An Experimental Viral Vlog
anexperimentalviralvlog – the movie remix #!
Directed by Vasco Diogo | Review by Antonio Rozich
As an artist, do you experience for the sake of experimenting, or do you experiment for the sake of experiencing? And considering the massive scope, the art of being an artist has, who says you can't do both? By experimenting you experience new things and by experiencing new things you become able to experiment in new and different ways. Anexperimentalviralvlog by Lisbon based director and artist Vasco Diogo is a remix, combination or maybe even a movie inside a movie. It explores the vastness of human communication and the ever so thin line between the artist and the viewer. Because indeed; to understand the full scope of a certain film, the viewers need to be artists. Actually, sometimes that only suffices to understand the starting point of artist’s creative trail. In the end, the viewers are left in disappointment because they know they will never be able to find out what lies beyond the starting point.
And that’s exactly why we need clear communication. If we ever hope to find out what lies in the deepest corners of other people’s minds, we need communication. Vasco Diogo explores the process of communication through monotone and lifeless phrases; almost like mantras. This approach makes it clear that communication is more about the way something is communicated, than what is being communicated. Because if you say something in a monotone and lifeless way, how can you ever hope for someone to experience your message? No matter how many times you repeat it, the only response you can hope to receive is the one of a deaf and cold wall. On the other hand, a clear and meaningful presentation creates a bridge between the artist and the viewer. And by crossing the bridge, the audience doesn’t have to try to understand the message; they simply do understand. You don’t have to explain what your art is about if it’s clear and meaningful, they simply will. I challenge you to observe the correlation between a quality art piece and the length of its description. It can be any piece of art, and it can come in any form. Let me know what your observations are.
And that’s what you’ll feel if you watch Diogo’sAnexperimentalviralvlog. There’s no story, and there are even no actors. The only thing that reminds the audience that this is a piece of filmmaking is the fact it uses a visual medium to present its message. And this is something you need to do if you want to get to the core of any form of art. You need to strip down all the layers until there’s only the last layer left. The layer that truly defines what something is; and for filmmaking that’s the visual medium. With everything said, what’s the point of communication? Even with this film review? Exploring the message and the reasons for the message can be fun, but if we’re completely honest, most of the time it’s boring as hell. What’s the point of exploring, experimenting, and experiencing if we don’t know what we’re trying to explore, experience, or experiment? And I’m not talking on the general level, but knowing what you’re aiming for on that foundational level, where there’s nothing left to remove. Anexperimentalviralvlog asks these questions, and you as the viewer might get surprised if you ask them as well.
While he isn’t writing for Cult Critic, Antonio Rozich is working as a copywriter for a filmmaking startup called Try Cinema. Besides his usual copywriting, he also helps filmmakers with their screenplays by editing them and finding the ways to improve the initial filmmaker’s idea. When all of that is done, he turns to his true & original love: writing flash fiction, which he posts regularly on his site Syeta Stories.
