Session Itinerary

Lessons


MONDAY- VIDEO PRODUCTION | WEDNESDAY- VIDEO PRODUCTION | THURSDAY- VIDEO PRODUCTION | FRIDAY- VIDEO




Friday - 12/10/10 

In this lesson we will be: 


+ Sorting out the passer by effects: speed and colour. 
+ Making blinking effect sharper and smoother on the passerby scene. Adjusting slug
+ Overlaying scenes of drinking over the nightmares scenes. 


Achieved: 


Sorted out the passer- by effects: speed and colour. 


- We achieved a reasonable impressive effect when we experimented and it improves the creativity of the film. 


- Making blinking effect sharper and smoother on the passerby scene. Adjusting slug with resembled the blinking of the character in her film state. 
                                  


                                                                                                                                                     
Monday - 15/10/10


In this lesson we will be: 


+ Making the seductresses scene have a 'significant' difference visually after the 'passerby' blinking scene. 


+ Begin overlaying drinking scenes of the main protagonist with the nightmare scenes. 


Achieved: 


- Overlaid the drinking scenes over nightmare scenes, still need to do over more scenes. 

Notes for our Presentation

Presentation Notes

Notes typed and edited by Perpe

Synopsis:

·      When trying to create a concept we wanted to explore the two extremes of sleep (a state on vulnerability) and thus merged the idea of dream and nightmare.

·      We wanted to do something different and approach the subject of suicide from a different angle and felt that this was unique because it was created using a more realistic feel.

Actors:

·      In creating Rain, we’ve delved into the fine line between reality and dreaming and created this obviously troubled character. The name choice came quite naturally and it reflects the instability in everything surrounding her.

·      The seductress is one of those characters that you know as soon as you see her is trouble. The iconic white dress, adds to her surrealism, yet she is the one thing that stays the same, because what we see with her, is exactly what we get.

·      The Boyfriend is the ultimate deceiver. Aside from the seductress, we have created a character that Rain can fully trust, which we see in the way she responds to him and once that is taken away from her, the question is what is left for her? And by keeping her ambiguous the question is did she ever really have anything?

·      The small cast, allow us to focus more on Rain’s feelings etc.

Location:

·      We have decided to film in a massive park (Finsbury Park) so we can get to different extremes, the woodland and the more public access parks.

·      By keeping it simple, we help retain the realism.

Props:

·      The water bottle is integral to the whole film, because it is the core from which everything expands.

Storyboard for Raine

Storyboard:

Raine

Roisin: Colouring |  Perpe: Description- writing | Justyn: Drawing. 

Short Film Pre-Production

Notes typed and edited by Roisin

Character Profiles

The female protagonist:

• Slim
• Nothing special
• Some unusual features
• Own sense of style - arty

The Seductress:

•  Pixie-like
• Light-footed (dancer)
• White Dress, pink lips (dream)
• Skimpy clothes/rah-rah skirt, red lips, dark eyes (nightmare)
• Represents the temptation to drink

The guy:

•  Normal looking
•  Similar look/style to Justin Bieber
• Represents the female protagonist’s addiction

The friends:

•   Own style

Production Schedule

Sunday 24^th – Friday 28^th October

(Actual days for each location depend on weather)

Two days park:

• Before dream sequence
• Part of dream sequence
• Part of nightmare sequence
• Female protagonist: 2 days
• Seductress: 2 days
• Guy: 2 days
• Friends: 1 day

One day tunnel/underpass:

• Transition from dream to nightmare
• Female protagonist and Seductress

One day leaving house, bathroom and symbolist shots:

• Mostly indoors
• Female protagonist (maybe Seductress)

Synopsis

A girl leaves her home with a bottle of, what appears to be, water and sits in her local park to watch the world go by.  However, everything changes and the world isn’t what she knew it to be; she enters a dream-like world and is led by a girl in white through a forest to a small gathering of friends who are happy to befriend the girl.  Amongst the friends is the girl’s dream man and he leads her farther into the forest.  After presenting her with a gift, the dream world shifts and becomes a nightmare.  The girl feels powerless against the horror and stops everything the only way she knows how to...

Ideas Development- Characters

Tuesday 6.10.10

Characters.

We discussed Characters in lesson, We know will have our protaginist, which she has to be: 16- 19 years old.

We also looked at how we think the girl would look like, so we could scout a girl who possible incorporates all our ideas or similar to.

Justyn:

- Strong features, no specific skin colour, middle height, medium hair.

