Section B:
Spectatorship:
Experimental &
Expanded
Film/Video
Experimental Film• A film that rejects the conventions of mainstream movies
and explores the possibilities of the medium itself.
• Experimental films have been referred to as avant-garde, underground, personal, or independent
• Arguably the most famous, important and discussed of ALL experimental films is Luis Bunuel’s Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian Dog).
Experimental Film
• Experimental films are nonconformist and set
out to challenge the orthodox ideas about what
films can show and how they show them¨ There
are no set rules and therefore various styles of
experimental film exist: they can express more
personal experiences or feature more eccentric
topics
• They can also test the limits of the medium itself by
manipulating audiovisual elements in strange or
novel ways
• Brakhage’s Dog Star Man (1961) - Consists of fast
moving layers of colours, shapes, splotches that
create a disorienting and unique experience.
• Warhol’s Eat (1963)¨ - Consists of a nearly 40
minute, high contrast shot of a man slowly eating,
transcends the expectations of what a movie should
be.
• Experimental films can use any type of footage. Many
artists create found-footage films that re-contextualize
previously existing material.
• Bodysong (2003) is a documentary about human life and
the human condition directed by Simon Pummell. The
entire film has no dialogue, and is set to a score
composed by Jonny Greenwood (of Radiohead).
• The film is a montage of archive footage sourced from a
century of cinema and television. It's structured primarily
according to the chronological progress of the human
body, but also includes a few well-chosen detours into
sex, illness, conflict, religion, art and politics. In sum, it
embraces both individual and species, physics and
metaphysics, body and soul.
• Kenneth Anger’s Scorpio Rising(1963)
• The extensive possibilities of experimental exemplified
by Kenneth Anger’s Scorpio Rising. Anger explores
60’s motorcycle culture using a combination of staged
events with found content such as old photos, comic
strips, and Nazi posters. Also syncs visual elements with
rock and roll songs.¨ An observation of how the
homoerotic side of motorcycle culture has ritualistic
behaviours that can be compared to the rituals of
fascism and Christianity. Also explores how people
model themselves after images provided by the media.
Self-reflexive Cinema
• A self-reflexive film may include a character interrupting the story to speak to the camera
• This kind of cinema has generally been seen as consciously opposed to mainstream cinema’s realistic illusion, which hides processes and conventions from immediate view (the Classical Hollywood style of continuity editing does this).
Other Characteristics…
• Experimental films can be any length - 1min or 8 hrs
• They use a minimum of language; most prefer visual
images
• Such films rarely follow narrative
• Such films often draw attention to themselves or to
the film medium. You may see the camera itself,
choppy editing, numbered film frames, sprocket
holes, etc.
Stan Brakhage• “Everything we have been taught about art and the
world itself separates us from a profound, true vision
of the world. We are straitjacketed by myriad
conventions that prevent us from really seeing our
world. So it is with filmmakers: the so-called rules of
good filmmaking that are so carefully followed by
commercial filmmakers prevent them from
expressing all but the most trite reformulations of the
same boy-meets-girl story.”
Important Experimental
Filmmakers
• Luis Bunuel
• Maya Deren
• Stan Brakhage
• Andy Warhol
• Kenneth Anger
• Jan Svankmajer
• Chris Marker
Surrealism• A movement in 1920s and 1930s European art,
drama, literature and film in which an attempt was made to portray or interpret the workings of the subconscious mind as manifested in dreams. Surrealism is characterised by an irrational, non-contextual arrangement of subjects.
• Surrealism lends itself to experimental films.
• It has had a great influence on music videos.
Abstract Form:
¨There are various forms of Experimental Film, the
abstract form organizes entire films around colours,
shapes, sizes, and movements in the images. This
is in contrast to other types of film (such as a
documentary) in which these abstract elements may
exist, but are “subordinate to the rhetorical
purposes”
Abstract Form:
Abstract films can seem completely random, but are
often organized through theme and variation. An
introductory section shows the base relationships
the film will explore, and then other segments will
show similar yet different kinds of relationships.
Abstract films are usually dependent on building
greater and greater distance from the introductory
material, increasing the contrast of elements as time
goes on.
Associational Form:
¨ Definition: “A type of organisation in which the
film’s parts are juxtaposed to suggest similarities,
contrasts, concepts, emotions, and expressive
qualities”
Associational Form:
It’s impossible to define a conventional set of parts
into which an associational film will fall. General
principles are that images are grouped together in
larger sets, use repeated motifs and content that
invites interpretation; example = Koyaanisqatsi
Responses:
Confusion
Boredom
Shock
Laughter
“The difficult and risky task of meeting and
mastering the new—whether it be the settlement
of new lands or the initiation of new ways of
life—is not undertaken by the vanguard of
society but by its rear. It is the misfits, failures,
fugitives, outcasts and their like who are among
the first to grapple with the new.”
