Exploring The Poetic Mode Through Experimental Filmmaking.

The Girl Chewing Gum.   https://vimeo.com/120689555

The Girl Chewing Gum is a 1976 British short film directed by John Smith. The film is widely acknowledged as one of the most important avant-garde films of the 20th century. 

The film is a 16 mm black and white film with narration from the director himself. The film consists of two camera shots. The first occupies the major portion of the film and is located at an intersection in London. People walk through this scene and cars drive past while a voiceover of Smith appears to provide directions for the movements of people. The film records the everyday action objectively rather than glorifying or dramatising it. While the camera i placed on a tripod smith narrative the ongoing narration of the public. Initially instructing them, then describing their actions this film offers a style of documentary that is both conventional and experimental. The observational mode of documentary offers an alternative view of the mundane. This documentary has inspired me as i wanted to use my film to create something which is experimental and offers a fresh perspective to the viewer. Just as smith's film offers a reality which seems constructed and artificial i want the film to examine and explore the relationship between the visuals and the sound. 

Vertigo Sea.  https://vimeo.com/154881627

Vertigo Sea, is a three-screen film, is a sensual, poetic and cohesive meditation on man's relationship with the sea and exploration of its role in the history of slavery, migration, and conflict. Fusing archival footage, readings from classical sources, and newly shot footage, the work explicitly highlights the greed, horror and cruelty of the whaling industry. This material is then juxtaposed with shots of African migrants crossing the ocean in a journey fraught with danger in hopes of ‘better life’ and thus delivering a timely and potent reminder of the current issues around global migration, the refugee crisis, slavery, alongside ecological concerns. The combination of these issues integrated as one in relation of the subject of the sea and created a mutual link between all of these elements and puts it in perspective for the viewer. the film is created by John Akomfrah who has examined this conflicted yet at times beautiful, and survival relationship between man and nature as a way of exploring and integrating his self identity and historical context together. 

Sans Soleil  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K8j3MU9dw4

Sans Soleil is a French documentary directed by Chris Marker, showcasing a meditation on the nature of human memory, showing the inability to recall the context and nuances of memory, and how, as a result, the perception of personal and global histories is affected. Expanding the documentary genre, this experimental essay-film is a composition of thoughts, images and scenes, mainly from Japan and some other scenes were filmed in Iceland, Paris and San Fransisco. This poetic film narrates the viewer through a female voiceover in which she reads a letter sent to her by a fictitious cameraman. Often labelled as an essay film or travelogue the film is composed using fictional content which is derived from the juxtaposition of narrative and image that adds meaning and depth to the film along with the movement of locations and lack of character based narrative. The main composition of the videography allowed me to explore further within my own films narrative and how i can present my audio format in a visually satisfying.