Showing posts with label fields and frames. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fields and frames. Show all posts
We began the lesson by reminding ourselves what expanded cinema actually is. We discussed that it brings the way things work into the actual art etc that is being made and seeks to remind the audience of how exactly it was created. Therefore it is about the construction of the film and not just the film itself. 

It was also discussed about how film became an art, as in the 80s, it was a very industrial thing. This seemed to be cause at the time film makers had to be very technical savvy and the equipment was not readily available. Therefore less people were able to create video art. 

The possible benefits of video art over shooting in the industry was also mentioned, such as not having to have a reliance on other people such as cast and crew or unsuitable weather conditions. It also may not require as much heavy duty equipment and can be done with everyday items making it an easier attainability. 

I found it interesting to learn about how to be a good reflective practitioner. It's important to look at what works and what doesn't, and with failure analyse the reasons as to why an area or task failed. This then needs to be made intellectual to others for them to see your creative process. I feel like I already have a reasonably strong grasp of reflection over my projects, particularly after studio shoot, as I like to be very honest and open about what I feel goes well and what I can improve on. I feel the need to look for reasons for the failure too so as I can work on these and hopefully learn for future reference. I enjoyed hearing about this nonetheless as there is always room for improvement and hopefully with more practice I can develop my reflective process and blog to be better and therefore more helpful to me and others. 

At this point we were put in groups and asked to complete a power point presentation. Ours was on 'Duration.' Here is what we learnt about this topic.

Duration
  • Duration is a 'period of existence' or in other words the 'length of time something continues or exists.' 
  • It is a measure of continuance. 
  • There is a relationship between real time and film time. 
  • Is a means to conform or regress from traditional 3 act structure. 
My group also related Berlin Horse (1970) by Malcolm Le Grice, something we had looked at in theory last semester, to duration.




 Malcolm Le Grice stated that : 

‘It attempts to deal with some of the paradoxes of the relationships of the “real” time which exists when the film was being shot, with the “real” time which exists when the film is being screened, and how this can be modulated by technical manipulation of the images and sequences.’

Here are some points we learnt from the other group's presentations on their various topics. 

Reflexivity

  • Cause and effect theory
  • The creation of the film itself
  • Self referential 
  • The process of film-making, such as camera and editing, is the centre of attention.

An example given was Go! Go! Go! by Marie Menken.



Perspective
  • What the audience takes in and how they interpret it
  • Different camera angles mean different things
  • Camera can be in position to get a different perspective to what would be normally seen
Tony Hill was discussed and how he uses rigs to get unusual angles and movement.

The Frame
  • It is like a boundary - everything is confined to a frame
  • Can manipulate how things stand out - small framing can focus attention to a single person, while large framing a single person could get lost amongst the crowd
  • You can show something instead of telling through frame
Test Kopfe Aus Dem and Hand Catching Lead were examined. 


After a break we did a camera workshop to practice these four categories. However ours turned into more of an experiment centred on capturing film through the reel as it was going through the projector, rather than through the actual projection itself. Here is a little of what we played around with...




We learnt that a 16mm projector can bring cinema down to it's raw instruments of light and darkness and can allow audiences to be interactive such as with shadow puppets. Directly after the briefing, Vicky provided us with various different rolls of film, some negative, colour, clear and black, and encouraged us to manipulate it.

The images on the film - from a Barbara Streisand film Funny Girl

Firstly I experimented with splicing two pieces of film together to create an edit. I found this easier than I thought, as I imagined the process to be a lot harder. However it is very lengthy if you were to be editing an entire film like this rather than just a simple click with a mouse in the digital way I'm used to! I created several more edits throughout. 

My first edit

I also tried dipping a clear strip that I had edited on, in various different food colourings to make it colourful. The colours mixed like I intended, some places show clear pink, some clear blue and then there are areas where the two have merged together. At the time Josh was colouring his clear strip in using a black marker and while ours where both wet we merged them together to transfer the colours. This resulted in mine containing splotches of black from his marker and his containing more colour from mine. We called this a collaboration! The effect reminded me of a nebula, space pattern which I really liked. This was probably my favourite manipulation I made.

Colour on clear film

I then edited on some black film and using a compass, scratched various shapes into it. This became like an animation. 

Scratches on black film

The entire classes individual creations where then edited together to make one long strip. 

Tom demonstrating an edit

Here was the result :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbfBCk3xYVU&feature=youtu.be  (insert video later)

We were all very pleased with the final outcome and it was nice seeing the entire class (or at least the ones that showed up!) collaborate to make something together. I had so much fun in this part of the lesson and felt so creatively free to experiment. 
Vicky briefed us on fields and frames being an innovative way for experimentation. We learnt what exactly the unit wanted us to explore, think about and develop along the process as creative people :
  • Technical procedures
  • Production Practises 
  • Engagement in what we're making
  • Professionalism
  • Research 
  • Planning and organisation 
  • Awareness of audiences, contexts and networks
This could take the form of work in narrative, experimental art, expanded cinema, documentary or installation.

Here are pieces we looked at throughout the brief :

David Hall // TV Interruptions - Tap Piece (1971)



Commissioned by the Scottish Arts Council, 7 pieces out of an original 10, were assembled together as TV Interruptions. The third one, Tap Piece features a tap placed by unknown hands in the right of the screen and  which then begins filling up a tank with water. The meniscus of the water gets higher and higher until it eventually takes up the entire screen, submerging the tap. The tap is then taken away and after a short period the tank is drained, the line of the water going down horizontally on screen until it vanishes. The edges of the tank coincide with the TV screen's edges, demonstrating an importance of framing as acknowledged by Nicky Hamlyn.  The piece is very self aware and in those few moments of stillness after the tap is removed it leaves the audience viewing the emptiness on screen, something that never occurs in standard TV and cinema. 

Lis Rhodes // Dresden Dynamo (1971-72)



A very experimental and political piece, investigating the relationship between sound and image. Lis Rhodes states it was '...a film I made without a camera - in which the image is the soundtrack - the soundtrack the image.' Filters and stickers were used to achieve all the shapes and colours observed, along with white noise and atonal beeps for the sound. The piece illusions itself to be more than just a flat surface, giving it more of a depth.

Turbulent // Shirin Neshat (1998)


Statement about how females aren't allowed to perform in public in Muslim culture. Two screen piece, however the screens were not placed side by side but opposite, forcing the audience to make a choice in which one to watch. I liked this piece a lot due to the movement and style, as well as the strong performances. To me it conveys a very powerful message. 

Gary Hill // In as Much as it is Already Taking Place (1990)


 

Various body parts were displayed through different channels. It gave an impression of how the body exists in frames and how the audience created a meaning through having to walk through the screens and piece the parts together. 

Tony Oursler // Various 



Projections on to objects. I really liked how he gave personality to these items and focused on movement and feeling through the eyes and mouth - he spoke at one point on filming them separately to do specific acting such as "eye acting."

Malcolm Le Grice // Horror Film (1971)



Using 3 different projectors, each displaying a different colour, Malcolm Le Grice used his own body as a screen. 

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Lauren Fox
Third year at UCA studying Digital Film and Screen Arts
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