Roisin

- Nothing special with features,'a balnk canvas' we could mould and style,  white/ dark hair

Perpe

- Messy erratic hair, arty, tall and skinny.

We discussed the use of other charachers within the shortfilmand dream sequence for example: family members, possible ex boyfriend and friends she looks tofor acceptance.

Idea Development- 6.10.09

Tuesday 6th October 2010
Group members: Perpe, Rosin and Justyn

In this lesson, we discussed our initial short film idea further by discussing in more detail how we could expand the narrative and other details.

Our initial idea.
A lonely, isolated girl suffers trumatic blackouts regulary, which often results in her missing crucial moments in her life.

In this lesson,we decided to rework the idea to possibly present a reason for her blackouts or incorporate more of a narrative idea.

We wanted to incorporate a dream sequence into the short film, which will be what is happening in her thoughts during her balckouts. The 'dream sequence' will show symbolises through imagery of what she is suffering from, and her need to escape.  The dream sequence will be vital component in the short film, so it has to be perfectly planned.

Dream Sequence-6.10.10 discussion.

We discussed the tone of what the dream sequence should be, look like, reflect to the audience.

We all imported ideas and said we want it to be: elemets of darkness, show the prettiness and simplistics feel of a dream and a fantasy/abstract elememt.

We then disucssed the narrative and what issues and topics we would like to highlight.

Roisin- ' I think we should take a serious tone- creating impact with the audience'

Perpe- 'Two extremes collidating together - taking two sides of the world and meshing it together'.

Roisn- 'In the dream sequence- she can be in a wedding dress- happy  then turns the corner and she's herself getting beaten by her lover'.

Justyn- 'Dark, Gritty-  Fantasy- abstract- conclude with suicide in a bth tub- battling with herself. Leave the audience with a question.

The dream sequence could be a fantasy dream turned into a dark,gritty nightmare.

Narrative.

A girl in her late teens- Straight A student- perfect life- lives in a 2.4 family, however she has no friends, lonely and in need of acceptance. She is suffering from alchol abuse and goes to a park wiht a bottle of vodka to drink it, The dream sequence then begins.

Red Bag Productions.

Interview with Founder and Managing Director of Red Bag Pictures.



Red Bag Pictures is an independent company.


1. What motivated you to get into Short Film?

I had completed an evening course at Carshalton College in TV & Video Production and I wanted to practice my craft in a live environment.

2. What is RedBag Pictures? include: - History of Redbag.- What you produce.- Awards- Reason for setting up. - What films you direct and produce & Why?( Could you send a few shorts over, please.)

Redbag Pictures is a small privately owned production company specialising in Audio/Visual Production and soon Training. I wanted to have control over the films I made and create an inclusive and diverse environment within which a bridge could be created to the wider industry.

3. What do shorts offer that feature films cannot?

Freedom to be truly creative, make mistakes and learn your craft.

4. What is the significance with Short films and the internet?

Making any film is the easier part getting it distributed is tougher. The internet has started to make distribution easier.

5. What do short films offer aspiring film directors and those just breaking into the industry? 

A chance to showcase what they can do on limited resources.

6. From experience and generally speaking, How experimental can you be with short film?
As experimental as you want, depending on what audience you have in mind when you start. 

7. What's the future for short films? - Advancements in technology.
I would like to see a broader mainstream appreciation for shorts in their own right. Being screened across all media platforms, sold as compilation albums or mixtapes once were.

8. Will short films develop more of a presence amongst the TV circuit? 

We already have channel 4 with Coming Up & 3 minute wonders but it would be good to see the other broadcasters coming in line with similar slots.

Shane Meadows- Stairwell

His shortest film, The Stairwell, was shot on a mobile phone and is just 40 seconds long. It consists solely of a man and woman, played by Meadows regulars Andrew Shim and Vicky McClure, violently bumping into each other on a stairwell.

The film plays with camera angle, it uses alot of POV shots to track characters as they are coming down the stairs- this creates a feeling as it the character are floating. The music is pacey, adding tension- we do not know where the character are heading. The film is mostly shot on steady and cuts between handheld. The interesting shots used engages the audience as it tell a journey rather than just a 40 minutes narrative. The characters faces are hidden from the camera which creates mystery. The end brings the audience to a climax however is the ending- it is effective for a short piece.

Shane Meadows.

Shane Meadows is an English director, who is most renowned for his edgy and gritty style within film, he’s ‘kitchen sink’ representation of England and innovative and unique film techniques.

