| Re: Season of the Severed Head, resumed |
Plus ca change plus c'es .. |
| elag (elag@cloud9.net) |
2003/07/24 00:23 |
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From: elag <elag@cloud9.net>
Newsgroups: alt.surrealism
Subject: Re: Season of the Severed Head, resumed
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 02:23:53 -0400
Organization: Plus ca change plus c'est la meme chose
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Parry wrote:
>
> elag <elag@cloud9.net> wrote in message news:<3F18D735.BB78DA99@cloud9.net>...
> [snips]
> > > > If I may, I'll suggest a few favorite gems which represent the pinnacle
> > > > of the silent era...
> > > >
> > > > Sunrise (1927) F.W. Murnau, Pandora's Box (1928) G.W. Pabst, The Crowd
> > > > (1928) King Vidor, The Lodger (1926) Hitchcock.
> > > >
> > > > I've purposely restricted these to more available titles, and I've
> > > > avoided comedies because the list would be 100 films long.
> > >
> > > Available in some places, but I'd probably have to go to Moosomin to
> > > find titles like those. Sadly, I haven't seen any of those films. But
> > > as I said most of the ones I have been able to see left a great
> > > impression on me. Particularly Stroheim's "Greed" and "Foolish Wives,"
> > > most anything by Keaton, "Haxan." And "Nosferatu," "Phantom of the
> > > Opera," "Hunchback of Notre Dame." Also "Napoleon," Eisenstein, a
> > > couple of Fritz Lang. Not to forget the shorts -- comedies, Melies,
> > > "Un Chien Andalou." The titles you mentioned are on my wish-list,
> > > along with Feuillade serials and some Tod Browning. A fellow in
> > > England reported seeing "Unholy Three" with live accompaniment
> > > provided by John Cale. Yikes.
> >
> > There are no decent video stores, library collections, repertory/art
> > houses, museum film societies in your area? I guess you could buy a few
> > of the best ones if you can spare the cotter.
> >
> > I kind of like the John Cale idea. I can't imagine what it might sound
> > like. I'm looking at stills from the film right now and I still can't
> > imagine it. I wonder if it will be as hated as the version of
> > Metropolis w/ pop songs? I saw that one and at the time it didn't
> > bother me and I did like the tinting. I wonder what I'd think if I saw
> > it now.
>
> I don't know if the Cale performance was recorded for release. I hope
> it was. In my own humble music experiments, when I'm against the wall
> I ask myself "what would JC do?" I expect his soundtrack had no pop
> songs and was probably instrumental piano several planets removed from
> Queen.
I read about his score for THE UNKNOWN, which supposedly used "a very
synthesized artificial tone which did not fit in with the film", but I
don't know if it was anything like the UNHOLY THREE score.
> On a related note, there have been at least two rock
> soundtracks for the film "Nosferatu" -- from Art Zoyd and Faust -- and
> a third album inspired by the movie, by the Stranglers' Hugh Cornwell.
> And Bill Nelson recorded a soundtrack for "The Cabinet of Dr.
> Caligari." None of these are stadium rock, thankfully.
It all sounds good, but I think I've only seen it w/ indistinct piano
accompaniment. I think a heavy organ track would work w/ that one.
>
> Videos for silents often come will dull orchestral accompaniment, so
> sometimes I'll just turn the volume off and play a cd of quiet piano
> music, which is generally effective. Once the library ran a silent
> that had come without a soundtrack so we just played an Erik Satie cd
> along to it. Invariably, sections of the music and film will have
> fortuitous coincidence, and people were actually asking how we had
> managed to sync the music and image. And one boring day I cobbled
> together a soundtrack for "Sherlock Jr." using the fantastic player
> piano pieces of Conlon Nancarrow. I thought it worked out terrific
> and, again, mostly by accident.
The mind seeks connexions and usually finds them. It's amazing how
often playing random music w/ images creates the impression of careful
sync. Nearly anything will sync up w/ a film for short stretches. This
is a good lesson for an editor to learn.
Have you heard the Urban Legend" about "Dark Side Of The Moon"
(intentionally) synching perfectly w/ "Wizard of Oz"?
