Evaluation

Evaluation.

My finished experimental video followed my storyboard exactly as intended. However, my treatment and finished project differ slightly. In my treatment I explained that I was going to use a soundtrack in my video which would be played throughout the video. However, during the editing process of my film, I decided to extract the audio from my film only leaving in the ‘sighs’ that my actor made in various scenes. I decided to this for a few reasons. Firstly, I thought that the sounds of ‘sighing’ at various stages added to the reality that hard working, busy people, have little time for themselves and they feel pushed to the limit at times, causing them to express themselves by making the occasional sigh to show that they are tired of what they are doing.

If I re-done my experimental video there are a few things I would change to make the meaning behind the video a lot more obvious to the audience. I realised after I had completed my finished video that there are small things I could of changed to make it better. For example, in the two scenes with my actor eating and reading a paper, I should have changed the props from a newspaper to work documents. This would have emphasised the massage that even during meal times, there is no time to not be working. Also, another thing I would of changed would be in the scene with my actor watching sports on television. I should have changed the program he was watching from sports, to the news. This would help to show that even at times when business people have time to relax, they are still finding out about politics/business to help them with their own jobs and work.

I found out via my questionnaire, that the message behind my video wasn’t overly clear to the audience. The results of my questionnaire showed me that my audience believed that the purpose of my video was to highlight a sense of loneliness. I can see from watching my video how my audience came up with this idea as the real message could be projected a lot clearer now that I know what I could have done to improve it. Also, my questionnaire gave my advice on how I could improve my video by using a wider range of camera angles and shots. This advice is useful as I now know for the future how I can improve my work by taking risks and trying out new ideas instead of sticking to the shots I know I can do easily enough.

These pictures show my video exhibition. Although the space is not the same as the original space I had intended to use, the space I did use still has the same meaning and gives off the same effect. I had to change the location of my exhibition due to the time of my exhibition. The space I had intended to use ended up being in use on the date of my exhibition so instead of using an office, I used the teachers desk in a classroom instead. My video was still shown on a PC on a desk so that part of my original exhibition is exactly the same; all that has changed is the surroundings.

That is my evaluation for my experimental video task.

Post Production Diary

Post Production Diary

The editing of my film began on the 22/11/08. I uploaded my footage onto the 'Mac PC' using the camera and cable. once uploaded, I imported the clips into 'Imovie' and began putting them in order. I needed to cut some of the clips down to shorten the length of the film. I then arranged the clips into the sequence as shown on my storyboard.

I did not intend for my video to have any audio whatsoever, however, after listening to the sounds on the clips made during the filming, I thought it might be a good idea to leave some sounds (e.g, acotr sighing,yawning) in the film. This helped me to create the effect that my character has had a long tiring day and is feeling the effects of this. After leaving the sound on a small selection of clips, I then extracted all audio from the other clips.

Lastly, I added a title to my film and then played the whole film through to ensure the editing had been successful and the film now looked how I had intended it to. Once satisifed with my finished product, I compressed the video into a web movie and saved onto the USB where it will remain until I exhibit my movie.

Production Diary

Production Diary

I began my production on 22/11/08. i set up my equipment at around 6:00pm and then proceeded to run through my storyboard with my actor. Once my actor was confident about what he was doing, we began filming.

All scenes that took place in the same area (e.g. living room) we filmed one after the other to save both time and the hassle of moving/setting up equipment repeatedly. I shot the first scene twice to ensure I had the camera in the right place. I then proceeded to shoot the rest of the film. As my film was not intended to have any audio, background noises were not an issue.

The only main problem that came from filming was lack of space. When trying to film the scene with my actor watching television, I could not place the tripod any further back than I already had it, this meant that in the shot, only half of my actor and half of the television can be seen. However, when I played back the footage, the angle had worked quite well so the tripod location/angle was no longer an issue.

Animatic.

Experimental Video Assignment - Task 1 - Chapter 4

How does the use of exhibition space create meaning?

The location of which a piece of work is exhibited has a lasting effect on the meaning which the piece gives out to it's viewers. For example, if a piece of work is located in a brightly lit hall with lots of other people around then this gives off a cheerful impression and makes the viewer feel safe and secure as they have lots of people around them and are not alone. In contrast to this, if a piece of work is exhibited in a seperate room with no lighting then this provides a sense of mystery as the viewer can only see what is on the screen in front of them. Also, this can make the viewer feel slightly scared as they are now isolated from everyone else and are completely alone when viewing the piece.

