Crit Response

I think critique was okay. Overall I didn't enjoy this project. It did give us more freedom but I wish it didn't have to be fluxus inspired. I think everyone did okay. Everything just kind of had a "random" feel to it. Which I personally dislike, but that may be others people thing. I guess it's just harder when we have 100% creative control. I'd rather have a little guidance.

I think I may enjoy the final project more, yes, we have the same creative control but the whole "installation" part I'm just excited for :) I know how I want the audience to feel and I have a clear idea of where my video will go to create this.

Overall I think my feedback was understandable. If I redo this project I will use everyones feedback and use more of the clips with my friend "Beri," take out the bloopers, and simplify the titles.

The only thing I was confused about was when my bloopers were critiqued. I'll just take them out all together if I redo. Also, I'm not sure if I'll "clean" the space we used to shoot in. It was a dorm. It may have been distracting but it was the little ounce of the video that had a "everyday" life feel to it.

If we have time I may take Scarlett on her offer and use her if I redo the video :)

Overall I'm glad I changed my project from what I had initially. I didn't want to rely on people I didn't know for a response that I expected. I was happy with the outcome of my new idea.

Critique Response

I really enjoyed the last class critique and I think that everyone did very well! And I could see that many students changed their initial idea but I loved all experimental videos. I really think that it is the best project for our class.
And for my project, I enjoyed my classmates input and positive comments.

Critique Response

I feel, for this project, everyone did very well as a whole. Throughout the course of planning for this project, I know a lot of people started as unsure, worked warily, and often changed their overall concept and idea several times, but in the end everyone was able to stick to an idea that worked well for them, which I'm relieved for. Everyone's final concepts were well thought out, on the whole. As with every project, some people were more successful in their execution than others--personally I think there were many things I could have improved upon, although most are technical things, such as lengthier clips, more variety in shots, and a higher quality camera. But overall, I was happy enough with my final product.

Critique Response

I loved all the different directions everyone took to assemble their videos. I think we were all pretty enthusiastic to talk about each others' process for this one and now that we have a better grasp of Final Cut Pro, have been getting a little fancy with the transitions and effects. The videos have begun to feel a lot more complete and polished altogether and there's a certain consistency with everyone's specific style that's showing through.
I really enjoyed Tara's choice of audio and how it was all stitched together. It looks like it took days or at least many many long hours of searching and editing to get it all arranged in such a thoughtful way as she did. Dreezy's was also pretty funny, although I think it would have been even better if she went with the dry humor of the friend with the crazy mug. I loved it! Next time, let me know, and I'll volunteer to complain about things on your videos! Madeleine, I'm still baffled by how you did the leggings. I'm so impressed with how much work everyone puts into their videos.

I'll be updating this post on Wednesday when I present. If you didn't hear, I went to add clips to my project on Movie Maker early this morning and some of the clips began to disappear, saying they were visiting. So after putting in an extra 2 hours to redo the entire video, it's finally posting to Vimeo to be shown next class! I can't wait to hear everyone's feedback and suggestions.

Click here for Project 4: Monday Mornings

Project 4 Statement

Scarlett Correa

Project 4

Due: 11/6/13

Statement

After rehashing my ideas multiple times, I went from wanting to film illogical actions like pouring water into rain boots, but decided to shoot a humorous take on the trials we go through in the mornings to get ready for class.

I was inspired by Pitch Films’ video in which people were videotaped going through normal actions, but one or more objects were replaced by objects that had no place in the shot (a man eating a plate of spaghetti, but the spaghetti is a pile of shoelaces). I compiled a list of actions over the course of a few hours on the bus ride home and ran through them with my brother who agreed to help me. The video ended up being a very entertaining process to complete, though we ran into issues with being able to shoot a whole scene without laughing. It definitely gave me a better appreciation for comedy filming.

One of the problems I ran into was when I transferred my video from Final Cut Pro to my computer to finish editing. The files began disappearing and I continually received a notification saying the files were missing or corrupt. Other than that I found the project really enjoyable.

Esteban Arturo Project 4

"Freeing of Negative Energy"

Adreenah (Dreezy) Wynn

Project 4 – Experiment Video

Due – November 6^th Wed.

“Freeing of Negative Energy”

It's coming to the end of the semester, everything is happening fast. It's getting really stressful and so many thoughts start running through your head. For the performance my friends and I will be letting out all of the negative energy, yelling and screaming out thoughts as they come to us. We will go through our normal day but we won't let this energy build up. I added black screen fade effect because I want you feel the release, you also see scenes of the person thinking, this is showing the mental release.

My inspiration for my video is Marina Abramovic. Marina Abramovic's "Freeing of the Voice" and "Freeing of the Voice" are similar to what I'm going for. I decided to say the "negative" thoughts because with this video being so short I wanted to focus on one specific thing. To me once we start saying things I will edit it so the "chaotic" words will flow with each other and seem a bit poetic or hypnotic in a way.

