Paint Drying Explained

Paint Drying
Director:Charlie Shackleton
Producer:Charlie Shackleton
Cinematography:Charlie Shackleton
Editing:Charlie Shackleton
Runtime:607 minutes
Country:United Kingdom[1]
Budget:£5,936 (Kickstarter)

Paint Drying is a 2023 British experimental protest film that was produced, directed and shot by Charlie Shackleton. He created the film in 2016 to protest against film censorship in the United Kingdom and the sometimes-prohibitive cost to independent filmmakers which the British Board of Film Classification's (BBFC) classification requirement imposes. The film consists of 607 minutes (10 hours and 7 minutes) of a static view of white paint drying on a brick wall. Shackleton made the film to force the BBFC to watch all ten hours to give the film an age rating classification. He initially shot 14 hours' worth of footage of paint drying in 4K resolution and opened a Kickstarter campaign to pay the BBFC's per-minute rate for a film as long as possible. It raised £5,936 from 686 backers. After reviewing the film, the BBFC rated it 'U' for 'Universal', indicating "no material likely to offend or harm". Paint Drying had its first public screening at the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, Australia, between 10–29 November 2023 as part of the Cinema Obstructed film exhibition—for which Shackleton was co-curator.

Synopsis

A non-narrative film, Paint Drying consists of 607 minutes (10 hours and 7 minutes) of a static view of white paint drying on a brick wall. The entire film is a single continuous shot, and there is no audio.[2] It receives its title from the expression "like watching paint dry", which refers to something very tedious or boring.[3]

Production

Background and conception

Charlie Shackleton (known as Charlie Lyne until 2019)[4] is a British independent filmmaker. He has written, directed and produced several independent films, such as his essay-style documentary films Beyond Clueless (2014)—his directorial debut—and Fear Itself (2015).[2] The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is the authority responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and video works released on physical media within the United Kingdom. All filmmakers wishing to release a film in British cinemas are required to receive a rating from the BBFC or exemption from the local authority.[5] In 2015, it cost £101.50 plus £7.09 per minute of runtime to have a film reviewed by the BBFC.[6]

Paint Drying is a protest against both film censorship in the UK, and the unfair cost to independent filmmakers imposed by the BBFC's mandatory classification requirement.[7] According to Shackleton, "this project [''Paint Drying''] is the culmination of a decade spent aimlessly railing against the BBFC—a decade that began when I was 13 years old". Shackleton states that his distaste for the BBFC began when he was reading the trivia section on IMDb for the 1999 film Fight Club, and realised that the version he had seen was censored by the BBFC by having six seconds cut to "reduce the sense of sadistic pleasure in inflicting violence". Shackleton was dismayed, stating "if we censor art on the basis that someone somewhere might be hurt by it, we'll be left with no art at all. Should the 'White Album' be banned because Charlie Manson used 'Helter Skelter' to justify murder?"[8]

In protest against the BBFC's per-minute rate for film classifications, Shackleton stated that the average cost of an age classification for independent filmmakers could exceed £1,000, which would prove to be a heavy financial burden on most independent filmmakers.[9] According to Shackleton, the BBFC certificate for his debut self-distributed film, Beyond Clueless, cost £867.60, which was roughly fifty per cent of its distribution budget. Shackleton stated that he knew of several planned cinematic releases from independent filmmakers that had to be abandoned because the cost was too high, which he added was "terrible for British film culture".[10] He conceived the idea to make a film about paint drying while at a filmmaker's event at the BBFC in 2015.[11] He had expected to see conflict between the BBFC examiners and the visiting filmmakers, but was surprised that there was no such disagreement; Shackleton added that, on the contrary, many of the attending filmmakers seemed to be supportive of the BBFC.[12] He also disapproved of the examiners who were discussing the censorship of certain films and the rationale behind such action.[11]

