La Région Centrale is a 1971 experimental Canadian film directed by Michael Snow. The film is 180 minutes long and shot over a period of 24 hours using a robotic arm, and consists entirely of preprogrammed movements.
La Région Centrale is three hours long, composed of seventeen shots of an uninhabited mountainous landscape.[1] Between each take, the screen is black with a white X in the center.[2] In the beginning, the camera moves to capture its surroundings with slow, continuous gestures. Over the course of the film, the movement crescendos as the camera spins rapidly.[3]
Development
Snow had the idea in 1964 to create a film where a camera moved "in every direction and on every plane of a sphere". During the late 1960s he created three films that experimented with camera movement: Wavelength, Standard Time, and <--->. He researched machines that could automatically move a camera in complex ways, particularly surveillance devices.[3] The Canadian Film Development Corporation gave Snow a grant of $28,000, and he received additional funding from the Famous Players chain of theatres.[4][5]
At the recommendation of IMAX co-founder Graeme Ferguson, Snow contacted Pierre Abbeloos, an engineer at the National Film Board of Canada.[3] He commissioned Abbeloos to construct a "Camera Activating Machine" (CAM), a robotic arm on which a 16 mm camera could be mounted. Abbeloos took a year to design and build the device. To generate a control signal for the CAM, Abbeloos used the selsyn from the Arriflex 16ST camera and converted it into a spectrum of frequencies sent to the CAM's control box. This operated the camera's zoom and determined the CAM's motion through a series of tones.[3][6]
Snow wanted to film a location with no traces of human activity.[7] He originally considered the countryside north of his mother's birthplace of Chicoutimi in Saguenay, Quebec as well as Kapuskasing or Timmins, both mining areas that his father had surveyed in Northern Ontario.[5] He scouted northern Quebec and found a mountain 160 km (100 mi) north of Sept-Îles.[7][8]
Snow shot La Région Centrale from September 14 to 20, 1970 with his wife Joyce Wieland, Abbeloos, and Bernard Goussard. They chartered a helicopter to transport them to the mountain.[3] Snow and his team were shooting for five days, producing sixty hours of footage.[6] He edited the film during a residency at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.[1]
For the film's soundtrack, Snow wanted to use the tones that controlled the CAM. He found it difficult to record the sound directly onto film in sync with the image; instead, he used a modified Revox to record the tones coming from the CAM's control box on quarter-inch cartridges. He dubbed the sound in post-production.[3]
Release
La Région Centrale was released in 1971. At the National Gallery of Canada, the film was exhibited along with the CAM, to which Abbeloos added a CCTV camera. The CAM responded to passersby with a 30-minute sequence of pre-programmed movements. When the film was shown at the Center for Inter-American Relations in 1972, Snow presented the modified CAM as a video sculpture titled De La.[3]
"In a brilliant convergence of form and content, camera movement becomes the reason d’etre. Rarely, if ever, has a film so clearly delineated the role of this machine in our reception and perception of the objected filmed. To make the film, Snow worked with a technician to design a mechanized camera that was able to move without human intervention in every direction imaginable. To further erase the influence of humans, Snow filmed in the remote reaches of Northern Quebec, where his camera roamed the landscape, in a manner both systematic and arbitrary. It’s both an exhilarating celebration of cinema’s unique qualities and a clever joke on the landscape tradition in Canadian art."[9]
La Région Centrale received five critics' votes and two directors' votes in the 2012 Sight & Sound polls of the world's greatest films.[10] The film is now part of Anthology Film Archives' Essential Cinema Repertory collection.[11]
^ abcdefgWhite, Kenneth (2015). "Strangeloves: From/De la région centrale, Air Defense Radar Station Moisie, and Media Cultures of the Cold War". Grey Room. 58 (58): 51–52. doi:10.1162/GREY_a_00162. S2CID 57563152.
^Marcorelles, Louis (1973). "Snow Storms Italy". Cinema Canada. No. 6. p. 64.
