mini project

Part of our project meant we had to form groups (between three and five) and the class was divided into two. We were then told that half the class will be still based, the other would be video based. Our group (me Helen and jan) were given stills. We had to produce a group of 20 images on transitional spaces based around the theme of transitional spaces. At our first meeting we decided to look at car parks. However after thinking about it and a wrecky to some of the locations around Leicester, we decided that maybe it wasn’t the best idea.



While in a lecture explaining the projects to us, I had a brainwave when listening to the lecturers talking about what other projects they do outside of uni. Mike said he was doing a research project into grief and bereavement, which of course gave me the idea that the biggest transition we as humans go through is that of death.
Here are a few of the images we used:

(images by Jan Klos)

I mentioned this to the group and we decided to make a go of it and look into the death idea. We went and shot one of the oldest and larger grave yards in the city. Where we managed to get some real interesting shots. However We then learnt that we would be swapping with another group, and that they would have to edit our stills and we would have to edit videos. We then captured other images more to do with transport to give them the option of suggesting that the person had died in a car crash, or to give them an option not to use the graveyard idea if they didn’t like it.


We got to swap, with jades group. The group had did it incorrectly so they showed an edited piece when we showed what we had done in the lecture. (which made our job alot harder because people had already seen the indended video!) There was only 4mins worth of footage, and some of that was repeated.


The basic footage was a shot in first person and showed a person waking up from ‘the night before’ and their journey to get to uni/work. Such as getting up, showering, putting on makeup. With this we had to begin by cutting up and creating sub-clips as the video was almost completely continually shot. We then decided we was going to try and create the look that more than one person was getting up after a big night out. Such as to say that more than one person was sleeping. We took as much of the footage and used it, repeating the shots of the alcohol to make it clear to the audience that the people had been drinking a lot. We also edited together some of the sound to create a different feel by using one of the out take sounds an ‘oh crap!’ and editing it into the video so it appeared or suggested that two girls had ended up in bed together, one of there phones go off, maybe an partner? Or an alarm? And they get up and rush off.


I personally really didn’t like this project, while the Tuesday group not only had more time, but because of the lack of the ‘15mins of footage’ that was ment to be given to us, it made editing very hard. We also came against time restraints as we all had commitments (work ect) and seems though we only got the footage on Friday, sat/Sunday the edit suits are closed, and that left Monday and Tuesday, One of which we had a lecture on, made it feel like we was rushed a lot.


I personally think we could of done better given more footage and more time, we wanted to play around with repeating images, and work on the sound.

mini sound lecture video right ups. (WEEK2)

st thought i should input a few of my notes on the videos from the week 2 video lecture.

Apocolypse Now. WAITING IN SAIGON (clip)


 
there is some really prominant sound scapes in this clip. which really adds to the atmosphere of the movie.

• I love the distrortion effect on the helecopters which adds almost a dream like quality to the scene which links up to the rest of th scene where we find out hes mearly day dreaming.
• i also like the way The doors song (not visible in this clip) is in the song linked up to the edits. Carfully place the 'tranquil' beguinning is destroyed by a silent explosion and the lyrics to the song singing:

'This is the end

Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end'

•  The lyrics are also prominant where he is laying, staring up at the sky, the rotations of the blades of the helecoper and the lyrics are synched to:

Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
Ill never look into your eyes...again

I do like this idea of words in the soundscape corresponding to the video. This technique for some reason reminds me of a video I was shown by a previous student called ‘LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER’ which is based around a Roald Darl Short where a woman kills her husband. In the video there is a narration throughout (which is the short story) and there is apart where the woman in the videos lips sync up with the narration which I thought had a very good impact. It caught your eye and made the words more prominent.








11/09/01- september 11
(Claude Lelouch - Francia)


This Video I found to be very touching. And very clever. With the minimal sound, and the subject it makes u think very hard and pay attention to what you are watching. The relationship is integral to the video and is very subtle with its use of sound. The only real dialog u hears is him saying that he’s going to be at the World trade centre. While the rest is only really muffled sounds. All except the camera click, which could suggest that it’s her only, release in a silent world, and that she has forced to become visual and living her life through her eyes rather than sound. It’s a great use of anticipation for the audience as we know what is happening when the character doesn’t. The powful image in this video I found is where it’s a wide angled shot, you as the audience can see the goings on of the world trade centre on the news on the tv, while in the background the hard of hearing girl sits and writes a goodbye letter to her boyfriend who is at the world trade centre that day. It’s a very poignant image where the audience know that while shes writing that shes worried he may leave her, that he could be dead. Which is made even more powerful at that she normally sits infront of the tv watching the news while he is at work, and the one day she doesn’t, is the one day she would need to know what’s happening. It also has a good ending when he turns up and she asks whats happen. I may look into viewing the rest of the 'countries' on the disk for comparison.

internet fail and 30second 'sound' project.

Due to the failure of virgin media, our house has been without the net for 3days! so i have been doing some notes jotted into my notebook and i will be uploading scans of these and brainstorms ive been doing when the net gets back up! just hijacked (well not really) the mac lab. 

Also just finished the first mini project set which was a 30second video focusing on sounds (on transitional spaces!) we filmed and captured around the canal, the uni and by the road side. We over laid them, added transitions to gradually mix the sounds. In total we had about 7 audio channels with a mix of industrial, traffic, walking, animals, and water sounds. We chose to use a still image, of an abandoned building reflected in a calm water. Just to juxtapose the sounds we used. It calm out alright but looking back i think maybe a small video clip rather then a still would of been better to use.



We also got to view some of the other groups small sound clips videos. The one that stood out for me was Jakes group. It was an extreame close up of a mans face, hes obviously running. running away or to something. the sound is what struck me as being different. it focused on his heartbeat, which built up the tension. the expression on the face was nutrual so it lead the audience to make up what exactly would of been going it. it then zoomed out and showed him running threw a park. but the sound was cut. sometime silence can speak more then words.



One of the Initial Idea Brain Storms ive been doing:

transitional spaces

So today we recieved the brief for our first PHVP 2406 (still image and moving image research and development.) (scanned brief to the left.) Our basic brief is to explore TRANSITIONAL SPACES via the medium of film and stills. 

The first thing to come to my mind is what exactly is a transitional space? how is it defined. In the brief its giving some suggestions on how to be read but it is a rather open topic. 

So in the brief it is suggested:

• 'the sort of place we pass through on route to somewhere else. E.g a waiting room, a motor way service station
• temporary spaces, which are often ignored or seen as unimportant due to there transient nature.
• influential or important, symbolizing who we are or who we want to be. 
• a particular frame of mind which changes with emotional state
• shifting beliefs or opinions through experience. 

When we first got the brief the first thing that struck me was the word SPACE. thinking of Wide open spaces, and transitional, an area constantly changing, constantly moving, re-growing, almost as if it was alive. 

Looking into the idea of transitional spaces to gather a greater understanding of the term i found a few interesting pieces:

Marc Auge (1995) 'Place and non Place [transitional spaces] are rather like opposed polarity; the first never completely erased, the second never totally completed' Which i interoperate to be saying that although something may change. How it once was is never really the same. While the new can never be complete. Almost as if saying, if you break something, such as a glass,  it will never be fixed again, because the damage caused never really allows it to be complete after. 

While its rather difficult finding photographers who focus on transitional space as a whole a few interesting quotes have come from personal pages and such talking about how:

• transitional spaces are where our home meets the city
• Transitional spaces for the homeless 
• the internet as a transitional space
• Mapping physical change in a location