Mind Map & Questions

Questions

1. What is your research topic?

Insomnia.

2. What research will you do?

I will probably go to psychology related websites [psychology.com i already know is a good source], because they have articles by doctors, therapists, etc, who talk about how and why a lot of disorders exist and how people deal with or are affected by them [including insomnia].

3. What is the idea behind your piece?

The idea behind my piece is to take the viewer through the different stages, emotions, reactions, etc of an insomniac's night. Starting with when everybody else goes to sleep, the initial realization of being alone, which at first is not bad at all, it's quite calming. The next is trying to keep occupied by constantly doing something [i like to draw, paint, create, make lists, organize, etc]. The third stage is when the mood shifts. When I run out of things to occupy myself with I literally hit a wall and I realize the most literal, dramatic silence you could think of. Initially my thoughts begin to race but I am no longer moving around and then those halt as well and my emotions take over. Basically, I want to [in five minutes] go through these transitions and show the effects of them.

4. Why is this of interest or of importance to you?

This theme is obviously important to me as it basically controls my life, and therefore, is my life. I have had a strange relationship with insomnia and continue to both appreciate it and be terrorized by it [shown in various stages of the night].

5. What will it look like?

I think the best way to portray my idea is to set my camera up on a tripod in my room. The room will be dark with one bright light [my desk light] to create dramatic lighting, and all that will be moving is me. I'm going to leave it on all night, or at various moments of the night because I don't think I can tape that much, and in my final project I will have fast-forwarded it and then gone to normal speed at key moments. Time is an important aspect of this project.

Five Things

1. contemplative video intro & tech demo

• art as process
• series of ongoing events
• movement, effect, building of
• didactic art [response, critique, education, propaganda]
• to the point
• political/social/etc purpose
• central park gates
• art as formalism
• concerned about shapes, colour, light, image itself

2. Theme Sound Critique

After discussing the next video assignment, we continued theme sound critiques. I was satisfied with mine as I was listening to the feedback. Although no one said "insomnia" outright, they were talking about a sense of building anxiety and even dream like, which is what I was trying to portray insomnia as. Considering I had circa ten times more sleep than usual that week I was working on the project, I surprisingly was able to create a project that defined insomnia for me.

3. Practicing with Video Camera

For the five minute still camera shoot, I decided to place the camera low to the ground next to a bike rack [you can see the bike rack but its to the left]. I was interested in this spot because there were huge waves of people going to the bus stop, but there'd be breaks with just a few people. I just liked the variety of people walking, running, biking, etc, and thought it'd turn out well.

4. Mind Map & Q's [following post]

5. Peer Critique [following post]

Five Things [Friday, November 12, 2010]

ONE : NOTES

Power lies in appealing to sensory perception.

Graphical Editing

• editing graphics to fit rhythm
• edit from frame to frame based on visual patterns within the frame or breaks in those patterns [emphasized or changed up from frame to frame] - balance what stays the same and what changes [constancy & variation]
• where something is placed within the frame
• colour / colour temperature
• degree of focus
• proximity

Rhythmical Editing

• editing rhythm to fit graphics
• editing using rhythmical patterns or breaks in those patterns [constancy & variation]
• for eye & ear

2. "Gardyn" / "White Magic" / "Give a Minute"

After learning about Graphical and Rhythmic Editing, it was interesting to analyze these videos and pick out subliminal details that I once overlooked. For instance, the "Give a Minute" campaign commercial exemplified all of the rhythmic and graphical editing techniques for me. It managed to keep some aspects the same while varying others, such as moving the post it or keeping it in the same place. It also employed the "list structure" at one point when it kept the post it in exactly the same spot while changing the background [to the beat of the music- similar to the rest of the piece]. Then in the finale, there was a variation in the colour of the post it which is unexpected yet non-disruptive.

