giving and taking book

Wow. There was a ton of information in the reading. First off, I am a projectionist working with 35mm, so a lot of information such as splicing, all the different leaders, single/double sprocket, base and emulsion, and gate are terms I am very much aware of. So I found all this to be a little bit of a waste of a read. However, coming into the second half of the reading I was a little blown away. By blown away I mean terms and ideas Brakhage was sharing were not so much foreign to me, but rather, hard to visualize. A lot of things that he shares, like the section on lighting and using a flashlight, etc., I feel are experiments that I need to try for myself. What I do enjoy is how he reaches the reader on a personal level by even admiting that "[he], too, [is] tired of these mechanical limitations" right after discussing that lengthy confusing-yet-shouldn't-be talk about Daylight and Tungsten film.

I also feel that the reading is for someone who either studies experimenal film or has made efforts in that field of entertainment. For me, the only studying I have really done was watching the experimental film in class and the only attempt at making something experimental was in class. So some technical terms I understand from previous classes, but had I not had that then I would totally be loss by Brakhage's directions, or should I say helpful enlightenments. Overall, I would have to say that Brakhage knows his stuff haha. It sometimes feels as though he is writing just to amuse himself; getting carried away on tangents like the section where he goes on about "sensing." I would love to read this article again come mid-March when I've worked on a few projects and am still learning new ways of trying express an emotion or just to make something quirky on 16mm film.