PROGRAMME TITLE: Mindset
DIRECTOR/
CAMERA OPERATOR: Mark Kipling
DURATION: 5:00 (Approx)
FORMAT: Digital Video
AUDIO: The majority of the audio will be provided naturally by those around me in diagetic form, whilst speech will be provided by meeither whilst filming or during post production if anything is inaudible on the soundtrack. The non diagetic sounds wiull come from weird noises I am able to find during post preduction to help over exaggerate every day noises as per my interpretation of a blinds man enhanced sense of hearing.
OUTLINE OF AUDIENCE:
Hopefully everyone will be able to watch and enjoy my experimental video and get something out of it, ideally those who have never taken the time to look or think about how the world is seen through the mind of a blind person.
OUTLINE OF STORY
A man leading a perfectly normal life with no known troubles or disabilities, working a regular office job is suddenly struck down on the train in his way to work by a sudden bout of blindness. Confusion and fear strike the man in the first few minutes, as everything he knows around him is no more. With no sight and no sense of direction he pleads for help, the only indication of where he is are the congested, surreal noises around him and the blurred outlines of objects walking past.
Can he put his life in the hands of those around him, or will the indistinguishable blurry flashes, the high pitch confusing noises and lights of an unclear world get the better of the man?
CHARACTERS:
The blind man – The identity is never revealed, and seen only through first person perspective to give the audience the impression that they are the one who is blind.
Background Characters - Everyone else in the short film will be those already on the train minding their own business, in an attempt to capture sound in its rawest and most natural state.
Monday 20 October 2008
Tuesday 14 October 2008
2.1 - My Experimental Video Overview
My Experimental Overview
Name of Film: Mindset
Creator of Film: Mark Kipling
Length: Approx 5 minutes
Visual:
For my experimental film my idea revolves around a person who leads a normal life, but is somehow struck down with sudden loss of sight. To begin when the person can seen everything anyone with sight can see; trees, buildings, litter, the pavement, cats running across the chain link fence. Everything. After a while the visuals will begin to blur as their sight begins to falter, seeing only blurred lights swirling around him, until later completely blanking out into nothingness as the condition gets worse. But instead of a black abyss, the person experiences a literal hell on earth; using visuals when in blindness to represent what this persons mind is going through, locked in a state of fear and mistrust. Stuck in a life where their sight means everything.
Audio:
The audio will become a very important factor as the film progresses and his sight gets worse. Both diagetic and non-diagetic sounds will play a big part at various times. At the beginning, when the persons sight is normal, all sound will be diagetic, coming straight off the film and everyday speech. Even when he becomes blind diagetic sound will remain important as it is now the only thing he has to convince himself he is still in the land of the living, but increasing becomes his worst enemy as the sounds of the world around him start bringing up bad images as he forgets which sound belongs to what. Combining this with several highly over exaggerated, extremely odd and ideally high pitch noises which create a sense of annoyance for the viewer. One of several physical aspects to the piece to enable the viewer to get a small glimpse into the frustrations that are as a result of becoming blind.
Premise:
I’d like this film to concentrate on the first few minutes immediately after becoming blind, My interpretation, working off the ideas of fear and mistrust and how one can never look at things in the same way again both physically and mentally; developing images in their head to represent sounds, some friendly and others much more intimidating.
What do I want people to think after viewing my film?
I’d like people to go away appreciating the simple things in life and never take something like sight for granted. To think what people may go through in their minds as something they rely on so much can be taken away so quickly whether over a period of time or instantly. What they see is all based on their personality and their thoughts. To realise the feeling of being in a permanent dream, where you’re eyes never really open again to see the wonders of the world. The helplessness one must feel as they are left in the control of those they can no longer identify with, suddenly becoming your eyes.
Name of Film: Mindset
Creator of Film: Mark Kipling
Length: Approx 5 minutes
Visual:
For my experimental film my idea revolves around a person who leads a normal life, but is somehow struck down with sudden loss of sight. To begin when the person can seen everything anyone with sight can see; trees, buildings, litter, the pavement, cats running across the chain link fence. Everything. After a while the visuals will begin to blur as their sight begins to falter, seeing only blurred lights swirling around him, until later completely blanking out into nothingness as the condition gets worse. But instead of a black abyss, the person experiences a literal hell on earth; using visuals when in blindness to represent what this persons mind is going through, locked in a state of fear and mistrust. Stuck in a life where their sight means everything.
