Form Of Filmmaking Research Articles

Cooking the Cosmic Soup: Vincent Moon's Altered States of Live Cinema

The films and live cinema of Vincent Moon are considered in this chapter as ‘psychedelic’: a form of filmmaking and film performances that can open the doors of perception to invisible realms of percepts, affects and durations that are beyond or below ordinary human perception. According to Paul Schrader, films can evoke such spiritual dimensions, in particular through what he called the transcendental style of film, and what Gilles Deleuze termed the time-image. As an audio-visual ethnographer of world religions who is distinctly influenced by shamanic and animistic traditions, Moon brings the transcendental style back to its plane of immanence. His live cinema performances have a ritualistic and ecstatic aspect that recalls the esoteric history of haunted media. Moon's enthralling film performances induce altered states of mind, tap into spiritual realities and immerse the audience in magic.

WHAT IS 360 DEGREE FILM SCENE? BASIC EXPLANATIONS ABOUT THE DESIGN AND PRODUCTION PROCESS

Bu yazı 360-VR filmi konu almaktadır. 360-VR video tarihsel gelişimi 1960’lara kadar geri götürülebilecek görece yeni bir film kayıt teknolojisidir. Bununla birlikte, dijital iletişim piyasasının sanal gerçeklik uygulamaları özellikle yakın zamanda kamusal ortamda yaygınlaştıkça bu yeni teknolojinin bir geleceği olduğu görülmektedir. Bu bağlamda, bu yazı 360-VR film yapımının hangi açılardan yerleşik sinema pratiklerinden ayrıldığını ortaya çıkarmayı amaçlayan bir görgül araştırma üzerine temellenmiştir ve bu açıdan konunun teorileştirilmesine bir katkı sunma amacı taşımaktadır. Ayrıca araştırma 360-VR filmin ne olduğunu kavramsal olarak açıklamak ve 360-VR film yapımı üzerine temel bulgulara ulaşmayı ve söz konusu yeni film yapım biçimi ve teknolojisinin niteleyici özelliklerine ilişkin bir kavramsal tartışma yürütmeyi hedeflemektedir. Bu amaç doğrultusunda, araştırmacılar konuya dair gelişmekte olan bir literatürden ve 360-VR video tekniği ile çekilmiş bazı başarılı film örneklerinin betimsel analizinden faydalanmaktadırlar. Genel bir sonuç olarak, savunulabilir ki 360-VR film yapımı yerleşik sinema pratiklerinden özellikle montaj, yönetim, senaryo ve izleme deneyimleri açısından temel farklılıklara sahiptir. Ayrıca çalışma kapsamında, filme alınan aksiyonun görüldüğü sınırların ve derinliğin belirlenmesi açısından filmin yönetmeninin ve izleyicilerinin ortak katkılarına gönderme yapacak şekilde yeni bir terim olarak “co-optional kadraj” terimi önerilmektedir.

The humanistic spirit and poetic aesthetics of Russian animated films (on the example of the work of Yuri Norstein)

Under the influence of French avant-garde filmmakers who created the creative method of "montage film", at the beginning of the twentieth century, Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein developed a technique called "intelligent editing". Later, the famous film director Andrei Tarkovsky constructed the inner truth of the film with the help of poetic expression, thereby giving it a unique poetic aesthetic. This form of filmmaking has had a profound impact on Russian animated cinema. This article is devoted to the study of the specifics of Russian animation on the example of paintings by Yuri Norstein, in particular, the analysis of the humanistic spirit and poetic aesthetics. Special attention is paid in the article to the symbolism of the cinematic images of the works of Yu. Norstein and the peculiarities of the reflection of reality in animation. The main conclusion of this study : in contrast to Hollywood animation with the shocking creation of visual meanings, in Russian animated works, a calm narrative with symbolic meaning attached to details gradually rises to the level of philosophical comprehension. Yuri Norstein's paintings are full of symbols and metaphors that evoke various associations in the audience and give free rein to their imagination. The content of cartoon paintings is characterized by depth and a multilevel system of meanings embodying the Russian national culture and the picture of the world. The combination of realistic traditions with advanced techniques distinguishes the director's work from American animation.

