My Questionnaire

1) Did you enjoy my video


2) Did you fully understand the concept of the video? What did you think it was about?


3) If you could change anything, what would it be?


4) If yes, explain more in detail

Evaluation

The overall idea of my work came to life nearly 8 weeks ago and was finished and shown to my peers on the 4th of December.

To begin the project, you had to come up with an idea you could use for an experimental video. It took me about a week to come up with a decent idea and stick to it, After much thinking i decided i was just going to do a simple video based on randomness. The idea i came up with was a dinosaur seeking out a pot of mushy peas, it was completly original and looked like it could be a good video. Before i could start off making it into a real life video , i had to sit down and write up all my ideas in pre production work, i had to do a rough storyboard to show how i wanted my video to be and what would happen during it. The bit i struggled with the most was the concept. After a lot of thinking i decided to leave my concept idea for a while until i was sure what i wanted it to be. Overall, it took about 2 weeks to complete the paperwork to a decent and high standard.

Since i completed the paperwork i was ready to film my video. I had to buy my props and i managed to film it all during one day. I really enjoyed doing the filming because i wasnt being told what to do; it was completly my choice and in my time. The filming itself was really straightforward and simple because i didnt want to use any fancy camera angles for my first project since i wasnt at the time comfortable with using a video camera. All i did for my video was do one take of the whole of thing and really simply just moved the dinosaur closer and closer to the pot of mushy peas which gave off the effect of it walking. It was at this i point i realised that i had my concept. It was about wanting something you cant have and i think i showed that in my video. Once i had completed my video i had to take the equipment back to college and start to do some editing.

For me, i found editing the hardest part of this project because i wasn't familiar with using an Apple mac. For the first few days i just played around with the effects to try and find the once i wanted and after a while i decided just to do some simple editing because i didnt want it to look to edited because it would take the orignality out of my piece. All i simply did in relation to the visual of it was make it black and white which was enough for me. The next step for me was to add music to it which i did via Garage Band, it sounded like a mystic space theme which i wanted it to do. Once i had done this i was now ready to do my exhibiton.

The last part of my project was exhibiting it. I did this in the radio room at college kind of as a last resort because my original idea wasnt as good, It was on Friday the 4th of December during my last lesson of the day, what i did was ask people in my class to come and view it in the radio room. I handed out questionnaires about my video and asked them to fill it in for me once the video had finished. Overall, i got a lot of positive feedback from my questionnaires but the one thing that everyone said was to make it longer than it was which i will do next time i do a project.

I have really enjoyed doing this project and have found it quite hard sometimes but because of the simpleness it made it a lot easier. The hardest part for me was using the Apple Mac's because i wasnt familiar with it before but like anything, i got use to it after a while and it became very easy to use. The bit i enjoyed the most was the filming because it was something different and it was fun for the simple fact of it being my project to play around with. If i could change one thing it would be to make sure my video is at the best i can make it.

Post Production

It didn't take much editing for my video as i wanted to keep it simple. All i did really for my video was change the outlook from coloured to black and white to try and give it a different look. The next part of editing i did was to add a soundtrack to it. To achieve this i used Garage Band, I spent at least 2 lessons trying to make a soundtrack that was in relation to my video and it was very difficult at first. I wanted it to sound mystic and almost space like, but while doing that i wanted it to be created by to make it original. Once i made this i added it to my video and played it back to make sure that it suited my video and to my delight it worked very well. After this, I had to shorten my video down because it was too long it certain places. I had to edit the beginning title sequence because out of all my shots it was the longest, to get the effect that i wanted which was to make the dinosaur look like it was walking i had to shorten those clips down too so that it looked realistic. Once i did this, i had now finished my editing and was ready to exhibit it.

Experimental video diary - Day One

Since my video was only a short piece it didn't take much to film and complete it. To start off i had to make the backdrop for it, which changed from stars to just having the plain black background. I thought this would be a better thing because i wanted to keep it simple. After much brain racking, i decided to change my overall concept instead of having complete randomness i changed it to having the concept as having something you cant have and what will happen if you keep deciding to pursue it. Once i had the background to my video sorted i had to purchase the dinosaur for my piece which i ended up spending a fiver on!. The mushy peas were free from work.

Once i had gathered all my props together i started to shoot my video. I ended up asking my brother for assistance as i realised i couldn't do it on my own. I filmed while he moved the props closer together to give the effect of stop motion. To begin with i shot it from the point of the dinosaur and mushy peas standing at opposite ends of the table, the next shots were quite similar in the sense of the purpose of them. I wanted to give the effect of them walking in together to meet in a way. So i would film, stop, move them and carry on like that until they were face to face.

