storage facility
white rock lake spillway
black/white/grey (high contrast, sparkles)
chasing dream
heart beat
breath
danger
fear
time lapse
sound echoes (record sound in storage facility?)
close - closer - closest
closed eyes (squeeeeeze 'em)
typewritten words? ( r u n f a s t )
fuzzies around the edge, like eyelashes
running through hard spaces
echoing back
fading into light
shooting an arrow ---> let go and running starts
inspired by angus borsos
darkness and lightness
I want to create an aura of fear and tightness around this film. It will be intimidating, possibly uncomfortable. I don't want it to be necessarily negative though. Possibly the chasing will end at some point. I've never created anything with this goal in mind, so I am excited about what will come. My ideas are still forming...
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Post Tenebras Lux by Carlos Reygadas
Last night I watched a movie from Mexican director Carlos Reygadas called Post Tenebras Lux. It was terrifying and very difficult to watch for me. However, I think that was the desired effect.
From what I could gather, the film did have a sort of central story, but there were many other impressions and off-stories that Reygadas included. I think he did this in order to make the viewing experience something unique and particular to each person. The story had a sort of make-what-you-want-of-it feeling, which I like. In theory.
The problem with this film for me was that it changed too often to give me any impression of what was real or relevant to the story. Some scenes seemed totally useless or out of place. Others seemed like they should have had more emphasis placed on them. Again, this could have been a creative decision of on the director's part.
One thing that really stood out to me was that my physical body was brought into the viewing experience at the end of the movie. Siete ends up killing himself in some gruesome way that I only half-watched, half-hid from. It involved the loss of his head. This caused so much sympathetic pain to my throat and my chest that I felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me. No oxygen, no way to breathe. The next scene shows a rugby team of young and boisterous boys, seemingly in a completely different world, and definitely in a different, English-speaking country. Their skin is pink from the chilly and frosty air, their eyes are runny from the wet drizzle, and they are all breathing hard and fast, like animals, from the exertion of their bodies in the sport. Their difficulty breathing was a shared experience for me. No oxygen, no way to breathe. The parallel between me and the boys on the screen was something I was excited and inspired by. It seemed like Reygadas had thought this through. He knew I would feel this way.
Overall, I enjoyed the film's images and ideas. I am inspired, and that is something that I see as a gift from a movie. So... thank you Carlos Reygadas, for making me feel uncomfortable!
From a visual standpoint, the film was wonderfully imaginative. Reygadas' use of a custom lens creates a circular double-image around the edge of the focused area. This was what originally drew me to this film. The dreamlike quality of the images that he gifted the viewer is unparalleled. I've never seen anything like it before. I really liked this technique, and I would like to find a way to use something similar to it in my own films.
The problem with this film for me was that it changed too often to give me any impression of what was real or relevant to the story. Some scenes seemed totally useless or out of place. Others seemed like they should have had more emphasis placed on them. Again, this could have been a creative decision of on the director's part.
One thing that really stood out to me was that my physical body was brought into the viewing experience at the end of the movie. Siete ends up killing himself in some gruesome way that I only half-watched, half-hid from. It involved the loss of his head. This caused so much sympathetic pain to my throat and my chest that I felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me. No oxygen, no way to breathe. The next scene shows a rugby team of young and boisterous boys, seemingly in a completely different world, and definitely in a different, English-speaking country. Their skin is pink from the chilly and frosty air, their eyes are runny from the wet drizzle, and they are all breathing hard and fast, like animals, from the exertion of their bodies in the sport. Their difficulty breathing was a shared experience for me. No oxygen, no way to breathe. The parallel between me and the boys on the screen was something I was excited and inspired by. It seemed like Reygadas had thought this through. He knew I would feel this way.
Overall, I enjoyed the film's images and ideas. I am inspired, and that is something that I see as a gift from a movie. So... thank you Carlos Reygadas, for making me feel uncomfortable!
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Melancholia by Lars von Trier
This weekend, while snuggled up in my bed, I watched a film called Melancholia. It was directed by Lars von Trier, an often misunderstood director and a very depressed person. His movie was inspired by a realization he had that depressed people will often stay calm during stressful situations.
Melancholia has two parts: Part I (Justine) and Part II (Claire). The first half of the movie is entirely different from the second part, especially visually. Part I is very orange and green and brown, while Part II is very blue and black and green.
Part I:
I loved the contrast between the two parts. The first part is very slow-moving. It appears to be almost a normal wedding party, except that the bride (Kirsten Dunst) seems to be having a huge difficulty with herself and with those around her. She is trapped within herself and it seemed to me, watching, that she's been trapped within herself for her entire life. The second part seemed almost rushed because all of the tangible story had to be fitted into it. Basically, a planet called Melancholia is flying past the Earth in outer space. Claire, the subject of Part II is very frightened about this fly-by planet. I thought that the darker colors on the screen corresponded well with the emotions being portrayed in the story.
The soundtrack was very different than most movies, to me. It consisted of a lot of Normal Wedding Songs (like "Fly Me to the Moon", "La Bamba", etc.), but I loved the extensive use of one piece, "Tristan and Isolde" by the composer Richard Wagner. It would swell whenever anything strange or important was happening throughout the entire movie, but especially during Part II. It gave the movie a sort of ballet- or theater-like quality. It reminded me that the story wasn't real.
I love this piece of music. I suggest just laying down in your room or in a place you feel comfortable and listening. I've found that it moves in tune and in time with my emotions and my thoughts, which is something very powerful for a composition to do.
I really enjoyed the imagery in this movie and the director's take on capturing emotional experiences. I will definitely be watching von Trier's other movies to see what he does a little bit clearer!
Part I:
Part II:
I loved the contrast between the two parts. The first part is very slow-moving. It appears to be almost a normal wedding party, except that the bride (Kirsten Dunst) seems to be having a huge difficulty with herself and with those around her. She is trapped within herself and it seemed to me, watching, that she's been trapped within herself for her entire life. The second part seemed almost rushed because all of the tangible story had to be fitted into it. Basically, a planet called Melancholia is flying past the Earth in outer space. Claire, the subject of Part II is very frightened about this fly-by planet. I thought that the darker colors on the screen corresponded well with the emotions being portrayed in the story.
I love this piece of music. I suggest just laying down in your room or in a place you feel comfortable and listening. I've found that it moves in tune and in time with my emotions and my thoughts, which is something very powerful for a composition to do.
I really enjoyed the imagery in this movie and the director's take on capturing emotional experiences. I will definitely be watching von Trier's other movies to see what he does a little bit clearer!
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