Hand Painted Films

Painting  directly onto motion picture film creates a most challenging cinematic  experience. Unlike most other film techniques, it is somewhat more difficult to ascribe metaphorical meaning to the resulting perceptual phenomenon which can range from synaptic analog to surface patina which reflexively draws attention to an archeology of the medium itself, carrying with it a whole range of nostalgic emotions not unlike those associated with the scratches seen on old newsreel footage or the various indelible stains and marks remaining on antiquated or distressed motion picture relics.

In the 1960s I pioneered Abstract Expressionist painting directly to the film surface creating a new vocabulary of moving shape, color, and texture as well as a good measure of chance operation. In the 1970s I added multiple stages of optical  printing to my hand-painted film ("Ommo"), but now have returned to a simpler and more pragmatic approach without composing added speed variations.

I prefer a "steady pulse" (usually 15 fps)  to let the mind's eye seek out the implied animate variations and movements generated from the  painting itself, similar to polyrhythmic  percussion music working around and within its steady main beats. Notice how sometimes the paintings seem to sway as if in a tropical breeze. Even though a metaphorical thread is not always intended, it is impossible for the mind to avoid creating narratives for what it thinks it is seeing. I believe it is natural to confront and enjoy painting without always the preliminary lecture and homework reading of critical essays.