Matt Johnson 302-003

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to." "I don't much care where –" "Then it doesn't matter which way you go.” ― Lewis Carroll , Alice in Wonderland As expected, things didn’t go as totally expected. Which I totally fine. I know that a certain level a planning is needed, but I a certain amount of spontaneity and chance encounters goes a long way.                 My initial plan was to see Mr. Roosevelt for my first film of the festival, which I did with some other classmates. Walking into CFCC Union Station I thought that I was early for the film but there was already a screening going on. Quietly taking a seat in the corner of the theater I sat through the rest of what turned out to be a really great (though the name escapes me) short. A quick Q&A followed the short and I offered a question or two of my own. It was ...

      Looking at Martha Colburn's work, one can definitely see the influence of Harry Smith, in the way that she uses cutouts that morph into different shapes and dance about. Her animations are, indeed, animated- in that she seems inclined towards rapid editing and plenty of explosions.        It was interesting to know that Colburn was so involved in various experimental music scenes. I feel as though this had an definite influence on the quick rhythm and expressivity of her work.       Also, that fact that she went dumpster diving to recycle old footage is so cool. Shannon was right in mentioning that in the 1990s folks were getting rid of old reels and stock, as the video recording became more common and economically feasible for burgeoning filmmakers. Unfortunately, this isn't so common today.       I was happy to know that she drew the attention of Jonas Mekas and Geogre Kuchar, as I'm sure she was.   ...

      Well, we have yet to officially meet as a group, so any of the following ideas are just being offered up into the air at this point. Though I do know that we have projector screens available for our group, so we have that to use. At the same time, I wouldn't be opposed to crafting some kind of makeshift screen, out of a translucent bed-sheet or cardboard boxes stitched together.  Perhaps we could project footage on a translucent screen, having the image diffused into a background surface (i.e. fence, side of the cabin, etc).       Lights too! A lot of string-lights would be a good thing to keep in mind. I feel like it would give a good ambiance to our space in the backyard. Especially since it will be at night. We probably won’t string up meat, which is be a good idea for several reasons…. Consideration for vegetarians that it.       Something in the way of statues, figurines, or cutouts might also be interesting to pl...

Hey guys, it's that time of year again to buckle up and enjoy in the enchanting quirkiness and sheer strangeness that surrounds our town's humble film festival! Last year was my first year volunteering for the festival, so my course of action, sofar, is to follow up with volunteer work and catch some screenings in  between shifts. I've been lucky enough to have a solid set of volunteer hours and have been in dialogue with the various volunteer coordinators and Dan "the man" Brawley! I've meet a lot of great folks so far, and I'm really excited to spend the weekend with all of these great folks. One thing that I wish to do differently (compared to my last year) is to make it to more screenings. I only made it to a handful last year; one of which, though, was the seminal The Shining (Kubrick, 1980)!  Talk about a great Q&A! With that in mind I'm really looking forward to branching out and utilizing my time as best as I can to see as ...

      It's interesting considering the process of building a self-portrait. It seems that we each enter into this assignment with some specific idea or concept in mind. And then we shoot, record, and build our materials with which to carry out this idea. For some (speaking to myself) we don't always get the footage we hoped for, or perhaps along the way we discover some new objective or idea. The process of curating this project is somewhat of a self-portrait (in and of itself) if you really think about it.       In my own work I had set out to build a self-portrait by capturing the reflections and reactions in others, as a reflection of me. What I found was that most of the subjects we either trying to please me by posing or smiled for the camera just out of habit. To work around this I often conversed with them and then took a candid photo when they weren't consciously on display/posing. But through this process, I also discovered that my manipulation o...

Looking ahead at the Music Video project there are definitely going to be a lot collaborations and mutual efforts (both hectic and fun) between all of us, so it’s essential that we each key in on our respective roles and go forth with our tasks and fulfill them as best we can. My own role in the project is split between PA/Craft and Gaffer. So while keeping up and working with lighting, it will also be important that I’m always available, as a PA, to lend a hand at a moment’s notice. And while it is low on the tier on intensive work, I believe that PAs are a vital component to a successful set; as there will always be need to run and do some unexpected task, provide assistance to the lighting, the DP, or even just to provide the crew with morale, in knowing that there’s an extra hand always ready to help. Craft service is also an underappreciated role during production. I can recollect my own experiences of a long day on set. And those sets that had a nice spread well-needed s...

                I feel as though the sense of community is the key element here when considering the best elements of “Microcinema.” In 302 alone we’ve been nurturing a community with the class by collectively involving ourselves in various projects with various partners. And with the upcoming music video project our collaborations and associations with continue to grow into bigger and better groups!                 Regarding Avin’s article, I enjoyed getting a sense of her idea of Microcinema she that “there was a sense of adventure in seeking out the obscure films shown there…” I can certainly say that while my own exposure to Microcinema is limited, a can totally get on board with this sentiment. Microcinemas have this unique ability to foster a localized film community, branching out from the ciné-clubs out post-War France, or Vogel’s Cinema 16 (40s- 60s) in New York...