Hate to Love YouTube
The other night I had an uncontrollable urge to show my friend a short film I knew he would love. I hopped on youtube, pulled the film up, and pressed play. The quality was so horrible that I groaned to him that we should turn it off while he reassured me he could tell what was happening and was getting the gist of it. I squirmed, while he watched, and in the end he loved what I had shared and was pumped on the filmmaker. As the film editor here on illiteratemagazine.com it is my job to love on film so much that you, my ever loyal readers, will begin to love on film as much as I do. Because we are not in a classroom and I do not have an infinite reserve of 16mm and 35mm ...Read more
This Is The House Where I Grew Up...
I love Brent Green. You may hate him. There is something wrong with the films he makes, they appear hodgepodged together with nothing more than sticky tape, a camera that can't seem to keep its exposure right, and a crackling microphone - When I first attended a screening of his films half of the audience was shuffling in their chairs, annoyed every time another raspy cracked word fell out of his mouth, while the other half was glued to the screen. His mix of live action, animation, and performance is something that irks some and hypnotizes others. Which type are you? ...Read more
My Spoon Is Too Big!
When I found out Don Hertzfeldt was showing his most recent film at Sundance, I got ready to pack up my (friend's) car, sleep on some couches, and get my interview on. Unfortunately my co-conspirator missed the memo, so instead I am sitting in bed, rewatching Hertzfeldt's side splitting films on youtube, and wishing I was there. Hertzdeldt is absolutely one of the greatest animators of our time. Okay, okay, he is just drawing stick figures, but those stick figures have excellent comedic timing, can be insightful, and get the attention of festival judges across the globe. He still shoots everything on film, almost unheard of for animators nowadays, especially when you are competing w...Read more
filed under: film
tags: isis don hertzfeldt sundance couch surfing disney the animation show mike judge beavis and butthead rejected
So What is Experimental Film Anyway?
In my intro blog I promised to introduce you all to a whole new world of film. Sometimes, that might even mean *cue dramatic music* an experimental film. So I thought I would start off light. This film was introduced to me on the loverly Jeanne Liotta's class blog (watch for a feature interview with her soon!). It is an experimental film making fun of experimental film, honestly- how could you go wrong? Uso Justo by Coleman Miller is the perfect mix between humor, wit, and making fun of oneself to be the perfect film for my very first "real" blog post. Check out Uso Justo here - if you don't (or do) enjoy it, come back and comment your little film critic ass off...maybe you will say somethi...Read more
Welcome to the ILLITERATE Film Blog
Hi. My name is Isis and I love the moving image. I studied experimental film, animation, video, and installation art at the University of Colorado. Unbeknownst to me I was stumbling onto the legacy of Stan Brakhage - the founder of the program- and film for me was never the same. Suddenly there was an entire world beyond the theater, and even beyond narrative structure, that I never knew existed. I feel like I came into myself as an artist (with still much more growth to come) as well as learned to appreciate all different flavors of the moving image. While on a typical Friday night you might catch me at the local megaplex, that is not what this blog is about (okay, maybe it will be sometime...Read more
filed under: film
tags: isis film Stan Brakhage experimental film animation dreams memory love deterioration French