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: