Still image film explained

A still image film, also called a picture movie, is a film that consists primarily or entirely of still images rather than consecutive still images in succession, forgoing the illusion of motion either for aesthetic or practical reasons. These films usually include a standard soundtrack, similar to what is found in typical sound films, complete with music, sound effects, dialogue or narration. They may also use various editing techniques found in traditional films, such as dissolves, zooms, and panning.[1]

History

This filmmaking technique is more common in historical documentaries, where old photographs may provide the best documentation of certain events. Ken Burns is well known for having used it repeatedly in his films in the last decades.[2] But it was also common before as highlighted in a 1961 letter to The New York Times, where Louis Clyde Stoumen surveyed earlier uses of the technique by him and other documentary filmmakers. Stoumen mentions the German Curt Oertel and his ‘Michelangelo’(1938) (later re-edited into Robert Flaherty’s ‘The Titan’ around 1949); the Belgians Henri Storck and his lyric ‘World of Paul Delvaux’ (1947) and Paul Haesaerts and his ‘Rubens’(1948); the Americans Paul Falkenberg & Lewis Jacobs and their ‘Lincoln Speaks at Gettysburg’(1950) made entirely out of nineteenth-century engravings; the also Americans Berg & Block and their documentary ‘Goya’ (1954) made out of paintings and prints. Stoumen said to have been developing this form for more than a decade in documentaries like ‘The True Story of the Civil War’ (an Academy Award winner, 1956[3]), ‘The James Dean Story’ (1957), or the TV documentary series ‘The Valiant Years’.”[4]

This still image film technique is less common in narrative films, but has been done occasionally. Such films are typically considered experimental or art films. Perhaps the best known narrative still image film is Chris Marker's 1962 film La Jetée, which was the inspiration for the 1995 film 12 Monkeys.In narrative filmmaking, the vast majority of still image films are short films. Many student films are still image films, and the making of these films is a requirement in some film school courses. George Lucas's first film, the short Look at Life, was made up of only still images heavily influenced by films from Arthur Lipsett like his Oscar-nominated Very Nice, Very Nice. Robert Downey Sr.'s 1966 feature film Chafed Elbows is constructed primarily from still photographs, with a few live-action sequences. Additionally, the 2007 Mexican film Year of the Nail is made up entirely of photographs taken by the director, Jonás Cuarón, over the course of one year. It is perhaps the only feature-length narrative film consisting exclusively of still images.[5] However, many narrative films still employ this technique for individual scenes. Some notable examples are John Cassavetes's Husbands (1970),[6] Gordon Parks Jr.'s Super Fly (1972),[7] Alan J. Pakula's The Parallax View (1974),[8] Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run (1998),[9] and Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010).[10]

Style

Filmmakers working with still images may do so out of necessity, such as when resources are limited and they are only able to shoot still photographs, rather than moving pictures. However, it is also sometimes chosen for stylistic reasons, and can allow the filmmakers to do things that would be impossible with traditional moving pictures. In Chafed Elbows, for example, the filmmakers had the freedom to improvise their lines during post-production. Additionally, the use of still images made possible a scene in which one character appears to throw another out of a high window, while the actors remained safe. Additionally, in Year of the Nail, the director pieced together unstaged photographs from his real life and was able to build a fictional story from these. Furthermore, still image films may decrease the filmmakers' limitations, as dialogue and sound effects need not be synchronized with moving images.

Burns has credited documentary filmmaker Jerome Liebling for teaching him how still photographs could be incorporated into documentary films.[11] He has also cited the 1957 National Film Board of Canada documentary City of Gold,[12] co-directed by Colin Low and Wolf Koenig, as a prior example of the technique.[13] [14] [15] Winner of the Prix du Documentaire at the Cannes Film Festival and nominated for an Academy Award,[16] [17] City of Gold used animation camera techniques to slowly pan and zoom across archival still pictures of Canada's Klondike Gold Rush.[18]

Perception

As most audiences are unaccustomed to still image films, many viewers are initially turned off by them, but one study has shown that people adjust to the style after about seven minutes, as long as the story is engaging.[19] There is some debate about whether or not still image films should in fact be considered as genuine motion pictures, since they do not in fact employ the illusion of motion, with some considering them more akin to the slideshow.

The term photomontage has also been used to describe still image films, although that word actually refers to something else entirely.

