artistic influences?

[Gord.T]

It's great talking about our influences and everything but honestly I don't have an artistic bone in my body. It's cool to talk about that artistic history shi*, and it is important, but I ain't got shi*. Never have. Well, maybe a little ambition to learn but it sure as poo poo isn't talent.

No, but , that doesn't stop anybody does it? You want to say something artistically? Try to say it in music, or video, or whatever, who's to say. You do it anyways. Who gives a poo poo?
Maybe someone will like it.

Ya know? Do what you want man. Who gives a royal poo poo what anyone thinks? Do it for you. Not for me.

Hell, I'm probably 10 miles off topic by now anyways. poo poo it. Good night. :beer:

 

[Fahad]

Ya know? Do what you want man. Who gives a royal poo poo what anyone thinks? Do it for you. Not for me.

can't agree more, man. i just find it interesting to learn about the evolution and history ***t about film :>

and certainly few people would want to be labeled one way or another.

 

[Zak Forsman]

Does anyone know of current film movements?

No, but we need one. One that puts the the creative process first. I see a lot of independent feature-length films and they are largely underdeveloped.

 

[Fahad]

No, but we need one. One that puts the the creative process first. I see a lot of independent feature-length films and they are largely underdeveloped.

i'm glad you feel this way, and i couldn't agree more. 'underdeveloped' is a very eloquent way to put it.

aesthetic unity is very lacking in the indie world. by 'aesthetic unity' i mean visually and literary (i.e. writing). i think there's a general caution by the independent filmmaker to veer away from the 'normal' mode of filmmaking. by normal, i mean comfortable hollywood-type filmmaking. and i don't blame them, but as any artistic movement/revolution, the artist needs courage (a better term would begin with a capital B).

Art:

Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way to affect the senses or emotions.

Aesthetics:

Aesthetics ... is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty.

as far as i can tell, very few filmmakers (indies included) explore those two things.

personally, i'd say the first order of affairs would be to stay current with literature. and i don't mean pop literature, but actual controversial literature of our times.

i believe that a lot of 'classic' movies that we've come to adore became classics because of their social, cultural, and political relevance.

 

[Sad Max]

As it should. But, do you feel you lean to one style over the other?

I'm partial to Art Noveau, Art Deco, Arts & Crafts, Craftsman, Internationalism, Bauhaus, Brutalism, Surrealism, Dada, and a raft of other various conceptual movements.

 

[Batutta]

if anyone's interested, i found this:




Does anyone know of current film movements?

Yeah, it's called CRAP, what we mostly get...I'd say I'm a neo-romantic-classicist with some Roccoco and High Renaissance influences...Okay, I just Wiki'd that, I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. I'd say my biggest influences are American filmmakers and films from the 70's because they got me first interested in filmmaking -- Spielberg, Scorsese, Coppola, Lucas, etc...

 

[David Jimerson]

The most widespread current film movement is Remake.

 

[J Davis]

currently my two biggest influences have been the 2008 swedish film Let The Right One In
and the 1983 film The Hunger with David Bowie, Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve

both concentrate on the humanity of the vampire and helped me shape the direction of my new short 'A Strange Confession' which is in this thread
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=204124

 

[David Jimerson]

I dunno . . . the whole "humanity of the vampire" thing has been wrung of just about everything there is to say about it. Hardly anyone does vampires any other way now.

 

[J Davis]

I dunno . . . the whole "humanity of the vampire" thing has been wrung of just about everything there is to say about it. Hardly anyone does vampires any other way now.

I really hope we have managed to create something different. We have put 11 months of work into this. But that is for a different thread. Just wanted to mention how those two movies in particular help influence the project.

 

[David Jimerson]

I didn't really mean to disparage your project, but I can see how it might be taken that way. I was just musing in general.

 

[Sad Max]

It would be more refreshing to see films that return the vampire to real monster-ness, like Shadow of the Vampire...

...at least until we think of some subject for films, besides vampires.

 

[Fahad]

your list .

ok, so like i said, i don't have a list. some movies i like are not good, some movies i hate are not bad.

anyway, here's a partial list of what i think will be conscious influences on my artistic sensibilities (in no particular order):

Pan's Labyrinth
Eraserhead (not necessarily a 'good' film, but artistically valid, imo). also his other movies.
2001: A Space Odyssey (most any Stanley Kubrick)
8½
Baraka(thought not a narrative, the cinematography is breathtaking)
Dark City
The Fountain
The City of Lost Children
Most Joel and Ethan Coen movies.
Gattaca
eXistenZ
The Holy Mountain
Tim Burton
Quentin Tarantino
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles
V for Vendetta
The Matrix

Keep in mind that i have not seen a lot of 'must see' movies, especially non-english ones, but i'm trying to expose myself to as much diversity as possible.

a note on vampires:
i think that the problem with a lot of vampire movies is that they are humanized. they are depicted to be in some existential limbo, questioning the nature of their being. now, i do like Interview with the Vampire, but i'm afraid it might have contributed to the death of the mystery (and fear) that's supposed to surround vampires.

