i'm a little hesitant to open the letter i am holding, which will tell me whether or not i received honors on my thesis. i don't think i'll be particularly upset if i didn't; rather, i am more concerned about my family's "death before dishonor" credo. if jeanine didn't like my thesis enough, will i be forced to commit seppuku?
UPDATE: it was nice knowing all of you.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Mini-essay: Blood Simple (Coen, 1984)
The inimitable and often intimidating Professor Jeanine Basinger teaches Senior Seminar to all her cinephilic underlings in their final semester at Wesleyan University. This year, I am one of those jaded senior film majors, and this year’s seminar subject is none other than the Master of Suspense himself, Alfred Hitchcock. On the first day of class, Jeanine lectured on the three stages of Hitchcock’s development as a filmmaker, particularly in terms of how he manipulated his audience. The breakdown is as follows:
1. We share in the hero’s emotions and lose ourselves in joy.
2. We share in the hero’s emotions, but we’re glad he’s suffering – we are not losing ourselves, but rather entering a self that Hitchcock creates for us.
3. We share in the hero’s emotions and are glad he’s scared and suffering, but then we feel guilty about it, as though we as viewers are implicating the suffering. Our desire to see the hero suffer is actually causing him to suffer.
Jeanine argues that this third stage can be seen in such Hitchcock masterpieces as Psycho and Rear Window. After three solid months of immersing myself in Hitchcok’s body of work and watching three to five of his films per week, I reluctantly admit that I rarely experience this third level of manipulation as a film viewer. I’m sure it is my own shortcoming than the Master’s, but I began to question whether or not this theory really held water.
Enter Joel and Ethan Coen. Earlier this evening, I watched Blood Simple for the first time (I know, I know – bad film major!) in my Postwar American Independent Cinema class taught by Professor Lisa Dombrowski. I would undoubtedly consider myself a Coen Brothers fan, yet somehow their first feature film had, until now, escaped me. Perhaps it was because I tend to prefer their non-crime films; maybe it was because I was never really in the mood. But enough with my excuses. As I watched the film, my thoughts kept returning to Hitchcock (as they often do these days) and the three levels of audience manipulation. When Marty was crawling in the road and Ray shifted his car into drive, I thought to myself, “Yes! Do it! Come on, run him over!” when he failed to do so and exited the car, I was disappointed and a little annoyed with Ray. But moments later, as he dragged that shovel beside him and walked up behind Marty, I again thought, “Yes! Do it! Come on, hit him over the head with the shovel!” At this point, it hit me – I was implicating the suffering. The Coens had harnessed the elusive Third Level. And I realized that I was the most horrible character in the film.
As none of the characters in the film are particularly likable and all of them turn out to be murderers, this may seem like a farfetched statement. Yes, Marty hires Loren to kill his wife and her lover, but he has been cuckolded and feels betrayed by the both of them. Ray buries Marty alive, but he thinks he protecting his lover by doing so. Abby stabs Loren and eventually kills Loren in self-defense, as he is trying to kill her (even though she thinks he is Marty). And while Loren is a cold-blooded monster of a Private Eye, he murders for money – certainly not a noble motivation, but a tangible one nonetheless. I, the viewer, am the most immoral character, as I have absolutely no motivation for wanting these people dead.
When I ran this idea past my boyfriend, his response was, “Oh wow – that’s heavy.” Maybe it is. And maybe this isn’t a universal viewing response. Maybe beneath my vegan pacifist surface and cholesterol-free arteries, I am just a terrible, terrible person who wants to watch others suffer. The jury’s still out on that. But regardless of my possible schadenfreude, the Coens with Blood Simple reach a level of audience manipulation (in a positive sense, of course) that rivals even the most advanced and beloved cinematic achievements of Sir Alfred Hitchcock.
1. We share in the hero’s emotions and lose ourselves in joy.
2. We share in the hero’s emotions, but we’re glad he’s suffering – we are not losing ourselves, but rather entering a self that Hitchcock creates for us.
