The film which I drew my attention (mainly through its title) was Dreamcatcher. Immediately, I envisioned ideas in my mind about how the creators (Jess Hallay, Michael Serratore and Damien Gould) could have made a Korsakow film based on the complex and multilayered ideas that are dreams. Dreamcatcher is part of the 2011 student made films collection, and can be found here.
Immediately I was drawn in by how aesthetically pleasing Dreamcatcher was presented (see Fig. 1). The interface design chosen by the filmmakers was the main screen to the left in 4:3 ratio, then three thumbnails to the right, each with the same height as the main SNU, but thin in length. All videos appear to be in high quality. The back image is an out of focus image, one which varies in colour yet is subtle enough to easily compliment the tones of the videos. The idea of the background image being undistinguishable in subject further works to compliment the idea of dreams and their immeasurable nature.
Figure 1
The thumbnails to the right do not move when the cursor is hovered above them, nor do they make sounds. This prevents the viewer from being distracted from the main video on the left. To distinguish that they are pathways to the next video, the three thumbnails are less-contrasted, still frames taken from their linking video. This idea of thin, small thumbnails runs parallel to the idea of minor fragments within a dream. It was clever of the filmmakers to employ the use of simple, less contrasted thumbnails as opposed to all thumbnails being greyscaled, as we eventually learn that the greyscaled thumbnails are distinguished, as they open different pathways. There is no overriding soundtrack which plays over the videos, thus reinforcing the segmented nature of dreaming.
The viewer learns that by clicking on certain thumbnails, we are able to progress to the next stage. But it is all random and completely non-linear. I found myself watching this K Film several times just to understand it. At face value, it is easy to identify which SNU’s can be linked together based on 4 different ideas: people talking about dreaming, videos representative of the dream state, videos of delusion and videos of daydreaming. However, we can only access these sections through a gateway SNU. For the opening section, by clicking the greyscaled video, we are given the option to see the thumbnail of the closed eye (a thumbnail which would otherwise be unavailable to us without clicking on the linking greyscaled thumbnail). See Fig 2 and Fig 3.
Figure 2
Figure 3
These clips of eyes, therefore, signal a different stage (reinforced by the movement of the eye i.e. closed, opening, slowly closing etc). The difference between the opening section and the other sections of the K film, is that the SNU’s in the opening (just before the ‘Falling Asleep’ stage) only have 1 life. This means, as a viewer, we will inevitably be guided to the next phase. For the rest of the K Film, the pathway is less discernible. The videos we end up watching are completely determined by which thumbnail we choose, which could lead us to different sections determined by different constraints (i.e. certain environments, patterns, colours). Some of these clips had a higher SNU-rating than the others, and sometimes, certain clips would consistently reappear on the right even after they had been clicked 3-4 times.
The first time I played this K Film, I found myself in a continuous loop. The film just kept on going and going, and I felt as if I was watching and replaying the same clips over and over again. This was the biggest flaw I found with the K film, as I was almost going to give up on it because I was getting extremely frustrated and bored. But, I did eventually reach the end, signified by the final clip of the eye opening (i.e. end of dreaming). It was by chance that I had clicked the discreet exit thumbnail, and upon navigating my way through the K Film several times more, I realized this thumbnail was made available to me at frequent times. It is all up to the viewer to identify a pattern in what they are seeing. Eventually, after seeing the same clips over and over, they may search for the new one they have not yet seen in an attempt to move somewhere else. In order to end the film, the viewer must be able to determine which thumbnail they believe has not appeared before. After identifying these patterns I realized that as viewer, I could potentially skip certain stages (such as the ‘daydreaming’ stage) or even cut down on the number of times I entered the ‘falling asleep’ loop. This is a key element of the film which the filmmakers have deliberately employed. Majority of audiences will be first time viewers, and so they will leave their experience of the film up to chance and randomness as opposed to careful planning determined through identifying repetitive patterns.
A reoccurring pattern which the audience will determine is that by clicking on a thumbnail of a person, a short, person statement by that person will ensue. By clicking on eyes, a certain action by an eye will follow, whether it be the eye closing, opening, remaining shut of blinking. Furthermore, by clicking on a video with a mouth, the mouth will verbally signify which dream state the viewer is entering. These dream states include ‘daydreaming, ‘falling asleep’ and ‘fast asleep’, sections of which present the audience will videos that are somewhat warped in an effort to mimic a convoluted and disoriented segment of a dream. This dream state is further enforced through patterns of eerie soundtracks playing over certain clips, clips being played backwards, and awkward camera angles which serve to perplex the viewer on what they are seeing.
Figure 4
Figure 5
A consistent pattern of colours tends to remerge (as seen in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5), where majority of the clip is in black and white, and only certain sections will be in colour. As a viewer, we understand that this is not how real life appears, and so we then can conclude that we are supposed to be in a trippy dream state. The main colours that emerge are yellows, reds, blues and filters of purple. Through this technique, the documentary proves to be more in the form of associational as opposed to abstract (Bordwell & Thompson 356).
The content of this film, which has generally been previously discussed throughout this blog, contains clips relating to people talking about dreams, videos mimicking the dream state, and videos of delusion and daydreaming. There are no main characters who we follow, but rather, separate individuals retelling their ideas on dreaming. Some characters are re-occurring, but only once or twice. Instead of solely having the K film revolve around sections of the dream state, the inclusion of individuals discussing their take on dreams breaks away from the complexity of the ‘dreaming’ videos. The audience is able to relate to other people through their recounts, and as these commentaries are at the beginning of the K film, they almost serve as an introduction. The audience is not simply thrown into a dream, but rather, eased into one.
I really admire the cinematic efforts of the filmmakers in creating the short clips to represent dreams. Without the use of extreme special effects to create worlds that only exist in our minds, they did an excellent job of taking reality and real places and altering them in an effort to create the crazy workings of our minds when we are dreaming. We all know that during a dream we don’t question what is happening, but take it as reality. Throughout Dreamcatcher, we learn not to question why things are being played backwards, or there are eerie sounds playing when looking at a tree – we simply accept (due to personal knowledge) that we are dreaming and that what we are seeing could very well be a create of our minds.
I was very impressed by this K Film after watching it several times and understanding how it all worked together. The use of the Korsakow program fitted the theme brilliantly, as its capability of many narratives and multilinear progressions is quite parallel to the idea of dreaming. The content of warped, confusing and misrepresented videos combined with the unclear patterns of progression simulate the feeling of dreaming, and absorb the viewer in a world which is finally made tangible. A viewers pathway through the film could either be a random mess of confusing nonsense which may not seem to make sense, or it could be smooth and quick (if by chance they find a direct pathway to the ending). For any pathway, however, it is evident that the viewer has been taken on a journey.
Just as dreams are individual and unique to the person, the filmmakers have aspired to make Dreamcatcher just that through the use of Korsakow itself. Because of the loops, patterns and certain spheres within the film, it is highly unlikely that any user will experience it in the same way, just as we won’t all have the same experiences when we dream.
References: Bordwell, D & Thompson, K 2013, Film Art: An Introduction, McGraw Hill, New York. Pg. 350 – 358