SOUNDPROOF

Cinesthesia 13 Original Broadcast April 18, 2024 Radio Playlist 1. Drones Over Dufferin / Rosy Fingered Dawn (from: Aural Obscura Vol. 1) 2. Ambulet / convenience (from: delayedGREEN) 3. Oliver Patrice Weder / RS (from: The Shoe Factory) 4. Drones Over Dufferin / Reprieve (from: Aural Obscura Vol. 1) 5. Oliver Patrice Weder / Golden Light (from: The Shoe Factory) 6. Drones Over Dufferin / Exposition (from: Aural Obscura Vol. 1) 7. Oliver Patrice Weder / Into Pieces (from: The Shoe Factory) 8. Drones Over Dufferin / Confrontation (from: Aural Obscura Vol. 1) 9. William Tyler / Arrival (from: Music From First Cow) 10. Drones Over Dufferin / Resolution (from: Aural Obscura Vol. 1) 11. William Tyler / A Closing (from: Music From First Cow) 12. Stephanie Sunata on making personal films. (from: https://youtu.be/7KHTPE-Uqus?si=5msRaNr7xBXTjhmw) with Laurent Petitgand / Engel (film: Faraway, So Close!) 13. William Tyler / An Opening (from: Music From First Cow) 14. Drones Over Dufferin / Memento Mori (from: Aural Obscura Vol. 1) 15. Ambulet / the birth (from: delayedGREEN)

Engagements with the essay film have utilized the caméra-stylo as metaphor for a film form that articulates intelligence and an individual point of view, typically accomplished through voice-over.” The concept of the Caméra-Stylo reminds me of the line in Birthmark (2018) that was used in the trailer. “I’m using the camera as a flashlight.” Instead of a pen, it’s a Caméra-Lamp-de-Poche or a Caméra-Flash. Used to to illuminate the dark parts of my inner basement, the making of Birthmark, revealed a belief that had to be excavated and destroyed. “Vococentrism is [Michel] Chion’s term for the cinematic soundtrack’s prioritization of the human voice over sound effects and music—their soundtracks are dominated and arranged around the human voice…[and] the very rhetoric of film, its framework, is constructed by the logic and nature of the voiceover.”

Read more: https://laalfonso.substack.com

Drones Over Dufferin https://dronesoverdufferin.bandcamp.com/album/aural-obscura-vol-i / https://dronesoverdufferin.bandcamp.com/album/aural-obscura-vol-ii

Oliver Patrice Weder https://modernarecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-shoe-factory

You’re listening to Cinesthesia, produced live in the studio at Trent Radio 92.7 CFFF FM in beautiful (Nogojiwanong) Peterborough, Ontario, every Thursday at 5 PM. It’s also a podcast on SoundProof, creative nonfiction for audio. I’m your producer and host, LA Alfonso. In this audio program, film theory meets film music.

Cinesthesia 12 Original Broadcast April 11, 2024 Radio Playlist 1. The Dust Brothers / Who is Tyler Durden? (film: Fight Club) 2. William Tyler / A Clearing in the Field (film: First Cow) 3. Marc Junker / Finding Your Way (from: Prepared Piano 1.0) 4. Oliver Patrice Weder / I’d Like the Birds to Teach Me How to Fly (from: The Shoe Factory) 5. Marc Junker / Beyond (from: Prepared Piano 1.0) 6. Oliver Patrice Weder / Breathe Out (from: The Shoe Factory) 7. Marc Junker / ~(crashed)~ (from: Prepared Piano 1.0) 8. William Tyler / The Separation (film: First Cow) 9. Marc Junker / Skeuomorph (from: Prepared Piano 1.0) 10. Oliver Patrice Weder / Modern Times (from: The Shoe Factory) 11. The Dust Brothers / What is Fight Club? (film: Fight Club)  12. Marc Junker / Wind Theme (from: Prepared Piano 1.0) 13. Oliver Patrice Weder / True Heroes (from: The Shoe Factory) 14. Marc Junker / Pour You (from: Prepared Piano 1.0) 15. Marc Junker / Sea of Clouds (from: Prepared Piano 1.0) 16. Oliver Patrice Weder / Breathe In (from: The Shoe Factory) 17. Marc Junker / Extremities (from: Prepared Piano 1.0) 18. Oliver Patrice Weder / Home At Last (from: The Shoe Factory) 19. Oliver Patrice Weder / The Factory Song (from: The Shoe Factory)

