FST 553-800 Experimental - Meg Lansaw

I was able to watch this presentation twice and thought Christina did a great job! That fact Shirley Clarke had a a phrase coined after her for grabbing the camera from Cinematographers is all I need to know to love her. Her Academy Award win for Best Feature Film Documentary in 1963 for Robert Frost is an inspiration. 1963 makes it all the more significant. Although dance films are not my cup of tea, I enjoyed watching Clarke's pristine cutting on action to transition to the next location. Her ability to cut the film at the most specific moments was very impressive. Her film on the bridge was as equally as interesting as what she did with the sound. She was not permitted to use certain songs so she took snippets from too and looked them! That worked out anyway! Jen Proctor also utilized sound in unique ways. "Am I Pretty?" was a powerful and painful thing to " watch". Using just the audio was quite relevant to all girls insecurities due to what they've...

I was able to make it to a film block today! I chose dthis specific block because the film Sideways sounded really cool, and it was quite clever. The filmmaker was not at the Question and Answer session and I'm bummed about it! I'm curious how they shot it and where! Were Burt and Ernie inspiration for this film? The other films in the block were quite good, but I never quite got over the trauma of the first film, Midwest. Considering the content of my final project, this really hit hard for me. I know this is a reality in life, but wished for more promise for the little guy. The befriending a the bird brought a small glimmer of hope, but part of me thought the bird would be his dinner! Thank goodness the rest of the block didn't involve animals! Overall, the block was fantastic!!

Chelsea did a great job with her presentation but felt this was being rushed through to move onto another presenter. Marlin Riggs was ahead of his time with being outwardly homosexual during a time in which people were not in acceptance of this lifestyle. It's very interesting that his childhood school experience improved after moving to Germany. I'm curious if he was more closeted there or if Germans were more tolerant of homosexuality? His activism in gay rights at the time was really bold. I'm unsure if this is true, however I think with someone like Riggs being a known artist and a gay rights activist, he likely inspired many others to come out of the closet and own who they are with less fear of judgement.

Pearl's presentation was really interesting. I was drawn to Maya Deren as a human just as much as her work itself. The fact she obtained a college degree in the 1940's is remarkable! Even more incredibly, her accomplishment of the first Guggenheim grant ever is some serious female power! She wrote, starred, shot, AND edited her own films (on actual film) is badass. I literally wrote and underlined the word, BADASS! Her techniques of using jump cuts, superimposition, surrealism, and movement are awe inspiring. I love the mystery around Deren's death on a Friday the 13th having potentially been due to her reaction to her being cut out of the family will. That's far more interesting way for an artist to pass away than a brain hemmorage. As for the similarities of Deren and Madeleine Hunt-Ehrigh, both based in NY, love working with other cultures and films based on humanity and dance. That is literally all I have written down for her because Deren's life was so mesm...

I have question marks listed by Adventure Option 5 because I have trepidation taking on a stop motion animation considering the tedious process. I was unable to shoot a film that I conceptualized a while ago, but haven't shot a frame of it. My idea stems from the backstory of a dog I adopted but had to rehome. He and his brother were rescued from a landfill at 6 months old, and had the scars to show it. I thought he'd had found a forever home with me, but at the end of the day, this dog was meant to be an outdoor dog. He was so used to being outside where everything is fair game to chew or go potty on. We did tons of training and tried for 6 months, but I realized I could not offer this dog the life he deserved. He needed to be out and free and I couldn't provide that for him. Returning him to the rescue was a very low point for me, feeling I'd failed him. My heart ached that I had become a person I used to judge. I hated myself for months, until one day I heard from...

If you know me well, you know that I am a ultra sentimental gal. I am also a bit of a "perfectionist" when it comes to my art. I know perfection does not exist, but I am as meticulous as possible when creating my art. Trying to whittle together a lifetime keystones and narrowing it down to a singular photo album has been really difficult! I skipped over a gap of a few years in my teens though. It wasn't intentional, altough it might be a blessing. You're welcome. Rehearsal is crucial to a project like this because that's just how it is with film. That's what makes it magical. Experimenting with unknown f-stops while shooting brings me great joy. That feeling of getting your film back after it's developed is like opening a present. I chose to do a project about my father's Dementia where you watch someone's mind slip away. How scary that is. Perhaps this is a project that I need to do in order to free myself of resentments of a man I've real...

As the presentations progress, there is a common thread of these artists having experienced great trauma, but created beautiful art because of it. It's sad to think some of the best pieces of art stem from a place of depression... Stan Brackage was an orphan until he was 6 years old and was able to accomplish making his first film by the age of 19! That's crazy to think since that was during the mid-50's! Painting on film and running it through a projector is an interesting idea, but hope it was already damaged! Over the course of his lifetime, he authored 11 books, etched, dyed and superimposed images! There is speculation Brackage died of cancer due to a Van Gogh'esque manner would verify he literally died for his art. Ja'Tovia starting her filmmaking journey because her Dad let her watch Mo' Better Blues is absolutely hilarious! I love how she worked her way through film by starting as an actor, then transitioning behind the camera. She also created docume...