Sadly, I was unable to attend the talk in person, but I enjoyed getting to watch the Facebook live stream. I thought this Lunchtime Lecture was very interesting, Sasha Waters Freyer is the Department Chair of Photo/Film at VCU as well as an independent film maker. She originally studied photo and film and makes documentaries as well as experimental films. Her recent documentary, "Gary Winogrand: All Things are Photographable," will air soon on PBS n the American Master's series. Her other passion in photo/film is what she calls "experimental films." In these she often draws upon archival footage, sometimes even reshooting the original film shot by shot, as well as filming herself things she finds interesting on 16 mm film. By doing this, she creates an artistic film which she compares to poetry, building the film shot by shot similar to poetry being built word by word.
I found this talk to be very interesting. I enjoyed hearing about her processes and her career as a filmmaker. When I was younger, I always was interested in filmmaking even taking a class in Super8 film, which reminded me of the 16mm film she used in her experimental pieces. So to see someone doing film successfully as a career is inspiring. More abstract, non narrative films seem like something I would not enjoy but I found her experimental films to be quite intriguing, I think the audio she added post-production adds an interesting element. I don't think I'd seen any experimental films before so this was a completely new idea. I don't think I would personally do this, but I would like to learn more and try it out. She also talked about the extremely long process of making a film which definitely makes me appreciate them more. Her message about pursuing your true interests I think is important to hear and I definitely am trying to figure that out although I'm quite conflicted at the moment. Her experience at the MacDowell Artists Colony sounds really cool and like a great way to have time to explore and focus on your art away from distractions. I would love to try something like that in the future. Overall, I enjoyed her talk a lot and it definitely inspired me to think about trying new media and possibly experimenting with film. Here are some links to her websites/more info: And here is one of her experimental films, Respiration:
2 Comments
Ria Bakshi
3/1/2019 11:18:18 am
Interesting response to the lunchtime lecture, I wish you were there! I’m surprised that you don’t see yourself trying out experimental films yourself in the future; is there something specific about the process that doesn’t vibe with you? I also like how you connected to the message Freyer left us with about following your passion- I think we’re all looking for our passions right now. Great job with this response!
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MM
3/10/2019 09:25:47 am
Very nice post! You wrote: "More abstract, non narrative films seem like something I would not enjoy but I found her experimental films to be quite intriguing." I am thinking about this in comparison to AbEx painting - I know that was a challenge for you so I wonder where you will end up going with your art? It would be great if you ever circled back to film...
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