MEMORY AS A METHOD FOR FILMMAKING

Emilio Angel Reyes Bassail

This research develops a method for filmmaking that uses autobiographical memory as a guiding principle for the production of images. The proposed method comes as the result of a double gesture in which I wanted to a) acquire a subjective understanding of memory that came from artistic practice; and b) materialize the process of memory through film. I used the filmmaking apparatus as a technique to give visibility to the process of remembering and forgetting: I worked with strategies such as the elaboration of a “memory diary”; the drawing of spoken portraits and locations based on memories; casting techniques which involved a dialectical approach towards memory; scouting trips to find places from my memory; hypnosis sessions as a technique to recover lost memories; reenactments of memories; a method to direct actors that relied on memory as a guiding mechanism; and the editing of the footage through a process of memory associations. While doing this research, I inadvertently found that the techniques I used led to a process in which memories were rewritten through experimentation. Thus, the method produced a conceptualization of "memory" that frames it as a creative process. In the process of working on this project, I developed a very subjective approach to the craft of filmmaking that was informed by my particular relationship with memory. Thus, the proposed method of using personal memory as a core mechanism for the production of audio-visual products can be utilized as a tool for film education, promoting the creation of personal film languages based on an individual's memory, and as device to reflect on the subjective process behind an individual's artistic practice.

Strangely enough, after seeing the drawing and reflecting on it, I noticed a series of strange quirks. For example, the drawing looks like a much older person than what he actually was. I incorporated a series of facial features that come from his older years. He looks old and scarred, a lot thinner than what he used to be, and has a lot of features that were not present during those years. It was also very astonishing to see the psychological profile that was created with the drawing: he looks bitter and angry, which is something that is not visible if you see a picture of him; nevertheless, that´s how I remember him during those years. It seems as if, together with him aging in real life, the memory I keep of him during those years has also aged. These findings made me think about how we produce images inside our minds, how we give bodily weight to psychological features, how we modify the images of the past in the light of new information and how, within our minds, a whole creative exercise is done to be able to generate images. It looks like concept and affection are intertwined with the sensory information of shapes, colors and light, in the human mind; this combination produces a very unique kind of images: images that have a tridimensionality not in space but in time.

Since in one of my texts my father appeared prominently, I decided that it would be an interesting idea to do a spoken portrait of my father. This memory came from a period in my life when I was around seven years old. Because of this, I tried to describe my father as he looked back then. I added all sorts of anecdotes about him to make his personality more easily graspable to Omar. I described his personality, his heroes, his vices, and stories that ranged from the mundane to the eccentric.

continue to: A place that only exists within memory

The rules for the first experiment were:

1. I would describe a character from my past to Omar and he would have to draw it.

2. I would verbalize to him a description of the physical appearance of my character as well as anecdotes and experiences from his/her life.

3. The technique and format of the drawing would be chosen by Omar.

4. I would never reveal the identity of the character.

5. The time it took for the drawing to be made should equal the duration of the narration.

6. It would all be documented on video.

7. We would guide the process through an open dialogue: Omar could ask for more information or for more descriptions. He could ask any question he wanted about this character. In a similar manner, I could deepen explanations on any feature or story as I found appropriate.

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