Media Sketchbooks

This production course is for adventurers, artists, and budding filmmakers interested in exploring the media of film for artistic expression and social inquiry. The images and experiences developed through experimental film and video are as varied as the artists that make them. There is, by definition, no formula for this kind of work. Like paintings or poems, each film reflects the artist as much as the content driving the work. This course is designed to introduce the language of experimental film and strategies for the use of video/film and audio design as an expressive tool. We will investigate the idea of radical content and experimental form by establishing the normative models and procedures of cinema and video and then exploring ways to challenge these conventions. Through a series of video and 8mm film assignments, the class will consider moving image forms and style that blur the boundaries among narrative, documentary, and abstract filmmaking. Projects will be furthered by screenings, readings, seminar discussions, and field trips. Topics will include, but not limited to, issues of identity, place, the performative body, border crossings, cultural equivocation and mannerisms, blemished topographies, ritual, and transformation. Labs are designed to help students develop proficiency with film equipment, including portable and studio production and editing systems.