Project 1 - Montage

Project 1: Montage from Adreenah Wynn on Vimeo.

Artist Statement
In this video, I give my perspective of my hometown Apalachicola, Florida. This video is very personal. I let the viewer in to see my town through the eye of a local. This video is very informative and I hope the viewer leaves with a deeper understanding of why the locals feel so strongly about the nature, seafood, and history. The video is simple and in a documentary form. I used subtle techniques because I wanted to video to just flow and be more cohesive. I took the pictures myself because I wanted to show very specific view of Apalachicola. I think it would have lost the personal touch by just using Google images. I also edited them myself to make simple photoshop correction by sharpening the image and changing the brightness and contrast. The photo editing also made the work more cohesive.

I wrote and recorded the narrative myself. I wanted the words to help the viewer have a better understanding of my perspective of the town. While the photos work well on their own, I feel like the narrative and nature sounds help to pull the viewer in. I used ocean and bird noises to make the viewer feel like they were actually experiencing part of the town.

I tried too express the idea that things that don’t seem important like oyster shells and old houses are actually beautiful and necessary. By showing these things surrounded by sunsets, the river, and nature scenes it uses intellectual montage and helps the viewer see all the elements as something beautiful. Looking at the images by itself you would not get this effect. When the images are merged together and edited the same way the viewer understands that the different images are held on the same pedestal. We have the same appreciation for the nature as we do for the old houses and shells. The narrative helps to convey this idea. All the images are of different things but they all have the same subject matter. The meanings of the images are changed when arranged in this specific format.

I decided to name my work “No Place Like Home” because Apalachicola is unique. Also, the title fits because I would only feel this strongly about my hometown and no other place because there is “No Place Like Home.”

More information on intellectual montage can be found here.