As in many of Paul Sharits's contributions to the experimental Flux Film series of the 1960's, "Dots 1 & 2" relies entirely on a single gimmick used to create a fairly basic exercise. This time, his use of the gimmick is a bit different however: other entries including "Unrolling Event" and "Wrist Trick" were based strictly upon flickering or stroboscopic effects, which does not appear to be the case here. The imagery in this approximately forty-second exercise indeed relies its entire illusion on optical effects, yet in a more compelling and original way. While the others were more straightforward and basic in their flickering effect, this one seems to be intended as more hypnotic.
Describing this film is a little hard, but I'll do the best I can. "Dots 1 & 2" is titled as such because the short features two different sets of dots: white dots on a black background, and black dots on a white background. Both sets are combined in one of those insane optical illusions (though here it is real since it was made on filmstock) as they merge and grow bigger, overlapping in a never-ending loop. Quite probably my favorite so far of Sharits's Flux Films; I would imagine it was rather time-consuming to achieve such an effect.
Describing this film is a little hard, but I'll do the best I can. "Dots 1 & 2" is titled as such because the short features two different sets of dots: white dots on a black background, and black dots on a white background. Both sets are combined in one of those insane optical illusions (though here it is real since it was made on filmstock) as they merge and grow bigger, overlapping in a never-ending loop. Quite probably my favorite so far of Sharits's Flux Films; I would imagine it was rather time-consuming to achieve such an effect.
