Field Reports, Part I: Art encounters.

I went to the screening of Iverson White's new short film, Self-Determination. All in all, I really enjoyed it. It was very well structered and make great use of its short running time. The most amazing thing about it to me was the incredibly spare use of dialogue. Almost everything in the film was conveyed through actions and expressions. This was especially interesting to me personally because I took Iverson's screenwriting class last semester. In that class, he mentioned several times that a mininum use of dialogue helps a film become better. With less dialogue, the filmmaker is forced to rely on the acutal workings of cinema (moving pictures) to tell a story. It is much more difficult to think this way in making a film, but if it is done correctly, the end result is rewarding. Being able to tell a story with just images for the most part is qutie impressive. And that is exactly what I took from Self-Determination. The story and the characters' emotion were perfectly captured with little or no dialogue. That also speaks to the performances of the actors. The lead actress did a very good job portraying her character and her character's feelings on a purely visible level without saying much. This ties in with several of the films we've seen in class, many of which don't have dialogue of any kind. Films such as 5:10 to Dreamland, Valse Triste, Mothlight, and The Bear Garden. None of these films had dialogue and thus told a narrative of sorts through only images (accompanied with music, of course). But it is an interesting concept that less is more. With no dialogue, the viewer has to figure most everything out for themself. They have to think in order to take what is necessary from a film. I think this kind of work is essential for a film to be considered a work of art. It's the interaction between the viewer and the maker which creates the artistic relationship and the rewards of understanding. If everything is spelled out or spoon fed, then there really is no reason to watch anything. That was the main idea I took from the screening.