Filming, editing and Kickstarter campaign

Shackleton initially shot 14 hours' worth of footage of white paint drying in 4K resolution.[13] He chose the colour white because of its "certain Tom Sawyer charm".[14] The location of the wall that was painted has not been disclosed.[11] On 16 November 2015, Shackleton opened a Kickstarter campaign to make the film's released length as long as possible. The funds raised would be put towards the cost of the age classification, the final length of the film being resolute with how much money was raised from the campaign.[9] It had raised £961—worth 2 hours and 1 minute of footage—by 18 November, and an individual unaffiliated with the campaign created a website that tracked in real time how long Paint Drying would be.[15] By 20 November, the film had raised £3,147, which equated to more than seven hours of footage.[9] By 23 November, Paint Drying hit £4,000.[13] Shackleton stated that he would shoot more footage if the Kickstarter campaign raised more than £6,057 (meaning 14 hours' worth of footage), although ultimately this did not happen.[10] [13]

Shackleton told The Daily Telegraph that he hoped that crowdfunding a BBFC classification for the film would demonstrate how many people are concerned about film censorship in the UK, adding that the prospect of making the BBFC examiners watch paint dry was humorous.[9] Shackleton acknowledged that Paint Drying would likely not have a large impact on film censorship within the UK, but nevertheless hoped that it would encourage people to debate the practices of the BBFC.[16] He further stated that people accepted the BBFC solely because of its age, claiming that if a similar organisation were to be founded today to censor literature or music, there would be public outrage.[17] The Kickstarter campaign ended on 31 December 2015, having raised £5,936 from 686 backers—equating to 731 minutes (12 hours and 11 minutes) of footage, which was shortened to 10 hours and 7 minutes after Kickstarter's fees and value-added tax.[2] [18]

The campaign also received donations from people outside of the UK, which surprised Shackleton as he thought that non-British individuals would be confused about the BBFC's authority. He concluded that censorship was unfortunately a "pretty universal concept".[19] Shackleton also stated that filmmakers from around the world, particularly Australia and India, were supportive of Paint Drying.[10] Despite suggestions from backers for Shackleton to secretly insert a penis into a single frame of Paint Drying, he ultimately decided against it as he believed it would have detracted from the point of the film.[11]

Classification

The Digital Cinema Package that Shackleton submitted to the BBFC for classification was 310 gigabytes in size.[20] Due to the length of the film, BBFC examiners split their viewing into two sessions over two consecutive days, the majority being viewed on 25 January.[21] To coincide with the examination, Shackleton held an 'Ask Me Anything' (AMA) question and answer session on the subreddit r/IAmA, during which he stated that he did not himself watch the film in its entirety.[18] Shackleton's post received hundreds of comments within a day and became top post on the subreddit on that day. On 26 January, upon reviewing the film, the BBFC rated it 'U' for 'Universal,' indicating "no material likely to offend or harm".[22] [2] [23] After receiving a digital copy of the certificate, Shackleton tweeted that it was "£5,936 well spent".[24]

In response to the protest, the BBFC said it would classify the film as it would any other submission. It added that "The BBFC is a non-profit organisation that works to protect children, from content which might raise harm risks and to empower the public, especially parents, to make informed viewing choices. It implements Classification Guidelines that reflect changing social attitudes towards media content through proactive public consultation and research."[2] The BBFC also noted that its only source of income is the charges for its services.[2] [25] Paint Drying is not the longest film to have been rated by the BBFC—the French film Out 1 (1971) is 773 minutes (12 hours, 55 minutes) long, and was classified by the BBFC in 2015. They rated it 15 for "very strong language".[2] [26]

Reception

Although the film likely did not have any influence on the BBFC's governing, the novel idea of the film and arguments raised by Shackleton have since been frequently discussed in the context of film censorship and classification.[27] [28] After the film was first classified by the BBFC, the A.V. Club said that a "14-hour director's cut is presumably forthcoming",[29] and Gizmodo AU stated that uploading the film onto YouTube would be an ideal place for its "cinematic brilliance" to be permanently available for anyone to view.[20] British magazine Dazed said that if Shackleton had allowed Paint Drying to be shown in cinemas, it would have been a great way to prank one's significant other on Valentine's Day.[11] In the September 2016 issue of Alive, D.P. Sabharwal called the film "a novel and innovative protest".[30] In an April 2017 opinion piece by National Post praising Shackleton's work, Calum Marsh declared Paint Drying a comedy and praised Shackleton's dedication to creating the film. Marsh stated that he was unsure about its merit as a film, but stated that as a comedy, "it's very, very good".[31]

