The first two weeks of starting my first studio – Uncomfortable Filmmaking – have made me extremely excited to discuss different cases of unconventional methods of filmmaking. Our first case study was the adult swim short film Unedited Footage of a Bear. It reminded me of Black Mirror, but shorter than the regular episodes and had less of an inherent focus on technology. It had a combination of typical horror/gore violence, but whilst watching it, I got this sense that there was a deeper meaning looming. I think when rewatching, I was able to link imagery used throughout the short film and dialogue used earlier in it, as it gradually focuses more on non-dialogue audio and visual aspects. When focussing on the audio alone, I realised how important the audio was in creating an overall mood and how it was part of what made the short film uncomfortable to watch. The layering of audio such as sound effects and music that was seemingly off-beat made me feel more overwhelmed (in a good way!) when watching it, as it felt like there was so much happening and the audio matched this feeling as well. Discussing the short film as a class has made me appreciate how everyone interprets media differently, and I feel like this is even more prevalent in ‘uncomfortable’ films. I’ve found it really interesting how our upcoming case studies have seemingly very different intended impacts on their audiences.
As for Monty Python and the Holy Grail, I really enjoyed how the filmmakers embraced their obstacles and used them for comedic effect. As someone who really enjoys the comedy genre, I did feel that this film broke expectations and looked past traditional rules of filmmaking as well. I definitely enjoyed watching it, and I thought a lot of the bits were clever and timeless. It didn’t make me audibly laugh as much as I have when watching other comedies, but I did have an appreciation for the form and ideas used. I personally can’t compare the experience of watching it to anything else I’ve seen. There were also discussions about how we can redefine ‘Uncomfortable,’ which made me feel even more excited about the creative freedom we have, particularly in this studio course.
The reading was an introduction to rule-breaking in filmmaking, and what impact it can have on the audience. I really enjoyed how this reading would spotlight a rule in filmmaking and how this can be challenged in order to create a different impact or surprise the audience. It definitely gave me more ideas for angles and mise en scene when experimenting in this studio and my other courses too.