b. 1941
d. 2025
I came to know Joseph Bernard and work archivally with his films in 2014 thanks to David Dinnell, who knew Joe in Ann Arbor/Detroit and programmed a wonderful film of Joe’s (Splices for Sharits) that I saw at the Ann Arbor Film Festival one year. I met Joe at that screening, and upon his later explaining a plan to digitize a large number of his Super 8 films (with the help of his former student Jeffery Plansker) in Los Angeles, we worked out a plan for him to then deposit his films at the Academy Film Archive. The 2014 digitization project included 39 of his films, and in 2015 he released a blu-ray of these collected works, called Prismatic Music. This effort facilitated the “rediscovery” of his work by many curators and experimental film enthusiasts, and Joe subsequently had a number of international shows as a result, not to mention some quite emphatic praise for his work, which so few people had previously known.
There was always a remaining batch of films that had not yet been scanned – the films digitized for the Prismatic Music blu-ray represented approximately half of his cinematic output. In the years since, Joe subsequently digitized another 27 films, with the intention of releasing a follow-up blu-ray called Quondam Exhalations, although this hadn’t been produced at the time of his death.
This filmography below represents the totality of Joseph Bernard’s film work that I’ve identified thus far. The films included on Prismatic Music are noted, as are the films intended for compiling as Quondam Exhalations. It’s possible some other films may emerge, but the filmography below is as complete as is currently known. Please note that the order given below within each year’s output is not necessarily precisely accurate.
On the subject of projection speeds:
Historically, Joseph Bernard had shown many of his Super 8 films at varying speeds between 18fps and 24fps. Upon digitizing them between 2014 and 2024, he seems to have normalized (almost?) all of them to 24fps. On this subject, Bernard wrote: “The length of some of these films has changed following digitization (all those are at 24 fps) but the original film versions varied between 18 and 24 fps. If necessary, the exact running time of the films in their original format should be calculated by the archive, while projected at approximately 20 fps.” I have instead elected for now to just list the running times as noted by Joe at the speed indicated by him in each case, so please be aware that some or even many of these running times may differ from reality.
During the inspection/inventory process working on his films, I asked him about projection speeds, as the films were labeled a few different ways. Much to my amusement, his response was, “Let’s say 24fps for everything, to be consistent with the digital versions. My old Elmo had a rheostat speed control and I’d usually ramp it up after having gauged the audience’s level of impatience.”
Where possible, I’ve indicated the historical projection speed as labeled on the original film cans, but it should be noted that Joe ultimately seemed to defer to 24fps for modern presentation.
FIRST FILMS (1967-70)
8mm, silent 18fps, 16m
Bernard’s earliest years of 8mm filmmaking were compiled by him onto a single reel. If upon inspecting this reel I discover specific individual titles, I will update this entry.
Although the years he cites don’t match the labeling of this original film can (could just be an error in the later text), in the booklet for his Prismatic Music blu-ray, Bernard writes:
“My earliest films (1975-76)were really ‘non-films’ — low level explorations with a poorly functioning regular 8, trying to shoot on the move, learning to handle the thing. Lots of mistakes, miles of dullness. Master of the indecisive moment.” (J.B.)
GUY (1976)
Super 8, color, silent 6fps, 15m
This film was intended to be projected at 6fps, but the relative difficulty in managing that meant few screenings.
“This was shot with a borrowed Super 8 that had more options but a broken view finder. Guy Veryzer was an art student at CCS in Detroit who underwent a male-to-female cosmetic transformation for the cameras (I also shot 35mm color slides & B&W prints that were incorporated into the film). To be more economical with the film, I sent it through this new camera at 6 fps rather than the conventional 18 or 24 fps setting. This bit of ill-logic resulted in a speeded up, slapstick routine rather than my imagined slow motion, poetic intention.” (J.B.)
