Lisa McElroy
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Contact Information*:
Oakland California USA |
Contact Type: Artist |
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Bio:
Filmography/Awards Info: Film: "Job" 5:30 minutes, surreal short 1. Why did you make this film? Partly as a first-year MFA project, and partly as "closure" for a series of dead-end temp jobs I held over the years. I wanted to have fun with surreal imagery and make fun of my somewhat useless "career" in the process. 2. How long did it take to make this film? A couple of semesters (less than a year). Lots of friends/classmates helped, thank god. Also the wonderful, now-closed, Palmer Labs of Northern California were a big help in getting this strange thing printed properly. 3. What was the biggest challenge you faced in making this film? Scheduling the shoot. Since it's such a short film, there weren't tremendous problems. Getting my "star" up at 7 a.m. was probably the biggest challenge. Getting permission to use the UCSF campus as a location was surprisingly easy. I told them it was an educational film, but no one seemed to care either way. Distributing it was no picnic, but once it got into some underground festivals, it was "on its way." 5. What can you tell us about the technology/equipment that you used? Camera? Editing? Software? Hardware? Film stock? Video tape stock? Sound equipment? Etc. The most interesting technical aspect of this film is the Ray-o-graph¾a cameraless technique where you expose objects directly on very slow film stock, then send it off to the lab and cross your fingers that it comes out. Usually it does. You can use a light bulb or flashlight (I used a bike headlight) to expose the film--timing the exposure is an experiment in itself. For the objects I used rock salt, paper clips, colored gels and 16mm film (the most challenging to line up in a darkroom). 6. Do you enjoy one aspect of filmmaking more than any others? Editing is my favorite. Also writing and working with good actors. 7. In what country or region do you live? Is it important to your art? If so, in what way? San Francisco inspired me for many years because it was such a surreal, slacker haven. Now it's a workaholic mecca, so it's not so conducive to storytelling for me. I'm looking toward Nevada at this point. 10. What are a few tips you can give to other filmmakers? For narrative filmmakers: come up with a story or at least an interesting character (gee, I purposefully did neither on "Job"). If you can bury yourself into your work sufficiently, then you're "in" the film, but it's not all about you--it becomes something bigger and that will reach your audience in varied and interesting ways. 12. Who is your favorite film director? Buster Keaton, Billy Wilder, Nancy Savoca. 14. What else would you like to tell us? Someday films will be 3D holograms and we'll all look back at this and think, "how quaint." This Contact appears in this database if Microcinema International has screened a film directed by the Contact, a film directed by the contact is featured in a DVD distributed by the Blackchair Collection Shop, or featured an organization or activity linked with the Contact. This database is used for commercial as well as informational, non-commercial purposes. It is a historical archive of Microcinema International's activities. Inclusion in this database and archive in no way implies a continuing formal relationship or affiliation with Microcinema International or the Blackchair Label nor an endorsement of its activities by the Contact. Contact details are not displayed in order to protect privacy. If you wish to contact this artist please see their website as listed above or write Microcinema International and we will be happy to forward your e-mail.
Microcinema Interview/Article:
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