ReelNewYork - Overview

Home	On REEL NEW YORK By Kathy High Independent Series Curator Page 2 of 4

Models Of Financing And Production

For one indication of the diversity, let us look at the different models for financing and production that are represented in REEL NEW YORK, to give an idea how complex and diverse independent filmmaking really is.

The "Traditional" Model of Production. Much like the model of studio-supported filmmakers, many of the productions in REEL NEW YORK are funded either by small production companies, or by TV sponsorship. Still maintaining an autonomy over the content of the work, artists such as Nan Goldin (I'LL BE YOUR MIRROR) and Mary Hestand (HE WAS ONCE) used money from companies such as the BBC and Apparatus Productions to fund and produce their work. Other films were produced with the expectation of making a television sale after completion--e.g., Beverly Peterson's THE ANDRE SHOW and Donald Blank's WIRED were submitted to various PBS series for possible broadcast purchase. If purchased for broadcast, the fee might perhaps cover the filmmaker's final edit. (REEL NEW YORK, of course, pays for local broadcast in the New York area, but comparatively less than a national acquisition price.)

The Film School "Calling Card" Model. Another model of production is the short narrative works made by filmmakers while in film school, such as students from NYU or the New School. A short might be used as a "calling card," displaying the talents of the filmmaker in order to raise funding for a feature film. Malcolm Lee's MORNINGSIDE PREP, Chris Eyre's TENACITY, and Meredith Holch's ROCKET GIRL'S REVENGE might be considered part of this category of film production style.

From Janie Geiser's THE RED BOOK.

The Collective Model. Oftentimes strong collaborations or collectives are formed to pool resources and share responsibility (both financial and production efforts) for a film or video. This model is most often seen in the making of documentaries such as YURI KOCHIYAMA by Pat Saunders and Rea Tajiri, but also exists in the strong examples of collective works such as Deep Dish TV's LOCKDOWN USA, and Rise and Shine/Samir Vural's WE'LL CHANGE YOU.

The Subject Collaboration Model. Other kinds of production styles result from people working closely with their "subject" or the performer in the piece. This is a mode of collaboration where an intimate relationship develops between the filmmaker and the individual who is being filmed. While still maintaining control over the production, the filmmaker might receive improvisational input and editorial suggestions, etc. from the subject, which shape the final piece. Tami Gold's JUGGLING GENDER, Ayoka Chenzira's IN THE RIVERS OF MERCY ANGST, and Maria Venuto's THE TOURIST might be examples of this kind of collaboration.

Visual Arts Model. Some of the works included in this year's REEL NEW YORK fall outside of these narrative and documentary traditions altogether. Film and video have a long history of being used as artistic media, using light, color, sound and timing as one might use a paint brush. In REEL NEW YORK, we can find examples of makers also working in other media besides film and video, such as painting, graphic arts, dance, photography, installation and digital media/new media. Developed within an art community context, works such as Caterina Borelli's PAGE 1 and PAGE 99, Kristin Lucas' HOST, Neil Goldberg's HALLELUJAH ANYWAY NO. 2 and 3, and Janie Geiser's THE RED BOOK illustrate examples of this kind of visual poetry. These works are exhibited in an art gallery or museum as easily as they are aired on television.

Other artists are looking towards new technologies to create their work: Muriel Magenta's TOKEN CITY utilizes computer-generated 3-D animation, and Lise Carrigg's new media piece, SUBWAY DIARIES, rethinks the entire medium of film/video in the context of the computer.

". . .as we approach the end of the millennium, perhaps the Internet will function as another site for experimentation and the invention of new models [of production]."

Hybrid Models. Works combining older traditions of storytelling and oral histories with performance and documentary shine as examples of hybrid genres, creating new styles. The fantastic fables by Ayoka Chenzira, SNOWFIRE and IN THE RIVERS OF MERCY ANGST; the dream-like story of Kym Ragusa's grandmother, PASSING; the combination of real and animated fantasy of Meredith Holch's ROCKET GIRL'S REVENGE; and Alex Rivera's personal documentary/historical exploration/cyber play, PAPAPAPA, all explore new definitions for the practice of independent and alternative filmmaking.

From Kristin Lucas' HOST.

Future Web Models? Cycling again through another historical phase, as we approach the end of the millennium, perhaps the Internet will function as another site for experimentation and the invention of new models. The ever expanding World Wide Web brings together artists of all disciplines, making it possible to blend media in digital technologies and ultimately radically affecting the production of film/video. Imagine "broadcasting" with the Web, sending out and receiving moving images where one can rewrite the ending of the film, "play" the film as a game, or author a film from generic components. People could recreate their dreams every morning and send them off to each other in a "dream letter" or to their shrink for analysis. Soon we will see even more diversity of forms and topics, as the technological possibilities become greater and greater (at least until the Web becomes financially or politically restricted).

As the Critical Art Ensemble notes:

"...The electronic world, however, is by no means fully established, and it is time to take advantage of this fluidity through invention, before we are left with only critique as a weapon... Thus, developing systems of communication may provide another utopian opportunity. However, maintaining technological decentralization is crucial to exploiting the chance... We must challenge and recapture the electronic body, our electronic body! Roll the dice."

NEXT: TOPICS IN THIS YEAR'S SELECTION