"It creates a new way of seeing something -- it breaks down the conventions, and I enjoy that."
This is how fourth-year Alex Stockwell described his independent film, which recently received a nomination for the Rosebud Film Festival. The film, originally created as a part of Stockwell's senior art project, is one of 20 nominees in the festival.
"[The nomination] was pretty unexpected," Stockwell said. "It was a nice surprise."
Stockwell's film, "Untitled," takes film as an art form to a whole new level. "Experimental filmmaking is really interesting because you pioneer stuff -- you get to do whatever you want," Stockwell said. "It pushes the genre."
The $300, three-month-long project does just that.
The five-minute film integrates images of light, smoke and music into a montage of flashing designs that coordinate with the beats of the song in the background. While the film has no real storyline, it does convey a message.
"Most people, when you talk about a film, think about a single stream narrative," Stockwell said. "There are so many ways you can watch a film."
The inspiration for making this type of film came from Stockwell's two favorite pastimes -- art and music.
"My main influence would probably be the artist Stan Brakhage," Stockwell said. Brakhage was a leading pioneer in experimental film making who would often paint directly onto the film to create an artistic effect. "I also like music videos a lot, so incorporating music was a fun thing to do."
The film's core is about as abstract as the film itself.
"My senior show is all about the viewer. What I interpret as the meaning of the film is going to be a lot different than what anyone else interprets," Stockwell said. "My ultimate goal is to try to create an environment where there's not necessarily a single distinct message being distributed to the viewer. I want it to be sort of like a meditative process where the viewer can reflect on their feelings and make the film whatever [they] want it to be."
Although this is Stockwell's first time participating in the Rosebud Film Festival, he is no amateur in the world of filmmaking.
"When I was seven or eight years old, I would use my dad's camera," Stockwell said. "From an early age I got really into film and taking pictures."
His true passion for making movies, however, didn't come until high school.
"My friends and I would basically fool around with the camera," Stockwell said. "Then our senior year, we submitted an independent project, and we won. That's when I decided that [filmmaking] seemed like something that I could really do in the future."
Stockwell's filmmaking dream is slowly becoming a reality. After graduating this year, the studio art major plans to continue exploring his love of film.
"I'm going to try to stay here and do a fellowship in the art program," Stockwell said. "Ultimately, I don't really know where I want to end up. Doing music videos, that's something interesting to think about. I'm just going to let it take me wherever it goes."
So, what will Stockwell do if he wins at the festival in March? "I'm going to go out and buy a nice dinner!"
It is Stockwell's love and passion for movies that compels him to achieve.
"I like making movies because you have ultimate freedom," he said. "You're the artist, and you use the camera as your paintbrush, and that's what I really enjoy."
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