"Goshogaoka"

"It's about the idea and not the technology.."

I think Lockhart's quote pretty much explains the concept for her film "Goshogaoka." When I think of this film and what I saw, technology is the last thing that comes to mind. My favorite part of the film was the still camera focused on the stage. I tried to imagine how different the film would be had she used a moving camera, used close-ups of the girls, and shown the surrounding gym. It still would have been an awesome image but it would be too similar to sports movies, shows, etc. I just got to sit back and wait for someone new to pop out on the court with the curtain as the focus. The pounding of the feet on the court was like an introduction for the players. I liked how their movements in the warm-ups, drills, and tricks were orchestrated like a dance, but also how mistakes were not excluded. Showing the girls fall out of line or drop the ball just kept things more realistic and humorous. It seemed like the team went from being tough and machine-like in the beginning, then zombies walking around in green jumpsuits in the end.

Even if I hadn't known beforehand that Lockhart was a photographer, I still would get that sense. Especially during the part when one or two girls would walk out, stop, do a trick, stop, then exit. This reminded me of the stills of the children we saw previous to watching the film.

The fact that Lockhart was in a foreign country and wasn't familiar with the language or culture greatly adds to "Goshogaoka". The film was more about the art of movement and choreography to me personally than anything else. It was interesting to see basketball in such an artistic way. Nothing really about the sport was changed, just the timing and placement. All in all, I thought it was great.

Wait n' See

For me, "Hamilton" by Matthew Porterfield, was all about waiting for something to happen. I was so curious about these people and their lives that it made it difficult for me to just watch them live normally. I honestly just wanted something bad or at least interesting to happen to them. I'm so use to drama and action with narrative films and this threw me off. At some point in the film I finally just accepted that I wasn't going to see anything exciting. I tried to figure out if and when a climax occurred and the only thing that I could come up with was the scene where Joe and the little boy are speeding on their bikes trying to bring flowers to Leena in the truck.(I think) If it had been any other film, I would have expected the truck to hit the bike.
I agree that the dialogue wasn't the greatest part of the film. I preferred when the characters were doing their own thing and not talking at all. I think in class someone mentioned how only during these scenes with no dialogue could we see who these people really were.
The situations in the film were so real, no outrageous or unnecessary actions and words were added. It just reminded me of the normal shit everyone has to go through. One of my favorite scenes was where Joe gets up to play videogames and really just wants nothing to do with his girlfriend/wife. I think that is what worked so well for me and probably is what turned some people away. It was almost like we were eavesdropping on this family and they didn't know it.
Some obvious questions that came to mind were: What was the mother thinking during the car ride? Will Joe get the flowers to Leena in time? Does Joe really love Leena? I think yes...

Intentional Vulnerablity

Why did Scott Stark intentionally make himself look foolish? I have no idea. Maybe to prove a point, to help us relate, or maybe to make fun of Jane Fonda? He put himself out there in those ridiculously tight pants, in public, and even worse rocked out to Jane Fonda. I liked how in class, Stark was compared to the guys in "Jackass" because it seemed like some of what he was doing was solely to get a reaction. In his case, no one really reacted. At least it makes the experience funnier. Another way to look at it is that he was trying to relate to the audience. We all do embarrassing stuff, whether it be intentional or unintentional, and by Stark filming himself, he seemed vulnerable, therefore easy to relate to. Then we could pay attention to the words and appreciate them. Before we saw the film, we learned that Stark became disgusted with Fonda and lost appreciation for her when she began advocating fitness instead of other issues. Because of this, when I first saw him, I thought he was making fun of Fonda's videos. I really don't know if its any of these reasons, maybe all three.

(Somewhat) Non-Fiction Films

The films we saw on April 2 were a lot easier for me to get in to in comparison to most of the previous films we've seen. I was interested in most of the issues they were talking about. I think a big part of my interest was the fact that these filmmakers were actually discussing issues more than anything else. I felt that these films had so much more to offer in my experience. I might have felt different perhaps had the topics been uninteresting to me, but luckily these were. All of the information was sort of thrown in our faces, whether it be bold words scrolling across the screen, or flashy images displayed. It was like an overload for my brain, but I liked it because I never really lost interest or felt like sleeping. The film by Frederic Moffet portraying Jean Genet in Chicago reminded me of a newspaper but with movable images. It was like a more entertaining and somewhat biased documentary. I loved how the heads on the talking figures remained as the same cut-out for each person. This helped me follow a some-what confusing story. While what was being talked about was hazy, I at least had Genet's cut-out head and voice to follow. "More than Meets the Eye: Remaking Jane Fonda," by Scott Stark had so many interesting quotes from Fonda, it was hard to follow. However, I thought it worked well how he displayed the quotes about her femininity and eating disorders scrolling horizontally on the bottom and her political views vertically from the top. Being a woman, I felt like I could relate to what she was saying about the pressures and hardships and I also agreed with a lot of what she was saying about the war, presidents, military, and politics in general. A lot of what she was saying then can be compared to how many feel about what is going on today, which also caught my attention. As for Stark working out in the back, at first it was funny, then it just got old. He looked ridiculous but maybe that's what he was going for. I'm not sure what else he could have done for a background. At least it wasn't dull. The last film we watched, "Stranger Comes to Town," by Jacqueline Goss was awesome. Everything was so out of the ordinary and each new character was more interesting and outrageous than the last. For me it was like I had been trying to get a sense of how these people feel when they come to America, and by animating themselves as video game characters, I finally understood...to a degree. Some of their stories were amazing, what each of them had to do and how they were interrogated was ridiculous. Goss's way of displaying these six people and their experiences in coming to the United States was a great way to help us get inside their heads. We got a chance to see how they feel like monsters or aliens when they've done nothing wrong.