On 1 March 2016, Paint Drying was the subject of a video essay by the French series , broadcast by Arte. In it, presenter Luc Lagier positively compares the film to Wavelength (1967), a structural film that consists of a gradually zooming-in shot of a room.[32] Shackleton reflected on Paint Drying in an article he wrote for Vice in April 2017, in which he stated that the BBFC remained unchanged since his protest, and "continues to ban films outright".[33] On 15 October 2018, Paint Drying was featured in an episode of series P of the British panel show QI.[34] In 2022, academic Arina Pismenny referred to Paint Drying as an example of art that was objectively boring yet interesting given its context.[35]

Release

Although Shackleton had no plans for a wide theatrical release, he stated on 25 January 2016 that he was in talks with a cinema in London about possibly showing the film.[20] [36] Shackleton planned for it to be followed by a public debate regarding film censorship.[37] He later added that "it would take some working out, [in terms of] how to show it. I can't imagine that many people would make it through the entire duration", stating that it would have to be shown in a setting that could allow for people to walk in and out of the theatre.[38] Ultimately, Paint Drying had its first public screening at the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, Australia, between 10–29 November 2023. It screened at the Gallery of Modern Art & Cinema building as part of the Cinema Obstructed artistic film exhibition, for which Shackleton was a co-curator alongside Australian-native Robert Hughes.[39]