Eric Hoffer (Philosopher)
“An avant-garde man is like an enemy inside a
city he is bent on destroying, against which he
rebels; for like any system of government, an
established form of expression is also a form of
oppression. The avant-garde man is the
opponent of an existing system.”
Eugène Ionesco (Playwright)
“There is a certain kind of person who is so
dominated by the desire to be loved for himself
alone that he has constantly to test those around
him by tiresome behavior; what he says and
does must be admired, not because it is
intrinsically admirable, but because it is his
remark, his act. Does not this explain a good
deal of avant-garde art?”
W.H.Auden (Author)
When studying approaches to Spectatorship and
Experimental and Expanded Film/Video it is essential to
consider your own experiences of film viewing and
what you expect from film viewing itself.
Mainstream expectations always interfere with
contrasting approaches to film construction and can lead
to negative viewpoints. Experimental films, by their very
nature, seek to subvert conventional expectations of
film form and narrative. They tend to explore
experiences and observations that can't be visualised
by the more formal structures of mainstream cinema.
Whenever discussing experimental films an analysis
must include the content of the film itself (the
techniques employed) and the expectations involved in
the experience of viewing each work.
The conditions of viewing must also be taken into
consideration as every viewing can be defined as
different due to its circumstances (a classroom
environment being one).
When you respond in a group you may adopt the views
of 'others' which may influence your own personal
response.
A good response will:
• Take into account the technical elements of cinema
construction
• Be aware of the themes of the film (an ability to construct
meaning)
• Acknowledge that the film will challenge the spectator
• Discuss the techniques that the film employs
• Respond on a personal level
• Discuss an understanding or a lack of understanding
• Understand that confusion or boredom/lack of interest may
be a response
• Be able to recognise experimental approaches and
debate the use of film techniques opposed to pre-
determined ideas of more formal mainstream cinema.
Approach to analysis/discussion
POINT: Make a point that directly answers the question (what has been your experience).
EXAMPLE: Refer in detail to key scenes that enable you to discuss your own experiences (be specific & technically detailed).
EXPLAIN: Discuss/debate the key themes & concepts that are explored within each scene and relate them to what Experimental films try to achieve in general (give your own responses and those of others).
Spectatorship
Section B: Spectatorship: Experimental and Expanded
Film/Video
Your answer should be based on a minimum of two films.
Either,
13. Explore some of the ways in which you have engaged as a
spectator with film/video works you have studied for this topic. [35]
Or,
14. In the films you have studied for this topic, discuss how far their
production techniques and/or ways in which they are presented
challenge the spectator. [35]
Section B: Spectatorship: Experimental and Expanded
Film/Video
Your answer should be based on a minimum of two films.
Either,
13. 'Experimental films are often designed to make us see and
experience the world differently.' Has this been your experience as a
spectator of the films you have studied for this topic? [35]
or,
14. 'Experimental Film requires a different kind of spectatorship.' Has
this been your experience? [35]
Section B: Spectatorship: Experimental and Expanded
Film/Video
Your answer should be based on a minimum of two films.
Either,
13. Compare the challenges presented to the spectator by different
experimental and expanded film/video works. [35]
or
14. ‘The place and method of screening are crucial factors in
determining impact on the spectator.’ How far has this been your
experience of the film/video work you have studied for this topic? [35]
Section B: Spectatorship: Experimental and Expanded
Film/Video
Your answer should be based on a minimum of two films.
Either,
13. Discuss some of the ways in which the film or video work you have
studied for this topic requires a different kind of spectatorship from that
which spectators bring to their mainstream film-going. (35)
Or,
14. Experimental and Expanded film/video works are often perceived
as being 'difficult'. As a spectator, how far has this been your
experience with the films you have studied for this topic? (35)
A*
A
B
C
Spectatorship
RepresentationContexts
Audio-visual form as
creative expression
Social, Cultural & PoliticalExperimental/Surreal/Avant
garde
3 X
Scene Analysis for
each film
= 17.5
marks
AO1 –
Demonstrate
knowledge &
understanding of
film as an audio-
visual form of
creative
expression,
together with its
contexts of
production and
reception
Camera/LightingMise-en-scene/Sound
Section B:
Meanings?
Responses?Confusion/Boredom/Shock
Social/Cultural/Political
= 17.5
marks
AO2 –
Apply knowledge &
understanding of
common critical
approaches as well
as the responses
that are created
Characters/CRASH
Mise-en-scene/Sound
Camera/Lighting
‘A’ Grade
Exam
Response
Total
= 35 marks
C
O
N
T
E
N
T
Section B: