Kerry BaderProcess Work4/5Product8.3/10TOTAL /15Reflection 4 Critic went pretty well I feel. People mentioned how they start to zone out the audio and its a good/bad thing because the idea of being in this trace like state is like putting my audience in a altered state of consciousness or stream of consciousness with the visuals of the eye. I know when I talked about it during critic I was bad at explaining my ideas but I feel like I did so on the blog before hand. Chelsea mentioned doing more with light and the eye and that could help with changing the pupil and the way the color movements could react with it. Because there was a echo on my audio and the audio was echoing it more in the black box, listening to it while editing it was more understandable or easier to concentrate on.

Project 4 So this project turned out way different then I had originally thought, but that usually happens when I start working and see what I actually have shot and what not. I started with the eye imagery thinking it was going to be one part of multiple scenes but trying to find, I guess, a narrative to go along with the altered state of consciousness was not working. I thought back to some of the stuff I looked up and read about this whole consciousness/dreams/etc. And I thought of it from all angles. I have the eye, working how it pleases, reacting to light and change, and the eye works kind of like this window. Its like a focus, clarity, awareness, but also acts as this vision of what we see always being what we really see. Sight and memory go hand in hand working with your conscious. I found these strange color movements that just seemed to fit with this, it functions like a internal working, like neurons or what not. But also as this abstract obstruction to the eye, the vision, the consciousness. The audio like I said is parts of the reading of the book The Life of Reason, which is truly interesting. I stumbled upon it with out thinking of it for this project but then thinking realized how well it fit. These philosophical and psychological ideas of the workings of the conscious and also there is a few things about cause and order. His readings come off almost poetic and enthralling message to be perceived. His ideas of the subject mesh well with everything I have read for this project, turned out to be quite informational project for me. Consciousness is so intriguing with the numerous factors that can hinder or change or happen to a person that can effect it, it becomes almost overwhelming. 444444444 So it was pretty awesome I found a audio reading of The Life of Reason but sat and listened to alot of sections to find what I wanted to use. (It is a long book) Conceptually the clips I used go back to my ideas of consciousness and the way it is used by us. The voice needed something else to go better with the video itself adding a echo made me think of it as this inner voice like one is hearing this inside their own thoughts. I also choose to add a background of white noise, it adds this kind of

confusion, even when I was editing it was going crazy listening to it. I thought this was interesting:It is used by some emergency vehicle sirens due to its ability to cut through background noise, which makes it easier to locate.It is also used to generate impulse responses.The effects of white noise upon cognitive function are mixed. Recently, a small study found that white noise background stimulation improves cognitive functioning among secondary students withAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), while decreasing performance of non-ADHD students. Other work indicates it is effective in improving the mood and performance of workers by masking background office noise, but decreases cognitive performance in complex card sorting tasks. Project 4

Making overlays to create a interesting composition. I decided not to do the multiple shots in one scene, but to just do the single shot in a scene. Pro 4 Working with the video I feel like my idea is changing quiet a bit. I wanted some kind of audio or voice, something to go along with the imagery. I found this book called "Life of Reason" by George Santayana. Book. If you never heard anything about it here is a summary:The Life of Reason, subtitled "the Phases of Human Progress", is a book published in five volumes from 1905 to 1906, by Spanish-born American philosopher George Santayana (1863-1952). It consists of Reason in Common Sense, Reason in Society, Reason in Religion, Reason in Art, and Reason in Science. The work is considered to be the most complete expression of Santayana's moral philosophy [...]. Santayana's philosophy is strongly influenced by the materialism of Democritus and the refined ethics of Aristotle, with a special emphasis on the natural development of ideal ends. The Life of Reason is sometimes considered to be one of the most poetic and well-written works of philosophy in Western history. To supply but a single example, the oft-quoted aphorism of Santayana's, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," may be found on p. 284 of Reason in Common Sense.

I feel like this is not completely straying from my original idea very drastically. Creating a altered state which was my original idea, in some ways its still about this but combines thought and reason with a

delusional like imagery. Becoming somewhat chaotic. I want to create something more abstract then previous things.

Project 4 Altered state of consciousness Mysteries of the altered mind Dream StateWaking state All states

Here is links to readings that I have been looking at to get a different approach to my video other then just a dream like state. To more about a alternate state of mind, usually can be brought on by numerous things like sleep depravation, fever, runners high, etc. I would like to use this to construct my video. project 4 So I didnt realize that I never posted stuff when I got some footage ideas and some

footage. When I was thinking about my idea from the start and had this idea of using sleep depravation or something like that I wanted to use the eye automatically. The eyes response and actions due to light and surrounding can look amazing, this is a shot from part of it.

Final Project

So still going off my dream versus reality type of idea we have movies like Michael Goudry's The Science of Sleep where his two worlds are so in synced that it gets confusing. I would like to set it up on one

screen something like this but it can be 3 or 2 shoots not just 4.

Lucid dreams Recurring Dreams Facts Insomniac author the whole article is interesting but I thought this little paragraph was relatable: "It figures that filmmakers have this kind of generative conversation with their dreams, since film is, of all human creations, probably the most dream-like. But I came away from Pagel's talk thinking, wait a minute: artistic types are the only ones who have use for their dreams? Doesn't everybody-teachers and software designers and politicians and psychotherapists- need to think creatively?" Some theories that are talked about. Freud's theories about sleep and dreaming are relative with his stimuli and emotions that can cause dreams. The main screen (the bottom one) I think will be me sleeping, will speed up the duration to make it seem like time is passing and the other screens will be the dream states.

Monday, November 28, 2011Final Project Thinking about the final video project what I had in mind was a type of stream of consciousness while sleeping. I would want it to look somewhat like a multichannel video but it would all be in the one shoot in final cut. The screen will be broken up into the other shots with the one playing continuously of me sleeping. I have a problem sleeping most of the time and I have very realistic dreams now that sometimes confuse me with reality upon waking. I want to play with this idea of reality verus dreaming.

Kim CalderoneProcess Work5/5Product8.3/10TOTAL /15Project 4 Post-Crit I think crit went pretty well, but I had a lot of suggestions for improvement. I think part of the issue is I am not very eloquent when talking about my concept in person - I forget to mention aspects, and I'm just not very good at explaining on the spot with complete coverage of the topic. I can write on here about the concept for hours, but that's because I have time to collect my thoughts and make them concise. I also don't like to get too defensive with my work during crit, because I don't want to seem stubborn or not open to other ideas.

One suggestion was to make the piece more sculptural in its presentation, by either projecting onto the floor or onto a three-dimensional form. I had briefly considered projecting onto something in the very beginning of my thought process, but I couldn't figure a way that would make sense visually and realistically, while being practical with what I can do with a projector. But I do like the idea of projecting onto a molded form, like some of Tony Oursler's pieces:

http://www.galerietanit.com/exhibitions/andre-esteve-oursler-siden/aeos_03.htm

http://www.artnet.com/artists/lotdetailpage.aspx?lot_id=F9568AB050CA3D181970A55A85F69451

I'm not sure if I would want it to be a sculpture in the round though. Another point of the project was for the video to be hypnotic, and I think the ability to move around the object creates too much interaction and breaks meditative states of mind. I could make a relief sculpture coming off the wall, however, and project onto that. It would give more of a sense of presence while still keeping the viewer in pretty much one position while viewing the piece.

I agree that the framing could have been a bit closer. I wanted to make sure all the rising and falling of the breaths would be visible, and I wanted the entirety of the sculpture to be visible, but there is still a little bit of unnecessary black space. I played with framing and distance, and the solution I presented was the best one I came up with, and I did not find the extra black space to be unnecessary until someone else brought it up. I also entertained ideas of layering and changing pace, as well as having a climax to the video. However, none of these elements would add anything content-wise to my concept. I wanted the video to be simple, filmed in the style that it was an uninterrupted span of time. I wanted the audience to get sucked in to the visual, and not be disturbed by changes in cuts or composition. I varied the "breathing" of the puppet, but not too much so that it breaks one's concentration. I opted for no climax, because I did not want there to be a sort of "resolution". The

video is not a formula that can be predicted. The audience is kept on their toes, wondering whether there will be a change or a climax. There is none; the looped video is meant to allow one to endlessly lose oneself in the hypnotics of the audio and visual.

Project 4 Update Continuing with the same idea from my last post, with the glowing heart/brain structure breathing via puppet strings, I began to create the structure last night.

Right now, I'm torn between using the bunched up colored string lights, or using a few colored flashlights to create a glowing effect. I love the warm glow that the string lights give when all the colors mesh together, but the individual colors are a little too apparent. The individual flashlights' colors are also very apparent, and are even more separated than the string lights, but since the light sources are fewer, it may give a more believable "glow". I've also been considering playing with the focus like I did with my last project. Blurring it a bit will help abstract the form, and create a softness that will hopefully facilitate the meshing of the glowing colors. Instead of keeping it blurry the entire time, I may play with pull focus to bring the form in and out of abstraction, perhaps in rhythm with the "breathing" of the form.

The material I have chosen at this point for the exterior of the structure is a white sheet that has a slight satin shine. It was less opaque than I expected, so I layered it a few times to obscure the light sources underneath. I have more sheets of this fabric that I can layer over it as well, which may help mesh the lights together even more. I can also add layers of other white material, such as tissue or paper towels. I will have to experiment more tonight.

One thing I did discover for certain is the "puppet strings" work. I threaded fishing line through the sheet and taped the end so it would grip underneath. So far I have four control strings; I may add another to make it five, or I may add another and take a current one away. I have not yet filmed the strings in action, so I'm not sure how visible they will be on film. I am hoping that they will not be visible closer to the structure (or at least concealable enough to hide for the first part), so the structure will appear to be breathing on its own. As the camera tilts upward, I want the strings to become more apparent, and the viewer to become aware that the breathing is controlled by puppetry.

Another means of abstracting the structure could be to create a "soft focus" filter for my camera. I've used this technique in photos before, and I'm sure the result would be just as successful in video form. I would just have to experiment with it to see if soft focus is the desirable aesthetic I am searching for. Although it creates subtle but effective blurring, it would provide less control than the manual focus on my camera, and would be completely fixed to only one stage of blurriness.

I think that's all I have so far, so I will be experimenting more tonight and tomorrow, and these will hopefully yield some good results!

Project 4 Home Stretch So I have my video all shot and imported. Right now, I just have some decisions to make. I have two clips of my glowing, breathing heart/brain creature that seem equally nice in visual quality and content. I just can't pick which one to use! Further investigation will help me decide, I think. I made some content changes as well. I decided to not reveal the puppet strings. The visual that this would give would be poor quality, poor craft, poor everything. And it was just too literal of an interpretation. I had good intentions in my mind, but in reality I had to scrap that part of the video. The other night, I decided on a whim to watch "Being John Malkovich". I have yet to finish the entire movie, but so far I know that the main character is an aspiring puppeteer. I had no knowledge that the protagonist in the movie was going to relate to my project! Oddly enough, he did - and watching the scenes where the puppeteer was shown seemed to unravel the magic somehow. Even though his puppets' movements were incredibly smooth and lifelike, seeing him control them ruined the entire image for me. I knew with my project, my puppet movements needed to be smooth; but I am no master puppeteer. I knew that the only way the visual would hold up as anything believable would be for the strings to be as hidden as possible, with no reveal to the method of movement (although I may allude to it in the title? Not sure yet?). So thank you, "Being John Malkovich", for giving me this epiphany!

Another advantage to not revealing the strings is that the video can loop endlessly, creating a meditative, hypnotic experience in which the audience will be sucked into the visual. However, the meaning of the video remains the same; this abstracted heart/brain structure being controlled by puppet strings for its own breathing. Breathing for humans (as well as animals) is one of the most basic processes for survival. Lucky for us, it is an involuntary process that we don't ever have to think about if we choose not to. Breathing is a vital sign that something is alive. By another force controlling the breathing, that force is also controlling the organism's thin line between life and death. This project uses an exaggerated scenario of a simple heart/brain organism to exemplify the hypnotic control to which humans often fall prey. How much will we rely on other forces to control us? By other forces, I mean a myriad of things - the media, family, friends, public figures. We allow the control of others to infiltrate our daily lives. I, myself, fall under this hypnotic control all the time. We get so caught up in concepts such as "doing the right thing" and "making everyone happy" as well as keeping up our own image that we often find ourselves manipulated, like a puppet. Our brains and our hearts are the most vulnerable victims to these attacks, which are more often than not cleverly hidden behind empty phrases that seem so entrancing. I think incorporating the hypnotic/meditative pace is a much more subtle and interesting resolution that can be furthered by an accompanying rhythmic audio track (which I will sample below).

The audio is composed of a heartbeat track that slowly increases in loudness and then decreases in loudness, but keeps a steady pace. Overlaid is a track I distorted of an actual hypnotist speech, playing in both forward and reverse at the same time. Thinking about hypnotic audio in the form of speech patterns, it came to me that

hypnotists have that perfected. Psychologists can use this to get inside a person's mind; either to purge a fear, implant a goal, etc. When under hypnosis, the person is entirely vulnerable to the hypnotist; completely in control of them, the hypnotist can use this power for good or for evil. As for the reversed audio, it is reminiscent of subliminal messaging. Not sure if this is too literal of audio, or if I should distort it more, or add more layers. Feedback would be magnificent!

Final Project Ideas I've had this idea to make a glowing, breathing structure. I made a glowing mountain-like landscape before in my time-based media class, and I would like to re-create and improve it, this time making it pulse and breathe.

Here's a link to the video from time-based media, but it's very long and drawn out, and of course in retrospect there would be things about it I would change.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX-UnHgallE

But I want to be clear that I am not redoing the above video. I just really liked the aesthetic of the structure, and want to make something similar that is mountainous and glowing.

I was recently introduced to a kinetic sculpture called "Custos Cavum". It is an animatronic, mechanical structure shaped like a seal, and its belly region rises and falls as if it is breathing. It is very peaceful to watch, and I can only imagine it is tenfold more amazing to witness in person.

http://gizmodo.com/5861057/breathing-kinetic-sculpture-doubles-as-nightmare-fuel

The concept behind the kinetic sculpture is a mythological story about seals that guard portals between two worlds.

For the breathing simulation I create, I was planning on making it into a sort of puppet, and attaching string/fishing line to certain areas and then manipulating them to make the structure ripple, pulse, and breathe. I imagine the structure resembling both a heart and a brain. To control the structure by puppetry, I am manipulating the heart and the brain. I in control of its movements; the speed of pulsing, the intensity, the direction. The heart and the brain are the two most important organs in a body. The heart controls your ability to live; the brain controls your ability to function in all of the body's processes, from involuntary functions of which one is unaware, to voluntary movement and thinking. To have control over the heart and the brain is to have control over an entire being, the ultimate conquest in manipulation.

The puppetry will either be alluded to or explicitly shown towards the end of the video. I imagine a long tilt rising up from the structure and making the strings and control structure (maybe a marionette-type wooden piece) evident.

Claudia FerrerProcess Work3/5Product8.3/10TOTAL /15final project reflection So I got a lot of different comments in the critique. The one I liked the most was the one about the concept being more about the time we lose and how anxious it makes us to think that we could have used that time to do so many things we want to do. That's exactly how I feel sometimes when it comes to waiting and wasting time too. I should have included that in my video somehow. Also I wish I could have found better more clear images to symbolize the things I wanted to symbolize because no one understood the meaning of the train and the flower. It's hard to find everyday images that represent a specific concept especially when it is something so abstract. Technically, I decided to go with black and white because when I played it in color it just looked even more confusing because the clips didn't look like they belonged together or could be related in any way. It just looked like a bunch of clips put together. Overall, there are several things I would change but the main concept was somewhat clear. final project storyboard

I had forgotten to post the storyboard of my final project. Originally my idea was to have only shots (mostly closeups) of images that depicted anxiety like traffic, a pot boiling, but then I wanted to include some other things that helped the concept. I added the train which is something unstoppable to symbolize time and how fast it goes without us being able to stop it, the flower in reverse to symbolize how time is unmeasurable and unpredictable because we often lose track of it without noticing, a person reading and a person texting because I also thought it was interesting the things we do while waiting. And the general concept was waiting and how much time we spend waiting and how.

project 3 reflection So I think this project is the best one that I made. It was a lot of work and i had several technical problems but I'm pleased with how it came out and even though I wasn't able to see all three videos play together n the projectors, i think the split screen video shows them well too. I wish I could have had better more interesting places for backgrounds but I think I liked the way my body looked as if I was fading into them. If I could change something it would be the background videos. I would want them to be better quality too. Overall, I received good comments and I think the concept worked.

final project process 2

I already decided in what order all the clips and mini videos I gathered are going to go, so now I'm just editing the timing. I think there is a chronological flow of events and the concept is visible and it makes sense. I didn't use any pictures or videos of clocks but hopefully all the clips and the timing give the sense of passing of time. Some of the videos include symbolism so that might make it more clear. I'm a little worried about the sound, I hope it doesn't become too repetitive but I thought it's a monotonous sound that can help create the tension and anxiety mood I'm trying to achieve.

final project idea

I was thinking of our lives, and how we spend our time. We spend a surprising amount of time waiting. I wanted to focus on the idea of waiting and how we are always waiting for something...waiting for the bus, waiting for a class to start, waiting for a class to end, waiting for the day that never comes, and I wanted to focus on the feeling of anxiety and tension that waiting for something without being able to do anything about it creates. There are many things that are beyond our control and the only thing we can do is wait and see what happens. I think it's interesting if not frustrating to realize how much time we have lost and will keep losing waiting for things to happen. If there was a way to document the amount of time that one person spends waiting for different things, I think I would want to include it in a video. I also think it's interesting that people all over the world experience this. When a day is finally over for us and we go to sleep, people from the other end of the world wake up and go through the same thing. Time is another concept I could include. I'm very interested in this too and it relates to the original idea. I think it's interesting that every second that passes we're never going to get back and we could have spent them doing a million different things.

"Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them."Dion Boucicault

Heather FosterProcess Work4.7/5Product9.5/10TOTAL /15"Moonshine" Reflection I am really happy that a lot of people enjoyed "Moonshine". I didn't really outline "Moonshine's" point in class - I sort of went off a creativity tangent. I think the intention I originally lined out on the blog, how watching video effects the viewer and their worldview, reached some people. Kerry mentioned how the figure (me) in the video was mimicking the goose, and saw it as a monkey-see-monkey-do critique on media. While I did not mean to be entirely negative, this definitely relates - I'm glad "Moonshine" got that across. The comments Julia made about baby birds and imprinting were really insightful. I only used the geese because they charmed me and I wanted to share that with the class, but Julia thought of a goose behavior that could tie in with how the viewer can "imprint" on recorded life.

Katerie brought up the technology depicted in "Moonshine". I did not have too much to say other than I wanted to create a paradox - showing a person watching two TV screens within a TV. I definitely should consider what flat TVs could mean in history. Thinking about it more, the flat screen TVs have a lot to say about our era - flat screens are replacing the cube-y cathode ray sets. Something about flatness (think of the Razor cellphone, sleek iPhones and iPads) is very trendy in America at least. If anything, the flat TVs tie in with the flat Dada collage aesthetic Rose mentions...

maybe it is an update. Flat makes something intimate (devices slide into pockets, movies are "up close and personal") but can also look constructed (matte paintings for a movie, wood cutouts for a play).

Flatness playing into how images are displayed can be explored... I like flattening out space in my drawn work too. Narrowing down, the draw that flat has for me is how it immediately calls out a constructed reality. Maybe I can strike up comparisons with paintings in aristocratic homes from the 1500s onward to the contemporary families DVD collection. I really had fun filming and editing "Moonshine" and can see myself making a series with the same technique.

Moon Rising

For the final project, I want to expand on the blue/green screen techniques I learned making "Cranus". I have this long slow shot of the moon rising that I took at the beginning of the semester, I would love to use it!

What I've imagined is a figure sitting in a grassy field at night time, watching two TV screens on a table - a giant moon is rising in the background. One screen will have footage of a roach crawling (I already have some footage of a very friendly roach) or geese, the other screen a person making expressions in response to the roach/geese. The moon's face will mirror those of the TV figure. At times the person in the foreground will turn to the viewer and make an expression.

I got this idea while watching "THX1138" by George Lucas. There was this scene where two mad scientists monitored the protagonist, THX1138, with two TV sets.

You never saw the two, but heard their voices and saw how they controlled THX1138 remotely with chemicals.

My piece is about how watching a constructed world can mold your outlook (hence the moon taking on a face that mimics the television). As far as the one TV face reacting to the roach/goose references the Russian filmmaker Kuleshov who made actors with vacant expressions look brilliant by juxtaposing them with different subjects. The event was constructed. The moon with a face can reference the very old movie (Georges Melies made it) where a space rocket slams into the moon's eye. That was an early example or moving from actual experience but expanding on reality... making the fantastic visible.

I'm not sure, but I am thinking an echoey voice can narrate the expressions, analyze what the expressions may mean and why. The over-analytical monologue further remove the subject from actual experience.

Alisyn GhivizzaniProcess Work4.2/5Product8.8/10TOTAL 13/15Story Board

Notes from project 2 for final sound in the beginning fading in and outalign both facescleaner background-possible green screen-phone fore examplenew lab space, play with reflection, possibly my reflectionspell out AGCTfocus on the "gorgeous moments" dont take away from themchime in earlierlab coatdichotomy science and familymore of familymore what he doesconnect father and daughterless lecturing

Final Reflection I felt a lot of helpful comments were said during critique that were also discussed in our meeting such as having me chime in earlier. I'm glad the echo was a technical glitch instead of something I did when editing. I also noticed a few things, there was an awkward moment where some footage of my dad standing and talking ran too long, which I edited better in another version which I uploaded to vimeo, I also

noticed some of the overlayed images didn't reach all the way to the edges of the screen, as well as one moment when a piece of footage where my dad is sitting that seems very dark because its opacity has been adjusted and there is not another image behind it which i believe is also different in the other version. From now on I think during the editing of my videos I will play test them on the big screen to catch any flaws or problem areas i did not catch on the small screen, I also believe it has something to do with staring at the screen too long during the editing process and then walking away from it for a few days and then watching several mistakes appear.