My biggest struggle was trying to reduce my video to 5 minutes. I initially had 30 minutes worth of film so it took me a long time to edit. I’m very indecisive in what clips to leave and what to cut. I have some parts that are quick like the video sample with just the individual but I have other parts where it is more of a conversation. I feel like it is "Freeing of Negative Energy."

Project 4 Artist Statement

My video was made by shooting footage of tasks performed backwards, and 
then playing the recorded footage back reversed. The simple technique--

though tough to execute--works with my concept of making a simple activity, 

action, etc. become surreal. This idea of making the everyday less mundane 

was inspired by Fluxus artist Geoffry Hendricks, a "cloudsmith" 

who would paint everyday objects to resemble the midday sky. While each object 

is easily recognizable, they way they are presented makes them seem 

slightly different, similar to how, say a video of someone walking backwards 

played in reverse may seem like a video of someone walking backwards, but 

something is not quite right. I chose the audio because I didn't want 

something that sounded horrendously unrecognizable when played backwards. 

Walking on Sunshine, when reversed, still keeps the familiar horn and beat 

that many audiences are familiar with, and the lighthearted and almost-silly 

tune works well with the tone I was trying to convey with my piece.

Experiment Video: Chemical Make-Up

Chemical Make-Up is a video striving to shed light on makeup’s power in society, and bring attention to women’s ritual to abstract and cover her face, rather than pressure my audience to feel a certain way about makeup.  Although makeup is a part of so many people’s daily lives, I feel like many people do not bother to consider beauty’s pervasive influence, and do not consider that the reason they are applying makeup may be due to subconscious societal pressures felt since birth.  We may experience the pressure of not feeling “beautiful enough” with media serving as a constant reminder of today’s standards of beauty, but I do not think we recognize how far we will go.  The audience is allowed to process this information, and then decide on their own how they feel about the subject. The makeup gains a personality of its own in the video, since I chose not to photograph the act of using my hands to apply the makeup, giving the illusion that it’s applying itself.  I found my sound through a collection of tutorials, celebrity interviews, makeup commercials and gossip TV, such as Fashion Police.  Each serves an important purpose individually, but together, all of them point to the idealized and glitzy people society defines as beautiful.  For example, it was important to me to include makeup commercials and interviews with celebrities about their makeup routines, because we idolize them.  Even though Hollywood and magazines are known for being fabricated, airbrushed worlds, we try to bring that into our own lives, so this video focuses on what makeup covers up.  The sound includes people from multiple countries and multiple generations, and in most cases, there is a dialogue between the sound clips that symbolizes recycled beauty ideas since makeup’s conception.

    The video’s indoor apartment setting served to imitate a common setting for makeup tutorials.  But I was careful to keep every surface (wall, table) empty to create a formal environment that echoes a staged photograph or painting in a studio, which is reinforced by the video’s use of still images. The still-images and stationary camera angle provides a timeline from the beginning of the look, to after the makeup’s removal.  The viewer can observe the change in face shape and posture, but the passage of time and changing light is especially noticeable through photographs.  The beginning of the video has an abundance of natural light, but the light is yellow by the end.  The sunset and I gradually turned on more lights in my room, the increasingly artificial light mirroring the increasingly artificial face. I chose to call it Chemical Make-Up to play on the idea of the chemicals we are naturally made-up of and the chemicals we smear on our face in the form of make-up.

Project 4 Sample

Here is a quick sample of my project 4 at the link below. Right now I have 10 minutes and I'm trying to figure out how to reduce it. I initially had 30 minutes. Marina Abramovic's "Freeing of the Voice" and "Freeing of the Voice" are similar to what I'm going for. I have some parts that are quick like the video sample with just the individual but I have other parts where it is more of a conversation. I feel like it is "Freeing of Negative Energy." I have footage with me in it as well. Any advice? Also, more of my thought process is on a recent post in the blog. I used youtube so it would upload quickly. Here is the video link:

http://youtu.be/sVaVjFR9_Ww

Project 4 - Update

I've changed my idea again, yeah I know crazy but I think my new idea is a bit more enjoyable on my end. I changed it mainly because I've been sick and the whole "what is your first impression of me" would not work because just about everyone would say I look tired and sick etc.

I've been looking for different inspiration and right now Marina Abramovic's video have been inspiring me. The first three videos are what I've been interested in. It's coming to the end of the semester, everything is happening fast. It's getting really stressful and so many thoughts start running through your head. For the performance my friends and I will be letting out all of the negative energy, yelling and screaming out thoughts as they come to us. We will go through our normal day but we won't let this energy build up. 

Tomorrow I have no class so my friends and I will be finishing up the recording and I'll post a a quick sample of it. Marina Abramovic's "Freeing of the Voice" and "Freeing of the Voice" are similar to what I'm going for. I decided to say the "negative" thoughts because with this video being so short I wanted to focus on one specific thing. To me once we start saying things I will edit it so the "chaotic" words will flow with each other and seem a bit poetic or hypnotic in a way.

