| I... Dreaming | |
|---|---|
 A screenshot from I... Dreaming, showing the words "my heart" scratched directly onto the film emulsion | |
| Directed by | Stan Brakhage |
Release date |
|
Running time | 8 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
I... Dreaming is an experimental short film by Stan Brakhage, released in 1988. The film features a soundtrack of Stephen Foster songs, composed by Joel Haertling. [1]
I... Dreaming was described by Brakhage as "extremely autobiographical," and was produced at one of the lowest points in his life, [2] following his separation from wife Jane. [3] Unlike most of the director's works, the film features a soundtrack. [4] Brakhage took a "collage" of Stephen Foster songs, composed by Joel Haertling, and set images to the music. [2] The soundtrack often "jumps" abruptly from one musical phrase or song to another. [4]
Brakhage also scratched chosen song lyrics, such as "sweet spirit" and "see the dark void," directly onto the film emulsion. [4] [5] The visuals interchange between images of Brakhage, appearing a weary old man, and the restless movements of his grandchildren, sometimes captured with a time-lapse camera. [4] The film is composed of "small, minimalist images" and often uses a steady, mounted camera. [3]
I... Dreaming is often commented upon for its use of soundtrack, an atypical element in Brakhage's work. [4] The film has been likened to the director's earlier "trance films," such as The Way to Shadow Garden (1954) and Reflections on Black (1955), as well as the work of contemporaries Maya Deren, Kenneth Anger, and Gregory Markopoulos. [4] Malcolm Cook, writing for Senses of Cinema , described I... Dreaming as "an emotional experience." [4] Laurel Gildersleeve writes that the film "elicits a melancholy and cold emptiness," and communicates the loss of vitality that comes with growing older. [3] R. Bruce Elder considered the film significant in Brakhage's oeuvre, in that it, alone among Brakhage’s work, challenges the idea of “mind as creating the world anew, with every passing moment, in a triumphant act of the imagination.” [5] Fred Camper praised the imagery of I... Dreaming' as "poetic and suggestive," and interpreted the scratching of phrases as Brakhage acknowledging the impossibility of transcending his sadness. [6]
Dog Star Man is a series of short experimental films, all directed by Stan Brakhage, featuring Jane Wodening. It was released in instalments between 1961 and 1964 and comprises a prelude and four parts. In 1992, Dog Star Man was included in its entirety in the annual selection of 25 motion pictures added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and recommended for preservation.
James Stanley Brakhage was an American filmmaker. He is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th-century experimental film.
Drawn-on-film animation, also known as direct animation or animation without camera, is an animation technique where footage is produced by creating the images directly on film stock, as opposed to any other form of animation where the images or objects are photographed frame by frame with an animation camera.
Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, particularly early ones, relate to arts in other disciplines: painting, dance, literature and poetry, or arise from research and development of new technical resources.
Sexual Meditation: Room with View is a 1971 American experimental film directed by Stan Brakhage. Shot on 16 mm film, the film explores the often blurry nature of gender roles in the copulatory ritual.
Window Water Baby Moving is an experimental short film by Stan Brakhage, filmed in November 1958 and released in 1959. The film documents the birth of the director's first child, Myrrena, by his then-wife Jane Brakhage, now Jane Wodening.
The Hart of London is a 1970 experimental Canadian film directed by Jack Chambers. Stan Brakhage proclaimed it as "one of the greatest films ever made". The film is shown in black and white and colour, and includes found news footage from 1954, film shot by the artist years earlier in Spain, and film shot by the artist in London, Ontario.
Mothlight is an experimental short film by Stan Brakhage, released in 1963. The film was created without the use of a camera.
Philip Stewart Solomon was an American experimental filmmaker noted for his work with both film and video. In recent years, Solomon had earned acclaim for a series of films that incorporate machinima made using games from the Grand Theft Auto series. His films are often described as haunting and lyrical.
The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes is a 1971 American film by Stan Brakhage. Its title is based on the literal translation of the term autopsy. The film documented the highly graphic autopsy procedures used by forensic pathologists, such as the removal of organs and the embalming process.
Thigh Line Lyre Triangular is an experimental short film by Stan Brakhage, released in 1961, which depicts the birth of the director's third child, a daughter named Neowyn. The film, which involves painting and hand-scratching over photographic images, is more abstract than the director's earlier Window Water Baby Moving, which documented the birth of Brakhage's first-born, Myrrenna.
Cat's Cradle is an experimental short film by Stan Brakhage, produced in 1959. The film was described by Brakhage as "sexual witchcraft involving two couples and a 'medium' cat."
The Dante Quartet is an experimental short film by Stan Brakhage, completed in 1987. The film was inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy, and took six years to produce.
The Garden of Earthly Delights is an experimental short film by Stan Brakhage, released in 1981. The film was partly inspired by Hieronymus Bosch’s painting of the same name.
Fire of Waters is an experimental short film by Stan Brakhage, produced in 1965.
Commingled Containers is an experimental short film by Stan Brakhage, produced in 1997.
The Wold Shadow is an experimental short film by Stan Brakhage, produced in 1972.
Interim is a 1953 American short film drama directed by Stan Brakhage. It was the first film directed by Stan Brakhage, whose expansive filmography has made him an influential figure in experimental film.
American artist Joseph Cornell (1903–1972) is justifiably best known for his boxes which constitute a singular contribution to the Surrealist canon and to the art of assemblage. However, he also pursued experimental film-making as an amateur beginning in the 1930s. Cornell was the principal pioneer of collage films in a purely artistic sense and, although the introduction of his films into the public forum was relatively late compared to when they were made, his work as a filmmaker has been widely influential.
Sirius Remembered is a 1959 American experimental short film directed by Stan Brakhage. It captures the gradual decomposition of the corpse of Sirius, the Brakhage family's dog, over the course of several months.