La Région Centrale at the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre
February 07, 2023
région, centrale, 1971, experimental, canadian, film, directed, michael, snow, film, minutes, long, shot, over, period, hours, using, robotic, consists, entirely, preprogrammed, movements, directed, bymichael, snowcinematographypierre, abbeloosdistributed, byc. La Region Centrale is a 1971 experimental Canadian film directed by Michael Snow The film is 180 minutes long and shot over a period of 24 hours using a robotic arm and consists entirely of preprogrammed movements La Region CentraleDirected byMichael SnowCinematographyPierre AbbeloosDistributed byCanadian Filmmakers Distribution CentreRelease date1971 1971 Running time180 minutesCountryCanada Contents 1 Description 2 Development 3 Production 4 Release 4 1 Critical reception 5 References 6 External linksDescription EditLa Region Centrale is three hours long composed of seventeen shots of an uninhabited mountainous landscape 1 Between each take the screen is black with a white X in the center 2 In the beginning the camera moves to capture its surroundings with slow continuous gestures Over the course of the film the movement crescendos as the camera spins rapidly 3 Development EditSnow had the idea in 1964 to create a film where a camera moved in every direction and on every plane of a sphere During the late 1960s he created three films that experimented with camera movement Wavelength Standard Time and lt gt He researched machines that could automatically move a camera in complex ways particularly surveillance devices 3 The Canadian Film Development Corporation gave Snow a grant of 28 000 and he received additional funding from the Famous Players chain of theatres 4 5 At the recommendation of IMAX co founder Graeme Ferguson Snow contacted Pierre Abbeloos an engineer at the National Film Board of Canada 3 He commissioned Abbeloos to construct a Camera Activating Machine CAM a robotic arm on which a 16 mm camera could be mounted Abbeloos took a year to design and build the device To generate a control signal for the CAM Abbeloos used the selsyn from the Arriflex 16ST camera and converted it into a spectrum of frequencies sent to the CAM s control box This operated the camera s zoom and determined the CAM s motion through a series of tones 3 6 Production Edit Director Michael Snow in 2013 Snow wanted to film a location with no traces of human activity 7 He originally considered the countryside north of his mother s birthplace of Chicoutimi in Saguenay Quebec as well as Kapuskasing or Timmins both mining areas that his father had surveyed in Northern Ontario 5 He scouted northern Quebec and found a mountain 160 km 100 mi north of Sept Iles 7 8 Snow shot La Region Centrale from September 14 to 20 1970 with his wife Joyce Wieland Abbeloos and Bernard Goussard They chartered a helicopter to transport them to the mountain 3 Snow and his team were shooting for five days producing sixty hours of footage 6 He edited the film during a residency at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design 1 For the film s soundtrack Snow wanted to use the tones that controlled the CAM He found it difficult to record the sound directly onto film in sync with the image instead he used a modified Revox to record the tones coming from the CAM s control box on quarter inch cartridges He dubbed the sound in post production 3 Release EditLa Region Centrale was released in 1971 At the National Gallery of Canada the film was exhibited along with the CAM to which Abbeloos added a CCTV camera The CAM responded to passersby with a 30 minute sequence of pre programmed movements When the film was shown at the Center for Inter American Relations in 1972 Snow presented the modified CAM as a video sculpture titled De La 3 Critical reception Edit Wyndham Wise commented In a brilliant convergence of form and content camera movement becomes the reason d etre Rarely if ever has a film so clearly delineated the role of this machine in our reception and perception of the objected filmed To make the film Snow worked with a technician to design a mechanized camera that was able to move without human intervention in every direction imaginable To further erase the influence of humans Snow filmed in the remote reaches of Northern Quebec where his camera roamed the landscape in a manner both systematic and arbitrary It s both an exhilarating celebration of cinema s unique qualities and a clever joke on the landscape tradition in Canadian art 9 La Region Centrale received five critics votes and two directors votes in the 2012 Sight amp Sound polls of the world s greatest films 10 The film is now part of Anthology Film Archives Essential Cinema Repertory collection 11 References Edit a b Langford Martha 2014 Michael Snow Life amp Work PDF Art Canada Institute pp 21 40 ISBN 978 1 4871 0004 9 Retrieved February 23 2019 Kellman Tila L 2006 Figuring Redemption Resighting My Self in the Art of Michael Snow Wilfrid Laurier University Press p 116 ISBN 978 0 88920 747 9 a b c d e f g White Kenneth 2015 Strangeloves From De la region centrale Air Defense Radar Station Moisie and Media Cultures of the Cold War Grey Room 58 58 51 52 doi 10 1162 GREY a 00162 S2CID 57563152 Marcorelles Louis 1973 Snow Storms Italy Cinema Canada No 6 p 64 a b Snow Michael 1994 The Collected Writings of Michael Snow Wilfrid Laurier University Press pp 56 59 ISBN 978 0 88920 243 6 a b Leitner Florian 2013 On Robots and Turtles Discourse 35 2 267 a b Cornwell Regina 1975 Michael Snow s La Region Centrale MoMA No 6 Museum of Modern Art p 4 Noguez Dominique 1979 On Wavelength In Kunz Martin Kunz ed Michael Snow Kunstmuseum Luzern p 106 ISBN 978 3 267 00001 3 Wise Wyndham ed 2001 Take One s Essential Guide to Canadian Film University of Toronto Press p 179 Votes for La Region Centrale 1971 British Film Institute Retrieved January 17 2017 Essential Cinema Anthology Film Archives Retrieved February 24 2018 External links EditLa region centrale at IMDb La Region Centrale at the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title La Region Centrale amp oldid 1107972344, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
