RADICAL FORM AND CONTENT

Shooting Wall is putting on a month of free screenings that will culminate in a discussion. We want to bring people to where we're at in terms of film-form. So we can embolden the local film community and start making revolutionary cinema in our small city.

THE FILMS:
All the films we're going to play have radical examples of film-form and narrative. We chose them due to their obscurity, dynamism, humor, and revolutionary qualities. We will do Shooting Wall member short films before each screening. Screenings will be projected with a high definition digital projector and will have a decent sound set up. Food will be provided for free or at low cost at each screening.

THE DISCUSSION:

We're going to play clips from arthouse films, some of them being from the Shooting Wall camp, that advance film-form. We also will do an overview of Left cinema and how they need to get beyond the boring, talking head documentaries or preaching to the choir melodramas. To be truly revolutionary they will need to have revolutionary film-form to coincide with their politics. Our aim is then to suggest that revolutionary things can still be done with the medium. And that the Left needs to look back to film history to take from and then advance film-form if they want to actually make successful propaganda. 

 

Reflections on a Year of Filmmaking

At the beginning of 2011, I created a project for myself in an attempt to push my filmmaking and my creative capacities as far as they could go. The project entailed me making at least one short film every month of 2011. And to make it a bit more challenging, I imposed a few rules on myself so that it would be difficult to cheat. The rules were one, I could not be the only person in the film; I put this rule in place so that I wouldn't feel inclined to simply turn the camera on and have myself act out something in front of it and call that a film. Second, the film had to be at least one minute long; again, this was so I didn't allow myself to make the most simple and unoriginal thing possible. Three, the film had to be shot, edited, and posted for viewing on vimeo or youtube within said month; so, for example, November's film had to be filmed, edited, and posted all within November. I allowed myself the cushion of being able to write and plan prior to the month of filming, which was a practical decision because I do not think I would have been able to complete all twelve films had I not allowed myself this little bit of leeway.

It may seem like an odd and difficult project to give oneself, but at the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011 I was feeling at an impasse as a filmmaker. I had been making short films for roughly five years up to that point, but it had been in a somewhat undisciplined way, which simply means I would let myself off the hook if I abandoned a project I wanted to make because I lost an actor or if the dates I wanted to film didn't work out. What this project made me do was make something regardless of whatever problems presented themselves. So, if I had a script written with three women and found I only had two actresses available for said month, then it forced me to retool and/or rethink the projects as necessary so that a film was completed and it did not let me abandon films due to technical issues. It is true that many of the films changed dramatically from conception to realization due to schedule conflicts, actors and crew availability, and other technical issues, but it kept me on my toes as a filmmaker. I had to think, adapt, and work with whatever I had to make the best possible film I could. I can say that I might not think all of the films completed as part of this series were completely successful, but I feel confidant in saying that none of the films were a complete failure. That in itself is a triumph. I believe that every film in this series has something interesting in it and though I may like some more than others, I am proud of every film I made in 2011.

This experiment, if nothing else, made me a more confident and disciplined filmmaker in an intellectual and in a technical sense. In an intellectual sense because making so many films allowed me to try new things all the time. I didn't feel like I had to make a film any one way or about any one thing and, in fact, when I was feeling stale or uninspired, it forced me to think about my work in a different way. The rigidity of the project, in a way, left room for me to breathe, to experiment with a wide variety of styles and ideas knowing that perhaps I would be forgiven a failure due to the restraints of the project. And yet, surprisingly, all the films turned out well. In a technical sense, this project acted as a kind of DIY film school. I never went to film school and, even though I have been making short films for some time, I was always struggling with feeling confident in myself as a filmmaker in a purely technical sense. I have always considered myself more of a theoretical filmmaker than a technical filmmaker. This means that I have ideas and theories and approaches to filmmaking from an intellectual level, but was never the craftsmen that others are. I always made the best possible films with what I had, but I knew that I still had a lot to learn, and this year I feel like I have grown quite a bit on the technical side. I feel more confident about how my films look and sound. I even became confident enough to try more complex set-ups that had more difficult camera movements, intricate blocking, and stylized lighting. The project pushed me into being a better filmmaker technically, which is something that I think I needed.

