In the latest addition to the Cinema Department’s Visiting Film & Video Artists & Speakers Series, filmmaker Jesse McLean presented six of her works last Thursday.

McLean, a professor and chair of the Department of Film, Video, Animation and New Genres at the Peck School of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, delivered a program containing a little more than one hour of short films, followed by a Q&A session.

Daniel Murphy, a lecturer of cinema, opened the event with a brief introduction and explanation of McLean’s background. Shortly after, McLean took the stage and presented the films the audience watched over the course of the evening: “Wherever You Go, There We Are,” “I’m in Pittsburgh and It’s Raining,” “Remote,” “Curious Fantasies,” “See a Dog, Hear a Dog” and “Somewhere only we know.”

While McLean used experimental techniques for all six of the films, some, like “Curious Fantasies,” were heavily stylized. Other films, notably “I’m in Pittsburgh and It’s Raining,” featured more formal narrative elements tied together in a surreal and experimental package. According to McLean, much of her focus when filmmaking centers around creating tension through sound design by using uncomfortable noise, like rubbing a balloon.

While McLean worked through an experimental lens for all six of the films, some, like “Remote” and “Somewhere only we know,” were more heavily stylized. “Somewhere only we know” was a montage of game show clips, for the most part, close-ups of contestants’ faces, as a means to build suspense. The format allowed McLean to blend humor and tension, a concept she played with in all six of her films.

Other films, most notably “I’m in Pittsburgh and It’s Raining,” featured more formal narrative elements tied together in a surreal and experimental package. According to McLean, much of her focus when filmmaking centers around creating tension through sound design by using uncomfortable noise, like rubbing a balloon.

“Wherever You Go, There We Are” was the first of the six films shown during the viewing. It consisted of scam emails being read aloud by a text-to-speech voice, accompanied by eerie imagery of expansive forest and landscape — a commentary on the uncanniness of computer-generated content. “See a Dog, Hear a Dog” reflected a similar sentiment, juxtaposing the vitality and unpredictability of our beloved pets with calculated and inhuman AI. Footage of robotic dogs was spliced in between footage of real ones, blending the line between animal and technology.

“See a Dog, Hear a Dog” showed the distinction between human and A.I. communication, flashing between images and videos of technological advances and a little girl repeating the film’s name.

“My favorite part was seeing how the confusing scenes connected to make a deeper story,” said Stefanie Bivona, a junior majoring in psychology. “It was a little unsettling at first, but it became meaningful when we got to see the difference in the human and A.I. skills.”

Throughout all of her films, McLean emphasized commentary on the value of humanity, explaining that our consciousness and desire set us apart from other entities. She used multiple symbols throughout her films to demonstrate, including humankind’s connection with nature and animals, and the uncanny disconnect between our language processing and computer-generated phrases.

Nicholas Gandolfo, a senior majoring in environmental science, attended the lecture and screening and shared how the films spoke to him.

“I was a big fan of the experimental natures of the films, and how they were a social commentary on things I think are really relevant today, the capitalistic society we live in,” Gandolfo said. “I’m a big fan, obviously as an environmental science major, of the conservation of nature. I was a big fan of the films today.”

Following the screening, McLean answered a series of questions posed to her by students and other members of the audience. She explained several aspects of her creative process, like where her inspiration comes from and how she selects footage based on each film’s unique requirements.

Stephen Farrell, a junior majoring in business administration, described what messages he took from the films.

“Personally, I really loved the juxtaposition between the technology and human nature,” Farrell said. “And how as we advance technologically, our primitive side really shows. The editing style really tied it all together and drove home the point for me.”

McLean’s lecture was the third and final lecture in this semester’s Visiting Film & Video Artists and Speakers Series. With events like this, more students have the opportunity to interact with independent and experimental filmmaking in an academic setting.

“Independent filmmakers, it’s important to support them, because it really gives more people the chance to show their skill and their love for the craft,” Farrell said. “It really opens the door to many more possibilities of different perspectives on a lot of different things.”