Film Analysis: Coming Back to New York from Buffalo

You will be shown a short film(mp4 attached) that you we have not seen or discussed in class. You have no information about this film other than the experience of the film itself – no date, no artist names, no genre, no title. Watch the film closely. Then, using everything you have seen, and everything we have read and discussed about the history of experimental film thus far, write a four-paragraph analysis of the film which situates the film in terms of this history.

When, would you argue, was the film made? Which artist's work does it most closely resemble and how? (movies and artists discussed in this semester is attached) To which genre or genres does it belong? Pay special attention to the formal characteristics of the film: the camerawork, the editing, the soundtrack, the kinds of imagery, the use of actors (or their absence), etc., in writing your analysis. The overall argument that you make is not as important as the level of detail and sophistication you bring to the analysis, so don’t just assert that this film X resembles another film Y – go into as much detail as possible in describing exactly which aspects of this film resemble which aspects of the other film. No film is an exact copy of any other, so once you decide which film or films this most closely resembles, then spend some time describing about how it differs, as well.

In many ways, this is the most important aspect of the entire class. I want you to have sufficient familiarity with a body of canonical, historical works, and sufficient understanding of the concepts that have informed their analysis, that you will be able to understand, appreciate, analyze and articulate how new works you encounter in the future both engage with - and depart from - this aesthetic tradition.