White Trash Humpers & VHS

Trash Humpers

"Are you not entertained?" Maximus yells to the crowd.  Yes, I was entertained.  The humor began to wear off for me when the humor became a bit more twisted (dragging the baby dolls, the racist humor, etc.).  I did find the actual trash humping to be hilarious in a visual sense as the slapstick was well done.  Whenever they incorporated vegetation into the scene, it would initially make me laugh, but then it would make me feel odd (which it probably should). 

I think there were some great visual and storytelling moments in the video - the monologue about life without heads, the driving scene with the talk about how he lives his life, the shots of them sleeping indoors and out, and the ending scene with the woman and the baby - just to name a few.  These scenes gave this overly repulsive (to me, anyway) and "Jackass" type of movie some redemptive nature.

Visually and structurally I think it was wonderfully made.  The ffwd and rew and play, the visual texture of the videotape, and the tracking glitchiness of it perfectly matched what I was viewing.  This style of 'editing' was well played and while I was watching, I tried to think of how I respond if it was in a different or 'normal' viewing or editing style and I think it would not have had the overall same feeling and it would have seem more 'staged' and that would have taken the edge or anxiousness away from the viewer in a bad way.

VHS

Just a quick note about this - fantastically shot and edited.  Very suspenseful and entertaining.  I try not to watch these things too often because of how wound up I feel during them, but was glad to 'experience' this video.  It was fun, playful, eerie, and wild.  It gave me a bit of the "Blair Witch" experience in that it looked authentic even though I know it wasn't. 

Multiple Screens = Multitasking

The Friedman readings have aligned perfectly with what I've been working on for the fourth project.  I liked how during class Todd separated film/video into architecture and interface - and along with the split screens and multiple framings, in my next project I will try to address these.  I am still trying to think of ways to address the 'depth' issue and connection with the architecture.

I think "Televisions" dealt with medium specificity indirectly (using the lcd tv as a monitor for my digital camera and then recording the results of aiming the camera at the tv) , though I didn't go into the project with that on my mind - I just wanted to work with video feedback for the fun of it and see if I could do anything with it once I amassed a collection of 'neat' visuals. 

This time around I am doing this project for the fun of it too, but also with a specific goal in mind of incorporating medium specificity and convergence.  The idea of split and multiple screens has always been a fascination of mine because of the simultaneous events/actions/thoughts that occur in our lives overall. 

I love how we think that we are multi-tasking, but in reality, we are just sequencing our actions almost in a frame by frame way so that we aren't actually multi-tasking, we're just doing an action, stopping that action, doing another action, and just doing this back and forth.  One could argue the person who is walking and texting is indeed multi-tasking, but I would argue that the guy is texting while leaning forward (therefore his legs automatically move so he won't fall). 

So, one of my side intentions for this fourth project won't be to show the jerkiness of multitasking (though that would be an interesting video and perhaps a future project and I think "Noah" dealt with that somewhat), my intention will be to show that whether we can or can't multitask is irrelevant because the world and life is one GIANT MFing multitask (in a positive way, of course).

Window washing

I really thought the Virtual Window reading was perfectly timed for where we were at and perhaps where I am specifically as far as creating video projects goes.  As I said in class, the word 'ventilation' really made a connection for me.  It could be that it is a metaphor that works for me, but I also think it allowed me to think about how the screen can be more than just a 2-D plane on which to slap visuals upon.  The idea of ventilation is to make that visual plane more than just 2-D by letting things transfer in and out and possibly touching or interacting with the person on the inside of the window.  The virtual window for video is not merely a photo or mirror, it is a series of well-crafted paintings that are accompanied by the construction of the frame and sound to fully envelope the viewer into another time/space.

How this applies to this class is finding ways in which we can realize this virtual window into our projects.  Trying to remove the frame of the camera by use of light and dark and arranging these images within the rectangular shape of the screen so that while the frame remains rectangular, the images that the viewer is seeing may not necessarily be rectangular.  I don't know if I described that too well, but it is something I have tried in my latest project and am hoping to allow the shape of the shot be determined by the blackness of the frame and the light and dark of the shot.

