screw you disney

after reading Well's article, i feel like i've gained a new appreciation for experimental animation.  he is definitely right when he talks about disney and cel animation as the dominant form of animation.  growing up, i remember watching disney and other similar cartoons, and it became engrained in my mind this is what animation is supposed to be.  i was bombarded with these types of cartoons all the time that it was the only form of animation that i seemed to know about.  some of my favorite films as a kid were disney classics such as the lion king, 101 dalmatians, and aladin, just to name a few.  as i've gotten older, ive been exposed to more and more different styles.  you can turn on adult swim on cartoon network and see tons of different forms.  it's really entertaining to see what animators are doing nowadays.  i remember the first time i saw south park as a kid and how much different it looked than more traditional cartoons that i had seen.  in one of the video classes that i took in high school, we did a segment on animation.  we had the option of doing traditional cel animation, claymation, and a few others (i can't remember them off the top of my head now).  my group decided to do claymation and we had a blast.  i had never done anything like it before, and it was an awesome experience.  since then i haven't done any other animation so i'm really excited about all that we're doing in this class.  william moritz quote, "but inventing interesting forms, shapes, and colours, creating new, imaginative, and expressive motions - 'the absolute creation: the true creation' as fischinger termed it - requires the highest mental and spiritual faculties, as well as the most sensitive talents of hand"  made me really think differently about experimental animation.  he seems right when he says that anyone can learn to recreate the illusion of life through animation, but it's a whole different story when you are creating something completely brand new, almost like creating new life.  you have to really put your deepest thoughts and feelings into it if you want to come up with something extraordinary.  you are the creator and your hands and mind have the ability to come up with things that have never been seen before.  i also really like the quote, "experimental animation has a strong relationship to music and, indeed,  it may be suggested that if music could be visualized it would look like colours and shapes moving through time with differing rhythms, movements, and speeds."  i know some artists prefer that their films be silent, but i think music adds a whole new dimension.  seeing all the shapes and colors pass by on the screen is cool and all, but in my opinion, music makes it much better.  i think the two go perfectly hand in hand.  i love listening to music no matter what i'm doing and experimental animation is no exception.  

good stuff

at this point in the class i couldn't be more pleased with it.  i've enjoyed coming to class just to see what cool techniques we are going to learn that week.  it's been a really cool experience so far.  i have seen a lot of experimental films with these types of techniques in them but i never really payed attention.  now that i have more of an understanding of what is going on, i feel that i have a much better appreciation for them.  it's been extremely fun going to a class where we get to try out different art forms and there's no real right or wrong answer. it's all up to the filmmaker and how they want to express themselves.  another thing that has made the class fun is the group of people.  everyone seems to get along well and it definitely makes the class even more enjoyable.  the class seems to be really excited about all that we're doing.  

 

doing cameraless filmmaking is quite different than any other films i've made for other classes.  up until this point, it's been mostly shooting on mini DV.  it has definitely sparked a new sense of enthusiasm about film in me.  i haven't been involved in any filmmaking in awhile because of other responsibilities.  being able to learn cool new things and work on small, fun projects on a weekly basis has been a much needed thing for me.  i hope i will be able to utilize some of these techniques on future projects that i do whether it be narrative, documentary, or experimental.  

of all the different types of cameraless filmmaking that we've learned, i think magazine transfers has been my favorite.  one of my good friends took this class last year and i remember watching him do magazine transfers for his elements projects.  i was pretty amazed by it all.  it's such a cool, original way to make films.  it's pretty cool that someone thought this up.  i know i wouldn't have.  i love how you have the freedom to mix and match whatever images or patterns that you want.  it's cool to see how the whole process works.  

creating rayograms was another real interesting process as well.  when we first turned out the lights to start adding pieces to our film, i thought it was going to be a disaster.  i could barely see what i was doing.  even though i wasn't able to tell what i was doing, it definitely made it more fun.  it was a big mystery what it was going to look like but it added to the excitement.  i was quite surprised as to how well it turned out.  my favorite part was where i put a piece of exposed film with stars punched through it on top of the unexposed film.  it was a real neat effect.  

like i said, i think this class has a been a blast so far and i hope it only keeps getting better.  it's been great being able to go into a new environment with a real cool teacher and peers and being able to learn such interesting modes of filmmaking.  i've told several of my friends about all the things i've learned and created in 6x1 and they seem totally jealous of me.  i'm excited for all the new things we're going to get to do over the rest of the course of the semester.  i spoke to my mom on the phone today about this class and i told her that i'll probably get to bring a copy of my films home during christmas break.  i just hope they'll understand it.  if not, it'll give me a good opportunity to share with them all that i did.  

the man, the myth, the legend

When I think of experimental films, stan brakhage is the first person that comes to mind. In all the film classes that I’ve had sections focusing on experimental films, stan brakhage seems to always come up. It seems like he’s placed higher up on the mantle than any of his fellow experimental filmmakers. I don’t know, maybe he really is a genius. Or maybe, it’s just been drilled into my head over the past few years that he’s brilliant, even though I have no clue why I believe it at all. I watch some of his films and I don’t really see anything different from some of the other similar films that I’ve seen by different directors. Hopefully, as the semester goes on, I will be able to see what separates him from the rest as I learn more and more in this class. One film of his that I do admire, for particular reasons, is the infamous window, water, baby, moving. I remember the first time I witnessed this bold film. I was sitting in the lumina theater for my 9 a.m. fst 203 class. All of a sudden, some of the most disturbing, yet beautiful images I have ever witnessed popped up on the screen. The film seemed to go on for what seemed like an extremely long time, and when it ended, myself and the rest of the class were dumbfounded, for lack of a better word. Brakhage needs a pat on the back for taking on such a project. He showed that even through the blood and all the other yummy stuff how moving childbirth can be. It’s definitely one of the most significant events in any person’s life and brakhage wanted to share his experience with the world. The film is definitely shocking today, but I can’t imagine how it was received in 1962, the year of its release. I might look more in depth on that later. Anyway, wonderful piece of daring filmmaking. That’s all I have to say about that.

Reading brakhage’s article was definitely a great way to see how he goes about some of his filmmaking processes. It’s always helpful to get further insight from a pioneer of the medium. I definitely appreciate his style of writing, especially the way he addresses the reader. Sometimes I had to reread a few passages to try and understand exactly what he was talking about. He’s a very peculiar man. It would certainly be interesting to be able to get into his mind. This article also helped me appreciate the hard work that he put into his work. He was a very devoted filmmaker, and I commend him for that. He’s a very intricate person, and I hope to be able to learn some valuable tools from him.

Keep on keepin’ on.