David Lynch MasterClass

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FredMadison
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David Lynch MasterClass

Post by FredMadison »

David Lynch MasterClass:
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bowisneski
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Re: David Lynch MasterClass

Post by bowisneski »

Lynch shared the trailer for this https://twitter.com/DAVID_LYNCH/status/ ... 6807595008 and it looks like it is now available for $90 if you just want his section https://www.masterclass.com/classes/dav ... y-and-film
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Mr. Reindeer
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Re: David Lynch MasterClass

Post by Mr. Reindeer »

My wonderful fiancee surprised me with this! It’s kind of a funny concept for a “class” given how intuition-centric Lynch’s process is (at one point, he says something particularly redundant/self-obvious in that Lynchian way, and he and the behind-the-camera crew charmingly crack up). It sort of functions as a three-hour Stories feature, and there’s not too much new information for those who have read/watched a lot of Lynch interviews, but for those who love listening to Lynch discuss his process (while chain smoking), it’s terrific. One thing I appreciated is that when he shows clips, he is watching them in real time with us. There’s one moment I really love where he shows a clip from It’s a Wonderful Life, and is visibly choked up trying to discuss it afterward. You also really get a sense of the way he communicates with actors (you could spend the whole video just watching the way his hand gestures compliment what he is saying). One of my favorite moments involves him sketching out the movements for a scene in Lost Highway the way he would for the actors, explaining it as he draws. He also makes a couple of interesting comments in light of Part 18, commenting (while discussing traditional story structure) that in theory, it is possible to have a story without any ending, in the context of continuing narrative. He also discusses the way Chinatown, in his view, ends but also continues indefinitely by leaving the viewer room to dream after the final line. Between these two comments, I’m convinced that he may intend TP to be the ultimate act of narrative defiance, a story with only a beginning and middle. I don’t think any future installment will bring anything close to a conventional resolution. He discusses various aspects of making different scenes from throughout his ouvre (with the notable and strange complete absence of INLAND EMPIRE...he even talks about Dune!). Another moment I really enjoyed was his discussion of Harry Dean and Richard Farnsworth’s performances in the final scene of The Straight Story. (He also at one point refers to LFB as a “bona fide actress,” in the context of Sheryl Lee shooting the picnic stuff and holding her own, which made me happy given all the rumors of bad blood.) There’s also a great segment where he discusses his long-term collaborations with Kyle and with Laura Dern (again, weirdly skipping over INLAND EMPIRE, but interestingly referring to Diane as an older version of Sandy). All in all, I’m not sure I’d advise anyone but the most hardcore Lynch fan to spend the steep $90 fee, but it was truly a pleasure to watch.
Mr. Strawberry
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Re: David Lynch MasterClass

Post by Mr. Strawberry »

Congratulations on your engagement!

I get where you're coming from when you question how one can go about teaching personal techniques for grasping intuition and other subconsciously related matters in order to create art or tell a story. But, I do think that describing one's own experience with such things can actually be helpful. I only say this because in recent years, it started occurring to me that what I take for granted as being obvious or self-explanatory is not always so for others. Why that took me so long to realize is a mystery, but anyway, it seems we all have a unique view and set of natural abilities, so I think it's probably useful to hear someone describe their own approach in such a way. You can't think like someone else, but you can see how they incorporate certain aspects of reality and human thinking into the creative process, which may actually shed light on a lot of decisions they settle on and approaches they take, as well as highlight things in your own life that you may be failing to harness for creative purposes, either because you didn't see value yourself, or because you assumed that others would not appreciate them.
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Mr. Reindeer
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Re: David Lynch MasterClass

Post by Mr. Reindeer »

Mr. Strawberry wrote:Congratulations on your engagement!

I get where you're coming from when you question how one can go about teaching personal techniques for grasping intuition and other subconsciously related matters in order to create art or tell a story. But, I do think that describing one's own experience with such things can actually be helpful. I only say this because in recent years, it started occurring to me that what I take for granted as being obvious or self-explanatory is not always so for others. Why that took me so long to realize is a mystery, but anyway, it seems we all have a unique view and set of natural abilities, so I think it's probably useful to hear someone describe their own approach in such a way. You can't think like someone else, but you can see how they incorporate certain aspects of reality and human thinking into the creative process, which may actually shed light on a lot of decisions they settle on and approaches they take, as well as highlight things in your own life that you may be failing to harness for creative purposes, either because you didn't see value yourself, or because you assumed that others would not appreciate them.
Thanks!

And I definitely agree. I do think the “class” manages to convey Lynch’s process, particularly in regards to directing actors, in clearer and more compelling terms than any prior media or interview. Like I said, when he talks about the things he says to actors, while moving his hands, it really puts you in the moment of receiving his instruction, and you get a clearer sense of how he gets the results he does from performers. It’s an unconventional “class,” but it definitely gives fascinating insight into his process.
albie
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Re: David Lynch MasterClass

Post by albie »

I thought CATCHING THE BIG FISH would be a treatise on meditation...
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