NF_portrait FINAL

Our group (Lily, Rita and I) presented our final non-figurative portrait abstract film today. We showed an earlier iteration (a foundation film) as well as the final version. Others felt each had visually compelling elements and the audio could almost be a standalone portrait itself. We may rework to push back the abstracted clouds and lower the wind chimes...but otherwise we were pleased with the outcome and enjoyed working together. Here is our Amelia presentation. Here is the final film.

automatic_writing2

I chose to write about the documentary Faster, Bigger Stronger by Chris Bell (2008). In it, he exposes the hypocrisy of anabolic steroid use by heroes and athletes. The film shows this on a personal level, from his brother's obsession with body-building to a National cover-up from Olympics to professional sports — even politics.
Here is my doc.

reading_bordwellthompson_3

I've always liked narrators in my movies. One of my all-time favorite films, Raising Arizona by the Coen brothers, is from the point of view of H.I McDunnough. He's a sympathetic figure who has a checkered past but wants to build a life with his wife, Ed and newly kidnapped baby Nathan Jr. They didn't see the harm in stealing one baby from quintuplets, but trying to hold it all together proved impossible.

reading_abbott2

Our group (Reading Group 4) chose to make a memory (matching) game exploring flat and round characters in narrative — literature, TV and film. In most cases, the pairs were easy to tag, especially if there was a sidekick (Robin to Batman) or type (Mickey to Rocky). But interestingly enough, we hit a few snags. For example, Snoopy to Jennie and Lily is round and Charlie Brown is flat. In their culture, the cartoon is called "Snoopy" (not Peanuts). Another character that was hard to peg was Golum from Lord of the Rings. Some of us consider him flat since his overarching trait was obsessiveness (with getting the ring). Others see him as a more developed character with deeper motivations.

NFportrait_ prototype2

For our abstract film (non-figurative portrait of Amelia Erhart) our group story-boarded and made test files of the elements. By combining a collage of sounds (water, airplanes, wind chimes, opera, etc) with a collage of video / After Effects we hope to shape our portrait. Also key is the use of perspective to guide the viewer through water and sky. This ppt presentation contains direction, precedents and sample visuals and audio.

automatic_writing1

Here is 1-page automatic writing on Stan Brakhage's The Dead (1960).

reading_bordwellthompson_3

This week we looked at several experimental films, including several by Stan Brakhage. I learned that he worked with Joseph Cornell, one of my favorite artists, so I watched his 19 minute experimental film Rose Hobart (1936). He cut and edited an old silent movie set in Borneo with documentary footage of an eclipse. He replaced the soundtrack with a record found in a junk shop. When shown in a NYC gallery, it was projected through blue glass and slowed to the speed of a silent film. This piece appeals to me because he used found footage to make a new composition.

NFportrait_concept

Our group chose Amelia Erhart, a woman pilot who was trying to circumnavigate the globe when her plane went down over the Pacific Ocean in 1937. We like the metaphors for flight, her innovative spirit and the true mystery surrounding her death. We are exploring animated drawings which may or may not include a flight log, passport, map, perspective, cockpit and other still life objects to depict her last voyage.

reading_abbott

It was during a summer course called The History of French Cinema in Paris that I became aware of closure / lack of closure. Many New Wave films unfold to a shocking end, as in Agnes Varda's Vagabond where the character dies in a snow bank. Several had no specific outcome such as Francois Truffaut's 400 Blows where the runaway continues to run. In No Country For Old Men there was ambiguity, which I didn't mind either. If it's a well-woven story with rich characters and thoughtful cinematography, I prefer it.

Nick Cave

My friend and I caught the Sound Suits exhibit at the Jack Shainman Gallery on its last day. It's too bad we were unable to see them on a living figure to experience movement and sound. But on mannequins, we were able to see the detail of each garment. They were evocative of Bob Macki gowns, mardi gras, ceremonial robes, and armor. The row of neon fur forms screamed out for animation. From a crafter's eye, the sewing, quilting and beadwork combinations were detailed and beautiful, though some felt overworked. My favorite pieces were assemblages of thrift/junk store bird figurines atop custom metal forms. His use of black yard jockeys as foundations for these outgrowths were well-balanced. He handled scale, bulk and materials beautifully so it packs visual punch, without looking sloppy.

map_final

Here is my final map. It moves L to R but also works as a larger composition. I chose to add quotes (the son, and his mother) along with the images — without words it took on a rebus effect. Plus I like the way it draws directly from the text. Later considerations as I was constructing it include: checkerboard pattern, Ed Clark's 1945 photograph of Graham Jackson and Roy Lichtenstein's WHAM.

reading_mccloud

I'm not crazy about McCloud's illustration style, but have to admit Chapter 4 "Time Frames" was well-organized and graphically supported the information. After reading, I went back to take another look at the comic art of Gary Panter. It seems his Jimbo comics (1990's) hold up as well as his early work on Pee-Wee's Playhouse. I particularly love the top portion as image with hand-written text for the bottom.

