This week, class is at the festival. It's like an all you can eat film buffet.
November 8, 2007
Week 13: 13th Annual Cucalorus Film Festival
This week, class is at the festival. It's like an all you can eat film buffet.
November 1, 2007
Week 12: Supereee-Dooperee-Projection-Loopery
These next few weeks, the 6X1 class will be exploring film/video as process oriented instead of strictly product oriented.
In other words, the film is also an EVENT which can not be replicated in movie theaters because each experience is different. The audience and participants are one in same.
Getting there isn't just half the fun - it's part of the film itself!
Does this still all sound strangly vague . . .
Well check out one such film event in the series of videos, BELOW: the 1st Annual My-Loop's-Bigger-Than-Yours-athon.
The class was divided into two groups. Each group was to start out by building a 5 foot 16mm film loop.
The goal was to see who could build the longest film loop and have it projecting for a continuously for a minute without falling apart.
Teacherman had to throw the class a few curve balls because the loops just kept growing . . .
. . . and growing. And both groups were unphased by the initial challenge.
The first NEW rule was that the film could not touch the ground.
The end of class kept inching closer and both groups were running strong, despite the new rule.
So Teacherman did a sort of shortest-straw-type game where he wadded up tiny balls of paper. All were blank, except one. On that one was written the word, "BANG!"
Whoever in the group drew the "BANG!" had to sit out. They could help strategize. They just couldn't hold the film as it projected.
So the groups got a little smaller . . .
And thus it was that eventually the Ambitious Chinchillas (yes . . . Teacherman made each group chose a team name) were done in by a broken splice.
And the . . . what was the other group's name . . . the someting Lemonades - was it the Pink Lemonades?
Anyway, the Pink ( . . .?) Lemonades won the loop-off.
But do they have they have the LONGEST loop?
. . . hmm. Perhaps we shall find out next week.
In other words, the film is also an EVENT which can not be replicated in movie theaters because each experience is different. The audience and participants are one in same.
Getting there isn't just half the fun - it's part of the film itself!
Does this still all sound strangly vague . . .
Well check out one such film event in the series of videos, BELOW: the 1st Annual My-Loop's-Bigger-Than-Yours-athon.
The class was divided into two groups. Each group was to start out by building a 5 foot 16mm film loop.
The goal was to see who could build the longest film loop and have it projecting for a continuously for a minute without falling apart.
Teacherman had to throw the class a few curve balls because the loops just kept growing . . .
. . . and growing. And both groups were unphased by the initial challenge.
The first NEW rule was that the film could not touch the ground.
The end of class kept inching closer and both groups were running strong, despite the new rule.
So Teacherman did a sort of shortest-straw-type game where he wadded up tiny balls of paper. All were blank, except one. On that one was written the word, "BANG!"
Whoever in the group drew the "BANG!" had to sit out. They could help strategize. They just couldn't hold the film as it projected.
So the groups got a little smaller . . .
And thus it was that eventually the Ambitious Chinchillas (yes . . . Teacherman made each group chose a team name) were done in by a broken splice.
And the . . . what was the other group's name . . . the someting Lemonades - was it the Pink Lemonades?
Anyway, the Pink ( . . .?) Lemonades won the loop-off.
But do they have they have the LONGEST loop?
. . . hmm. Perhaps we shall find out next week.
October 23, 2007
Week 11: Rhythmic Editing Exercise
5 FRAMES + 15 FRAMES + 5 FRAMES + 10 FRAMES + 5 FRAMES
Repeat variations on the above pattern 43 more times
Add 40 more frames - freestyle
And you have a film that's exactly 1 minute.
October 20, 2007
Weeks 9&10: One-Shot Bolextravaganzahhh!
What a way to finish our stint with film (now, the 6X1 class moves videoward)! Today, the 6X1 class produced 4 one-minute films shot on 16mm, then processed and finally transferred to video - all within 4 hours. Though the class was divided into groups of 3 and 4, the groups intermingled and created tiny films on a grand scale. Blue-afro space cats, sombrero decked guitaristas, brainy monsters and others coexisted in surreal harmony.
