Theory of Animation Response

The theory of animation was interesting. It made me think about experimental animation in a new way, and put orthodox animation into perspective.

What was particularly interesting was the section on the relationship with the artist to the work in the experimental section. The personal and unique relationship "insists on individuality." This made me think about Wes Anderson's films, as I have just seen Grand Budapest Hotel. I have wondered about his relationship to the audience, and how his particular/individual and extremely visible style enhances that relationship or alienates the audience. In fact, at times, Wes Anderson's films do employ animation inside of a narrative, which is reflexive of the medium of film, and can function to separate the viewer from the story.

The dynamics of dialogue section of the orthodox animation was also thought-provoking. The Disney style has a symphonic soundtrack, which is reminiscent of the Disney style. It made me think of the old Bugs Bunny cartoon in which he is a viking princess in a dream-like opera cartoon. Besides their visual style, this is what sets the two companies apart thematically as well. Disney always seemed more concerned with high art, whereas the Warner brothers cartoons strove to be more satirical and relatable to the audience .ie their cacophonic soundtrack- "urban, industrialized, beat-based and explosive"

Bolex Response

The Bolex long take was a scary experience for our group because none of us had experience with the camera before. We enlisted the help of other groups and they really came through in making us understand how to use the camera. We had a lot of fun making the actual film. We had an upside down chin face, pizza, and a chicken mask to work with. It was a pretty silly film.

Developing was easy for us, as we had some experience with that from the direct film manipulation project. The film came out for the most part, except for a few seconds at the end. I'm not sure what happened to it, except that maybe it was slightly under or over developed. After we developed it we went outside to let it dry. Projection was another difficult task, as we kept getting confused with which way to wind the film. Eventually we realized that since our film had to be turned upside down in Premiere anyway, we just had to get it to play on the projector and it didn't matter so much if it was upside down. After everyone had their films projected and converted to digital, we all helped clean up and put equipment away.

Overall, it was a fun experience to come together as a class and help eachother get these films done. It was neat to learn how to use a new camera and how to develop and project it, and to see how it all came out in the end.

Bridgman Packer

I was unable to make it to the performances because of a mandatory work weekend (Red Cross Gala, no requests off). However, I watched the excerpts and youtube videos that were available online for Bridgman Packer's performances.

I find projection interesting and I enjoy interpretive dance, I felt predisposed to like Bridgman Packer's performance pieces. Projection seems like an untapped market for filmmaking and photography, so I also think that Bridgman Packer have an advantage in being unique in their field.

The excerpts for Voyeur were an interesting take on Edward Hopper's photography. They matched the images very convincingly with their costumes and posture. Their performances were like photographs coming to life. They seem to move together with accuracy and passion. Sometimes their movements are jerky, but it adds to the authenticity of their actions- they are moving with their emotions, since they cannot express them vocally. The camera acts as a third character, displaying their movements simultaneously. The cinematographer and editor of their films should be given more credit for the work he does. He creates the illusion, which sometimes overshadows their dance. The simple set piece allows for creativity, flexibility with images, and movement. The use of windows speaks a little too literally about "voyeurism." The act of watching is expressed by the male character, the windows, the audience, and the camera. The  double images look particularly realistic when Bridgman is projected in front of himself. Voyeur is a clever and visually interesting blending of mediums, though their dance is overshadowed by costuming and projection.

There was a video available for behind the scenes of the bed scene in Double Expose. They describe their characters as various archetypes. This film is drastically different from Voyeur, with different subject matter and a variation on the same technique. I appreciate that they change up their style with each performance, as projection can come off as a gimmick rather than an art form. The simultaneous images are impeccably executed, creating an illusion and a trick of the mind that plays well with the audience. I was very engaged when watching these videos, and seeing the behind the scenes first, I was able to appreciate their technique alongside their spectacle. The different characters are signified by their body language and costumes. My favorite part is when their are two separate mattress projections, and the characters move from one to the other, interacting with themselves physically and with their projections.

Overall, Bridgman Packer is a unique and illusory dance company; though their dancing leaves something to be desired when it comes to technical prowess.

St. Louise Reaction

"St. Louise" seemed like more of a thrown together film, as opposed to "Begone Dull Care." The music was used differently as well. The music did not move with the images.  It seemed like they used magazine transfer for part of the film, specifically when you could see pieces of paper or pulp on the film. The film was an interesting use of the music video format, in that music videos are generally very produced, contain images of the band, and follow a story format. I liked that the video was expressive, it seemed to fit the tone rather than the beats of the music. Using scratching and film manipulation fit with the rock n roll feel of the song.

I loved the vibrancy of the blues and greens, as well as the cutout shapes. The palm trees were clearly punching. I am curious as to how they made such clear letters on the films, although they could have been punching or magazine transfer as well.

The use of blocking out images on developed film was really cool. It seemed as though they were using bleach but I am unsure of this. It added variety to the film which seemed dominated by the use of paints and oils at first.

The patterns with the scratching were particularly well done, they moved together and transformed very clearly and made an interesting image.

Overall, I think this was an interesting and fun film to watch, though not as accomplished as "Begone Dull Care."