eat pes and rayograms

I loved the shorts by eatpes we screened in class, especially Human Skateboard. It is just amazing, I still haven't quite figured out how they did it. Did they actually have a guy on the ground or did they just photoshop him in, either way it is great. I was also very impressed by Kaboom. To be able to take common, often ordinary household stuff and turn them into such an elaborate short film shows great skill and ingenuity. How do they think this stuff up? It must have taken a very long time to complete. I checked out some of the other shorts and they are just as entertaining. Roof Sex is just hilarious, you should watch it if you have not seen it. It is the only film by eatpes I have seen with a human character and it is funny. It is also good to know that they must have made some money from the commercials they create. Making money doing experimental shorts is very rare from what I understand. Watching the shorts gave me some ideas for materials to bring in on Monday. I am a little nervous about coming up with an idea, setting it up and completing filming all in a few hours, but I am sure we can do it.

Also I have to say, I love rayograms. I had some unrealistic expectations this first time, like I thought I would be able to set one bead per frame and be intricate. But I learned that in the dark you could not be so intricate and that you need a lot more material than you might think. So I felt more prepare the second time and I think I got some good results. I liked the way the rosemary and the rice came out. I am looking forward to working on some rayograms in my spare time at home.

Brakhage

The reading by Brakhage provides great detail of some of the process of creating experimental films. I like the way he starts from the very beginning of the process by explaining the different types of film and suggesting we get some to learn with. Scratch it, paint it, etc., I love the hands on approach. He gives good instructions on loading the projector and it effect on movement. I have not had the chance to load the projector yet, but when I do it will probably be clearer to me. Like I said I like the hands on approach. The section on splicing different types of film was a little confusing, because I do not have any experience in this area other than the loop we made in the first class. Like the projector though with a little experience it will all become easier to understand. I would like to use the splicing tape glue and heat to make the crystal explosions Brakhage said he experienced with the process. In my opinion the section on light is the most interesting. Realizing that I could sit in a dark room and expose film with tiny, clear objects and a flashlight gave me a number of ideas of things I would like to try. I am looking forward to trying it in the next class. Is explanation of the different effects of daylight and tungsten films is helpful as is the information about f-stops. All in all the reading introduced me to a few things I was not familiar with and reiterated a few things I am familiar with. He sometimes seems to go off in a strange direction here and there and his instructions are a bit convoluted by this aspect of his writing, but the information he provides is worth reading through these areas.

I really enjoyed using tape and magazines to transfer images to film. This is another process I did not know about previously. I am now wondering what other types of paper and ink will work for this. It will be so great to see everybody’s work put together. I am looking forward to the next class and I am gathering up the tiny, shiny, clear objects to work with.