Final Project I was thinking of revisiting my piece on genetics (project 2) for my final piece. I feel I have the most potential to improve this piece especially since I have a personal connection to the piece. The execution was lacking in the original so I might refilm as well as re-edit the footage and incorporate maybe some new imagery and footage that adds visual depth and interest to the piece, much like some of the overlayed scenes in Fog of War.

Nisa GilProcess Work4.5/5Product8.7/10TOTAL /15Post-Reflection: Final Project (#4)

Critique was fair this time around. It could have been better and it could definitely have been worse. I do agree with many of the suggestions made, and question only a few of them. The biggest comment on my video was the numbers. Some people loved the numbers and wanted only numbers as the data presented and other’s loathed the numbers and wished I hadn’t included them. I feel like a project with the numbers would have had a different concept than what I was trying to achieve. I wanted this project to say that this frivolous information is our identities in the eyes of society to the point where our actual person/character becomes irrelevant or hidden behind the documents that tell us who we are. Our word is no longer relevant. Who we are as a person, our day-to-day life, and our characters no longer make up our identities in the eyes of modern society, these small documents are what tell someone "Yes, I am Nisa Gil, age 21, etc. The purpose was not to say our identities are built by numbers, it was not to question the politics behind social security and our legal identities, and despite the huge tangential conversation on immigration, this project had nothing to do with immigration.

I was confused how this video brought up responses to change it into the immigration concept. I had zero intention to speak on that subject (I’m from south

Florida where 85% of the population is Hispanic and 50% of that population has at least part of their family living on American soil illegally.)

I also have to disagree with the comment made that I should have included real information in the video. I do think I may have been able to possibly edit the images shown, but I strongly disagree that the numbers and information should have been real. Especially in today’s history, broadcasting Nezla’s social security, credit card, license, etc. information to the class and on vimeo and on the blog where anyone could see it sounds like a dangerous and overall bad idea, but I do see now that I could have pushed the visuals.

Finally, I had never considered the video to be in question of reflecting a public service announcement, but now that I look at it post critique, I do see where those comments are coming from. I don’t deem this video a failure, but I had I a “do-over”, I could definitely think of improvements to be made.

Project 4 Process 2: Shooting Before shooting I made a list of topics I wanted my actress to hit:

DNA

Hair

Skin

Saliva

Blood Type

Eye/Iris scan

Fingerprints

Background History

School history

Job history

Medical history

Legal History

Family Name

Physical description

Sex

Skin tone

Height

Weight

Eye Color

Hair Color

Hair Length

Race/Ethnicity

Glasses

Photo

Numbers

Classification

Student

Job class

Teeth

---------------------

These are the notes I gave my actress prior to shooting:

How do you identify yourself?

Times when you need to identify yourself

School and work

Name, first and last

Photo ID card

Student/work number

Job description/classification

Elsewhere in society

Finger prints

Social Security Numbers

Physical Description (think drivers license)

Sex

Skin tone

Height

Weight

Eye Color

Hair Color

Hair Length

Race/Ethnicity

Glasses

More extreme cases

Background History

School history

Job history

Medical history

Legal History

Eye/Iris scan

DNA

Hair/Skin

Blood Type

Teeth

Dental records for dead

And I composed this powerpoint to click through while actually shooting so that my actress didn't just have to memorize a script:

Finally....my actor decided he didn't want to help. My plan B actress is sick and has very little of a voice, so my plan C is....

Project 4 Process 1

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MvVI-FbaoQM/TuWRTKFBetI/AAAAAAAAARQ/sXPtjVz1UIw/s1600/resume1.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6NtpYF7J2wI/TuWRNdX5xYI/AAAAAAAAARE/x0B7ol8RmT8/s1600/financial+aid.png

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CpcSJXMyLB0/TuWRIqTZbwI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/lb280F80aFE/s1600/dna.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zerFnSq8kL0/TuWP9IVemBI/AAAAAAAAAP8/hMB9zlWRzHE/s1600/fingerprint.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x6o-Vset7co/TuWP2hFgI4I/AAAAAAAAAPw/PZRCrMkFEtA/s1600/e0616ea3a9f0c0dcfd1c80741d6b.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2SKDUXUEZlQ/TuWPyXvMV2I/AAAAAAAAAPk/brce0qry-vY/s1600/dnabasics2.JPG

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A-wV6wQyP8o/TuWPtmARqcI/AAAAAAAAAPY/IxWwYuWplSM/s1600/us-passport.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-222s7eDrb-k/TuWPcUM6ZjI/AAAAAAAAAPM/EBsqwvvCHog/s1600/a04i1.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-216TNjlOOqE/TuWPSaBqESI/AAAAAAAAAPA/6Pa9S8zoUug/s1600/20081024_visa.jpg

And some videos:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-l6pWvn48U&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDt4B43yPskhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEQEht8zloQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=pC6ZjAQKj2ohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAChxIcpf1khttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSwlCk_Z02chttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T22yOGjEAk&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrpTqKkgygAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaR0rPPAM4w&feature=related

This was supposed to post last week.

This is (was) my rough storyboard. Essentially its depicting this:Clean-cut shot of my actor (or actress) with a clean white wall. The actor is prompted to talk about what they think identifies them. First they talk about how others describe them, then they move onto ID's and forms of identification. As they start mentioning different documents that ID them, the images of said documents and ID begin covering the image of the speaker to the point where the speaker him/herself become irrelevant to their own identity.

During our "silent crits" when we split into small groups, I was paired with Angela and Claudia. These are some notes I took and spoke about each of them:

Ideas on the Final Project

I have an actor ready to go, and I have actual filming ideas ready to go, my actual concept however is somewhat very vague at the moment. I wanted to stick with this general theme of identity. I really have a strange fascination with ID cards-this idea that you have to carry something around with you that is your identity. Anything you say or do is irrelevant-that piece of plastic is your identity. Perhaps I don’t want to get too literally with these “IDs” and just project an ID card falling apart or anything, but really I would just like to play with that idea that you carry this identity around with you in a form that is so insignificant in its physical materiality but yet is really important for you to function in society on a day-to-day basis.

After this point, I'm a little vague at this moment. I feel like there are many possibilities as to what I could do with these themes, I'm just not sure exactly which route to go with or how to structure this currently "loose" concept into a stronger idea for my video.

Last year I made a project on ID's and how numbers are the new identities. It consisted of making an ID card for everyone in the class that involved interactive scannable QR's and all the information on the cards were written with numbers. I'll try and find some images for this just as a reference point since there is a similarity between projects somewhere in there.

Angela GillandProcess Work5/5Product9/10TOTAL /15installation view for loom and video

It's not a perfect shot, but to remember the installation.

Final Project reflection Wow, I can't believe it's done!

This was a whirlwind project.I am really pleased with how the video turned out in relationship to the loom. I think the idea of "weaving together a community" as someone said - hit my idea right on the head.I may revisit the project, maybe add a few more shots of the weaving, and reconsider the sound.

A few ideas that have spurred off of this project:

Reshoot, but have the whole process happening at the same time in the same room...have people folding/cutting bags, people looping the bags and then handing me the bags as I weave them together. While this process is happening, there could be a dialogue about art/community/experience happening through the duration of the piece. I would provide a few "get-the-conversation-rolling" questions/comments and let this performance take place while it's being video taped.

I'm excited by the potential for videos interacting with my sculptures. I think video an artifact and as a prompt for interaction is where my interest lies currently. I plan on using it in my work more often in the future.

Editing Shots Well, the loom is in place!I've worked almost non-stop on this to get it ready for the crit... my video is simple and will loop.I'm really curious to see how people respond to the video, because this is something I've always wanted to do. Of course as I was finishing editing I had several ideas of video performances with the loom..... next time!

