A quarter or two ago (in academic terms) a bunch of my students in their final class spent a few hours causing light to reflect and distort through a series of built letterform constructs.
This was beyond the final project as assigned, the play just happened. And most of it was caught on their individual phones. Cause most of us carry cameras with us wherever we go.
Experimental cinema is a favorite of mine – and it’s pretty much wat my students ended up doing, sans screenplay.
Jump over to The Expressionists and their world of Light and Shadow – one can find some of the roots for a slew of wat we see today in popular culture.
Throw in some DADA and modern abstraction was in motion even before Disney gave us Fantasia (1940).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt9iy5THnbk
This and MOR
will be part of a Friday morning editing class I’m teaching at American River College in Sacramento.
Class starts 19 January 2018.
And since FLOMM has a whole contingent of filmmakers who hang around carrying heavy equipment looking for things to shoot, I’m inviting these FLOMMIST professionals to sit in and mess around with this class. Oh, and musicians and hip hop people too. Really. (hint: MUSIC VIDEOS may be involved)
“This is going to be an experimental film class that does what we couldn’t do in film school!”
one of them proclaimed, excited for the prospects. He didn’t even have the worried look I usually get when I announce I’m about to do something FLOMMTERWOVEN like this.
“We’ll fix it in editing!”
I have proclaimed, ’cause this is REALLY wat the class will all be about. And it’s something I kno how to do. Fix thru editing.
ALSO,
I am currently working on a couple of short FLOMM films that will be sandwiched in the class, the rest will tackle editing, timing, tempo, Moholy-Nagy-like experimentation and a whole slew of practical optical effects going back to the dawn of moving pictures.
AND yeah,
there will be software involved. Adobe Premiere. We’ll be in the school’s brand new Art New Media lab. Friday mornings. With access to the INCREDIBLE COFFEE of ARC’s five-star Oak Café (best food in town, in my humble foodie opinion).
SIGN UP FOR
ARTNM332 Digital Video ASAP ’cause the class is almost full. And bring your imagination. And a good worth ethic.
Wat’s the worst that can happen??
—steve mehallo
Flommist Steve Mehallo is a graphic designer, illustrator, font designer, educator, foodie and gadfly. He is the creator and founder of FLOMM! Pictured: Screen grab from my upcoming FLOMM film ‘Never Cross Me,’ featuring Kylie Jackson.
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