A clear example of this is Susan Hilliers' 'Psi Girls' which is shown via a five-screen projection. The piece is exhibited in it's own private secluded corner in a darkened room. This almost guarantees that the viewers will watch the piece as there is nothing else to look at in the room. The darkness adds to the mystery and really ties in well with the nature of the video. The clips of young girls and women exorcising paranormal powers is made even spookier with the added effect of darkness.

Another exapmle is Dan Grahams' 'Two Correlated Relationsions' which is also exhibited in a darekened room of its' own. The room is located in a walk through area which allows the viewers to see the piece as the walk through. This makes the viewer feel more safe than they would when viewing 'Psi Girls' as they are not entirely alone when viewing this piece as there are people walking past whilst the piece is being viewed. However, the darkness has the same effect as 'Psi Girls' as it creates a sense of mystery and has the potential to make the viewer a little scared. As the piece is shown in it's own space, seperated from the other pieces of work by walls, this adds to the sense of mystery as the noise of the projector rolling can be heard before the viewer knows where the piece of work is. The viewer then becomes drawn to the piece as they become intrigued as to what the strange sound is.

That is how I feel the exhibition space can effect and create a meaning of a piece of work.

Treatment Sheet

PROGRAMME TITLE: ‘Untitled’

DIRECTOR/
CAMERA OPERATOR: Amy

DURATION: 2-3 Minutes

FORMAT: DV

AUDIO: A soundtrack will be played throughout the video whilst the footage is shown. I may decide to have a voiceover at certain points during the video depending on how well I think the video works with the soundtrack.

OUTLINE OF AUDIENCE:
Both males and females aged 30-50 of socio-economic group B^ (Those of a high working class). The target audience can relate to the premise of the video. A younger audience of youths would not benefit from this video as the rules do not necessarily apply to them. E.g. teenagers don’t generally do the same thing everyday as they are not yet in full time work.


OUTLINE OF STORY
The aim of the video is to highlight how many people do the same thing every day and fail to notice what there missing out on. The video will consist of the central character waking up, having breakfast, leaving for work, returning from work, having dinner then going to bed.


CHARACTERS:
There is only one central character which the camera follows throughout the video.

Experimental Video Assignment - Task 1 - Chapter 5

How might these works inspire your own work.

After viewing a range of different experimental videos, I have been introduced to many different techniques, some of which I could attempt to put into my own experimental video. Out of all the different videos I have watched, the technique which I found most interesting was in fact, "The Girl Chewing Gum". I found it interesting the way that at the beginning the audience believe the man is actually directing what is happening when in fact he is simply narrating what he sees. I enjoyed this film simply because it shows that we believe what we see more than what we are told. Near the end of the film when we realise that the man is a narrator, we still believe what we see on the screen in front of us, not what he is saying. I think this technique is clever in making the audience think about what they are hearing not just what the are wactching,

Experimental Video Assignment - Task 1 - Chapter 6

Audience, and audience interpretation of the work.

After viewing the different experimental videos, our group came up with a range of ideas to explain what they thought was the purpose of the films. Although people generally agreed on whether the films were craft or concept based, their individual thoughts on the work were much more varied. This was interesting as it showed how after viewing the same piece of work as a group, many people had completely different thoughts and opinions on the premise and concept of the work. I think it is important that we all have our own views on what we see as this allows us to look beyond the obvious and see what else we think might be going on in the film.

After viewing the mixture of experimental videos the class had mixed feelings about what they thought of the films. For example, some people found "Jan kounen" quite funny and amusing whereas others such as myself found it very riduclous and crude. On another note, some people found "Koyaanisqatski" quite interesting and managed to follow the story of it, however, some found it very confusing. The audience reactions can vary due to the individuals knowledge of the artist and their work. For example, someone who enjoys the work of John Smith, would posssibly find "The Girl Chewing Gum" incredibly interesting as they know the techniques this artist generally uses. Therefore, this shows how our knowledge of artists has an input into our thoughts of their pieces of work.