Shane Meadows journey into film was unorthodox; as he left school with no GCSE’s, fell in a delinquent crowd and became a regular tenant in his local prison station. Meadows reformed character came when he enrolled on a performing arts course at Burton College. He began making films with the approach of ‘kitchen sink realism’. He’s determination to create a film which was true to real life allowed his actors to act freely and even ad lib at times.

Twenty Four Seven, is a motivational film about a young boy, Alan Darcy who decided to give youth a safe haven from the streets and establishes a boxing club. The film is semi- autobiographical and was inspired by Meadows experience growing up. The film gained favourable press in the UK, it was nominated for a 1998 BAFTA award, and At the British Independent Film Awards won the Douglas Hickox Award and the FIPRESCI award.

A Room for Romeo Brass and Dead Man Shoes were all inspired by his youth, showcasing the different sides of growing up in Uttoxeter. Meadows mantra ‘stick to what you know, then you wouldn’t go wrong’ is trust to Meadows style and is a running feature throughout his films.

This Is England, is Meadows most famous film. Set in England 1983, it tackles various issues of racism, trust and friendship. The film cemented Meadows in the industry as a evocative and fearless film maker.

Meadow's lastest venture was the screen- drama adaption of his feature film, This Is England '86. The film is set 5 years after the film story and all the characters are grown up and ready to tackle new issues in their lives. The film captured the essences of This Is England and presented a new realm of realism.

Although the script structure had to be adapt to be including in 4 series segments, the raw emotions and captivating narrative still shocked audience espeically in episode 3- 'Rape Scene'.

The scene was intensfying and controversial for TV, even after water-shed. I felt it contained more emtoion than a soap opera, which is a testiment to Meadows expertise in directing and repore he has built with the fellow actors.

...'[Episode 3] was tough to watch,' tweeted another. 'You can rely on Meadows to deliver those shocking and horrific moments.'
'But seriously, This Is England '86 is a brilliant piece of TV, Shane Meadows is absolutely stupendous making it,' chipped in a fellow microblogger as the inevitable wave of fury at Channel 4's lack of sufficient pre-warning about the rape scene began to hit.

Biblography

1. http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.pitaara.us/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/This-is-England-86.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.pitaara.us/%3Fp%3D3724&usg=__LU-i7Z2U4rNCsDhCuRMyJdStIsE=&h=478&w=900&sz=401&hl=en&start=0&sig2=-Zn37RZiqilK7Q2FYXOdrA&zoom=1&tbnid=V1i4ltrCfUlJRM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=190&ei=ANepTMHDD4OHswaV1vzJDA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dthis%2Bis%2Bengland%2B86%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB:official%26biw%3D986%26bih%3D591%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=637&vpy=255&dur=764&hovh=163&hovw=308&tx=236&ty=105&oei=ANepTMHDD4OHswaV1vzJDA&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0jkv2bRFgQ

3. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY8XGRrTOxtHcTdQw4ytfWPEDAtEtl3BCEYgsEy3r_zU6F5JsYLkem-IXIYZ01lD83ap1_B1Dr2fzf_Et6j7UA2KMWpPMXUXlyWis4BIhYxH1ZS5HW-9WnbGdYYk3TLj5ftOTVRurgIgHA/s1600/this_is_england_film_poster.jpg

4. www.metro.co.uk/.../841703-this-is-england-86-viewers-left-stunned-by-sick-rape-scene

Short Film Festivals.

Short Film Festivals are exhibitions and celebrations of short films and directors.

Short film festivals have been running for over 20 years and are global occasions throughout the year aiming to collaborate the best in the world of film.

Many shorts and directors gain recognition from festivals. Many aspiring directors and crew gain valuable contacts and even some short leading to sponsorship or funding opportunities for future features.

When English Film director, Shane Meadows was a rookie director, he was aware they're was nowhere for directors to screen films they had made so created a festival in his location area called 'Six of The Best'. The festival include work of his and other locals.

There are short film festivals in all the world continents and over 50+ countries. They attract a wide verity of people and many critics.


TropFest is stated to be the world's largest film festival. Founded by award- winning actor/ director John Polson. He established TropFest in 1993 for friends and family at the Tropicana Cafe in Sydney, Australia.

The reputation of Tropfest is world-renowed for discovering new filmmaking talents. The festivals give a platform and exposure to premiun short films. The festival is set outdoors and is an entertainment experience above most all.

