Response to Billboard Critique

I thought everyone had come up with a creative idea that matched their style of working, and I thought the class was really active in responding to the images and brought up some really good editing ideas. For me, I think my color images are more successful. I thought the class brought up some good points about centering the baseball image. I have more angles and poses to choose from so maybe I just need to pick a different shot. In the end, I'm really proud of all the work I put into this assignment and I am very pumped to have my work on billboards throughout the city!

Billboard Final

Reaction to Wim Wenders "Time Sequences..."

The text suggests that films should have a sense of mystery along with an accurate timeline. Wenders explains how filming something that isn't so straightforward, but leaves the possibility for interpretation, makes the film much more successful. He explains how one part in "Summer in the City" he chose to leave the camera running while he they drove through a tunnel, and how he had been questioned about this choice. I thought this was an interesting point because most films I've seen do cut out what seems to be the pointless parts of the film or the elapse of time, but what is exciting is the fact that the man questioned Wenders' editing at all. He had such a reaction to this very specific part of the film that he felt strongly enough to discuss it, and aren't those the kind of feelings that completely involve the viewer in the piece? Wenders then goes on to discuss how the placement of film cuts between one scene to the next should be taken more into consideration (similarly to what we have been told to look at with our loop projects). That the "unimportant" scene when a man is out and then appears back home or is asleep and then awake can also be interesting when played in real time.

Radiolab Response

I found this podcast to be especially interesting with the variety of stories that they shared about loops, and how loops can exist everywhere. The first story about the comedians is the way of looking at a loop that we have discussed in class. The loop has the ability to change the viewers reaction throughout the piece while the actually information that is being given to them is exactly the same. I also thought the woman with transient global amnesia was really interesting. It is quite strange that the body can react in almost the exact same way over and over, with the same tone in their voice and even facial expressions. My favorite comment was when the doctor said that it is almost as though the brain is like a machine, and does free will really exist? The small section about the zero was also of interest to me. The zero is an actual representation of nothing, and how can it still represent nothing if it has become something? The comments about the tape falling apart brought up some good ideas that could possibly help me with my video projects. He says that if you can find a way to repeat without becoming redundant, then you are able to fall into a different time and space. This is really interesting when thinking about that relationship between the viewer and the piece and is that the true meaning of the work? To allow someone to stop and become a part of the repeating pattern?



 

First Draft - Video Loop Project

First Draft Loop from Morgan Hayward on Vimeo.

Billboard Ideas

First Outline for "Loop" Video

For this first assignment that is focusing on interactions between people, I have a couple of ideas. First, I was thinking I would like to have the imagery of various people that I speak to throughout the day, but only show our hands and the environment that surrounds them. I think this idea could be very powerful, but I am still unsure on how I would use sound. I was thinking of maybe merging all of the conversations that I had and it would become a quiet sound in the background as the hands did the talking. My other idea is to possibly remove the sound altogether and have a muted video when it is obvious that there should be sound. My other, more abstract, video idea would be to show the motion of a tire (speeding up and slowing down) throughout the whole video and then to add the sound of general movement. For example, feet walking, starting the car, bicycle or other motion creating objects. The idea behind this type of video is to bring my experiences of movement that creates the interactions I have with the objects and people I experience. I am still unsure which path I want to take with this project, but sketch videos are the next step.

Response to Acconci's "10-Point Plan for Video"

I thought Acconci brought up some very interesting points about creating and viewing video. The text is hard to read at first but after going over it a couple times you can really start to understand what he is talking about. The part that struck me the most is when he is describing how the person in the video is like a fish in a fish bowl and the viewers are just watching separately outside. He states how the viewer isn't "with" him, but he doesn't explain if that is a good thing or not. In my opinion, I think the real challenge with video is trying to get the viewer to understand or be "with" you, instead of viewing the video as they would with TV where it is something that is happening far away from you and you don't have to bring your own experiences into the imagery. I think breaking that "glass" as he calls it is important and can leave the viewer with something to think about and experience as the artist does. Another interesting point, that I would like to really experiment within my own work, is the idea that when the viewer is unable to see anything on a monitor, where images are expected to appear, the viewer must rely much more on the sound. If the imagery is very vague or dark the sound is what tells the story, which I believe is almost more imaginative and does break that barrier between the artist, the glass, and the viewer.