Audio:
The audio will become a very important factor as the film progresses and his sight gets worse. Both diagetic and non-diagetic sounds will play a big part at various times. At the beginning, when the persons sight is normal, all sound will be diagetic, coming straight off the film and everyday speech. Even when he becomes blind diagetic sound will remain important as it is now the only thing he has to convince himself he is still in the land of the living, but increasing becomes his worst enemy as the sounds of the world around him start bringing up bad images as he forgets which sound belongs to what. Combining this with several highly over exaggerated, extremely odd and ideally high pitch noises which create a sense of annoyance for the viewer. One of several physical aspects to the piece to enable the viewer to get a small glimpse into the frustrations that are as a result of becoming blind.
Premise:
I’d like this film to concentrate on the first few minutes immediately after becoming blind, My interpretation, working off the ideas of fear and mistrust and how one can never look at things in the same way again both physically and mentally; developing images in their head to represent sounds, some friendly and others much more intimidating.
What do I want people to think after viewing my film?
I’d like people to go away appreciating the simple things in life and never take something like sight for granted. To think what people may go through in their minds as something they rely on so much can be taken away so quickly whether over a period of time or instantly. What they see is all based on their personality and their thoughts. To realise the feeling of being in a permanent dream, where you’re eyes never really open again to see the wonders of the world. The helplessness one must feel as they are left in the control of those they can no longer identify with, suddenly becoming your eyes.
Tuesday 7 October 2008
Experimental Analysis
1. Discuss both past and current artists and works
Discuss at least three of the artists you have looked at comparing general similarities and differences between them. Not your own opinions!
Despite all three being created in different eras, ranging from the 1970s right up until 2000, all three films share a common concept; the art of lying, yet each film uses it differently; accidentally or otherwise.
Whilst it isn’t clear from the beginning what the narrator in ‘the Girl Chewing Gum’ is really doing, he uses a psychological form of lying, relying on our own stereotypes and simply believing what we’re told as long as it seems logical. Although similar, Simon Ellis uses lying in 'Telling Lies' to prove how untruthful even your closest friends can be when communicating over the phone; a point that also applies to John Smith, as you never see the man talking.
In ‘1001 Nights’ it’s down to interpretation whether you believe they are lying. At first viewing you are lead to believe these are their own experiences, using a static camera not unlike John Smith to indicate the main focus of the film, yet, if you think about the type of people talking, they could be repeating others stories or even vivid dreams
2. The use of technology and techniques and styles
How does the use of technology differ think about when they where made was the technology new then.
Koyaanisquatsi pushed boundaries in the 80s, using large helicopter aided panning shots and risking everything with a repeated soundtrack to accompany repeated images. Through a low budget and a 70s release, ‘The Girl Chewing Gum’ is disadvantaged by not having access to modern techniques; using a static camera, occasionally panning across to a cinema queue or a clock tower. ‘1001 Nights’ is another static camera shot aimed at the women speaking. The latter two concentrate more on a concept than impressing audiences, whilst Koyaanisquatsi can tell a story through varying camera angles and styles thanks in part to a much larger budget. and advanced filming techniques of the 80s period.
3. Narrative and non-narrative structures
Discuss the story line is it simple structure Begin, middle, end or is there a more complex or different structuring happening?
Neither ‘The Girl Chewing Gum’ or ‘1001 Nights’ have a clear narrative structure. 'The Girl Chewing Gum' has a brief structure by switching from a long running joke into subtly introduce unexpected stereotypes suggesting a beginning and middle, with no real indication when the film may end. ‘1001 Nights’ follows the same basic pattern throughout of women opening their eyes and speaking; their words more important than the construction of a complicated narrative which would ultimately distract the audience from the message. Koyaanisquatsi and Gisele Kerozene form a narrative structure by ending a clearly laid out storyline, or effectively repeating the beginning at the end, reminding the audience of the continuous circles we go through to achieve.
Narritive structures tend to tie up all the lose ends left dangling throughout the movie, such as Gisele Kerozene, with the chase ending and the bad witch backing down, where as those that don't tend to leave an audience thinking about the content much longer after finishing the film.
4. The use of exhibition space to create meaning. How does the exhibition space change the meaning of the work. To be done later next week.
After visiting the Tate Modern I have come to realised that the location of a piece of video can dramatically change the meaning or context of the art. Be it placed in a dark room with 5 colour filtered projectors like 'Psi Girls' by Susan Hiller or a simple video projected onto a wall, the placing of the video easily changes the reactions and thoughts taken away by the audience.
