Two Dogs and a Ball, Written By The Two Dogs

The William Wegman Film "Two Dogs and a Ball" gives the two dogs featured in the film authorship over the film. It is as seen through the dogs perspective. The come off as almost saying "where is the ball?" You never see the ball. Through out the whole film Wegman makes you look for the ball as frantically as the dogs. With the ball removed he put the viewer in the place of the dogs making you feel what the dogs are feeling. The film come off as a documentary on the behaviors of dogs. Giving the viewer this scientific look in to the minds of animals. The dogs are there to lead you on the story telling you the way to look and how to feel. 

 

Althea Thauberger "Inspiration of your close surroundings"

When Althea Thauberger came into our lecture monday she showed us four of her experimental films. The reaction to these films were not highly regarded. Many people didn't personally enjoy the content of these films. These feelings have possible came about because of her choice of subject. 

Althea really uses her surrounding in her films. She is a young women artist trying to collaborate with other young women artist. To  better herself and the other women she works with. It is a great idea that is good for all, But considering the environment it doesn't produce the most successful work.  In the Northern you are intrigue to watch the film by the opening pan over a clear cut field of seemingly dead people. This turns into very confusing acting and a repeat camera movement. The film is about her summer-camp experience planting trees, great experience for anybody, but not a great film idea. This might be a little haste, but I think her peers need to give her honest feedback on her films.

Declarations & Demonstrations: Creation of Picture in Picture

2/11/08

This weeks Lecture was about this idea that you can find art or meaning in everything and anything. From Duchamp's urinal to John Cages 4'33" they both have this idea that you can take any object or noise and I will bring fourth a meaning of some sort. When we were listening to John Cages recording I heard a person behind me say "what are we listening to?" I think that is the exact reaction he was expecting people to have when listening to his piece. The reaction that he wanted was that people recognized that there is sounds around us and it can be understood as something beautiful and artistic. For the first minute of the recording I heard the fan buzzing and I thought that was the recording. This idea takes the everyday composition of the event and flips that picture to conceive of something out of the ordinary and interesting.

Out of the films we watched in class, Mirror by Robert Morris 1969, really showed the idea of making a picture out of the medium of film. Using a mirror to reflect a landscape while walking in the snow creates this moving image that is recognizable, but at the same time very lost. The jerky movements of the mirror and the smooth contrasting movement of the actual background bring out the idea that something beautiful and artful can be made from basically nothing. The last shot in this film, when Robert backs up with the mirror in hand and reflects the camera man back onto the film shows that this is the same idea that Duchamp and Cage were working with only in the medium of film. 

"Play as Content- Tricks for the Eyes"

The past lecture period Carl showed us three movies that contained Film Trickery or Special effects. In "The Great Pumpkin Race," 1910 Emil Cohl changed the perception of a normal pumpkin into being something with the mind of a small mammal. All from using a simple technique called "stop motion" he made the pumpkins role through the streets, in through house, down through sewers, and up over walls. This technique allows you to make anything move in the way you want. Even if that this is an old tire painted to look like a pumpkin. 

In the "Lead Shoes," 1949 Sidney Petersen used a found novelty object and rigged it up to fit on his cine special. This anamorphic lens made a distorted ring causing somethings to be in focus and somethings being out of focus. Not always being predictable it added a very uncontrolled experiment  aspect to the film. This effect or trick that petersen used gave an errie feeling that went right along with the movie. A women finds a divers and brings him home. The music of the movie is this ragtime up beat experimental sound that brings the three elements of this movie together: Sound, Story, and Anamorphic lens creating an experimental piece that is unlike anything main stream. 

The tricks used in early experimental films were used to explore the possibilities of the moving picture. Being able to distort reality in any possible way is the means for which these directors were searching.