Ben Bonham FST 302

Shooting on Film is awesome! I can only say that because I have done it now.  Throughout my filmmaking career, I have only ever shot on digital video.  I always knew shooting on film was a whole lot different but now I truly understand what is so different about it.  It is more of an appreciation of the way film came about and it evokes a certain way of thinking.  It was awesome because when my group and I were downtown Wilmington, an old man came up and saw that we were using film and told us to be very selective. To experience the feeling of having a roll of film that cannot be deleted and is permanently altering the picture was rather enlightening. Before digital technology, movies had to be shot on film. Film is where it all started, so in order to understand the movie making industry and process, film is an important concept to understand.  Maybe one day we will have another type of medium to shoot movies with. Who knows.

Week ones presentations went great! I’ll start with Matt. Matt’s presentation on Jonas Mekas was fantastic. I know I have learned about Mekas in the past but now I understand. He is the “Godfather of Avant Gard.” Meaning, he started the movement! I think… But Mekas seems like he did a lot of really awesome stuff and its amazing he is still doing work today being as old as he is.   It was also neat learning Mekas did the Anthology Film Archives involving Harry Smith.   I also appreciate his love for filming as I wish I filmed my life as much as he filmed his own. Melody Faith’s presentation on Viking Eggeling and Hans Richter was great as well. She did a good job of explaining how they got into art and film.   German Art, Music, and Film has always intrigued me.   It is unfortunate Viking died so young. It also made me think about looking more into war film considering the cameras were military issued. I have always wanted to get more into political art and f...

I thoroughly enjoyed my sound recording project.  Considering I want to record music in the future, any kind of audio has a place in my heart.  I have always wanted to record random sounds in order to mix them together to create a music track. Although we are not creating "music," this project consists of similar tasks.  I also love creating any type of art, so this project was right up my ally.  I also thought this project was a great introduction into the course and I have a lot to look forward to. Synesthesia and cymatics is a new topic for me.  I know I have seen such things but now I know what it's really called!  I think cymatics and synesthesia is a wonderful area of study and I would love to know more about it.  I would like to see what other kind of amazing artistic creations can be made by sound as well as how it can be used for not only entertainment but if it has any other beneficiaries.  The video Dylan shared with you, to share t...

My name is Ben Bonham and I am an Artist.  Digital film, photography, graphic art, music, and woodworking are all specialties of mine, although I am special in many ways.  My favorite part about making art is the response.  I can't say that there is a certain response I look for when making art because the art is created in the moment and it comes from within. I believe we all have different life stories therefore we are all capable of making art that is different than anything ever seen or created before. I plan to graduate from UNCW as a Film Major with a graphic art minor in order to one day have all the tools and connections to build a production company here in Wilmington NC.  Lets bring back those film incentives not through competing with one another but through collaboration and coexistence! Fred Camper's What is Experimental Film - I agree with Fred Camper with most of his bullet points.  The only thing I would have to say about these notes is tha...