Scratch Film Junkies... A Response

I enjoyed how the film seemed like an abstract painting, but in motion. It was as if an abstract piece of art that I would find in a museum came alive, like Picasso meets Dr. Frankenstein. This would be the monster of Dr. Picasso. A painting can be said to be "full of life" but a key to life (in my opinion) is movement, and what is film but art in motion? Film brings life to static art... this film by the Scratch Film Junkies was art (film, painting, drawing, sculpture, music) brought alive through motion.

I also really enjoyed what I am assuming to be found footage. It was just people that no one in particular is supposed to know, and they somehow manipulated these people by scratching or painting on them to transform them into something more interesting. No one likes to watch other people's home movies, but if they are manipulated into art, as done here, we might be more inclined.

Also, I liked how the film went from mundane, almost black and white to an explosion of very bright colors. The contrast really catches the audiences attention.

I honestly can't say if I liked how the pictures correlated with the soundtrack. I guess I liked how sometimes the pictures had a rhythm similar to the soundtrack, and then it would jump to a bunch of disjointed things. My only problem was that I did not really see a purpose for the changes in rhythm matching with visual and then when the soundtrack did not match with the visual. Avante garde film is certainly an area where I am lacking in knowledge and this may make more sense to someone who has studied more experimental films.

Overall I found the film enjoyable even though all the flashing gave me a bit of a headache. I'm hoping this is something that will go away with time in watching more of these scratched/painted films. Sometimes I just wish my brain could slow it all down and focus on things for more than 1/24th of a second, but I guess that would defeat the purpose of the film all together.

I also question what makes one of these films "good". Again, my lack in knowledge and experience with experimental and avante garde film surely plays into this, but if I were to send in a film similar to the Scratch Film Junkies to a festival, and they also submitted theirs, who's would be accepted, and why? My initial reaction would be that it is all based on the individual watching it and what sort of reaction it garners from them. It could be brilliant to one and a piece of junk to another (which I'm sure is what my family will think when I come home with, what I find to be, a brilliant experimental film and they completely hate it).

All questions that may or may not be answered this semester, and although I am both amazed and confused by these experimental films I can say with conviction that I am extremely excited to be able to make some of my own very soon in this class.