Final Thoughts On Class...

I really enjoyed this class and have really learned a lot.  I enjoyed working with the programs and their alternate filters.  I began thinking of media in alternate methods such as time, the process of creating a video and sound, the target audience, as well as the purpose.  Although I looked at these distinct methods for other classes and projects, I had never really applied it to the realm of film (at least not intentionally).  Prior to this class, I just viewed videos just for what they were.  I critiqued other videos based upon my own preferences, but now I look at them in another light.  Maybe that was lazy or maybe it was something else, but this class really extended my perception on videos and sounds.  I, nonetheless, wish I was able to have taken more time with the programs just to have further broaden my understanding of them.  I loved this class and wished I was taking another.  For my last class in digital art I will leave with all of my expectations being exceeded!  Thank you for the experience. 

Project 4: Ambient Love

I hope you all enjoy.  I am really excited about this project because it allowed me to explore Final Cut that much more.  I also enjoyed attempting to give ambient sounds a little more life. I really wanted to attempt to give the idea of ambient noise a twist.  When I began the project I wanted people to think...what would you do if you found that your appliances a were able to speak and communicate with one another?  So, I attempted to do that.  I loved the outcome, however considering the time crunch, I would attempt to clean up some of the transitions.  I also would like to have another source of music that fit the sequence a little better.  Also, the quality of the video was a little off.  I nonetheless learned a lot from this last project and know that if there were an additional project I could perhaps have fixed all the loose ends.  I hope that you enjoy the video nonetheless!!! :)

Final Project Proposal

I propose in this project that I will be able to animate inanimate objects.  I will be able to to explore the ability to use distinct forms of imaging to create a project that portrays a simple yet visually appealing storyline that will captivate any audience. This project will explore a love story between a toaster and a blender, through the use of animation, within our realm of reality.  I will begin the project within a kitchen space that appears relatively "normal" to the viewer. The intro will have been staged with me or another individual appearing to be in a hurry to finish cleaning the kitchen and leaving in a hurry.  Then the camera will zoom in on the toaster and the blender moving towards one another.  Then it will transition into an animated image of the toaster and the blender "going off into the sunset" with one another.  However, their love story is cut short by the previous individual that was in the shot.  By enabling me to complete this project, I will be strengthening my capabilities with the software (Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro, Photoshop, etc), while completing my finale project with pleasure and enjoyment. 

Assesment Project 3

I had the most fun with this project.  I loved creating the cutouts and exploring the medium.  Working with Final Cut Pro was really interesting and definitely a learning experience.   Obviously it is based on the nursery rhyme, but this has so many other implications that the viewer has to consider.  This is the other side of the spectrum for the nursery rhyme. I would definitely slow down the pacing of the images or perhaps changing the speed of turning the pages.  The lighting is a problem, but I am happy with the outcome of the project. 

Project Three: Yo Diddle

Project 2

.................He is Here...............

Assesment of Second Project

I really liked the feedback that I received yesterday and it has really made me think about what I can change about my project.  I agree that there is a lack of timing in the piece and I will attempt to change that.  I wonder though, in a state of mind like this should there be a consistency of time?  If the time is completely on point, will it make it too "real" for the audience?  Also, the sound piece comment about altering it would make a distinct impact, but would it be one statement?  Should it be in improper English?  I am satisfied with the project, but the comments were great!

Project three research

I was so excited about this project that I reviewed all of the videos and have been really interested in creating as technical, but there is nearly not enough time for me to learn all the mediums to create something.  Anyways.....

Lotte Reiniger's
 "The Adventures of Prince Achmed"
1926
This was beautifully crafted and critically thought out.  Who knew that animated silhouettes could look so beautiful?  The story line was linear.  As a viewer I found myself asking a lot of questions, such as:  What are these creatures?  Why are they bathing?  Who is the guy in the bushes?  Why is he attempting to hide?  Although I could not understand the lettering in this film, I was completely in sync with the piece.  The music provided a soft mellow feeling that escalated when there was an intense scenes, such as the one where the man is found in the bushes.  The blue color created that lake or pond like feeling.  The audience I feel was anyone who was willing to view a piece that transcends the ages due to its ability to create a fairy tale like feel with mystical creatures.  Magnificent!!!

Project One Assessment

With the process of grieving, whether it be of the loss of a loved one or a trauma that an individual encounters, the first step in overcoming the trauma is to relive and accept the circumstances.  With this project, the first trauma that I could think of and that one out of three women in America face a year is rape.     In hopes of creating an outlet for those who have been raped or abused I created this piece to sort of push the envelope and place the trauma in the eyes of not only those whom it may have  occurred to but the public as well.  I did this intentionally because of our societies inability to confront something such as rape that occurs on a daily basis.
While in class, I feel that I achieved my intentions and the reactions that I was looking for.  I knew that the audience would be unable to hear something that often happens behind closed doors or out of sight in their presence and them not have the ability to alter the course of the abuser.  Their is definitely a sense of hopelessness, but the question is whether the hopelessness is of the abused or the audience due to their inability to respond and react verses shut down.  We as a society are able to view other abuse occur in media and in everyday life, but when the abuse is to the extreme we do nothing but turn away and avoid whatever is occurring.  That to me is troubling, but I am still in a place where I too have to question that.  

