Brakhage

After reading the first few pages of the Brakhage assignment, it felt as if I were talking to Stan himself. It seems like Brakhage sat down at a desk and wrote exactly what he was thinking, in no particular order. And seemingly with no direction. Sure he communicates a lot of information, but in a mode by which you almost feel like you're not being taught. Rather just talked to. While his "humor" added to this sense of conversation, I think the run-on sentences and simple instruction made these few pages easily readable.

I thought one of the most interesting portions of the reading was when he essentially poked fun at his own career. He referenced the lack of an audience for the films he makes, but encouraged the readers to not hesitate to follow their dreams. Interesting and conflicting points. He also jokes about how few people attended a screening of a Kenneth Anger film. This got me thinking about how discouraging it must be to devote your life to this medium and have a handful of people appreciate your work in your lifetime. Obviously it is quite the contrary now. Many people see Brakhage's films and films like them as necessary means to the film industry as it exists today. Even Martin Scorsese says he is indebted to filmmakers such as these for their trailblazing.

His introduction of animation was also very entertaining. Essentially comparing film animation to that of a flip book was humorous, but spot on. I had quite a few flip books as a kid, and I was always enthralled with the simple motion. So when I almost think of Brakhage as a big kid imagining these intricate flip books and putting them on film.