'You’re going to see people who make movies for Tropfest go on to win Academy Awards, there’s no doubt about it.’
George Miller, Oscar-Winning Director of 'Happy Feet', Tropfest Patron and Judge


MOVIE EXTRA TROPFEST 2011 is officially scheduled for SUNDAY 20 FEBRUARY - entries close THURSDAY 6 JANUARY!

The History of Short Film.

I created this film to show the history of short film.

Film Festival Case Study.

London Shorts Film Festival


London Shorts Festival have been running for 7 years and each year has been a bigger success.

For the 3rd year the UK Film Council is sponsoring the Award for the Best Film of The Festival. The winner was announced as YOU’RE THE STRANGER HERE, directed by Tom Geens.

These were the nominated films:

THE BEDFORDS (Henry Coombes)

BELIEVE (Paul Wright)

JADE (Daniel Elliot)

KID’S MIGHT FLY (Alex Taylor)

LAST TRAIN (David Schofield)

THE REAPERS (Nick Jordan / Jacob Cartwright)

RED SANDS (David Proctor)

STRANGE LIGHTS (Rosie Pedlow / Joe King)

THE WAKE (Loren Slater / Kerry Kolbe)

YOU’RE THE STRANGER HERE (Tom Geens)

This year’s judges were:

Jo McClellan (New Talent Executive, Film4)

James Mullighan (Creative Director, Shooting People)

Kate Taylor (London Short Film Festival Co-Founder and Co-Director, 2004-2009)

Short Film Production Company Case Study

Silver films.

Silver Films were formed in 1996 by Producer Janey de Nordwall with commercial director Richard Oliver joining in 2006. Silver films have produced BAFTA award winning content and have had numerous TV commercial features across the world.

In 2000, Nordwall approached the North West Business Angel Network- Technivest- and sold percentage of her company to raise capital to part finance two shorts- About a Girl and Jump. This led to Nordwall relocating to London.
Due to the success of About A Girl- Nordwall shared a win with director Brian Percival for Best Short at The BAFTA's in 2002. She also nabbed first prize in Turner Classic Movies short film award.

In 2000, Nordwall pitched her business idea to business angels. They backed her idea and she began producing to build the reputation of Silver Films and saw this business venture as route into learning how to make films herself. In 2001, She solely chose to focus her business on film production.

Nordwall was eager to find a script she was passionate about and be able to take it forward. After research and investigating she came across the script- About A Girl written by Julie Rutterford. Nordwall states 'Everyone in the industry told me, you do not want to make that, it'll do you no good... you ought to be making a comedy'. She was forced to question 'would this be a viable decision for the company', however she strongly believed in the project, followed her instinct and pursued.
The success of About A Girl cemented Nordwall into the industry as a fearless and innovative producer, gaining her recognition and credibility.

About A Girl Awards

“this film is strong and meaningful, from the age of 13 I also had ambition and dreams to prove to people that I could do it.. my parents are exactly the same, push you to one side with a bag of chips and a can of coke. It’s [sic] hard when you cant [sic] talk to someone”.


EMMA ROSE (POSTED DECEMBER 2008) posted on BBC FILM NETWORK. 


By 2002, Silver Films strengthen and within it first year it had been funded £100,000. This including £35,000 it costed for About A Girl, Short film Jump which costed £55,000 plus her office move from Manchester to London. 

Sponsorship and product placement came from contractors in the gaming industry. 3DO- a company Nordwall used to work for. 3DO were aware of their gamer's lifestyles and from marketing prospective wanted to sponsor area in which their clients would also enjoy. The sponsorship involved 3DO logo on Jump T- shirts and financing their premier.



Did you always want your own company?I realised early on that I wasn't good at working for someone else and I was quite opinionated - I like to have my opinions (laughs). I found it quite difficult working for other people and also that there were quite a few people I didn't like working for - I wanted a choice of whether or not to work for them and working freelance gave me that choice.


- Interview with Janey de Nordwall.  




Janey de Nordwall and Richard Oliver first business collaboration came in 2008, with short film, Gardens with Red Roses. Oliver directed and co- produced the film which was a supported by AGE CONCERN. The short is begin used proactively by ACTION on ELDER ABUSE to raise awareness.

Dominic and Debbie are hopelessly in love. They live with Grandad
but dream of getting a place of their own. Set amidst New Labour’s
1997 election landslide, this is a film about love, aspiration and morality
in post Thatcher Britain.

Can they find a way out?