Machine&Human interactions As I've worked on my project, something started to become prevalent to me.

I wanted this video to reflect this human-machine process... but when it gets to the machine - the humaness is the star. The irregular rhythm of my passes, or the fumbling over string while trying to get them into little holes - the imperfections of the human process are highlighted.

I'm interested at how this juxtaposes. Humans become more human once they interact with the machine..

Just a thought.

videos I've been looking at "I am making art"http://www.vdb.org/titles/i-am-making-art

"Sewing machine orchestra"http://vimeo.com/16566637

"The making of WeSC Denim" - product process documentation/documentary. I just like how they focus pf the machines. These kind of videos are really popular right now.http://vimeo.com/18420439

Totally unrelated to my project - but Miranda July is always worthwhile :)"The Hallway"http://mirandajuly.com/art/

Boring sewing video - but good angle I think:http://vimeo.com/6308063

Silly, but some interesting video of the sewing machine... I also like the speed.http://vimeo.com/13900594

Fashion/crochet documentary:http://vimeo.com/24927348 A few hours ago I began re-assembling the loom. It's gonna be a long 20-something hours....

Final Project Conceptualization All semester I've been building this floor loom.(these are rough pictures of the process - it will look a good bit different when I'm done.)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H5RtZJkayfE/TtOUWes1sPI/AAAAAAAAAGM/lcRrOp4mBjk/s1600/384672_763524864905_201410486_36935076_543170291_n.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l8n5xuRqeFk/TtOUWB_Zu4I/AAAAAAAAAF4/Zxq6LW1i5Dg/s1600/384672_763524859915_201410486_36935075_1688039706_n.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k-E46iSu-aw/TtOUWO_eT0I/AAAAAAAAAFw/0RVSJWhbDEg/s1600/loom.jpg

Weaving is a huge part of my work. My junior year I made multiple pieces (including interactive performance and computer programing) involving weaving. Conceptually, it's been an evolution of how the weaving related to and affected the content of my work. Currently, the woven plastic functions as "tissue of excess" in my work, but when I first started weaving I was really interested in the metaphor of community in weaving - that is, the taking of many individual strands and putting them together as a productive piece of cloth.

In my process of weaving plastic bags, there has been a really awesome system that has developed. Since I'm locally-based in Gainesville, I have a large community of family, friends and my family's friends around the area. As I started to make plastic bag sculptures, people I know started collecting plastic bags for me. People would save their bags and drop them off to me (sometimes folded). My family would always help fold, or cut or connect the bags. I would sometimes have "plastic bag parties" where I'd have some non-art friends over, feed them pizza or cake, and they would help my fold-cut-string the bags. What was really awesome was the conversation that took place during this process - about my work, about consumption, about repurposing, about life - etc. These people - the community - in a way became a part of my work. One time after looping/connecting over a hundred strips of plastic bags, my friend Stephen said something like "I just shook hands with half of Gainesville."

The plastic bag became and icon of things bought, consumed and disposed. But the process of making these sculpture were about art, and community and repurposing.

I had never really made this connection until I started thinking about this project - does the process reconcile the material? The plastic bag - symbol of material obesity - brings people together to work towards an end that is productive. It comes full circle with some of my work - taking broken and wasted objects and reconstructing them into something beautiful.

The loom, therefore, becomes a symbol of this process. It is the tool that changes everything. It's the instrument that orchestrates the material. It requires a lot of work put into it, but it delivers.

So I'm starting to bring my work back around to it's roots: community. While I've been focusing on hyper-consumption and consumerism and "want-culture", I think I can keep those piece's integrity while going back to the positive side of the process.

For my video I'm thinking about making a video of this. I haven't decided if I want to do something as simple as meditative video of me weaving, or do a montage of my whole technical system in an organic way.

Nezla JansProcess Work4.5/5Product8.5/10TOTAL /15Project 4 Progress 3

So I have basically finished my video. I just have to go in now and figure out the bright signs. Overall, I am pretty content with how it came out!

Editing the video, I basically recorded some footage of me sitting down and conversing with Nisa. I had to cut the videos to match the tone and words to the actions and body language of the footage I shoot. After I matched up the videos, I overlayed them with the sound audio movie to abstract the image. I decided on this because I wanted to create an emphasis on the speech.

Also, doing the silences the video is pretty still. I hope that this will direct my viewers attention to the video that is speaking.

Some Screen Shots:

Project 4 Progress 2

Well, I've gotten half of my imagery figured out. I have decided to go ahead and use sound waves and animate that but I definitely think I need an extra layer to contribute to the chaotic feel when I listen to my audio. I'm thinking of filming myself just conversing or something. Honestly, I think I'm think I'm just going to play around and hopefully i'll put together some imagery that really works with my sound.

As I've stated before, the sound waves provide a literal and visual to the more important part of my piece. It also is very technical which is a contrast to the tones and emotions behind my words and I really like that juxtaposition.

Final Project Ideation 2 So for my final project I'm thinking of creating an 2 channel installation. This will be based on the different ways we interact with people whether we've known them for years or a couple of months. I am not entirely sure about the imagery but I'm pretty sure the actual emphasis will be the sound or conversations that I record.

A couple sites I looked at:http://blacknetart.com/keepingupappearances.html

http://www.blackpeopleloveus.com/testimonials.html

Some Research:Because we care about what people think about us, and because we care differently about different people. Maybe we'll be more outgoing with close people we trust, with people we respect or we don't know, maybe we're afraid to give some unfavorable impression or shy and that's why we are quiet.

And there is this thing called "Hypocrisy" because we all have things to hide from some people we don't know but want they to think good about us and maybe be more rude with people we know so much that we don't care about them.

Anyway, acting is a way of living. A person needs to survive in this society.

http://www.reapteam.org/is-being-different-around-different-people-a-mask

The honest truth is that every person has many different parts of his or her personality that make up the whole person. For example, there are times when I am excited and hyper and silly; at other times I like to be more quiet and reserved and prayerful. During neither of these times am I being fake; just another aspect of my personality is coming out. And sometimes I behave differently depending on the social situation that I am in. For example, I am a pretty casual guy; so I really do prefer wearing jeans and t-shirts whenever possible. However, at a funeral or wedding, I always wear a suit and tie. This is not wearing a mask; it is just being respectful and appropriate to the situation. And there are even groups of people that bring out (or enhance) certain parts of my personality. For example, when I am hanging out with my buddies after our men's prayer group, I can be loud and wild. But, when I am at home just chillin' with the wife and kids after a long day at work, I am much more reserved and quiet and laid back. I do not believe that in either of these settings I am being fake; rather, each group brings out different aspects or parts of my personality.

Imagery Progress-Project 4 I'm still having some trouble on figuring out what kind of imagery to use. Nisa had given me this great idea of recording the sound file and have that as the imagery itself. I really like this idea because the sound file show the technical and mechanical side to the conversation. I'm thinking of have some sort of video of me and overlaying that video with the sound file video to create an abstract image.

Here's a sample of the audio:http://vimeo.com/33461514Progress Update-Project 4

So as of right now I have my audio completely edited. I took a different route that what i had originally planned. Instead of fabricating of conversation, I just took out the other persons audio and edited two of these create a conversation with myself. I didn't add any conversations or switch around sentences to make a clear conversation. I felt this was a better solution because as I was editing I found that I was really liking how the audio files sounded when I removed the other person's voice. I felt that this was being more true to how I really am with that person than with I started messing around with the audio and created fake conversations.