3. We share in the hero’s emotions and are glad he’s scared and suffering, but then we feel guilty about it, as though we as viewers are implicating the suffering. Our desire to see the hero suffer is actually causing him to suffer.
Jeanine argues that this third stage can be seen in such Hitchcock masterpieces as Psycho and Rear Window. After three solid months of immersing myself in Hitchcok’s body of work and watching three to five of his films per week, I reluctantly admit that I rarely experience this third level of manipulation as a film viewer. I’m sure it is my own shortcoming than the Master’s, but I began to question whether or not this theory really held water.
Enter Joel and Ethan Coen. Earlier this evening, I watched Blood Simple for the first time (I know, I know – bad film major!) in my Postwar American Independent Cinema class taught by Professor Lisa Dombrowski. I would undoubtedly consider myself a Coen Brothers fan, yet somehow their first feature film had, until now, escaped me. Perhaps it was because I tend to prefer their non-crime films; maybe it was because I was never really in the mood. But enough with my excuses. As I watched the film, my thoughts kept returning to Hitchcock (as they often do these days) and the three levels of audience manipulation. When Marty was crawling in the road and Ray shifted his car into drive, I thought to myself, “Yes! Do it! Come on, run him over!” when he failed to do so and exited the car, I was disappointed and a little annoyed with Ray. But moments later, as he dragged that shovel beside him and walked up behind Marty, I again thought, “Yes! Do it! Come on, hit him over the head with the shovel!” At this point, it hit me – I was implicating the suffering. The Coens had harnessed the elusive Third Level. And I realized that I was the most horrible character in the film.
As none of the characters in the film are particularly likable and all of them turn out to be murderers, this may seem like a farfetched statement. Yes, Marty hires Loren to kill his wife and her lover, but he has been cuckolded and feels betrayed by the both of them. Ray buries Marty alive, but he thinks he protecting his lover by doing so. Abby stabs Loren and eventually kills Loren in self-defense, as he is trying to kill her (even though she thinks he is Marty). And while Loren is a cold-blooded monster of a Private Eye, he murders for money – certainly not a noble motivation, but a tangible one nonetheless. I, the viewer, am the most immoral character, as I have absolutely no motivation for wanting these people dead.
When I ran this idea past my boyfriend, his response was, “Oh wow – that’s heavy.” Maybe it is. And maybe this isn’t a universal viewing response. Maybe beneath my vegan pacifist surface and cholesterol-free arteries, I am just a terrible, terrible person who wants to watch others suffer. The jury’s still out on that. But regardless of my possible schadenfreude, the Coens with Blood Simple reach a level of audience manipulation (in a positive sense, of course) that rivals even the most advanced and beloved cinematic achievements of Sir Alfred Hitchcock.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
had a really great workshopping session on my treatment today
that is all.
except that i am seeing xiu xiu at eclectic tonight (not film related, but still cool)
except that i am seeing xiu xiu at eclectic tonight (not film related, but still cool)
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
updates shmupdates
hello all my fans (yes, both of you)--
my schedule has been craycrazy since late august, so i have had very little time to do anything but work.
film-wise, i have (in spite of my better judgment) signed on to be production designer/art director for a friend's digital thesis film. i am in charge of all physical aspects of mise-en-scene, which is to say i'll be gathering costumes and props, helping to pick shooting locations, and creating the look and feel of the film's atmosphere. i barely have time to sleep (let alone view my mandatory daily episode or two of pee-wee's playhouse) , but i couldn't turn down such an exciting creative position, so add production designer to my long scary list of time-consuming commitments this semester.
