Film Assignment from Rachel for me

I told Rach that I was struggling with trying to figure out my art practice in LA. I asked her if she could make me an assignment because I missed being in school and deadlines always help.

This is what she e-mailed me. I'm working on this at the moment

Top Five Films and Two in the Bag

What films/videos of any genre would you place in your top 5 films of all time? Once you have named and gathered these films, watch them and take note of the following:

Why would you choose these films? How did the artist capture your attention? What relationship did the artist cultivate with the viewer? What filmic techniques did the artist use to engage you in the work? What genres do these films fall in to? What is the point of the film? (i.e. does the artist want you to grapple with the subject matter? What tensions –in the plot, duration, etc.-maintain the film?) What content does the video maker address? To what ends are they using this content matter? How were the works funded? Were there many extras? A crew? Or was the work made on a minimal budget? How would you make something similar? What kind of budget would you need and how would you raise the funds? Is the artist in the film? In what capacity are they in the film? In other words, what role do they play in the film?

Once you have listed your top 5 films and teased out why you like these films so much, look up similar directors/artists and schedule dates to view the work. Try to view 5 new films –writing up similar reports as to why you connect with these works—by April 1st.  Make sure to keep a detailed account of why you like this work.

In the meantime, deadline May 1st , you should have created two three minute videos that encompass some of the elements you like from your favorite top 5 films. Do not worry so much about content, but try to play around with very basic reactions to these works that you might want to try and mimic. Is there a scene you wish to try to recreate? Are there filmic tricks or elements you’d like to play around with, such as shooting something happening through a mirror? My response: In no particular order: A. Tampopo by Jûzô Itami
B. Ever is Over All by Pipilotti Rist
C. The Big Lebowski by The Coen Brothers
D. Night Street Touch by Graham Gussin

E. Gradual Speed by Els Van Riel

http://www.lafilmforum.org/archive/spring-2014-schedule/still-lives-and-gradual-speed/


When I have the energy, I will go into why I picked these 5 films but I'd rather go onto the next journal entry where I view 5 new films by similar directors/artists:

1. The Cremaster Cycle (Cremaster 2) - Matthew Barney