Here are some screen shots:

Final Project Ideation 2 For this final project, I am thinking of exploring mannerisms, specifically those of women and maybe how women have been portrayed. I may explore this through use of found footage of famous women and their personas.

Or I may revisit my final piece from time based media which was an exploration of my multiculturalism. I also did this with found footage, but I didn't think found footage was the best outlet for the piece. However, I'm not entirely sure how to go about this one in terms of footage and stuff.

Or I may also revisit my first piece which was about body language and movement. Once again, I am not sure on how to portray this in iteration.

Or I also had an idea with this last project of transforms someone personality in a way so their clothing would contradict with they actual persona. This kind plays with the idea of how we are perceived by out ward appearances and how we actually are. If i were to go this route i would most likely, not use Diamond, but maybe use another friend or three to kind create this ambiguous interaction through costuming and dialogue.

I'm definitely leaning towards filming my own footage and staging something with lighting and costuming, but i'm not exactly sure how to pull all of this together in a solid idea.

Final project Ideas Here are some initial ideas for my final project. I'm not entirely sold on any of them honestly but these are some ideas that I'm thinking of.

Marty JordanProcess Work/5Product/10TOTAL /15

FINAL PROJECT > IDEAS Thinking toward the final project : re-presenting project one.

First things first - color correcting / using what I've learned about FINAL CUT to add to the video / etc

MAIN - installation as quasi-vanitas sculptural piece to better convey what the piece is about / what my work as a whole is about - new staging as well as WRITING about the piece (artist statement).

Additional - experiment with audio - attempt to incorporate surround sound?

MATERIALS - for the past few weeks I've been searching for materials, and continue to do so as my decisions / material choices change. I'll go ahead and post a sketch later this week of my intended setup, but here are some visual clues for you to ponder until that point -

small monitor

square of black carpet

white circle on carpet

surround sound?

delay / further altered audio?

Heather MillerProcess Work/5Product/10TOTAL /15final project post-mort I clearly need to work on the alignment of the photos juxtaposed with the video. However, I do feel like the piece was well received. I got feedback that maybe the fashion plates be 'glued down' and I think that might be the next step, I also liked the idea of the gold creeping up the girl's hands as in project 3, it makes sense and adds another layer. Thanks for the feedback guys! It's been a great class!

final project progress working with children is tough, funny, but tough...

I'm shooting with a friend's child, and she is very independent, I think I'm going to need to re-shoot on a day when she isn't tired and grumpy. Anywho, check this out in the meantime!

http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report.aspx

final project For my final project I'm thinking of a multi-channel, split screen video. without giving too much away, I'm just going to say that I'm interested in the stereotypes an stigmas that are placed on girls from a very young age. Without knowing, or maybe without accepting it, parents subject their children to the idea of stripping away a persons 'persona' as a male or female and replace it with over sexualized visual imagery. ooooooohhhh....... what's she gonna do next???....

Jason RaimondiProcess Work/5Product/10TOTAL /15Many scanned pages also did not copyDirect Link:http://imgur.com/a/rztAI#0Above are some of the pages of notes I realized I forgot to upload the first time around so I figured I would put them here. Looking through my notes, it is obvious that I went through a lot of different phases of ideas with my project.

What I was most interested in throughout the process of making both of these videos was this idea of space, time, and alternate realities. I wanted to try and make people think about reality, and the possibilities of moving from one reality to

another. This piece invites the viewer to think about how one exists in, and experiences, place and time.

I decided to completely redo this project because I felt the project had a lot of potential but really could use some work. I thought more about camera positioning and giving the viewers an understanding of space inside the video. What I mean is that i tried to make the location of the shed relative to the house, relative to the street, more apparent, so then the viewers understand where the portal is leading out to. I used a tripod the whole time as to keep the fluidity of the stillness of the camera throughout the piece. I though a lot more about what was displayed in each of the scenes, going as far as asking my neighbors to move their cars so the shot of their house wouldn’t be ruined. I also made the objects in the scene more intentional this time around. I added the door to use as a sort of entering point into the new dimension. Writing on the door I think also helped integrate the drawing into the aesthetic of the shed.

I wish the masking for the TV screen was better, I could not figure out how to bend the masking lines to make it look more real. Another thing I didn't like was the backwards scene. It was too choppy, I need to make it more fluid with the rest of the project. But these are all picky things that can easily be fixed.Final 2 I am going to wait until I get feedback at our crit this Wednesday before I officially decide what my final project is going to be, but as of right now I am torn between redoing my multi-channel piece or doing an extension on the piece.

If I was going to redo my multi channel piece, what my plan is is that I am going to shorten the introduction and get to the portal point much faster. I want to then extend the scene of the backwards world to make it more significant because right now there is only one scene of it then I go back to the portal.

If I was going to do an extension on the piece, I would leave the portal idea behind with project 3, and I would dive fully into the backwards world in the final piece.

I am going to wait until I hear the classes thoughts about my video at crit before I decide what I am definitely going to do.

Final Project - Post Numero Uno All this talk about time and space [I am writing this at the same time as I am writing my Multi Channel Process] gets me thinking about the character Dr. Manhattan in the Graphic Novel Watchmen. Dr. Manhattan constantly talks about time, saying things like “There is no future. There is no past. Do you see? Time is simultaneous, an intricately structured jewel that humans insist on viewing one edge at a time, when the whole design is visible in every facet”. He experiences time in a nonlinear, quantum fashion, and he is aware of and experiencing all of the moments of his life simultaneously, but he is not

omniscient. His exterior perception of time is predetermined and all things within it are so determined, including his own reactions and emotions. “We are all puppets, Laurie. I’m just a puppet who can see the strings.”I love the character Dr. Manhattan and I want to use several of the concepts mentioned by his character to be some of the building points of my final project. One possibility I was thinking for this final video where the world was going in reverse and slowly slowing down time (does that even make sense) until it eventually stops, I could potentially have the main character still moving? In other words, I would start it at -100% speed, then have the next small section slowed to -99%, then 98%… all the way to 0.

Rose RomeroProcess Work/5Product/10TOTAL /15Final Review I was very happy with the outcome of my final project. The video capture of driving at night, and manipulating the focus on the lens to achieve the optical, pulsating orbs of light from road reflectors and vehicles really expressed the vision I had in mind for "hypnotics" in visual culture. These orbs went well with the rhythm of the pulsating OPEN led sign and the audio. I loved how the road orbs started to fragment into video game (16 bit) aesthetic, and it also started to morph into some cheesy windows 95 screen saver-look, which is exactly this pop culture-technological-transcendence symbols I was looking for. I also liked the capture of the neon sign that read HERE. There were these black dots that looked like flys trapped in sticky paper! I think that was a great metaphor for the viewer's agency and complicity in the act of consumption. I really enjoyed the end where the two scenes are of  the road orbs. Jason mentioned to have them both be on the same driving plane, where the road converges into a horizon line, to form symmetry. That would really rock. I also like how Katerie spoke about how the driving footage was about private space in Desire, and the Neon Signs/Strip club mural as Public Space, actually going after the thing desired. I feel glad that both projectors finally worked! I had to watch the bright signs tutorial 3 times to make sure I authored it right! Glad I did!!! StoryBoard-2-Go Pasteys

Traffic Orbs: Road Hypnotics

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tjQRPQCGu8Y/TuUMImN-fNI/AAAAAAAAAHo/VsjWvhfvZs8/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-12-11+at+2.59.42+PM.png

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_xSGZPXMhNg/TuUMI8VJKYI/AAAAAAAAAHw/JPK8KCWSUOo/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-12-11+at+2.59.57+PM.png

These traffic orbs were captured by driving 80mph & making the lens "out of focus", simply by playing with the distance in the manuel focus option in the camera to macro (close up).  These were fun to make as I sat in the passenger seat driving from gainesville to miami, fl. It was total pitch darkness, which made the orbs appear vivid. It reminds me of early video art process experiments, screen savers, and the animated video work of Hans Richter.