This film a month project also forced me to think about everything cinematically. For the first time, I think of myself primarily as a filmmaker and am always thinking about what my next project will be. I think this is an important step in the evolution of a filmmaker. One must think of oneself as a filmmaker in order to think cinematically and push oneself toward new cinematic ideas. The more films I made in 2011, the more I wanted to do as a filmmaker. It left me wanting to grow and radicalize my cinema. Though a difficult and demanding project, it ultimately made me into a better filmmaker. In a way, these films are almost like sketches; they were a way to try out various cinematic ideas as they occurring to me. Theory in practice. It gave me a chance to see what worked and what didn't work; to see how I liked making films and how I didn't want to make films. I became more confident and with that confidence, a style and a way of understanding myself as a filmmaker emerged, which has been beneficial.

Perhaps a project like this isn't for everyone, but I do believe that sometimes giving oneself a strict set of guidelines and a difficult project which you make yourself complete can be a good thing. If anyone else was thinking about anything similar to this, I would encourage them to give it a try. I would also like to hear from other filmmakers who have done or are doing any similar projects and what their experiences were.

I do not write this piece in order to glorify myself as a filmmaker or this particular project, but instead I wanted to use this space to reflect on my year of filmmaking. We have always wanted Shooting Wall to be a place for filmmakers to reflect on their own works and be able to talk about their films as they feel fit. Shooting Wall is, after all, a place for filmmakers as much as for cinephiles. In 2012, Shooting Wall wants to extend our reputation as working filmmakers who are trying to create something different and, hopefully, new. We are going to be giving more space to pieces about local films and filmmakers both on the blog and in the pages of our zine. Those filmmakers associated with Shooting Wall are making the best in local cinema. We are filmmakers and the revolution is happening now. Shooting Wall will be the mouthpiece for these filmmakers.

Below is a list of the films included in my film a month project of 2011. They are all available to watch on my VIMEO page.

Jan - DUEL
Feb - RAPID CHANGES
March - STITCHES
April - INCOMPARABLE ESCALATIONS
May - GHOST STORY
June - BATHTUB
July - EXPECTATIONS
August - LUMINARIES OF AFFLICTION
September - SWAMPS
October - SAVAGE MYTHS
November - VARIOUS MISSIONS AND INSURRECTIONS (A VARIATION)
December - STREET SCENE


-JOSH

New Shooting Wall Film

Greetings soldiers and cinephiles,

The next in our ongoing series of Shooting Wall films is now available for viewing on our vimeo page. The film, "Girls' Night Out" is the first short film by Emma Karina and Jill Hackney. Check out the film and share with your friends. The cinematic revolution continues!

Shooting Wall Featured on Cinedelphia.com

Shooting Wall is pleased to announce that an interview with some of our members can now be found at http://cinedelphia.com/meet-shooting-wall/

Cinedelphia is a great Philadelphia film website that  features an almost constantly updated and very admirable collection of reviews, events, contests, and listings in the Philadelphia area. We were happy to be able to talk to Eric Bresler (the site's founder) about our formation, our goals, and our future.
Check out the interview at: http://cinedelphia.com/meet-shooting-wall/

Revolutionary Fashion

As a new edition on our blog we will occasionally be featuring posts about our favorite male and female fashion in film. Some of you may find this silly or irrelevant, but we are trying to present a socially relevant way of looking at and examining  films in light of what you actually see on the screen. Email us if you have any suggestions of things you would like us to focus on.

As Godard infamously quipped “All you need for a movie is a girl and a gun.” I would like to add that the girl must be dressed impeccably and the gun should most certainly be a pistol. I could talk a great length, and quite frivolously in fact, about female fashion on film, but I would like to use this opportunity to examine fashion as it relates to the other aspects of filmmaking.

