From The East

From Carl:

Next Monday we are to watch a feature length experimental documentary, the presentation of which will take the entire class.

Chantal Akerman's "D'Est" (From the East) (16mm, color/sound, 1993) was motivated by the fall of the Soviet Union, Akerman feeling the need to travel through Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Bloc, to capture on film a landscape, a people, about to be transformed, perhaps, by change.

The film will take the entire class time. (Screening starts at 11am sharp!) To get you to start thinking about the film, you will need to do 3 short readings.

1) "On D'Est" by Chantal Akerman.
The directors thoughts on her motivation for making the film; her thoughts and connections to the subject matter.
You can find this reading on the content page of the D2L site.

2) "'D'Est': Akerman Variations" by Catherine David
An essay on Akerman's film. It also touches on the 3 room installation version of the film that Akerman made.
You can find this essay on the Electronic Reserve, under my name in the E Reserve section of the Library Catalogue

3) "Akerman Chronology," detailing her remarkable career and influences up to her making of "D'Est." She cites, for instance, Michael Snow and Jonas Mekas as central influences. You can find this essay on the Electronic Reserve, under my name in the E Reserve section of the Library Catalogue

The screening of "D'Est" is presented as a companion to a program of films by Russian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa that is being offered as part of the free Experimental Tuesdays screening series at the UWM Student Union on February 20. Loznitsa has been documenting the transformation of his country since the fall of the Soviet Union. His haunting documentaries are notable for their observation, their suggestion, the beauty of his photography. Not required, attendance at this Tuesday evening screening is strongly encouraged, especially for those interested in shooting film, in documentary/nonfiction, in pictorial composition. (I will be sending -- at least one -- email to you all about this.)

Comparing his and Akerman's approaches to their subject matter - their sense of time, the activity of their cameras, their editing styles - could make for a most interesting blog entry.

I'll be emailing you some questions regarding "D'Est" -- offered as prompts for your thinking, or perhaps reference points - prior to Mondays class.

5 Day Challenge

5 Day Challenge: Daily Performance

In the spirit of daily performance, you must post on your blog for five
consecutive days between now (Tuesday, February 13) and next week
(Wednesday, February 21).

Your posts should include responses to this week's lecture but all posts
needn't be directed specifically to the films and videos seen in class on
Monday, February 12.

Consider, for example, posting in a mode other than writing: share a video
or sound or image file - discovered or generated -- that relates to the
class.

Or, share a report of work seen outside of class (See: This Week in the
Film Department on the links page for recommended events.)

Or: discuss projects pursued in your production classes.

Think about: Does the five day dictate impact how you post, what you post,
when you post? Does it influence the form and content of the posts? Does it
encourage any routine, or different kind of thinking? Maybe your sixth
consecutive blog should reflect on this experience. Relate if possible to
some of the experiences of daily perfomance seen in Monday (2/12)'s class.

Good luck! Here's to engaged pursuits! Get back to me with questions.

Carl Bogner (cbogner@uwm.edu)

Shout Out

Big shout out to William Shay for writing a couple of killer journal entries. Not to embarrass you, William, but thats some really thorough, thought provoking writing. Check it out: William Shay

On a wildly different note, one that is dealing with similar issues but isn't directly related (achem) to class check out Biesel's Art School Confidential rant. Its interesting. Its more of an expression of dislike than an invitation for discourse, but I think there is room for discussion there if anyone wants to take a punch, right? Dave Biesel
I left a comment there to grease the wheels. And
P.S.
I DO want people to respond to the films we are seeing in class OR at least answer the questions that Carl and I pose for your journals.

William pits the idea of experimental against the idea of narrative and asks if thinking about a work that is experimental in a narrative way might lead you down the wrong path. He writes

"Forcing the viewer to build something extra in their mind to go along with the film may only lead them to miss aspects in the film that they might otherwise catch if the the film was taken and interpreted at face value."

I think thats a great point. But what is face value? How does one view something at face value? Is it to turn off our critical minds altogether? Is that possible?

Mr.Shay adds:

"Is experimental only experimental when the entire product throws away traditional conventions?"

Hmm. Is that a definition of experimental film? I think it is. He goes on:

"Does narrative film have the ability to stray to the point of experimentalism without the alienation of the viewer?"

I think there is a question that belongs inbetween those two questions, and I would like to hear your (everybody's) answer:

"Does abandoning traditional conventions mean that you have to alienate the viewer?"

Food for thought.
Munch, munch.

OH AND THIS

Also from Carl:

You might also want to check out this recent Village Voice article on video
distributor Video Data Bank:
http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0704,halter,75625,20.html

words that we use

nar•ra•tive

Pronunciation: (nar'u-tiv), [key]
—n.
1. a story or account of events, experiences, or the like, whether true or fictitious.
2. a book, literary work, etc., containing such a story.
3. the art, technique, or process of narrating: Somerset Maugham was a master of narrative.

—adj.
1. consisting of or being a narrative: a narrative poem.
2. of or pertaining to narration: narrative skill.
3. Fine Arts.representing stories or events pictorially or sculpturally: narrative painting. Cf. anecdotal (def. 2).

ex•per•i•ment

Pronunciation: (
—n.ik-sper'u-munt;
—v.ek-sper'u-ment"), [key]
—n.
1. a test, trial, or tentative procedure; an act or operation for the purpose of discovering something unknown or of testing a principle, supposition, etc.: a chemical experiment; a teaching experiment; an experiment in living.
2. the conducting of such operations; experimentation: a product that is the result of long experiment.
3. Obs.experience.

—v.i.
to try or test, esp. in order to discover or prove something: to experiment with a new procedure.

ex•per•i•men•tal

Pronunciation: (ik-sper"u-men'tl), [key]
—adj.
1. pertaining to, derived from, or founded on experiment: an experimental science.
2. of the nature of an experiment; tentative: The new program is still in an experimental stage.
3. functioning as an experiment or used for experimentation: an experimental airplane.
4. based on or derived from experience; empirical: experimental knowledge.

—n.
something that is experimental.

About Journals and Readings

From Carl:

In response to some questions on where the Vito Acconci 
writings are:

1) From the Libraries page, go to Reserve and E-Reserve

2) Under instructors, select Bogner and click on Search

3) Click on the first listing is FILM201 Electronic Reserve readings.

4) Click on "Link to electronic reserve readings"

5) The Acconci writings are listed first. Enjoy!

From Me:

Don't stress about making your blogs brilliant, okay? If you want
to stressabout something,stress about being honest and forthright.
The fodder for thought this week had to do with what I wrote about
in my journal, and whatwe talked about in class: Are there narrative
aspects to what we have been watching? And if not, then what brings
us in, what keeps our attention? I talked about how, for me,
I have to think of the imagery as a kind of narrative, I have to look
for repeated colors and shapes to hold on to in order to involve
myself with the film. How about you? Which films that we have
watched in class did you most respond to? Which did you find yourself
wrapped up in? Which made you restless or bored?
And brainstorm on WHY.