Monday, December 5, 2011Final Project Ideas: Rock Journalism Part 2 Over the weekend I thought it would be a great idea to revisit my Rock Journalism video project. I looked at the feedback and critique, and I think it would be cool to make a consistent set, work on my pacing, and work with one artist/musician at a time. I also want to concentrate on humor,  facial expressions, even pick a new outfit! I also need to decide if I want to create an Alias or not. I want to  conduct in depth research on the musician , music industry, and media theory to ask even more challenging questions on pop culture. I decided to revisit this project to explore its potencial, to finally make use of my research, and present this video project to my committee during Fall Review next week Tuesday to propose it as my MFA Thesis.

I'd love to make a podcast/playlist of multiple episodes. This project reflects what i'm intellectually interested in since I was a teenager. As an Adult, with what I've learned and experience in my college/grad school years, I think I can create a smart/ provocative piece. I also think it's very contemporary with youtube culture, reality tv, and personas/contructing identity.

Final Project: Montage Revisited For the Final project I'd like to return to the first video I did for montage and refine it.  Now that I've read a lot, and thought about my ideas more, I want to juxtapose the idealized "retro" commercials of products, technology and food, and juxtapose it with my own video capture of store buildings/ads, old beat up cars, garbage dumps, outdated gadgets in pawnshops and thrift stores etc. I think I want to concentrate on the ideas of planned obsolescence, commercial waste, and buyers remorse in consumerist society. I want to make a joke of the idealized advertising commercials that make it seem like the products they sell are the best, and that it's going to last "forever", when it all ends up in the trash. Katerie said I should include my voice for commentary or narration in the video, and even capture the conversations I have with people at the pawn shops, stores, and junk yards. That would really be great!

Julia SimeoneProcess Work/5Product/10TOTAL /15Final Project Video Up on Vimeo Here is the link to my video: http://vimeo.com/33512552

I found that in making this video, some of the processes of washing the laundry almost looked like the workings of the inner body, such as the intestines or other things, and the mechanical type movement went interestingly with them as well.

See you guys in critique tomorrow!

Final Project - Progress So I believe that the mundane task I would like to emphasize and amplify is doing the laundry. I would like to show how such a standard task that is widely overlooked and not taken seriously or carefully is important to our daily life. I chose doing the laundry because I feel as if it is the closest that one being or thing can be to you on a daily basis. Your clothes are what embrace you, help to emphasize who you are, keep you warm and safe from the weather, etc. Ultimately, during the day your clothes are like your bodies guardian. So in doing the laundry, you are renewing or refreshing these shields or this cloth that protects and is closest to you on a daily basis. However, we tend to neglect our clothes, wash them out, deplete the color, and more things that are careless towards them. I plan to take the time to show an in depth caressing or experience of the process of doing the laundry and putting the clothes back on the body. I hope for the viewer to be drawn in and get the full experience on a different level from the "daily bore" of doing the laundry. Steps and Storyboarding is next to be posted on here.. Screen Shots - Final Project Here are the screen shots for my project:

Final Project Ideation For this final project, I would like to work with ideas of the sensual experience. I was thinking about how an image can be easily manipulated by either editing the footage post filming or physically manipulating the view point of the footage as it is being filmed. I would like to use a glass cup of some sort for this kind of manipulation. I would probably use scenarios like the feeling of a person and their features, the petting of an animal, the performance of a simple cooking task, etc. I think it would be interesting to explore the idea of something being so real and standard procedure, but at the same time, being so strange or distorted so that it intrigues and at the same time confuses the viewer as to what they are seeing or what they are doing at the same time. This would represent the haze that someone feels that they are in when they aren't directly connected with the world they are interacting with. I would like to use a regular glass cup or something of that stature placed over the lens of the camcorder. I would also like to play with possibly making the glass frosted, to give more of a distorted, fuzzy feeling. This could represent those days when someone feels so estranged from the world or almost isolated. Things that are so tangible and regular seem like they don't match up or don't feel right. I would also like to play with the abstraction in color of what I am experiencing. I would

choose experiences such as folding clothes, or watching them turn in a dryer, etc. I think this could also give light to how sometimes mundane tasks seem to blur up our lives and just get redundant as we go on. I think this would be an interesting idea, but am open to suggestions or comments about this..

Chelsea VossProcess Work/5Product/10TOTAL /15final project final project:http://vimeo.com/groups/videoartuf/videos/33509094

Now that I am done with the final project, I am going to reflect on the themes and metaphors that made it into the video.

darkness-lightness/whiteness/blankLight=hope, possibility, rebirth. Me emitting light shows hope for possibility, rebirth. Seeing just blankness and whiteness is the transition into a new life. Darkness and absorbing light is absorbing hope. That my step-family did this meant that they represent forces opposing me.puzzlefloors made of puzzle pieces shows put-togetherness, the beauty of being whole, of being in the safe state before the transition into rebirth. struggling to put to put pieces together represents struggling to become whole once more, to be reborn and transition past the 'searching for the right place' stage. thus, panning over the completed puzzle seems to be like self reflection, introspection. trying to force a piece in where it doesn't belong is like trying to force something to happen in life that will not happen or is not meant to be.woodcan be beautiful and strong, like the floors in the healthy place. or, weak, like when I was a robot in an unhealthy place. I see wood as a very human like material. How healthy or sturdy it is reflects the state of the person. To be fragile--like the robot made of old wood-- would be to be in an unstable place in life--a transition. buildingsthe state of the building reflects the state of the person. to be a beautiful historic mansion is to be healthy and feel good about oneself. to be in a thrift store where hope goes to die is to be self-conscious, apprehensive. The two buildings in the dream are dichotomous entities on different ends of the same spectrum.robot/humanto be a robot is to not be in control of one's self, a lack of free will. this is how one may feel during an unsteady time in life, a transition. not having mortality seems like being unable to be reborn (to grow as a person). thus I see being a robot as representative of being in a stagnant place in life. to be human is to have free will, mortality.deathrebirth. a part of you must die off before a better part can be reborn. death means growth.

final project. advice please. I am completely turned off by the idea of making the puzzle gimmicky. I see more poetry and beauty in leaving it white than in blue keying, overlaying, or any special effects or ways to tie it more to me. The fact that I am the one solving it connects me to it so much. Usually I do not prefer simplicity, but in this case it seems right. I see this as simple poetry that much can be read out of. Gimmicks would cheapen and destroy it. What do you guys think?

blue-keying the puzzle pieces so they could be a video of what part of the dream I am talking about or what they represent in my own life. video should be vague, at least until the piece finds where it goes/I find my way into a new stage in life. Perhaps this could be achieved by a video of smoke, or blurred video of walking down a trail (finding my way) that becomes unblurred once I find where the piece goes. Not sure how to do that exactly. Advice?

ideas I may incorporate1. maps2. video of finding my way, perhaps through a winding trail in the woods3. putting together a puzzle. all is white/blue keyed4. a dream about rebirth, starting a new stage, finding my way there5. death/rebirth6. vivid imagery v white blankness of possibility7. sound v silent activity8. conscious v unconscious

