Monday, 25th October, 2004

Lofty Acrobatics

Hey, guess what I just discovered I can do! I can put my hair into a purple mohican!

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Sorry, completely off topic that

Today, I'm trying to get myself ready to do a lecture tomorrow. You'd have thought, after four years of doing the same lecture on Experimental Film and Abstract Animation, I'd have got it all off-pat by now. But remember, this is me we're talking about here...

...So, ideally, I'll turn up tomorrow with a DVD in my hand, pick up a projector from the library, show the students some films, ramble a bit about how film doesn't necessarily have to have a plot and how there are many forms of 'narrative', then finish off with showing them one or two of my own films ... and everyone will be happy, impressed, and have an uncontrollable desire to push the boundaries of film.

Unfortunately though, each year I do this, I do it in a different medium — the first year was a carefully edited video-tape, the next was a DV tape of my own work, then last year I fastforwarded and rewound through a tape I bought, and this year, I'm planning on a DVD — but I've left all my source stuff in the office

So, I've been climbing up in the loft this morning, trying to dig through box after box of old tapes to find some stuff to show.

I have tonnes of tapes up there from ages ago, when I used to tape anything off the telly that had anything to do with abstract film. There was a great series called "Dope Sheet" on Channel Four back in the 90s (I'm digitising a sequence from it as I type) And I've got quite a few snippets of Len Lye and Norman McLaren. There's even a sequence where Len Lye explains how to get stripes moving across the screen by scribing on the film ... which (she admits, coyly) is exactly what I do myself, except I used After Effects and Photoshop instead of a scriber

I even have a copy of Un Chien Andalou, (Bunel & Dali, 1929) — but I won't be showing the whole of that, trust me, it has the most disturbing sequence ever in the history of film. There's no film that's been done since that has ever come close to being as horrific as the 'eye' moment.

I saw it by accident years ago — I still shudder when I think of it. And I've never watched it since.

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Anyway, I've talked in the past about the acrobatics that I have to do to get in my loft — so I thought I'd show you just what I meant...

Katie hates it when I do that — I really must buy a loft ladder some day

(Clarifying note — the camera is lying face up on the floor )

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OK, first attempt at mulled wine:

I think it's turned out pretty good I need to test it on a few people though. It may need more Christmassy things in it...

Sally writes:

What? Like holly and maybe a reindeer ...