Final Video

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Stop-motion Animation

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abstract video

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Theme Sound

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Abstract sound

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Environmental Sound

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Final Reflection.

1) What is the most surprising thing you learned about yourself,
whether it is a new interest or an old interest made new, this semester?

I discovered that I love working with video. I have had no prior experience, and surprised myself in how much I liked it. I especially liked working with the still pictures and coordinating them with the abstract sound pieces. The ambiguous sounds left the doors wide open for interpretation. I felt that the video pieces we worked on were a great creative outlet for me amidst the other very structured foundation courses of freshman year.

2) Write a short narrative of where you began in Time Arts, the
conflicts you faced, and how you resolved them.

At the beginning of the semester, I was unsure of my abilities pertaining to both audio and video pieces. After viewing and listening to some student examples on the first day, I was a little nervous. I thought that these examples were way above my abilities; however, I have discovered that I am able to rise to the occasion and figure things out. Time Arts has posed a challenge that I have willingly accepted and enjoyed, and it has helped my time management skills greatly. I quickly learned that procrastination is not an option for this class because a disappointing piece was sure to follow. I resolved this time issue by starting to work on the next assignment that Thursday night. This helped me remind myself to not put it off all weekend, and also allowed me to have more time to go back and rework details throughout the week. 

3) What 3 time arts concepts (think of our formal vocabulary
like pitch, tone, constancy, variation...) are most apparent in your final
video?

Graphical editing: "making transitions through attentions to patterns of light and dark."

This editing concept is the main focus of my final video. I have decided to get rid of the geometric aspects that I had in my rough draft video and focus primarily on creating smooth and interesting transitions between scenes. 

Constancy/variation: "same vs. different."

Constancy versus variation is present in my video through the natural shots of the outdoors on a windy day and the ambiguous snow globe that I use for various transitions. The outdoor shots are easily recognizable, while the close-ups of the snow globe may leave the viewer unsure of what they just saw. 

I have also utilized "rhythmical editing" (making transitions through attention to rhythms, pace, beat, and tempo) in my final video. The sound piece that I have created changes tempo with the corresponding image. 

4) What was the most challenging assignment for you? In what
ways did that assignment challenge you?

The most challenging assignment for me was undoubtedly the final project. This was simply because I was at the mercy of the weather. I had originally planned on making a completely snow-focused video, and thought that this would be easily completed in December. However, Syracuse has surprised me. Although I am still in the process of figuring out my final project, it is challenging me in ways that I would not have been challenged if the weather had cooperated. I am looking at this situation as a valuable learning experience. I am now being forced to work with the footage of a windy day I caught at home over Thanksgiving break. I still wanted to incorporate the idea of snow, which is where some extra creative thinking became involved. I had the idea of doing my project solely on the collection of snow globes that my mom always takes out after Thanksgiving. After looking at these, I decided that too many had a strong Christmas theme; I did not want the focus of my movie to be on Santa Claus. I finally came up with the idea of making my own snow globe out of a salsa can and glitter, which played with the sun beautifully when I filmed it on camera. Although I am unsure if my audience is able to tell what this makeshift snow globe is, it is a good contrast in its ambiguity next to the nature shots I filmed. These challenges have forced me to come up with many different solutions, and this whole project has been very hard for me to plan out. However, I feel as though I have learned a lot, and I am hoping that my final project will have a good outcome. 

5) What assignment came most naturally to you? Why?

The assignment that came most naturally to me was the abstract video piece. I am a naturally rhythmic person, and really enjoyed creating a video that focused on this aspect. The sound piece I chose to go along with my video was very rhythmical and a lot of fun to work with. I love manipulating pictures, and had a lot of fun with the different effects. I find that when I really enjoy something it comes very naturally to me. My abstract video is still my favorite project we have completed. 

6) What does your analysis of challenges and natural
inclinations tell you about your future educational path, and/or your career
choices? 

I am honestly unsure at this point if these natural inclinations I have discovered will benefit me in studying interior design. I know that this major uses the computer a lot in putting together interiors, and the knowledge I gained this semester about my computer will benefit me greatly in my future courses. I also discovered that I am a good problem solver, which would be beneficial in any major. 