I’m in love with a genre of filmmaking — the self-inscribed film, when filmmakers use the camera/pen to write their personal story cinematically. Once only in realm of the avant-garde, it’s now a ubiquitous way of making movies. As much as I could, I’ve been following the development of this genre since I became aware of it through the work of Chris Marker in the early 90s. Having seen only Hollywood films before, encountering Sans Soleil (1982) literally changed my life. The movie showed me a way to make films on my own. And, it must have influenced somehow a pivotal point in the making of my student film, The Best Waitress in the World (1992). It changed from the concept of documenting a waitress to making a film about my creative process. It was a switch from artifice to authenticity. I asked, “why fake an audience? What’s wrong with telling them that a film is being made? That’s the truth. The filmmaker is always part of the story. The presence of the observer changes the observed. Taking that into consideration, one must be upfront the manipulation of sound and images. Yet, it’s almost impossible to show the behind the scenes of editing. It has been attempted by filmmaker Orson Welles in his documentary F For Fake (1973) where it was important to expose the lies, so, for a brief moment, the camera pulled back to show Welles in an editing suite. 

READ MORE: https://laalfonso.substack.com

Marc Junker Prepared Piano 1.0 https://junker.bandcamp.com/album/prepared-piano-10

Oliver Patrice Weder The Shoe Factory https://modernarecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-shoe-factory

Cinesthesia 11 Original Broadcast April 4, 2024 Radio Playlist 1. Ruby Raskin / Opening Theme (from: That’s Hollywood) 2. Hooray for Hollywood (film: Hollywood Hotel) 3. Daniela Pinto / A Mysterious Customer (film: The Whisper of Succulents) 4. Daniela Pinto / Her Name is Nicole Malmont (film: The Whisper of Succulents) 5. Daniela Pinto / The Little Cabbage (film: The Whisper of Succulents) 6. Daniela Pinto / Germination (film: The Whisper of Succulents) 7. Brian Eno: Undersea Steps (film: Hammerheads) 8. Brian Eno / Final Sunset (film Sebastiane) 9. Ke Huy Quan / Acceptance Speech (from: Oscars 2023) 10. Daniela Pinto / A Hero for our Time (film: John Muir at Trout Hollow) 11. Daniela Pinto / The Saw Mill  (film: John Muir at Trout Hollow) 12. Daniela Pinto / Youthful Scholar (film: John Muir at Trout Hollow) 13. Daniela Pinto / Harvest (film: The Whisper of Succulents) 14. Rob Fortin & Susan Newman / performed by Marsala Lukianchuk and cast (film: One Day in December) 15. Daniela Pinto / Photosynthesis (film: The Whisper of Succulents) 16. Daniela Pinto / The Kitchen (film: The Whisper of Succulents) 17. Daniela Pinto / The Dripping Woman (film: The Whisper of Succulents) 18. Daniela Pinto / End Credits (film: The Whisper of Succulents) 19. Daniela Pinto / A Call to Freedom (film: John Muir at Trout Hollow) 20. Daniela Pinto / Snow Flower (film: John Muir at Trout Hollow) 21. Steve Langley / Do What You Want to Do (film: Tongues Untied) 22. Thomas Flight on The Oscars https://youtu.be/gQcB532FjN4?si=fz51w0KYUGBVyNT_ 23. Daniela Pinto / Brothers at Work (film: John Muir at Trout Hollow) 24. Daniela Pinto / Romantic Hollow (film: John Muir at Trout Hollow) 25. Daniela Pinto / Wish You Were Here (film: John Muir at Trout Hollow) 26. Daniela Pinto / The Chilling Answer (film: John Muir at Trout Hollow) 27. Daniela Pinto / Until We Meet Again (film: John Muir at Trout Hollow)

“My journey started on a boat,” said Ke Huy Quan. “I spent a year in a refugee camp and somehow I ended up here on Hollywood’s biggest stage.” He continued, “they say stories like this only happen in the movies. I cannot believe it’s happening to me. This—this is the American dream.” Later, he said, “dreams are something you have to believe in. I almost gave up on mine. To all of you out there,” he said pointing at the camera and directly at the viewer, “please keep your dreams alive.” It was as if he was talking directly to me. I saw last night’s broadcast as if Data from The Goonies is straight-talking me.

