The Glory of Experimental Films
I would like to share some of favorite experimental short form films. The experimentation encompasses both form and content in unbelievably innovative manners. They are a constant source of inspiration and wonder to me and I hope after watching them there will be new followers to the flock of experimental cinema devotees.
Flex – Chris Cunningham
This video installation can only be described as savagely beautiful. Cunningham is so way out there it’s exhilarating as well as scary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f80j_hzAzlg
Old Man and the Sea – Alex Petrov
Petrov is the master of the extremely rare and poetic art of painting on glass. Watch his Oscar nominated short and you will be astounded that he paints directly onto sheets of glass using his fingertips. SALUD !!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvK-Bjzm3AQ
Speed of Sound – Mark Romanek / Harris Savides
This video might seem run of the mill apart from the gorgeous imagery but look closer and you will realize that in reality it’s a herald of things to come. The video has been lit entirely by computer controlled LED panels which can be programmed to change colors and patterns at will. The buzz is that within a few years LEDs will replace tungsten and HMI lights as the lighting instrument of choice coz of the incredible control and efficiency. The future beckons.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iLt1U7A2-s
Open Your Eyes – Claude Lelouch / Snow Patrol
Combine a great song from a acclaimed band along with an old cult film by a French master and you get a hauntingly beautiful MV which is a stunning example of utilizing found footage and changing the context entirely.
Read about the original film – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%27%C3%A9tait_un_rendez-vous
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybr8Z6pzVs0
More – Mark Osborne
One of the most moving and innovative uses of stop motion animation with an incredibly powerful story and message.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo3mnXGbJlg
One More Time – Daft Punk / Leiji Matsumoto
Daft Punk had the brilliant brain wave to make the visual equivalent of their beloved album “Discovery” in the form of “Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem”. The feature length film is completely devoid of dialog and each track of the album can is basically a plot point and takes the story forward. The retro anime style is just gorgeous and the film has long since ascended the pantheon of cult favorites. One more time is my fav song of the album and is a great standalone short film in itself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXC70kVNcsY
Cat Concerto – Hanna & Barbera
A 60 year old Academy Award winning Tom and Jerry cartoon which uses Liszt’s sublime Hungarian Rhapsody no 2 both as the basis of the story as and the primary visual motif. The melding of music and visuals within the framework of the Tom and Jerry universe is a jaw dropping achievement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLhGb5r5An0&feature=related
Lemme know if you guys are interested and I’ll keep adding more films to the list.
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Thanks Mithun!
Here’s Brakhage’s ‘Mothlight’, a film in which the camera was eliminated!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XaGh0D2NXCA
Mithun
Thanks for Sharing.
Love the Speed of Sound Video by Romanak. He is really awesome. But I would not calling that video experiemntal. It was just trying a new sort of lighting.
Experimental would be FLEX & OPEN YOUR EYES(Awesome)
Check this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3ClCwcCvdQ
@Amit
Mothlight was the first Brakhage film I saw. Have you seen Black Ice ? It’s like an LSD trip.
Try watching it while listening to the Trent Reznor / 1000 Homo Djs version of Supernaut. You can pretty much eliminate the drugs.
@Mainak
Grant me the cinematographer’s indulgence of getting excited by the experimentation of lighting via a computer. :-)
Glazer is waaaay cool. Have you seen Sexy Beast?
Mithun,
Could you please provide me with the Web site link so I can learn about the UTV internship for the North America region?
Thanks!
“Going To School In A Desert” – a simple short film:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=uNlXORrxIWo
@Curious
UTV doesn’t have an internship program per se and the only reason I got it was coz I have worked with them before and I needed the credit for school.
They are based in LA and only take on extra help during a huge release like in the case of JA. My internship only lasted a week.
I could try and hook you up with an internship in India if you are interested but having the necessary experience is a prerequisite.
Thank you for the information, Mithun. I am in the U.S. so I won’t be able to go to India to do an internship there :( But, thank you for offering to help. By the way, what is your email ID in case I need to get in touch with you about more information in the near future?
Is there a Web site for the LA branch of UTV I can check out–my expertise is public relations/marketing/advertising–Integrated Marketing Communications basically, so if they have a Web site, I can check for job openings since I will be graduating soon.
Thanks!
@HG
Awesomely shot but the VO is really distracting. For a kutchi boy to be speaking english in a public school accent totally breaks the fourth wall.
I would have much preferred the VO in the native language with english subtitles. The Brazilians do it all the time and it doesn’t take away an iota from the film. Check this out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw5xZHFfJbQ
Sorry there isn’t an American website. My email is mithun.gang@gmail.com
you know, the voiceover should have been in Gujarati or Kutchi, but then, I thought, perhaps the maker wanted to show that the kids in those isolated area are a bit smart or something. but i don’t find it distracting. if they did that for the international scene then that is wrong..
…nevertheless, I liked it.
btw, that Joga Bonito is a Nike thing… to encourage beautiful football….
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joga_Bonito
… and they have got Robhino because he plays for Brasil, and their kit is sponsored by Nike. And maybe his boots as well…
Yeah I know. I got the dvd at the time of the last world cup. Robinho hadn’t signed for Madrid then nor had he been named in the Brazil squad. It’s a beautiful documentary produced by Fernando Meirelles.
You talking about 2006 world cup? Real Madrid signed him in 2005-2006 season, so just before World Cup…
this is my favorite Joga Bonito..
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2P7RBRhFcSU
wow! great post Mithun. Thanks for all the links. Now, all I need is time to watch them!
@HG
lol never thought people will ever discuss joga bonito here. You must have seen Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Zlatan Ibrahimovic video
@Mithun thanks for the links..had seen old man and the sea earlier aling with making of it..have to check out others thanks..just a passing thought..could you write a post of hong kong school of film making or japanese horror films..that particular genre..saw “reincarnation”…one of the japanese horror movies recently
I don’t watch horror films so that’s pretty much out. As far as HK goes u gotta specify the genre ie wuxia, heroic bloodshed, arthouse etc.
Do add more film in the list
I am adding the one I have seen today
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IM6aYHjfMI
@Manoj
Fucking brilliant film.
Is anybody interesting in watching the first spec MV I made for film school ? It’s kinda experimental in the sense I mixed found footage and rushes to make a narrative.
manoj, balance was.. amazing! thanks for sharing that.. will have to look up more on the same
The amazing Todd McFarlane (Image Comics fame) directed these two brilliant MVs from Pearl Jam and Disturbed. U can easily make out his signature style from the Spawn comics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoNmNmXExZ8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KW8DRSvEoQ
The original Land of Confusion video by Genesis is also very very cool. Invisible Touch was the first album I ever owned.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBdUz_IJ4VA
a post i had written previously about short films… check out the original short film SAW before it became the franchise that it is now.. damn i love the idea behind the series
http://passionforcinema.com/size-doesnt-matter/
sourav, do a PFC search on asian horror (use search box below in the purple section).. you’ll find quite a few articles written over the past year or so that might quench your thirst on the topic..
@ Striker thanx..
@mithun..For HK anything would do..since i dont study films i am not aware of the genre you mentioned..bot am sur i have seen them..so take your pick..and start a post.
adding one more to this list…. got it on google
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppAn0LNU_V8
and one more
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8fZZ4Bsf3s