Goddard and Beyond

I wish I could understand French because it would have made Wednesday's screening much more enjoyable.  I really like the concept of him reflecting on footage from years ago, especially considering the situation.  Often times when I work on 'projects' and then I see something like Goddard's, it makes me realize that for a lot of people film/video has the ability to transform lives or at least expose life in ways that no other medium can.  In the future I could possibly use some older projects I have made to reflect upon at some point and I think it could be interesting to include other viewpoints.  Not like a 'making of' video, but like Goddard, really delving into what was being said, was it worth it, etc.

I did get my idea for project 3 watching the "One Year Project" and I've already shot a majority of the video.  I basically video recorded myself sleeping for two nights (5 1/2 hours each night).  Watching the video of me sleeping certainly gave me an insight to myself that I've never actually seen before.  I decided to use the sleeping video of myself as the anchor for a two-part video and I'm sure this has already been done before by many, but hey, not everyone sleeps the same way!

Uhopia, that's right, I said it.

I remember the word 'utopia' being a very popular word when I was a kid in the 70s.  It was something that I remember being talked and taught about at elementary and middle school:  how one day we could create and all live in a utopia.  I also recall utopia being a common theme in music during that era and it definitely helped to form my pseudo-hippy mental state as a young person. 

I don't know where or when or exactly why, but I distinctly remember falling out of love with that word and the idea of a utopia.  I'm not a nihilist (I believe the world is actually a better place now than it was when I was ten - not that there isn't a lot of fucked up shit going on), but I suppose I just got sick of hearing that word and then seeing how the people or organizations or whatever that were pumping it out actually behaved or interacted with others.... Off the soapbox.

I'll have to dig it up (if I can find it), but back in the 80s I wrote a poem or some kind of prose piece about a fake society called "Uhopia".  I think it was just me giving the Utopians some of my misaimed anger or disillusion or apathy or whatever political struggle I was going through in the "It's morning in America" Reagan era.  I think me being in the Navy at the time also put a certain skew on my lens, but, hey, the port calls were great!

I think it would be interesting (how many posts about ideas have I started like this?) if we could use our creative effort to create a visual and audio utopia (or uhopia, you make the call).  What would it look and sound like?  Could you create a video that symbolized your utopia?  Would you create a very personal utopia or aim for a more universal one or would it be one and the same?  What rules would this utopia enforce (if any) and how would they be enforced and how would you show that?  I think this is something that we could do as a project in this class as it would be hard for this project not to be autobiographical in some way. 

Karen Carpenter and It Wasn't Love

I grew up with the sounds of Karen Carpenter and Todd Haynes' unauthorized biography of her brought back a lot of memories.  The use of the dolls was off-putting at first because I thought it was funny, but once I got used to it, I thought it was a great choice to represent her story and that time period.  I think using the dolls, besides creating multiple visual metaphors, allowed Todd to put the focus where he wanted it to be.  And though he told the story in a chronological way, it was chockfull of information and innuendo that made this seem to be more than just a story about Karen Carpenter.

It Wasn't Love used music, costumes, props, acting, and found images to make this story seem more than just a story of that one night and lost/found love.  Some of the choices made seemed quite personal and I couldn't grasp onto all of them, but I was fine with that because the film was entertaining and I was able to connect with enough of the choices to feel as though I was an insider.

What I took from both of these films (besides their entertainment and artistic value) was choosing the music, acting, props, footage, etc. that fits  not only the 'story' being told, but also the film itself.  In other words, keep the colors you choose within the palette you've created and this will allow the personalization of those colors not make the viewer seem like an outsider.  This will be especially important in our next project.