in terms of my own shit, for those of you who don't know, i am writing a screenplay. here is what i tell everyone when asked what it's about: "it's-about-two-twenty-something-liberal-arts-school-graduates-who-get-kicked-out-of-their-brooklyn-apartment-and-are-subsequently-forced-to-move-to-a-remote-trailer-park-in-vermont" (this is said as quickly as possible before changing the subject so i don't have to talk about it more--i hate talking about myself and my ambitious undertakings). so yeah, that's what i've been up to. i also hate the second most frequently asked question i constantly receive when it is revealed that i am a film major, that being: "you're a film major? so what's your favorite movie?" sigh. if you really must know, my favorite film is fassbinder's the marriage of maria braun, followed in no particular order by the holy mountain, daisies, aguirre: the wrath of god, the tin drum, little otik, and hedwig and the angry inch. there, so now you know.
happy october, darlings.
my schedule has been craycrazy since late august, so i have had very little time to do anything but work.
film-wise, i have (in spite of my better judgment) signed on to be production designer/art director for a friend's digital thesis film. i am in charge of all physical aspects of mise-en-scene, which is to say i'll be gathering costumes and props, helping to pick shooting locations, and creating the look and feel of the film's atmosphere. i barely have time to sleep (let alone view my mandatory daily episode or two of pee-wee's playhouse) , but i couldn't turn down such an exciting creative position, so add production designer to my long scary list of time-consuming commitments this semester.
in terms of my own shit, for those of you who don't know, i am writing a screenplay. here is what i tell everyone when asked what it's about: "it's-about-two-twenty-something-liberal-arts-school-graduates-who-get-kicked-out-of-their-brooklyn-apartment-and-are-subsequently-forced-to-move-to-a-remote-trailer-park-in-vermont" (this is said as quickly as possible before changing the subject so i don't have to talk about it more--i hate talking about myself and my ambitious undertakings). so yeah, that's what i've been up to. i also hate the second most frequently asked question i constantly receive when it is revealed that i am a film major, that being: "you're a film major? so what's your favorite movie?" sigh. if you really must know, my favorite film is fassbinder's the marriage of maria braun, followed in no particular order by the holy mountain, daisies, aguirre: the wrath of god, the tin drum, little otik, and hedwig and the angry inch. there, so now you know.
happy october, darlings.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
it's been forever
but i am still alive.
i have lots and lots of stuff going on right now, though sadly most of it is not film-related (at least not film production). i am making thesis plans and plan to start working on that as soon as school gets out. i have decided against making a short film for my thesis and instead plan to write a screenplay. i am excited about that.
hopefully my sight and sound final project AUTOLUST will be digitized soon, and as soon as that gets to me i will post it here so all of you can watch it.
lots of love
dylan
i have lots and lots of stuff going on right now, though sadly most of it is not film-related (at least not film production). i am making thesis plans and plan to start working on that as soon as school gets out. i have decided against making a short film for my thesis and instead plan to write a screenplay. i am excited about that.
hopefully my sight and sound final project AUTOLUST will be digitized soon, and as soon as that gets to me i will post it here so all of you can watch it.
lots of love
dylan
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
i know it's been a while...
i haven't blogged in a long time, i know. things have been absolutely crazy. i had to take an incomplete in sight & sound because i got very sick at the end of fall semester and steve don't grant no extensions, so i'll be turning in my final project in the next few days. max and i worked on sound design the other night and although i don't want to toot my own (or my boyfriend's) horn, it's turning out super awesome. way better than anything i've ever done before. i'll try to post it as soon as i have it digitized, but in the meantime, here are some photos from the set of henry's thesis.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
updates
i have a feeling nobody reads this blog, but i'm going to keep posting anyway dammit.
sight & sound is progressing relatively smoothly. i just got my grade back from the rhythm project (A-, not bad) and tomorrow i'm meeting with steve to check in about my landscape project, which is due friday the 23rd. i'll be shooting my action project the weekend after fall break (the weekend of the 30th i guess) and i'm VERY well prepared for it because i actually thought this upcoming weekend was when we were supposed to shoot. i'm all storyboarded and have my location secured and everything, so hopefully that shoot will be very efficient and successful, considering all the pre-production work i've already put into it.