If you watched a piece like 'TH.2058' by Dominique Gonzalez in a classroom instead of its intended environment, it takes away the true meaning and emotion behind the video itself. Without the large exhibition space given to the piece, the shocking connotations of the extent of the city wide problem, and of the lonliness experienced by the people both inside the shelter and out would no longer exist, as the never ending line of Bunk beds really highlight the exclusion from the rest of civilisation.
The various film clips representing the suffering of the outside world, and how the rain and large figures have dominated London, creates an ironic message as both the inanimate objects affected by the rain and people are sheltering in the same space, making escaping your problems an impossible task.
Both 'TH.2058' and 'Psi Girls' share a common denominator; the use of context to create meaning. Whilst TH.2058 uses physical objects to create an emotional attachment to the video, 'Psi Girls' uses the expression of colour on 5 large screens each showing different clips from films involving girls with telekinetic abilities. As the clips switched screens so did the colour the clip was shown in. A red filter would give the room a red tint being as the only source of light, creating a very menacing feel to the video, whilst a green filter would make the clip seem more relaxed and stress free; thanks to all the typical connotations we associate with certain colours, despite holding the exact same content. Completely changing the context.
If taken away from the dark room into a classroom environment, the art simply would not be affective, as the 5 large screens and dark room are a vital and crucial key to the overall feel of the movie clips as the colours change.
The voluntary nature of art and both the physical and visual elements to a piece can maintain an interest in individuals who initially wouldn't have taken the time to view it.
5. How these works might inspire your own work
Talk about your own ideas and how they may have been inspired by the work that you have seen.
The two in particular that are helping inspire my experimental piece are ‘Telling Lies’ and ‘The Girl Chewing Gum’. Both pieces concentrate on lying, which, in the right circumstances can prove an extremely dangerous tool. The black screen in ‘Telling Lies’ for me creates an illusion of the unprecedented fear one must got through when they can’t see, and the unreliable stories and lies in both films makes me think how could someone possibly trust a voice with no facial identity. the use of diagetic or non diagetic sound applying heavily, especially when noise could cloud your sense of judgement when it’s all you have.
6. Audience, and audience interpretation of the work
Was the reaction different within the group? does this matter? is it important that we all have one interpretation?
It is important that different audiences have different interpretations of the same film. A certain movie can mean many different things, depending on your point of view in consideration of the subject matter.
A man from the 70’s or 80s may view koyaanisquatsi in a different light from someone born and raised in the 90’s and present day. Having witnessed and lived through achievements and turmoil of the 80s, certain aspects provoke stronger or weaker emotional reaction based on their knowledge of events. This also applies to any other film, experimental or otherwise. An audience from the 70’s may never understand the story behind ‘Telling Lies’. Due to its rapid, quick fire editing and modern lexical use, but largely down to their possible inexperience with vocally communicating a lie to someone because technology may have prohibited such events for a certain person.
For ‘The Girl Chewing Gum’, the reactions were different throughout the class. Some saw it as an attempt to abuse the right we have to control what people think, and others expressed ideas of predictability and how everything we do is so routine that a random person on the street could interpret our next move.
Discuss at least three of the artists you have looked at comparing general similarities and differences between them. Not your own opinions!
Despite all three being created in different eras, ranging from the 1970s right up until 2000, all three films share a common concept; the art of lying, yet each film uses it differently; accidentally or otherwise.
Whilst it isn’t clear from the beginning what the narrator in ‘the Girl Chewing Gum’ is really doing, he uses a psychological form of lying, relying on our own stereotypes and simply believing what we’re told as long as it seems logical. Although similar, Simon Ellis uses lying in 'Telling Lies' to prove how untruthful even your closest friends can be when communicating over the phone; a point that also applies to John Smith, as you never see the man talking.
In ‘1001 Nights’ it’s down to interpretation whether you believe they are lying. At first viewing you are lead to believe these are their own experiences, using a static camera not unlike John Smith to indicate the main focus of the film, yet, if you think about the type of people talking, they could be repeating others stories or even vivid dreams
2. The use of technology and techniques and styles
How does the use of technology differ think about when they where made was the technology new then.
Koyaanisquatsi pushed boundaries in the 80s, using large helicopter aided panning shots and risking everything with a repeated soundtrack to accompany repeated images. Through a low budget and a 70s release, ‘The Girl Chewing Gum’ is disadvantaged by not having access to modern techniques; using a static camera, occasionally panning across to a cinema queue or a clock tower. ‘1001 Nights’ is another static camera shot aimed at the women speaking. The latter two concentrate more on a concept than impressing audiences, whilst Koyaanisquatsi can tell a story through varying camera angles and styles thanks in part to a much larger budget. and advanced filming techniques of the 80s period.