The next part of my video was for the dinosaur to try and eat the mushy peas but failing in doing so. What i did next was lift the lid off the mushy pea pot but making it look like the dinosaur had done so, again using stop frame. After this, my brother held the dinosaur over the pot making it look like and seem if it was climbing into the pot. The last parts of my video was the dinosaur falling into the pot of peas head first which shows it paying the price for being greedy. It then stands up with the pot on its head and cant seem to shake it off. Altogether, the film took an hour to shoot because of its length and simplicity

My exhibition plan

I have decided to show my experimental video during my lesson tomorrow in the radio room in front of a group of people from my class. To make it different in relation to the surroudings and contents of the radio room i am going to turn the contents of the room into complete randomness. For example, turning tables over. The time i will be showing this to the audience will be early afternoon, and the date it will be shown will be the 4th of december. I have decided to present my video this way because its based on complete randomness and i hope that the audience pick up on that, After i have shown my piece i will be handing out questionnaires on my video so i can get some feedback on the overall presentation.

Gisele Kerozene - Jan Kounen

Gisele Kerozene a stop motion animation piece which was created in 1989 set in a city which seems more highly developed than today, where we see 3 witch like people worshipping a statue which is taken away from them by a fourth person. The plot is based on them flying around the city trying to retrieve it back from the fourth character. It was very cleverly crafted and the stop motion animation is made to look as if they are actually flying around on broomsticks. Throughout the duration of the film, you can tell there is a narrative story to accompany it. The beginning, which features the 3 witch like people worshipping the statue and then the fourth person flying in on them and stealing the statue and flying off with it. The middle of the piece is the chase itself, the witches chase the assailant who stole the statue. Throughout the duration of the film, the main focus of it is the statue and what it represents. Its clear that it means a lot to the witch like characters because of the continual hunt for the statue.

Chapter 6

An audience's interpretation of a piece of work can be important to the overall impression of it. An example of this would be having a singular object placed in front of a gathering of people and seeing the impression that each one of them have of it. A box of tissues is an example of this. Some people would more than likely see it as cleaness or uncleaness. Another thing that could easily be said about a box of tissues is the fact of sadness, crying. It can be percieved in so many different conceptions. Once the artist has left the piece of work its down to the audience to interpret it how the see fit. The art should have a connection with the viewer in able for them to obtain a good, clear meaning of it.

Chapter 2

Technology and techniques are both very important in creating any type of videos. For example, MUTO is very heavily reliant on techniques rather than the use of technology. It uses a lot of stop frame animation to get across what they set out to do. The craft behind it is very well used and looks like it took a long time to create which proves that a heavily crafted piece can create all sorts of different impressions from the audience. A video that is reliant on the use of technology more than technique is Andy Huang's DollFace. In this video, you can see the extent of the technology that has been used. For example, the way the robot is portrayed in the piece. It is cleverly used in the way of getting the effects across to the audience.

Chapter 3 - Narrative and non narrative structures

In an experimental video, its not essential to have a storyline behind the actual piece. An example of a video that does have a storyline behind it is Andy Huang's Doll Face. It clearly has beginning which we see with the robot coming out of the box. The middle which is where the robot is clearly fixated on the TV screen which is showing the women applying the make up, and lastly, the end which is where the robot falls to pieces and paying the price for not being an individual. It follows a storyline basis and you can see that within the video. Although, its necessary to have it present, it can sometimes help to audience define whats going on instead of having their own interpretation.

An example of a piece without a clear storyline would be Chameleon by Tina Gonsalves. From looking at this, you can see that it doesn't have a storyline at all, its there and you can walk away from it mid way and still get the concept of what its trying to show you. The images are there in front of you so its up to you if you want to watch the whole piece but in return, you should still get the same impression from it even if you do walk away from it half way. Also, you can devise your interpretation from it instead of been giving it already, it wont be right or wrong because its what you think, not what the artist is telling you to think.

Chapter 5

From looking at the experimental videos i have seen so far, i have started to get ideas for my own piece. My idea currently is that of complete randomness and how it can have either a positive or negative effect in everyday life. It will be more crafted than concepted but still having a little concept obviously present within my work. The soundtrack i will be using will be that on the horror scale for the reason of the randomness being in my work, it wont make much sense to people but i want them to make their own interpretation of my work.

