Download John and James Whitney 1

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James & John Whitney
By Kyle Krivitsky & Morgan Libruk
FILM344 Presentation
Thursday, March 15, 2012
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James Whitney (1921-1982)
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Filmmaker
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Abstract cinema
Classics in visual music
Spent life in LA
Studied painting, traveled in England before WWII
Ceramics & pottery
After 1946, became interested in spiritual aspects that influenced
later work
 Alchemy
 Jiddu Krishnamurti (psychological revolution, nature of mind,
meditation, human relationships, positive change)
 Jungian psychology (integrate unconscious forces/motivations)
 Tao
 Yoga
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John Whitney (1917-1995)
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Animator, composer, inventor
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Computer animation
California
Pomona College  studied music & photography in England
First works movies of lunar eclipse with homemade telescope
1937-38 spent in Paris studying twelve-tone composition
Returned to America in 1939 & began collaborating with James on
abstract films
1960 – Motion Graphics Inc., mechanical analogue computer
 Design templates placed on different layers of rotating tables &
photographed by multiple-axis rotating cameras  creation of
simultaneous motions
1970s – faster digital processes
1980s-90s – audio-visual composition program called “Whitney-Reed
RDTD (Radius-Differential Theta Differential)”  digital harmony
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Filmography
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James Whitney
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“Variations on a Circle” (1941-1942)
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“Yantra” (1950-1957)
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“Lapis” (1963-1966)
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“Twenty-Four Variations on an Original Theme” (1939-1940)
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“Film Exercises” (1934-1944)
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Series of five (James 2-4, John 1 & 5)
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Prize for best sound (1949) at Brussels Experimental Film
Competition
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The Whitney Brothers Legacy
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Experimental filmmaking
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Recognized power of computers
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Abstract art
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Hypnosis
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Indian sitar music
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Kaleidoscope
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Multiple angles
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Oscillation
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Trance
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Links
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“Lapis”
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“Film Exercise #1”
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzniaKxMr2g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuZbgM8yxtY&feature=result
s_video&playnext=1&list=PLB247FE10BCEBC67B
“Yantra”
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvWwlZSXaR0&feature=relate
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References
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Whitney_(filmmaker)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Whitney_(animator)
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http://www.siggraph.org/artdesign/profile/whitney/early.ht
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http://blog.unl.edu/dixon/2011/09/14/john-and-jameswhitney/