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Paint Drying. n.d.. British Film Institute. 13 March 2023. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20230309104817/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/5b19c1c815472. 9 March 2023.
  2. News: BBFC rates Paint Drying film 'U', after sitting through all 607 minutes. Loughrey. Clarisse. 26 January 2016. The Independent. 23 June 2018. subscription. https://web.archive.org/web/20221123051630/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/bbfc-declares-paint-drying-film-a-u-after-sitting-through-all-607-minutes-a6834671.html. 23 November 2022. live.
  3. something is like watching paint dry. n.d.. Collins English Dictionary. Online. HarperCollins Publishers. 4 December 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221223020730/https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/something-is-like-watching-paint-dry. 23 December 2022. live.
  4. For a long time now, I've regretted a decision I made about 15 years ago, when—in a fit of teenage reinvention—I stopped using my mum's surname, Shackleton, and started using my dad's, Lyne. (My mum raised me after my dad left us when I was a baby.). Shackleton. Charlie. charlieshack. 1181943166360047617. 9 October 2019. 6 March 2023. …so I’m changing my name back to Charlie Shackleton.. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20211112153617/https://twitter.com/charlieshack/status/1181943166360047617. 12 November 2021.
  5. This 10-hour documentary is really like watching paint dry. Holub. Christian. 27 January 2016. Entertainment Weekly. 20 February 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20220329065838/https://ew.com/article/2016/01/27/paint-drying-british-rating/. 29 March 2022. dead.
  6. Butcher. Anne. May 2016. Epic prank forces film censors to watch paint dry for 10 hours. Reason. 48. 1. 72. Reason.com. 23 November 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221129004615/https://reason.com/2016/04/16/epic-prank-forces-film-censors/. 29 November 2022. live.
  7. Watching paint dry: how artists have challenged censorship. Reynolds. Emily. 20 January 2016. Wired UK. 23 November 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221123162739/https://www.wired.co.uk/article/copyright-censorship-art-paint-drying. 23 November 2022. live.
  8. News: Filmmaker forces UK censorship board to sit through 607-minute film of paint drying. Miller. Nick. 27 January 2016. The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 September 2018. subscription. https://web.archive.org/web/20221206172444/http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/filmmaker-forces-uk-censorship-board-to-sit-through-607minute-film-of-paint-drying-20160127-gmelly.html. 6 December 2022. live.
  9. News: Film-maker plots to force the British Board of Film Classification to watch 14 hours of paint drying. Boult. Adam. 20 November 2015. The Daily Telegraph. 23 November 2022. subscription. https://web.archive.org/web/20221123045410/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/12007626/Film-maker-plots-to-force-the-British-Board-of-Film-Classification-to-watch-14-hours-of-paint-drying.html. 23 November 2022. live.
  10. News: A filmmaker trolled the British film board with an unbelievably long movie of paint drying. Ohlheiser. Abby. 26 January 2016. Originally published 19 November 2015. The Washington Post. 23 November 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221026173522/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/11/19/a-filmmaker-is-trolling-the-british-film-board-with-an-unbelievably-long-movie-of-paint-drying/. 26 October 2022. live.
  11. News: Why would anyone film or watch paint drying for ten hours?. Kale. Sirin. 26 January 2016. Dazed Digital. 17 December 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221217050759/https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/29452/1/why-would-anyone-film-or-watch-paint-drying-for-ten-hours. 17 December 2022. live.
  12. News: British film censors have been made to watch 10 hours of paint drying. McCormick. Joseph. 26 January 2016. PinkNews. 17 December 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221217064845/https://www.thepinknews.com/2016/01/26/british-film-censors-have-been-made-to-watch-10-hours-of-paint-drying/. 17 December 2022. live.
  13. News: Brit filmmaker plans 10hr+ Paint Drying epic. Haines. Lester. 23 November 2015. The Register. 23 November 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221123162308/https://www.theregister.com/2015/11/23/paint_drying_movie/. 23 November 2022. live.
  14. News: Right now, two experts are sat in a room for ten hours watching a film of paint drying. But why?. Sandwell. Ian. 25 January 2016. Digital Spy. 29 November 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221129013044/https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a781206/right-now-two-experts-are-sat-in-a-room-for-ten-hours-watching-a-film-of-paint-drying-but-why/. 29 November 2022. live.
  15. News: Filmmaker trolls British film board with 14-hour movie of white paint drying. Ohlheiser. Abby. 21 November 2016. Stuff. 17 December 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221217064842/https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/74271629/filmmaker-trolls-british-film-board-with-14-hour-movie-of-white-paint-drying. 17 December 2022. live.
  16. News: Watching paint dry no chore for a censor. Miller. Nick. 28 January 2016. The Age. Gale Academic OneFile. 14 December 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221214171406/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CA441505727&v=2.1&it=r&sid=ebsco&asid=6f01ba6e. 14 December 2022. live.
  17. News: The filmmaker forcing the British Board of Film Classification to watch Paint Drying for hours on end. subscription. Leszkiewicz. Anna. 24 November 2015. New Statesman. 14 December 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221214171311/https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2015/11/filmmaker-forcing-british-board-film-classification-watch-paint-drying-hours. 14 December 2022. live.
  18. News: Here's how UK film censors rated a 10-hour film of paint drying. Purtill. Corinne. 27 January 2016. Quartz. 23 November 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221206113203/http://qz.com/604112/heres-how-uk-film-censors-rated-a-10-hour-film-of-paint-drying. 6 December 2022. live.
