The Genius Of Moving Image – Part 3

The Genius Of Moving Image – Part 3

Cinematography

The work of director Chris Cunningham

Portishead Video – Only you

Bijork – All is full of Love

Then making All is full of Love featuring interviews with Bijork and Chris Cunningham

How did Bijork and Chris Cunningham collaborate on All is full of love video?

Mutual friends in London brought them together by suggesting they work together. Bijork knew she wanted something very clean and white, erotic and full of lust. Chris had used robotics before and suggested the use of them with Bjork’s face animated onto the robot. It was to be a clinical heaven and in the format of a mini film. It was made after the album’s release.

What techniques were used on the Portishead Video to create the unusual Slow Motion effects?

Filmed under water in a tank then digitally inserted the street scene

What other music video directors have gone on to direct feature films?

Name two and name the feature films they have made?

Spike Jonze has been involved in directing music videos and feature films. “Where the wild things are” and “Being John Malkovich”, which gave him a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Director. Music Videos he has directed have also been for Bijork, Fat Boy Slims’ Praise You, Which he filmed himself dancing to the track. Fatboy Slim saw it and loved it. Jonze then assembled a group of dancers to perform the track outside a California movie theatre and filmed it. Jonze was also behind the MTV Series jackass and Jackass the movie. He was a senior Photographer for Transworld Skateboarding.

Another is David Fincher whose Music Video List includes – Aerosmith – Janie’s’ got a gun, Madonna-  Express Yourself, Vogue. Rolling Stones Love is Strong, George Michael –Freedom, Justin Timberlake – Suit and Tie, Neneh Cherry-Heart, Michael Jackson-Who is It and many, many, more.  His films include - Fight Club, The Social Network, Which won him a Golden Globe and a Bafta for Best Director. The Curious case of Benjamin Button – Academy award nomination for Best Director The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Seven, The Game, Panic Room

Which famous sci-fi film did Chris Cunningham’s work on before he became a Director?

Artificial Intelligence creating a Robot character

Director - Steven Speilberg

Cinematography – Janusz Kaminski

Music by John Williams

What makes his work different or Original compared to other similar directors?

He draws on his past experiences and is a very hands on director. He has experience of Special effects within the film industry, which gives him the edge to produce dynamic work. Sound activates his imagination. He says ”I have a library of connections my brain makes with sound”. A lot of his work is dark and eerie. When it comes to visuals he loves to strip things down to the minimum.

The Genius Of Moving Image – Part 2

The Genius Of Moving Image – Part 2

What is the role of a cinematographer in film making?

The Cinematographer helps to tell the story. They tell people where to look. The cinematographer is the author and the creator of light and how it contributes to the story.

Why did Roman Polanski insist on using a hand held camera in the film Chinatown?

Polanski used a hand held camera as it gave an intense close up feeling, more intimate and the actors gave a spontaneous response. He wanted to give a voyeuristic look to the film. As well as being easier to handle and control to get different angles.

Name two films which use colour in a very symbolic way and describe what they suggest?

The Wizard of Oz 1939  - Harold Rosson: The use of colour and black and white, helped to show the division between the real world (black & White) and Dorothy’s “Fantasy World” (colour).

Becky Sharp 1939 – Ray Rennahan.  It was the first feature film to use three strip colour, Technicolor process. It created a separate film register for each of the Primary colours. The use of colour created a Sophisticated, yet subtle and beautiful feeling to the film. It starred Miriam Hopkins who played the lead role of “Becky”, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the film.

In the film raging bull why was the fight scene filmed at different speeds?

The Fight Scene in Raging Bull was filmed at different speeds purely to draw the audience in to the emotions of the character. Whilst the speed was slowed down, it was calming before speeding up and throwing the character  back into the action.

Who is the cinematographer for the film Apocalypse now? And what was his philosophy?

Vittorio Storaro, is the cinematographer for Apocalypse Now. He believes Cinematography is a “Common Art” that cannot be expressed by one single person. There has to be a Director, a Main Author to be in control, as everyone is expressing in art form it can go in many different directions. Photography on the other hand, he considers to be a “Single” Art” form like painting or writing.

The Genius Of Moving Image – Part 1

The Genius Of Moving Image – Part 1

List 2 specific key relationships between Sam Taylor Wood’s Photography and film work?

Wood’s work is emotional and consists of personal experiences and people. She stars in many of her projects, whether they are photographic stills of moving image. Her work is also very narrative

How Does the Use of Multi Screen installation in her work reflect narrative?

The use of a multi screen installation reflects a narrative that the audience can take various meanings of. The audience can decide what it means and leaves it open to thought.