READ MORE: https://laalfonso.substack.com

https://danipinto.bandcamp.com/album/john-muir-at-trout-hollow-original-motion-picture-soundtrack

https://danipinto.bandcamp.com/album/the-whisper-of-succulents-original-motion-picture-soundtrack

Very special thanks to Max Mueller and his film Entities with Knowledge. https://maxmuellerfilm.com/entities-with-knowledge

Cinesthesia 10 Original Broadcast Radio Playlist March 21, 2024 1. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross /Penetration (film: The Social Network) 2. Jessica Moss / Memorizing and Forgetting (from: Phosphenes) 3. Daniela Pinto / The End of Days (film: The End of Days) 4. Daniela Pinto / Make it On My Own (film: Priya) 5. Daniela Pinto / She’s My Ex (film: Priya) 6. Daniela Pinto / Battles (film: Priya) 7. Daniela Pinto / Something Real (film: Priya) 8. Daniela Pinto / Proud of You (film: Priya) 9. Daniela Pinto / Whisk You Away (film: Priya) 10. Daniela Pinto / Finding Noah (film: Vox) 11. Daniela Pinto / Opening Theme (film: Vox) 12. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross / Hand Covers Bruise (film: The Social Network 13. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross / It Catches Up With You (film: The Social Network) 14. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross / Intriguing Possibilities (film: The Social Network) 15. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross / Pieces Form the Whole (film: The Social Network)16. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross / Hand Covers Bruise (Reprise) (film: The Social Network) 17. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross / Soft Trees Break the Fall (film: The Social Network) 18. Esmerine / The Space in Between (from: Mechanics of Dominion) 19. Esmerine / La Lucha Es Una Sola (from: Mechanics of Dominion) 20. Esmerine / La Penombre (from: Mechanics of Dominion) 21. Esmerine / La Plume Des Armes (from: Mechanics of Dominion)

TUESDAY — I connected with the director of one of the films at Hot Docs, Maxwell Mueller, and he seemed eager to share himself and his work. I’m interested in films that feature the willingness of the filmmaker to have the effects of a hallucinogen on his state be documented. I did that once too but I never had the courage to look at the footage. In the Q&A, Mueller admitted that having the camera there was “an impediment.” I’m curious to know more specifics. 

Read more: laalfonso.substack.com

Esmerine https://esmerine.bandcamp.com/album/mechanics-of-dominion

Daniela Pinto https://danipinto.bandcamp.com/

Cinesthesia 09 Original Broadcast Radio Playlist March 14, 2024 1. Olivier Bernet / Tout Ce Qui Est A Vous M’appartient (film: Persepolis) 2. John Zorn / Music for Tsunta (Nine Cues) (from: Filmworks III: 1990-1995) 3. John Zorn / Hollywood Hotel: Objects (from: Filmworks III: 1990-1995) 4. John Zorn / Hollywood Hotel: Japanese Tourists (from: Filmworks III: 1990-1995) 5. John Zorn / Hollywood Hotel: Night Hotel 2 (from: Filmworks III: 1990-1995) 6. Barzin / Folded Petal (film: The Shadow of My Life) 7. Barzin / Canvas (film: The Shadow of My Life) 8. Maurice Solway / Judicial Polka (film: The Violin) 9. Tom Waits / Heigh Ho (The Dwarfs Marching Song) (From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) (from: Stay Awake, 1988) 10.  Barzin / Starry Night (film: The Shadow of My Life) 11. Barzin / A Meeting in the Rain (film: The Shadow of My Life) 12. Barzin / Feathers (film: The Shadow of My Life) 13. Barzin / A Dark Pool (film: The Shadow of My Life) 14. Barzin / Persona (film: The Shadow of My Life) 15. Olivier Bernet / Manifestations (film: Persepolis) 16. Olivier Bernet / La Bonne Lecon (film: Persepolis) 17. Olivier Bernet / L’é Popée d’Anouche (film: Persepolis) 18. Sinéad O’Connor/Andy Rourke / Someday My Prince Will Come (from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) (from: Stay Awake, 1988)