Stream of consciousness about rebirth--phoenix/fire/ashes, hero's journey (call to adventure, transformation, death/revelation/rebirth, atonement), fire=transformation/death, ashes/newlifefrom ashes=rebirth, healthy house=healthy earth, down elevator=start fire, face sticks=raging fire, consciousness fades, fire dies, blankness=ashes, reborn=sprout grows in ashes. no video/blank/white=possibility, neutrality, conflict solved. colors: red=fire, burning, transition, transformation. white=possibility, resolved, neutral. green=growth, new stage of life. gray=ashes, leftoverhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Heroesjourney.svg

lines on hands like a map, vintage drawings of brain,http://www.flickr.com/photos/md9/3148983302/hand lines like tree rings, factorials, branches of trees. trees burn, identity changes, new tree with new lines grow in its place. rebirth. show how cross-section of tree changes with fire. center of tree is called heart wood.

storyboarding1. healthy house, put pieces together easily2. elevator, abruptly cannot go with pattern of pieces fitting. does not fit.3. thrift store, it fits no where4. try to die but don't, try to fit piece where it won't fit by forcing it5. begin to die, realize piece fits but am hesitant to put it in6. die, put piece in.7. "everything is white...nothing but blankness of possibility", show whole puzzle, white and uncompleted with possibility to be completed.8. "i wake and i don't know how to feel", hold piece above whole puzzle and don't know where to put it

Wednesday, November 23, 2011Another final project idea. stream of consciousness, so is long. To put it simply, I'm thinking about narrating a dream I had that that deals with themes of life, death, fear, rebirth, and possibility. It will be paired with a video of me putting together a puzzle. I might project the video on the puzzle during critique.

metaphors-putting together puzzle= putting together or figuring out life; living life

parts of puzzle that are completed=my pastattempting to change parts of puzzle that are completed=try to change past. would be interesting if it was glued together and could not come undone, and it took a while or a few tries to learn that and focus on piecing together new pieces (living in present, not past). Or, could undo pieces to show how I can change the past.trying to fit together pieces that don't match=try to force life events to happen that are not meant to be or are incompatible.white=blank slate, possibility.puppet=no control over life. not truly mortal. human child=has free will, a lifetime of possibilitydeath and rebirth=enter a new stage of life. a part of myself dies or is left behind.

Puzzle might be white, or have a print. I do not know what could be printed on it. Something intelligible, or not? The whole puzzle's image is a part (recognizable or not?) of a larger whole? Something abstract or personal that only has meaning to me? A mirror of myself? Or a grave--which would be my final result in life? my mind is running everywhere. Also, the shape is important. Would it look whole, or like another puzzle piece of a larger unseen puzzle? What would the shapes of the individual puzzle pieces be? How large? What would it be made of, and what would that mean? So much to think about!

A puzzle relates back to a part of the dream, where the floor of a house is made of giant puzzle pieces. In a dream, it is said that a house represents what one feels about themselves. To be made of a completed puzzle could mean a person who is whole, put together, complex, wise.

short, unedited plot (not narration! That will be written much differently) of the dream:In a beautiful antique house, floors made of giant birch puzzle pieces, ornate decor, rich woods, fine marble, chandeliers, ball rooms. Forced down an elevator. Opens to a dirty, sad, messy thrift store. It feels like where hope goes to die. Am with 3 new step sisters, who are wooden marionettes or robots. Their bodies are spindly like spiders; they move mechanically and unnaturally. Scary. Their presence sucks up light. I am also a marionette, but I emit light. We each hold a blown glass bottle that is full of either our soul or life force. It makes us mortal. When we want to die, we can eat what is inside. I decide that I want to know what it tastes like to die. I steal one from a step sister. It tastes like pomegranate. I spit it out before it takes effect. I steal another to taste, but I am not able to spit it out in time. I feel it disintegrating my tongue and moving to the rest of my body. I run away. Evil step mother is coming to punish me. I can't hide, she finds me. Her face melts off and she throws it at mine. It sticks. I feel my consciousness leaving my body as hers takes its place. I am scared, in pain, and realize that she has won and will now live in my body. my jar of soul might have fallen and shattered. I die. Then, the scene changes to a newborn--I was reborn. There is no environment. I have no memories--no more fear or pain, just a lifetime of possibility. I wake up and do not know how to feel.

Could mean that a part of me must die for me to move forward through life, to be reborn. Also, am turning from a puppet (associated with having no control, no free will, no consciousness. Is just an imitation of a real person.) to a human child (has free will, control, a life time of possibilities and life ahead of it). I see the dream and the video of putting together the puzzle as telling the same thing (a struggle in life, figuring out how to live, entering a new stage in life) in different ways. I am not sure if I want to project the video on the puzzle, because I feel like that would tell them the ending when that is not necessary and could make the video less interesting. Also, that would make the puzzle motionless, when in real life, it is metaphorically always changing. Could be a performance piece.

edited: later thoughts:trying to find a piece of the puzzle to connect 2 formed halves, a bridge to cross to another side, to enter a new stage/part of the puzzle/life. mirrored puzzle--I have to put it together, figure life out, in order to fully see and understand myself. Shape of connecting piece-just throwing ideas out as possible jumping off points-- -bridge, allude to death/rebirth, seed, transformation, cocoon, movement, passageway, long and narrow, hourglass/double parabola shaped, cracked/foggy/clear/smooth, compass, is the puzzle as a whole a map? what is drawn on it? where does it lead/what does it show? is a map projected on me? a maze? a labyrinth? the view of someone walking through one? someone drawing a map=drawing their own life, figuring it out themselves, getting lost, trying to figure it out. tending to cuts that were gotten by trying to put together the puzzle=life is pain/difficult but must be done, worth it. stains clothes, removes purity as life experience does.

getting hurt while putting together a puzzle that helps you see seems like a metaphor for life. life experiences are painful, but necessary and they help you understand, see a more complete perspective. project scars, cuts, tending to puts while doing puzzle. maybe leave out audio because is meaningful enough without it.

problem with mirrors: seems to allude to narcissism, which is irrelevant. maybe maps would be best. or a mirror i can't see self in. fogged, map drawn on it.

problem with cuts: is too literal a reference to pain. is physical, though metaphorically is emotional. blood risks being cliched or emo, in my opinion. seems self destructive, which it shouldn't be.

possible ideas for maps-brain, timeline, geography of past, yet to be discovered place/time in my life, grave place/stone, a poem, a diary, stream of consciousness emotions,

final project musings If I were to continue the bees/brain idea for the final project, I would want to fill a room--all 4 sides--with video. Maybe ceiling and floor, too. May incorporate sculpture, something that seems to decay metaphorically as time goes on. Or, project on a large drawing/photo of brain/person. Or, double-layer videos, where one

shows a time-lapse or stop-motion video of a person aging, underneath other footage of metaphorical/brain aging. May incorporate scent--beeswax. At end, sweet scent would have to either leave or be turned repulsive, dead. I guess I can't burn it, but maybe layer a candle (or wax sculpture that burns as one). Once top sweet layer is gone, repulsive smelling layer burns. or, put light out when death is present in video. or, a stronger wind on candle, making it harder for it to stay burning/alive. or, make it small enough that it could only burn for as long is needed. hints at evanescence of life. would be hard to time the burnings and scent right. also, i probably can't burn things inside. Maybe performance--person cleaning beeswax off of them, treating bees stings. Incorporate audio of bees stings... "a part of life... it hurts...unavoidable..." like aging. Hand out candies that are delicious honey flavor on outside, as time goes on, taste disgusting inside.... saturated yellow light v unsaturated violet light. i know some of these are ridiculous and i won't do, but i am writing them down to document jumping off points that could lead to ideas i will actually use.