Cinematography skills and filmmaking ideas

[jgharding]

I really like zooming in on pixels, fake slow mo, degradation, noise, so on, so I enjoy the aesthetic!

 

I find it hard to take art films seriously these days though, unless they refuse to take themselves seriously that is ;)

I must admit I was guilty of more than a few...

 

Hahaha that reminds me, when I lived in Brighton and was first shooting with Sony Z1 HDV, me and my friends made a piss take of art films to learn the camera:

 

You can probably tell I studied sound before video, the soundtrack was incredibly complex to build!

 

;)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaZl-jPDX88

[gloopglop]

I'm curious as to how many on this board actually put together narrative pieces. I don't see much in the screening room. Anyone here do anything other than weddings and event coverage? 

 

im working on my first feature

[Guest]

I find it hard to take art films seriously these days though, unless they refuse to take themselves seriously that is ;)

 

I'm much more of that mindset too now - though self-reflexive irony can be just as dull. There are a handful of "serious" art films that are brilliant though - La Jete included.

 

Fun Brighton film - and yes it's the soundtrack that makes it!  :)

[gloopglop]

I find it hard to take art films seriously these days though, unless they refuse to take themselves seriously that is ;)

 

You know what you would love? Watching the entire Cremaster Cycle*

 

I'm much more of that mindset too now - though self-reflexive irony can be just as dull. There are a handful of "serious" art films that are brilliant though - La Jete included.

 

Fun Brighton film - and yes it's the soundtrack that makes it!  :)

 

I assume that discussion on this forum excludes "films" and "videos" which exist within a fine art discourse––but I have a fine art background and I find all that very interesting~! Apparently you do too Dr. Smith. Do you have a fine art practice?

 

The feature film I'm making functions both as a fine art piece and as a commercial film product––it's both.

 

But yeah Andy Warhol's Sleep wasn't meant to entertain, quite the opposite lol. That's not what I'm making.

 

*I am joking u would want to kill yourself do not watch 

[maxotics]

I assume that discussion on this forum excludes "films" and "videos" which exist within a fine art discourse––but I have a fine art background and I find all that very interesting~! Apparently you do too Dr. Smith. Do you have a fine art practice?

 

 

I say, if it moves, post it :)

[Guest]

I assume that discussion on this forum excludes "films" and "videos" which exist within a fine art discourse––but I have a fine art background and I find all that very interesting~! Apparently you do too Dr. Smith. Do you have a fine art practice?

 

I'm pretty disillusioned with the art world these days. The more I studied Art, the less I understood what the word means, and more importantly the less I cared. 

 

On a simplistic level, I believe that a person is a filmmaker, a painter, a sculptor, etc, etc, and that whether what they make is deemed to be 'art' or not has very little to do with THEM defining it as such. I've seen plenty of 'commercial' stuff that is innovative, daring, beautiful, moving, etc, and I've seen PLENTY of "art" that is none of those things. I do think art education and the art world in general plays an important part in our society (look at how many of our best creatives went to art school) - it's a space outside the box where a lot of exciting stuff can happen. But for me personally right now the distinction between Art and Film is not important. I believe that craft always comes first (though you may not believe it watching my film!). Beyond that I think we're all shooting in the dark to some extent. 

 

That's why I like this site - it puts the tech first, but it does so from a creative perspective. As Maxotics said of Tarkovsky, there are a lot of 'artists' who will privilege personal expression above everything else, sacrificing technical proficiency to the Gods of Art - and that is as much of a crime as the tech-geek who forgets about content.

 

 

I say, if it moves, post it :)

Genius.

[gloopglop]

I believe that a person is a filmmaker, a painter, a sculptor, etc, etc, and that whether what they make is deemed to be 'art' or not has very little to do with THEM defining it as such

 

hmmm well literally ever single one of my favorite 20th century artists would disagree vehemently with that statement; moreover most of them would echo the assertion that art is defined by the artist's intention

 

then again, this is a distinction between a fine art discourse and another kind of discussion

[jgharding]

I also come from fine arts background, I studied Sound Art & Design at the University of Arts London, I only picked up video in 2008.

 

It seems to me that art is a genre of popular culture in some ways. Experimental music invariably involves noise and lack of melody, experimental film deconstruction of standard narrative. My favorite painters are incredibly skilled but ignored by the "art world", which appears to be a clique serving one another's and their wealthy patrons' egos.

 

I suppose authorial intent is an important part of the viewer's reaction if it's made clear, otherwise it's part of our own reaction rather than intent! 

 

That's why an artwork is often experienced so differently when read the accompanying text to when you do not...

[Guest]

hmmm well literally ever single one of my favorite 20th century artists would disagree vehemently with that statement; moreover most of them would echo the assertion that art is defined by the artist's intention

 

Care to name a few? I take it they won't have read much Barthes?

 

"The final suggestion, the final statement, has to be not a deliberate statement but a helpless statement." - Jasper Johns

 

 

 

[jgharding]

“Life doesn't imitate art, it imitates bad television.”

― Woody Allen

 

“The chief enemy of creativity is good sense.”
― Pablo Picasso

 

Two of my favorites ;)

[gloopglop]

Care to name a few? I take it they won't have read much Barthes?

 

"The final suggestion, the final statement, has to be not a deliberate statement but a helpless statement." - Jasper Johns

 

tbh no not really, I dont think we're on the same page here. All good friend :)

[Damphousse]

Pulp Fiction!

 

The script is a poem, it's engrossing, funny, clever, doesn't take itself too seriously. Lovely retro anamorphic cinematography, some crazy distorted old glass in that.

 

It's the film that made me realise film could be perfect by wearing heart on sleeve. I think I was 13 at the time.

 

I can nearly recite the script of by heart ;)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYSt8K8VP6k

 

This.

 

 

That post sums it up.  Really large chunks of Pulp Fiction could be played over AM radio and it would be better than 95% of the dross Hollywood pumps out.  Avatar is totally different.  I liked both films for entirely different reasons.  And even though Pulp fiction was much better in my opinion Avatar was still enjoyable.  Judging by some of the responses in other threads I get the distinct impression a lot of people don't realize that Pulp Fiction and Avatar are different films.  You could intercut scenes between the two of them and I guess based on what some people post they wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

 

If you shot Pulp Fiction with James Cameron's setup you would need your head examined.  And if you shot Avatar with 16mm film and no CGI you would have the recipe for the worst flop in film making history.  Granted those two movies are at the extremes but there is plenty of gray in the middle to explore.  And that gray is very subjective.

 

People need to learn that just because someone somewhere shot a movie once that would still be a hit if it was an AM radio program doesn't mean we should ignore what camera we use and just focus on making AM radio shows.

[Guest]

*

[jgharding]

Hahah I've watched the film so many times, came onto this forum after a beer or two and I'm laughing at this scene again! I just love the performances...