This shows how after watching the same videos, people don't necessarily have the same opinions about what they have seen.

Experimental Video Assignment - Task 1 - Chapter 2

The use of technology and techniques and styles.

The technology, techniques and styles within the following films; "The Girl Chewing Gum", "Koyaanisqatski" and "Jan Kounen" (by Gisele Kerozene) all differ in various ways. The films vary depending on when they were made as this reflects on what equipment would have been available at the time.

"Koyaanisqatski" has a very unique style as it consists of a large selection of clips which change at slow and extremely fast paces. Some clips are repeated to get the messasge across to the audience. This film was produced in 1983 so a lot of new equipment would have been available at the time. Also, a lot of money was available for the producers to experiment and try out new ideas to see if they worked well. This explains why this movie has a very different style and pace to it in contrast to "The Girl Chewing Gum".

"The Girl Chewing Gum" was produced in the 1970s' when technological equipment was limited and hard to access. Also, this film had a low budget so the producers couldn't afford to make lots of changes in post production as they had to make use of what they could afford. This explains why there are only two edits in the whole film. This film doesn't have many techniques used, most likely due to the financial situation and the time period. The style of the film is fairly simple as the majority is one long shot, only cutting to a different scene at the end. This was due to the lack of money and equipment available at the time.

"Jan Kounen" is a very unique film which is extremely different from the other two films.

This film uses stop frame animation which consists of 25 frames per second. This totals up to 6,000 photos for the entire 3 minute film. This technique consists of taking photos of every stage in the movie, a hard task which would have taken an extremely long time to put together in post production. The audio is all non-diegetic, the sound was inputed in post production, as there is no noise on stop frame animation. The technology and techniques used in this film are very important as this is a craft based movie and the aim of it was simply for the producers to show off what they can do. This film was created in 1989, later than the first two films, this explains how the producers had access to such advanced technology.

Those are the different types of technology and techniques used in the above three films.

Experimental Video Assigment - Task 1 - Chapter 3

Narrative and non-narrative structures.

The following films, "Koyaanisqatski", "Telling Lies" and "The Girl Chewing Gum" all vary in their structure.

"Koyaanisqatski" doesn't have a straight forward structure as there is no significant beginning-middle-end. The whole film is one long story which changes slightly when the pace of the film speeds up and then down again. However, the beginning and end of this film is the same as it begins with cave drawings on walls and ends this same way. Also, the film starts with the word "Koyaanisqatski" being chanted and this happens at one stage during the film before ending this same way. This means it could be argued that there is a narrative structure in this film but I don't see a significant structure to this film as it looks like one long string of clips to me and nothing more.

"Telling Lies" has a similar structure to "koyaanisqatski". It does have some kind of narrative structure as it begins with a phone call in which we learn what has happened, it then continues to other peoples' views on the subject and it then ends with a final phone call. This kind of represents a beginning-middle-end. However, as new people call the central character, he has to retell some parts of the story which sort of takes the audience back to the beginning again. This, goes against the narrative structure of the story.

"The Girl Chewing Gum" has a structure similar to "Koyaanisqatski" as no significant event really happens in this film to suggest that it is not in the middle of the story. However, the audience does find out more as the film progresses which suggests this could potentially be a narrative structure. The majority of the film is one long scene with only two edits in the whole film. This doesn't highlight a change from the beginning to the middle. The only way the audience knows there are coming towards the end of the film is the fact that the scene changes from the street, where all the action has taken place, to an empty field. This move from the middle to the end is the only kind of structure in the film but even so, we don't really know where the middle starts, only where it finishes.

Those are the different structures of the three experimental videos, "Koyaanisqatski", "Telling Lies" and "The Girl Chewing Gum".

Experimental Video Assignment - Task 1 - Chapter 1

Discuss both past and current artists and works.

Experimental videos, both past and present, have a range of similarities and differences between them.

"Telling Lies" by Simon Ellis (2001), "1001 Nights" (1998) by Jananne Ai-Ani and "Koyaanisqatski" by Godfrey Reggio (1982) all have similarites between them in which all three experimental films lack significant effects which are usuaslly associated with film.