3. Narrative and non-narrative structures
Discuss the story line is it simple structure Begin, middle, end or is there a more complex or different structuring happening?
Neither ‘The Girl Chewing Gum’ or ‘1001 Nights’ have a clear narrative structure. 'The Girl Chewing Gum' has a brief structure by switching from a long running joke into subtly introduce unexpected stereotypes suggesting a beginning and middle, with no real indication when the film may end. ‘1001 Nights’ follows the same basic pattern throughout of women opening their eyes and speaking; their words more important than the construction of a complicated narrative which would ultimately distract the audience from the message. Koyaanisquatsi and Gisele Kerozene form a narrative structure by ending a clearly laid out storyline, or effectively repeating the beginning at the end, reminding the audience of the continuous circles we go through to achieve.
Narritive structures tend to tie up all the lose ends left dangling throughout the movie, such as Gisele Kerozene, with the chase ending and the bad witch backing down, where as those that don't tend to leave an audience thinking about the content much longer after finishing the film.
4. The use of exhibition space to create meaning. How does the exhibition space change the meaning of the work. To be done later next week.
After visiting the Tate Modern I have come to realised that the location of a piece of video can dramatically change the meaning or context of the art. Be it placed in a dark room with 5 colour filtered projectors like 'Psi Girls' by Susan Hiller or a simple video projected onto a wall, the placing of the video easily changes the reactions and thoughts taken away by the audience.
If you watched a piece like 'TH.2058' by Dominique Gonzalez in a classroom instead of its intended environment, it takes away the true meaning and emotion behind the video itself. Without the large exhibition space given to the piece, the shocking connotations of the extent of the city wide problem, and of the lonliness experienced by the people both inside the shelter and out would no longer exist, as the never ending line of Bunk beds really highlight the exclusion from the rest of civilisation.
The various film clips representing the suffering of the outside world, and how the rain and large figures have dominated London, creates an ironic message as both the inanimate objects affected by the rain and people are sheltering in the same space, making escaping your problems an impossible task.
Both 'TH.2058' and 'Psi Girls' share a common denominator; the use of context to create meaning. Whilst TH.2058 uses physical objects to create an emotional attachment to the video, 'Psi Girls' uses the expression of colour on 5 large screens each showing different clips from films involving girls with telekinetic abilities. As the clips switched screens so did the colour the clip was shown in. A red filter would give the room a red tint being as the only source of light, creating a very menacing feel to the video, whilst a green filter would make the clip seem more relaxed and stress free; thanks to all the typical connotations we associate with certain colours, despite holding the exact same content. Completely changing the context.
If taken away from the dark room into a classroom environment, the art simply would not be affective, as the 5 large screens and dark room are a vital and crucial key to the overall feel of the movie clips as the colours change.
The voluntary nature of art and both the physical and visual elements to a piece can maintain an interest in individuals who initially wouldn't have taken the time to view it.
5. How these works might inspire your own work
Talk about your own ideas and how they may have been inspired by the work that you have seen.
The two in particular that are helping inspire my experimental piece are ‘Telling Lies’ and ‘The Girl Chewing Gum’. Both pieces concentrate on lying, which, in the right circumstances can prove an extremely dangerous tool. The black screen in ‘Telling Lies’ for me creates an illusion of the unprecedented fear one must got through when they can’t see, and the unreliable stories and lies in both films makes me think how could someone possibly trust a voice with no facial identity. the use of diagetic or non diagetic sound applying heavily, especially when noise could cloud your sense of judgement when it’s all you have.
6. Audience, and audience interpretation of the work
Was the reaction different within the group? does this matter? is it important that we all have one interpretation?
It is important that different audiences have different interpretations of the same film. A certain movie can mean many different things, depending on your point of view in consideration of the subject matter.
A man from the 70’s or 80s may view koyaanisquatsi in a different light from someone born and raised in the 90’s and present day. Having witnessed and lived through achievements and turmoil of the 80s, certain aspects provoke stronger or weaker emotional reaction based on their knowledge of events. This also applies to any other film, experimental or otherwise. An audience from the 70’s may never understand the story behind ‘Telling Lies’. Due to its rapid, quick fire editing and modern lexical use, but largely down to their possible inexperience with vocally communicating a lie to someone because technology may have prohibited such events for a certain person.
For ‘The Girl Chewing Gum’, the reactions were different throughout the class. Some saw it as an attempt to abuse the right we have to control what people think, and others expressed ideas of predictability and how everything we do is so routine that a random person on the street could interpret our next move.
