Notebook 4: Film is definitely not a "Visual Medium"

Notebook Magazine #4

by Mubi

Now hear this! Issue 4 explores cinematic soundscapes in their diverse sonic forms. Voices of artists are featured in a wide-ranging conversation between director Gus Van Sant (Elephant, Milk), composer Tamar-kali Brown (Mudbound, The Assistant, Shirley), and sound designer Leslie Shatz (Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Carol, Blonde), as well as a survey of contemporary filmmakers, including Garrett Bradley, Erik Matti, and Dominga Sotomayor, explaining their approaches to audio. We look at the state of accessibility for the visually impaired, and what its evolution may bring in the future, and hear about exciting approaches to silent film accompaniment by musician Julia Holter, benshi Ichiro Kataoka, and pianist Gerhard Gruber. Additional topics include tours of the world-class Skywalker Sound facility in Northern California and a Foley effects studio in Ireland. Other features range from a celebration of the gorgeous “100 Films, 100 Posters” art project in Jeonju, South Korea, to a personal reflection on brownface in American cinema, and a new installment by Pedro Costa (Vitalina Varela) in our “Things Filmmakers Should Know” series, and much more.

132 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2024

About the author

MU•BI [mōō'bē] Adjective, verb, noun.
1. An online movie theater where you watch, discover, and discuss auteur cinema
2. A city in Nigeria

Five things that were on our minds when we first dreamt up MUBI in the early 2000’s:

1. Why can’t you watch In the Mood for Love in a café in Tokyo?
2. Why is it so hard to meet people who share the same love for Antonioni?
3. Wouldn’t it be great to instantly send Tati’s Playtime to a friend if you think they needed it? (There’s nothing like film therapy!) Why do films on the Internet just look awful (circa 2000’s it was truly bad)?
4. Why do films on the Internet just look awful?
5. Why are we talking as if we were John Cusack in High Fidelity?

And that was that. We simply couldn’t resist the idea of everyone having their own film library… Your own little cinema, anytime, anywhere.

After all, not everyone can make it to the Cannes Film Festival – especially if you are a school teacher or you live in Winnipeg (or both) – but that doesn’t mean you can’t recite all of Kubrick’s films in reverse chronological order, or that you are not desperate to watch the latest Kelly Reichardt film that’s definitely not going to be released in your local multiplex.

And that’s our point: Popular doesn’t always mean good.

MUBI is brimming with visionary films that wouldn’t fill a single cinema in Belgium for a week – not even a day. But if you searched the world (all of it), you might just find an audience of a thousand for these rare cinematic masterpieces. And we don’t think a thousand people should be ignored just because they happen to live in different time zones or far away from Belgian cinemas. If someone needed to make such a precise film, it means that someone, somewhere needs to watch it. More importantly, that someone might be you. Or Martin Scorsese (he happens to be a member too.) You’ll also find Hollywood favorites, from No Country for Old Men to The Royal Tenenbaums, or even The Substance. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where films come from, as long as they come from someone’s mind.

MUBI is not just about discovering wonderful new cinema or classic masterpieces. It’s also about discussing and sharing these discoveries – which makes us like a small coffee shop... a place where you can gather and talk about alternative endings, directors’ cuts, and whatever those frogs in Magnolia meant. Heated debates and passionate arguments are welcome.

Are you in the mood for cinema? Welcome to MUBI.

P.S. By the way, we’ve worked hard on the quality of the streaming and we are very proud of it... just wanted to let you know...

What is MUBI
A streaming service? A curator? A publisher? A distributor? A cinema lover? Yes.

Now Showing on MUBI
A place to discover ambitious films by visionary filmmakers. From iconic directors to emerging auteurs. All carefully chosen by our curators.

MUBI Releases
We believe cinema should be viewed on screens of all shapes and sizes. Our curators scour film festivals for the most exciting and original new films, which we bring to the big screen with the same care and attention we give to our curated platform.

Collections
Our hand-picked line-up includes double features, filmmaker retrospectives, spotlights on major film festivals and more.

Notebook
Go deeper into the world of contemporary and classic cinema with Notebook.
The latest news, interviews and criticism.

Community
Rate, review, discuss and you’ll find out very quickly you’re part of a global community of people who love cinema as much as you do.

Reviews

[tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a novice filmmaker, I've learned a lot more about how I can become more collaborative and carrying as I marry the audio and visual in my films. Jonathan Webb and Randy Thom are now sound artists I hope to collaborate with in the future and/or continue to learn from moving forward!