CHAMBER (1977)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps, 14m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
“Significantly pivotal, this early experiment shot with a flawed camera, made editing manipulation indispensable, even desirable. The opening & closing images are of a portion/ detail of ‘Chamber’ — a 1970, 40″ x 30” decal-on-glass and mirror painting of mine that, like the film, reflects its surroundings. The film’s title takes into account other meanings and implications of the word ‘chamber’, i.e., of the heart, intimate music, room, camera, prison, gun part (both empty and loaded). Chamber provided my conversion from painter to filmmaker. This singular effort opened the floodgates of possibility and language with a whole new approach. All that followed came from here.” (J.B.)
THE CITY OF CHICAGO (1977)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 10m
GREENE STREET VIDEO (1977)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 4.5m
JESSIE’S FILM & BLUE’S PUPPIES (1977)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 7m
Not certain if these are two separate films compiled onto one reel, or a single film.
MIRROR (1977)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps?), 7m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
“Pivoting from a single anchored spot, I filmed a soft-focus landscape through paired reflections in a small mirror and a double-paned window. The vast amount of editing that followed became an obsessive necessity to realize the intentions of this early exercise.” (J.B.)
ANOTHER MIRROR (1977)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 24fps, 5.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
“Half of Mirror/Another Mirror, this is in part, a portrait of Carlo, assisting. A shared reflection of abstraction and persistent blue passages. The equipment was less than adequate, but I value the intention of this bond and the haunting film it provided.” (J.B.)
CARNIVAL (1977)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 3.5m
HOW I LIVE (1977)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 6m
NEW YORK NEW YORK (1977)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 18fps/24fps, 16.5m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
On the film can for the original, Bernard had initially labeled this film as 24fps and 15:00 in length, and then later crossed these out and labeled it as 18fps and 18:20 in length.
“Dark, dirty fragments shot primarily in the streets and lofts of Soho prior to serious gentrification. Brown crystal fungus by Kodak.” (J.B.)
SUE’S WINDOWS (1977)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps?), 3.5m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
“A Tribeca (NYC) snowfall filmed silently through a loft’s gritty windows onto neighboring windows. Fungus by Kodak.” (J.B.)
OUTSIDE (TWICE) (1977)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps, 9m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
“Backyard and garage sightings, over two days (with and without snow), using three different camera stocks. A modest celebration of the commonplace compressed – based on the idea of shooting only what was within a few steps. (relativity of space, acceleration of motion.)” (J.B.)
REMIX (1977)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 19.5m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
“First in a years-apart triptych (Remix, Slides, Zones) of films with ties primarily to family summer gatherings. This one combines an equal mix of camera images with individually inked frames, half negative/ half positive footage, color and b&w shots from Provincetown and Detroit. Fragmentation, manipulation, Kodak fungus and other stained inclusions become theme and subject.” (J.B.)
SIX HOMELY MOVIES (1977)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 15m
100 FEET OF FILM (1978)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 7m
CELEBRATION: THE LOVING OF THINGS SEEN (1978)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 6m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
“This title was meant quite sincerely and the film offers a previsional vocabulary. There was a joy in becoming who and what I was then… filming surroundings, friends, the light & colors around me.” (J.B.)
J.S.B. AT 9 (1978)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 3m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“An interior, edited in-camera portrait of Jessie Sarafina Bernard, in late afternoon summer sun. Warmly regarded.” (J.B.)
SNOWDAY (1978)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 5m
WHITE FILM (1978)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 4.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
“Spectrum and prism divided screen; whites of light, etc.. Out of it comes all colors. I’ve always been attracted to refracted light and prismatic phenomena. (For Richard Devereaux)” (J.B.)
ICON (1978)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 5.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
“Beyond much single frame shooting, Icon allowed the use of cropped stencil letters as abstractions and the idea of bringing other painting tools and sensibilities to film.” (J.B.)
A.B. PORTRAITS (1978)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 6m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“A completely in-camera edit of a day in a life. This is a home movie of my mother and one of several portraits made near the beginning of my filmmaking.” (J.B.)
ANN’S DRESS (1978)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 4.5m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
“Portrait of a modeled garment. Fungus by Kodak.” (J.B.)
