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2-27-13 (2:30 pm) Philippines, Paranaque



HW#7: Filming Horror

I first saw Oren Peli's Paranormal Activity back in 2009. I'm a digital artist and enjoy spoofing movie posters; and in the process I have this tradition of spoofing a film before I've even seen it. I created my parody of the film that year and as the premier came, I went and saw the film. months before, I had heard news reports of how horrifyingly impacting this film was in the United States; after 20 mins into the film, I realized why it was so called 'horrifying'.
Weeks had past since I saw the film and nightmares, hysteria & paranoia was kicking me back and forth. Eventually, with the month past, I was over the film but after another year, with the sequel to the first film, I never wanted to see another one since the first.
4 years later, and Marble Hornets enters the publics spot light. Which got me thinking how similar in design & representation the Marble Hornets Entries and the Paranormal Activity franchise were. Which got me wondering,
What makes this style of cinematography so frightening to the public?

Now, the film Paranormal Activity and the video entries of Marble Hornet are very much the similar in cinematography sense, which being in an amatuer-like hand-held style of documentary filming. Technically, there must be a term for this...
Upon my search, I found an article titled Cinéma vérité from Brittanica Encyclopedia in which it states that
Cinéma vérité , (French: “truth cinema”), French film movement of the 1960s that showed people in everyday situations with authentic dialogue and naturalness of action. Rather than following the usual technique of shooting sound and pictures together, the film maker first tapes actual conversations, interviews, and opinions. After selecting the best material, he films the visual material to fit the sound, often using a hand-held camera. The film is then put together in the cutting room.



Film and videos that circulate around Cinéma vérité

 Cinéma vérité
It is a style of filmmaking that attempts to convey candid realism. Often employing lightweight, hand-held cameras and sound equipment, it shows people in everyday situations and uses authentic dialogue, naturalness of action, and a minimum of rearrangement for the camera. The style was pioneered in the late 1950s and early 60s by such French documentary filmmakers as Jean Rouch and Chris Marker and has been influential in the work of a number of directors, most notably Jean-Luc
Godard. American filmmakers, who sometimes called the style "direct cinema," were quick to adopt and refine the technique. Included among them are Richard Leacock, D. A. Pennebaker, Albert and David Maysles (all of whom also helped to develop portable cameras and synchronous sound equipment), Frederick Wiseman, and Robert Drew. More recently, such documentary makers as Ken (and Ric) Burns and Barbara Kopple have made cinéma vérité techniques central to their films.

~ (Columbia University Press., 2011)

In general sum-up, the realism factor and possiblity factor is what made the said films in question and any other films with the same in form of filming so dramatically impacting to the public. We basically take the real world element and mix it up with the 'possibility' factor to create a work that can move the minds of an individual. This is why Marble Hornets and Paranormal Activity was successful in touching the minds to the viewer.
By taking reality ans adding something mythical you create the perfect horror film which most horror directors do, but what made the films in question so dramatic was its form of filming.

Now, we've concluded that Marble Hornets is still up for debate, but most can rule it as an elaborate hoax. Some may call it a cinematographic marvel much like Paranormal Activity; it may be fake but it ends up a classic because it heighten our perspective of reality/ realism in our culture and society.
I now realize that directors and future film makers have a scoring chance in changing more in our perspective look towards what we know of fear. In much cases as Marble Hornets, to those who believe it to be real, let us simply remember of the facts, and the scientific explaination to everything around us.
To conclude, Slender man, Poltegeist and other fearful figures from media are evidently just fears, that exsist because we make them exsist.

HW#6: Tulpa Effect



The Slender Man, todays presumed
greatest thoughtform

 The mind is a great thing to have, I was always raised to believe if you put your mind forward, you may accomplish anything. And in reality, this quote is true. Scientific study shows that those who walk on fire are able to set their minds to focus on less of the pain. Martial arts students are trained to resist pain. I grew up watching Tibeten monks and martial arts trainees supress the blow of a 10-12 inch wooden plank to their abdomen. So what does the mind have anything to do with the Slender myth you may ask. Well, it's simply, after a month of research I found that Slender man is indeed a deeper figure then we imagine, infact, he probably is simply just...an imagination. From my research, I came accross an article relating Slender to what they call a Tulpa Effect. Which now begs the question in my mind, what is the Tulpa Effect?

Upon my research I came accross an article intitled Tulpa: A Physical Reality or Hallucination? (Kelly Fylln, 2011)
According to the article, the Tulpa Effect or in this case is a thoughtform, or being created from the collective thoughts of separate individuals. Common concept of this was used in research in Tibet during the 1920’s (Evans-Wentz – Tibetan Book of the Dead, 1927) under the category of mysticism. Tulpas are theoretical in nature, although some semi-scientific research and studies were conducted in the area between 1960-1980. The Tulpa Effect is the name given to the unintentional creation of a tulpa based (physical form) on collective belief of a being with similar traits. Its relation to Slender theorizes the belief and creation of Slender.



The Tibetan Book of the Dead
(Written by Evans Wentz, 1927)



Evans Wentz (Tibet, 1927)

 Imagine the possibilities of turning a thought into a physical, living being; a vampire created in the mind becomes a physical reality. This may seem absurd, yet the concept, named 'tulpa', is not new and the word cannot be found in an English dictionary. According to Wikipedia, a tulpa is, "in Tibetan mysticism, a being or object which is created through willpower, visualization, attention and focus, concerted intentionality and ritual. In other words, it is a materialized thought that has taken physical form". One idea, shared by some in the paranormal community, is that creatures such as the Loch Ness monster and Bigfoot are tulpas, created by the strong belief of many that these creatures do exist in physical form.

~ (Kelly Fylln, 2011) 

So according to the findings, the power of thought and imagination by an individuals subconscious can create a figure that to the person is made reality. Which begs another question, if the Tulpa Effect is just our thoughts represented and made into a figure of fear, does that mean Slender and all figures of myths are simply just? Do they exsist because me make them exsist? Answer to that is yes and no. They exsist because they are out there, not as a tall man with a blank face and long arms, or an ape-like creature with large feet, they exsist all around us as individuals much like my self. We made them into how we see them, how we portray them and thus manifest them to society.

Now at this point, How does the Tulpa relate with Slender? We have confirmed that Tulpa is a great contribution to Slenders mythology. This highly backs-up my hypothesis on Slender being a manifestation of coomon fears. Thoughts of fears circulate the minds who portray their own Slender but in the end the Slender is portrayed the same. The same way can be done with those who use Audio recordings in finding paranormal ghost encounters. When the recorded sound is played back and an out of the ordinary sound is found, one simply power-of-suggestion can create a sentence or a word. This is also applied to the Slender myth thus the Tulpa Effect.

With that said, I believe that the Tulpa Effect is the basis and a main back-bone to Slenders legend. As long as the imaginations of the people are alive, so will the Slender myth. We may not know the precise origins to the Slender myth, but we perhaps are the cause for his exsistance in our society.

So the next fearful figure to come, please, let us think wisely on our thoughts.