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.
This imaginary video sounds good, and I've seen ships used in contexts like these to great effect (generally with the camera close and the ship seeming gigantic).
ReplyDeleteI wonder, though, if we could think compositionally in a different manner than Fogline. I wonder, for example, what the equivalent of Gottheim's power lines would be in this imaginary tableau (not that they'd have to demarcate the visual field, but they do do something to that landscape, something odd, ineffable).
I think I know what you mean. Years ago, a ship I was stationed on (the USS Ticonderoga, the ship shown in my post) pulled into a small French town on the Mediterranean in June. I believe it was St. Maxime, an artsy tourist spot located not too far from San Tropez. Our ship anchored about five hundred yards from shore and we stayed in port for three days or so. We were one of the rare ships to port there, so I imagine the visual of this warship (the most advanced ship in the world at the time, 1986) must have looked a little odd when contrasted with the dainty sailboats, white puffy clouds, and vacation homes and hotels. I think a long shot off of some nearby hill that captured some of the shoreline with its vacation homes & beach (on the left third), the shallow water near the beach with swimmers and some sailboats (in the middle), and then the warship (on the right third) could be an interesting duration film. There would be activity along the beach and in the middle portion of the water with sailboats, but the area around the warship would be completely still. A postcard snapshot?
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