Friday, January 18, 2008

6x1, a whole new dimension in film making (get it.... dimension)

So far all i have to say is that i am loving this hands on approach to filmmaking. Though i have yet to actually start on the elemental project i have enjoyed being able to work with something tangible and something that can't be deleted from my computer. Also, not having to worry about writing to DV is a load off my mind. This has become a great opportunity for me to get to use some of my supah cool vintage 16mm home movie equipment complete with flammable/toxic glue, scorching light bulbs and exposed moving parts. I was able to see my film loop on my projector, the only problem being the bulb was burnt out so in a Macgyver-esque fashion i rigged a flashlight up to the back of it and it worked like a charm. Because my experimentation stopped when class ended monday i don't have any tips and personal experiences to share, buut a reliable source suggested the used of a bleach pen to get a cool and more controlled discoloration on the emulsion. Goal for this next week: do something. Simple enough, right?

oooh yeah, about "To the Beat". Personally, I like to take most things at face value. From a technical point of view I thought the film was really cool looking, nuff said. But to elaborate I'd say what stood out to me most was how seamlessly stock footage and clear film stock was combined together. There wasn't one point that i could pick out where one stopped and the other started. This film used lots of kewl techniques i hope i can pick up and apply to my own film. Particularly using cutouts from different film stock to get the same effect as the scratch film junkies did when the head of the man appeared on screen. I'm hoping that because of this film and this class i can allow myself to take a technical approach to filmmaking, exploring the limits of the medium (that's right film as a medium) to achieve a pleasing end product; meaning i do not want to have any preconceived notions of my films outcome for this project in particular. In short make it up as i go along because happy accidents are better than shitty ideas.

1 comment:

Emily said...

clay, i really love what you're doing with this blog!