Back in 2022, Professor Richard Cousins walked into our class and talked some nonsense. And thinking through nonsense, I wrote this response. I once heard a personal theory about the brain’s inner workings that makes a person erupt with laughter. As the idea goes, when listening to a joke, the set-up engages the brain’s left hemisphere, but then the punchline suddenly forces the listener to switch to the right. For example, the left brain may follow “E-flat walks into a bar.” But when “the bartender says ‘sorry we don’t serve minors,” our grasp quickly slips to the right. According to the hunch, this abrupt shift is what causes laughter. A sudden detour into nonsense can cause someone to laugh.

The getting of “laughs” is the motor that drives the nonsense in some early animations. In comedies like Ernie Kovacs’ Eugene, Tex Avery’s Screwball Squirrel, and Charles M. (“Chuck”) Jones’ Duck Amuck, each short notably plays with defying the audience’s expectations with filmmaking conventions.

Read more: https://laalfonso.substack.com

Cinesthesia 08 Original Broadcast March 7, 2024 RADIO PLAYLIST 1. Sleep / Some Grass (film: Gummo) 2. Seth A Smith / In The Woods (film: The Crescent) 3. Seth A Smith / The Sea (film: The Crescent) 4. Seth A Smith / Lost (film: The Crescent) 5. Namanax / The Medicined Man (film: Gummo) 6. Burzum / Rundgang Un Die Transzendentale Säule Der Singularität (film: Gummo) 7. Mischa Maisky / 17 Bach_ Cello Suite #2 In D Minor, BWV 1008 – 1. Praeludium (film: Gummo) 8. Adrian Copeland / The Wither and Wane (album: If This Were My Body) 9. Adrian Copeland / Sons of Our Fathers (album: If This Were My Body) 10. Adrian Copeland / Heir to the Ember Sun (album: If This Were Body) 11. In Depth Cine / How the French New Wave Changed Filmmaking Forever (clip) 12. Mischa Maisky / 17 Bach_ Cello Suite #2 In D Minor, BWV 1008 – 1. Praeludium (film: Gummo) 13. Adrian Copeland / Stars With No Sky (album: If This Were My Body) 14. Agnès Varda wins an honorary Oscar award in 2017, speech (clip) 15. Adrian Copeland / Rites of Sorrow (album: If This Were My Body)

A manifesto can sometimes precede film movements. The word manifesto came from the Latin manu festus—“struck by hand,” said Julian Hanna in The Atlantic. Performance is part of the manifesto’s materiality, its existence in the world,” he said. “The manifesto—“struck by hand”—has always been about striking gestures.” 

He recalled Lars Von Trier scattering red leaflets printed with “Vow of Chastity” into the audience at a 1995 conference on the future of film. Object Lessons says, “Marinetti made art into a kind of Punch and Judy show, full of pantomime fisticuffs and bold, simple storylines: “Destroy the past, embrace the future.” From Dada manifestos in the Cabaret Voltaire in 1916 to the radical street theatre of the 1960s, one strikes a manifesto like a match. It strikes like lightning.

READ MORE: https://laalfonso.substack.com

Manifestos: a Manifesto

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/06/manifestos-a-manifesto-the-10-things-all-manifestos-need/372135/

Seth A Smith https://fundog.bandcamp.com/album/the-crescent-original-motion-picture-soundtrack

Adrian Copeland https://alderandashmusic.bandcamp.com/album/if-this-were-my-body

Agnès Varda receives an Honorary Oscar award in 2017.