SANDY HOOK BAT BARN (1978)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 4.5m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
“Brief encounters within a darkened structure in rural Connecticut.” (J.B.)
STORM (1978)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 3.5m
TATTOO: THE GAMES. (1978)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 28.5m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
“Known as ‘The Games’, these primordial Celtic traditions include step-dancers, military marching bands in full Gaelic regalia, both penned and roaming livestock, amusement park rides, and crowds of revelers amongst huge vats of boiling foods — all on a bucolic, Canadian day.
“Beneath the innocence of family outings, there’s a war subtext baked into these marches. Uniformed troops & officers moving in lockstep to bass drum heartbeats countered by the snares’ gunfire-like rattle. An upheaval of paraders, dancers and visitors in which time exists as a disconnect. *Fungus by Kodak. More than half the footage was cut due to a saturated spread of fungus throughout this and other films shot on Kodak’s Ektachrome 160 type G super 8 stock.” (J.B.)
THIS CHILDREN’S EARLY MORNING (1978)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 3m
T.V. FILM 3600 (1978)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 4m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
“A charged, single-framed implosion with origins in a formerly ‘cool’ (McLuhan) medium.” (J.B.)
TORONTO PIECES (1978)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps, 7.5m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
The original for this film is labeled by Bernard as “18 > 24fps”, the precise significance of which is uncertain.
“Notational camera images and inked passages interwoven.” (J.B.)
OLD ZOAR SUMMER (1978)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps24fps, 3m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
The original is labeled by Bernard as 24fps, whereas the extant Super 8 print is labeled as 18fps.
“A piece of time and place quickly taken. Fungus by Kodak.” (J.B.)
PORTION OF A VISIT… (1978)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps/24fps, 7.5m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
On the film can for the original, Bernard had initially labeled this film as 24fps and 2:25 in length, and then later crossed these out and labeled it as 18fps and 4:20 in length.
“Assorted shots on an ideal Connecticut, autumn day with a couple of friends, my new Nikon R10 and two rolls of K-40. These few hours provided a film with a perfect blend of energy and tranquility.” (J.B.)
AELF-SCIN (1979)
Super 8, color, silent 12fps, 9m
This film seems to have been digitized by Bernard at Cinelicious in 2014 for possible inclusion on his Prismatic Music blu-ray, but was subsequently deemed to be “N.G.” (his labeling on the film can), though not sure why.
PROVINCETOWN PIECES (1979)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 51m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
The original Super 8 film comprised three reels and ran approximately 70 minutes. Bernard seems to have shortened it in the process of digitally mastering it for blu-ray in 2014. For Super 8 presentation, Bernard desired the film to be shown continuously as a single work, with 10-15 seconds of black leader between each of the three reels.
“The shortened version of a three-movement film made over a summer’s stay in Provincetown, MA (Cape Cod/ USA), first alone, then with family. A journal of sorts, it renders the place with obvious affection. The town remains today, to an amazing degree, as it appears in this film from decades ago.” (J.B.)
IMPLICATIONS OF A TOTALITY (1979)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 15m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“One of my best, an early study about life, love, sex & death. This film has explicit images and may be problematic for children and some adults. Shot at ‘Mother’s’ club and the Gross Anatomy Lab in Detroit, various locations in Provincetown and from a motel somewhere in between.” (J.B.)
CREMATORIUM: A COLLABORATIVE SELF-PORTRAIT (1979)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 8.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
“Shot at a Bohemian crematorium outside Chicago, this self-viewing at work makes metaphoric reference to the location and process of cremation. Still photos, drawing, bleach, inks & silver tape were used to ‘move heaven and hell’, all from the vantage point of a devout atheist.” (J.B.)
RITUAL (1979)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 2.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“A 50′ roll of film edited in camera; a small gem with timing and lap dissolves that were truly a gift. This would be a great choice to look at a few times; for me it has close to perfect pitch.” (J.B.)
ANOTHER T.V. FILM (1979)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 3.5m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“Trance rhythms provided by an old, flickering tube t.v. and single-frame shooting through an antique two-way, magic mirror.” (J.B.)