3. [Already Blogged : "Inception Trailer"]

by the way, here is the link to that trailer : http://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?p=inception+movie+trailer

4. iMovie & Project

• film strip
• frames [individual image]
• clip [series of frames]
• time code [how you locate things along the film strip; frames per second - 29.97]
• 00:00:00:00
• hours:minutes:seconds:frames
• not telling a story
• focusing on patterns, variation & consistency

DJ SPOOKY [alternate video: Inception Trailer]

^ Photo for Q1 & Q2

1. Does the video maintain continuity by editing for graphical and rhythmical relationships to create successful transitions among different image frames? Give examples of this using a minimum of 5 screen shots [ctr+shft+3] that move us from frame to frame. Provide a written description. In the beginning of the trailer, verticality is emphasized and allows for continuity and successful transitions. Thefirstframe shows Leonardo DiCaprio [as the focus]; he is positioned vertically while also gazing upward. The second frame continues the verticality through the tall buildings and the city in the background lifting upward, mirroringthemovement of DiCaprio’s head in the first frame. The third frame becomes overwhelmingly vertical as all you can see are the lines of the building, with no horizontals. The fourth frame shifts to another scene yet carries the vertical theme; DiCaprio, again, is portrayed vertically [on the left as in the first frame], looking out a vertical window. The clip quickly transitions to the fifth frame, which has the same exact vertical line as the window in the previous frame, therefore, connecting the two together perfectly.

1. Does the video include non-linear structures (i.e. structures other than linear narrative)? These might include acausal structure, list structure, and cyclical/circular structure? Please describe in detail.

This movie trailer contains non-linear structures including circular structure. The trailer starts with an emphasis on vertical lines such as in the buildings. The trailer ends with the same emphasis with DiCaprio standing vertically, directly in the center, then the title appearing from a familiar building structure. Between the beginning and the end, there is a shift in directional emphasis that begins with a shaking glass of water to suggest instability; it begins to emphasize diagonal movement instead through various frames including a train moving diagonally toward the camera, two people mimicking the same movement, DiCaprio falling over in a chair, and the addition of diagonal text; but then finally returns back to verticality creating a circular structure.

1. Does the video modulate in pace so that it has sections of slow and fast time? Please describe this in terms of constancy and variation over the course of the entire work.

The entire work has a successful balance between constancy & variation, not only though directional movement [as mentioned in question 2], but also in pace. The beginning is slow and quiet, but as it gets more intense and the music gets faster, so does the pace of the clips; they start to move by much quicker to create a sense of energy and power. However, it circles back to the initial pace at the end with a slowing of time in the last clip [Leonardo DiCaprio standing in front of the blasting water], and then the title slowly morphs out of the buildings, and then finally halts.

1. Can you see the artist paid careful attention to changes in graphical layouts and rhythmic repetitions in relation to the audio patterns that occur in the sound track? Give an example of how patterns of sound and image work together.

As the music in the trailer heightens and becomes more intense, the rhythm of the graphics also gets faster, proving that the artist paid careful attention to the changes in layout and repetitions in relation to audio patterns.

1. How does the artist break patterns to avoid monotony? Give an example.

The artist breaks patterns to avoid monotony in almost every aspect of graphical and rhythmic editing to keep the viewer completely engaged. He changes up the speed of the graphics as the music intensifies and switches between emphasizing directional movements [either vertical or diagonal], which is also connected to the change in speed. Diagonal movement creates more energy and is incorporated with heightened speed, and vice versa.

1. Did the artist try abstracting at least some of the images beyond recognition a.k.a. wreck the images? Give examples.

The artist abstracts images in the beginning and the end when he morphs the buildings from and into a digital image. So, initially we do not know what the image is, but then it turns into something recognizable.

