Walter Ungerer

THE WINTER THERE WAS VERY LITTLE SNOW is a visual mood poem using the barest narrative form to convey the feeling and time of crisis for a man in middle age. His marriage has collapsed; he is without a job; and his father has just died. There is no reality, only an indistinguishable mixture of images and moments drawn from some space in time that could be his past, his present, or his future.

Digital stills and video footage of a child on a beach in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, are manipulated and obscured to create a nostalgic atmosphere of remembrances. The Amiga computer has now been replaced by the Macintosh. The editing program is the Media 100.

Abstract contemporary sculptures at a museum, male and female mannequins at a downtown mall, the Venice Beach and Santa Monica Promenades with their various attractions of hawkers, exhibitionists and vendors; these are all the subjects of this film. Added to the collection are a ride on a carousel composed of beautifully restored antique horses, a tram ride to the heights of the Getty Museum, an inner city LA bus ride, and the journey to the Boston airport from Maine. This material is blended together by layering, multiplying and repeating sequences to produce a array of colors, shapes, objects and sounds. that reflect the effects of a brief visit to Los Angeles.

How the universe evolved, and how humans developed are questions that arise with our awareness of life on the planet. There seems always to be much conjecture about it, but no clear answers. Mystery and wonder are pervasive. This film stems from my thoughts about it. As the images I created evolved into continuous sequences, it pursued a direction hitherto unknown by me until it was a film, and finished.

The film title is an abbreviation for no comment. With all due respects I find this to be an appropriate description of this film, which is based on abstract drawings, obscure images, and distorted sounds.

Though birds and people appear to have some similar qualities; affection, caring, tolerance, aggressiveness, belligerence, combativeness; in the scheme of things, we are all waiting our turn in the queue.

One of a collection of experimental shorts shot on VHS, miniDV or created in the computer, where the results were edited and manipulated by filmmaker Walter Ungerer with various computer software programs.

A man meets a woman at a deserted railroad station somewhere in northern New England. It is the middle of winter; snow is falling. The two drive to a remote farmhouse. Two strange children, who never speak, appear at the window; an old woman calls them away.

A man meets a woman at a deserted railroad station somewhere in northern New England. It is the middle of winter; snow is falling. The two drive to a remote farmhouse. Two strange children, who never speak, appear at the window; an old woman calls them away.

The film begins with abstract images of continuously changing in color, shape and texture. Slowly it reveals the source and real identity of the original subject-matter, and in so doing has transcended the abstract world for reality. Yet, they co-exist. Time lapse video clips form the basis of this work.

Walter Ungerer’s Monarda (2010) has been screening across the country as part of the 2011 Black Maria Film Festival, a traveling program of new experimental cinema. Like much of Ungerer’s work, the 10-minute Monarda explores the mystifying qualities of nature. Beginning with a shot of grass, Ungerer quickly abstracts his images through digital manipulation until they are barely recognizable. Traces of natural forms (leaves, twigs) ground what is an otherwise indescribable procession of images. Though the visuals evade literal synopsizing, there’s a simplicity and concision to the film that allows the viewer to get caught up in their own experience rather than get sidetracked on decoding the filmmaker’s intentions. Monarda instills a feeling of both apprehension and wonder in the viewer. It’s a disquieting film, but one whose subtle craft and atmosphere becomes more impressive over multiple viewings.

Meditations on human destruction composed at land's end.

The film parallels the short treatise The Awakening of Faith by Asvaghosha which provides a comprehensive summary of the essentials of Mahayana Buddhism. That treatise discusses the question of how man can transcend his finite state and participate in the life of the infinite while still remaining in the midst of the phenomenal order.

Someone attempts to find Oobieland. The realm of artificial sound encountered in the first film (INTRODUCTION TO OOBIELAND) is left behind; there is a terrible silence. The television studio of the second film (UBI EST TERRAM OOBIAE?) is also left behind; big trees and snow populate the visible world in SOLSTICE. Somewhere a boundary is crossed; the viewer is caught up in a cycle of meetings with strange inhabitants of that short space of time we call winter solstice.

