Canon Fodder Showcase Reflection

The Canon Fodder studio was an exploration of ‘greatness’ in film and film canons. Using the 2012 Sight and Sound Poll of the ‘Top 100 Greatest Films of All Time’ as a starting point, this studio criticised the process of ranking and canonising films- interrogating whose voices are given a platform and those who are silenced. As well as the impact of this on the film industry. 

One of the manifesto’s that stood out to me in the showcase from the studio was ‘How to make the greatest film of all time’ by Ben, Connor and Olivia. Straying from the typical video essay, their piece was a clever satirical piece about ‘making it’ as a director in the film industry. Their piece addressed much of what we explored in the canon fodder studio- highlighting issues like nepotism, sexism and in general the privilege afforded to the old straight white man in the film industry. While it was funny, the strong message and convictions of the group still managed to come through in the final piece. 

Another manifesto that stood out to me was ‘Canonical Calamity’ by Alannah, Giorgio and Zoe. A well-structured video essay, the manifesto included a great deal of background research, an interview with ‘industry professionals’ and presenting their own alternative solution to the same top 100 film lists we see circulated. I found their piece really engaging, and agreed with a lot of what they said in their manifesto. 

 

Power of The Cut Showcase Reflection

After I attended the showcase for the Canon Fodder studio, I remained for the ‘Power of the Cut’ studio showcase. From the introduction by the studio leader, this studio explored the various editing techniques for different styles and genres. The final project for the semester was to present a series of three edits in three different styles (a commercial, a documentary and a narrative). When observing the final projects I was struck by all of the different elements that work together to define a particular genre/style of film. 

The final projects that I was drawn to in particular were by Maximillian Paspa and Dani Atherton. In these final projects I found that each of the styles were incredible in their own right, I was particularly struck by the commercial edit in Maximillian Paspa’s project and ‘Jewel’ in Dani Atherton’s project. However, when the three styles are presented in succession your attention is drawn to the distinctions and the different elements used in each edit style.

Overall, I really like the concept of this studio and enjoyed viewing the final showcase. 

Personal Reflection

The Cult of the Canon: https://vimeo.com/761012205

 

In the Canon Fodder studio, we interrogated the cinematic canon and how greatness is measured in cinema. Exploring and comparing whose voices are amplified and whose are disregarded in the film canon- and why. This final project, a manifesto is designed to encapsulate what we covered in this studio and our own perspectives regarding the film canon.

My group’s manifesto: ‘The Cult of the Canon’ is the realisation what we learnt in the studio- not just criticising the cinematic canon but claiming that it should not exist. Framed around the idea of the cinematic canon as a cult, we highlight the innately elitist, sexist, and subjective standards which determine greatness in cinema. Divided into three sections, we each developed our own mini-manifesto and stitched it together to create the final product.

• The first section establishes the “cult of the canon”- highlighting the absurdity of the standards of the canon.
• The second section highlights the gate-keeping of the film canon and the voices that are silenced
• The third section (my part) concludes the manifesto with the idea that we need to erase the film canon and embrace a new perspective of film

 

Successes and Challenges

Since we divided up the project into three sections, I believed that the biggest challenge was going to be making the final product flow- in terms of the script and the visuals. With this in mind we had a broad concept of a ‘canon cult’ and motif of fire that we used to link all of our sections together. But ultimately dividing and conquering each section individually still made it more difficult. Retrospectively more communication and collaboration might have improved on this. But clashes with schedules, other classes and work restricted this. However, I think that as a whole we had similar ideas about the film canon, what we wanted to communicate in our manifesto and the layout. Which fast-tracked the planning process, and we were able to communicate these ideas in our final manifesto piece.

In terms of creating the manifesto piece, I was interested in the effect that is created when a roll of film burns when it is exposed to light. I wanted to learn how to replicate that effect and incorporate it into my section. Creating a sequence of canonical films burning; representing the destruction of the cinematic canon. In order to create the effect, I had to learn how to use After Effects. This took up a significant portion of my preparation time, worsened by complications with my laptop and After Effects. However, through the assistance of YouTube tutorials and a lot of trial and error I managed to re-create a film burn effect.

 

 

 

 

My first attempt compared with the final product

My group was placed together on the common belief that the film canon is innately elitist, sexist, and subjective. Since this prompt offered by Cerise was so broad- the problem that we initially faced was narrowing it down. We were questioning which aspects we should focus on and how we were going to incorporate everything into our manifesto. We tackled this by collectively going through each of our positioning statements from Assignment 2 and communicating all of our ideas regarding the film canon. From this, we gathered that we had similar beliefs on the film canon and formulated a plan for our manifesto which encapsulated this.

 

Reflection:

Engaging with what we covered in the studio, this final project is designed to make the audience question which films are canonised and why. The ‘cult of the canon’ that we based our manifesto around reflecting the way the film canon is revered and blindly followed by both critics and the film industry, and yet is incredibly flawed. Privileging the straight white male perspective and silencing any other perspective. As a consequence of this, a great deal of cinematic history has been erased. Art is designed to be a multiplicity of voices and intersectionality of experiences and yet the film canon refuses to evolve and remains chained to rigid standards.

This manifesto is an opposition of the film canon on the basis that it is innately elitist, sexist, and subjective. Leading to the conclusion in the final part that we need to erase the film canon and embrace a new perspective of film. A perspective that is intersectional, that embraces numerous perspectives and voices and that looks to the future.

Future of ‘The Cult of the Canon’

If I were to develop the manifesto further, I would go back to pre-production and the script-writing process. Developing it in order to make the three sections flow, to produce a complete piece. For instance, think that expanding on the “cult” concept that is primarily in the first section and incorporating it more throughout the piece would make it more interesting and convey our point better. Visually, the three sections also look very distinct and different; I would work on creating a consistent theme throughout the manifesto. The manifesto could also benefit by developing our ideas regarding the manifesto and workshopping that further- perhaps to focus further on criticising the critics themselves who develop these film canons. And I would also work on refining the quality of the final piece, and perfecting the film burn effect (from my final section).

Overall, I believe these changes would improve the overall quality of our final manifesto piece and communicate our message better.