Fourth Blog

The Old Negro Space Program
Andy Bobrow
2003

Um....I don't know where to begin with this one.  This short parody was made n 2003 to mock the Ken Burns film of the Negro National Leagues.  The narrator starts with a mellow dramatic voice speaking about the racist times of the south within the time of 1956-57.  The narrator starts with announcing the beginning of the the NASSA (The Negro American Space Society of Astronauts) due to his want to start a relationship with a female.  Then it goes on about the use of racism within America to keep the NASSA program from gaining publicity as well as the involvement from the media.  The progression of the piece was in a linear fashion that was mostly based off of "first-person" experience.  The pictures illuminated a sense of the time and really enlightened the viewer of where and when they were being directed in time.  Personally, I love to hear about events that have been progressive for the African American society and was highly disappointed by hearing this and watching it.  The pictures and the use of material from the past as well as "reputable historians" gave it an air of truth.  However, the title clearly implies spoof and the other use of material used to create a sense of humor were personally distasteful and reminiscent of the idea of white supremacy.  To top it all off when I was searching the web to find out additional information as well as intent of the piece, the number one google link was to a White Power World Wide page.  This piece is disturbing.  Although I can see how it enables to view to also realize that they cannot always believe what they see or hear.

Between you and me
Patryk Rebisz
2005

On a lighter note, this film is a short film that appears to be about a chance encounter.  This film is shot in  mainly pictures using what I would assume is a cameras fast capture mode.  I like this film, although as a viewer I was wondering when the action was going to happen or what the purpose of the film was began to understand it when the male that it started with was the finder of the camera that was lost by a near rape victim.  Once I saw that the entire piece made sense to me and I was in love with it.  Every instance is a moment in time and when the moment is seized to take action then the outcomes can lead to extraordinary things.  The additional sound that was added was really interesting and added to the mood of the piece I was cued into the individuals emotions on a minimal level that still enabled me to understand what was going on in the situation.

Project One: He is Here

Third Blog:Missed Class-Sound Samplings

DAVID BRYNE/BRIAN

ENO: MY LIFE IN THE BUSH OF GHOSTS ALBUM
AMERICA IS WAITING, 1

986

This piece was really interesting.  There appears to be a sound sampling of eighty styles rap music with small inclusions of someone stating America is waiting throughout the clip.  Then there is an inclusion of other styles of music within the clip followed by someone stating Taking it again.  This continues throughout the entire clip.  It is interesting that they used the sound samplings to implicate something specific to the sounds.  Each sound appears to be of different styles of music with the sound of an individual hinting at the longing of America for something new, unlike the seemingly lack of will within the current material.  

EMERGENCY BROADCAST NETWORK, 1995
FROM THE ALBUM, TELECOMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN

This was humorous to me in so many ways.  The use of popular imagery such as the musical artist, actors, news, and other sources was really interesting.  The sound samplings were specific to one purpose of illustrating alarm and  forceful and harmful language and actions and at times weapons.  It was really interesting, I felt il lat ease with the materials used and I believe the purpose of it was to cause that emotion so that the individual watching can become aware of the subliminal methods used by media to portray messages that are forceful in their own way.  

Week Two: UbuWeb Sound

Taylor Dupree
Live in Madrid
May 25, 2005

Recorded live in Madrid, Spain, the artist has focused on using a minimalist approach.  Taylor appears to be playing specific tunes on a piano to a live audience.  As he is playing, there is a faint sound in the background of the audience often times heard coughing, sniffling, or at times making sudden movements.  There is a bit of static in the background, but I believe he intends to do it to invoke his surroundings to the listener.  Although there are mellow tunes being played, his minimalist approach allows for the listener to create their own melody.  While I was listening to it I began to create a storyline in my mind as to what he was attempting to invoke with the sounds.  I found that it was a tense feeling, one of despair that I had trouble making sense of.  To a friend who I shared the piece with he said "It sounds like a piece from a horror movie."  I was intrigued, the more the artist added to the melody, the more I was intrigued to hear.  I was the audience and he was the orchestrator of the piece.  Although horrified by the sound I was in tuned to wanting and expecting more from him. However intense the feeling became, the more I listened.  And then I had it!  The artist is attempting to captivate the place in our mind that keeps us (the viewer) from watching and waiting.  A very human instinct that we ourselves question at times.


Allen Ginsberg
Vajra Mantra
April 15, 1972

Unlike the piece above, the artist has incorporated the tune of a mantra within a melodic rhythm.  Although I have no clue what the speaker is saying, it appears as though he may either be giving praise (mantra) to what I would assume is God.  It is a very intense and drawn out clip of what appears to be the same sentence repeated.  When I looked up the definition of vajra it states that it's meaning comes from a Sanskrit meaning either Thunderbolt or Diamond.  Mantra straight from Wiki states "syllable, word, or group of words that are considered capable of "creating transformation" (cf. spiritual transformation).^[1] Their use and type varies according to the school and philosophy associated with the mantra."  From the recording the vocalist appears to have strong and a rhythmic feel-like a thunderbolt.  However, it is also captivating and beautiful like a diamond.  Perhaps with this sound, the artist is attempting to invoke the beauty that is found within praise towards otherly worlds or even beings. 

