In my final project Film on Film, I want to argue that film should still exist in today’s world. Over the past few months, I examined avant-garde films from the 60s and 70s (or, we could call them Structural/Materialist films in a broader context) as case studies and tried to look at film as a material. I learned that the artists of that era explored the possibilities of film—the material—in the production process, and they “refer to the medium itself” (Brigit Hein, Film as Film, p. 93). Looking at this aspect of film, we can say that film has a unique texture that cannot be replaced by other formats and that film should be kept alive.

 

My final project has two parts: a screening that showcases the example of the case study, and an exhibition practicing the way of filmmaking in the ’70s.

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Part 1: Screening of Berlin Horse

(1970, dir. Malcolm Le Grice)

[4th of July, Close-Up Cinema. 11:00 a.m.]

 

*Malcolm Le Grice, the director of this film will join the discussion after the screening

 

Berlin Horse is an example of regarding film as a material. It uses techniques like repeating, colour grading and negative effects, and also a large number of the current techniques in the 1970s. By using all these techniques, Berlin Horse reveals the different possibility of celluloid.

 

The original footage of this film is shot on 8mm colour. Le Grice blew up the image into 16mm black and white and added colour by using filter in printing process. The same effect has been added to a found footage shot in 1900 and the found footage appears at the ending part of the film.

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Part 2: Exhibition (loop screening)

[5th – 10th of July, London Gallery West. 9:00-17:00]

 

There are two loop screenings in the exhibition: one with a super 8-mm projector and the other digital. The two projectors show the same sequences selected from the 1970s Hollywood blockbuster Airport (1970, dir. George Seaton). By comparing a seasoned 8-mm film print that has scratches, dots and faded colour to a digital file that shows the marks of digital conversion, I wish to show the audience the features of celluloid and digital. I am not trying to express that one is better than the other, but just trying to show the distinct effects of each material.

 

The loop screening with the film hung on the ceiling will show scratches being added to the film. A few hours later, the image will fade away, and the marks caused by the mechanical movement of the projector will be left on the film and shown onscreen. This will enhance the character of film as a material—it is easy for it to lose its image. And that is the nature of film as a material.

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With the display of the avant-garde film directly to the audience, and a practice of process it by adding textures in the exhibition, a connection between the present and the past will be built as we look back to the 70s to seek out the value of film.

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