Project 4 -- "Commercial Break"

In the final project for this semester, we were told to do a number of things-- incorporate our own original footage, audio, and animation as well as the concept of elapsed time. I originally planned to do some sort of chalk animation but couldn't find a concept I was happy with, so instead I turned to using appropriation instead.

I didn't stray too far from my proposal afterwards. I decided to use commercials from the 50's and throughout the decades to represent time passing/elapsing, and then I really wanted to explore and see if I could "stop time" by mixing the audio and video with past and present commercials. Unfortunately this did not work in the slightest, and instead just looked like a very poorly edited video, so I decided not to do this immediately.

This left me with the problem of trying to figure out how to "stop time" without pausing or stopping the video. My solution to this was not necessarily that I would stop time, but it would no longer be linear. As the video progresses, the commercial clips are shortened and are no longer played chronologically. The space between each clip becomes shorter and shorter as well until it becomes a chaotic and unorganized flow of commercials, mimicking much to how we lose track of time watching commercials between television shows.

The problem with all of this is that I think while I achieved my goal of passing through time then stopping it, it's a concept that's really hard to pick up as a viewer, especially if that viewer is unaware of what I was trying to do or what the assignment was. To help guide the viewer's mind toward what I was trying to show, I placed three slides (one including a title) of text about how we, as a culture, tend to lose track of time in front of the TV. This isn't a solution I am particularly proud of (I'd always rather show than tell in any form of storytelling), but I do think that it makes the video more easily grasped and comprehensible.

I created a fast-forwarding sound through GarageBand and recorded the television set on which the video was animated on. While I'm not particularly happy with the end result of my storytelling, I am really happy how this film came out technically. The edited commercials fit fairly seamlessly on top of the old television set, and the audio I added really benefited the cuts between commercials.

I am nervous for the final critique, since I know I have a lot of issues with this (and not only that, but it is also so similar to my first project this semester) but I'm interested to hear opinions in how I could improve a project like this.

Project 3 -- "My Hero"

This project was I think one of the most challenging assignments I've done lately considering the amount of work put in the short amount of time, but I think it's also one of the projects I've become most proud of. I've always enjoyed 2D animation, and I know it was something I wanted to tackle for a long time, and this assignment provided a great opportunity for me to make myself do it (albeit it was difficult at first to figure out how I was going to do a 2D animation on top of already moving footage.)

I ended up steering away from a conceptual piece like my last project, "Untitled" was, and I think I am happier with it in the end. I went with the simple "Knight comes to save the Princess" story, something I actually tend to dislike (but my brain was apparently determined that this was the story I had to tell in this project) and I suppose in the end I see "My Hero" as a satire of the story archetype than anything else. The silly voices probably give it away.

When it came down to actually animating, I stuck to photoshop and doing frame by frame work. My hand now hates me for it but it's something I'm really happy I did. I love that the chalk drawings seem to move and sway and have a life of their own (due to the line variation from frame-to-frame) and I am exceptionally happy with the knight's running and climbing scenes. I'm sad that I had to cut out a whole classic "knight versus the dragon guarding the princess" scene due to time, but in the end I suppose it is for the better. I'd much rather have a shorter quality animation than cut frames in order to have a longer one.

When it came down to doing the audio I specifically chose as unidentifiable music as possible, and edited and used only sections of piano scores. I also recorded all the voices myself and distorted them to fit the characters of the knight and princess better.

The oddest thing about this short film is that the first thing everyone told me is how much the loved the voices, or rather, how much they loved the part that was the easiest and took the least amount of time to do! It took awhile to reason this in my head but in the end I take it as a huge compliment about the animation. The work I put into animating paid off since no one was distracted and their suspension of disbelief was never broken, and they were able to enjoy the comedy and storytelling in the film instead.

Overall, I feel like this project is a rousing success! I am interested in doing something like this in the future, but I'd like to do it when I have more time to plan and work.