First Post

The American Life 109: Notes on Camp
Originally aired August 28, 1998
By:  WBEZ Ira Glass

This piece is about bridging the gap between campers and those who have not attended camp.  The piece  primarily focuses on one camp in Michigan, however often goes to other individuals experiences within their own camps.  The narrator structures the broad cast in a light and airy voice that plays off the broadcaster like style of the clip.  He begins the broadcast with a small prologue, transitioning from one sequence of the airing with a harmonica that often plays a tune similar to the emotion of the last scene.  As a listener you become aware of the transitions as soon as you hear the melody of the harmonica playing in the background.  After the prologue, he then begins to create a sense the atmosphere of the camp by beginning with the "Mr. Popular" whose persona demonstrates the familial like atmosphere that the councilors create for the campers.  He then transitions into the specific routines that involved at a camp that many children take part of and enjoy.He does this in a way to sort of illustrate to the listener the manner in which this fun loving community really allows for children to let go of all of the inhibitions and constraints caused by daily suburban life.  He allows us to enter the intimate bubble of camp life.  I believe it is through his soothing and calm voice along with his descriptive illustrations of each sequence.  There are no special effects the material appears in its rawest form.  You hear the chirping of the birds, the crackling of the fire wood, the chants of the campers so clearly that you fell as if you were in the same room.  Then he does something so marvelous-that I am really enthused that he did-he invited the outside world in to tell their camp stories.  Stories that are so personal that I am at times brought to tears because of the sincerity and openness of the individual sharing their stories.

Janet Cardiff
Audio walks (Curated by Tom Eccles for the Public Art Fund (June 17 – September 13).
Dreams: Telephone series (2008-2010)
Monica Biagioli


Janet Cardiff is a Canadian Instillation artist who received notoriety for her Audio walks.  Her audio walks, originally done in London allow for the listener to walk through the streets of London through the guide of Janet with a set of headphones.  As I was listening, I was not aware of the location of where it took place in however was able to partake in the walk within my imagination because of her directions.  I could imagine taking a walk down a street with the sound of footsteps being made in the background.  I felt the hustle and bustle of the street, the singing of a man, and the distant recollection of another individual who once may have taken these same steps.  I agree with Monica's description of the walks, it does allow for a sense of surrealism and a question of reality.  Although I was not within the street, following the directions specifically the richness of sound and tone of the narrators reconstructed my reality.  I was the walker being guided by the Janet through a metaphysical time in history.  


Ashley Rober 
She was a visitor 
Created in 1967


"She was a Visitor" is an almost robotic like voice repeatedly repeating the statement "She was a visitor" throughout the entire track. Although there is a constant reciting of the statement there was also what appeared to me as a set of string instruments off in the distance.  Some appeared closer than others creating the feeling of a tunnel like affect.  I felt lost mostly, but transfixed on the narrator.  I wanted to focus on the alternate sounds, but found that I wanted to follow the narrators voice.  I did feel a sense of loss she was once here and now she is not, I am unable to focus on other things, but am asphyxiated with the past and the individual who is only referred to as she.  I believe the artist did this so that the viewer can interpret on their own who is this woman, where are we physically and metaphysically.  The barely audible sounds are heard, but it is definitely intentional to attempt to establish what they are but at the same time learn little about them.  


John Cage 
Excerpt from Silence: Disconnected  
Created in 1930s


This is a mainly audio recording that appears like a poem.  It follows a sequence that begins with the idea of a dirty filthy acts of Americans.  Then talks of the manner in which Americans destroy the earth and nature.  It appears as though he is attempting to illustrate to the listener the manner in which we attempt to control and structure our reality in a manner in which we can find tolerable.  However the manner in which we do it affects nothing but the source we take it from.  Greed destroys our society while creating its very fabric that holds it together.  I believe the narrator chose to do it in this manner because it allowed for him to use art to illustrate to others the nature of society, which is mimicked in the poem itself.  


Orson wells 
The war of the worlds 
October 30 1938 


Narrated by Morgan Freeman in the beginning, creates a looming and frightening.  I fell this way because of the tones in the background which creates a felling of gloom.  The broadcast treats the audience as just that, an audience.  The transitions with dancehall music appears appropriate to the time period, giving a steady and obvious transition for the audience to follow.  The manner in which the broadcasters treated the broadcast as an ordinary broadcast illustrated the broadcaster's awareness of their role as societies main source of news and communication.  When the broadcast goes blank, I felt a source of abandonment and freight because I was unaware of what was going to happen and if their was going to be an answer.  I was sucked in and entrapped within the air of 1938, but when it was announced that it was all over and a joke, I only felt an overwhelming sense of anger.