Monday, September 29, 2008

Robert Schaller Film Screenings

   I went to go see the Robert Schaller screening of his many experimental films at the UWM Union Theater. I thought it was very interesting to sit in the theater and not only watch his films, but watch him project them. One film in particular, was projected on the screen using three different projectors. It was by far my favorite film of his to watch. The three projectors projected vertical side by side images of a woman dancing. Vanessa O'Neill's film "Suspension" was also made to be projected using two projectors, only her images are meant to overlap one another. I found this multiple projection technique to be very amusing and intriguing. It adds a whole new dimension to watching a film. To me, it wasn't like watching just a film, it was more like an exhibited work of art. 
   Watching Rober Schaller project his film made me feel like I was at a real show, not just a film screening. I loved watching him focus the projectors and adjust and move them. I thought it was cool that the filmmaker himself was showing his work, not just a theater projectionist. Even though the images I saw on the screen were very simple, of a girl dancing in black and white, it was very entertaining to see her "jump" from screen to screen. 
Vanessa O'Neill's film was very simple but the double projector added depth to the images. The images looked to me like a plane runway or racing blurs, and waves in the ocean.  One projected image was black and white, and the other was color. The color film was a aqua blue color.  The overlapped projectors gave the images more life, since they were so simple. They were more jumpy and had more movement, since there was more than one outline for the objects. I did not find the film too entertaining, but thanks to the overlapping projection, there was more visual excitement. 
The multiple projectors was something had never heard of or seen in person before, so it was quite fascinating and inventive in my eyes. I thought that the multiple projectors added a complexity and more creative feel to the works.