Friday 3 October 2008
The 3 C's
Craft- Craft is a certain skill required to achieve something.
Concept- A concept is the reason behind the making.
Context- When a phrase is taken out of context, it is taken from its original sentence of meaning and used to create a whole new meaning which can be either good or bad.
Concept- A concept is the reason behind the making.
Context- When a phrase is taken out of context, it is taken from its original sentence of meaning and used to create a whole new meaning which can be either good or bad.
Thursday 2 October 2008
Experimental Film Reviews 2
Name of Film: Telling Lies
Name of Creator: Simon Ellis
Duration: 4.00
The premise to this short film is to show that everybody lies and how easy it can be to lie, especially when it isn't face to face. The film doesn't use physical actors, merely their diagetic voices. Presented with a black screen, the non-diagetic sounds of the phone dialling tone, tell you these conversations are taking place over the phone. On screen, the words pop up in time to them being said, only on occassion the words on screen differ from those being spoken; flashing or getting bigger or smaller as the volume or intensity of the conversation changes. The text tells the truth, representing the persons mind and telling the audience what really happened, whilst the physical voices lie, demonstrating the unconcious decisions we make every day about written text being more official than our own spoken word, purely because we assume when something is written, it's final.
Telling Lies
Name of Film: The Girl Chewing Gum
Creator of Film: John Smith
Duration: 9.00
Within the 9.00 minutes not a whole lot really happens, but what does happen aims to intrigue and make you think. One moment you think you understand what's going on, and half way through it twists and throws everything you believed right out of the window.
The short film is in black and white, filmed in a continuous shot placed on a seemingly random street in 70's London; ocassionally panning around to view a cinema queue beside the camera. As people begin walking in the street a voice is heard, predicting everyones movements as if he were the director of a film. Soon enough small details in his descriptions become far too accurate for a real director. So maybe you start to think he's simply non diagetically narrating a recorded piece to seem diagetic. Even once the joke's up he still continues to narrate, going into excrusiating detail over the buildings, and at times making things up and assuming certain characteristics about people based on stereotypes. One point in particular involves an alarm that has been going off in the background the entire time, but not until it's been taken completely out of context do you notice it and instantly change your views on those walking past.
the film plays on the idea of control, appearing to have a strong influences from George Orwell's book '1984'. Questioning what we believe to be happening and when it may be taking place. Frequently messing with both the audio and the visuals on several occasions, makes for a bizarre and oddly facsinating piece of film.
The Girl Chewing Gum
Name of Creator: Simon Ellis
Duration: 4.00
The premise to this short film is to show that everybody lies and how easy it can be to lie, especially when it isn't face to face. The film doesn't use physical actors, merely their diagetic voices. Presented with a black screen, the non-diagetic sounds of the phone dialling tone, tell you these conversations are taking place over the phone. On screen, the words pop up in time to them being said, only on occassion the words on screen differ from those being spoken; flashing or getting bigger or smaller as the volume or intensity of the conversation changes. The text tells the truth, representing the persons mind and telling the audience what really happened, whilst the physical voices lie, demonstrating the unconcious decisions we make every day about written text being more official than our own spoken word, purely because we assume when something is written, it's final.
Telling LiesName of Film: The Girl Chewing Gum
Creator of Film: John Smith
Duration: 9.00
Within the 9.00 minutes not a whole lot really happens, but what does happen aims to intrigue and make you think. One moment you think you understand what's going on, and half way through it twists and throws everything you believed right out of the window.
The short film is in black and white, filmed in a continuous shot placed on a seemingly random street in 70's London; ocassionally panning around to view a cinema queue beside the camera. As people begin walking in the street a voice is heard, predicting everyones movements as if he were the director of a film. Soon enough small details in his descriptions become far too accurate for a real director. So maybe you start to think he's simply non diagetically narrating a recorded piece to seem diagetic. Even once the joke's up he still continues to narrate, going into excrusiating detail over the buildings, and at times making things up and assuming certain characteristics about people based on stereotypes. One point in particular involves an alarm that has been going off in the background the entire time, but not until it's been taken completely out of context do you notice it and instantly change your views on those walking past.
the film plays on the idea of control, appearing to have a strong influences from George Orwell's book '1984'. Questioning what we believe to be happening and when it may be taking place. Frequently messing with both the audio and the visuals on several occasions, makes for a bizarre and oddly facsinating piece of film.
The Girl Chewing Gum
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