The Myth of Science Exposed by the Science of Myth or Love Monkeys vs. The Promethean Inventors

The unilinear history that Vattimo discusses and that postmodernism negates has rarely been seen in the films we have screened in this class.  The autobiographical films we have seen can be categorized as unilinear, though Speaking Directly certainly pushes the idea that an autobiographical piece can work outside of the constraints of linear history. 

What fascinates me about this is it seems as though a lot of my present time is dealing with past actions and future possibilities in a folded web of time.  And though my 'life story' can be told chronologically, how can a proper rendering of one's life be told in a 2D chronological story when the multidimensional experience of life seems to be so much more? 

It Wasn't Love deals with this with an extreme focus on a moment or event that is multi-layered and filled with something that is beyond a linear telling of a story.  So, maybe after we rip the myth and the science from our stories what we have left is the moment or love or emotion or something that only art can express and what myth and science can't. 

I think a good way to apply this to our projects would be to try to focus on a moment or an emotion or 'love' or something that is not dependent upon science or myth and doesn't necessarily have to be told as a complete story.

Linguistic Transitions Rolling Through the Electronic Windows of Memory

     "Three Transitions" and "Vertical Roll" provided interesting displays of how camera placement and use can create unique creative opportunities, something which can be employed by us in our projects.  "Electronic Linguistic" and "Windows" were two I enjoyed because there were moments in which what I was seeing was not really what I was seeing, especially in "Electronic Linguistic".  No doubt there is a certain level of artistic ability and craftsmanship that goes into it as well as patience to allow it to happen, but it is something we can take away.
     "Art of Memory" was interesting for its use of the real and the fabricated (and a world with its own set of realities and myths) and this is something that I would like to try.  I know there's green screen and all that good stuff, but I would rather try to take another approach because part of what I liked about "Art of Memory" is that it wasn't trying to hide the fabricated from the real (at least in my mind) and green screen, though it is amazing what you can do with it, does seem to be trying to hide (unless it's a parody, of course).
     Though I don't have any solid ideas yet, I would like to take self-created characters or objects and place them in real and/or fabricated settings and see what happens.  I know, very loose idea.  I'll work on it!

Jenkins: Push and Pull

On Page 224 of Jenkins' "Convergence Culture," he describes television as a push medium in that messages are sent out to the public whether the public is seeking them or not and he describes the internet as a pull medium in that it serves those with an interest in a particular topic and they seek it out. While this certainly isn't new in media, it is useful for us to think about ways in which we can use the different tools available to us and what sort of information we unleash in those mediums.  Jenkins suggests that the internet is for hardcore fans and television for the undecided.  I think it is fair to say that videos and/or films can be roughly equated to television in an artistic sense as many people watch a movie not knowing much about it and once they start watching it the information is pushed at them, so to speak.  This rough translation is certainly arguably wrong, but I think it can work if we consider the video or film just part of the 'art' we are creating and the internet (blogs, websites, facebook pages, etc.) is another aspect of the piece of art as a whole.  If someone watches a video I make and likes it and is encouraged to visit either a blog or a website or facebook page about the video, then their experience may be enhanced.  Obviously, this is one of the things Jenkins has been discussing, but I think the push and pull idea really made me understand some of the power of convergence.

An idea I am just now working on deals with our second project.  Without any spoilers in case you read this before the viewing, there are a couple of ways in which I could totally use this idea because my second project has 3 vignettes and 2 of them I can easily see having further 'life'.  The video project would be the pull, hopefully garnering interest for further inquiry by the viewer.  One of the vignettes would probably be best served by an interactive blog and the other could easily have a facebook page and website that further explores its life which could lead to more videos.  I know I'm being vague, but will expand upon this as the semester moves forward.  While part of me sees this as an interesting idea, another part of me is more interested in just making the videos and doesn't want to bother with the other internet work.  Of course, who knows, maybe I would like it?