Both "Telling Lies" and "1001 Nights" don't actually have any audio other than the diegetic sounds including the sound of a phone ringing (repeatedly throughout "Telling Lies") and the womens' dialogue in "1001 Nights".However, it could be argued that the dialogue and sounds in "Telling Lies" is actually non-diegetic as the voices and sounds are coming from outside of the frame. There is no soundtrack to these films as both videos are dialogue based. Also, these two films don't have any special effects, the only visual images on screen are the different coloured text in "Telling Lies" and the head and shoulders of four women in "1001 Nights". Both have the same plain black background. Also, both "Telling Lies" and "1001 Nights" are purely concept based.

"Koyaanisqatski" on the other hand has a difference with the other two films as it has a soundtrack which is played throughout the film. The pace of the soundtrack varies depending on the speed at which the clips change (E.g. It starts with a slow backing track as the clips take a while to change, it then speeds up when the clips change very frequently in a matter of seconds). Overall, the work fits in with the pace of the soundtrack. Also there is only one word of dialogue, "Koyaanisqatski", which is chanted repeatedly at different stages throughout the film. This films' audio is non-diegtic and the focus of the film is the visual imagery. This film, unlike the other two, is craft based.

Those are some similarities and differences between "Telling Lies", "1001 Nights" and "Koyaanisqatski".

"The Girl Chewing Gum"

The film "The Girl Chewing Gum" is a 9 minute movie by John Smith.

The film is black and white and consists of the general public going about their everyday lives. Visually, there is a lot to see in this film but the lack of colour makes it a little less appealing. Aswell as people in this film, various vehicles and two buildings can be seen. The main building in the shot most of the time has a women sitting in the window, the other building is a cinema with a long queue of people waiting outside.The footage includes close ups of some people but not many. Throughout this film there are only two edits. One when the shot cuts from a busy road to a field, and the other when it cuts from the field to the end credits.

The main piece of audio in this film comes from the narrator who is not in the frame, but narrating what is happening. At first, it seems as though the man speaking is the director as he says what is happening on screen, slightly before it actually happens. Also, he comments on every detail in the frame. However, when he comments on things such as "pigeons flying" we now know that he is not directing as he wouldn't have been able to make this happen. We now come to realise that he is in fact narrating to the viewers what is happening on this busy road in London. It seems that the sounds on screen, such as traffic, are genuine so must be diegetic. However, when the man starts saying he is in a field and begins describing what is around him, we realise that he is not actually present on this road, at this time, so therefore the sounds must be non-diegetic and have been put in post-production. A final piece of audio in this film is the sound of an alarm going off. This happens for a long time but we do not actually notice it until the narrator says that a man, who has just walked past, has robbed a bank. Now we notice the alarm whereas before we just heard it as background noise. These noises, alarm and traffic, continue even after the shot has changed to a field. This makes the viewers question where the sounds are really coming from.

I think the premise of this film is to show people that whatever happens in reality, someone is always there to comment on us and our actions. This film is predominantly concept based as it produces the idea that we are always being watched and are never alone. At the start of the film the audience is led to believe that this man speaking has full control over the situation and what is going on when in fact, he doesn't have any control at all.

Overall, I think that this film is interesting in the idea behind it as sometimes it does feel like we are always being watched as there seems to be CCTV everywhere we go. This film is clever in highlighting what the audience may or may not be aware of.

"Telling Lies"

The film "Telling Lies" by Simon Ellis, is a 4 minute experimental video which is very different from any other short film I have seen.

There are very few types of visual images used in the film. A black background is present throughout with text appearing on screen in different colours depending on which character is speaking. In many cases the words which appear on screen are not the same words which are being said by the characters. The words shown are what the characters really mean but are not the same as what they actually say. These are the only visual images which can be seen on screen.

All of the audio in this short film is diegetic as the sounds come from the characters or what is around them. A phone can be heard ringing at various stages in the film and a dialling tone can also be heard. The sound of a phone being slammed down can also be heard a few times. Apart from the sounds from the phone the only other audio comes from the dialogue spoken by the several characters. There is no soundtrack, or any other non-diegtic sounds in this film.