Chained Animation: Collaborative Forms of Filmmaking in Education

This article discusses experimental forms of collaborative filmmaking in education and introduces the pedagogical concept of Chained Animation. Animation filmmaking usually involves teamwork; production pipelines are traditionally linear and hierarchically structured, separated into direction (or artistic direction) and production teams. By contrast, Chained Animations are non-linear and based on a large group of animators working together at various levels. This concept is particularly well suited to education as it integrates all participants equally, from the idea phase all the way through to its realization. In addition to teaching basic animation principles, this experimental form of education goes beyond established methods of practising those principles. The educational concepts for Chained Animations follow different strategies and range from professional workflows to playful, experimental forms that emphasize participatory and collaborative aspects within large groups. In this article, the authors first examine participatory art practices; then they discuss experimental forms of collaboration in animation and education, using examples from art, film and science. This article examines different experimental approaches, challenges and findings, which are based on three case studies undertaken at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Hagenberg Campus – Home (2016), Utopia Now (2017) and Draft One (2018) – ultimately presenting guidelines for Chained Animation in education.

‘I want to watch movies’: Film activism and Cuban screens

The notion of independent cinema has generated conversations and controversies around the world as scholars have attempted to demarcate what kinds of productions fit – or do not – into the category. In the absence of major private film companies, independent cinema in Cuba includes those films made without or with minimal support from the state-run Cuban Film Institute (ICAIC). Since its foundation in 1959, ICAIC has been the main and only programmer of all films screened in theatres across the country. This article offers a brief account of the relationship between Cuban independent cinema and mainstream institutions in the last few years. As a starting point, I will consider the decision to exclude the film Santa y Andrés/Santa & Andres () from the programme of the 38th Havana Film Festival and the debates that ensued. I will also discuss the recent cultural policies – a decree that recognizes the legal rights of independent film and audio-visual producers and the introduction of 3G data plans for citizens – that hope to spawn new forms of filmmaking in Cuba and the role of social media as a collective platform for cultural conversations in the public sphere.

Narrative and database in “All that is Solid”, a desktop documentary

Abstract This paper proposes to analyze “All that is Solid” by artist and filmmaker Louis Henderson, a documentary film that uses the desktop of the computer as a background for a new kind of narrative structure to unfold. This film will be looked at mainly through Lev Manovich´s notion of the “database as a symbolic form” (MANOVICH, 1999) which the author attributes to the “age of the computer” when the database becomes the key form of cultural expression after the novel and cinema. It conducts a close reading of the film while pointing out several moments when database as a cultural expression surfaces, becomes dominant, and competes with conventional narrative forms of filmmaking. Through the basic system of organizing folders on his computer’s desktop Henderson reflexively unravels a complex story: as technological progress advances in the West, piles of obsolete computers are thrown away, sent to the coast of West Africa, and end up being recycled in waste grounds such as Agbogbloshie in Accra, Ghana. The film confronts us with a strange system of recycling, a kind of reverse, neo-colonial mining, where groups of Ghanaians search for residues of mineral resources in the computer waste materials sent from Europe. It tells us of the correlation between technology and race, and of the immateriality of the ‘Cloud’ in contrast to the heavy materiality of e-waste zones.

Refleksja z katedry

Reflections from the Rostrum In his polemics with the Documentary Filmmaker Guide by Grazyna Kedzielawska, Michal Bukojemski claims that the notional apparatus, filmmaking methods, and production technologies described in the book do not adhere to the digital present day. The author believes that the teaching of documentary filmmaking in film school should begin with setting and describing the main goal, which is the film itself. Today’s documentary film has specific conditions, such as financing, distribution and shooting technologies. Speaking about various methods and practicing different forms of filmmaking are rather auxiliary goals that should be fulfilled in the course of studies. The author convinces us that both the subject and the story are crucial for the documentary film. And with them academic teachers should begin and end their teaching of documentary filmmaking.

TOWARDS AN ECOLOGY OF CINEMA AND HISTORY

What are the modes, genres, and registers in which Italian cinema has dealt with the history of Italy? An apparently innocuous question, its relevance to this discussion comes from the fact that it has not yet been answered, and its implications are far-reaching for the discipline of Italian screen studies if exhaustedly pursued. Answering it implies rethinking the relationship of Italian cinema to the history of Italy from a descriptive and analytical rather than from a prescriptive and paternalistic perspective. Instead, certain moments and types of filmmaking continue to be seen as having a privileged relationship to the Italian nation and its history: neorealism, auteur cinema, the so-called cinema d’impegno. Meanwhile, the tastes of the Italian audience, whether for less culturally valued forms of cinema or for the Hollywood product that has almost always been the most watched form of filmmaking, have been pathologized; modes and registers of engagement with history exemplified in popular or genre film or in imported cinema have been regularly overlooked. It seems to me that the discipline should investigate the variety of ways in which Italians have understood and engaged with their history through the medium of film — and should not dictate the preferred forms such an engagement must take. The aim should be to articulate a comprehensive taxonomy of the different modes of engagement with the past represented by the century-plus of Italian cinema, and the taxonomy should be clarified through comparison with non-Italian material.