How to Fix a World of Disorder

     I enjoyed both of the screenings and took something from each.  "Disorder" was powerful because Huang Weikei used sound very effectively.  We typically heard something before we saw something and the sound didn't always match what we saw (especially in the 2nd part) as the sound was often a leftover from the previous scene that carried over into the new scene.  A perfect example of this was the pig squealing as it was carried over from one scene to the next and was effective in adding an extra layer of tension to the already disturbing images of people being manhandled.
     This is definitely a technique that I can employ in the projects for this class and it all becomes a matter of picking certain sounds with certain images.  As well, choosing when not to use any sound at all is another choice because with the flood of sound, silence also becomes a powerful tool to use.  As you (Todd) suggested in class, you can spend an unbelievable amount of time working with audio while editing video and I will say that I typically spend the same, if not more time on the audio than I do the video.  That means, for me, learning how not to overdo it then becomes the trick.
     "How to Fix the World" was, to me, just one of those perfect videos in that it incorporated captivating images, provided educational moments and interesting information, and allowed humor to enter the discussion.  The take away from this screening for me was the use of humor and I know that is not an editing or filming technique (well, maybe it is), but I think it is often overlooked as a way to share information.  In this case, if the information was to be shared in a traditional way (narration or interviews or on screen printed quotes), even the best visual graphics would have rendered this a far less entertaining watch.  And, I'm not saying you have to entertain me all the time, but if you can share information and entertain the audience without losing the integrity of the information, why not do it?  I will look for moments where I can reassess how I'm transmitting the information to the audience and see if there is another way I can share it that may not only bring a smile to someone's face, but also inform them.  Like I said, I'm not a believer that you have to do this, but if you can, why not?  The subject matter may lead you one way or the other, but Mel Brooks and Spielberg have covered some of the same material in their movies and both of them have taken different approaches.  This probably was not the best example of what I am trying to say, but I think it's just a good idea to ask yourself if you can cover your subject from another angle and see what you get.

Jenkins: The 6th Beatle

     "I read the news today, oh boy..." - These lyrics, from the Beatles' "A Day in the Life" made me think that the idea of telling a story across multiple mediums is nothing new.  For a while there, every Beatles lyric was referenced and cross-referenced by fans and critics as they scoured newspapers, films, television shows, literature, pop-culture, etc. to find out what the deeper meaning was to the songs and to enrich their experience (oh, and maybe some of them were a bit OCD, too!).  Some went as far as to create elaborate urban-myths surrounding the song titles and lyrics, citing sources and creating a stir in the entertainment world.

     Whether or not the Beatles fully intended on this to happen is debatable, but what isn't debatable is the power behind an artist multi-tasking his or her art.  They did this by creating 'concept albums', films, artwork, poetry books, costumes, etc. and making them accessible.  They also financed business and creative ideas by opening their doors to the general public and if a person had a good idea, they would finance it.  As well, Lennon often personalized his lyrics based off of public knowledge of his life experiences (this has become standard practice in the music industry).  Because of this, I believe, the Beatles were able to transcend from a pop-band to a world-wide phenomenon that has lasted generations.

     I think telling a story across multiple mediums has a lot of possibilities.  Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar" gave me an idea.  During the song, a record exec asks the band, "By the way, which one is Pink?" and it led me to think of how that idea of misinterpreted and manufactured identity could work using multiple mediums.  I think it would be interesting to create a blog titled "Who is Gabby Ludwig?" and this blog would be about many things such as politics, dating, and religion.  The blog is supported by a man on the street video asking people, "Who is Gabby Ludwig?" (amongst other questions) as well as a "Who is Gabby Ludwig?" documentary that is about a webvision show called, "Gabby Ludwig".  The webvision show could be an interview of local artists type show.  None of these are actually about Gabby Ludwig, rather, they are about everything but Gabby Ludwig.  I know it sounds confusing, but I think it would be an interesting case-study into how public identity and name recognition are created and/or supported via multiple mediums.  It's just a loose idea right now and hasn't really taken on any tangible possibilities, but I think it would be fun to do.
     Looking back, I made a 40-minute B-movie in 2012 in which the main character was a depressed young man who tried a new product that was guaranteed to turn his life around:  it was a label-maker device (with an IPHONE interface) that was installed on him that would allow the company to send him messages to tell him what to do - I now realize I could have very easily incorporated the multi-medium storytelling idea to enhance the experience for the viewer.  Especially since the product itself was using a mix of old and new technology. I could have created a fake website where viewers could have created their very own label-making to do lists and they could have chosen which products they would choose to be told to consume.  As well, my friend made some original music and created a fake band name and I could have very easily created a facebook page for the fake band (and all the other characters).  I also had a fake terrorist group with the initials R.O.T. that I could have easily created youtube videos establishing street cred for them (even though the R.O.T. storyline was the biggest flaw of the movie, in my opinion).  All in hindsight, right?  The project already sapped so much of my time that I could not have completed any of this in time for when the project was due.  However, for future projects it will be something I will think about, especially since I know a couple of interweb designing geeky nerd types who probably would love that sort of stuff.  

