Reading Response #5

Kiss

-I enjoyed Kiss, until after about the fourth couple was shown. After that I felt like I was constantly seeing the same thing over and over even though each was different in their own way. I guess I found out by watching this that I really have no interest in watching people kiss, especially two men, but that's neither here nor there. The shot distance was interesting in that most were very close besides the two which were slightly zoomed out in the middle of the shot. While I understand what Warhol was going for and its essence from the time it was filmed, but as a young heterosexual male, the film Kiss wasn't too enjoyable over all.

1. Bleeker Street, Fashion Industries Auditorium, and Cinema 16 were all venues associated with the underground New York film movement. The Charles Theater had a very widespread programing allowing everything from musicals to art exhibitions to showcasing jazz preformances weekly.

2. The filmmakers that Mekas associated with "Baudelairean Cinema"were Smith, Jacobs, and Rice. Mekas created this term to describe the use of similar characteristics that this filmmakers were using in their films which were first used by a French Poet Baudelairean. The purpose of using this characteristics were for the same reasoning as the poet, for pure shock value to the normal society.

3. Legal problems occured with the underground films because society deemed them indecent and appalling while the city was trying to be cleaned for the World Fair. Kenneth Angers films Scorpio Rising was causing legal trouble in LA around the same time for its appalling images of male genitalia.

4. Tavel re-wrote A Clockwork Orange, the book, in order to adhere to Warhol's filmmaking style by taking away the unnecessary and creating a scene which was consisted of a bare plot only there for basic understanding. One complete long take, minus the film switch, with Edie basically doing her own trance like performance on the side is what allowed her to steal the scene.

5. Warhol's Chelsea Girls was one of the first, if not the first, underground film to be shown and gain attention from the "real world" in mainstream theaters. Newsweek gave an impressive review causing for a ruckus to spread and encourage people to rush out and see it. It spread across the country with no surprise to its popularity in NY all the way to LA and every major city in between.

6. Getz created several underground films and compiled them into one feature and began to send them around the country. His uncle owned several theaters which allowed him to gain popularity and the films began to be known as The Underground Cinema 12

7. They claim that the post 1967 Warhol films consisted of his same unique style but lacked their intense shock value which he normally thrived on. His use of sex, drugs, and all other taboo subjects continually increased however.

Reading Response #4

1. I watched Joe Jones film Smoking and was kinda shocked that that was all it was. Black background with white numbers counting too one thousand. That is the simplest breakdown a person could have. While the film is extremely short and has no basis for a story, it is a prime example of the fluxist movement in representing a film, itself. It was interesting that it said 10 feet, I was thinking if that was possible the length of the actual film it was produced on. The only other thing I can really say about it is the differentiating fact that the numbers do a 100 count then refer back to the next 200, 300, 400 and so on in respective order. Fluxfilms still confuse me with their intentions but are still amusing in simplistic ways.

2. Fluxfilms don't fit in with Sitney's definition of avant-garde films because he exclusively defined avant-garde films as those which replicate experiences of the mind and some sort of recreation of ones perspective. Flux films were created only for the simply reason of wanting to create a film just for the sake of doing something creative. They don't seam to represent the true background of filmmaking with a reason to create a film other than simply creating "something".

3. Some of the reasons for Smith's obsessions with Maria Montez are that he felt he had created her in some sort of way. And every type of artist never truly wants to separate themselves from their "greatest work", so Smith had an obvious connection with her. Found an article online speaking on Smiths obsession with Montez relating it to gay culture with reference to Montez and her costuming. Noted that she couldn't act from here to there but had a personality that could overwhelm an audience. I missed last week but after watching some of Cobra Women on youtube, I more closely understand Smith's obsession and see her lack of acting skills.

4. The 60's New York art community was very close with one another. Seemed to be a close-knit unprofessional setting for all of them. Jack Smith and many of his peers were essentially poor so had no income in order to produce their art. Smith was known to find items for costuming and set creation from stores in such that were closing and were throwing out their items. This way everything seemed knew and fitting for the film but was gained at a relatively low cost, or free.

5. Mekas traveled all around basically putting Flaming Creatures on a circulation gaining money and fame from the "tour". The film was being considered pornographic which highlighted Mekas's artistic credibility. With all the money and credit he gained by doing this he upset Smith because none of the money or credit was being delivered to him. A metaphor f a lobster was created towards this incident between Mekas and Smith.

6. Normal Love is represented a non materialistic world in which ones lives were conformed around art. The film allowed people to live a life within it where their imaginations were let loose and could connect with the film in a dream like state. Missed class so not sure what was discussed about changes in New York art. But many things in which Warhol had produced were representative of productions from Jack Smith's early days.

7. Smith began to refuse to make a final masterpiece of any of his work. When a art piece was a master piece it was then put on a pedestal where commercialism and the masses all would want a grab at it. He refused to make copies of his work for distribution. He was a hardcore artist purely in it for the sake of art and had no intentions of making money from it. He would wait till after midnight on most showings in order to get rid of all the non-hardcore viewers who wouldn't respect his films for what they were.