How the French New Wave Changed Filmmaking Forever by In Depth Cine

I film therefore I am. — Jim Lane

Cinesthesia 07 Original Broadcast: February 29, 2024. RADIO PLAYLIST 1. aquapher (Jared Bremner) / rings • 2. aquapher (Jared Bremner) / consonant • 3. aquapher (Jared Bremner) / broked • 4. aquapher (Jared Bremner) / vowel • 5. aquapher (Jared Bremner) / ambidexchewus • 6. LA Alfonso / MeMovie: Director’s Notebook, Episode 1 (work-in-progress) 7. Ennio Morricone / On Earth as it is in Heaven (film: The Mission) 8. Ennio Morricone / Brothers (film: The Mission) 9. Ennio Morricone / Carlotta (film: The Mission) • 10. Ennio Morricone / Vista Nostra (film: The Mission) • 11. Ennio Morricone / Climb (film: The Mission) • 12 aquapher (Jared Bremner) / Eincynn

The Filmmaker as the Film’s Protagonist: here is a list (in progress) of personal documentaries, first-person films, diary films, documentaries as film memoirs, and cinematic self-inscription https://letterboxd.com/lesteralfonso/list/the-filmmaker-as-the-films-protagonist/by/release-earliest/ on my Letterboxd account.

Shortly after the release of David Holzman’s Diary (1967), the U.S. documentary scene shifted to factual modes of autobiography inspired by a fictional prototype. The imaginary experiment inspired some documentarists to explore the relationship between the nonfiction camera and their private world. What was once an anomaly in documentaries is now more typically accepted. “The invigoration of autobiography in the documentary has set up new possibilities for both modes of representation.” In his book, Jim Lane offers a modern-day Cartesian aphorism, ‘I film therefore I am.’ However, he says, “Self-inscription in film and video remains a complex practice, beholden to discourse conventions and history.” READ MORE https://laalfonso.substack.com/

Reference: Jim Lane. The Autobiographical Documentary in America. The University of Wisconsin Press, 2002.

aquapher https://aquapher.bandcamp.com/

LA Alfonso / MeMovie: Director’s Notebook, Episode 1 (work-in-progress) https://vimeo.com/821517718

Cinesthesia 06 – Original Broadcast: February 22, 2024. RADIO PLAYLIST 1. Seth A Smith / Rocks (film: Lowlife) 2. Montag / Prologue (film: Habiter le mouvement) 3. Montag / Une tete dans une boite (film: Habiter le mouvement) 4. Montag / Territorio Politico (film: Habiter le mouvement) 5. Montag / Makucham (film: Habiter le mouvement) 6. Montag / Pluie (film: Habiter le mouvement) 7. Montag / Memoire (film: Habiter le mouvement) 8. Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker / Salt Peanuts (film: On the Road) 9. Cheryl Dunye Interview Clip – Criterion Channel 10. Daisuke Beppu, The Criterion Collection 2023 releases: The Watermelon Woman 11. The Watermelon Woman, clip 2 12. Montag / Expansion (film: Habiter le mouvement) 13. Montag / Expansion 2 (film: Habiter le mouvement) 14. Montag / My inner voice (film: Habiter le mouvement) 15. Montag / Duos (film: Habiter le mouvement) 16. Montag / The Choreographer (film: Habiter le mouvement)

The Watermelon Woman began to look at the concept of the archive. The film is taught by academics, yet it’s a funny movie (Michael Koresky calls it a “romcom”). Thomas Allen Harris says it captures the archive’s politics, drama, and spirit. The Watermelon Woman elevates the institution to a new level of widespread visibility by making fun of it, says Ann Cvetkovich in An Archive of Feelings.

READ MORE: https://lalfonso.substack.com

Cinesthesia 05, Original Broadcast: February 15, 2024, RADIO PLAYLIST 1. Christine Bougie / Dowsing Rod (film: The Rainbow Kid) 2. Christine Bougie / Ambient (film: The Rainbow Kid) 3. Christine Bougie / Lightly (film: The Rainbow Kid) 4. Christine Bougie / The Forest (film: The Rainbow Kid) 5. Christine Bougie / A New Home (film: The Rainbow Kid) 6. Christine Bougie / Anna (film: The Rainbow Kid) 7. Jean Corriveau / Musique De Marcel (film: Un Zoo La Nuit) 8. Jean Corriveau / Rituel (film: Un Zoo La Nuit) 9 Beverly Glenn-Copeland / Old Melody (album: Keyboard Fantasies) 10. Clips from the documentary Keyboard Fantasies 11. Beverly Glenn-Copeland / Ever New, live (show: Q with Tom Power, CBC)