Final Project Proposal

For the moment my project is still really abstract, but I’m hoping to focus on appropriation, or more specifically the appropriation of television commercials throughout the decades. I really want to show the time passing through the decade by using clips from commercials from the 50/60’s, 80’s, and currently, and then what I want to do even more is to have time stop by splicing together bits of these commercials by combining video and audio from different (but related commercials). At the moment (and the reason I say this is still abstract) I have yet to combine these elements to see what the final product will be like, but I’d very much like to explore these possibilities.

Even though the focus of this project is appropriation, I still plan on using my own footage, audio, still images, and animation, and that’s by setting a “stage” for the video. In my house we have an older, 70’s style television set (currently getting dusty in the basement) and I’d like to mask the final commercial footage onto the television so it seems like it’s playing. This means the majority of my footage will be a frozen still image, but in the beginning of the video will by actual footage of me reaching over to turn the knob and turn the television on. I also want to break between commercials (and this is where I will also record audio) by having fuzz in between. I can achieve this just by recording the TV on since it currently (and probably never will be again) is not hooked up to cable.

I’m excited to see where this project will go, especially since I’m still unsure of the final product!

Project 2 -- "Untitled"

[ Unfortunately I've been having a lot of technical difficulties uploading the movie file, but it will be up as soon as I can. ]

"Untitled", my completion of project 2 and the extension of "Memory" (the audio that was project 1) was surprisingly a success, but still something I have very mixed feelings about.

I say it was a success because it did it's intended purpose-- the goal of the project was to create the illusion of a mass amount of memories for early morning routines all compacted into 3 minutes. From the beginning, using iconic imagery and repetition, it sucks you into an almost dreamlike (I might even go so far as to say sleepy!) state where the viewer simply zones out into the movie. I'm really pleased with how well the editing of the photos came out along with transitions and blending in the movie, creating powerful imagery.

The biggest critique I received about the audio previously was that it felt to long, and even boring. Unfortunately, while it was not my intention, that was technically the point of my original project as it was supposed to be just a mass of sounds and it was intended to just wash over the viewer. It was something I wrestled with for awhile, wondering if I should change my thesis/idea/goal of the project in order to make a more interesting piece. My stubbornness (and admittedly time constraints) made it so I did not edit the audio after all, and kept the original for the movie.

Interestingly enough, though, after critique I was told that it was more interesting with all the visual cues now, and viewers did not feel the same way about it feeling too long or boring, even though I feel the opposite. This may be from my spending so much time editing and creating the film, and thus listening to the audio over and over and over again, but now I just find the piece bland, and I had given up any thoughts of making the movie an attention-grabber, deciding to stick to my original thought process.

These past two projects were a big risk for me, as conceptual work is never, never my strong suit and tends to fail to interest me, but then again that might be why viewers of my project enjoy it more than I do myself. I am pleased to say that they both (the latter even moreso) seem successful though.

At least I know that, after this project, I won't be able to stand the sound of my alarm clock again.

Still Image Videos - Response

Patryk Rebisz, "Between You and Me"

I really enjoyed Rebisz's video and I'm and am not surprised at how well he told his story through still imagery. While I think it's much easier to tell a story through several and several still images (technically that's what all film is), there is definitely more thought that has to be put into it than with normal filming. Rebisz had to put far more consideration specifically into his frames if he wanted to tell his story right rather than simply film the action. In this form of storytelling, every single image/photo/frame/etc. matters.

Rebisz did a great job compositing his images with his audio. When the action in the movie picked up, the filming got jerkier and it became more difficult to make out what exactly was being seen-- all of this was done, most likely, to reinforce not only how fast everything was moving, but how chaotic the scene in the alley really was.

The thought put into the audio was immense too. Each character had their own style of movement, and while there was no dialogue in the entire piece, these three people still had a "voice," whether it was a theme, or the occasional inhale or gasp.

I felt the story was clear and the style of storytelling really assisted to what Rebisz was trying to tell -- the almost haphazard meeting of two strangers.

