A famous director in the experimental scene was Maya Deren. She was an American Avant-garde filmmaker and film theorist. Maya Deren was also a choreography dancer, poet, writer and photographer. This shows her creative side and her relevance to the Avant garde movement. She directed several experimental films in the 1940's-1961 and displayed a highly individualistic sensibility towards short film.
She is passionate about the short film era and the art form behind short films, she takes an anti-mainstream stance in her "artistic license and creative freedom"
"Meshes of the Afternoon" set the tone for USA Avant garde film-making. The film was made in the early 1940's, Deren used some of the inheritance from her father to purchase a used 16 mm Bolex camera. She used this camera to make her first and most popular film "Meshes of the Afternoon".
The films starts with a flower falling to the ground. Its movement is unpredictable and seems sureal. The camera work is creative along with the framing of certain shots. I personally feel that the shadows add to the films and set the style and tone. They are creative and give off a dreamy/nightmarish feel to the film. The way the shadows are shown walking along the wall could represent paranoia in the fact that there is always something there on a wall or a floor.
The music is complimentary to the visuals even though occasionally it is out of sync, which I feel adds to the unpredictable style. The music soundtrack is eerie and makes you as a viewer feel anxious, uncomfortable and clueless about what is going to happen.
The sound of the key falling along with the background music adds to the eeriness, seems repetitive and constantly falling into the unknown which all adds to the art of the film. When the key falls, the visuals are cut at a fast pace however when the key is picked up and she begins walking back up the stairs the shots are changed at a slower pace as all is calm and relaxed again.
The way the camera goes through the room and how the knife can't cut the bread seems very abstract and bizarre which raises questions for an active niche audience. As she sits in her chair a close up of her eye occurs. This close up is an amazing detailed shot showing her eye slowly closing, drifting to sleep.
A new character is seen with a dark cloak and mirror type face. This character is unusual and could be part of the protagonists dream as she sleeps.We see the protagonists struggling to move round the room looking down on herself form another perspective, this adds to the confusion but also the creative art side of the film.
Whilst researching about "Meshes of the Afternoon" I found several remakes of the film created mostly by fans. This shows its popularity with both short films and Avant garde fans.
A present aspiring Avant garde director called Herbert Midgle use's the technology of youtube to broadcast his films. Whilst researching I viewed a film called "The Walk" This Avant garde film was a great form of art that shed a new light on walking. Herbert Midgle is a youtube phenomenon and I feel that this short film of 40 seconds fits in with Avant garde perfectly.
The film is in one static location with the camera in one position, there is no sound which is effective as it makes you concentrate on the walking of the main character more. The idea and film is very simple however very effective. It is powerful to the audience as every time the protagonist walks towards you he get closer and closer, the shot would then cut randomly with his back towards you with him walking away. This is repeated several times and is quite trippy as it makes you feel that you are watching something that is going to make you jump, you just don't know when.
I feel that Herbert Midgle has been hugely influenced to create this film. I think that a big influence was "The Great Train Robbery" by Edwin S. Porter in 1903. I strongly believe that this film inspired Herbert. The last shot of the film "The Great Train Robbery" shows a villain pointing his gun towards the audience, its the same type of shot used in "The Walk" as the protagonists walks towards his audience.
Referencing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Deren
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPi9i3gfSAM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdIBSqJpk2c
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