Mechanical Principles

Mechanical Principles is a 1930 experimental short film directed by Ralph Steiner.^[1][2]

The short explores various mechanical concepts and principles through visual storytelling and cinematography.^[3]

Description

The film shows the inner workings of machines, capturing the precision of mechanical motion in detail. Each frame is crafted to showcase various particularities of in the mechanical world.^[4][5]

Production

The film was shot partly at the Chicago Museum of Science^[6]

Reception

The film is considered to border "pure cinema".^[7] Jan-Christopher Horak wrote that "Mechanical Principles reveals that for Steiner any aspect of the visual world can fuel a fascination with sight."^[8] The film, part of the director's abstract trilogy, has been found "fascinating and more striking than Surf and Seaweed".^[9]

References

1. "MOMA".
2. Pollack, Howard (2012-09-05). Marc Blitzstein: His Life, His Work, His World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-979167-5.
3. Ralph Steiner (1930), 1930 Ralph Steiner Mechanical Principles, retrieved 2024-01-29
4. "Light Cone - MECHANICAL PRINCIPLES". lightcone.org. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
5. "Mechanical Principles | Films |AMDB". www.amateurcinema.org. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
6. Oja, Carol J. (2004). Colin McPhee: Composer in Two Worlds. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-07180-5.
7. Pego, Por Jota. "Mechanical Principles (1930). Ralph Steiner" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-03-16.
8. Horak, Jan-Christopher (1995). Lovers of Cinema: The First American Film Avant-garde, 1919-1945. Univ of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-14684-9.
9. Tepperman, Charles (2014-12-24). Amateur Cinema: The Rise of North American Moviemaking, 1923-1960. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-27985-8.