Sampling Reactions

"America is Waiting" Byrne & Eno

My very first reaction to this piece is "this is Daft Punk spilled together, then looped forever." A majority of the samplings in this piece are very electronic sounds, and only very occasionally do you hear voices or acoustic instruments fade in and out. I feel like all the samplings made for this piece were actual individual, everyday sounds, but they've been put together so well that it sounds simply like music made through the computer, and I'm second guessing myself constantly. It seems to be a collection of very random and different sounds that were put together in something coherent.

"Get Down, Get Down" Emergency Broadcasting Network

This piece is hilarious. Perhaps annoying through the intro and it was definitely stuck in my head for some time afterwards, but hilarious nevertheless. It seems that the artist (artists?) took clips from the Emergency Broadcasting Network to create a new audio track. In a way, it almost serves as a summary for the EBN by combining a number of intense vocal simples and very chaotic and grating sound effects in the background. I love that all the samplings come from the same source to create a unified thing, but it is still chaotic in the end.

Sound Project Concepts

Concept One: Subconscious Memory (Habits)

I would really like to explore what are the memories and things we've learned that we don't even think about, such as breathing, walking, brushing our teeth, morning routines, etc. This piece would be three minutes of the performer (myself) doing all these things, but the main point of it is I would like to tell the story without any dialogue at all, just sounds.

Concept Two: Subconscious Memory (Music)

This concept, while the first focuses on storytelling without dialogue, focuses on improvisation. Music is something that we all learn, internalize, and remember, so I'd like record up to ten minutes of a performer (also just myself) going through a listing of random songs, and trying to recall them as accurately as possible before moving onto the next. The most interesting sections would go into the final 3 minute piece, and the rest would be edited out.

>> Spin-off concept!

Instead of going through several songs by myself, I can also pick just one classic song, and get several people to recall the song to see how much they remember.

UbuWeb Sound Comparison

Ant Farm, "CarMen"

A three act, 15-minute opera. The piece begins with dialogue stating, "Gentlemen, start your wipers" and then proceeds into the musical intro featuring car horns. There is a harmonic quality, but sounds almost chaotic, and certainly isn't soothing. Act 2 begins with "Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines" and this section of the opera features the sounds of engines starting and revving. This more rhythmic section contrasts with the previous section of harmonic horns. Act 3 features the much softer sounds of doors closing. This too, I believe, is the most clearly rhythmic part of the opera. It finally ends with on brief crescendo of horns to complete the piece.

There is no specifically clear narrative, as this piece is obviously more focused on music, but the progression of instruments is very interesting to me. It starts with the chaotic sounds of car horns, followed by more rhythmic engine revving, and finally wraps up with the sounds of doors closing which is the most clearly rhythmic. Throughout the opera, there is a sense of anarchy which is steadily tamed into a unified rhythm, almost like there is a story of creation being told. Raw power (or sound) is brought together into one unified song.

John Lennon (and Yoko Ono) "No Bed for Beatle John" [found lyrics]

The message may be clearer (the song is about the trials and tribulations of John and Yoko putting out a particular album) and the song is written more traditionally with clear lyrics and with backup lyrics and instruments, but this song is almost stranger than the previous "CarMen."

The sound of Yoko's voice is almost unsettling as she sings, and it is even more difficult to follow her timing and use of pitch than the cars'. There is the faint sound of white noise from the recording equipment or speakers in the background, and John softly sings another song in the background, assumably that it's related but it is difficult to make out what he's saying throughout most of the song.

Both songs tell a story, one very literal while the other is more conceptual, but in reverse, the more literal song is harder to listen to in a way due to it's almost sounding unnatural, while the first song is unnatural considering all the musical sounds come from cars. In a lot of ways, these songs are each other's opposites.

