midterm

For this project I chose to instagram a day in the life of my junior film project. My film is about an ancient Japanese ceramic technique. For this day I had a very early start in the morning, so early in fact that I needed several cups of coffee before I was ready to go. Once I got to the studio I began preparing clay. Today would be a throwing day. Basically the entire day was spent in the art studio creating several pieces for my documentary. As the day came to a close I realized that I had been in the studio far longer than intended. While I think my narrative is a simple one I like it because it is a process that most people know very little about, and my project may have helped people understand what all goes into the pottery they encounter.

Final

For this project I really wanted to keep things fairly simple, yet still leave some room for fun shots. This project provided some unique challenges, the clips are so short that a lot of work had to go into them to make sure that not only did the fit for length but that the visuals were also complementary to the song clips. We initially had many more complicated ideas, but found them too complicated for the short amount of time that the song allowed. So we really strived for shots that provided a bit of depth, while also being simple enough to be understood in the short time span. Due to the style of filming we wanted, and also the availability of equipment in the equipment center we ended up filming on our phones. This allowed for a faster workflow and forced us to really put all of the action right in front of the camera since our phones have such a broad depth of field. My favorite section is the “ When Will I Find Me” line, for this I really wanted to film in a way that would somewhat disorient the audience and make them really feel somewhat lost as to what just happened. Filming through a mirror and ending on a reveal came together really naturally and I am very pleased with the final result. I feel it is disorientating enough to express the lyrical meaning, but simple enough that the audience doesn’t have to dwell on it and miss the rest of the video because of it. All in all this project was really enjoyable and far more challenging than I originally imagined.

Digital Media Consumption

11:00- Alarm- Holy diver- Dio

11:12- facebook

11:15 – shower- various music

11:45 text

12:00 – drove into fort wayne, various billboards including two EE’s and local news stations

12:05 – NPR

1:00 comic book store- TONS of advertisments

1:02 text

1:05 text

1:11 text

2:00 saw a back to the future shirt

NAP

5:15 watch the news and see many commercials

5:17 text 9 times to 5:30

5:40 walk to dinner, see t shirt with the hulk and superman

7:00 homework- lots of music and texting until 12

This assignment really showed me just how much I text and how much media I am around. Honestly I expected more, but with it being such a busy day of homework and assignments I wasn’t exposed as much as a typical day. Primarily I was exposed to digital media ads and text messages.

Elliot The Bull - Colourblind

This music video opens on a world of small blocks, both light and dark colored. From a light block comes a bull like creature that discovers an ability to create other shapes from the blocks around. This continues until he seems to have build quite an empire. All of the sudden the dark blocks stack up and create a dark bull creature that discovers an ability to break down the block shapes of the light bull. The two struggle against each other and ultimately the dark bull destroys the light.

I think understanding this music video requires one to first take into account the title, colorblind. As a colorblind individual this really struck me. I am often asking just how different my perspective is compared to others. I think a basic reading of this video would show that the light creature is good and loses a battle against the evil dark bull, however this reading disregards the title. If we take color out of the mix and view the two creatures as the same we find one of them changes the things around him and makes buildings and telephone pole shapes, whereas the other bull “fixes” those shapes by returning them to their original state. If read in this way the dark bull becomes a hero, a sort of environmentalist, and the light bull is a capitalist pig exploiting his surroundings for his personal gain. I think the title is the key to understanding this video. I also think the goal of the artist was to make a seemingly simple good vs bad story that can be interpreted in many ways.

            Alternatively yet again these two creatures could represent life and death, neither good nor bad. The light bull creates and the dark bull destroys, not out of anger or malice, simply because all things must end, except death itself. This reading could still lend itself to the title, if we were truly color blind in this situation we would find that the two bulls would appear almost identical, 2 sides of the same coin as it were. I do think it is important for people to realize death is a part of life and it is just as important as anything and not to vilify it.

            Finially after repeated viewing I don’t think this video can have one true interpretation, this is truly a video that can be understood in a great many ways. I often think this is cheap and a way for artists to make statements without really saying anything, however with this video I find that I appreciate its multiple readings. Mostly because it is so easy to see so many different interpretations it can serve to remind people that life is not always black and white, and even when it is black is not always bad and white is not always good.