Cameraless Filmmaking

I have loved learning alternative methods to creating films through the the various techniques we have learned so far. One of the nicest aspects is that this type of film making does not require a crew of any kind. Although I love working with others in a crew, it is nice to have so much control and to be able to produce a complete work without relying on others. Making films this way is just fun too. You don't have the pressure of creating a film that has a certain lighting ratio or worrying about actors. I have already found that your mistakes when using some of these techniques could end up being your favorite segment of a film.
The magazine transfers have probably been my favorite topic so far. The patters you can create are beautiful on the strip, so I can't wait to see them projected. For my own strips, I chose a theme of sorts. All my pieces related to political issues, such as gasoline company logos and typed words like "war". When the strips were projected, I was able to spot my transfers, but the words were not really readable, which I kind of expected. I was able to pick out the word "Independence", but that was about it.
The painting was fun, but I definitely prefer some of the other techniques we have learned, such as scratching and transfers. I don't think I'm really a painter, and my segment of the painted leader did not end up looking the way I had hoped. I think the problem may have been in my use of the oil. Some of the areas would bead immediately, and then I would suddenly be drawing a thick line down the strip. It ended up ok, but I had to layer other colors on top of the mess I had created. Again, I recognized my section of the strip, and it looked exactly as I expected- an explosion of Christmas.
I enjoyed the x-ray effect we produced last class, but I prefer to have more control over the image. For some reason, one end of our strip did not develop properly. I think that maybe the cell phone closed early or was lifted away as it neared the end of the strip. The majority of the exercise turned out really well though, and produced some cool effects. I really liked what one of the groups near us produced using some larger objects like a key. This also afforded a greater degree of control than I was able to get using the tiny seeds and sparkles.
Developing our own film was a valuable experience that I had not had before. I had always wondered how to do it- I mean, I understood what to do, but the actual implementation is always a different experience than reading the directions.
I had never realized everything that was involved in the making of this type of film. I also didn't know how hands-on the processes were. I find it really interesting what this type of physical manipulation can create versus the control afforded by computer animations. I am in a motion graphics class right now, and though the intended final product is very different, I don't think that a computer could create something as visceral or natural looking- at least not today. This also gives this style a retro feel that I really like.