Hidden Hands at Work: Authorship, the Intentional Flux, and the Dynamics of Collaboration

The study of authorship has not only elevated film and other media as means of personal expression; it has promoted a particular way of explaining authors' works. This chapter is how Bresson worked with the cine-matographer Leonce-Henri Burel to translate the author's restrained conception of cinema into concrete photographic solution. Their collaboration shows the author's intentions in flux: Bresson relied upon Burel's skills and expertise to discover new ways to strip his images of showy effects. Bresson's preliminary stance to achieve a pared-down look guided their practice, but the problems and solutions related to it shifted over the course of their collaboration. Through the intentional flux paradigm, students of film and media can continue to attribute films, television shows, and videogames to a single, governing agent who stipulates its broad aesthetic commitments; but they can also develop an appreciation for the hidden hands at work in an author's art.