Notable examples

Notable still image filmmakers

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Video Editing Using Pictures and Still Images . VashtiVisuals . 19 August 2020.
  2. The Incredible Stillness of Being: Motionless Pictures in the Films of Ken Burns. Tibbetts, John C.. 1996. American Studies. 37. 1. 117–133. 40642785 . JSTOR.
  3. https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1957 1957|Oscars.org
  4. “Television Mailbag.” New York Times, 2 July 1961.
  5. Web site: If You're Making Films with Still Images, Here Are a Few Things to Consider . nofilmschool . 27 December 2013 . 19 August 2020.
  6. Web site: Husbands, PopMatters. Stephen. Snart. August 17, 2009.
  7. Web site: Super Fly | Larsen On Film. January 11, 2013.
  8. Web site: DVD Savant: PARALLAX VIEW: The Incredible Montage. www.dvdtalk.com.
  9. Web site: Run Lola Run - Film Education.
  10. Web site: Apichatpong Weerasethakul: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives - The Culturium -. April 8, 2016. The Culturium.
  11. News: Kennedy . Randy . The Still-Life Mentor to a Filmmaking Generation . . 2006-10-19. In fact, spend any time watching the films of Ken Burns, or those of the legions of documentary makers he has inspired, and you will see Mr. Liebling’s work, in a sense, even if you have never laid eyes on one of his photographs. . 2007-10-11 .
  12. , full movie, uploaded by the National Film Board of Canada.
  13. Capturing the American Experience: A Conversation with Ken Burns . Fall 2006 . Weber Studies . 23 . 1 . Mikel . Vause . 0891-8899 . 11872924 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071013141104/http://weberstudies.weber.edu/archive/archive%2520E%2520Vol.%252021.2-24.1/Vol.%252023.1/Mikel%2520Vause%2520Ken%2520Burns%2520Conv.htm . October 13, 2007 . 2007-10-12.
  14. Web site: Historical Photographs and Multimedia Storytelling . Charles . Williams . 1997 . 2007-10-12 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071013144456/http://homepage.mac.com/williamszone/dostal/research/historical.html . 2007-10-13 .
  15. Web site: All That Glitters: City of Gold Revisited . John C. . Tibbetts . c. 1997 . 2007-10-12 .
  16. Web site: City of Gold (Capitale de l'or) . tiff.net . Canadian Film Encyclopedia . 25 December 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131226075650/http://tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/films/city-of-god . 26 December 2013 .
  17. https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1958 1958|Oscars.org
  18. Web site: Glassman. Marc. Filmmaker of vision. The Free Library. 24 December 2013. 1 December 1999. Take one's interview with Colin Low, part 2
  19. Web site: Cuarón's son makes picture perfect film . CNN . 20 August 2020.
  20. https://povmagazine.com/documentary-essentials-city-of-gold/ Canada’s Documentary Essentials: ‘City of Gold’ – POV Magazine
  21. https://www.google.com/search?q=very+nice%2C+very+nice+nfb+still+images&biw=1275&bih=1031&sxsrf=APq-WBtVthAXVhLUdStcd_OQJqPu6PfjJg%3A1650230295309&ei=F4RcYvrDErnXytMPhayisAw&ved=0ahUKEwi6q7L0gpz3AhW5q3IEHQWWCMYQ4dUDCA4&uact=5&oq=very+nice%2C+very+nice+nfb+still+images&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAM6BwgjEK4CECdKBAhBGABKBAhGGABQ2AdYrFBg8FdoA3ABeASAAfUOiAGiWJIBDTMtMS4xLjEuNS4zLjGYAQCgAQHAAQE&sclient=gws-wiz Experimental Ethnography - Google Books (pg. 254)
  22. https://www.spectacletheater.com/arthur-lipsett/ ARTHUR LIPSETT – Spectacle Theater
  23. Web site: The films that influenced Cindy Sherman's 'Untitled Film Stills' series. July 16, 2019. Dazed.
  24. Web site: 2001: A Space Odyssey & 9 Other Classic Avant-Garde Films Fans Need To Check Out. January 18, 2021. ScreenRant.
  25. Web site: La Jetée. The Criterion Collection.
  26. https://www.timeout.com/movies/la-jetee La Jetee 1962, directed by Chris Marker|Time Out
  27. Web site: Beyond the Photo Album: Relocating Varda's Salut les Cubains. cléo journal. 11 April 2018 .
  28. Web site: Watch the Early Art-House Documentaries of George Lucas. Forrest. Wickman. March 23, 2012. Slate Magazine.