8. Warhol's earliest films were very long but weren't driven by long plots. Things such as Eat, Empire, Kiss, and Haircut were films from this period. The titles may seem to expose what the films were about but the true gem was inside. Some of the differences between Sleep and Empire were that Empire was one continuous long shot and Sleep was edited together with many different shot angles and sizes.

9. Screen tests were shot regularly at Warhol's factory and included almost anyone from friends to other artist who happened to stop by the factor between the times of 1964-1966. It served as a type of documentation of the factory. It helped Warhol's filmmaking because it allowed him to practice a develop a better understanding for the lighting, framing, and position of people in front of a camera.

10. Warhol's key collaborator for his early sound projects was Eddie Sedgewick. Some of his first films were Afternoon, The Poor Little Rich Girl, and Vinyl. His first sound films seemed to be documentaries or portraits and used very little camera movement at first. Most subjects were found during his screen tests.

Reading Response #3

2. He argues that it plays a major role because "the combination of picture and sound at the conclusion of the conclusion of the next episode exemplifies the latter." I was confused by the word synecdoche. I guess it is trying to say that Charles actions are a part of what is going to happen? Very confused. Brakhage had most likely seen The End and been influenced going on to create Reflections on Black. His had seen ideas from Maclaine's film and portrayed them into his own work.

3. Conner's films use bits of irony and move between the terrible and the ridiculous. He plays with the film and makes the viewer work and pay attention to his details in order to get the ideals across in each episode. Maclaine on the other hand takes the mature, straight forward route of presenting this vision of doom. The emotions of this film run over the whole course unlike Conner's emotional roller coaster.

4. These two films are examples of Beat sensibility because of the positions and emotions that are represented through their main protagonistic characters. The films seemed to be created with low budget, minimal editing, and low standards. Examples of the picaresque form are evident in the expansive never ending middle which allows them to have episodes.

5. This was the movement that wanted to poke fun at the artist and what they called art. It was a fight against high art such as the dada created meaningful art out of non-arty things. Very similar to the dada movement the fluxfilms aimed at irony to present their art towards Anger and Brakhage.

6. The focus of Fluxfilms was not to focus on the individual artist and their own achievements in the film, it was to parody their mode of film production and ideas. They were concerned with producing film by the yard and not by the frame like Brakhage and Anger. The collaboration of artist helped produce the film but took away from the personal aspect of it.

7. Jenkins says that Zen for Film fixed the material and aesthetic terms for production of fluxfilms because it uses the medium of film with the basics of filmmaking skills and techniques to make something that is different every time. Many people believed the film is nothing but to a few the small imperfections of the film is what created its micro details and a film that is comprehend able for the abstract artist. It showed non believers that something can be made out of nothing.

Dog Star Man

I enjoyed the quick close-ups and jerking camera movements within the prelude of Dog Star Man. The shots which involve the moon are nice and very in focus for having so much done to the film. It seems like there is a close up of a dog or some type of fun which has vibrant orange and red color. The close ups of fire are beautiful and show the slow graceful movements of the flames as they are firing up the material around it. It's almost nice not being able to see the whole subject, you are only exposed to small parts at a time of each filmed subject. Wether he filmed the solar eclipses himself or was found footage the placement and use of the images are very bright and creative within this prelude. I believe there was an image of a woman's butt then an immediate cut to a vagina. I believe this is what it appears to be and only supports Brakhage's obsession with the human body.

Reading Response #2

1. Stiney states that the Reflections of Black is a lyrical film because the protagonist surroundings are not in a dreamlike realm.The medium is affirmed by Brakhage manipulating the film.

2. Shooting constant POV shots through the protagonist making the viewer feel as if they are the actual protagonist.

3. . Marie Menken was probablyz of the largest influence's on Brakhage'smove to a lyrical film. Menken used a rythmetic tone through out the entire film. Her style was slowly mixing into the new world. Her predictable sense in the rhythmic tone fit perfectly with the tone that Brahkage was looking for.

4. The names of the two montages fits them very well for the most part. A hard montage seems to force images together in a juxaposition that isn't clear. Sometimes used to disorientate the viewer or just cause havoc on the screen. A soft montage seems to slowly places images either based on shape, color, rhythm, or by random.

5.Brakhage's thoughts and ideas are like none we've ever had. He concentrates on the menial things in life and says that people can be unaware of the things around them and that they need to be opened up and see with their mind. Only a few people know how to use their spiritual sense.

6.Sitney believes that other filmmakers in that time were still stuck in the romance and love lifestyle. While the other filmmakers were off doodling, Brakhage was creating his on expressionism in art. His creativity as him being the extreme artist he is aloud him to create all different types of camera movements not normally used.

7. The concept of man and nature of the seasons with archetypes such as innocence and rationalism by the writers Blake, Marllarm, and Stevens.

8. Use of an anamorphic lens shown along with other creative camera movements that help keep the film exciting. A good distortion of space is noticeable but not sure how was done. The Cage does use a numerous amounts of camera techniques to create sense's of disillusion.

9. Between Entr'acte and The Cage, they share similar plot styles, and similar camera illusions. They Differ by The Cage was slightly more in focus and didn't rely on comic relief as did Entr'acte.

10. Peterson took the idea from his students who were all filmed doing there things. Wrapped around a thesis the class created about this distortion and irationalization of ballads over time.