简介：Oneofthemostdirect,first-handinsightsintoShirleyClarke'sworkavailable.RomeBurnsisanepisodeofaFrenchTVdocumentaryseries.Insharpcontrasttoinformalfootage,suchasMichelAuder'sChronicles:FamilyDiariesI,hereisClarkefiringonallcylinders.Sheanswersfluently.Rapid-fireskilledinterviewquestionsaboutcinematictechniquecomingatherinEnglishandFrench. Clarkespeaksof'contemplativecinema'yetthattermcanberathervague.Shecontrastsearlier(mainstream)cinemawithhervideowork.Herattemptstoincludethefilm-makinginthesubjectofthefilm.Wheretheaudiencewasthewatcher,thefilmmakerisnowthewatcher. Whenshe,unexpectedly,takesthecameraoffaninterviewerandstartsfilming,she'salmostmadeherpoint-eveninsomeoneelse'sfilm.Sheseemstobeworkingtowardsaconceptoftotalinvolvement.Insteadofhidingbehindacamera,she'stryingtoexposetheverythingthatwouldnormallyhavebeenontheotherside(ie,thecameraman'sside).Italsoseemstobeabouttechniquestogettheaudienceinvolvedwiththefilm,identifyingwiththe'reality'ofitbytakingawaybarriers.Asortofinvertedvoyeurship. Althoughaninterview,theatmosphereinRomeBurnsis'informal.'InthesensemeantbyprofessionalTVwork.Ajokelightensthetoneasthecameraispassedround."Camerasarereallyforchicks–we'vealreadygotone."Itisfascinatingtohearherspeakaboutherfeaturelengthworks,especiallyTheConnection,TheCoolWorldandPortraitofJason.Hertastesaremaybenotreflectedbythefilmsshemakes.Shedislikesagit-prop,anddoesn'twatchexperimentalfilm,eventhoughshemakesit.She'safeminist,butdoesn'tmakefeministmovies.Oneareasheisinterestedinthoughisracism,andthisisdealtwithobliquelyinmanyofherfilms."I'mafraidofbeingsuperficial,"sheexplains. RomeBurnsthrowssomuchlightontoClarke'sworkthatitisessentialviewingforanyoneseriouslyinterestedinhermovies.Possiblythemostfull-on'issues'filmshehasmadeisAScaryTime,whichshemadeforUNICEF.Buthercommitmentissomehowsummedupwhenshesays,"Iamworkinganddoingsomethinginordertobeabletodie."Shesaysshewantstocomplete'hercontributiontotheworld'andhasspentalotofherlifewiththattheory. Intalkingoffameandthepopularityoffilms,sheclaims,"Godard'sfilmswouldhavelookedsloppy20yrsago."Althoughsomeofherfilmsarevery'finished,'withgoodproductionvalues,somemakenoattemptatpolish.Shespeaksofthedifficultyshehashadwithproducers.TheConnectionandTheCoolWorldwere'over-choreographed'butshesaysitisneverthelesswhatshewantedatthetime.Thedetailedscreenplaysincludespecificcameramovements,"Youwritethisdown–thismakesproducersfeelgood!"Itisareferencetotheindustry-widereluctancesheexperiencedintrustinganysumsofmoneytoafemaleproducer.Shesometimeshadtohaveamanforafilmsheineffectproducedherself,justbecausefunderswouldtrustaman'snameholdingthepursestringsmorethanhers.Butifthefilmdoesn'tdowell,shesays,"Putitonashelftillthefilmmaker'sfamous-thentheyalldowell!"Clarke'sdescriptionofeditingtechniquesisofinterest,especiallygiventhatvideoediting,herfavouritemedium,wasataprimalstage.Shewouldengineerzoomsinandout–ortakingthesubjectoutoffocus–justtoallowforeasiereditinglater.ThisisverynoticeableinthefinalcutofPortraitofJason,forinstance.Withthatfilmshetalksoffrequently'pullingback'–amediumshotgivinglesschanceof'gettinglost'thanaclose-up. Clarkeisathermostanimateddescribinghervideoinstallationsandtravellingworkshops.Aparticularlymind-bogglingoneinvolvedacircleofmultiplescreenswiththeaudiencerotatedinthemiddle.Byuseoffastcuttingallsenseofmotionwasremoved. Itisthesortoffilmanyonefascinatedwiththeoreticalaspectsandnewapproachestofilmwilllove.Icanonlyfindtwocriticisms.OneisthattheinterviewquestionsinFrenchneededperhapstobesubtitled.Theotheristhatitwasn'tlongenough.ShirleyClarkecouldtalkaboutfilmalldaywithoutbeingboring.ListeningtoheratsuchlengthwouldbeanexperiencefewwouldhavetheprivilegeofuntilshebecameaprofessoratUCLAin1975(teachingfilmandvideountil1985).…