1. What additional formal aspects are emphasized in this video? Analyze the following:

1. Color temperature(s) or degrees of black and white contrast
1. Almost every frame emphasizes darkness and contrast so when the artist changes it up and uses light [mainly when water is incorporated in the frame], it is clearly emphasized and shows variation.
2. Graphical layout and composition of frames (the 2D layout of the picture)
1. The layout of the frames mainly focuses on the center of the image, but occassionally shifts from left to right to create variation.
3. Proximity (closeness of camera to subject)
1. Proximity is also emphasized as the subjects in the frames often move diagonally forward across the screen to create movement & energy.
4. Pacing
5. Repetition - Diagonal movements are repeated as well as vertical panning upward.
6. Sensitivity to lighting and shadows as graphical elements - The frames are mainly dark and in shadow, yet there are instances of bold, contrasting light to keep the viewer interested.

Five Things

1. [Notes]

sound structures & genres

[narrative]

introduction, conflict, resolution

circular narrative : begins & ends at same place

nonlinear/a-causal : non-sequential, forces you to piece it together, anxiety provoking

[list]

[montage]

[documentary sound]

[abstract sound]

[voice as an instrument]

monotonous : allows sound to come through

thinking critically about research

[RIM]

recognize good first steps

intuition & analysis

marriage of form & intention

touchstone: what are you doing & why

2. [RIM for my theme]

recognize good first steps

asked questions, expanded my p.o.v., collected relevant sound recordings

intuition & analysis

intuition: i want to bring the listener into the experience of insomnia through sound

analysis: the experience consists of silence, isolation, anxiety, & panic. i should take the listener through each of these steps in my theme sound piece and really emphasize each part so that they are clear in emotion & purpose.

marriage of form & intention

the form should reflect my intention and therefore be hectic, overwhelming, yet be juxtaposed by isolation and uncomfortable silence. i think abstract sound would be best to convey this because i can create and mold sounds in a unique way that suggests certain sounds but are not explicitly labeled as such. the emphasis of beat and rhythm would also be important in my intention because that is a part of the experience.

3. [Examples / Analysis]

my favorite theme sound example that we heard in class was the ADD piece [voice]. it captivated me and made me feel like i was experiencing the definition of ADD [which adheres to the M part of RIM, marriage of function and intention]. it also mirrored the idea of provoking anxiety in the viewer to emphasize the emotional aspect of the theme. on the other hand, my least favorite was the vocal narrative piece with environmental sound. [the first one we listened to i believe?]. i thought it was creepy and off putting how monotonous the voice was; i didn't really want to pay attention, and the environmental sounds were just too obvious that i didn't have to think to understand what they wanted me to think and experience.

4. [Working on Theme Sound]

when i began my theme sound piece today i knew i wanted to stick with abstract sound because a) it interests me and b) is relevant to my theme. this time, however, i want to emphasize rhythm instead of timbre because the feeling of repetition is an aspect of insomnia. i started off with the base of the piece by taking the "lighter" sound which sounds more like a ticking clock; it is repeated [like a clock] throughout the entire sound. then, instead of starting at the beginning, i started at the end because i knew how i wanted to conclude: with an overwhelming accumulation of sound and then sudden silence. this was accomplished by creating a "heart-beat" sound coupled with a siren that quickens exponentially until the end when the piece ends with two last [loud] "tick-tock"s, bringing it full circle. then i experimented by manipulating various sounds to create "psychological" effects to reflect hectic thoughts, torture, and the feeling of being trapped in your head [warping, static, abstract]. then i went back to the beginning, starting with the ticking, and created beats/rhythms around it with sounds of light switches, locks, and doors [the final door slams echo emphasizing isolation]. the piece then moves to silence and slowly incorporates those "psychological" sounds that all climax at the heartbeat/siren combo-sound.

5. [Next Step]

after experimenting with my idea for my theme sound piece, i realized that i should work on emphasizing rhythm because right now i don't think it's that clear because i also use timbre. i also should collect some more sounds including whispers, dripping water, tapping figures, and other similar sounds. then i'll come back to it and see what i can do to perfect it.

Abstract Sound Necklace