Output details

DO NOT READ THIS

This 29-minute film addresses Jacques Derrida’s concept of trace; “Trace is not a presence but is rather the simulacrum of a presence that dislocates, displaces, and refers beyond itself” (Derrida, 1978: 403). The research engenders trace through a controlled and highly manipulated use of film form. The fictional narrative portrays the search for a missing manuscript from a writer who is recently deceased. Like a simulacrum, the narrative appears on the surface to obey the demands for narrative coherence through story structure and execution. However, troubling anomalies disrupt this coherence, dislocating the narrative and making present narrative construction. The film achieves this through practice methods that seek to ‘mechanise’ acts of writing and reading via story structure, editing and sound design. For example the narrative is of a writer who writes the story that we see, producing a story within a story. The rhythm of the editing replicates the acts associated with using a typewriter (typing, return, pulling out a page), and does this through shot duration, type of cut (e.g. jump cut for ripping a page), and transitions. The sound design interrupts diegetic space through playing with sync sound, atmosphere and via other sound effects.

These methods reflexively and actively ‘write’ the concept(s) of the narrative (the film we see and hear) and ‘read’ those concept(s) (how film sees and hears). In this way, the narrative refers beyond itself to wider notions of narrative, narrative construction, and narrative history. Callaghan’s research is informed by film philosophy arguments that film can engender philosophical practices (Cavell, Frampton and Singer). She argues that a reflexive use of film form allows thinking through of philosophical problems. The film was presented to public audiences at the Electric Shadow Cinema, London and Wired Screening room (2012). Secondary outputs include a 10 minute documentation account.