My first part of the post is posting up some examples of music video's and music that Professor Kreul and I spoke about. The first one is from BT. He is a DJ that collborated with different artists for his music videos from his 2006 album This Binary Universe. Here are some examples:

http://www.vimeo.com/3633531

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7JiCZvJh5Q&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNvFpWCUlxQ&feature=related

Another couple examples we had talked about were from the visual artist Scott Pagano that worked on BT's video(first one):

http://www.vimeo.com/14098220

http://www.vimeo.com/14099196

http://www.vimeo.com/2388735

Just some different things we had spoke about some people may be interested in.

First, write a brief response to the Ann Buchanan screen test. How is it similar to / different from the Fluxus films screened in class?

The Ann Buchanan screen test was very similar to the other fluxus films we screened in class because there was really nothing to it. It was a girl sitting in a chair, not blinking, looking at the camera. The difference was that because she was not blinking and completely transfixed looking into the camera I felt myself wondering how hard that would be and my eyes started watering because it made me feel uncomfortable and then I would see tears welling up in her eyes and my eyes would water again. It was a simple shot of a girl but because there was nothing(no blinking) going on when there should be something(blinking) it was different and more engaging.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhYfCWd5XQ0 (I would advise muting the recently added music track).

You might find this blog post by JJ Murphy (my advisor back in Madison) interesting and/or helpful
http://www.jjmurphyfilm.com/blog/?p=82


J. Hoberman, Jonathan Rosenbaum, The Underground

1. What were some of the venues associated with the early underground film movement in New York City? What were some of the unique characteristics of the Charles Theater and its programming?

Some of the venues were Cinema 16, Charles Theatre, American Underground Theatre.

The unique thing about Charles Theatre was the amount of diversity it featured in its programming. It offered an eclectic program from all areas of art.

2. Which filmmakers did Jonas Mekas associate with the “Baudelairean Cinema”? Why did Mekas use that term, and what were the distinguishing characteristics of the films?

Ron Rice, Jack SMith and Ken Jacobs were Meckas' most important protege's in the "Baudelarian Cinema"

He used the term because he compared the films of the filmmakers previously mentioned to Baudelare, the marquis de sade, and Rimbauldand what they gave to literature. These characteristics that stood out were"illuminating and were opening up sensibilities nobody had ever experienced in cinema before.

3. Why did underground films run into legal trouble in New York City in 1964? What film encountered legal problems in Los Angeles almost on the same day as Mekas’s second arrest in New York City?

The underground films were running into legal trouble because of what was being shown. Essentialy the content of the films was being shot down. Scorpio Rising was shown almost on the same day Mekas was arrested again in NYC.

4. What were some of the defining characteristics of Andy Warhol’s collaboration with Ronald Tavel? What were some of the unique characteristics of Vinyl? How does Edie Sedgewick end up "stealing" the scene in Vinyl? (You may choose to add your own observations of the film based on our screening.)

THe defining characteristics of Warhol's collaboration with Tavel were the long takes with little to no cutes and having the actors kind of come and go as they please. These were also some of the unique characterisitcs of Vinyl. There were only three cuts in the entire film and some people in it were going in and out of the scene, Edie just sat around, lines were obviously read off a cue card. Edie stole the scenes because she just sat there stretched out. Here is this scene playing out and a beautiful girl is just laying there smoking. You as an audience member keep getting drawn back to her because of how she looked.

5. In what ways did the underground film begin to "crossover" into the mainstream in 1965-1966? What films and venues were associated with the crossover? How were the films received by the mainstream New York press? Underground film began to crossover into the mainstream when the popular press started to feature the filmmaker sand MOMA had a symposium on the new American Cinema. THe Bridge and The Gate would regularly screen underground films.

6. Why was Mike Getz an important figure in the crossover of the underground?
Mike Getz sent the films to his uncle Lois Sherwho owned some movie house and he would show midnight showings essentiallyproviding the spadeworkfor the midnight movie explosion of the 70's

7. How do Hoberman and Rosenbaum characterize Warhol’s post-1967 films?
Technologically improved nudity film

Robert Pike, “Pros and Cons of Theatrical Bookings”
[in folder: notes_from_the_creative_film_society_pros_and_cons_of_theatrical_booking]

8. What were some of the advantages and disadvantages to the move from non-theatrical to theatrical bookings for experimental films? The advantages of the move were simple: 1) Money and 2) Prestige. THe disadvantages were : 1) Wear and tear on prints because most 16mm film projectors were poorly designed and scratched and tore the film and 2) was a lack of respect from the theatre owners for the physical print.


9. What issues developed concerning non-exclusive and exclusive representation by distributors?
It is better to give exclusive representation to theatrical booking because in this instance the distributor is in a position to demand the highest possible price for his film. For Non-theatrical productions it is best to have non-exclusive representation because each distributor in each major city has his own share of loyal customers and is therefore in a position to obtain rental bookings no other distributor can get.

10. What problems did the Creative Film Society run into with devious theater owners?

The theaters were running untitled "beaver" films under the Titles of different films essentially using false advertising and alsothe theaters were also duping the films they rented and showing them at other theaters.