The Concept of Form (Week 6)

Bordwell and Thompson’s Film Art: An Introduction section on ‘the concept of form in film’ is an important study of terminology for the interest of this studio. Although it refers to film form quite specifically, these notions are completely transferable to discussion of any artwork, including online video practices and the clarity the authors create regarding artistic form is useful for our exploration of narrative/non-narrative form in skate videos. First form can be understood as the overall system of relations within a work. Meaning the way that all the elements of a piece relate to each other, whether visual, sound, cause and effect, action, reaction, motivation, etc, contribute toward the form. It seems the reason form exists as a concept can be connected to the way the human brain works. Constantly in everyday life we seek order and significance and so art also prompts this seeking process. A key factor that contributes toward a work’s form is the way the audience navigates the work. For example, a set of certain events displayed in succession may create a particular expectation in the audience for the events to follow. How this expectation is created and whether the expectation is gratified or cheated, assist to define a work’s form. In addition, the implementation or resistance of conventions structures the form.  Finally the form creates a context for both emotion and also meaning to be portrayed to the audience. It seems most important from this text in relation to our practice, is the notion that the audience will actively compare aspects of a work to real life and their reality. Through this comparison, whether the organisation of the work gratifies their expectation, cheats it, whether it creates a feeling of a particular emotion or conveys a particular meaning, delineate the form.

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