Garden With Roses- Awards

Silver films puts their success down to five key factors:

1. Catalyst- they make things happen.
2. Conduit- we make connections
3. Malleable- We're surprisingly flexible
4. Craftsmanship- We are good at what we do
5. Polished- apples look better when they're polished.

Silver films TV commercial clientele range from car manufacture Toyota to gaming company, 3DO.

Silver films latest project, was just being commissioned by Lexus Europe to produce a series of short films showcasing the full Lexus range for initial distribution of Lexus website. The series of shorts will be shot in Barcelona.

Oliver commented on the commissioning:

“In each film the vehicle will be the star and our objective is to really help the consumer to get to know the personality of each car.  Lexus is an aspirational brand and this is reflected in the high production values of the films.  They will also feature a specially commissioned, cutting edge soundtrack which will combine the sounds of the vehicles themselves – the soft closing of the door, the purring of the engine, the opening of a window – along with digitally stylised sounds from nature”.

Bibliography

1. http://www.silverfilms.co.uk/

2.  http://www.how-do.co.uk/north-west-media-news/north-west-broadcasting/silver-films-to-produce-series-of-shorts-for-lexus-europe-200801211706/

3. . http://books.google.com/books?id=z4yWr9LzBeAC&pg=PA154&lpg=PA154&dq=Janey+de+Nordwall&source=bl&ots=6C2gA72Dnf&sig=2xj0Pshz_oakPn7I0z21yS3p76Q&hl=en&ei=GaGoTNnVIpCTjAfh8qHFDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDMQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=Janey%20de%20Nordwall&f=false

4. http://www.silverfilms.co.uk/movies/short-films/about-a-girl

5. http://www.netribution.co.uk/features/interviews/2001/janey_de_nordwall/2.html

What makes a good short film?

Ideas Generation. 

We discussed the elements which make a good film. 

What makes a good Short Film idea?

• Emotive and evoking narratives. 
• Realism and creativity. 
• Simplistic structure and narrative. 
• Interesting narrative eg: twist in narrative. 

Short Film and the Internet.

Within the past 10 years, Short Film have become a growing features on the World Wide Web. With new technology advancements and the introduction of the masse public interaction being able to interact with the internet, it has been increasingly easy to view, share, upload and exhibit short films worldwide.
YouTube have been a fundamental tool in providing amateur directors a place where they can upload and share video composed from all video content and genre up to the internet. In May 2010, it was estimated that YouTube had 14.6 billion videos on their website, which was viewed by 144.1 million people daily. It is stated that each YouTube user watched an average of 101.2 video during May.

***

Many sites on the internet cater for specifically short films. Examples of websites are:

Coffee Shorts: http://www.coffeeshorts.co.uk/

Coffee Shorts stream Independent short films across a range of styles. Styles they include are
- Narrative Short films.
- Experimental short films
- Music videos.
- Documentary short films
- Animated Shorts.

Coffee Shorts was set up simultaneously with their production company which they have a team foe experts making film. Coffee Shorts passion for sharing exceptional content led to the sites progression and to the growing reputation they have obtained.


BBC Film Network: http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/

BBC Film network is a online community to provide new film makers with guideline, advice, support and a platform to showcase their work.

The films featured on BBC Film Network are form a wide variety of topics and background, and all tackles issues with uniqueness.

 BBC Film network have expanded and crossed over many platforms within the media world. They have a virtual cinema in popular online virtual game, SecondLife. The SL users can teleport to a location within the game world and watch shorts films.

Penelope Rose Bartlett, the programmer for the short-film section of the Chicago International Film Festival, argues: "The best short films should feel complete and self-contained, not like truncated features. The constraints imposed by the time limit in a short film make it challenging to develop convincing characters, so I'm always impressed by shorts with characters that feel real." 

The Times have recently posted a list of 25 must see shorts films:

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article3334789.ece

I feel as the Internet grows and develops, Short films will become a distinctive element within its growth. It is estimate that over 150,000 shorts films online, which is a exceeding number growing daily. It will spark a new generation of short film lovers and give aspiring directors, actors and media fanatics, a new method of networking.

1. http://www.webtvwire.com/comscore-may-2010-stats-youtube-hits-all-time-high-hulu-viewer-numbers-plateau/

Images: www.Google.com

Sony HD V1 Camera Techniques and Features.

SONY HD V1 CAMERA.