>
> [snips]
> > > > > Another time I crudely re-edited an 8mm copy of
> > > > > a silent film and made a soundtrack for it from a Popeye the Sailor
> > > > > album. It was almost watchable.
> > > >
> > > > I'd be willing to watch it.
> > >
> > > I wonder what ever became of it. It's sort of a lost... um, whatever
> > > the opposite of "treasure" is.
> >
> > Perhaps the lost object has a power far beyond the actual object. The
> > memory of the object influences future objects in a positive way that
> > confrontation with the actual objects flaws could not.
>
> I think so, though in this case the film was quite a mess and its
> flaws were the best thing about it. Fortunately, those flaws were
> numerous and massive.
I prefer flawed to slick any old time. Flaws can be endearing when they
are artifacts of reaching for heights which can not yet be seen.
>
> > > > > What sort of approaches do you think you could take? Perhaps just
> > > > > filming with the intention of projecting the final result without
> > > > > sound? Or are there other aspects of silents which appeal to you?
> > > >
> > > > Well, what I'm thinking of right now is making a silent cartoon w/
> > > > synchronized music roughly in the style of 20's cartoon's, which I've
> > > > lately been researching. It's really just a convenient peg upon which
> > > > to hang a loosely structured series of visual gags, while borrowing the
> > > > more absurd and dreamlike ideas from throughout the history of the early toons.
> > >
> > > McLaren was influenced by Emile Cohl. One never knows where a squiggly
> > > line may end up.
> >
> > Yeah, I guess all animators are at least indirectly influenced by that
> > early stuff. I just dubbed a library copy of a collection of early
> > animation, and I'll say that it is valuable to occasionally go back to
> > the source. For all their flaws they do have a certain charm.
> >
> > > > I like the idea of working in a simple and graphic style and borrowing
> > > > some of my favorite themes from the Jazz age like Rum Runners, Hobos &
> > > > Flappers. It doesn't have to literally seem like a lost film from the
> > > > era but that's the general idea visually. Thematically, the story board
> > > > is looking increasingly like early Fleischer Bros. stuff.
> > >
> > > Lots of metamorphosing?
> >
> > It is hard to describe as I'm still developing the ideas. I do want to
> > hold to the basic concept that "everything in the drawn world is of the
> > same stuff".
> >
> > I don't want to return to the "Out Of The Inkwell" literality, but I do
> > want to create a plastic world.
> >
> > To give you an idea of the concept... the story so far involves two
> > characters who chase a dropped dime down into the sewers and encounter a
> > light fingered rat, albino alligators, rum runners distilling juniper
> > juice, and hobos riding the rails.
>
> Sort of Ed Norton in Wonderland?
I'd rather it be Ed Wood in Blunderland. A few Caroll jokes wouldn't be
out of place in this sort of thing... either that or Atlantis.
> Personally, I like stories about futile searches down holes. Consider Oak Island! Such a hapless trip
> was also basically the subject of the only short fiction I've ever had
> published. In my cartoon, the two searchers would follow the dime down
> the sewer then into an alligator's mouth, where they would find a new
> landscape and ride the rails off the edge of the earth.
My characters, Mr. Blank & Mr. White, won't go quite so far... the Earth
is room enough when you're sailing in a newspaper boat.
>
> > > > At the very least it will be a load of fun to make.
> > >
> > > Sounds interesting. How do you intend to animate it?
> >
> > I haven't quite figured out all of the technical issues, but it will be
> > a digital creation. I'll use 2D animation software and a drawing tablet
> > along w/ Photoshop and possibly scanned images to create a more or less
> > fully animated B&W digital tape. Xfer to film is a possibility.
> >
> > I've already done some low res "pencil tests" using freeware
> > "GifBuilder" and Photoshop.
> >
> > I'll record the music myself using an old guitar, a cheap harmonica, a
> > wheezy organ, an antique cow bell and any other noisemakers I can dig
> > up. I imagine that sync will be a nightmare but I'll figure it out as I
> > go along.
> >
> > Because of the time necessary to animate something like this I won't be
> > able to start in earnest for quite some time.
>
> It's certainly piqued my interest.
I wish I could start now... maybe in 6 months or so. At least it gives
me plenty of time to consider bad puns to use for a title.
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