  29. Web site: Chafed Elbows. The Criterion Collection.
  30. Web site: Chafed Elbows. The Criterion Channel.
  31. https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/gs/article/id/856/ Walsh, M., (2021) “From Nations to Worlds: Chris Marker’s “Si j’avais quatre dromadaires””, Global Storytelling: Journal of Digital and Moving Images 1(1)
  32. https://vimeo.com/898700711 Case Study LSD (audio commentary) (Art & Trash Miniature 11) - Art & Trash on Vimeo
  33. https://books.google.com/books?id=eMe-3gdh7HMC&dq=one+second+in+montreal+structural+film&pg=PA356 Visionary Film - Google Books (pg.356)
  34. https://film-makerscoop.com/catalogue/michael-snow-one-second-in-montreal One Second in Montreal - Michael Snow - The Film-Makers' Cooperative
  35. Web site: Santa's Christmas Elf (Named Calvin) - The Cinema Snob. 4 December 2017 . www.youtube.com.
  36. Web site: Santa's Christmas Elf (Named Calvin). December 4, 2017. IMDb.
  37. https://thebedlamfiles.com/film/santas-christmas-elf-named-calvin/ SANTA'S CHRISTMAS ELF (NAMED CALVIN)|The Bedlam Files
  38. Web site: From These Roots. WILLIAM GREAVES.
  39. Web site: From These Roots. November 27, 1974. Internet Archive.
  40. Book: From these roots.. November 27, 1974. 5557089 . Open WorldCat.
  41. https://www.maysles.org/calendar/2022/6/9/home-to-harlem-americas-negro-metropolis Home To Harlem: America's Black Metropolis – maysles documentary center
  42. https://lightcone.org/en/film-135-pasadena-freeway-stills Light Cone - PASADENA FREEWAY STILLS
  43. https://www.laweekly.com/uclas-festival-of-preservation-unearths-gems-from-thom-andersen-and-jimmy-cagney-among-others/ UCLA's Festival of Preservation Unearths From Thom Andersen to James Cagney, Among Others - LA Weekly
  44. https://books.google.com/books?id=bRUMEAAAQBAJ Provenance and Early Cinema - Google Books (pgs.287-88)
  45. https://nwfilm.org/films/eadweard-muybridge-zoopraxographer/ Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer | NW Film Center
  46. https://www.splittoothmedia.com/northern-light-canadian-experimental-film-sampler-stephen-broomer/ Northern Light: A Sampler of Canadian Underground Film - Split Tooth Media
  47. https://mediaburn.org/video/image-union-episode-330/ Image Union, episode 0330 - Media Burn Archive
  48. https://vimeo.com/996831927 Black Forest Trading Post (audio commentary) (Art & Trash miniature 19) - Art & Trash on Vimeo
  49. Web site: DOGS' DIALOGUE (1984 review) | Jonathan Rosenbaum. jonathanrosenbaum.net.
  50. Book: Nishijima, Norio. Bouhours. Jean-Michel. 1996. L'art du mouvement: Collection cinématographique du Musée national d'art moderne, 1919–1996. The Ecstasy of Auto-machines. http://www.imageforum.co.jp/ito/introduction_e.html. Centre Georges Pompidou. fr. 978-2858509027.
  51. https://vimeo.com/955569335 Thunder (audio commentary) (Art & Trash miniature 17) - Art & Trash on Vimeo
  52. Web site: MIFF Archive. MIFF 2021.
  53. Web site: IFFR Archive. IFFR 2008.
  54. Web site: SCIFI 4 EVER. www.scifi4ever.com.
  55. https://www.viennale.at/en/films/killed Killed|Viennale
  56. https://iffr.com/en/blog/review-of-lasting-marks Review of Lasting Marks|IFFR
  57. https://vimeo.com/330121673 Field of Vision - Lasting Marks on official Vimeo channel
  58. https://med.gijon.es/en/creativos/caricaturana Caricaturana|Gijόn City Council
  59. https://www.filmsinframe.com/en/film-review/cinema-almanac-continuing-transition/ Cinema Almanac: continuing transition - Films in Frame
  60. https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/mrcvault/videographies/cuban-cinema-classics-santiago-alvarez Cuban Cinema Classics: Santiago Álvarez|UC Berkeley Library
  61. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40642785 The Incredible Stillness of Being: Motionless Pictures in the Films of Ken Burns on JSTOR
  62. https://www.vulture.com/2012/11/ken-burns-on-the-central-park-jogger-case.html Ken Burns Fights City Hall Over His New Film on the Central Park Jogger Case - Vulture

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