Experimental Response Task 

'Experimental Film requires a different kind of spectatorship.' Has this been your experience? [35]

Experimental films are full of strange mixtures of images, situations, words and expressions that may not tell a cohesive story but, in the end, don't have to in order to achieve an emotional goal. This type of film therefore requires the spectator to shift their conventional cinematic expectations to accommodate more radical narrative techniques, themes and meaning construction. 

Un Chien Andalou, the infamous 1929 surrealist short film from Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali, attests to this. 

Personally I did not agree with the technical elements of the cinematic construction, the reasons for this is because unlike todays mainstream films there was no chronological order, however I found having no dialogue or narrative more interesting and less predictable then how I react to modern day films. The surrealism aspect was interesting but on a personal level I did not enjoy it at all, I found it hard to understand and tedious as it was slow and nothing fitted together. 

Chris Marker became known internationally for the short film La Jetée (1962). It tells of a post-nuclear war experiment in time travel by using a series of filmed photographs developed as a photomontage of varying pace, with limited narration and sound effects.

I was very interested in this piece throughout even though there were no moving images bar one woman slowly blinking, i found the narrative soothing however not boring and wanted to hear his story, its was a lot easier to understand as it was in chronological order and i could remember the key points of his story. This type of film would not intellectually challenge a spectator as the story is narrated along with the film, describing the thoughts and feelings of the people involved, making it quite easy for the viewer to open up their emotions.

Maya Deren’s Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) is a work that maintains all of the mystery, tranquility, unpredictability, and personal attachment that is ever present within the world of dreams.
Unfortunately I had a lack of understanding of the abstract film as I found the repetition hard to follow and the music being so slow it sometimes stops, withdrawing my attention. I did however find meaning behind the mirror, how is shows she's only reflected through him and presenting women as a whole just through the eyes of a man. I could relate to this theme as its an on going problem still talking place in the 21st century although much like Un Chien Andalou there was no chronological order so I couldn't fully connect with the film

A good response will:

• Take into account the technical elements of cinema construction
• Be aware of the themes of film (an ability to construct meaning)
• Acknowledge that the film will challenge the spectator
• Discuss the techniques that the film employs
• Respond on a personal level
• Discuss an understanding or a lack of understanding
• Understand that confusion or boredom/lack of interest by be a response 
• Be able to recognise experimental approaches and debate the use of film techniques opposed to pre-determined ideas of more formal mainstream cinema