REFLECTIONS: Video Research

Over the past few weeks I have been looking into fact based film in order to inspire me for this unit. I have mostly been looking into fact based films that use an experimental approach, and not something that has a formal narrative structure.

For example: Here is a fact based film by a Danish poet and film director Jørgen Leth who is considered a leading figure in experimental documentary film making.

THE PERFECT HUMAN 

Another experimental film I found interesting by the Danish director was "66 scenes from America" 

Here is a scene featuring artist Andy Warhol eating a hamburger.

Watching these videos by Jørgen Leth really gave me a great understanding on experimental approach within a fact based film. 

While doing research for my 5 photography still images I was inspired by the word "Sonder", its an interesting word that sounds good when said, and so I thought it would be great to look more into depth about it.

I'm sure you have read a bit about the word Sonder on my previous post for my five photography still research.

questions that went through my head when looking into this word is whether it could be considered as a real word and could I relate "sonder" into an experimental fact base film. 

After reading an article called THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE WORD SONDER it help me come to the terms on what a real word is, and that Sonder is a real word that is neologism. 

Another piece that I was inspired by its technical camera work was Kanye West's All Falls Down Music video. It features a POV shot throughout a majority of the video.

I think it would be a great idea if I used this technique for most of my film as it will allow the audience to really feel the character, see what the character sees, and help me relate sonder into my film.

Getting the POV shot for my fact based film will require hard work and some DIY. I have been looking online at different methods used and the one that intrigued me the most was a POV helmet.

When researching memory within film I had found out that scientists have filmed memories being created for the first time ever, in which you can see from the video above.

Here is a paragraph from the article that explains how memory is created by our brains:  Memories are made by messenger RNA (mRNA) that encode β-actin protein. These proteins are responsible for shaping and structuring cells in the neurons. As events unfold, β-actin protein is responsible for reshaping the neurons and creating a path, retracing the synaptic steps. Memory retention is delicate business, and it is possible for even a single molecule to determine whether or not the memory is stored. Any disruptions in the process can result in a lost memory. - See more at: http://www.iflscience.com/brain/watch-chemicals-turn-memories-first-time-has-ever-been-recorded#sthash.bygQrS4x.dpuf

Watching this video really was inspiring as our lives are defined by our memories. To me watching the process was like watching a journey. For example:

Its like being in an airplane and looking through the side windows. If you are flying over the city you would see a view like the one above, which looks similar to the footage of memory being created, and if you look carefully you can see car lights travelling on the roads.

Another piece I found inspirational was a film called Slackers directed by Richard Linklater. The film in a way relates to sonder because it follows various characters, and never staying with one character or conversation for more than a few minutes before picking up someone else in the scene and following them.

The encounters and conversations are random and bizarre that I would like to feature encounters like this in my fact based film.