Audio Reactions

"The American Life: Notes on Camp", Adam Davidson and Julie Snyder August 28, 1998

Notes on Camp is an hour long presentation that consists of a collection of accounts from children and adults alike who participated in summer camp. It is split up into six sections (or chapters, if you'd like) that consist of an introduction, notes about David, Fear, You, Ritual, War, and Color Days. Overall, it's a beautiful recollection about how camp is a beautiful thing that changes people's lives. It's a place children and counselors alike can return to every summer to simply be with people and be a part of each other's lives. It's a place where going home means going to a different world-- a place where going home means waking up from a dream.

In order of to tell the story, the artists used a collection of narrations, interviews, and recorded accounts from campgoers, as well as recordings of camp songs and cheers. This only aided to building up what camplife seemed to be all about and really made it authentic, thus providing a way for listeners to connect with what the artists are trying to tell. With these things, the artists were able to paint the picture of this dreamworld from everyone's childhood, and share that with any listener of this piece.

"Her Long Black Hair", Janet Cardiff 2007

I think I would like to define Her Long Black Hair as participant-reliant performance art, in a way. It relies on a participant, who is also the viewer, to wear headphones and listen to a narration that leads them around the sidewalks of Manhattan. During this surreal journey, the viewer will hear a narrator describe a world from the past, and this is accompanied by related ambient sound effects, such as the sound of traffic or passing by people.

I love how this piece really becomes 3dimensional, because while if you close your eyes, it remains a simple audio piece, but if you take the journey through the streets, you find yourself in a surreal, dream-like experience. It's as if, while looking at images of the present, you are hearing shadows of the past and another world or hearing of something secret.

"She Was a Visitor", Robert Ashley 1996

She Was a Visitor was a hard piece for me to fully wrap my my around. It's a ~5 minute long song in which the phrase 'she was a visitor' is repeated over and over, and during which there are passing by sounds and tones, but no other real noticeable sounds. I found it even more frightening upon finding this video online.

There is no literal story that is being told, but instead Ashley is trying to convey something more conceptual -- a feeling. To me, I read a feeling of dread, or horror, or apprehension, and upon further reading I discovered that Ashley wrote this piece to express his thoughts and feelings on the suicides of his three friends, and his feelings on suicide in general. While this isn't a song I would listen to everyday, Ashely did a great job conveying this sense of anxiety and fear that might accompany the subject of suicide.

"Excerpt from Silence", John Cage 1939-1961

Silence is a collection of lectures that Cage collected over the course of 20 years from his teachings. They are calm, collected, and quiet, save for the soft sound of his voice as he describes his thoughts and quite literally tells his own story. While speaking, he will take pauses before adjusting his thoughts, then will abruptly launch into new topics before bringing everything around full circle to prove his point.

This particular excerpt describes at first the differences between Americans and the rest of the world (ex. "if Americans were born pigs instead of men, there would be no difference") but then discuss the fact that art is a necessary part of our lives and nature. At first this shift is confusing, but Cage comes back around to explain that art is what makes our world endurable [as Americans].

"The War of the Worlds", Orson Welles (originally H.G. Wells) October 30, 1938

The War of the Worlds to me is the epitome of excellent storytelling, and possibly so good that I would also like to classify it as the world's greatest prank. The day before halloween in 1938, the Mercury Theatre on Air did an hour long performance that was an adaption of H.G. Wells' novel The War of the Worlds, a story (though originally it took place in England) of a man surviving through an attempted alien invasion. Orson Welles, the director and narrator of the broadcast, changed the setting of the story to New Jersey (then the rest of America), and told it as if it were a live broadcast and aliens were actually attacking Earth. The use of sound effects and other voice actors were able to make a convincing performance, but I think the most powerful parts of the broadcast were the sudden bouts of silence, as if the speaker were suddenly disconnected from the air.

Welles' storytelling was so good that it had convinced hundreds of thousands of listeners that the events in the broadcast were actually happening, and thus mass panic ensued. People began to abandon their homes and run for safety, and some even insisted that they could smell the poison gas mentioned in the performance, or see lightning in the distance. With such a strong reaction, I'd have to say Welles' couldn't have been more convincing.