In Thursday 9th September video production lesson, we looked at the camera's we will be using for our short films in more depth by exploring it's many function of the camera. The camera we used is the Sony HD V1.


GAIN: Gain is used when their is not enough light within a location, so the camera can internally provide light. The more light that is required will subsitute the quality of the image.

Gain is meausred in DV- Begining from 0 - 18. It is adviced to not go higher than 12 for quality purposes.

SHUTTER SPEED: Shutter speed allows more frames to be taken a second, this effects how the image moves on the LCD screen. Tv uses 24 frames per second and video uses 50-fps. If you want to achieve a slow down footage you would increase the shutter speed and to speed up footage you would decrease it,


WHITE BALANCE: controls the camera coloring it gives to an image in different settings. It is vital to make sure you have the correct white balance.

Three setting which white balance has: 'Tungsten' for indoor footage.  | 'Outdoor' used for filming outdoors. | Manual Customs for both indoors and outdoor filming.

To test if the white balance is correct for the location, you zoom into something white and change the settings.
                
MENU button: Controls the camera and allows user to change settings. It allows the user to check if they are shooting in the correct format.

STATUS CHECK: This button allows the user to check the current stats the camera is on. This give users an easily way to overlook the camera settings.

EXPANDED FOCUS: It double checks whether the camera is in focus. T

FOCUS: This button automatically changes the focus for the user. To focus you zoom into something with fine detail e g: hair and it shall focus.




- The Microphone. 


The microphone is located at the top of the camera and is plugged in through a jack at the top side of the camera. 


If you are using one mic all switches on the top side of the camera should be up.

If there's more than one mic, then the first switch in-between stereo and mono should be down.

EXPOSURE/ IRIS: The iris defines how mcuh light is let in the camera. When gain is set, exposure cannot be altered.

PUSH AUTO FOCUS: asks the camera to focus quickly. This button is useful to press if the useful if your not completely sure of there judgement or you are filming a live show such as a concert.

AUTO LOCK- all the settings are on auto- unless specified.


MANUAL- all settings are manuel.


HOLD- the camera will remain fully automatic.

Avant Garde

Avant Garde is a film making style which involves experiemental techniques and ideas. It can also include new forms, ideas and ways of expression. The word Avant Garde oringated from the french word "ahead of the crowd" and in contempary english "cutting edge".

Avant Garde films are defined by visual experimentation, challenged convention of narrative and its abstract structure. The movement was birthed from film makers difiance to mainstream cinema through the 1900's.

In 1920's avant garde was originated in Europe through visual artists Dadists and Surrelists expanding their movement to film. Entr'acte (1924) directed by Rene Clair is considered to be the first short film created. It involved various technqiues and debuted camera angles and terms. The film involves people running in slow motion, seeing image from worm eye view and screen titles.

Entr'acte showcases daring styles and presents Clair innovative approach to film. The film was premiered between acts at the Theatre des Champs- Elysees in Paris. The music was composed by Erik Satie- a renowned pianist through 1920's.
The short saw some fundamental elements which was ground breaking for the 20th century technology.

Meshes of the Afternoon, directed by Maya Deren, 1942 is considered to have revolutionized short film and Avant Garde.
The 17 minutes short was the birth of American experimental film making and Maya Deren is considered to be the "Mother of Avant Garde".

The short was a collaboration between Maya and her husband, Alexander Hammid who provided the soundtrack for the film.

The film is abstract, lyrical and dream-like combining reality with innovative camera angle and editing techniques. I feel the film tackles challenging issues such as: suicide, death and grieving in an artistic and intensifying way.

Deren's influence in the 1920's amongst the short film industry was extremely fundamental and controversial. Deren stated "the cost to make one of my short films, is the same Hollywood spend on a tube of lipstick". Her fearless and innovative approach to film was admired by many and inspired many.

Meshes of the Afternoon





"Aside from being Maya Deren's most successful film, I also find Meshes to be the most intriguing for a number of reasons. The ability to tap into the human mind and realms of the unconscious through film art is amazing to me. Meshesis not just a feminist film trying to show a woman's place in a male-dominated society, but is also a  dramatic and intensifying experience for the viewer. Perhaps one of the reasons why this film is so compelling is because it is about her. The legendary Maya Deren came up with her ideas from personal experience, from feelings, emotions, and anxieties of her own. Just as we have many layers of consciousness, some that we are unaware of, Deren 'was always trying to bring out the multiple layers of meaning of everything that went into her films'  


1. Nicole Brady, Brakhage, p.11).