Doll Face - Andy Huang

Doll Face is an experimental video piece by Andy Huang which represents the self destruction of someone trying to follow and live up to the media's portrayal of beauty. Its very heavily concepted in relation to how the media sees and displays how beauty should be. The film starts off showing us a robot slowing coming out of its box, we then see a TV displaying the face of a women who gradually goes through the film, enhances her make up more and more. The robot follows this and tries to be exactly the same as what it is saying. Slowly, you can see that her obsession with becoming like the girl in the TV is her downfall because towards the end of the film, she reaches her maxium peak and just breaks down and collapses. This is showing that she didn't want to be her own person but to be someone she isn't because the TV is telling her how she should be. Doll Face shows to me that today, there is a lot of lost identities in relation to being who you want to be instead of following the crowd.

Chapter 1

For this i will be discussing and looking at how past and currents artists pieces of work differ from each other. My first example is that of Koyaanisqatsi and a wall painted animation by MUTO. In both these pieces of artworks there are a few similarities but there are some differences. For example, the first difference would that the cost of production. In Koyaanisqatsi, you can tell that the cost to make the film was a lot of money because of the effects that are used in order to create the impression they want to get across. Whereas, in MUTO, the cost of production is quite low because it is an animation that would of taken a couple of days to make and create because of the quality of the piece compared to that of Koyaanisqatsi.

Another difference that is evident between two pieces past and present is that of John Smith, Girl chewing gum and the more recent Doll face by Andy Huang. Girl chewing gum was created in 1976 and the texture of the piece is complete contrast compared to Doll face. Doll face was created in 1986 and the concept and texture of this piece has clearly got a strong meaning to it in comparison with Girl chewing gum. Doll face is a representation of how the media portrays beauty and shows the price you can pay for following it. Girl chewing gum however, shows a day in a street where a man is voicing over every action of people walking by.

Chapter 4

An exhibition space can create and compose all sorts of meanings in relation to the exhibition piece itself. The piece of art in particular i will be discussing is Robert Therrin's No title ( Table and 3 chairs). When you walk into the room at the Tate, the first thing you see is the piece of art itself. It does take up most of the room, which leaves little space to create any meaning when you do enter the room. However, if you were to place the table and and chairs in a field it would give a completely different feel compared with that of the exhibition room. In my opinion, If i were to see the table and chairs in the field it wouldn't look as large because the surrounding area around it is larger itself making the art piece look smaller when you take it into context. However, when you look at it inside the exhibition room its the art work takes up the whole room so it looks like to the art viewer which would change your opinion towards it, whereas, if it was in a large field it would be completely contrasting in relation to the meaning.

Koyaanisqatsi

Koyaanisqatsi, also known as life out of balance, is a type of an experimental film produced by Francis Coppola. Its features a lot of different cinematic sequences of how life is portrayed, from the beginning of life and to the end of it. The film itself has no narration to it at all and just relies on soundtrack to deliver the message its trying to set out the audience.

From watching koyaanisqatsi from a visual point of view, you notice the message its trying to get across through the colours that are used are suppose to relate to the mood of that particular sequence. For example, at the end of the film the audience follow the journey of a rocket going into space. However, before the rocket reaches its destination it implodes mid flight and crashes back down. The colours used in this particular in this piece are reds and yellows. This could represent the meaning of destruction. This scene at the end of the film to me is all about how life can just crash and burn within an instance and in koyaanisqatsi, i think that's what the rocket is representing. You can never be wrong in thinking what koyaanisqatsi means because it can have so many different meanings in context to what it could represent.

The Girl Chewing Gum - John Smith

The Girl Chewing Gum is an experimental video piece made by John Smith in 1976. The video seems to be his voice commanding over a busy London street, its perceived as if he is god like. You're given the impression that he knows everything before is going to happen, being lulled into a false sense of security. From looking the video closely, The camera locks onto an image of a clock showing the time as 1.10 and again, at the end of the video its shown as 1.15 which tells you that its only a narration.

It seems to the audience that the voice over is directing the random events that are occurring but as the film goes on the people starring in it aren't responding to the voice. Throughout, the voice seems to be the one that has the power over the scenes as it is telling the people what to do constantly and they seem to listen to everything that is being said as they follow the instructions. In some occasions, passers by glance at the camera as if to know that it was there watching their move. When you start watching the first 3 minutes of the film, you've given the impression that its just a busy street being filmed but as it progresses the feeling of the voice being god like becomes more evident. For example, towards the end of the film there is a man looking shifty as he is walking down the street. he frequently turns back and once, clocks onto the camera glancing down at it. The voice over starts to explain to you that he has just robbed a bank. after this, you realise that the alarm playing in the background throughout the whole film is that of the bank so that's when you know that is pre - recorded.