Research on Experimental film

Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians like P. Adams Sitney (and others film critics in different countries), and its distribution process through non profit organizations like The Film-Makers' Cooperative in New York, and similar cooperatives in many other countries through the world.

The term describes a range of filmmaking styles that are generally quite different from, and often opposed to, the practices of mainstream commercial and documentary filmmaking. Avant-garde is also used, for the films shots in the twenties in the field of history’s avant-gardes currents in France or Germany, to describe this work, and "underground" was used in the sixties, though it has also had other connotations. Today the term "experimental cinema" prevails, because it’s possible to make experimental films without the presence of any avant-garde movement in the cultural field.

While "experimental" covers a wide range of practice, an experimental film is often characterized by the absence of linear narrative, the use of various abstracting techniques—out-of-focus, painting or scratching on film, rapid editing—the use of asynchronous (non-diegetic) sound or even the absence of any sound track. The goal is often to place the viewer in a more active and more thoughtful relationship to the film. At least through the 1960s, and to some extent after, many experimental films took an oppositional stance toward mainstream culture.
Most such films are made on very low budgets, self-financed or financed through small grants, with a minimal crew or, often a crew of only one person, the filmmaker. Some critics have argued that much experimental film is no longer in fact "experimental" but has in fact become a mainstream film genre. Many of its more typical features—such as a non-narrative, impressionistic, or poetic approaches to the film's construction—define what is generally understood to be "experimental".

Laura Mulvey's writing and filmmaking launched a flourishing of feminist filmmaking based on the idea that conventional Hollywood narrative reinforced gender norms and a patriarchal gaze. Their response was to resist narrative in a way to show its fissures and inconsistencies. Chantal Akerman and Sally Potter are just two of the leading feminist filmmakers working in this mode in the 1970s. Video art emerged as a medium in this period, and feminists like Martha Rosler and Cecelia Condit took full advantage of it.

In the 1980s feminist, gay and other political experimental work continued, with filmmakers like Barbara Hammer, Su Friedrich, Tracey Moffatt, Sadie Benning and Isaac Julien among others finding experimental format conducive to their questions about identity politics.

The queercore movement gave rise to a number experimental queer filmmakers such as G.B. Jones (a founder of the movement) in the 1990s and later Scott Treleaven, among others.

Time Management

By the end of Decemeber, I want to have started filming my first scene for my short film.

Research into Psychological Thriller genre

Psychological thriller is a sub-genre of the thriller genre that has a heavy focus on the emotional instability of character, with hints of mystery and thriller. It often incorporates elements of the mystery and thriller genres. Many films of this genre also overlap with the horror & psychological genres.

Definitions
Psychiological- Elements that are related to the mind or processes of the mind; they are mental rather than physical in nature. Sometimes the suspense comes from within one solitary character where characters must resolve conflicts with their own minds. Usually, this conflict is an effort to understand something that has happened to them. These conflicts are made more vivid with physical expressions of the conflict in the means of either physical manifestations, or physical torsions of the characters at play.
Thriller – Generally, thrillers focus on plot over character, and thus emphasize intense, physical action over the character's psyche. Psychological thrillers tend to reverse this formula to a certain degree, emphasizing the characters just as much as, if not more so than, the plot.
Psychological thriller – Characters are no longer reliant on physical strength to overcome their brutish enemies (which is often the case in typical action-thrillers), but rather are reliant on their mental resources, whether it be by battling wits with a formidable opponent or by battling for equilibrium in the character's own mind. The suspense created by psychological thrillers often comes from two or more characters preying upon one another's minds, either by playing deceptive games with the other or by merely trying to demolish the other's mental state.

Themes

• Reality
• Perception
• Mind
• Existence
• Purpose
• Identity
• Death
• Black Comedy

Influential Screenwriters and Directors

Brad Anderson – Works effectively in the psychological horror genre. He is the director of The Machinist and Session 9.

Dario Argento – Italian director considered the master of giallo. He often creates mysteries that are very psychological in nature, with the past of characters influencing their present actions, as in 4 mosche di velluto grigio, Tenebrae, Trauma and La sindrome di Stendhal.

Darren Aronofsky – Director of harsh paranoid thrillers such as Pi, Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan.

David Cronenberg – Canadian director who focuses on the psychological horrors of our minds. His storylines often make issues of the mind explicit, as in The Brood, Scanners, Videodrome, Dead Ringers and Spider.

Brian De Palma – Infuses eroticism with the thriller genre. Often uses the motifs of doubling and splitting in the characters minds, as in Sisters, Obsession, Dressed to Kill, Body Double and Raising Cain.

Alfred Hitchcock – The master of suspense, Hitchcock often applied Freudian concepts to his thrillers, as in Rebecca, Spellbound, Vertigo, Psycho, Marnie and Rear Window.

Stanley Kubrick - His films are characterized by a formal visual style and attention to detail – often combining elements of surrealism and expressionism that give the viewers a feeling of discomfort, such as in 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, Eyes Wide Shut and A Clockwork Orange.

David Lynch – Surrealistic director whose mysteries are usually puzzles of the mind. Both the audience and the characters themselves must figure out what is real and what is not, especially in Inland Empire, Lost Highway, Eraserhead and Mulholland Drive.

Christopher Nolan – British-American director whose narrative structures often reflect the mental construction of the characters, as in Following, Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, The Prestige and Inception.

Roman Polanski – Polish director whose thrillers focus on the alienation and isolation of the characters, as in Repulsion and Le Locataire.

Martin Scorsese – American director who directed Shutter Island, Taxi Driver, Cape Fear and The Departed, among others.

Satoshi Kon – Japanese anime director whose well known for making psychological anime thrillers, as in Perfect Blue, Paranoia Agent, Millennium Actress and Paprika

Changes

Since my last posts, I have decided to change my idea for my short film. I have now decided to do a short film of the experimental genre in which I explore the way someone suffering from an extreme mental disorder experiences a break up or a traumatic event through hallucinations. I will show both the hallucinations and the breakdown. I will do this by creating an extravagant tea party set up, in which there will be indulgence and opulence, but also there will be dark characters that will show the audience that it is a hallucination. I will show the breakdown by using shots of the main character smudging her make up and crying, and hiding in a dark corridor. I will also show the real world of the hallucination, by having shots of her walking and going around corridors but using strange movements.

Equipment

This is the room that I will be doing all of my editing in, with the equipment I will be using also in the picture.

I will be using an Apple Mac desktop computer to do any editing that my main product or ancillary tasks may require.
I will be using a Canon HV30 film camera to carry out all filming.

Male actors style

For my short film, I will also use a male actor. I have decided to keep the style simple and plain so as to not distract from the female character. I also wanted to keep the style of the male character similar to the female characters, as this will show that they are from a similar subculture.

Safety Awareness

One of the most important things about filming is that the actors and film crew are safe, so to achieve this I looked at the site htttp://www.bbc.co.uk/filmmaking/guide/production/health-and-safety so that I was aware of the guide and procedure that is meant to be followed

Time Management

By the end of November I want to have completed a full story board of my short film, and made progress on where to film. I also want to have decided on what my actors will be wearing.

Style of main character

This is the style I will try to use when creating my video. I believe that this style is suitable for my character as it uses current styles and gives it an edge. And the heart shaped sunglasses could be considered symbolism as the character loved the man that she kills, but he betrayed her.

Brief

For my media coursework, I will be producing a short film. As part of my brief, I also have to produce two ancillary tasks. I have chosen to produce a poster for the film, and a film magazine review page featuring the film.