SUN SONG (1979)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 3.5m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
“A percussive conjuration of a banshee wail, imploring warmth from the winter’s sun, this was naively made in admired response to Mothlight.” (J.B.)
SUNDAY MORNING (1979)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 3.5m
C.B., LIGHT, MORNING GREEN (1979)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps, 10m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
“This is a simple dichotomy of pairings in which a warmly dark, interior portrait is intercut with the cool greens of an early summer morning. Light, in an array of guises, becomes the uncommon denominator.” (J.B.)
BOATS (1&2) (1979)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 12m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
“A boat-bound sleeper’s dreams are manipulated and replayed in the Atlantic’s coastal waters.” (J.B.)
DIVERSION (1980)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 2.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“My attempt to repeat ‘success’… this was the companion follow-up to Ritual. Both films are densely compressed and they opened many more options for future work.” (J.B.)
620 COMMERCIAL (1980)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 8.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“620 Commercial is the street address of an old house in Provincetown. This is literally a ‘reflective’ portrait of that house — all shots are from the surface of, or through, weathered windows, glass doors, a framed photo. On this particular summer day, the wind gently moves those glass partitions as light, flowered foliage and people pass by.” (J.B.)
FIXATION (1980)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 10m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“An uneasy, very personal reaffirming of vocabulary and somewhat obsessive meditation on looking, losing, recalling. A blindingly melancholic inner self/ Detroit winter-spring dirge of isolation.” (J.B.)
BROKEN NIGHTS (1980)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 10m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“The suggestion of drifting psychosexual dreams fragmenting in & out of events, places, time itself. Locations include a Detroit basement, a Provincetown night carnival and an artist’s studio. Darkness becomes the conduit.” (J.B.)
SPLICES FOR SHARITS (1980)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 5.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“This homage to structural filmmaker Paul Sharits, was made by re-photographing thousands of cement splices, then re-arranging them into four movements. The continuous image of the splice bar implies an almost dream-like landscape/horizon line. I met Paul shortly after completing the film and gifted a print, which he responded to favorably.” (J.B.)
EYE REELS (1980)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 16.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“An entangled meld of Celtic-flavored abstractions, home movies and an Irish dance fest that was edited throughout with those very moves in mind. Quick shots and dense patterning within the film echos that found in embroidery, lace, stone and metal work — all of which grows out of the very language; both in sound and calligraphic look. This tapestry-like interweave becomes the persistent edit of Eye Reels. (The film is dedicated in memory of my maternal grandmother, Winifred Egan).” (J.B.)
ROXMAS/79 (1980)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 5.5m
SLIDES (1980)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 22.5m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“A Super8 camera was used to shoot ‘still’ moving pictures that mimic projected 35mm slides. Some older transparencies, from previous titles, were reused as ‘elements of vocabulary’. Those particular fixed images appear repeatedly – through varied footage. Panning and zooming become ‘sliding’ moves within this context. Filmed takes of family, friends and strangers through the unique inamorata of Provincetown light. In all, a place of the heart.” (J.B.)
ZOAR TWO (1980)
Super 8, bw, silent 18fps, 4.5m
OF & BY JESSIE & CARLO-RAMON (1978-81)
Super 8, bw & color (?), silent 18fps, 5m
CAPE FLIGHT (1981)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 5m
CLAY’S (1981)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 4.5m
FUGUE (1981)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 2.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“A splice-less, light, airy, soft-focus reflection out the back window of a car returning from the beach on a perfect summer’s day. Bach is implied.” (J.B.)
INTRIGUES (I) (1981)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 3.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
The Intrigues series of films should be considered as separate, individual works, per Bernard.
“The opening to a series of seven films inspired by Delmore Schwartz’s observations on the word ‘intrigue’. My series regards various aspects of personal visuals, including the process of shooting, splicing, repetition, projection and editing bench equipment. Much of the imagery exists within a darkened ambiguity. Intrigues (I), intersperses prismatic light, underwater shooting, echoing of shadows and other low-lit fragments/ precipitous moments of activities.” (J.B.)
