Stop Motion Experimental Film

To create this short stop motion sequence I worked with another student in my Film Studies class. The film is based on surrealism and deconstructing 'ordinary' things and putting them back together in an odd way. For our short sequence we deconstructed the human face/ head- using play-doh we sculpted facial features.

'Experimental Film requires a different kind of spectatorship.' Has this been your experience?

'Experimental Film requires a different kind of spectatorship.' Has this been your experience? [35]

Experimental films are full of strange mixtures of images, situations, words and expressions that may not tell a cohesive story but, in the end, don't have to in order to achieve an emotional goal. This type of film therefore requires the spectator to shift their conventional cinematic expectations to accommodate more radical narrative techniques, themes and meaning construction.

Un Chien Andalou, the infamous 1929 surrealist short film from Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali, attests to this. I found this film difficult to understand the first time viewing it, as there was no narrative. The title when translated is 'Andalusian Dog' which shows that this film is going to be surreal and strange. The surreal and strange title matches the dream logic narrative that runs throughout the film, this opens it up for interpretation. During the film there were parts which were strange and uncomfortable to watch. For example the scene where a woman's eye is slit open. A close-up of a young woman's head is captured with a man holding her face as she stares into the camera. Then an extreme close-up was used to capture the man slitting the eye. This slicing of the eye could imply that this experience will be eye opening for the audience. Many themes feature in this film these can be seen through the connotations. For example a close up is used to capture the mans hand with a hole in the middle, you can also see ants emerging from the hole. This is a reference to religion and Jesus when the nails were hammered through his hands whilst on the cross. The film also makes you question and challenge things for example gender and sexuality- the woman dressed as a man, you see her as she's looking at a hand in the street. The music and the style of the film creates a dream effect (dream logic). The non-diegetic music is the only thing you hear- the movie itself is a silent movie. The music at the beginning is similar to that of music from a tango, fast paced and dramatic. The music throughout the film varies but describes the actions of the characters within the film. The way Salvador Dali and Luis Bunnel created this film was very interesting and also matches with the surreal style. To create the story/ stories they both went to bed and when they woke in the morning the two would write down their dreams and tell each other about it. This is how they completed a film with no narrative structure to it only dream logic. Compared to others this film is the most disturbing and confusing to watch because of the different shots and themes that feature within, however after the second viewing I found the film easier to understand.

Chris Marker became known internationally for the short film La Jetée (1962). It tells of a post-nuclear war experiment in time travel by using a series of filmed photographs developed as a photo-montage of varying pace, with limited narration and sound effects.This experimental film is different from others that I have seen because of the photo-montage techniques and because of the narrative that features in the film. Compared to others this film has a narrative that I found easy to follow, this was because of the voice over narrative that was played whilst viewing the film. Conventions of the sci-fi genre can be seen in this film as it deals with time travel. The narrative and genre of this film are conventional aspects to film that you see however the techniques and style make the film experimental and non-conventional. The film is considered an experimental film as it is made up of still photographs that match the voice over narrative. There is only one point within the film where you see the film move- this is where you see the young woman the male is talking about winking at the camera, because the film was captured in still photographs this also (like the previous film) question whether it actually moved. The editing too makes the film experimental as it uses fade in's/ out's, jump cuts and cross dissolves. The sound that features in the film can be argued whether it is non-diegetic or diegetic. You can hear whispering during the film, because the film is made up of still photographs it leaves you questioning how can there be diegetic sound? because they're photographs. However, the sounds are relevant to whats happening in the photographs which could lead to them being diegetic. The themes that feature in this film are memories, this is shown through the photographs that have been used as photographs are used to capture memories. The whole film deals with death, the film starts with someone being shot at an airport and at the end the man travels back in time and is killed at the airport which leaves you questioning if they're alive or dead in the first place. This film is different from the others I've viewed as there is more of a narrative and a structure to follow.

Maya Deren’s Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) is a work that maintains all of the mystery, tranquility, unpredictability, and personal attachment that is ever present within the world of dreams. I found this film interesting to watch however a bit confusing in parts. The main theme of this film is to show the female's perception of how male's view them. The black cloaked figure with a mirror for a face represents the male in the situation. The film director is female and shows feminism within the film suggesting that these are her thoughts portrayed in the film showing personal aspects about her. After re-watching this film I understood the dream-logic a little bit more. The non-diegetic sound that features in the film is an aspect I found difficult to watch as it kept repeating itself (like the dream/ what was happening in the dream) which by the end of viewing the film was annoying. Compared to the previous two films this was difficult to watch and out of them I found this a little difficult to understand. However, after re-watching the film I started to get a grasp on what the film was based around- which for me was that it was based on feminism and the female representation in the eyes of the male.
This experimental film went on to influence Fiona Sigismondi's video of MUSE performing 'Supermassive Black Hole'. In this video it contained mirrors for faces, faces of the members of MUSE were distorted and blown out of proportion and also they were wearing black. All which were taken/ influenced from Maya Deren's film.