[ Arran Tenzin Bradstock ]

I am currently enrolled in a creative practice-based PhD research programme in University College Cork, Department of Music (PhD in Composition). I began this programme in October 2020, shortly after completing my 'MA in Experimental Sound Practice,' also in the UCC Music Department. My final research will be presented in the form of a portfolio primarily made up of a diverse range of film projects, as well as supporting written commentaries. Currently, there are a number of films I have completed that have not yet been publicly screened or made available online (I have included a list of these titles below). For regular updates, check back here or follow my social media accounts.

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>UCC Department of Music Profile

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> UCC FMT Doctoral School Profile

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> ExpCinema.org Profile

 

My main focus is based on exploring the possible answers to the question of how I could  develop an experimental filmmaking practice that treats sounds and images as independent equals, one where neither audio nor video track rely on the other and neither can be said to more important than the other.

 

I believe that film, be it narrative or experimental, does not need to be treated as a primarily visual art-form that also incorporates sound, as it is often thought of. Even in instances where both media are equally important to a piece, they typically still rely on the other for the film to ‘work’ as intended by the filmmaker. Because fo this, it is of central importance to my practice that I give equal focus to the sounds and images in my films and strive to limit the extent that either influence my decisions on how I approach the other. I am interested in exploring what I am currently calling ‘chance-based audiovisual interaction’ or ‘experimental audiovisual interaction’, which is what occurs when the visuals we see and the sounds we hear are not connected to or referencing each other. An example of this can be found in several recent works in which I have treated the audio and visual tracks as entirely separate pieces during production, only combined at the final stage. I view the resulting audiovisual interaction as ‘experimental’ as it does not take place between the sounds and images in the traditional filmic sense, but instead takes place in the mind of the viewer/listener through their audiovisual experience. I often take a process-first approach when developing my films and commonly implement chance-operations into these processes, for example using random number generators to determine the editing order or treating the material gathering stage as an act of improvisation. 

 

I also believe that experimental filmmaking does not necessarily need to involve any communication of meaning, whether that be through narrative, symbolism, metaphor, etc. I want to push back at the idea that film should to be thought of as a language, and instead offer an alternative view of film as an audiovisual experience that is inherently subjective. I am not interested in using audiovisual material to tell stories or explore themes. Instead, my work stems from the idea that when a film is made without meaning it can in fact lead to deeper, richer experiences as the viewer-listener has the freedom to create their own meaning through their interpretations, all of which are equally valid when the film has no inherent meaning to be grasped. In this sense, meaning can organically grow from the combination of the (meaningless) audio and visual material in the mind of each individual viewer-listener.

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The concept of arbitrariness naturally arises from both my desire for sounds and images to exist as independent equals and my thoughts on the role of meaning(lessness) in my work. When sounds and images are not being chosen based on how they will work with each other, the of pairing audio and visual material becomes imbued with a sense of the arbitrary; as there is no reason for any one specific image to be seen alongside any specific sound.  Similarly, once the requirement for all forms of meaning has been rejected, many parts of the filmmaking process are shown to be ultimately arbitrary; for example, with no meaning to communicate, there is no reason to give precedent for one specific editing order in which materials are presented. Acknowledging and accepting the implications of arbitrariness has allowed me to actively embrace it as a creative and aesthetic position, leading me to explore processes that often involve varying degrees of randomness and chance.

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My research areas of interest include post-Cagean experimental music, Fluxus, American Avant-Garde film, British Structural/Materialist film, sound art and video art. My research has also led me to engage with the field of philosophy, in particular the areas of philosophy that seek to explore concepts of meaninglessness such as nihilism, absurdism, and atheism. I am also interested in metaphysical topics such as free will, consciousness, perception, the philosophy of time, objectivity and the work of  Immanuel Kant.

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UPDATE: MARCH 2024

FRAMERATES, a collection of 6 'mini-films' made in 2021, is now available to watch online.

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UPDATE: JANUARY 2024

NOVEMBER, a 3-part experimental film project I made across 2020, 2021, and 2022, is now available to watch online as three seperate 15-minute films and combined as one 45-minute film.

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UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 2023

XENOBLAST, an experimental film I made in collaboration with Maximilian Le Cain, has been selected for screening at Bloomsday Film Festival 2023. This film was made as part of my ongoing practice-based PhD research.

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UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 2022

Dice Roll, a film I made in 2021 as part of my ongoing PhD research, will be screened at 'art(ist)FILM 2022', a curated programme of films made by graduate artists and filmmakers.

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UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 2022

XENOBLAST, an experimental film I made in collaboration with Maximilian Le Cain, has been selected for screening at IndieCork Film Festival 2022.

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UPDATE: MAY 2022

One of my recent PhD films Overlap has been officially selected for screening at this year's Bloomsday Film Festival. It will be screened in the Experimental Film programme taking place at the James Joyce Centre Dublin in June, and online. http://www.bloomsdayfestival.ie/filmfestival 
https://expcinema.org/site/en/events/bloomsday-film-festival-arran-tenzin-bradstocks-overlap 

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UPDATE: NOVEMBER 2021

2 of my recent PhD films (November 2020 & FRAMERATES) were screened as part of the 2021 Experimental Film Odyssey festival. The screening took place online as the opening double-bill to the 'Experimental Shorts' programme.

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UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 2021
4 of my recent PhD films (November 2020, FRAMERATES, [sync] I, [sync] II) were selected for the 2021 IndieCork Film Festival. They are being presented as a Special Programme titled 'FRAMERATES & Other Works'. A short feature was published on ExperimentalCinema about my IndieCork Special Programme: 
https://expcinema.org/site/en/events/indiecork-film-festival-arran-tenzin-bradstock

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PhD film projects:

• October 2020 (2020), 9mins

• November 2020 (2020), 15mins [NOW ONLINE] – IndieCork 2021 Special Programme, Experimental Film Odyssey 2021 Special Screening

• FRAMERATES (2021), 8mins [NOW ONLINE] – IndieCork 2021 Special Programme, Experimental Film Odyssey 2021 Special Screening

• Collision (2021), 3mins

• Overlap (2021), 3mins – Bloomsday Film Festival 2022 Official Selection

• Formation (2021), 3mins

• Dice Roll (2021), 5mins – art(ist)FILM 2022 Curated Programme

• [sync] I (2021), 3mins – IndieCork 2021 Special Programme

• [sync] II (2021), 6mins – IndieCork 2021 Special Programme

• XENOBLAST (2021), 7mins – IndieCork 2022 Official Selection, Bloomsday Film Festival 2023 Official Selection

• November 2021 (2021), 15mins [NOW ONLINE]

• AUDIOVISUALS (2022), 8mins

• Untitled Duration (2022), 20mins

• SUPERPOSITION (2022), 18mins

• Timelines (2022), 60 mins

• November 2022 (2022), 15mins [NOW ONLINE]

• NOVEMBER  2020 – 2021 – 2022, 45mins [NOW ONLINE]

• Nocturnal Synthesis (2023), 24 mins

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