Boundaries Revisited

After our class screening and upon further reflection of the first project, there are some things I am pleased with about Boundaries on a Sunday Morning and some lessons learned.

I was pleased with being able to construct a concept and create it onscreen and know that having a general visual outline before I shot the video gave me a sense of purpose with the camera.  Scripting as much as possible is a good thing, because if I don't know what I'm doing, how can I expect my audience to know?  This doesn't mean I can or should plan everything, it just means the more concrete I am with my concept and plan, the more opportunities for video 'magic' to happen.

The chaotic element of not knowing what the dog would or wouldn't do also allowed an 'in the moment' type atmosphere while I was shooting.  The risk/reward of that chaos is this:   since I wanted the dog to be just a part of what I was shooting, I think I could have mapped other targets of interest so that when the camera was away from the dog, the composition of the subject and the target would be just as captivating as the dog.  So, I sort of allowed myself to be at the mercy of the dog, so to speak. :-)

Other than that, I feel good about the project and it made me realize that I don't tend to rely on long takes very much, as I choose to cut a lot and use shorter takes.  I look forward to trying to incorporate some longer takes in my future projects - where appropriate!

Precession of Simulacra and other dreams

     I was immediately drawn to this idea:  "It is the map that engenders the territory and if we were to revive the fable today, it would be the territory whose shreds are slowly rotting across the map.  It is the real, and not the map, whose vestiges subsist here and there, in the deserts which are no longer the Empire, but our own.  The desert of the real itself".  Now, I know I am taking this way off on a tangent that is probably not being referred to here, but I've always wanted to work with the visualization of the male and female body being an actual map, but have not found a way to use it.  Reading Simulations and the above passage specifically, made me think that you could tell a visual story by focusing on different body parts that correlate to that part of the story either in a real, physiological sense or in a symbolic way.

     In some ways, the idea is reminiscent of Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man in that a character has a body full of tattoos and when you look at one, it transports you to a different time and space and characters and story.  I don't think I would go to that extreme, though, as I would rather use the mapping system of a person's body and its parts to perhaps create an entire story for that person.

     It could be done several different ways, but establishing the visual of the body as a map would be an important aspect and it seems like it could be done with some extreme make-up to render the body to look like an actual map or you could go to the other extreme and make it very campy with seemingly interactive special effects where the 'Host' of the video story could 'click' on the main character's body part and that body part would zoom to a close up and then the story of that particular part of the person's body and life would begin.

     Here are a few ways to use the body as a map for visual storytelling purposes:  When first showing the person as a map, it would be vital to explore the idea that the person's life events happen chronologically, but the telling of their life story as how that person lives and relives it (because we drift between the past, present, and future), may not be chronological, so just as the body doesn't haven't an apparent beginning or end (no butt jokes here, please), their life story could be shared or experienced like a road trip or 'where do you want to go next?' vacation trip ideal.  Each body part would be labeled like a map, and each city or mountain or lake or forest could contain several experiences within the same locale of life events, such as romance (the nape of the neck, perhaps), family (the left hand), spirituality (the right knee), jobs (the mouth), etc.