in unrelated news, musician/producer/local legend/boyfriend max horwich and i have been working on my first EP (under the name orca star), which will ideally be completed over fall break and released next month. the first track is almost finished and it sounds awesome (i can say that because max is responsible for a large percentage of the awesomeness).
anyway, i need to do some dombrowski reading. keep it real, cinephiles.
sight & sound is progressing relatively smoothly. i just got my grade back from the rhythm project (A-, not bad) and tomorrow i'm meeting with steve to check in about my landscape project, which is due friday the 23rd. i'll be shooting my action project the weekend after fall break (the weekend of the 30th i guess) and i'm VERY well prepared for it because i actually thought this upcoming weekend was when we were supposed to shoot. i'm all storyboarded and have my location secured and everything, so hopefully that shoot will be very efficient and successful, considering all the pre-production work i've already put into it.
in unrelated news, musician/producer/local legend/boyfriend max horwich and i have been working on my first EP (under the name orca star), which will ideally be completed over fall break and released next month. the first track is almost finished and it sounds awesome (i can say that because max is responsible for a large percentage of the awesomeness).
anyway, i need to do some dombrowski reading. keep it real, cinephiles.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
more pics
oh, nice box...i wonder what could be inside it...omg it's DEVELOPED FILM READY TO BE EDITED!! and the filmmaker's handbook. nice.
and so it begins...
i actually have things about which to blog...when my time isn't being completely eaten up by the things about which i will later blog. confusing? perhaps. but i digress...
last weekend i shot my first sight & sound project, the first film of my own design and direction. to be honest, it was an intensely stressful experience, but all in all it turned out to be a very rewarding one.
i filmed a pair of totally cool shows from different angles, then filmed max's cute little birdlegs dancing around in them. some of the shots turned out darker than i would have liked (damn sun setting, who the hell does he think he is...), but most to all are totally usable. and i know that for a fact...the film has been developed and my dailies were screened in class today.
we can begin editing our projects immediately, and i'll probably work on it this weekend. we're all shooting our second projects the weekend of the 25th (not this weekend but the weekend after that). i'll keep you all updated.
in the meantime, PICTURES!!!
last weekend i shot my first sight & sound project, the first film of my own design and direction. to be honest, it was an intensely stressful experience, but all in all it turned out to be a very rewarding one.
i filmed a pair of totally cool shows from different angles, then filmed max's cute little birdlegs dancing around in them. some of the shots turned out darker than i would have liked (damn sun setting, who the hell does he think he is...), but most to all are totally usable. and i know that for a fact...the film has been developed and my dailies were screened in class today.
we can begin editing our projects immediately, and i'll probably work on it this weekend. we're all shooting our second projects the weekend of the 25th (not this weekend but the weekend after that). i'll keep you all updated.
in the meantime, PICTURES!!!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
it's been a while, i know...
heyy anyone who still reads this:
things have been crazy lately between finals and everything else at the end of the year, so i haven't had much time to blog it up lately. BUT i am back in california now and have a few film-related summer plans on the horizon.
i bought a color/sound super 8 camera a few months ago and i'm going to try to procure some film for it in the next few weeks. i'll probs take on a short summer project if i can get a little support from friends and family--i'm working on a few screenplays that could be interesting. also, i've been in talks with my awesome bf max of sewing machines about the possibility of shooting a music video/tour documentary/avant garde short film for the band on their west coast tour this summer. very cool.
my friend nick garcia (stand-up comic/fucking awesome MC) is writing a feature-length about life in chicago, and i'm gonna sweet talk him into letting me help with the production in some way. shooting will most likely happen next summer (or some other time after this summer), but hopefully i'll be around when that shit goes down, because working with nick sounds like a super great idea.