reading_bordwellthompson

Last summer I read the suspenseful noir thriller "The Night has a Thousand Eyes" (1945) by Cornell Woolrich, who also published under William Irish and George Hopley. He was such as masterful storyteller, his work was chosen by Truffaut and Hitchcock for film (Rear Window being the most famous), television and radio. (The adaptation has the same title but little connection to the novel - so I never bothered to rent it). The story opens with a policeman finding the contents of a woman's purse along a bridge, then eventually the woman planning to jump. The entire story, centered around death and fate, contains most of the elements described by Bordwell and Thompson's Chapter 3 / Narrative as a Formal System. I was aware of how Woolrich's (and film examples mentioned) use of temporal order and objectivity heightened suspense. I was unaware how space can dictate plot pattern or how the range and depth of knowledge manipulate our interpretation of events.

kane_readinggroup4

Here are the collaborative answers from Reading Group 4: Christina Speligene, Jennie Tsai and Yoav Schlezinger.

1Q. Which story events are directly presented to use in the plot and which do we infer? Is there any non-diegetic material given in the plot?
1. The story events that are presented are Kane's last word "Rosebud" on his deathbed, followed by a biographical newsreel which opens the film and clearly outlines what's to come. The reel leads to Thompson's investigation to what Kane's "Rosebud" meant and its significance in his life. Kane's life is presented throughout multiple narratives using an almost invisible Thompson conducting interviews with five people with a connection to Kane at some point of his life. Non-diegetic material includes the split screens (such as Leland in chair lower left, flashback appears upper right) audio overlays, and musical score — more skin (covering) than the skeleton (plot).


2. Q What is the earliest story event of which we learn? How does it relate through a series of cause and effects to later events?
2. The earliest event we see is the the death of a wealthy man who dies alone in an exotic castle uttering the word "Rosebud" which sets up suspense. The cause and effect of his last word led to exposure by Thompson. His obsession with money and power is revealed, as well as his childhood, the origins of his fortune, his association with Thatcher, his academic failures, and ultimate obsession with the Inquirer and politics. We see his struggle to satiate his thirst for love and happiness with excess and muscle. Later events illustrate the undoing of a man who seemingly has it all but is empty inside. In the end, after all his efforts to create his own world, final memory was from his childhood.


3.Q What is the temporal relationship of story events? Has temporal order, frequency, or duration been manipulated in the plot to affect our understanding of events?
Through newsreels, flashbacks, character narratives and the Thatcher manuscript, the story is told in non-temporal order and in a documentary style. The jumbled order and pacing creates suspense - especially for this time in Hollywood - and makes his rise and fall more dramatic. Temporal frequency is also used to show several perspectives (Susan's operatic debut) Additionally, time was compressed to move large gaps of time very quickly as in the husband and wife breakfast sequences, and from boyhood to the young adult who bought the newspaper.


4Q. Does the closing reflect a clear-cut pattern of development that relates to the beginning? Do all narrative lines achieve closure, or are some left open?
4. Bookended opening/closing shots of Xanadu as well as Kane's last word and the burning sled enhance the story development and frame the narrative. It feels well-developed though without closure. The narratives don't fully provide closure because they are subjective. The reporter's findings are seemingly objective as does the film presentation. When we, the audience, see "Rosebud" as it burns, (restricted information) we have some understanding of loss — loss of childhood, innocence and the American dream — yet we never get a complete answer to what "Rosebud" was or meant to Kane. It seems Welles was known for toying with audiences - as in the bogus alien invasion "War of the Worlds".


5Q. How does the narration present story information to us? Is it restricted to one or a few characters' knowledge, or does it range freely among the characters in different spaces? Does it give us considerable depth of story information by exploring the characters' mental states?
5. Story information is presented through five multiple character narratives (Bernstein, Leland, Alexander, and Thatcher, and the butler) provide certain details about Kane yet are seemingly subjective. Although it gives us depth of of information and shows their lack of sympathy and the reasons why all abandoned him - the mystery of Kane's character and his motivations are still not clear.

map_prototype

Here are some sample images used for my story map — mostly black and white photographs and 1950s pattern illustrations. David Malki's wondermark.com guided my thinking by using existing illustrations. Winsor McCay's Nemo in Slumberland and George Herriman's Krazy Kat strips provided layout inspiration which I since have abandoned. I changed my mind about the format, I am borrowing from conceptual artists /minimalists Sol Lewitt and Ellsworth Kelly's color swatch paintings and square compositions with my own grid and horizontal time line. I aim to remain loyal to the author's tone, the time and place. My own interpretations (such as representing as a letter J typewriter key with a baby body) are in the piece too. Click here to view a short PPT presentation of my Everything That Rises Must Converge story map process so far.