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Avant-Garden. The Film and Art of the Garden
Avant Garden- the Film and Art of the Garden combines the skills, abilities and methods of the good gardener—careful observation of the environment, walking, selecting a territory, cultivating hybrids and exotic species, grafting and editing, waiting, imagining the passer-by/spectator, projecting a film for the future, taking it out of the hothouse and, when spring is on the way, placing it back in its natural surroundings. The subject includes sessions of theory and analysis, fieldwork and individual tasks, because ultimately, the work requires the filmmaker to commune with the place. From October to January, students on the Creation course will have to propose, produce, make, edit and exhibit a film garden— a garden of images and sounds that will be placed back in nature at the end of the winter. With Carlos Muguiro and Helena Wittman.
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Dreaming about sound
On very few occasions, if ever, do we associate the processes of dreaming with hearing. There is probably a simple biological reason for this: while we dream, although we temporarily switch off our sight so that we can enjoy other virtual images, our hearing always remains alert, always ready to make up for the sacrifice that rest imposes on our sight. As a result, although it sounds strange, there are no sound dreams. Every sound that we dream is irremediably linked to an image, whether this is abstract or figurative. This event offers an exercise based on sleepy listening (elusive, unfocussed..), in a kind of sound siesta, or perhaps more fittingly, a drowsy concert-listening session. In short, an entire long relaxing night, with a suitable soundtrack provided by pieces of radio art, in which the audience can sleep while listening or listen while sleeping. Cinema without light, without dialogue and without seats. The nuances and differences depend on each dream, we’ll let the comments be heard during breakfast.
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The photochemical image. 16 mm Laboratory (I) and (II)
Divided into two parts, the subject begins by introducing students to the essential tools and techniques required for filming in 16 mm: camera, light meter, loading the film, lenses, etc. Secondly, it offers a basic introduction to the procedures involved in developing black-and-white and colour film by hand. Through theory and practice in developing different types of film and processes, the second part of the subject looks at the photochemical material during processing in the dark room. Students will learn about the chemical treatments and the alterations suffered by this type of material, in order to understand its qualities, its physical and aesthetic performance and its deterioration, as well as its creative possibilities. We will process material shot in the school. With Uxue Jiménez and Luis Macías.
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The camera and objects
During this course we will reflect on how our perception of the world changes when we look at it through the lens of a 16 mm camera, how we explore the world and how we can create sensitive universes. To do so, we will move between theory and practice, striving to go beyond the limits and assumptions that limit and standardise the way we understand film and its processes. With Helena Girón and Samuel Delgado.
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Starting Point
Prior to the project presentation week, the idea of the writing sessions is for students to examine the nature of their project and the best approach methods.
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Permanent film sound observatory
The Observatory is involved throughout the academic year, providing a space for training, practice and research in sound. In addition to pre-established themes, it can also adapt to the specific needs of group members at any time, linking into practical work and projects under development, in the areas of sound recording and postproduction. Throughout the year, the observatory also builds links between the area of sound and other subjects, to form an ongoing echo chamber.
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Digital observatory
A space for examining the tools of the digital image and data management from a technical perspective, from filming all the way through to postproduction.
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Viewpoints and the visual and audio construction of scenes
This subject specifically addresses construction of film scenes, on the basis that all scenes arise from a confrontation with what cannot be represented (excessive, unencompassable nature). Thus, on the basis of this specific case, it delves deep into an articulation of the viewpoint.
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The photochemical image. 16 mm Laboratory (III)
Second part of the subject, centring on the developing of colour film.
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Imagined films
Are the films we don't make actually films? Does cinema only encompass the films that manage to get made? Or does it also include all the others we only imagine and plan for? Failure and error are often the springboard for getting things right and discovering new paths. In many different domains—science, business and art, for example—there are plenty of examples of a failed or erroneous project leading to a new discovery. In this course we will take a look at some failed projects and mistakes, analysing them from an educational and constructive perspective. We will be discussing all those unmade films and projects which—despite never seeing the light of day—form part of the dreamt filmography of the filmmaker.
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Study of a place
This subject involves observation and fantasy, capturing and writing; while these activities might seem contradictory, even paradoxical, they operate together in the process of building a film location.
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Looking at the face. The logic of the portrait
Film is the construction of time within time. Encapsulating an impression of a person in cinematic form therefore requires the filmmaker to live in and with the real world. However complex and unattainable it may seem; it is a road worth taking. That coexistence gradually models the future portrait, amplifying the importance of the work in reaction, freeing the creative process from self-absorption, redefining the ideas of impetus, intention, control, direction and honesty, all key concepts in ensuring that the film realises its humanist potential. After all, the filmmaker's gaze must meet the eyes of those looking back at him or her. There is a meeting of eyes that defines the film and, as in any relationship, it is from there that life emerges. From January to October, Creation students will have to propose, produce, make, edit and exhibit a film portrait. With the participation of Ana Pfaff and Mikel Gurrea.
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Musical structure and composition
What can music theory teach filmmakers? This subject introduces students to the concepts of musical composition and structure and, by extension, to other art disciplines, in order to help them interrogate and explore these two aesthetic tools in the context of cinema.
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Seeing films
The course focuses on our thoughts and feelings whilewatching a film. We will look at short films by the students and films in relation to the subject "Portraits" (i.e. by Marie Menken, Margaret Tait, Robert Beavers, Bruce Baillie, Ernie Gehr, Maya Deren, Helen Levitt, Dore O.). Immediately after seeing one film we will write down notes emphasizing our personal experiences evoked by the film. It is not easy to be aware of the thoughts and feelings we have while seeing a film. Often, we remember pleasant and unpleasant moments of a film and develop an opinion, which is not asked for in this workshop. We will just listen to each other’s notes, and by the different ways of responding to a film - observations, associations, memories, feelings and thoughts - we may experience the film more complexly.
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Randomness vs. control
Dichotomy between control and randomness, as two extremes that can be used to arrange, structure, choreograph and regulate film staging. In the course of the week issues will be addressed in connection with the conception of the image as the implementation of an idea or a search for an image. Certain aspects are discussed in relation to planning, composition and construction of a sequence, and means of improvisation.
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Construction of audio universes
This subject specifically addresses all phases of the design and construction of audio universes: ideation, work criteria, relations with images, gestation of projects based on sound, mixing etc. The multisensory power of images and sound. The synaesthetic sensory stimulation of images and sounds and the articulation of their paradoxical power in film.
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Articulations of the word
The traditional dichotomy between word and image, as opposing, distant entities, conceals the enormous power of words for conjuring up those very (poetic, mental and conceptual) images. In this subject, we aim to study the relationship which exists between verbal and iconic images and how they can and do relate to one another.
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The human body and cinema
This class outlines an approach to working with bodies on film beyond the adherence to a script and acting and towards forms of being through art making. We will study performances for that transcend acting and drama and focus on gesture and presence. We will root our practice in varied traditions such as Carolee Schneemann, Andy Warhol, Robert Bresson and Peggy Ahwesh. We will practice situations with bodies in space, everyday gestures, and other forms of being that disrupt suspension of disbelief. We will read and discuss a number of short fiction works, philosophical and poetic texts and create new ways to play with the presence of the body on film.
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Construction and control of desire and emotion
Identification, lost in one’s thoughts, the projection of emotion, distance and desire are components which have always played an active role in the psychological machinery of a film. Whether this is due to activation of these projection mechanisms or to the fact that they are questioned, films have been systematically compelled to resolve the dilemmas of this second projection: not by the projector, but by the vision machinery. This subject examines the issues of dual projection from both the perspective of viewers and from the perspective of creation.
