In this instance I will be looking at “His Long Goodbye” (2012) by Georgina Wills, Emily Watt, Cinzia Samassimo and Sacha Stephan. A Link to their work can be found here: http://vogmae.net.au/classworks/media/2012/kfilms/hislonggoodbye/

Pattern:
Watching and observing the piece ‘His Long Goodbye’ it becomes apparent that there is definitely a clear theme and pattern very early on in the Korsakov film. It ensures the audience can identify a pattern by having every short clip in Black and white, illustrating a commonality among each of the clips to give it an early 1920’s film noir feel to the film piece. More patterns begin to emerge with repeat viewings of some clips along with the continuous narration over the top. The narrator describes himself, a mediocre private investigator, and what lead to his ultimate and somewhat tragic death. The very nature of the narration feels like something that you would be listening to in a classic Hollywood crime drama, where all that’s missing is the smooth jazzy baseline. Furthermore the utilization of the protagonist being a private investigator, only provides more to the already abundant film noir atmosphere, which by now has clearly become the intention of this Korsakov film. The separate cuts of film continue this theme or idea as each piece is black and white with very little movement, making it slow and almost stagnant. It creates a feeling as if we are searching for the narrative and continuing to look for something, a clue even, much like a private investigator. It is not in the videos, however, that provide the narrative but rather the uninterrupted narration over the top. It is only by listening to the full narration that the videos become abundantly clear in their relationship to the story and each other.

Interface:
It becomes apparent that instead of the videos being the narrative, they are the context or backdrop for the narration, which ultimately ties the different mediums together (in a very interesting way, which wasn’t immediately appreciated at first) and draws on some of the ideas of Bordwell and Thompson of cause and effect through narrative. This idea however was not immediately clear though as it wasn’t until the narration had reached a certain point in its story would some of the previously mentioned patterns in the videos become evident, ultimately delaying the narrative, thus ensuring the cause and effect relationship would be reached at its own pace, regardless of how many of the clips had been watched. Once the narrator was finished though we could then “Connect the event spatially” (Bordwell and Thompson, page 1, para 5) instead of using our imagination we can use the provided clips as a space to build upon the narrative. For instance when the narrator is explaining being tied to a chair one can reflect upon the short clip of a wooden chair, much like one you can be imagine being tied in. (not that you should ever be in that kind of situation…) example:

‘His long goodbye’ is riddled with moments just like this, with the video and narration becoming tied together to create a more vivid space in which the story can be materialized in your mind.

Content:
The Content itself in ‘His Long Goodbye’ is actually very fitting. Once again it is only after the narrator has articulated the story to a certain point that some of the content becomes relevant as if “time shapes our understanding of narrative action.” (Bordwell and Thompson, page 6, para 2) That is not to say the some images don’t immediately add to the narrative, such as this shot:

contributing to the private investigator like feeling throughout the narration, allowing the audience to feel as if it is receiving a play by play of locations if followed in the appropriate order, however this is not usually the case. With all this in mind, we can now see how some of the carefully chosen clips such as the lone chair (above) or this one

(with various clothing items sprawled out across the floor as if to have been thrown off in a drunken and lustful manner) does it become clear that only once the narration has reached a certain point in its timeline, will some of the videos show relevance to the story arc.

As far as finding a balance between patterns, the interface, and content I believe this Korsakov film has done a very good job of creating an interesting narrative. By allowing yourself as an audience member to become engaged with the interface this Korsakov film provides, will you have the most stimulating experience. It is only by immersing yourself in the interface can one see how all the mediums be tied together nicely, ultimately making it a very interesting and unique project.

Refernces:

Bordwell, David, and Kristin Thompson. Film Art: An Introduction. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill, 2013

Rascaroli, Laura. “The Essay Film: Problems, Definitions, Textual Commitments.” Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media 49.2 (2008): 24–47

Wills, Georgina. Watt, Emily. Sammassimo, Cinzia. Stephan, Sacha. “His Long Goodbye” RMIT, Korsakov, (2012)