Re: [microsound] (OT?) microsound&vision @rotterdam film fest

[Ryan Stratton <ejlif@xxxxxxxxxx>]

GET ME OFF THIS LIST
----- Original Message -----
From: "Derek Holzer" <republikasleazka@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <microsound@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2002 3:35 PM
Subject: [microsound] (OT?) microsound&vision @rotterdam film fest


> micronauts,
>
> just spent three days at the rotterdam film fest, and i thought i would
> offer up a micro-review of what i saw and heard as it relates to our
humble
> list. purely subjective, highly incomplete, and intended only as a
> spring-board for further explorations:
>
> 1) Exposed (shorts program): if you went to the R'dam film fest looking
for
> offerings a bit more experimental than the art-house, feature-length
films,
> each day offered one or two collections of shorts. "Exposed" focused on
the
> art of celluloid, and the formalistic interventions which can be made on
> that specific medium. Siegfried Fruhauf's "Exposed" was actually the most
> "computerized" looking, in that his meticulous use of multiple apertures
> into a running found-footage film loop resembled a digital filter more
than
> the more-familiar chemical and solarizing treatments of the other
filmmakers
> in the program, as was his use of clipped and degraded optical sound track
> taken from the film stock. The second artist, Peter Tscherkassky has been
> discussed on this list already. The 11 min film "Dream Work" was a tribute
> to Man Ray, and was a beautiful retreatment of found Hollywood footage
with
> a dark, moody soundtrack. The last film of the program, "The Dreams", by
> Christina V. Greve & Cartsen Schultz, set the sound work of British artist
> Barry Bermange to incredible 8mm, 16mm, 35mm and video shots. Bermange's
> piece involved interviews with a dozen or so subjects about recurring
> nightmares, which were then skillfully woven together to reveil the
> commonalities between. My personal highlight was a section of chemically
> treated and pigmented b/w stock which erupted into amazing color. At 40
min,
> however, even the most entranced eye can become sonambulistic, and I left
> the theatre more sleepy than invigorated.
>
> 2) "Watch That Flicker" (shorts program): This program sought to take the
> kind of digital video many of us are familiar with via the VJ/MAX+NATO
scene
> and "cinematize" it for the big screen, with mixed results. One of my own
> personal problems with much up-coming experimental digital video work is
> that it is still in its adolescence, and the fascination with the
technology
> of filters and plug-ins still hinders a lot of more mature exploration of
> themes which lie outside the software itself. Program Highlight: "A Not =
A,
> or for Devatas who Keep Dancing" by Kawai Masayuki (for transcending the
> GUI).
>
> 3) "An evening with DOT.NU": dot.nu is a program initiated by the V2 in
> R'dam for "finding solutions to the idea of live cinema". For the film
> festival, KODI (NL) worked with Tappo Kontakt (DE/NL), and COH (RU) with
> Telco Systems (NL). For the first half, Tappo Kontakt played heavily
> pixelized, lo-fi video clips while KODI produced very nice, minimal tones
> and itinerant beats from a pile of analog gear (in wooden cases even!).
> Being that they were put off-center on the side of the stage, the effect
was
> somewhat of a "Wizard of OZ behind the curtain" syndrome, with the
> technology unseen, and therefor more mystified. COH's introduction to his
> and Telco's set turned this around. He described each of the roles of the
> three laptops on stage to the audience, then proceeded to display his
> desktop, running Audiomulch patches, for the entire performance on the
> beamer. The boys from Telco Systems are long time MAX/MSP/NATO gearheads,
> and together with COH they deconstructed a found porno MPEG from the
> internet. By the end, however, I found myself still wondering if all this
> NATO/VJ stuff really makes for compelling viewing, or simply video
wallpaper
> while we drink, talk, and (maybe) listen to some music at the club.
>
> 4) Odd and Ends: some of the most interesting thematics seemed to come
from
> the "What (Is) Cinema?" trajectory, which also posed 24 questions (= 24
> fps...) for each day, such as "Why has the history of film so much focused
> on narrative film?", "Is dubbing a way of neutralising the foreign content
> of a film?", or "Is a satellite dish a social sign?". A comprehensive
> retrospective on American experimental pioneer Stan Brakage reminded me
why
> I get nauseous from too much camera movement. The UK's "Light Surgeons"
> played a (by 2nd hand accounts) fantastic video, film, slide and sound
> performance at at side-event at the Off-Corso. Much schmoozing was to be
> done in the bars and lobbys, and also much drinking into the wee hours. As
> it should be... The film fest runs until this Saturday, and the Dot.Nu
event
> will be repeated this Sunday night at the Paradiso in Amsterdam (if you're
> in the neighborhood...)
>
> best,
> Derek
>
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