Artist Manifesto/Deren/Camper

Truthfully, I find it somewhat difficult to create an artist manifesto for myself this early into my career in film. While I am proud of the most of the short films that I have worked on so far in my studies at the university, I would say the product does not match the vision that I have. Thus, based on work alone, so far I cannot truthfully create an artist manifesto for myself. I can however, speak briefly of the things that intrigue me most about films themselves. From early on, I found myself always putting myself into the shoes of characters in these films. My favorite films are works in which the one finds themselves empathizing and connecting with a character on deep levels. When a film presents dynamic characters and lets us see into the psyches, to examine details of their lives and what makes them tick, that is one of the most attractive elements I take away from a film. 

My favorite film all time is Christopher Nolan's The Prestige. A story of two illusionists at the turn of the 20th century, they develop a rivalry in their stage shows that will eventually drive both of them stark raving mad and to the point of death. The film so meticulously shows both characters slow decent into madness over the years with a complex and constant shuffling between the years. A film that presents such a rich atmosphere of period work, combining drama and illusion, coupled with such dynamic characters going after each other, is just an example of why film compels me so much. To create such characters and display their twisted minds to an audience is something I hope to be able to do someday. I haven't achieved that yet, but this is my goal that I am working towards. 

Maya Deren's short article really spoke to me when she described that no matter how technical you can make a tripod, or any piece of gear, that we as humans are already in possession of the ultimate filmmaking tool: our bodies equipped with a brain. Deren says that we all shouldn't be limited by any factor because we are possessing creativity in our ability to make films, and that imagination and freedom should be the determining factor in what we can produce. I couldn't agree more. Any film, even a clichéd, overused attempt at making money, is an expression of creativity, and a product of the human mind working together to make a film. Truly imaginative film is like art in motion, just like Deren says. Just like a photographer can capture a moment in time to create their art, we as filmmakers can celebrate the art of motion in the creation of our art. 

In Fred Camper's short article, he tries to lay out several criteria or basic guidelines for what constitutes an experimental film. Camper asses that an experimental film usually is made by a single person, or at the very least, very few people, often filling most roles of a normal production and eschewing the normal production model for a mainstream film. Camper says that an experimental film doesn't usually tell any sort of story, and if it does, it is in a nonlinear fashion. An experimental film also draws attention to the medium of film itself, such as through scratches and paintings and collage work done right on the film stock, as if to scream out "hey! look at me, I'm a film!!" Camper also contends that these types of films buck the usual trends of mass media, and don't usually have any sort of message. I agree with most of Campers points on experimental films, but I feel personally that in this realm of filmmaking, it is so wide open, it's really difficult and somewhat pointless to try and attach or categorize experimental films. They are what they are, and that can very well be anything that they damn well please to be. Experimental filmmaking is moving art, an expression of freedom, and while Camper does create a nifty little list to try and pin down what exactly constitutes an experimental film, I think this misses the point. This mode of filmmaking is freedom, so we shouldn't go about trying to pin down and define something that often cannot be defined.