     No matter how you map it or choose what body parts represent what life events, I think it could create some wonderful visual opportunities.  Simply focusing only on a person's mouth while they apologize to someone could be one way to use the body part mapping system and create an interesting visual dynamic, but to mix it up the mouth could also start another story, but be totally rendered silent while the character experiences his or her first passionate kiss, leaving the person to wonder what the lips and tongue dream about.

Speaking Indirectly About Pockets of Poetry

     What I admired most about Speaking Directly was the apparent honesty and vulnerability of the director.  Now, I don't know Jon Jost, so I cannot verify that what I saw was not a fiction, but what I felt, as a viewer, was a person exposing and positioning himself to the point of me feeling that he didn't pull any punches or paint himself to be more or less than who he is (if that is possible).  He's able to create a sense of authenticity and, for this film, it is vital.
     What I would like to focus on as far as what I can apply from Jon's film to the projects for this class is how he uses different types of visuals and audio to represent himself, others, and ideas in this film to keep the representations fresh and interesting.  He uses film, photographs, special effects, stock footage and audio, music, narration, and other techniques.
     A specific sequence I found most interesting was when he was introducing people that he knew in his life.  During these sequences, he typically switches between photographs and film of the people he's talking about and he also conducts 'interviews' with some of them.  The most interesting decision I thought he makes was when he cuts to the film of a path to his neighbors - it's unique because up until then most everyone he's discussing is given a photograph or film visualization and to use the path to represent these people breaks the rhythm, yet still reveals something about his neighbors, himself, and their relationship.  So the decision, while it may have been necessary because they weren't available, still fits the 'showing' us his neighbors.
     Though the film is full of smart and clever artistic decisions, this moment took me somewhere that was unexpected, but not jarring (like jarring me out of the film).  It was a poetic moment that made me laugh the good laugh.
     How to apply this to the projects I'll be working on in this class (and beyond) is more about choice than it is about how to apply it technically.  While representing my subjects in my projects I will try to use different ways to 'show' them so that the subjects remain fresh to the viewers.  This doesn't mean I arbitrarily apply a technique just to be different - how and what I use to represent my subjects will still have to fit within the framework of the rest of the film/video.  It is those combined choices that will allow for pockets of poetry to appear.

Inspirations from the First Viewings

     Watching Fog made me think of how you could utilize the dramatic effect of the slow dissolve of nature by focusing a handheld camera on the ocean with a low hanging and dense fog.  The ocean wouldn’t be visible right away through the dense fog, but eventually the white caps of the waves would make the location apparent.  If the timing was good and you could also collect a few storm clouds rolling by, it would add to the visual dynamic as the screen could be split into thirds:  the bottom third being the ocean, the middle third being the distant horizon, and the top third being the storm clouds.  Fog used the divided canvas well by using the power lines as visual dividers. 

     As the fog dissipates over the span of about 10 minutes or so, the ocean and sky become more obvious and then a warship appears out of the fog slowly floating through the frame for about two minutes and then disappears out of the frame.  I like the idea of not following the warship, just as in Fog the handheld camera just stayed focus on an invisible point.  This non-focus on the moving object would match the passing overhead clouds and the ocean waves.  I would end the film with a couple of minutes of the handheld camera focusing on the ocean and clouds, letting the passing of the warship be just a memory.

     I would probably not want to use any sound in this visual, as it would allow the viewer’s mind to create its own ocean sounds.  I also think the appearance of the warship without sound attached could be interesting, but also believe if sound was started at that point (the ship moving through the ocean), it would add a different dynamic for the viewer:  why sound now?  The sound would end when the ship is out of the frame and the film would end in silence.

     The muted grays of the fog, sky, ocean, and the warship also create an opportunity to contrast the grays with the coloring of the nationalized flag of the warship (though the flag may be barely visible).  This would match the muted grays in Fog, yet twist it a bit with the momentary glimpse of color.