  19. News: Com 7 mil euros obrigou censores a assistir a 10 horas de tinta a secar. 26 January 2016. With 7 thousand euros, he forced censors to watch 10 hours of paint drying. Portuguese. Diário de Notícias. 24 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230124194023/https://www.dn.pt/artes/com-7-mil-euros-obrigou-censores-a-assistir-10-horas-de-tinta-a-secar-5000141.html. 24 January 2023. live.
  20. News: A 10-Hour Film About Paint Drying Is A Film For Everyone. Simpson. Campbell. 27 January 2016. Gizmodo AU. 14 December 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221214054330/https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/01/a-10-hour-film-of-paint-drying-is-a-film-for-everyone/. 14 December 2022. live.
  21. News: Why the BBFC watched paint dry for 10 Hours: filmmaker Charlie Lyne explains. Vincent. Alice. 26 January 2016. The Daily Telegraph. 23 November 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20210429102337/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/movie-news/paint-drying-bbfc-certificate/. 29 April 2021. dead.
  22. Web site: Paint Drying. British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). n.d.. 23 November 2022. 23 November 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221123235601/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/paint-drying-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zode4oti. live.
  23. News: UK film censors forced to watch a 10 hour long movie of paint drying. 27 January 2016. Radio Times. 14 December 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221214054331/https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/uk-film-censors-forced-to-watch-a-10-hour-long-movie-of-paint-drying/. 14 December 2022. live. The poor censor at the BBFC wasn't so lucky, spending two days making notes before finally making their judgement: U. Suitable for all ages..
  24. News: Ten-hour film about paint drying approved by censors. 26 January 2016. New Zealand Herald. 17 December 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221217064842/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/ten-hour-film-about-paint-drying-approved-by-censors/WKIXI4M2QQRPOUMJ4S4DIEF3JY/. 17 December 2022. live.
  25. News: UK Filmmaker forces censors to sit through two days of literally watching paint dry. Dwyer. Genevieve. 28 January 2016. Special Broadcasting Service. 23 January 2023. 23 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230123061001/https://www.sbs.com.au/movies/article/2016/01/28/uk-filmmaker-forces-censors-sit-through-two-days-literally-watching-paint-dry. live.
  26. Web site: Out 1. British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). n.d.. 23 November 2022. 23 November 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221123171635/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/out-1-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yodu1mjc. live.
  27. News: How a 10-Hour Movie Protested Censorship in 2016. Segura. John. 18 November 2023. CBR. 12 January 2024.
  28. News: 'Mary Whitehouse is living in my head': how the video nasty scandal inspired a hot new film. Danny. Leigh. 30 July 2021. The Guardian. 12 January 2024.
  29. News: British censors deem 10-hour movie of paint drying appropriate for all ages. Rife. Katie. 26 January 2016. The A.V. Club. 23 November 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221123165514/https://www.avclub.com/british-censors-deem-10-hour-movie-of-paint-drying-appr-1798243514. 23 November 2022. live.
  30. Sabharwal. D. P.. September 2016. Sweet intelligent revenge. Alive. 407. 65. EBSCO Information Services.
  31. News: Is any documentarian as funny as Charlie Lyne, a man with the rare gift of knowing how to make an audience laugh?. Calum. Marsh. 28 April 2017. National Post. 25 January 2023.
  32. Vous connaissez "Paint Drying" de Charlie Lyne ?. Lagier, Luc (narrator). 1 March 2016. Do You Know "Paint Drying" by Charlie Lyne?. Episode. French. . Camera Lucida Productions. Arte. Season 3, episode 7. BetaSeries. 22 December 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221223172404/https://www.betaseries.com/episode/blow-up-lactualite-du-cinema-ou-presque-arte/s03e07. 23 December 2022. live.
  33. News: I Went to Extraordinary Lengths to Sidestep Britain's Film Censors. Shackleton. Charlie. 24 April 2017. Vice. 25 January 2023. 25 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230125022055/https://www.vice.com/en/article/4x9489/i-went-to-extraordinary-lengths-to-sidestep-britains-film-censors. live.
  34. Web site: Series P, Episode 6 – Pictures. n.d.. British Comedy Guide. 23 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230123072546/https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/qi/episodes/16/6/. 23 January 2023. live.
  35. Boredom and Its Values. Pismenny. Arina. 18 January 2022. Journal of Philosophy of Emotion. 2. 3. 32. PhilArchive. 10.33497/2022.winter.4. 17 December 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221223175524/https://philarchive.org/rec/PISBAI. 23 December 2022. live. free.
  36. News: Man forces UK film censors to watch 10 hours of paint drying. Haysom. Sam. 26 January 2016. Mashable. 18 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20221123051708/https://mashable.com/archive/paint-drying-film-protest. 23 November 2022. live.
  37. News: 'Paint Drying' director in talks to screen protest film. Macnab. Geoffrey. 1 February 2016. Screen Daily. 23 November 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20160213071329/http://www.screendaily.com/news/paint-drying-director-in-talks-to-screen-protest-film/5099604.article. 13 February 2016. live.
  38. News: We talked to the man who forced the U.K. film board to watch 10 hours of paint drying. Baker-Whitelaw. Gavia. 27 January 2016. The Daily Dot. 23 November 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221207202933/https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/paint-drying-uk-film-censorship-board-kickstarter-project/. 7 December 2022. live.
  39. Web site: Paint Drying – Cinema Obstructed. Charlie. Shackleton. Hughes. Robert. n.d.. Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art. 12 January 2024.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Paint Drying".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.