Lockhart's "Goshogaoka"

Lockhart’s “Goshogaoka” is an interesting take on mixed media. This film is a choreographed Japanese girls’ basketball practice that speaks to the synthesis between theatrical dance and film study. Lockhart sets her camera up at half court directly in front of the stage that adorns the end of the court. The fact that the whole film is shot in front of a stage gives it a performance aspect as if this practice was being done specifically for us to watch. The more and more I though about this film, the more I realized the voyeurism that backs the whole concept. Watching a basketball practice is something someone does on the sidelines, trying not to be a distraction to the players. Since the audience is an auditorium of people and the film is shot in front of a stage it seems like this was a practice for a routine to be performed on that stage. I would have enjoyed this film quite a bit more had it been an instillation in a gallery accompanied by film stills that Lockhart had showed us. The stills seem like a much more thoughtfully composed way of conveying movement in a Brechtian style; capturing action at its most active.

Porterfield's "Hamilton"

Porterfield’s dialogue-based 16mm film “Hamilton” deals with family, becoming an adult and the individual. All three of these topics are things that are very relevant to me at this time in my life. This is portrayed in the film by steady shots; biographical imagery that allows the audience more time than they need to consider the characters' dilemmas. We can feel the angst and hopeless feeling that comes with the realization that one is completely self-sufficient. These steady shots are composed in ways that allow viewers to feel the emotion that is trying to be portrayed, not by dialogue, but by contemplation of these portraits. One must consider the way in which the town is conveyed and slowness of the camera; the heat we feel from a small town on a summer’s day.
Something that really fascinates me in cinematography is any attempt to express something to an audience without the use of dialogue or sound. Expressing emotion strictly by utilizing what one knows about the human psyche and imagery is an art in and of itself. What a beautiful way of using a camera if a human can connect on a deeply emotional level without being prompted by the mise-en-scene. If I’ve found anything in experimental film that I can really attach to it’s using a camera in a way that is more human than machine.