When I first saw this book I thought that it wouldn’t be my cup of tea, I’m not really into ‘experimental’ – that was until I started reading it! What an excellent way this is to teach young people the creative qualities of film. So many training facilities deal only in ‘digital’ and treat actual ‘film’ as an almost extinct poor relation.

I’m a bit old-fashioned in that I love film, real film – and, although I very much appreciate the boundless options which ‘digital’ offers, both in production and post-production, I worry that young people entering the business today haven’t been tutored in the fine art of using actual film stock. Not only does film require a creative mind, it needs the user to have an understanding of light, how it affects colour and how it can be used to best advantage, how chemicals react and inter-react and, even more important, how versatile the whole process is once you get the hang of how to use it. Film is a tactile, physical element – and the techniques you can learn from using film will carry through and make you a much better and more creative film and programme maker whatever medium you choose to work in. The author takes the reader through all the stages – from using footage which has already been shot and discarded to show how to create your own ‘collage’ film by deconstructing methods like cutting, scratching, colouring and then gluing back together. The clever thing is that each chapter is almost a stand-alone tutorial. If you know nothing about film processing or optical printing, you will by the time you read the appropriate sections. I love the diversity of this book. Have you ever thought about making your own microphone, speaker or headphones? You will once you’ve read Chapter 4! All in all, every educator of young people in the media business and every creative person, young or old, should have this book – hugely informative and, for any student hoping to make a career in production, great fun to read and put into practice – enjoy!

By the way, I’m not on commission from the Author!! 

Experimental Film Making … Break the Machine by Kathryn Ramey