i'll try to be better at updating shit, and i might even put up some photos or other interesting things sometime in the near future. maybe. on a completely different note, i'm seeing animal collective in like 3 days, which kicks so much ass i'll probably go blind. no joke.
no joke.
things have been crazy lately between finals and everything else at the end of the year, so i haven't had much time to blog it up lately. BUT i am back in california now and have a few film-related summer plans on the horizon.
i bought a color/sound super 8 camera a few months ago and i'm going to try to procure some film for it in the next few weeks. i'll probs take on a short summer project if i can get a little support from friends and family--i'm working on a few screenplays that could be interesting. also, i've been in talks with my awesome bf max of sewing machines about the possibility of shooting a music video/tour documentary/avant garde short film for the band on their west coast tour this summer. very cool.
my friend nick garcia (stand-up comic/fucking awesome MC) is writing a feature-length about life in chicago, and i'm gonna sweet talk him into letting me help with the production in some way. shooting will most likely happen next summer (or some other time after this summer), but hopefully i'll be around when that shit goes down, because working with nick sounds like a super great idea.
i'll try to be better at updating shit, and i might even put up some photos or other interesting things sometime in the near future. maybe. on a completely different note, i'm seeing animal collective in like 3 days, which kicks so much ass i'll probably go blind. no joke.
no joke.
Monday, April 6, 2009
reshooting, troubleshooting
we re-shot the end of jordan's film last night, which was quick and painless. i ended up staying up until 4am and waking back up at 7 to finish a paper, then i had to prepare for a presentation on unwed teenage mothers in the 1950s i had to give in front of my perspectives on motherhood class four hours later.
here's a fun little story: some of you may know that lack of sleep will either make me grumpy, extremely sensitive and melancholy, or ridiculously delirious and giggly. well today ended up falling into the third category. during my presentation in class this morning, one of the other students made a comment about media representations of the suburban nuclear family and threw out, "you know, that one sitcom called something like 'the beaver family'..." i knew full well exactly to what show she was referring--"leave it to beaver"--but in my sleep-deprived state i confidently responded, "ah yes, 'the angry beavers.'" and then i proceeded to giggle about it for the rest of class, trying so hard (and failing even harder) to keep a straight face. i am a complete tool.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
not exactly film...
but still pretty damn cool.
check out this article reviewing wesbands in the hartford advocate, starting with my girls Precision Libido (look for the indirect reference to yours truly re: accordion). i have too many friends in The Shade to remember all of their names mid-migraine right now (i probably shouldn't even be blogging at all, as i have the sneaking suspicion that this post is not only off-topic but incomprehensible). finally, KFD, almighty deities of golden crispy face-melting metal. this ain't no dollar menu, kids--the vegan police plays for keeps (what am i even saying?? i'm sure i'll delete this post in the morning once the nyquil wears off).
and if i wasn't already pleased as punch to see my own band and friends' bands in print, my bf got a shout-out as well. you should, as the article suggests, visit futurefolkrecords.com, brainchild of max "awesomepants" horwich and his pals.
good night.
note: i don't think anyone has ever called max "awesomepants"...until now.
check out this article reviewing wesbands in the hartford advocate, starting with my girls Precision Libido (look for the indirect reference to yours truly re: accordion). i have too many friends in The Shade to remember all of their names mid-migraine right now (i probably shouldn't even be blogging at all, as i have the sneaking suspicion that this post is not only off-topic but incomprehensible). finally, KFD, almighty deities of golden crispy face-melting metal. this ain't no dollar menu, kids--the vegan police plays for keeps (what am i even saying?? i'm sure i'll delete this post in the morning once the nyquil wears off).
and if i wasn't already pleased as punch to see my own band and friends' bands in print, my bf got a shout-out as well. you should, as the article suggests, visit futurefolkrecords.com, brainchild of max "awesomepants" horwich and his pals.
good night.
note: i don't think anyone has ever called max "awesomepants"...until now.
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