In “Killing Time, which was inspired by the back stage events of the Royal Opera House, 4 people mime to an opera score.by Richard Strauss’s opera Elektra. The reflections on one screen did not reflect what was happening on the other screens. The music was being felt differently and portrayed different feelings throughout.

What other photographers use film as an integral part of their work. List two with examples?

Tim Walker is a British Fashion Photographer and has entranced the readers of Vogue for years, since he was 25. His style is Extravagant, staged and romantic motifs characterize his style. He was a full time assistant to Richard Avedon in New York, before returning to the UK. In 2010 he shot his first short film ‘The Lost Explorer”.  A dark film, featuring 300 canaries, and lasting 20 minutes. The Story is simplistic, yet fascinating and with the element of disgust. A  young girl befriends " The LostExplorer" played by harry Potter's Richard Bremmer. She keeps his death and existence a secret from her parents. fairy tale style with a shocking end, involving the ghost ship and Canaries.

Research three other video artists and explain their working philosophy?

Andy Warhol – A controversial artist, whose work engages celebrity culture and explores its relationship with artistic expression and advertising. This flourished by 1960’s. Warhol’s film making Included silent films. They were shot at the sound speed of 24 frames per second and during the 1960’s he projected at the silent speed of 16fps resulting in slow motion. Some of his films are: Kiss, Sarah-Soup, Sleep, Taylor and Me, Haircut no.1

Peter Campus -  born in America in 1937 was known for his interactive, single channel video work of the early 70’s. He has extensive photographic and digital work spanning decades.  Campus achieved rapid acclaim for his series of groundbreaking video works, in which they explored issues of identity, reality and subversion of the relationship between the viewer and his work. From his work three transitions, persistence of Vision, Campus videos himself cutting through a wall of paper but films it from both sides and projects it onto the paper he is cutting. It is a real mind bending film.

Bill Viola – A world celebrated video artist, whose central themes of Human Consciousness and experience – Birth, Love, Death emotion and humanist spirituality. He has deep interests with Zen Buddhism, Christian Mysticism and Islamic Sufism

Show an example of a specific gallery space or a site specific location where a video artist or film maker has created work specifically for that space and been influenced by it

Alnwick Castle In Northumberland was home to the Harry Potter Films. Hogwarts exterior was shot here, with scenes such as Quidditch, and the interior was filmed at Gloucester Cathedral, Which had caught the attention of Director Chris Columbus (The Philosopher’s Stone - 2001 and The Chamber of Secrets - 2002). Scenes were also shot at Harrow School and Durham Cathedral. Canterbury cathedral was one of the First choices, however they declined as they did not agree with the Pagan theme.

The Genius Of Photography – Part 6

The Genius Of Photography – Part 6

How many photographs are taken in a year?

An estimated 80 billion photographs a year

What is Gregory Crewdson’s Modus Operandi?

He has a production crew that is similar to a movie or cinematography crew in Hollywood. His techniques are “to capture the perfect moment”. He has a director of Photography, a camera operator, as he never touches the camera. He says he has an interest in the images and a camera is an instrument. He uses Cinematic lighting.

He has meticulous planning and detail to fabricate this perfect moment. He takes are series of exposures, which he then digitally combines to produce his 6 final images, which are priced at the astronomical sum of $60,000

Which Prints command the highest price & what are they called?

Known as “Vintage” the photographs are taken by the photographer himself and produced by himself, closest to the time they were actually taken.

What is a Fake photograph give and Example and explain why it is a fake?

A fake is without knowledge of the photographer or his permission. The Powerhouse Mechanic by Lewis Hine is an example of this. It was produced after his death, by his Dark room assistant. He reproduced the image on paper that was only available 15 years after Hine’s death.

Who is Li Zhensheng and what is he famous for?

He was a Red Army News Soldier and Photojournalist in the 1960’s and 70’s. Who covered the “Cultural Revolution” His work is sold and displayed in to collectors in the USA but not in his native China

What is the photographers “Holy of Holies’?

Magnum Photographic Agency is the most prestigious photographic agency. Martin Parr had to battle long and hard to become a member

How does Ben Lewis see Jeff Walls photography?

He took photography back to the 19^th Centaury, where everything is created constructed for a meaning, like racial, gender and stereotyping.

Which famous photograph was taken by “Frank Mustard”?

‘River Scene France’ was an image heavily edited By Camille Silvy. He added leaves to the trees, Clouds where they were needed to enhance the sky. However, the original Photograph was taken by a Frenchman called Francois Moutard (Translates into Frank Mustard).