Aesthetic Archives: Pre-Service Teachers Symbolizing Experiences through Digital Storytelling

With the novelty of digital storytelling, there is increased enthusiasm in taking up forms of filmmaking in teacher education as a way to promote self-directed reflective practices. However, the visual quality of digital stories holds blind spots, in other words, what we defend against seeing in these approaches, as well as their implications for meaning making. With this in mind, the authors undertook a multi-year process that involved having pre-service teachers work with the aesthetic medium of digital storytelling to engage with critical incidents in their teaching. In this context, digital storytelling works as an aesthetic archive that symbolizes the conflicts of learning to teach. This article focuses on a close reading of two cases which provide insight into the ways in which future teachers use digital storytelling to both wrestle with and question the significance of the identity-making venture of becoming teachers. Additionally, the authors consider the personal and social implications of such an undertaking for teacher-educators.

Is It Real . . . or Is It Motion Capture?: The Battle to Redefine Animation in the Age of Digital Performance

Is It Real . . . or Is It Motion Capture?The Battle to Redefine Animation in the Age of Digital Performance Yacov Freedman (bio) The most intriguing scene in Ratatouille (Brad Bird, 2007) occurs after the movie is over. At the very bottom of the end credits, following the usual Pixar-perfect lists of loop groups and Production Babies, comes an unexpected disclaimer. "Our Quality Assurance Guarantee," it reads, "100% Genuine Animation! No motion capture or any other performance shortcuts were used in the production of this film." Next to the statement stands a winking caricature of a 1950s businessman giving the audience a thumbs-up for supporting such an apparently worthy endeavor. It is, without a doubt, an odd way to postscript a film, but Ratatouille's swipe at motion capture is also indicative of a larger dispute over the use of modern technology within the pantheon of animation techniques. The debate has been quietly raging for over a decade, even as the technology itself becomes more powerful, more convincing, and more widespread. The past two years, however, have seen several moves to end the debate, with various disciplines attempting to categorize motion capture—often to contradictory extremes. Rules have been written and opinions have been proffered from film practitioners, corporations, unions, and even award shows reflecting numerous agendas and points of view. Clearly, the question of how to view motion capture is an important one, as it illustrates the difficulties of defining different forms of film in the digital age. Motion capture occupies a unique and disputed place among film technologies. By capturing live movement as raw computer data, it exists as an unprecedented amalgam of both recorded and synthetic cinema. As such, motion capture is at the center of an ongoing debate about what constitutes animation in the digital age. Whereas it was once compared almost exclusively to animation and to techniques such as rotoscoping in particular, the medium has evolved into its own particular mode of expression. This has spurred an industry-wide race to redefine motion capture in which different factions of filmmakers—everyone from actors to visual effects artists, studios to labor unions—have attempted to claim the technology as their own. This essay examines how various groups within Hollywood have sought to control the conversation about motion capture as well as efforts by a prominent umbrella organization—the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences—to end the debate by scrutinizing its own definitions of animation. Previous essays on motion capture have largely dealt with the theoretical problems it presents: issues of reality versus representation, media confluence, and the "uncanny valley" of photorealism.1 Many of these same topics are being discussed within the film industry, only with the much more concrete goal of assigning creative and financial credit (or blame) for motion capture's successes (or failures). The major players involved—institutions including the Screen Actors Guild and the Walt Disney Company— recognize that the current debates over motion capture will have long-range professional ramifications. Furthermore, motion capture is an expensive technology, one that requires sizable investments of both funds and physical space. Hollywood's internal debate, therefore, is perhaps even more important than its academic counterpart, since industrial forces may ultimately decide whether motion capture will be canonized as animation, live action, or visual effect. Yet all these debates distract from another possibility, one advanced primarily by director/producer Robert Zemeckis: that motion capture represents a wholly new form of filmmaking, one that cannot and should not be limited by our previously held definitions of synthetic versus recorded cinema.2 For Zemeckis, categorizing motion capture is by itself problematic and would potentially stifle a new art form in its infancy. [End Page 38] Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Ratatouille takes a stand against motion capture during its end credits (Disney/Pixar, 2007). Part 1: Animated Origins and Academy Rules In addition to its end-credit caveat, the entirety of Ratatouille can be read as an extended critique of motion capture.3 The plot focuses on Remy, a rat who realizes his lifelong dream of becoming a French chef by using a surrogate human to cook meals for him...

