Senses

Listening to your senses carefully is crucial to work with a 16 mm film. This nostalgic medium requires attention; it’s heavy and the filmmaker should be patient to have the final solution. At the end, things might not end up as the way it's expected to be… Sounds like life, right? For instance, to learn how to roll the film in the dark, students of the class Film as a Sensitive Body have to practice with a sleeping mask. The idea is to learn how to rely on your other senses such as hearing or touch… Not to crack the film, while rolling as well as “It’s still an exciting act even after 8 years. This adrenaline makes it fun.” said the co-teacher Viktoria Schmid. Once, while working with a print film – a copy from a negative, which can be rolled under the red light, Schmid made several mistakes. She was not using her senses enough as her eyes dominated her ears.

Students have been shooting in the Fortress or in the city; one of them set a fire at the Quarry. I have seen one of the trials with double exposure and the images are stunning – birds flying among the shadow of a body, a golden horse appearing in a palm… As there is no sound with 16 mm films, the class is planning a live performance with sound and texts for the open studio on Friday.

A student gave me a present: a frame of a film depicting the image from the window looking out to the mountains:

24/08/16 15:50 Summer Academy 2016