NYman with a Movie Camera

Overview

Narrative and film are two long-term bed partners that have convinced a lot of the world that their union is unbreakable. But this has not and will not always be the case. Back in 1929, the Russian filmmaker Dziga Vertov did his best to burn that marital bed with his documentary works, of which Man with a Movie Camera is the most famous. Vertov despised narrative in film, saying that it was the corrupting influence of theatre and literature, and presented his films as capturing "life caught unawares". He went so far in his quest to divorce narrative from film that he shot his material without any script or structure, creating a database of footage that his wife later edited into Man with a Movie Camera.

Vertov's crusade failed in his lifetime, with most films since growing out of scripts (and developing well-worn story formulas in the process), but his protest did not fall on deaf ears. In 2003, British polymath Michael Nyman was commissioned to compose a score for Vertov's silent masterpiece and it was at this point that an intriguing comparison was made between the two artists. Nyman had for years been shooting his own database of stock footage, collecting a selection of humanity caught "unawares" before the camera. The product of what was to follow is now screening at Carriageworks - NYman with a Movie Camera.

Nyman edited his footage to a strict set of rules. He would match the subject matter and special effects shot for shot to Vertov's original. Even the rhythm of editing cuts was taken from the Russian film, giving NYman with a Movie Camera a hyperactive feel in contrast to Nyman's usual style. Even the score — composed by Nyman back in 2003 — was carried across.

NYman with a Movie Camera is a great opportunity to see a conversation with the past, especially when you place its predecessor in context with later films, such as the epics Baraka and The Qatsi Trilogy.