The weather was great - a little warm for October - but sunny, really sunny - so sunny that we had to ditch our original darkroom because despite great efforts to black out the windows, sun insisted on peaking through. So we developed film in the guys' bathroom with a couple of tubs of chemicals and a red flashlight.
The weather was great - a little warm for October - but sunny, really sunny - so sunny that we had to ditch our original darkroom because despite great efforts to black out the windows, sun insisted on peaking through. So we developed film in the guys' bathroom with a couple of tubs of chemicals and a red flashlight.
October 17, 2007
October 4, 2007
Week 7: Life After Rayograms and Contact Printing
This week, we transferred about 5 minutes of 16mm hi-con footage to video with the goal of editing the footage in such a way as to present a one-minute trajectory with a beginning, middle and end. Sound will really facilitate the making of a whole from the fragments. And, of course, how the image track(s) is edited will determine the thread or story of your one-minute films. But beyond simply cutting and pasting, you might also play with colorizing the video, slowing it down or compositing two or more clips. The example above shows these techniques, starting with an unmodified clip of film.
September 20, 2007
Week 6 Prep: Assignment #3
CLICK HERE to see an example of assignment 3 from last semester. This semester, things will be a little different in that we'll be making 4 short one-minute films instead of one long 4-minute class film.
EYE - FISH - SCIENTIST MAN - WOMAN WITH BABY - BACKLIT TREES (Click on image to enlarge)
Sixbyoners: choose one above swatches as your theme for the contact printing section of the assignment, next week. I've only posted 8 frames of the few-hundred-long-frame-long filmstrips you will actually contact print, but this should give you an idea.
EYE - FISH - SCIENTIST MAN - WOMAN WITH BABY - BACKLIT TREES
These images will serve as a (perhaps the only) grounding base for your Assignment #3 film. Much of you film will be an abstraction of photograms, so these images might help you decide which objects you bring for the photogram/rayogram portion of the assignment.
Also, remember that you will create a soundtrack to tie all the visual elements, together. Your final film may be narrative, in nature or more abstract and conceptually based. It's up to you and your group.
EYE - FISH - SCIENTIST MAN - WOMAN WITH BABY - BACKLIT TREES (Click on image to enlarge)
Sixbyoners: choose one above swatches as your theme for the contact printing section of the assignment, next week. I've only posted 8 frames of the few-hundred-long-frame-long filmstrips you will actually contact print, but this should give you an idea.
EYE - FISH - SCIENTIST MAN - WOMAN WITH BABY - BACKLIT TREES
These images will serve as a (perhaps the only) grounding base for your Assignment #3 film. Much of you film will be an abstraction of photograms, so these images might help you decide which objects you bring for the photogram/rayogram portion of the assignment.
Also, remember that you will create a soundtrack to tie all the visual elements, together. Your final film may be narrative, in nature or more abstract and conceptually based. It's up to you and your group.
September 15, 2007
Week 5: Film Processing
This week, the 6X1 class learns to process 16mm motion picture film. We are using a hi-contrast film stock (Kodak 7363), which allows us to process under a red safe-light and thus see the film as it "cooks" in the chemicals (Dektol).
Also, we'll try something completely different. From freeze dried coffee, washing soda and some asorbic acid, we'll brew up some coffee developer and see what it does to our film.
Eventually we will shoot film on the 16mm Bolex camera and process it, but first, we will focus on just the film stock through contact printing on the stock as well as making rayograms (laying objects directly on the film, exposing the film to light and then processing the film to get a negative impression of the objects).
For examples of what rayograms look like CLICK HERE
Also, we'll try something completely different. From freeze dried coffee, washing soda and some asorbic acid, we'll brew up some coffee developer and see what it does to our film.
Eventually we will shoot film on the 16mm Bolex camera and process it, but first, we will focus on just the film stock through contact printing on the stock as well as making rayograms (laying objects directly on the film, exposing the film to light and then processing the film to get a negative impression of the objects).
For examples of what rayograms look like CLICK HERE
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