Notes on Film

Montserrat College of Art
Photography/Video Department
Notes of Film.
Ethan Berry

On Reading Robert Bresson and the Dogma 95 Vow of Chastity

…Among other things it is important to make the distinction between film and video (the electronic vs. the photographic). It is even more important to make the distinction between Cinema and “Movies”. As Robert Bresson does in his book; “Notes on Cinematography”. The Dogma 95 filmmakers go further in their statement and make a distinction between the reality depicted in most films and the potential for reality to be represented in a film. Both statements reveal an attitude that elevates the process of film making to the realm of expression, which has the integrity, and honesty that we expect from artists. This is opposed the to slight of hand and trickery that ascribe to the trickster or manipulator. An attribute often assigned to “Movies”
This position acknowledges film as a language separate and distinct from theater, painting, music, photography, and acting. This is a language that is a little over 100 years old and that is still developing. It is a language that you can contribute to in the same way that you contribute to the language of painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, printmaking and design. Although it may seem extreme this position clarifies the art of filmmaking and creates a context for viewing films that encompasses many of the independent and experimental films that have been made since the advent of the technology at the end of the 19th century.