Critique Response

I thoroughly enjoyed the critiques for the sound project. Seeing each of the pieces come to fruition is always something to look forward to, and especially this time around when we had to chose which 3 pieces were our favorites.
The fourth one is just around the corner, and I can't wait to see what is in store for the coming weeks.

Critique Response

I was quite please with this project's critique. I honestly felt that this critique went smoother than the others and that the advice I was given matched the points needed for the correction that I thought myself. For this project I definitely will redo because I feel there is room for improvement. But overall, I enjoyed this critique a lot.

Critique Response

I was thoroughly happy with the critique response. I really enjoyed everyone's perception of my project, and I was glad to know a lot of my thoughts and ideas were perceived quite like everyone else's. I'm glad of what was said about the words in my project- I also thought they were too much and not necessary to be placed in the project,  so it was a nice concurrence that everyone was able to understand the message behind the video. I'm a little anxious about the contest- not gonna lie.

Critique Response

I felt that the critique was more positive than I anticipated. For my project, I was not anticipating it to be well received, as I was particularly panicked about the quality of my audio (since, in the past, my projects have all suffered because of a lack in final quality, visually or audibly) and about the visual choice, but I was relieved to find that people responded positively to my piece and visual choice. I still feel as though my visual component is lacking (or, in my personal opinion, unnecessary), so I was not surprised when it was questioned. Overall, I think the critique went better than expected.

Critique Response

I was really excited to see how my video was received since it was so fun to create, and I am overall content with critique.  Everyone was really involved with the idea, which I loved.  Everyone's comments reflected the smaller details, and whether I agreed or disagreed, I appreciated this attention to detail.  Each sound was attempted multiple times in order to choose the one I felt most appropriate, so it was interesting to hear how others' experiences shaped how they felt about my choices, in both the sounds that were represented and not represented.  My sound choices aren't finalized, this study of sound with the violin can continue infinitely, and classmate's comments helped.  Critique made me realize how personalized the idea behind my project is; each person would execute the project differently, represent the sound differently, and I could redo this project in 10 years and it could sound completely different from gaining more musical knowledge.  Sound is really personal to people!  Everyone's comments were valuable, but because of everyone's unique relationship with sound, it was easier to digest or disagree with feedback.  I thought about the comment regarding how, without knowing all sounds came from one source, the viewer couldn't pinpoint every sound to the violin, and I don't mind that.  Whether the viewer goes into the video knowing the soundtrack is a single violin, or whether he doesn't discover until afterwards, there is an element of surprise either way, so I don't feel it drifts from my project's purpose, because this video isn't meant to be played in a context where it isn't accompanied with explanation.  While the goal isn't to confuse the viewers, I want to surprise them, which is why I felt just using the strings to imitate sounds was too predictable and limiting, since I don't want the viewer to automatically recognize the violin.  Based on some of the comments, it would be fun to further explore the abstract vs. literal rendering of sound.

Transitions and Filters

I used the sepia filter and increased the amount and wash to the max. I used the doorway transition and changed it from automatic to close.

Artist Statement

Fo this project my primary concept was based around mother-daughter relationships and the harsh conversations that may occur within these relationships. At the start of this project I wanted to use kitchen sounds and evolve form that but instead of primarily using kitchen sounds I chose to use snippets of common phrases amongst mother-daughter conversations along with the kitchen sounds in the background. I chose to use repetition for these sounds. The associated footage with the sound shoes different mothers and daughters in conversation and how they interact with one another. I chose to use different video footage to show that although the environment and people may change most of the conversation tends to stay the same. The reason for keeping kitchen sounds in the background is to give to the idea that a woman's domain is supposedly the kitchen and this place typically helps form the mother-daughter relationship. The video starts out calm but quickly and abruptly changes. I chose to use the 50's TV filter over the video to give a home video type of feel to seem as though viewers were actually looking the mothers and daughters having a conversation.

Project 3 Statement

Scarlett Correa

Sound project

Due: 10/16/13

Artist Statement

     The premise of my concept, after many reevaluations, was to create a video based on sounds that many people, including me, find frustrating. The sounds I focused on are all incredibly bothersome to me: heavy breathing, vibrating alarm clocks, sniffles, coughing, loud chewing, and scratching, recorded with the help of my roommates who are incredibly loud when eating no matter what they do.

     In order to emphasize how these sounds can elevate blood pressure, I began the video with the softest sounds - breathing - so the audience would have to strain to listen at first. I then increased the intensity and frequency of the noises throughout the video. All layered over each other, they should grate the audience's nerves by the end of the three minutes.

Transitions, Filters, and Titles Response

Transitions:

• Cross dissolve: extended it and layered another cross dissolve on top of it.
• Fade in from and Fade out to black: used on the second clip after the cross dissolve.
• Modified transition: elongated the fade out to black transition to connect the two clips I trimmed more smoothly.

Filters:

• Flip and vignette.
• Sepia: altered filter by changing the intensity of its color.
• Animate: I used the kaleidoscope animation because it worked best with the movements of my video.
• Three way color correct: I used this on the same clip I made sepia in order to change the color intensity.
• Smooth cam footage: I used this one at the end and start of clips 5 & 6 (?) because the times at which I cropped them caused a discrepancy in the transition of images which made it seem like it was filmed bumpy.

Titles

• Haiku: included in the last bit of the video and adjusted the text in 3 different sizes.
• Title motion: I chose the second one on the list (I don't remember what it's called) so that the lines of the poem came in at at least 4 different times from various sides.
• Scrolling text: Added to the very last line of the haiku at the end of the video.

alice on strings: artist statement

alice on strings takes Disney's 1951 animated classic Alice and Wonderland, and replaces its sound with the sound of a sole violin. Every thud, firework, tea kettle, and lyrical passage originate from my violin. The visuals and sound work together to produce a "version" of reality that is similar to the realm we experience, but with an unexpected twist of fantasy.  While Alice is a believable child character, the animals sing, she grows and shrinks based on what she consumes, and the landscapes become "curioser and curioser.”  The sound shares a similar function, because the viewer will identify with the sounds in the scenes, only to discover the multitude of sounds came from a single source. Alice in Wonderland is a highly imaginative literary and artistic work, so it seemed the appropriate visual backdrop for a sound experiment, where I don’t try to trick or suspend the viewer, but recreate Alice’s original soundtrack.  The visual landscapes and auditory soundscapes are fantastical, allowing the viewer to question whether this dimension is tangible with one’s reality, and more specifically, the validity and believability of sounds’ sources.  Since the violin is being used in a non-traditional way to imitate everyday sounds, the goal is to surprise the viewer that thinks a firecracker is the only thing that can make a firecracker sound, or a clock’s gears are the only things that cause it to tick.  Some of the sounds in alice on strings are realistic imitations while others are abstracted, such as the bird call, due to the medium and my ability (or inability) to produce an accurate sound.  This mix of narrative versus lyrical representation of sound showcases the tonal and textural range of the violin, and adding interest to the work.  I found my video not only mimicked recognizable sounds, but also the history of music.  In the beginning, the breeze is a calming harmonic chord, which represents music’s earliest interest in creating melody and a transcendent experience using sounds unlike those heard in everyday settings.  As the video progressed, the length of the sound files got progressively shorter.  Arguably, towards the end, the video sounds emptier.  However, the middle and ending were the hardest and most time consuming to create because the video clips required sounds that were more percussive, more relatable to our everyday lives.  This represents modern and contemporary music, which often sounds odd because it is breaking away from “pretty” and “sensible” to create something different for a new generation.  For the latter portion of the video, though it sounds emptier, I had up to five or six layers of sound accompanying the action.