Response to the film: Meshes of the Afternoon

Mirrors, reflections and the repetition of actions and the self are some of the main tropes throughout Maya Deren's film. A dislocation of the self, takes us out of the normal stereotypical and linear narrative, and i find that to be interesting and continuously engaging. Disorientation such as this, as well as through the cinematography (i.e., the tilting of the camera in order to disorient and alter the perspective of rooms, hallways and door frames) works to distance the viewer from standard time and space, and from standard "point A to point B" filmmaking. "The Gaze" is also prominent in this, and is also disrupted, or at times even enhanced by mirrors, and the reflections shown through these mirrors, in one piece, or many.

Outline - 3 ideas for capturing passage of 1 hour

For these ideas, I have considered cross dissolves and the integral device to show passage of time, however, i have also considered jump cuts, in order to show change in a more abrupt and clear manner...

1) Either a popsicle or ice melting in a glass in a hot room. Maybe on a table or on the counter of a kitchen, but a place where the room temperature is higher than average. 

This is a simple idea, but with the help of consistent and equally spaced jump cuts, wide angles, tight angles and multiple viewpoints, the passage of time will be illustrated and documented by this one, single glass, the ice inside of it. And the only noticeable progression in time, will be the ice itself, melting and succumbing to the constant, unforgiving movement through 60 minutes.

2) The movement of cars in front of a gas station or supermarket, a place where people spend a considerable amount of time, but also where the vehicles and their owners will be consistently changing within an hour.

I would like to focus one person, object, or spot in the gas station or grocery store, in order to better illustrate the contrast between the moving, and unmoving throughout the course of one of the busiest hours of the weekday (5-6 p.m.). With all other things moving around this one specified element, one will be able to see time in the form of the rush of people during this hour.

3) A view of the sleeze and slime around lunchtime, or another busy space of time (dinner?), but a crowded place such as this, to illustrate the passage of an hour and the coming and going of students and faculty.

Again, the focus here would be on one person, sitting with multiple people throughgout the hour in the cafeteria, restaurant, cafe, bar, whatever. With the interaction of people together, I'm hoping that the feel of the video will move from one end of the spectrum of crowded to deserted, and that the one person, although not always alone throughout, is unchanged, and unmoved, as others pass through in that one hour.

Critique Questions

Material Choices or Processes:

Paper, Micron Pen - held up to the iSight camera for about 16 seconds.

Your Conceptual Processes:

Not heavily conceptual, but rather more informative and straightforward than anything. I couldn't come up with much useful and understandable symbolism for my sentence, and the words i had chosen, and i wanted to get my point across clearly.

What you want to communicate through your piece:

I want to express my ideas behind good filmmaking, according to my own opinion. And specifically the emphasis and importance i put behind my movies, and ideas i have for scenes, shots, etc. The sentence i chose to write, i feel, illustrates just that, and whether you agree with it or you don't, at least you read it.

Is this your first try, or were there other attempts made?

The first attempt had the four words i chose on separate pieces of a different kind of paper then the sentence, but i felt that this took away from my message and the simplicity of the statement, so i stuck with just the sentence.

Are those attempts in the final work, or are they erased?

They're erased, but i really think it's for the better.

Quiz #1

1. Mise-en-scene are the elements which comprise a scene in cinema. Such as background, lighting, position of subject, costumes, and scenery.

2. A (scene) in cinema, is a sophisticated and structured interaction between a character or multiple characters, action, and dialogue, and can be made up of many different (shots), which are continuous and uninterrupted sequences of one part of the scene.

3. Editing is the cutting, pasting, and final arrangement of a collection of filmed scenes and sequences, which are carefully 'cut' in order to tell the story as it was originally intended.

3 transitions:

-Dissolve

-Pan Away

-Cheat Cut

By Any Means Necessary

4 words

 - character building

 - experimental 

 - narrative

 - cinematography

"Experimental film may be able to utilize the elements of narrative and character building, but must rely on the adventurousness of cinematography."

Freewriting

I'm partly interested in the continuation of some of my ideas and practices from last semester. Where as i focused on city life and the passage of time (some instances were narrative, others not so much), this semester will bring about perhaps a deeper exploration into the elements of a narrative, namely character building and interaction, with or without dialogue, because dialogue is truthfully the least of my concerns as a filmmaker. I believe enough can be communicated by body language, mood, setting, and even camerawork, without having to hear people bitch and moan along scripted lines.

And speaking of camera work, my love of cinematography will be further emphasized and developed this semester. Having a few directors whom i admire for their unconventional camera work, i intend to broaden that list and view things that have either changed, broken or set new rules in classic and contemporary filmmaking. Some might say the word "experimental" could describe breaking this ground, we will see.

Ideas for this semester's films

- documenting the homeless
- housing in Memphis (from the projects to the burbs)
- one to two person narrative (not certain of specifics)
- trapped in a bathroom (from a short story i wrote)
- zombie movie (with special fx)

Response and Reaction to Inaugural Coverage

This week's Inauguration and the super-saturated media coverage of the event made it difficult to miss for just about anyone (unless you happen to not own or watch a television). The event was, to say the least, historic and monumental. And this, to me, was not necessarily just due to the election of the nation's first African American president, but rather it found many Americans (whatever their ethnicity or social background) together, in one place, all looking forward to the bright new future ahead of them.
And for the first time in a long time, after 8 long years of idiocy, ignorance, and deceit, I felt as if we the people that day were able to take a collective breath, a sigh of relief as a much-needed changing of the guard unfolded before our eyes. And it is with confidence that i say that this day was perhaps the first in almost a decade that utter hope and wide-eyed optimism were both rampant and contagious. A feeling that I'm not even certain I have felt in the span of the three administrations i have seen in my short life.
However, because MLK day was observed on the previous day, many correspondents were persistent in bringing up the names of those who had fought almost fifty years ago for the cause of civil rights, and many also kept begging the bigger and more difficult question: "Do you think Martin Luther King's dream has been fulfilled with the election of the first African American President?"
This question by itself is flawed, and the mere fact that news anchors and on-location reporters kept referring to the incoming American President with the prefix, "First African..." is problematic when simultaneously talking about the ideals and hopes of Dr. King, who's dream included first and foremost, the notion of equality. This issue stuck with me for the better part of the day, and made the news affiliates who insisted upon the title of First African American President look like fools.