Andrew Szmauz Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 Hey there, i was just wondering what some of your favorite and most inspirational experimental film makers are. Mine is Hans Richter, the way he uses film as an extension of his paintings is, to me, life changing. I have had a film showcased in a film festival that was influenced by his work. i first heard about him in a documentary called "Free radicals: a history on experimental film". i want to know what you guys like because I am constantly looking for new ideas and influences for my work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Field Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 (edited) The closest film to experimental I appreciate is Freddy Got Fingered. The screenplay was more experimental than anything. So I guess Tom Green. Edited August 7, 2017 by Macks Fiiod 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Szmauz Posted August 7, 2017 Author Share Posted August 7, 2017 (edited) The closest film to experimental I appreciate is Freddy Got Fingered. The screenplay was more experimental than anything. So I guess Tom Green. i enjoyed that film, but i wouldn't say it was experimental. i would say that it was a badly written comedy. There is a reason Tom Green doesn't make movies anymore. Hans Richter, Stan Brakhage, Jonas Mekas, and Pip Chodorov are all experimental film makers you should check out. they make films not hollywood b movies. Hans Richter actually made the first experimental film in history, and its only about 3-5 minutes long. its true art. Film introduced a new medium to artists...which was time. artists could now capture things in real time. they are the cutting edge of avat garde, they are free radicals. without these guys I just mentioned we wouldn't have modern film techniques as we know them today. Edited August 7, 2017 by Andrew Szmauz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Field Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 Badly written comedy? It was amazingly refreshing. Sure there were absolutely jokes which were just plain unnecessary, however again, the screenwriting itself was experimental. That is the nature of experimental, tries something new and isn't concerned whether it is off-putting. The idea of a feature length film literally not concerned with the plot or emotional attachment and just spits jokes 24/7 is rare. Fox gave Tom Green $14 million and his (perhaps spiteful) experiment was that film. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted August 7, 2017 Premium Member Share Posted August 7, 2017 I've always liked experimental animation and light shows, works by Len Lye or Jordan Belson, for example. I've always liked "Meshes in the Afternoon" by Maya Deren and some of David Lynch's experimental works (and you can probably classify "Eraserhead" as experimental...) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth Hylton Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 Possession (1981) by Andrzej Zulawski 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon O'Brien Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 I was going to mention Lynch and "Eraserhead" also. "The Elephant Man" is in some ways experimental also, and is one of my favourite films. A film that gets the balance right in both art and entertainment. I find some of the more experimental films just too strange and rather boring. I'd rather look at a good painting. To me, a movie worth making must also be entertainment. Film at its heart is a show biz thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted August 7, 2017 Premium Member Share Posted August 7, 2017 I wouldn't make such a blanket statement that all movies have to be entertainment - besides, what people find entertaining can vary a lot. For some people, sitting through a typical Hollywood rom-com would be more torturous going to see a collection of Stan Brakhage shorts. Movies are an art form, and some art is more commercial than others, some have a wider audience in mind than others. But I do have a theory that experimental filmmaking tends to work better in shorter forms -- as the movie gets longer, it starts to need more and more of a structure, usually a narrative one, to hold one's interest. Or at its simplest form, what the viewer craves is continuously new information to keep the brain engaged. The thing with a painting is that you can experience it at your own pace, same goes for reading experimental literature -- you can even set it down and pick it up again later. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Burke Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 I would add that some segments in the new Twin Peaks could be considered experimental. Also Check out: www.Roberttoddfilms.com A rather prolific experimental film maker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Young Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Shane Carruth! Upstream Color is one of my favorite films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freya Black Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 (edited) Sans Soliel by Chris Marker... Oh and La Jetee... In fact anything by Chris Marker. Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome by Kenneth Anger If you can get to see anything by Gregory Markopoulos then you should but his work isn't that easy to get to see. Speaking of things that are hard to get to see "Man with a mirror" by Guy Sherwin is incredible if you are at all interested in expanded cinema but it's worth checking out stuff by Guy Sherwin in general actually. Films by Tony Conrad. Stuff by Ken Jakobs The films of Jem Cohen Freya Edited August 10, 2017 by Freya Black 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Szmauz Posted August 11, 2017 Author Share Posted August 11, 2017 this is all great stuff guys thank you so much. some these i have heard of, and others i am actively checking out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Tinsley Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 Yes, Meshes of the Afternoon is a good one. You should check out Takashi Ito, titles like "Grim" or "Spacy". Ito explores space like no one else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bas Jan Ader Endimione Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 Stan Brakhage Hollis Frampton Robert Todd Paul Clipson are my favorites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member George Ebersole Posted August 22, 2017 Premium Member Share Posted August 22, 2017 Hey there, i was just wondering what some of your favorite and most inspirational experimental film makers are. Mine is Hans Richter, the way he uses film as an extension of his paintings is, to me, life changing. I have had a film showcased in a film festival that was influenced by his work. i first heard about him in a documentary called "Free radicals: a history on experimental film". i want to know what you guys like because I am constantly looking for new ideas and influences for my work. I really don't have any. I met a few indy film makers growing up who were into the whole experimental and shooting film for the sake of shooting film type of people. They were just into capturing images and rearranging them for public display, which was cool. But nothing they did ever grabbed me as such. For me film making is about telling cool stories, and nothing more. For commercial industry there's a social mantra that's kind of inflated these days, so much that experimental types are probably seen as more artistic fringe than ever before. Hopefully we'll see some good stuff coming our way in the years to come because of that alienation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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