This film is a concept as there is very little to see in the matter of craft. The concept is the important thing in this film and what makes it amusing to watch. I think the premise of the film is to show the audience that it is much easier to lie to someone when you are talking to them on the phone, than it is to lie if you are talking to them face-to-face. Also, it shows that it is easier to hide your true feelings and emotions when you are having a phone conversation. The text on the screen is effective in making the audience believe what they are reading rather than what they are actually hearing.

After watching the film I felt it was quite effective in getting its' message across to the viewers simply because there is no visual images and background audio to distract the viewers from what they are reading on the screen. Overall, I think the film was entertaining but not particulary interesting because of the lack of visual effects.

Craft, Concept and Context.

CRAFT: The making of a piece of work.

CONCEPT: The reason behind a piece of work (premise).

CONTEXT: When we are not sure what is true/real and what isn't. Things can get taken the wrong way and sometimes the context can be taken for granted.

"Koyaanisqatsi"

The film "Koyaanisqati" by Godfrey Reggio (1983) is in my eyes, a rather confusing film. I think the premise of the movie is to show the audience how the pace of life varies from place to place. The range of clips show a very fast paced (fast-forwarded) lifestyle in contrast to other clips which show a very quiet, relaxed life. On the other hand, this film could simply be showing the audience pieces of history as it includes various events from the past and present.

The types of visual images used in this film are as follows: To begin with, fire and smoke can be seen which to me creates the idea that something bad has just happened. After this, bits of material can be seen falling to the ground. The pace at this point is fairly slow. The film then shows landscape views of fairly deserted land, this shows how at this point in time, this place is very quiet and there is not much going on. Suddenly, the clips speed up and change much more frequently which suggests a much faster pace of living. These clips include crowds of people which shows how busier this life now is. Also, one clip shows women working in a factory which shows mass production and the fast pace makes the women look like robots as they do their job at such a speed. The film begins and ends with images of cave drawings.

The audio in this film is fairly limited. Firstly, there is no dialogue in this film apart from the word "Koyaanisqatsi" being chanted and repeated over and over again at the beginning and end of the film. There is music being played throughout the film and it changes to assist the pace of the film. However, there are no actual words in the music, it is just a tune.

After viewing parts of this film, I felt confused as to me, the film made very little sense.

"1001 Nights"

The film "1001 Nights" by Jananne Ai-Ani, is a 6 minute movie in which 5 women give their accounts of war. However, it is not clear if the women are talking about their own personal experiences or someone elses'. They could be showing us how innocent people are affected by war or how they have already been victims themselves.

The film shows the head and shoulders of 5 different aged women. Whilst 1 women is speaking, the other 4 have their eyes closed. The stories given by the 5 women each represent a different background to add to the idea that anyone can become a victim of disaster. The women are the only source of colour on the screen as the background is completely black, this makes the audience focus on the women as they are not distracted by other things on the screen.

There is no non-diegetic sounds on this film and the only diegetic sounds come from the women speaking. This again, makes the viewers pay attention to what the women are saying as they are not distracted by any other sounds.

After watching this film I felt a little disappointed as to me it wasn't very appealing due to the lack of audio and visual effects. However, this film does give you several views of how different people can easily become affected by the disasters of war.

Brighton Photo 2

This photo shows to me that Brighton is not all fun and games. The photo shows carousels which are not in use. It looks as if these rides have been abadoned which is a contrast to postcards of Brighton which generally shows children playing on the fair-ground style rides. There are no signs on the ride to explain why it is not in use which adds to the theory that it has been deserted. This is definately not an image which would be used to advertise the Brighton seaside.

Brighton Photo 1

This photo to me highlights the downside of the Brighton seaside. The metal fences and broken wooden picnic tables are located for everyone to see and they are not sectioned off which to me creates a hazardess area. This shows people that Brighton has almost become a waste area, as these items have been dumped for all to see. The photo shows how in reality, Brighton is not just the beach and pier, it is also home to various pieces of abandoned materials.

Experimental Video

To me the term "Experimental" suggests that the video is completely new and has been produced to see what kind of reaction it receives by its' audience. The term "Experimental Video" suggests that the producer of the video has used unknown methods and theories into the making of the video to test how the video is perceived. Examples of "Experimental Videos" can be seen in both film and television. The term "Experiment" suggests to me that different ideas for a film or television program have been put together to create a brand new video.