INTRIGUES (II) (1981)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps, 4.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
The Intrigues series of films should be considered as separate, individual works, per Bernard.
“Almost all footage from above/ below the waterline.” (J.B.)
INTRIGUES (III) (1981)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps, 6m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
The Intrigues series of films should be considered as separate, individual works, per Bernard.
“A private, dark meditation on fleeting moments, sightings.” (J.B.)
INTRIGUES (IV) (1981)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 2.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
The Intrigues series of films should be considered as separate, individual works, per Bernard.
“An attempt to gently wrest the curious poetry of filmed colors & lights.” (J.B.)
INTRIGUES (V) (1981)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps, 3m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
The Intrigues series of films should be considered as separate, individual works, per Bernard.
“A dance leading to a dance.” (J.B.)
INTRIGUES (VI) (1981)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 4.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
The Intrigues series of films should be considered as separate, individual works, per Bernard.
“Yet another meditation on aspects of filmmaking, its tools and properties. Repeated trackings of light traveling through glass (emblematic of both camera & projector), this study also macro-views editing equipment & work bench lighting as places the mind goes while quantities of individual cement splices dry, and hours pass.” (J.B.)
INTRIGUES (VII) (1981)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 12.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
The Intrigues series of films should be considered as separate, individual works, per Bernard.
“Series summation; a regathering and extension in red, black, blue & white. This is a charged compression of both in-camera editing and bench-cutting… a splice dance under the ocean, in the fire, on the ice. A built-in edit of film editing portrayed.” (J.B.)
DRAWINGS ON AFRICA (1981)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps, 2m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
“Totally under-exposed 35mm slides of African maps were provided to be drawn over by a 10 & a 12 year old. The slides, with their emulsion-scratched images, were then macro rephotographed. A wondrous collaboration.” (J.B.)
ME & D.O. IN MIND (1981)
Super 8, color, silent
This seems to have been an intended film, not completely realized, but which I thought would be worth including here regardless. The original was labeled by Bernard with the usual information (including title and year), and also featured a post-it note in his handwriting reading: “Me & D.O. in Mind title, misc., & sign/date 1981 // …to become a film…” Indeed, the reel only contains the main/end titles and a couple of shots of 7244 Ektachrome 160.
SEMBLANCE: FRAMPTON BRAKHAGE RELATION (1981)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps, 5.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“A simplistic analogy of obvious disparities between these two masters that I concocted on the beach in Provincetown. As a disclaimer: my filmed comparisons relating H.F. & S.B. should in no way be construed with the quality or intentions of these high priests of filmmaking. Just koaning around.” (J.B.)
THOSE (1981)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 3m
This film may not have been shown – the original for this film is labeled by Bernard as being “N.G. / very faded”, and labeled for possible partial re-use by him for a different project.
WHALE WATCH (1) (1981)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps, 10.5m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
“Shot weeks apart, two films were made of personal sightings while on public outings, in the company of the great mammals off Cape Cod. Like icebergs, very little of their bulk, beyond shimmering back and a rearmost dorsal fin is visible as they glide the surface. These forty-ton humpbacks power dive with a grace and purpose that had me conjuring their descending views; diminishing jagged streaks of light into plummeting depths of darkness.” (J.B.)
WHALE WATCH (2) (1981)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps, 10.5m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
See description for Whale Watch (1).
ZONES (1981)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 19.5m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“‘… And your love is some dust in an old man’s cuff who is tapping his foot to a tune…’ intoned by Leonard Cohen, as we ignore lines of demarcation and flaunt proscribed zones.
“The last of three, near 20-min. films, that arc from Provincetown to Detroit, providing variables from then to now. Sightings of drop-dead beauty that pass with the powdered snap of a chalk line. ‘Zones’ as territorial markings, as sensualized places, locations.” (J.B.)