Dryden Goodwin in Conversation with Barnaby Dicker

Dryden Goodwin’s frame-based films both challenge and reaffirm the principles and conventions of animation. A fundamental component of his wider artistic project, this form of filmmaking is intertwined with his other concerns, which include drawing, portraiture and notions of ‘series’. In this interview, Barnaby Dicker invites Goodwin to discuss, from a number of perspectives, his approach to frame-based cinematography and how it relates to his work in general. Dicker finds this a rich and important but neglected topic in animation studies; a problem the present interview aims to contribute to correcting. The interviewer is particularly interested in the links between Goodwin’s work and 19th-century chronophotography, which he proposes is more usefully applicable here as photochronography — Etienne-Jules Marey’s original term for the process. A further link is drawn between the ‘documentary’ aspects of Goodwin’s art and Jean-Louis Comolli’s theory of direct cinema. Although the two would seem to be poles apart, the interviewer finds a number of Comolli’s remarks exemplified through Goodwin’s approach. Other themes running through the interview include the role of film within gallery and installation contexts and the relationships between classical and contemporary art practices and technologies.

Editorial

Editorial Drake Stutesman A new kind of revolutionary attitude, one that accepts contradictions and doesn't discard old values so much as recycle them, is increasingly active in cinema and media. It's especially visible in the work of young African and African-diasporic filmmakers. In this Framework issue, the Cameroonian filmmaker Jean-Pierre Bekolo makes a fascinating bridge in his essay "Welcome to Applied Fiction." He aligns his African childhood perspectives, still vibrant in him when he is with his grandmother in her village, with the "new alliances, new layers, new identification" of which, he believes, cinema, the art he learned in Europe, is capable. His 1996 film Aristotle's Plot (FR/UK/ZW) asked What is cinema? And how does an African sensibility tell a story cinematically? Now, twelve years later, he posits this with more insight: "The question I'm putting is this: How can technology help me as a filmmaker turn the cinema experience into an experience similar to the one I had with the old woman [his grandmother]?" In November 2007 I attended the African Video Film Arts Festival at the Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. I acted as a discussant in what became a conference on "Nollywood," the thriving Nigerian video industry, which has economically stormed Africa and the world as no other except perhaps the nascent film industry of the early twentieth century. So-called Nollywood is a business of primarily quick videos, made in short periods (sometimes two days), with low production standards. Some videos are much more skillful, and many have a host of assets, but they often are denigrated as low art and loved as engrossing fun. But, whatever its make up, Nollywood has made a mark and, more astoundingly, is emerging as an identity among young diasporic filmmakers. British-Nigerian Zina Saro-Wiwa, whose [End Page 5] inventive film This Is My Africa (UK, 2007) screened at this year's New York African Film Festival (NYAFF), thinks of herself as a Nollywood director. She told me that what "makes me Nollywood [is the] fact that I don't use film, the way I get funding, and the attitude with which I create a film. Also the idea of creating new forms of filmmaking or new film languages also makes me Nollywood!" British filmmaker Ngozi Onwurah, who was once invited to participate in a Nigerian film festival, also claims a Nollywood status and thus, as well, a Nollywood status for her hard-hitting film Shoot the Messenger (UK, 2007), also screened at NYAFF, about black self-hatred and the internal convolutions of prejudice. The work of Bekolo, Saro-Wiwa, and Onwurah reflect some of the most energized thinking about art, globalization, politics, and form that I hear and see. My guess is, like those who really challenged the status quo in history, these artists have nothing to lose and everything to gain by re-accessing their situation and re-accessing what cinema can do for them and what they can do with cinema. Two thousand eight saw the fortieth anniversary of May '68, a date specific to the Paris riots but often used to stand for the upheavals of the 1960s. But France's May '68 resulted in fewer key social transformations than those that evolved in the United States. Despite this, in 2008, "1968" retrospectives and conferences repeatedly screened art films of 1960s Europe, with their clean but overt sexuality, disruptive cinematic forms, and antiestablishment position. But these films, however artful, don't reflect the blood and guts of '68 and don't reflect its revolution. Almost entirely made by white, European, middle-class males, they display the gauntlet of prejudice—racism, sexism, homophobia—that dominated art cinema in the United States and abroad. These prejudices rarely are highlighted, much less deplored, when screened even now. That the French were against the Vietnam War was a chic stance of the era, but they nationally had little self-reflection on their own years of occupation in Southeast Asia. Crucial self-confrontation and change—legal, social, and cultural—happened in the United States. An intense dent was made in the wall of prejudice through two decades of violence between...