Vladmaster

The four Vladmaster videos or slide shows shown reminded me of a children's story book being told by narration. This was in part because of the fact that we all got to use a "toy" for the first time, and because we had a voice sharing a story that went along with each picture. This made the experience similar to a child visiting a museum, because they are both hands on. The greatest part of these works was how they involved the viewer. Unlike most films, these programs gave us control over what we were seeing. Using the View-Master, we could decide when to change the slide, how much light was available, and whether or not to follow along with the narrator. I'm always amazed at how someone can pull even farther away from the norms of film-making; Vladmir definitely showed me something new. I couldn't believe how much time and thought went into each beautiful little packet holding the slides. Each one was so different in detail, for some reason I couldn't wait to see how she wrote the "1,2,3, and 4" on each new set of slides.

I think my favorite piece was "Lucifugia Thigmotaxis," simply because I was interested in what would happen to the cockroach. I liked how we got to experience Stanley's adventures with him. On Vladmaster's website she explains that "Lucifugia" means light-fleeing. "Thigmotaxis" is how in order to feel safe there must be pressure on all four sides of the body. These two words together describe the character of a cockroach and what is necessary for them to survive.

Ethan Jackson and Camera Obscura

I find the use of camera obscura to be one of the most interesting forms of art because like Jackson explained, everything is left up to chance; the artist has literally no control. In "Panopticon 1," Ethan Jackson explained how he was forced to let go of all his previous intentions. He had to let small changes or intuitions take place, whether he wanted them to or not. He did also say that most of the time he enjoys the changes that are made and that with the variations of light, something can be made much more beautiful. Comparing this to the use of a regular camera Jackson said that with a camera, he can control variables and everything is very much about control. The limitations of photography show him just how little he can do.
In some of the cloud installation clips he showed, he explained how in the room, you could feel yourself shifting because of the actual movement in the clouds. It was the same effect that one would get when looking at a body of water, but more fast paced. When the mirror on the outside of the lens would rotate, color was picked up from the mirror twice, altering it. The color of the clouds appeared realistic and natural, I wouldn't have known they were changed. I would have loved to see the real installation of the clouds because it seemed like one could be engulfed in clouds, kind of like a dream state for me. They were beautiful on the rippled cloth and they looked as if real clouds were coming at you from every corner.
The instillation shown today(wed. 14) of the street traffic and people walking was fun to watch because at first, it was confusing. It looked as though the people and cars were coming or fading in and out, then disappearing. Trippy. The color was dull but that made it realistic, kind of a dull day today. The repetition of the same image was cool because even though I knew what was further down the wall, I skimmed every part of it.
The way Jackson creates a dark empty room into an alive square of imagery is definitely something worth seeing. It's also interesting to know that so much went into making the piece. Actually just a light ray, small opening, mirror, and a dark room. The continual projection of images makes it like the viewer is experiencing an optical illusion or magic trick. The visual effects and varying light make the camera obscura experience show the ordinary world in a new way. I think this is a good example of how watching Jackson's work is such a different experience from looking at a photograph or watching a video. We are looking at the same material that could be seen in both but the camera obscura and the different angles result in a new experience. Its like looking at a moving photograph or a video of the outdoors but all around you.

Lights and Sounds

This week's screenings had an interesting variety of length, color, sound, and subject. Some of the films gave me a headache, one in particular, was soothing. My favorite by far was "The Dark Room," by Minyong Jang. With the use of camera obscura and a rotating lense, Jang uniquely captured the flow of the ocean. It felt as though we were surrounded by water, surfing in slow motion. Carl described this experience as being in "a container of the ocean," I agree. I can't even remember if it was a silent film because I was so involved with the image, which rarely happens. Usually whether or not a film has sound determines my liking it or not. Altogether, Jang beautifully filmed the peacefulness and delicacy of water.

One thing I liked about "Lace of Summer" was the way it reminded me of a home-made movie. With the super-eight film and "cinema songs"(?) the filmmaker realistically showed the feeling one gets when they think of summer. I liked the repeated images of tents and how the film appeared colorless but there were hints of mint green and light blue at certain times. At first I didn't understand why there was a scene with a woman behind a curtain, later we learned this was the filmmaker. The film reminded me of what you see in a feature length movie, a snippet of someone else's memory of childhood, but this was sincere.

"Third Eye Butterfly," by Storm De Hirsch was intense. The combination of color and sound was incredible. I think my favorite part was how the music sounded so much like a drum circle and no color was left out. I felt like the film was all over the place, my eyes jumped all around the screen. The multiplication of the images created a unique experience for each viewer. I liked how Carl put it; "one could look across the screen, side to side, or combine all of the images into a single frame." Also, the hints of a butterfly that appeared once and a while(eye, wing, color, or an entire butterfly) was a nice touch.

"Available Light Shift" was probably my least favorite simply because I kept nodding off. I don't have much to say about it because I feel like there wasn't a lot to it. No offense to the filmmaker, of course. There was a thin amount of random color kept me going, also I thought it was interesting how the entirety of the film was based on the element of chance.

I definitely enjoyed "Night Flight Transmissions," by Brent Coughenour because of the bursts of light correlating with the bursts of image and sound. I liked how he paired the random images and constructed a harmonizing feel altogether. The innocent image of the child riding the bike became somewhat scary because of the sounds behind him. I think the uneasy feeling it produced is what was so likable. At first I didn't know what or if someone was talking in the background, then the noises became recognizable numbers. The noisy sounds that turned into words, finally eased its way into what sounded like church music. At the end, we learned that Coughenour wasn't just pulling random images, he was using family members and personal ideas to construct actual memories.