20 OF MARE (1981)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 24fps, 15m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
“Variable images provide intermittent rhythms through a system driven by clear tape drawings, documentation of a performance, subsurface pond swimmers and the overall sensuality of moving waters.” (J.B.)
THE FUNCTION OF FILM (1982)
Super 8, bw, silent 24fps, 8m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm (onto color stock, whether for specific aesthetic reasons or because it was the only option at that time is uncertain).
“A declarative and somewhat facetious circular text weaves through many sampled versions of what film might be, i.e., home movie, Hollywood, training, documentary, newsreel, sports, abstraction, etc.. Shot in b&w and silent, yet two more categories, this film has a purposeful identity unto itself.” (J.B.)
NIGHT MIX (1982)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 11m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“This particular one carries a broad filmmaking vocabulary and was a response to a ‘still vs motion’ picture debate between a photographer friend and myself. It was highly altered with opaque tape over frames, bleach, ink, abrasions and quantities of cement splices. As montage, I think it’s abstractly and rhythmically intense. Shot in Detroit and Provincetown, this is dedicated to Bill Gubbins.” (J.B.)
PAST FUTURE (PERFECT TENSE) (1982)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 11.5m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
On the film can for the original, Bernard had initially labeled this film as 24fps and 9:00 in length, and then later crossed these out and labeled it as 18fps and 12:21 in length. Title on screen is as above, though Bernard’s labeling of the film in various places is only “(Perfect Tense)”
“As with the randomness of dream, this non-sequential narrative relays
an at-home crime. I was awakened at knifepoint, bound, blindfolded
and led through the house while belongings were bagged by a man I recognized from a painting crew working on the house next door. (1 pg. audience handout is provided prior to screening.)” (J.B.)
SHADE (1982)
Super 8, bw, silent 18fps, 3m
BASEBALL (BRIEFLY) (1983)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 5.5m
FILM FOR UNTITLED VIEWER (1983)
Super 8, bw, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 2.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“A traveling-text soliloquy acknowledging an unknown, perceptive audience member with whom I’m sharing this film.” (J.B.)
FROM TIME TO TIME (1983)
Super 8, bw, silent 18fps, 9m
VARIANT CHANTS (1983)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps, 16m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“This is an often rapid montage of stills & short clips referencing aspects of ‘set-up’ or tabletop filmmaking, as well as my own paintings on glass and 35mm slide photographs. In part, the film provides a view of its little laboratory, disclosure of its own making. For me, this remains an in-total dervish dance… a celebration of light, color, movement and all the charged beauty I was capable of, then or since.” (J.B.)
OUT SIDE IN SIDE OUT (1983)
Super 8, bw, silent 18/24fps, 9.5m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
On the film can for the original, Bernard had initially labeled this film as 24fps and 6:16 in length, and then later crossed these out and labeled it as 18fps and 8:27 in length. (Based on Bernard’s HD file which was transferred to simulate 18fps, this film is 9.5m.)
“Sequestered sightings from a house in Provincetown prior to an oncoming summer storm. Center stage: a faded black 4-door bedroom-on-wheels/clunker sits curbside; windows down, mismatched tires, bent chrome strip hangs half off. Both film and world pass by.” (J.B.)
MEYEROWITZ / BAY MORNING (1983)
Super 8, bw, silent 24fps, 3.5m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
“Portrait of the photographer and his 8×10 Deardorff at work on the
bay beach in Provincetown. Unable to compete 8mm to 8″ x 10″ for color rendition and resolution, I chose b&w for this modest portrait.” (J.B.)
SUN CYCLE (1983)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 11m
MEYEROWITZ / DIGITAL & NEWPORT (1984)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps, 12m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
“J.M. shot 35mm stills for two Cape/commercial jobs with teams of models and airplanes. One was for an aerial image of a sponsor’s service plane making a repair call on a ‘deserted island’. The other involved racially separated beauties frolicking at the beach in an 80’s advertisement to the glamor of cigarette smoking.” (J.B.)
MOUTH MUSIC (1984)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 24fps, 6.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“A muffled dream state; slow, soft focus nudes and repeating red ocean waves.” (J.B.)
