In the short film ‘Terminal Bar’ Stefan Nadelman uses different cinematic techniques to create a social and visual narrative. The film is comprised of a collection of stills, both portraits and different perspectives around the location of the ‘Terminal Bar’, taken over the course of ten years (1972-82) accompanied by an oral narrative of events which effectively map the physical and visual changes of the location as well as the visitors. This creates a strong sense of time by showing the quantity of customers at the bar. The anecdotes paint a vibrant picture of everyone conveying an appreciation for their character being present at the bar.

Photograph stills alongside newspaper articles and documentary style footage of Nadelman’s father create a strong narrative. The shots change with a syncopated beat creating a mixture of kinetic and smooth transitions from words to pictures in a chronological order. This adds depth reflecting on the way we perceive time to be faster or slower at times. The film ends in traditional filming in colour adding emphasis to the time frame that it was filmed over; stressing to the audience its importance to Nadelman’s father as “nobody would know” (S. Nadelman, 2002) unless he documented it. Therefore, his purpose is to keep the past alive.

Similarly, following the same process and brief I would create a flip book of photographs showing a timeline of a few hours in my favourite park. I feel a tactile object allows a more personal glimpse into the character of the place.

Still from ‘Terminal Bar’ 2002

References:

Image:Stefan Nadelman. (2002). Terminal Bar. Available: http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/blogs/behold/2014/10/Terminal%20Bar/00_TBar_frontmatter_p03_0003.jpg.CROP.original-original.jpg. Last accessed 9/10/17.

(1) Terminal Bar(2002) dir. Stefan Nadelman (US) source: http://www.touristpictures.com/terminal_bar/ Last accessed 9/10/17