Avant Garde Film

[johnnyuk2011]

Hi All,

Just wondering how people here (who specialise or flirt with experimental film making) put together projects? Do you script anything or just use a concept and see how it shapes out? Do you worry about any sort of structure at all with narrative?

I know there are no hard rules with this genre, I just want to get an idea of how you ppl approach this area.

Thnx

 

[Uranium City]

I approach my avant-garde stuff differently each time. Sometimes I'll have an idea for images and words, and I'll just start sketching and that will be the ultimate blueprint. Sometimes I'll more fully craft a blueprint, including shot lists and storyboards (especially if I'm working with a crew that I've not done much experimental stuff with before.)

Right now I'm crafting a small avant-garde essay-type film and the "script" is a list of shots on the left side with handwritten dialog on the right, and notes about music, etc. It'll probably be the only pre-pro I'll do.

So I guess my process with non-traditional projects is to start writing/sketching/note-taking until I feel I'm ready to start shooting.

 

[LastSunsetFilms]

hmm it is different each time i guess. for my halloween film nothing was written down but i had it mostly planned in my head, but it was just a test for a future project. but it just all came from the idea of something i read about parallel perception and dream stalking, i just played around with it till i had something to shoot.

for 'between the lines', which some people enjoyed but were still left saying wtf? it was all planned out shot for shot. it was a mixture of a 1 page story and the epilogue to a 15 page script i never done in the end. it was the most planned thing i've done but makes the least sense probably.

 

[johnnyuk2011]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I guess unconventional approaches really work for this area!