Week 5

In the case of the film "Tree" I would say the author or artist of the piece only had as much control over the work inasmuch as the breeze allowed them.  By this I mean to suggest the most significant aspect of the film being the camera's fluid swaying movement amidst a field of tall grass and trees.  The camera's physical attachment to the tree limb melded tree and lens into one and completely detached the author from the work.  This total isolation of work and author is what makes this film so unique from the others we watched in class Monday.  As Tony said during discussion, "Tree" is a very "abstract" and "organic film" in that it is completely void of any human touch.  This detachment not only allows the camera to take on the life of the tree but also incorporates it into its natural surroundings.  In a way the camera becomes one with the tree and every other organic subject in the swaying frame which is filled with nothing but tall waving grass and rustling leaves.  These organic and noiseless images almost do a better job of conveying the feeling of wind than would images accompanied by audio.  The author gives the camera free rein over the film and in doing so creates a truly natural work of art.