Direct Theory: Experimental Motion Pictures as Major Genre - Softcover

Small, Edward S.; Johnson, Timothy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0809332132 ISBN 13: 9780809332137

Publisher: Southern Illinois University Pr, 2013

Synopsis

Undulating water patterns; designs etched or painted directly onto clear or black film leader; computer-generated, pulsating, multihued light tapestries―the visual images that often constitute experimental motion pictures are unlike anything found in either fictive narratives or documentary works. Direct Theory provides a historical and theoretical survey of this overlooked and misunderstood category of international film and video referred to as avant garde. In a radical revision of film theory that incorporates a semiotic system, Small and Johnson argue that experimental motion pictures constitute a special mode of theory that bypasses written and spoken words. The book looks at the historical development of experimental film from its beginning in the European avant-garde movement of the 1920s and highlights eight defining technical and structural characteristics of the genre.

This second edition includes a new preface and an added chapter discussing digital experimental film in the twenty-first century and its future. A deft historical interweaving of experimental production and scholarly discourse, this thought-provoking work firmly establishes the importance of experimental motion pictures in the discipline of film studies and production.

About this title

About the Author

Edward S. Small is an emeritus professor of film and media studies at the University of Kansas. He is a motion picture theorist specializing in semiotics and a motion picture artist concentrating on experimental production.

Timothy W. Johnson's career includes English teaching, a PhD in cinema from the University of Southern California, and more than two decades as editor and production supervisor for computer and printer manuals. he is an editor and a digital media artist.

Edition details

• Publisher: Southern Illinois University Pr
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0809332132
• ISBN 13: 9780809332137
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 160