When one thinks of revolutionary films, female fashion is probably not the first thing to come to mind. Indeed, “revolutionary films” (loosely organized here around the idea of political or social change) often relegate women to supporting roles if we even see them at all. The idea of a female lead in a war film or political thriller is, with few exceptions, basically unheard of. Instead, women are often featured as the protagonist in social melodramas  (Gone with the Wind, Written on the Wind, A Cold Wind in August, etc– Wind here being a stand in not only for women, but for social change- that’s another tangent for another time). When we see women in revolutionary films, or playing revolutionary figures, we tend to rely on visual cues, I think mostly makeup, jewelry, and clothing to tell us exactly what power she has and the extent of that power.

Let’s look at a few examples:

Theda Bara in Cleopatra (1917)

Forgive me for beginning with perhaps one of the more obvious and well known portrayals of a revolutionary female figure. Bara’s portrayal of Cleopatra, as one can see from this promotional still, was basically built around her wardrobe. The entire film is probably just an excuse to play dress up and pretty up the set, but the choice of pretreating Cleopatra in such a manner is precise and intentional.  Everything here, from the headpiece to the embellished bodice on the dress to her bare feet reads sex appeal. Much in the same way that a leading man in Hollywood demonstrates his power though his attractiveness, this Cleopatra follows suit. Her power, that is, her revolutionary potential, is suggested in her form fitted dress (not every lady could have a dress fit to her exact measurements), with its beading running the length of the gown from her hips to her toes. The beading is mimicked by the snake anklet that she is earing as well as the snake embroidered on her scarf. Of course, the symbolism of the snake is well documented from ancient time though present day, but the motif is taken to an extreme in this garment.

Lets now think about another kind of “revolutionary woman”: Marie Antoinette.

I’d like specifically to focus on Sophia Coppola’s 2006 version of the film starring Kirsten Dunst.

What is so striking about the fashion in this film is the detail to accoutrement. So detailed in fact that it obtains an unbelievable level of artifice (which might explain why even some of  Coppola’s  biggest fans find this film hard to approach.) The satin gloves, the fabric covered book, a string of pears, the ribbon around her neck, and not to mention the birds nest on her head all portray an overwhelming sense of not only a scandalous amount of wealth, but also privilege and power in general. The clothing and styling in this film is perhaps the most important aspect, especially in relation to the overall tone and narrative function of the story. Coppola places us squarely in this world of unbelievable detail, not merely to overwhelm our senses, as in many period pieces, but to drive the plot of the story. Marie Antoinette’s grip on her body politic is stressed by the tightening of lace on each notch of her corset. 

Greta Garbo in Ninotchka (1939)

Ninotchka is a well-liked film based on a clichéd story of a woman being attracted to everything that she claims that she hates. Ninotchka (Garbo) is a Russian leader sent to Paris to oversee the selling of a jewelry collection and bring back three of her comrades who seem to be enjoying Paris a little too much. When she first comes onto the scene she is dressed in a no-nonsense crisp white shirt with a black handkerchief necktie and a simple ¾ length black A-line skirt. There is really no hint of a woman or any kind of feminine figure to be found in her costuming in the early part of the film. She is basically buttoned up, taped down, and in one scene, she even wears a hat that looks like an uncircumcised penis. The fashion in the early part of the film is a stand in for her “Russian-ness” (read: male), but as the film progresses, and she falls in love with the Count (and all of his capitalistic wonder) her wardrobe dramatically changes course. As she is exposed to the riches and excitement of the west, the necklines of her dresses begin to plummet, the fabrics become sheerer, and she goes from black muslin handkerchiefs to delicate beading along her neck.  And it happens so quickly it is as if she came directly from the field to the balcony at the opera. These moments of transformation that rely on a change of fashion and styling are typically in Hollywood films, but the speed at which it happens in this film is truly exceptional.

 The next time you are watching a film, pay attention to the extent to which the filmmaker expresses emotion, tone, and character development though the wardrobe. You can basically use this analysis on nearly any film, Hollywood and non-Hollywood film alike. The fashion is not only a cultural signifier, but a narrative device that should be created just as much as the other aspects of filmmaking.

Tune in next time when I plan to discuss the fashion of “crazy women” in film.