vampires are murderous monsters. they are scary. we cannot 'understand' them or 'identify' with them. IMO, if i were to write a vampire story, i'd write it from the POV of not-the vampire. i wouldn't even show the vampire outside of shadows, in the darkness. even when the vampire is on-screen, he/she should NOT be completely revealed. they should be an allusive and horrifying mystery (to sustain my personal interest, anyway).

i had a similar discussion with a friend about batman. batman is a vigilante! he is scary! should we see him all the time on-screen? imagine a batman movie from the POV of robin, or an investigator, or reporter? now THAT would be a great spin on a vigilante super-hero movie. much like how V for Vendetta was executed. i'm so happy they never took his mask off.

 

[Mark Harris]

It would be more refreshing to see films that return the vampire to real monster-ness, like Shadow of the Vampire...

...at least until we think of some subject for films, besides vampires.

Ha ha, I was going to say, what would really be refreshing would be a f---ing moratorium on vampires for about 10 yrs.

 

[J Davis]

@ Fahad, great list of influences, only one there I have yet to see is Holy Mountain.

I will bring attention in particular to eXistenZ which Cronenberg did right after Crash (my fave)
so cool to see him embrace the b-movie aesthetic when he can clearly command larger budgets.

 

[Fahad]

only one there I have yet to see is Holy Mountain.

it's ****ing crazy, man.

btw, i've read your thread about the vampire short and how 'Let The Right One In' influenced it, and then your recommendation and others of that film.

my comment on vampire movies only applies to those which i have seen, or heard about and chose not to see. i generally avoid the vampire-branded movies for fear of them being the same old same old.

so yeah, i'll definitely check it out.

 

[J Davis]

I didn't really mean to disparage your project, but I can see how it might be taken that way. I was just musing in general.

all good ... looking forward to your musing after you have seen it

 

[groveChuck]

Pan's Labyrinth
Eraserhead (not necessarily a 'good' film, but artistically valid, imo). also his other movies.
2001: A Space Odyssey (most any Stanley Kubrick)
8½
Baraka(thought not a narrative, the cinematography is breathtaking)
Dark City
The Fountain
The City of Lost Children
Most Joel and Ethan Coen movies.
Gattaca
eXistenZ
The Holy Mountain
Tim Burton
Quentin Tarantino
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles
V for Vendetta
The Matrix

Great list, Fahad.
Many of them seem to be those where the aesthetic strongly informs the reality (or lack thereof).

If you have City of Lost Children on your list, I would also include the first feature collaboration of Jeunet/Caro, Delicatessen, on there, too.

Also, how about The Fall? Not to be missed. If you haven't seen it and liked the cinematography of Baraka, check it out- breathtaking fantasy/narrative/location cinematography.

As for film movements, I can't think of an actual "movement" since Dogme 95...

 

[Fahad]

ah yes, how could i forget The Fall. great film.

i'll definitely check out Delicatessen. i also want to get a hold of The Seventh Seal. have heard nothing but good things.

on Dogme 95:

although i am sympathetic to the cause:

The goal of the Dogme collective is to purify filmmaking by refusing expensive and spectacular special effects, postproduction modifications and other gimmicks. The emphasis on purity forces the filmmakers to focus on the actual story and on the actors' performances. The audience may also be more engaged as they do not have overproduction to alienate them from the narrative, themes, and mood.

however, the rules (if followed precisely) are too restricting. namely: 2, 3, 4 and 5.

2) The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. Music must not be used unless it occurs within the scene being filmed, i.e., diegetic.

3) The camera must be a hand-held camera. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted. The film must not take place where the camera is standing; filming must take place where the action takes place.

4) The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable (if there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera).

5) Optical work and filters are forbidden.

those things aren't THAT expensive.

anyway, here's the Remodernist Film Manifesto. unlike Dogme 95, it's more of an ideological suggestion on how to approach filmmaking, rather than a check list of do's and don'ts.

 

[groveChuck]

Dogme is rather, yes, well, Dogmatic, isn't it?
A case of some good points taken too far?

Delicatessen is much smaller than City of Lost Children, but quircky, outrageous sense of humor, and totally original.

The Remodernist sounds like Postmodernist, and manifestos sound so... manifestly silly. But thanks for sharing, I hadn't heard of this.

6. Film, particularly Super-8mm film, has a rawness, and an ability to capture the poetic essence of life, that video has never been able to accomplish.***

Ahh... bow at the altar of Super 8?

Stanley Kubrick, who desperately and pathetically tried to make objective films, instead made dishonest and boring films.

Here's to dishonesty! :beer:

10. Remodernist film is not Dogme ’95. We do not have a pretentious checklist that must be followed precisely. This manifesto should be viewed only as a collection of ideas and hints whose author may be mocked and insulted at will.

Good to know! :thumbsup: