what i thought about her work, I really didn't like it and to be honest i didn't understand it.

These were a couple of Camera Obcura images that i found. They were taken by the artist known as Abelardo Morell. A couple of these images are from his new book Camera Obscura. Honestly, i feel that both Ethan Jackson, and Albero Morell, have made look at camera Obscura in a different way. I have learned to appreciate it more, not to mention it has inspired me to use this technique myself.

The camera obscura seems little short of miraculous, even after the optical rationale has been explained… That Abelardo Morell was able to photograph the thing in action, in effect producing photographs of a photographic process, and that he has done so with such lapidar and transformative eloquence, is breathtaking.

Luc Sante, from his introduction to Camera Obscura

I happen to find Camera Obscura really interesting. The way you capture an image of an image is interesting. Your capturing the process of a photograph, through your photographs. This image actually reminds me of the Camera Obscura images that were going on In INOVA by the artist Ethan Jackson. Although I never actually saw the images themselves I would assume that they were similar to this image, because of the buildings and details.

What I really liked about the work that i saw from the artist Ethan Jackson was how it looked so peaceful and natural. I liked how the images were so simple, yet they had so much meaning to them. The image that i particularly liked was the one that kind of like if it were taken in a building, and it seemed as if there were clouds within the building. I aslo like the image of the window, how it was so natural and balanced.

PLAY ME

ME TOO!

Last week when we watched this video in class I found it be very interesting. I really like the way this filmmaker is clear in what they are trying to say. From the words he uses, the images she shows us. The video Dead Time is actually my favorite between the two. I like the way he uses bright colors at times. I also like the Night Shots, perhaps the reason i like them is because I can relate them to my video "El Parque". When I shot that video, obviously it was night, and the only light illuminating you were the street lights. Even though it was dark, you got a feeling of peacefulness, or at least that's the way I see it. When I saw the video Dead time, even though I know the video is about war, and death, the night shots with light gives me a sense of...."OK, at night the city doesn't seem like its in war, it's seems peaceful". Now when i first saw this video i didn’t see the comparisons between this "Dead Time", and "El Parque", but after i reviewed it again i could definitely see some similarities between the two. Similarities including the use of space, color, and the mixture of moving images with still images.

The video " From Beruit" was fascinating. I really liked how the director had the people say nothing. If they did say something it wasn’t verbally, but by facial expressions. Their gaze told us what they were feeling. The words the director used to describe what they were feeling were so strong, that along with the imagery. The image that I particularly remember the most, was the one where the little boy is looking straight to the camera. Even if I only got a glimpse of it, the image was so strong that it stood out. The way he showed an image for about a second then went back to the people gazing at you fit really well with the video, it gave it mood of sorrow, fear, and even hatred.

El Parque

Last semester when I was enrolled in Film 116 , i was assigned to a video that focused on nature. I found this assignment rather interesting because of the editing i did to it. This was m favorite one. It has no sound, it was shot in the dark, and it has some glowing colors. This is probably as experimental as i can get...Hope u Like :)

Mi Vida Y El Cine

September 13 1988- I was born in Milwaukee Wisconsin at 7:58am (yes i know the time)

September 13 1993- When I was five my parents bought me my first camera, it was a 35mm camera and i was fascinated by it.

1994- I went to the movies for the fist time. I watched one of the best animation films of all time, The Lion King.

April 2, 1995- (I'm not sure if the year is correct) My mom received a camcorder as a gift, i liked it so much, and was curious to such a device that i began to film things. ex: home movies, family events.

1999- I was 11 when i bought myself a Polaroid camera, loved it, but i slowly realized that the Film was REALLY expensive for me to afford.

May 2000- This was a year that i would say changed my life....well, it changed my future plans. I bought my first digital camera/video with editing software. I started to do my own movies with the computer, editing them, adding music to them. From that moment on I knew I wanted to do Film in the future.

September 2002- I started high school. I attended Waukesha South High School, and enrolled myself in a photography class. I immediately fell in love with Black and White Film.

November 2004- I was a Junior in High School. I went to UWM for a campus tour. I toured the Film department. I knew from that moment on i wanted to go to UWM to major in Film.

September 2005- It was my final year of high school, i was enrolled in my fourth and final year of photography, and it was time for me to sign up for UWM.

November 2005- I was accepted to UWM.

March 15, 2006- I was part of my schools VAC (Visual Art's Classic) team, I competed in the video category. I made a video, mimicking Bill Viola's style...won 1st place in regional.

March 30, 2006- Went to Madison to compete in State for VAC. Won first place as well.

June 10 2006- I graduated High School, as a graduation gift, my aunt gave me my fist Mini DV camcorder.

June 25 2006- Registered for classes...those include Film 114, 115, and 116.

September 5 2006- Started my first semester of college....I liked film 114, and 116...hated 115.

January 22 2007- I was introduced to Experimental Film....i feel indifferent about it, at times i can hate it, and i find no reason to it, but at times i can like it.

February 25 2007 10pm- Hice una lista de mi vida relacionado con el Cine.