#image and time

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Sound Project - Three Foley Examples

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Escape animation

almost finished - about 60 hours put in at this point

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La Jetee Analysis

The film La Jetee is a post-apocalyptic science fiction movie about a man who is sent back in time in an attempt to save the world, and ends up being killed as a younger version of himself watches him die.

One thing I liked about the film was how it used stills instead of moving image. It made it so that each still was a very specific picture, instead of constantly moving in a million different frames that happen through the film. It made you look harder at what was in each frame because it stayed still for longer.

Another thing I liked was how it is a complicated and confusing storyline which is hard to follow. It makes you think harder about what is happening and what everything means. It also does a good job of leading up to the surprise twist at the end, that he is the man who he saw die when he was younger.

Sometimes the mood was dark and fearful, for instance when the narrator was telling about how the world didn’t have much hope, how people were being subjected to tests that made them go insane or die, and how the main character was going to be used in these tests. This mood was emphasized by extreme dark contrast, which made it very dramatic and spooky, and the anxiety and suspense was continued and increased as he was tested on by the sound of a heart beat getting louder and louder.

Other times the mood was pleasant and sweet, like when he was sent into the past and had formed a relationship with the girl. These romantic scenes were emphasized by soft, happy sunlight on their faces and pretty, slow and high-pitched orchestrated music being played. 

Some of my favorite stills in the movie are of the doctor who does the experiments on people. I like these shots because they convey the emotion so well. With their super high contrast, black backgrounds with mysterious shapes, creepy glasses, and spooky shadows cast over his face, they really create a very creepy, ominous feeling.

My other favorite shot is this one of the girl in bed. It is one of my favorites because it is the only shot in the film that moves, and it is so subtle that among all the still frames, you almost don’t even notice that it’s any different.

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Unit 2 Reflection

In Unit 2, one big thing I learned is how to stick with a theme and work with it in a lot of different ways. It gives you something to work with to inspire more art, makes you think creatively and look at things in different ways and from different viewpoints, and also creates a unity and connection throughout your works of art. 

The biggest challenge in this unit has been making this animation for the final project, just because it is so incredibly time consuming. I spent hours and hours and hours in the animation lab drawing frames, and yet it’s only reached a little over four seconds long. The result feels a little underwhelming in a way. I know how much work I put in, and I can see it in the animation because I know how it got there, but it seems so small and insignificant just because it only lasts a few seconds. I do intend to continue the project though, and post it here again after the break, hopefully with all the phases done then.

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Cindy Sherman Storyboard

(I realize they don’t look perfectly alike in different photos, but all the stills with dark hair are Girl 1 and all the blonde stills are Girl 2. I will name them Lily and Brooke.)

A story about a lesbian couple. Lily is primping herself and doing stuff in the kitchen while Brooke is on her way home. Brooke comes in and seduces Lily. The end.

Frame 1: (over-the-shoulder shot)  Introduces Lily and shows her primping herself, which may imply that she’s looking forward to seeing someone.

Frame 2: (wide shot) Shows Brooke walking home.

Frame 3: (medium shot) Lily has finished primping and moved on to doing housework in the kitchen, which shows that time has passed. 

Frame 4: (wide shot) Shows that Brooke is still walking home

Frame 5: (wide shot) Brooke reached home and entered her house.

Frame 6: (wide shot) Lily gets up in response to Brooke’s arrival. This shows that she is eager to see Brooke.

Frame 7: (medium close-up shot) Brooke is in the kitchen with Lily, making bedroom eyes and being sexy.

Frame 8: (over-the-shoulder shot) Brooke is in the mirror, readying herself for bed stuff with Lily.

Frame 9: (high-angle shot) Lily is in bed, waiting for Brooke to join her.

Frame 10: (medium shot) Brooke is taking off her clothes for Lily.