The film explores the different shapes and colors of clouds. It probes the space clouds occupy. Through the use of haunting ethereal sounds and ghostlike imagery, the experience of seeing the heavens is interpreted.

The film is an observation of activities in Maine. One Town, Portland is celebrating "First Friday Art Walk" where people go to the museum and art galleries. The second town, Belfast is celebrating the boat launching of three rebuilt sailboats. By using a small digital camera, people are canidly recorded talking and eating at a restaurant, viewing artwork, and just walking about town.

The film is an improvised story about a young man who meets a young woman in a public place. He attempts to establish a friendship. This situation is played out three times, each time with different characters and different actors in different locations. What occurs unfolds differently with each story. In each situation the actors don't know each other. They respond spontaneously as they create the dialogue and the narrative.

Walter Ungerer's A Warm Day Comes After A Cold Winter is among a series of experimental films the filmmaker created in the 90s that utilize computer animation and assorted "lo-fi" video artifacts.

Arthur, a 21 year old American male has been drafted into the army. It is the time of the Viet Nam War. Slowly we are introduced to three sets of characters whose decisions ultimately determine the course of Arthur's resolution to his dilemma, and thus his life. First comes a group of non-Americans. Then a second group consisting of actual friends, family and acquaintances of Arthur the actor. Finally, the third group, a cross-section of Americans: teenie boppers, suburbanites, Green Berets, an artist and a Spanish American War vet. The final solution is brought about by bringing the non-Americans together in an auditorium, showing them all the previously shot footage and asking them to vote on what they think Arthur should do.

Arthur, a 21 year old American male has been drafted into the army. It is the time of the Viet Nam War. Slowly we are introduced to three sets of characters whose decisions ultimately determine the course of Arthur's resolution to his dilemma, and thus his life. First comes a group of non-Americans. Then a second group consisting of actual friends, family and acquaintances of Arthur the actor. Finally, the third group, a cross-section of Americans: teenie boppers, suburbanites, Green Berets, an artist and a Spanish American War vet. The final solution is brought about by bringing the non-Americans together in an auditorium, showing them all the previously shot footage and asking them to vote on what they think Arthur should do.

Arthur, a 21 year old American male has been drafted into the army. It is the time of the Viet Nam War. Slowly we are introduced to three sets of characters whose decisions ultimately determine the course of Arthur's resolution to his dilemma, and thus his life. First comes a group of non-Americans. Then a second group consisting of actual friends, family and acquaintances of Arthur the actor. Finally, the third group, a cross-section of Americans: teenie boppers, suburbanites, Green Berets, an artist and a Spanish American War vet. The final solution is brought about by bringing the non-Americans together in an auditorium, showing them all the previously shot footage and asking them to vote on what they think Arthur should do.

Part five, EPILOGUE TO OOBIELAND is a 40 second animation punctuating the entire series much like a period ends a sentence. All together the five parts exhibit an array of techniques in animation, live action theatrical presentation and sound.

In the kitchen of a Vermont farmhouse, four people come to sit around a table. The silence of solstice holds them together. Before a ritualized meal they each tell a story. Their stories are ominous, yet, as in the first OOBIELAND film (INTRODUCTION TO OOBIELAND), they are incomplete. Earlier, the titular mother has passed on her powers to a young woman. At the close of the film, this young woman enters the farmhouse and, with final simplicity, restores the old order.

A short animation based on the drawings of an elephant and a giraffe by the filmmaker's seven year old daughter Anna.

Los Angeles is called “City of the Angels”. On this visit in December 2012 what I recorded became the substance of this film. It is an exploration of inanimate objects: toys, dolls, and figurines, and locations with people: LA auto show, city streets, Getty Museum, a memorabilia shop, and the LA observatory. These were interwoven in such a way as to suggest a correlation between the animate and inanimate, the real and the unreal.