12. Clips from the documentary Keyboard Fantasies 13. Beverly Glenn-Copeland / Sunset Village (album: Keyboard Fantasies) 14. Clint Mansell / San Junipero (80s-90s-00s-??s) (show: Black Mirror) 15. Clint Mansell / Faith, Hope, Fear & Falling in Love (show: Black Mirror) 16. Olivier Bernet / Eye of the Tiger (film: Persepolis) 17. Blood Orange / Sunset Village (Blood Orange Remix) (album: Keyboard Fantasies Reimagined)

Artist Links

https://christinebougie.bandcamp.com/album/the-rainbow-kid-original-soundtrack

https://beverlyglenn-copeland.bandcamp.com/album/keyboard-fantasies-reimagined

https://beverlyglenn-copeland.bandcamp.com/album/keyboard-fantasies

https://clintmansell.bandcamp.com/album/black-mirror-san-junipero-original-score

Often labelled as subjective or objective, there is nonetheless a long tradition of reenactments in documentary films. Could there ever be objective truth in documentaries? The use of reenactments, says one article, “has filmmakers, film theorists, and critics divided. Some believe the use of reenactments brings historical accuracy into question while others feel it enhances history. More recently, exploitative crime television shows and docudramas that utilize eenactments are often over-the-top melodrama, thus further fuelling this topic and giving it a poor name.” 

READ MORE: https://laalfonso.substack.com

You’re listening to Cinesthesia, produced live in the studio at Trent Radio 92.7 CFFF FM in beautiful (Nogojiwanong) Peterborough, Ontario, every Thursday at 5 PM. It’s also a podcast on SoundProof, creative nonfiction for audio. I’m your producer and host, LA Alfonso. In this audio program, film theory meets film music.

Original Radio Broadcast: Feb. 8, 2024 • PLAYLIST Angelo Badalamenti / Twin Peaks Theme • Bernard Herrmann / A Night Piece for Saxophone & Orchestra (film: Taxi Driver) • Clip from Thomas Flight video (https://youtu.be/D3owqp72SJE?si=rLcaPucYVvsmeWfh) • LoboSono / Solo Sable (album: CINEMATIQUE vol 1) • LoboSono / eau (album: CINEMATIQUE vol 1) • LoboSono / Eau Duo (album: CINEMATIQUE vol 1) • LoboSono / Neige Flute (album: CINEMATIQUE vol 1) • Barzin / Starry Night (film: The Shadow of my Life) • Angelo Badalamenti / Laura Palmer’s Theme • Colin Stetson / Un Fin (film: La Peur) • Colin Stetson / Fallen Friend (film: La Peur) • Colin Stetson / Amongst the Ruin (film: La Peur) • Colin Stetson / Smoke Rising (film: La Peur) • Colin Stetson / Fever Dream (film: La Peur) • Colin Stetson / Playing (film: La Peur) • Colin Stetson / Innocence (film: La Peur) • Colin Stetson / In Hospital (film: La Peur) • Colin Stetson / Healing (film: La Peur) • Colin Stetson / Memories (film: La Peur) • Colin Stetson / Fading Campaign (film: La Peur) • Clip from Cinema Cartographer (https://youtu.be/fOSLfuW6yoU?si=YoRVjZvKZoH-eeOo) • Bernard Herrmann / Prelude, The Nightmare, Scene D’Amour (film: Vertigo) • Julee Cruise / Into the Night (album: Floating Into the Night)

For me, for the filmmakers, I came to love and respect. For my friends who started making movies around the same time I did, cinema was about aesthetic, emotional and spiritual revelation. It was about characters — the complexity of people and their contradictory and sometimes paradoxical natures, how they can hurt and love one another and suddenly come face to face with themselves. — from Scorsese’s Soliloquy

Read: Under_Score for more: https://laalfonso.substack.com

https://lobosono.bandcamp.com/album/cin-matique-vol-1

https://barzin.bandcamp.com/album/the-shadow-of-my-life-original-motion-picture-soundtrack

https://colinstetson.bandcamp.com/album/la-peur-original-motion-picture-soundtrack

Is Martin Scorsese Right About Cinema? by Thomas Flight

Why is Experimental Film (not) Cinema? by Cinema Cartographer