This focus of this week’s lecture was on the ‘exploded’ frame – that being 3D cinema and mobile cinema. I think I was much more intrigued by the 2012 documentary ‘This Is Not a Film’ than I was by ‘Night Fishing’. Mobile/iPhone cinema is just very intriguing to me and when you mix it in with documentary, it’s even more personal. Especially when considering ‘This Is Not a Film’ – nothing within the documentary is even that interesting, but if you consider the wider context of how Jafar Panahi is making this film and his frustration all within the constraints of the apartment building, it further exasperates the personal nature that the framing provides already.
‘Night Fishing’ meanwhile really sets something of an example or benchmark for mobile cinema especially in terms of the technical competence which is exhibited throughout when you consider that the primary mode of technology being used is an iPhone 4s. I am much more impressed with the use of the lower quality, older iPhone then I might be if I had heard of someone I knew making a film with an iPhone 6, as the newer iPhone actually has a great quality.
I would imagine with mobile filming there is also just an added ease when it comes to filming. It’s so much less constricting than professional film cameras, or even an entry level DSLR.
I’m also particularly impressed with how ‘old movie ish’ (great description) these specific frames appear. I’m pretty curious as to how it was edited because it has that older quality, not just a black and white filter.
Frames from ‘Night Finishing’ dir. Chan-kyong Park.