7) What have you learned about your creative process? 

I have learned that I am able to stretch my creative skills in ways I did not before think possible. I have always been a hands-on type of artist, and had never worked with a computer other than a rather pointless graphic design class. As I stated above, I was a little nervous about this class and if I would be able to adapt to my computer. I had just bought my Mac a few weeks before, and had no idea how to use it. This class helped me become much more familiar with my computer, and made me interested in looking into other computer-related art and design classes. 

8) Have you learned anything about facilitating and
participating in a creative group?

Participation is key in a creative group. The whole point of groups in these art and design classes is to converse with one another. Exchanging ideas with others helps the creative process by coming up with new ideas, solutions, and opinions from different perspectives. It is also important to provide leadership while allowing others to do so as well. Strong creative personalities are essential in classes such as Time Arts. A group participant must be able to balance the group so that everyone gets a chance to express their ideas. These skills are essential in the art field.

Learning Reflection 12/3

What I learned in class today:

While in the group critique for my rough video, I learned that it is better to focus on one "theme", such as geometric patterns or transitions. At the moment, my video incorporates both of these components, and will be much stronger when I change the focus to only one. Class today made me realize that a narrow focus will allow me to delve into this project in more depth. As of right now, I am thinking that I will focus primarily on the transitions and playing with light in my final project. I received a lot of positive feedback on the beginning parts of the video from my peers, and I, too, like the transitions better than the geometric forms achieved by the mirror and n-square effects. 

Another valuable piece of information that I received in this crit is that I should create a subtle sound piece to go along with this video. I have started the sound part already, and have been keeping the sounds soft as to not distract from the visuals. However, it is good to have ideas reinforced in critique.

I think it is best for my video to concentrate on the natural colors created by the light rather than messing too much with the tempting color effects of iMovie. My theme is a very natural topic, so I should not attempt to put any neon colors or other types of effects in my project. I realized this today after looking at my peers' projects, and how the altering the color changes the mood of the video drastically. 

I realized today while looking at other people's projects that everyone's project is so drastically different. This always fascinates me with any type of art. I am looking forward to next week to see everyone's completed projects. 

"Film Reel" Response

This 1975 film by Ante Bozanich depicts a man sitting cross-legged in a corner, and reaching up to pull out film from a film reel out of our view.  This man does not appear to be aware of the camera recording his actions.  This is the best option for this video because if the man gave any of his attention to the camera, it would change his position that he holds constant through the entire movie. 

This film portrays the man as almost diligent in a way.  He holds the same upward-gazing position, and pulls the film from the reel constantly until it covers him completely.

The first thing I noticed about the video was that it was in black and white; the second was that the frame was upside down. This composition caused me to take a second glance in the beginning of the movie because I was unsure on what was going on. I also noticed that the man was slightly off center to the left of the frame. 

I like the subject of the video because I too have had fun pulling film out of a tape.  It made me smile when I realized what he was doing.  I also liked how the film was shot upside down; this made the piece much more abstract.  

I disliked the quality of the video; I was unsure whether the change in the contrast was intentional.  However, I realize that this was shot in 1975, and it could have simply been the technology. 

I think "Film Reel" would be classified as a straightforward documentary.  This is because one action is documented for the entirety of the movie.  The camera angle also made the film more complex. 

"Golden Gate Bridge Exposure" analysis

This video did not contain any people, but I need notice how abstract this piece was. The colors are originally sepia and earth tones, but eventually transition into abstract forms brighter colors. I also noticed that this piece did not contain any sound. This caught and held my attention from the beginning because the colors and shapes were more ambiguous. This is one aspect that I really liked about the video. The silence contrasted with everything else going on around me, and held my interest for the entire time. 

I think that the incorporation of simple abstract forms would have made the video more interesting in the beginning, but Kirby plays with the shade and speed of the colors during this time. 

"Golden Gate Bridge Exposure" is undoubtedly a color temperature-themed project. This same video

would have been dull if it was shown in only black and white. The color has the potential to peak the

interest of the viewer.