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Storyboard Sketches - Escape Animation

8 Sections: (7 phases & 8th section which shows that it’s a cycle.)

Opening Trap Confinement Isolation Manipulation Cooperation Escape Cycle

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Unit 1 Reflection

Unit one trained me to pay more specific attention to the formal elements in the world around me. As a photographer, I already did notice that in a way, but I always just kind of did so subconsciously, and never focused on it with this level of full intent. 

I did encounter frustrations. In the past I’ve mostly focused on photography of of people, and in this unit I had to try to branch out and capture images of the environment instead. While I do mostly intend to keep my photography focused on people (because that is what I enjoy most and seem to be best at), I think that this unit may likely help to strengthen my work. I have been told a few times that in my photography I could stand to make a stronger connection between the subject and their environment, so this focus on the environment may help with that. 

The focus on environment has also helped me in my film-making. For one thing, while photography is told in a single still which may contain whatever you want, in film it is more important to be able to portray images solely focused on environment sometimes. Also, I think I successfully made an experimental video piece with focus on environment, and without the focus Unit 1 put on finding form and design in the environment, I may not have successfully portrayed my surroundings in such a way to express my experience.

I am proud of my success in creating a effortful piece completely by my own ideas and direction. Usually when I make art with a strong concept or planning behind it, it is because I had guidelines, or a prompt, or a topic to start me off. This project was left very open in terms of what the product could be, so what to make of it was all my own idea. It was also the first video I’ve ever made with full artistic direction (the second video I’ve filmed ever).

In the next unit, I would like to improve on doing my best to put my own personal style and utmost effort into the work to make it as personalized to myself and high quality as I can, to make it really feel like it’s my art work, instead of just an exercise for an assignment. I did that well with the final project, but not really with most of the other unit 1 projects. Hopefully I will do more of that in unit 2.

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My goal in creating this project was to artistically portray the surroundings of the city through the lens of schizophrenia, particularly the symptoms of psychosis, dissociation, and disorganized thought. I tried to express the experience of schizophrenic episodes in visuals, conveying the way the senses and mind function through images and movement. My inspiration for this piece comes from my experience with schizophrenia, and how in working on coming to terms with it I’ve decided to be open about it and express and explore it in my artwork.

Formally, the elements and principles I focused on are color, space, movement, and even though it isn’t technically an element or principle, juxtaposition.

While in a few shots color is used moderately, in most of the piece there is either a complete lack of color or intensely bright or vivid colors. To me, the black and white bits express flat affect, while the bright colors express an emotionally charged kind of detached confusion.

With space, I tried to create an overwhelmingness, and to exhibit the surroundings sometimes as distant and other times as claustrophobic.

I used a lot of variation and unconventional decisions in terms of movement. The camera is very rarely steady, because, to put it simply, the mind, the senses, the human, is not steady. Nothing feels steady. The footage does vary within the realm of unstillness, though. At times it is slow, simple, just a little wobbly, to convey a mere unsteadiness. Other times it’s wildly erratic, expressing overwhelm, panic, franticness. It’s often blurry, showing incoherence. There is also a frequent use of speeding up clips, to give them a very unstable and anxious feel.

As for juxtaposition, I used the concept in various ways. I juxtaposed images by using multiple frames at a time in some parts, contrasting them between color vs greyscale, lots of movement vs very little movement, organic vs geometric, or just difference in where they set your mind. Other times when I used multiple frames, I used similar images, or once even the same image mirrored, for repetition. I also juxtaposed pieces of footage by placing them one after the other, comparing and contrasting some of the same things, and other things too: color vs greyscale, calm movement vs erratic movement, difference in color, difference in feeling, etc. Increasingly towards the end, I did quite a bit of juxtaposing my own footage with appropriated black and white footage from retro horror movies. One thing this does is show two sides of the situation, and separate them in concept while combining them in situation. For instance, the images I shot show a lot of disorientation and instability, and the way they are alternated with the old horror clips places the fear and anxiety and franticness into them; while alternately, the disorientating quality of my footage along with the difference and unexpectedness from the old horror clips, lends the sense of disorientation into the horror bits as well.