Project 1B: Film/Sequence


The following short film is an exploration of Dziga Vertov’s ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ (1929). Essentially I used Vertov’s experiments with montage to shoot a series of fragments that depict the city as a whole. Vertov shot the film with a 35mm film camera then edited the footage using the cement method which both documented and distorted time and space. Similarly, I ventured into the city with my Iphone 6 and framed my shots 4–5 seconds at a time. The shots were then combined and edited on Adobe Premier Pro to achieve the collision effects.

Below are 10 stills from both films; the first 5 are Vertov’s (Figure 1) and the next 5 are mine (Figure 2).

Figure 1: stills from Dziga Vertov’s — ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ (1929)
Figure 2: stills from ‘CI FRAGMENTS TY’

I composed my shots by focusing on Vertov’s mise en scene — water fountain, lift, shadows, eyes — alongside an array of techniques he deploys — low angle, close up/extreme-close up, time-lapse, panning. The low angle shot help exaggerate the buildings and surrounding features as they appear larger and more distorted than they are. I framed an assortment of shots close-up to further extract parts that I wish to draw attention to. Having an extreme-close up of the eye allows a detailed examination of the subject whereby the eye will move in the direction which the next frame follows. The time lapse was used to depict how little time I wish to spend on urban roads; I chose a fast-paced minimal soundtrack to match my impatience for driving. Essentially I wished to convey a feeling of discomfort, emptiness and desolation which overwhelms us, at times, in the city.

Soundtrack: Youandewan — ‘1988'

Reference List

RVISION 2016, Man with a Movie Camera (1929) movie, video recording, YouTube, viewed 13 July 2017, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGYZ5847FiI>

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