COMMON AIR (1984)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 24fps (orig. 18fps), 12.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“This began with the idea of committing ‘nothing’ to film… just unnameable, vaporous passages. But to establish that, it seemed I’d have to counter with aspects of the opposite, images of things and those around me. It grew into a movie of the home, a story-less drama that now feels suspended in memory, a piece of time and life dispersed. I think something of its deep affection for the past remains.” (J.B.)
FULL CIRCLE (IT’S ALWAYS BEEN AROUND) (1984)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps, 15m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“Based on the title and a premise from my undergraduate thesis, this one also goes back to the impact of seeing my first Brakhage film, Mothlight. From that experience and later graduate studies with him, to the eventual making of Full Circle, the inherent visual beauty of his work and all that’s resonated with me since… may that be implied here. The film was tagged: ‘4 SB’. Now I would add, ‘with love and everything’.” (J.B.)
DOVES’ NEST (1984)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 2.5m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
“A pair of doves build a home.” (J.B.)
MILTON BENNETT IN PERFORMANCE (1985)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 24fps, 8.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“One of the most gifted models for my figure drawing courses at CCS, Milton adapted to suggestions with ease, i.e., ‘… improvise a 10 minute moving pose’. Sometimes we’d have the class sessions in almost total darkness. I’m grateful to him for this intimate document.” (J.B.)
THE DETROIT FILMS (REEL #1) (1985)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 24fps, 13m
This film was intended for inclusion on a second blu-ray compilation to be entitled Quondam Exhalations.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
The Detroit Films series of films should be considered as separate, individual works, per Bernard.
“I believed this (Reel #1) film to have been lost, so it missed being on the Prismatic Music disc along with Reels #2, #3 and “#4. This one offers a portrait of a classical music d.j. broadcasting on WDET public radio, glimpses of a rehearsal and performance of ‘The Nutcracker’ at Ford Auditorium, students working in my filmmaking class, and the editing, inking and cleaning of this very film. These four reels provide idiosyncratic views of the city.” (J.B.)
THE DETROIT FILMS (REEL #2) (1985)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 24fps, 10m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
The Detroit Films series of films should be considered as separate, individual works, per Bernard.
“If there’s a film of mine that makes the case for multiple viewings, it’s (Reel #2). This has to be seen several times to be seen at all. The transition from filmmaking back into painting is here in the ‘props’ — 2″ clear tape strips of gorgeous debris (thread, film & petals) which later joined and grew into wall hangings, then eventually paintings. This is the level of metrics, the visual resonance I was always chasing.” (J.B.)
THE DETROIT FILMS (REEL #3) (1985)
Super 8, color, silent 24fps, 4m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
The Detroit Films series of films should be considered as separate, individual works, per Bernard.
“A soft focus and so very silent, ‘essence of place’ shot in Provincetown to be later ‘remembered’ in Detroit.” (J.B.)
THE DETROIT FILMS (REEL #4) (1985)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 24fps, 11.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
The Detroit Films series of films should be considered as separate, individual works, per Bernard.
“A dark, driven montage of Detroit streets, activities & diary entries of my films made in that city, that year. This is also a gritty, heavily spliced journal that cuts quick and dirty on the eye. Yet another recapitulation… toward an end of it all.” (J.B.)
HER MOVES (1985)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 24fps, 19.5m
This film was included on Bernard’s 2015 blu-ray compilation Prismatic Music.
This film was also blown up to 16mm.
“Interwoven footage of 12 females engaged in specific and personal physical activities — each filmed separately, throughout the east coast and midwest, then edited into a collective dance of sorts. This was my last completed film.” (J.B.)
*
UNCERTAIN/T.B.C.
WHITE FILM 2
Super 8
One reel arrived in Bernard’s collection labeled by him as:
“WHITE FILM 2” & WHITE LEADER AND OTHER LEADERS
suggesting the possibility that on this reel was a “sequel” to White Film (1978), but no other information is yet known about this.
LIGHTSTRUCK 