June 13, 2005
Joe Swanberg, the director of Kissing On The Mouth, sent me a link to his latest short film, Hissy Fits - which also included, naturally, a link to his website, of which I was previously unaware. He has a handful of previous shorts up there, my favorite of which, I think, was the shortest: This Is Blue, a rhythmic little catalog of a film that reminded me of a more grown-up version of those wonderful shorts that were on Seasme Street when I was growing up.
Actually, my favorite would have been another 2002 effort entitled Wednesday Afternoon, except that I had a problem with the musical content - as incidental music, it certainly has its place, and it's not necessarily bad; but it obstructed the natural structure of the rest of the audio, which I felt was sufficient enough to work on its own. This isn't the first time I've made that call on someone's film; music is always something I'm very quick to criticize. Maybe it's just sensitivity on my part because I've had so much difficulty with music in my films in the past (I wasn't happy with my segment of Deadroom until I excised all but the last piece of bit of score). Of course, I don't mean to decry the use of scores at all; there's in immeasurable amount of amazing film music, and more often than not they are one of the most important elements to a film's success (and many of these scores are worth owning - I've quite a few in regular rotation on my stereo). To put it simply, I think there's nothing better than the perfect juxtaposition of visuals and sound, and if the appropriate sound is a piece music, as is often the case, then that's terrific. But music is also too easy a tool to take advantage of, or too handy a crutch to lean against, especially when one's options are limited.
Personally, what I plan to do in my films from now on is give greater precedence to careful sound design, in concert with (or even in place of, if suitable) a more restrained musical score (and indeed, music is too often used as glue, or to cover mistakes). The orchestration, juxtaposition and exaggeration of natural sound and/or dialogue can be made to serve the same purpose as a score. One couldn't necessarily say that this is a more pure approach, as the sound design, if properly done, will strike the same aural and emotional chords as a score; but it is definitely more subtle, and it manipulates on a more subconscious level. Two examples worth mentioning: Gary Rydstrom's work on Punch Drunk Love, which is some of the best overt sound design I've ever heard; and the use of incidental classical music from a CD player in Michael Haneke's otherwise score-free Time Of The Wolf. An example of a film that shouldn't have had a score might be Shane Carruth's Primer, which I think would be better than it already is if it had, say, the type of cold, technical sound design Walter Murch provided for THX-1138 taking the place of the music (which was actually composed by Carruth).
This certainly isn't to say that I think filmmakers should use less music, or that I'll never have one of my films scored again; it's just that these days the possibilities a lack of music offers generally excite me more than the possibility of music itself.
And as for including pop songs on soundtracks - if there's something to hold against The Graduate, that trend might be it. Certain directors do know how to make beautiful use of the technique - Scorsese, Tarantino, Wes Anderson - but they're on the low end of a pretty wide ratio.
So anyway - back to Mr. Swanberg's films. His latest, Hissy Fits, features the same deceptively blasé style of Kissing On The Mouth; except that, rather than using that style to explore intimacy, he's using it to, essentially, tell a joke. And it's a pretty good one. I'm really looking forward to his next feature, LOL, which sounds like a pretty ingenious extrapolation on current concepts of DV filmmaking; he'll be shooting it later this fall, but he already has a site up for it.
On the completely opposite side of the filmmaking spectrum (or is it?), Terrence Malick's The New World has a new trailer. It keeps looking better and better.
Posted by David Lowery at June 13, 2005 10:22 PM
Comments
This is Blue reminds me so much of some of Greenaway's work...
Posted by: Matt at June 14, 2005 12:49 AM
I actually had a notion to mention that - that's specifically why I called it a catalog - but then I decided I hadn't seen enough of his work to make anything more than a vague comparison. What work did it remind you of the most? A Zed And Two Noughts sprung somewhat to my mind...
Posted by: Ghostboy at June 14, 2005 4:02 AM
A more positive comment from me--just to chime in and rejoice along with you about Malick's return. So few American masters at work today. The only thing that gave me pause in the trailer was Chris Plummer's line about 'America going wrong in its first hour'--seems too...written...but then again this is Malick and in the context of his films he manages to turn just about everything into poetry (and some would say that's the problem).
Posted by: Dave H. at June 14, 2005 12:46 PM
yay sound! speaking of.. a remixed version of still should be hitting your inbox really soon..
Posted by: brad at June 14, 2005 1:22 PM
I noticed that line too, Dave; and I also couldn't help but note how fairly traditional the trailer was. But there's so much Malick in there for our imaginations to latch onto, and no amount of marketing can really make this film look anything but extraordinary. And if it gets more people to go see it, then that's all for the better! Of course, most of those people will probably end up whining about how 'poetic' it is...but oh well, at least they've subconsciously been enriched.
Malick's producer recently was quoted as saying he has three more films he's keen on making - no more disappearing acts, it seems.
Posted by: Ghostboy at June 14, 2005 9:25 PM
LOL...LOL...LOL...LOL...LOL!! :D:D:D
Posted by: Just another anonymous kook at June 14, 2005 9:33 PM
My my my...if this keeps up with Terry and him leaving his shell, I could see him doing--gasp--a WRITTEN interview.
(I'd pay to read that. Especially because I almost think the chances are greater that Pink Floyd will permanently re-form after the Live 8 show with their original lineup, record a new album and tour behind it.)
Posted by: Dave H. at June 15, 2005 4:02 PM