Project 4 Update

I have been having trouble with this project for a while, trying to carry the fluxus influence through my work. The way I understand it to be, is that the fluxus movement is art that is accessible to everyone and can be seen through the everyday.
Because of this, I decided that I wanted to explore my daily movements and everyday life. I want the audience to have a connection with what I feel on the daily, and be able to interpret it. The idea I have behind the experimental video is documenting through physical movements the common feelings I have throughout a normal day. I'm not sure if I want to create any voice commentaries or not.

Project 4 update

Feeling a lot better since Monday's info. circle. I'm pretty sure I'm veering more to the idea of simply having people dress me; I feel that were I to try and add my own self into the mix as a personified mind that voices my thoughts and emotions, it would distract from the movements of the actual act of being dressed. Hopefully I will be able to get the point across of my moods based on my facial expressions of whether or not I enjoy my submission.

Project 4 in progress report

I'm feeling a lot better about the project now that I discussed it with the class. I'm definitely broadening it from just shoes, I just have to come up with enough ideas )along the lines of pouring water into rainboots) to fulfill the time requirement. Right now I'm keeping a list as I come up with it to film after class, but I can't say what they are because you, as the audience, are supposed to be caught off guard.

Project 4 - Update

Okay so I'm feeling better about this project now that I have a clear idea. I feel better because I'm not questioning myself as much and I also get to have that audience participation that I want. Remember my artist inspiration is Yoko Ono especially her "Cut Piece" performance. Right now I'm still planning everything to make sure I capture the right moment. I'm planning the camera angles, places I will record, questions about myself that I want my audience to answer, how I will act during the performance. As a reminder I want strangers to write on sticky notes their first impression of me and then place the sticky note on my body. I want to have the planning down before I go out there to do the performance, without preparation I may not have the outcome that I want. I'm making sure everything is in place so this project and performance will be successful.

Reading Response: The Death of the Author

I did not enjoy this reading, it was a little hard for me to understand. Or rather I understood it but disagree with it. I believe the author can do whatever they want and the work will not loose it's "spark." The article states things like "the Author is supposed to feed the book." To me the author can distance himself from the story because they are creating something that may not be real and they may not put there all into it but they may have certain "writing skills" and can create this creative work without trying. The same goes for if you put your all into a work it could be undesirable. The article also states, "once the Author is gone, the claim to “decipher” a text becomes quite useless."  Why? there is still a story being told, there is still something there to be understood. The biggest disagreement is to this statement of the reading, "once the Author is discovered, the text is explained." We as people change, our creativity changes, and our work changes. It may be one work but you could be going through so much that it can have several different "vibes" from it. My question is who is the author, there are so many thoughts that it may feel like there are multiple people. Does this lessen the work? Or if there is a painful experience that you have lost that desire to put your all into the work and you distance yourself is it still worthless. I just believe that anyone can create art with a spark because no one can define art. No one can define that "spark" in the work. I believe that as long as you create it and put it out there for the world to see that "spark" is always there it's just up to the audience to decide when they will except it. Society loves the work of many artist who are dead because we can create in our own mind that connection between the artist and there work. When in reality no one even knows the true person who created it work their thoughts behind it. We give the work an author for our own satisfaction.

In-Progress: Project 4

This project is challenging, but I'm feeling good about it.  This seems to be turning into a statement on the fashion industry to create a vision of the contemporary woman that ignores what is natural, and favors what is fabricated and camouflaged. All of the photos and video were uploaded into Final Cut Pro, and it turns out there is more than enough to work with my 1 look, so now I have to edit it and enhance it.  The transformation is detailed enough so that it feels like a few separate looks.  There are a couple of times in the video where it looks like the video will end, but depending on which direction I play the video, the look keeps being added to or subtracted from.
    The sound will consist of beauty tips I find in online tutorials or in fashion magazines to tie the subject of beauty and perfection into a unified piece.  I plan to put a filter on the sound, perhaps to make the the human voice sound inhuman to illustrate an unattainable strain of perfection, and to gradually layer the sound so the viewer is assaulted with 10 beauty tips at once.

Progress Report - Wed Class

Last week I posted two ideas for my project 4, and after I talked with Su I decided to do the second one.

The idea is talk about the different beauties in everyday life. I was imagining that some shots for different types of beauty, and what is beautiful for one person, can't be for another one. The main idea is to capture many personal expressions, like: laughing, singing, crying...!

And for this ideas I have some examples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cCFDSzDnUk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=litXW91UauE

http://vimeo.com/50251576

The important thing for this project is see human expressions and that all types of beauty are beautiful!!

Practice Video: Project 4

Practice Video: Project 4

Progress Report: Project 4

At first I was a little concerned about camera angles and perspective, but once I started filming, it didn't seem like such a huge obstacle. My only issue, I realize, will be filming from a low perspective to capture wet grass or puddles (which considering the great weather will have to be manmade) so as not to get the camera wet. but so far so good!

I did some more research on Fluxus and found better visual references.




Fluxkit, by George Maciunas 
 representative selection of these objects, and encompasses the range of forms in which Fluxus editions were issued: graphical scores for events, interactive boxes and games, journals and films. 


LED throwies are considered and example of Fluxus art.