SXSW Here I Come. As an Exquisite Corpse!
So I've signed on to be a in The Exquisite Corpse Film Experiment (read below). I've also been asked to participate as a panelist at SXSW this year as the representative filmmaker of the project. The panel is part of both the Interactive and Film festival. This will be my first time as a panelist and it will be my first major film fest to attend while NOT working.
It's been about 15 years since I've been to Austin so I'm really looking forward to it. Wallstrip's brother show, Moblogic.tv is going down there to tape some shows, so they're taking me along.
I just got my "moment of inspiration" yesterday. I wish I could post it for all to see, but I'm bound to secrecy. That goes for my story and filmmaking plans as well. Luci has been documenting the progress of the film. She's still trying to get clearance for the panel in Austin, but the available pass limits her to taping from her seat. It'd be a shame to miss the opportunity to integrate SXSW into the film. Read more about her process HERE!
Here's some detailed info about what we're doing:
Tag, You're It!
The Exquisite Corpse Film Experiment
A SXSW Film/Interactive panel & Film project
Tag, You're It! is a filmmaking experiment that explores creative collaboration.
In 1925 the Surrealists invented an art experiment/game called the exquisite corpse, or Le Cadavre Exquis . In it a group of artists collaboratively created artworks. It started as a word game in which each participant would write a phrase, fold the paper to conceal part of it and pass it on to the next player. This process started as a game, and was adopted by the Surrealists and Dadaists as a way to make art. The participant artist fights against the chaos that the form imposes on her, and tries to make a coherent whole.
Tag, You Are It! is a project that explores how the exquisite corpse experiment could be applied to filmmaking. In 2008 a group of filmmakers will come together to create an exquisite corpse film, collaboratively creating a feature film. Each team will create a 4-5 minute segment on film or video. When they are finished they will pass the last minute of their film to the next team, along with a collection of headshots of the actors involved, and a prop or object featured in their segment. No other information will change hands. The next team must incorporate one of these elements into their piece and will have 2 weeks to write, cast, shoot, and edit their segment. The final film will be submitted to the 2009 SXSW film festival.
The teams will span the spectrum of story creators. Traditional filmmakers- both narrative and documentary, conceptual video artists, playwrights, animators- all are fair game. A website will track the creation of each piece, showcasing behind the scenes footage, each segment's final minute, as well as information about the filmmakers, and an ongoing production blog. This website will go live shortly.
Tag, You're It! will be kicked off at the 2008 SXSW Film/Music/Interactive festival. A March 11th panel will discuss the challenges presented by collaborative story creation. Issues of ownership, creative control, traditional story structure, and what happens to all of these when they are shattered by an arbitrary set of rules that mandate surrendering control.