Revising to make more professional!!!
C U Soon ;)
On the other hand, while the other piece was quite a bit of effort, this one was one of the most effortless pieces I've ever done. I felt inspired the entire time, and all of the shots were quick and easy... It was such a meditative space for me, and the result was something that was very honest and real. Not everyone understood what I was saying with the piece, but those who did REALLY did.
I had done a horrible edit for the previous quarter. The movie was basically tossed aside as a mess. I was proud of it but looking back the edit is hilariously bad. I knew I had hit some money shots with the silver body work. The foot in the shell (which I used in the final edit) was a graceful, suspenseful shot, but it was not a well lit or well constructed, and I would still like to redo it. No one really minded these issues during this second round of viewings, but I still am bothered by the shadow, tonal quality, etc.
To redo the edit, I decided I would have to add in further footage to tie the scenes together. On one hand, I had this silver girl submerging and rolling in a "silver sea," and on the other I had a foot descending into a shell in a completely blank, undefined space. I decided that what I would have to do is trace the motion of ocean in silver. Again, another incredibly easy, peaceful shoot and I threw the edit together to show at the 400 show.
When the edit was first shown (in the back hallway), I got amazing criticism from my peers and teachers, and from Eunsu in particular. Eunsu watched it and she said honestly that while the images were good, the edit was very poor and basically made no sense. If I were in sound class, I would have only made the sounds by now, not the composition. This stung in a good way- I had gotten lost in visual expression and was snapped back into the purpose of editing. She reminded me that visuals need space and breathing room and tempo changes and climaxes. I went home that night and re-editted, being mindful of breathing room, slowing things down. I also took out all the shots with the man. He was an unnecessary addition, that without a more complex and careful narrative, didn't have enough justification.
Shawn approached me the next day and told me that while I had some of the prettiest footage, my edit was absolutely dismal and I would have to meet with him ASAP. However, when I showed him the new edit with Eunsu's advice, he was surprised and pleased. Eunsu had clearly provoked me into a breakthrough in understanding video editing, and the new edit was nearly perfect. He recommended that I only take out the full face shots at the end, which I agreed with (it was excessive) and I did so for the Henry showing.
Another thing added after the 400 show for the Henry showing was sound. I wanted the sound to just be intense and excessive. I felt the images were so in your face that the sound should have a similar quality. I wanted it to border on meditative and overwhelming. I chose general rushing noises for the ocean bubbles, the cracks of boiling water for the hair, and the sound of the ocean for the white space. I had the sound disappear when the girl sucks in the silver. In my opinion, all the senses were mingling in this piece... it was about a different kind of sensory experience- feeling your way into a new space, almost synesthetically... losing senses and finding new ones.
Again, I did not have sound for the 400 show. I think that the piece suffered due to this. A lot of people asked me if the sound wasn't working, as they expected it and it seemed (and was) unfinished to due this. This was again, due to lack of time. The other piece took up more time than I expected and I did all that I could with the time I had.
As for the final location of the showing during the 400 show, I thought it was a great space for it. I covered the windows to darken it up, but for this piece the larger the screen the better, and it was wonderful that it had a separate, quiet space in which to be viewed (as the piece is very meditative). The only real problem is that this piece is a narrative... it is not specifically an installation piece, and there was no way to expect that people would begin watching it at the start of the piece and stay until the finish.
Finally, as far as the piece- of-course some people didn't like it or get it. The symbols didn't work for some people and that is due to the combination of my immaturity as an artist (I'm sure I could have been more specific with my content) and the simple fact of taste.
I still think the sound needs minor adjustments and again, I would love to redo the foot shot or reinforce it somehow (perhaps via compositing it over itself) and eliminate the shadow if not even alter the white space altogether. I am torn about whether the white space is helpful or detracting- it is of such a different nature than the darker shots and I can't decide if the contrast works or is distracting. However, other than that, i feel the final piece (at the Henry) was, in my mind, successful. It was very well received at the Henry show by peers and faculty, and I couldn't have perfected as much as I did without having had so much helpful feedback during the 400 showing.
This was an impromptu project about which I still haven't fully processed my feelings.
I sought to do something simple, fun and indirect. I had a lot of ideas but I ultimately went with one and saw it through despite numerous difficulties. Unfortunately, my vision of a simple project and process was somewhat misguided!
Regarding the concept, as Anna was, I was inspired by the issue of comfort and relaxation. I wanted the user to have his or her entire body utilized in the experience of the piece. However, I wanted to force the user to reflect less superficially about the act of relaxing and disengaging. To do this, I planned to metaphorically transform the space of relaxation by "hovering" an alarming video above the relaxation space. This video was of a tarantula, and a pair of crickets who lead out their life dramas underneath the legs of the their hunter. This not only made the viewer uncomfortable as a spectator, but it reminded the viewer of the constant threat and reality of mortality. I believe that this clear reminder that time is limited further colors the relaxation act. The response is up to the viewer, but the implication is clear- he or she is relaxing while time continues to pass by, irretrievable.
Specifically regarding the net, while it is true that the tarantula does not create a net, the implication of the mythological spider remains despite technicality. And, as for this specific spider, she wraps up and preserve her prey in a net like substance which is arguably closer to the experience of the hammock.
Two other goals of doing this piece were to dip my toes into dealing with how the viewer experiences the piece and dealing with physical objects. I have done live sound work and plenty of cinematic video work, but I had not yet done any type of video installation piece or a piece that includes an actual large object. I did not have experience at the time with max msp or jitter, so I dealt with it in a more "old-fashioned" way, considering location of viewer and object.
As for the video element, it was hard for me to not want to create a direct narrative. I definitely had a narrative with the relationships of the crickets to each other and the spider, but that was about it. The work of the piece, again, did not occur in the edit but in the experience as a whole and ideally in the mind of the viewer. Letting go of this control was difficult for me... I am constantly told to do less in video class but I admit I enjoy excess in my art and have to force myself to stop.
That said, the work I put into the construction, not entirely planned for, made it difficult to put as much work into the video element and concept as originally planned. The video shoot was very quick (and fun), and I am not unhappy with the visual quality and feel of the piece, but I would have liked to put more attention into the edit and the sound and subtly reinforcing the concept.
Finally, I also try to keep one foot in reality, and with the real audience for the work. I have a lot of "art" and other friends outside of the dxarts community, and I know about the general reception about the lack of humor or humility in the dxarts shows. I was hoping that I could engage on a different level. Though not entirely satisfied with my piece, I know from a lot of the feedback that I received that in many ways I was successful with this.
As previously stated, I wanted to do something simple. I wanted most of the action to occur in the mind of the viewer rather than hitting the point with a sledgehammer. I do have evidence that the people who actually engaged (with trust) with the piece easily understood and appreciated the dark humor of my work. I saw many people spending time in the hammock, and I enjoyed seeing their laughter and subsequent discussion. I also noticed that not many people were not as willing to take time with the piece, let alone lie in the hammock. I found this interesting... the piece was about vulnerability, and I wondered whether or not it made people, suspended, feel too vulnerable. I know that my piece was not appreciated by all- even I felt very disappointed with elements of the final product. I know that many people were disappointed with the last minute nature and the appearance of the piece (again, including me). The size was not appreciated (obviously) but again, the final destination was in the hall.
There were many things that would have helped the piece to be more successful. Among, it would have been nice to have the piece take place in the dark (impossible due to final location) or enclosing it (Eunsu asked me to keep it open to as it served as a connection between spaces). To me it felt a little too open- the TV a little too high- to be appropriately claustrophobic or immediately engaging. It was frustrating to see some viewers walk by, peek up at the TV, and move on without physically engaging with the piece or letting it work though time (it is most definitely a time-based piece). Anna's piece was successful in forcing people to actually physically engage with her piece due to the low height of her screen.
A reason that it was constructed this way is there was no way for the hammock to be hung without an additional structure. Therefore, we planned the structure on the same day as building, and this was a not ideal. It ended up larger than anticipated, with less time for attention to the rest of the elements (video, sound, enclosure) than preferable. The piece was constructed to be easily moveable, and its final resting place was in the hallway as expected, but it would have been nice if the piece was built more for the specific space. Also, I definitely learned a lot about gallery dynamics... it was a true learning experience for me and I realized that some of my actions were disrespectful and I will be extra careful to be respectful in the future.
One other issue worth noting is people aren't used to wood. Wood makes sound, wood is flexible and warped. I did a lot to hide the nature of the wood, but should have been more careful about not letting the warped parts look like they were bending due to any other reason (ie the weight of the TV).
More discussion to be added later!
Thank you
Cody Groom
Ellis Johnson
Peter Daniell
Sam Eggertsen