Final: Ripples in a Lake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD6uHh0aZJM&feature=youtu.be

For this final doc I explored the performative mode and the poetic mode. My film is a performative and poetic impression on how an apparently stagnant body of water (a lake) is in constant motion and how the sun accentuates this motion. 

Nichols explores in his book the concept that performative documentaries “emphasize the expressive quality of the filmmaker’s engagement with the film’s subject [and] addresses the audience in a vivid way”.  This is evident in my film because I have generated the involvement of the dancers with the lake in order to help portray the environment and impression which the lake possesses. I generate this involvement through a very vivid visual of the dancer’s reflection in the water and the dancer’s morphed images with other footage of the sun reflecting off the lake water. I, as a filmmaker, have a very obvious involvement in the film through the dancers and through the editing. I pieced the film together in a rather impressionistic manner. I morphed various shots together to emphasize the movement of the lake and its constant state of change. 

To give the impression of the constant motion of the lake water, I used the performative mode with dancers to represent the movement of the water. The dancers’ movement changed tempo like the ripples on a lake change tempo. Also, to accentuate the lake’s movement I had the dancer’s image reflected from the water. This reflection intensified the dancer’s movement since the ripples created additional movement. So, even when the dancer was still he or she still appeared to be moving. This is reflexive on how the lake water can appear to be stagnant but when one looks closely there is at least a slight ripple. 

The performative film which influenced my piece the most was A Study in Choreography for Cinema (1945). This film demonstrated the manner in which the movement of the human body could be effectively used to convey expressions and impressions upon an audience. I tried to incorporate the idea that film can be used to isolate specific dance elements in time and space in a manner in which live performances cannot. I tried to be conscientious of how the dancer’s movement could be crafted specifically for film to give the impression which I wanted. 

Another film which was extremely influential on my piece was Joris Ivens’ poetic documentary film, Rain (1929). This film used images such as a bike’s reflection in a puddle to convey (as Nichols would describe) “a feeling or impression of what a rain shower is like rather than convey information or an argument. This is a distinct poetic perspective on the historical world.” In my film, I too, sought for conveying more of an impression and feeling of the beauty of the lake water and the sun morphing together. I tried to give the impression of the blinding rays of sunshines through the shots of the sun rays being so overexposed that they made the camera glitch.  

Nichols discussed in his book Introduction of Documentary of how a performative documentary can exhibit many qualities common to poetic documentaries. This is definitely the case in my piece. I have been closely involved in the performance of the dancers which represent the movement of the water, and I have pieced the footage together in a very poetic manner. The film uses rhythm, tempo, abstract images, and is more of an impression of a place than the historical documentation of an event. Overall, my piece explores the performative and the poetic mode of documentation. 

Additional Post-Transmedia

I appreciated the classes discussion of ‘transmedia’ which allowed me to better understand what a transmedia piece was and why it would be advantageous for one to create and present a subject with transmedia. When first approaching the term ‘transmedia’ I remembered that ‘trans’ is a latin stem meaning ‘across’. So I saw transmedia as the means of representing media across different types of media. This is true, but it doesn’t fully encompass the full extent of the term. Transmedia involves various media particular to a subject, but the different media is not a recreation of the original idea’s text but a means to extend and explore the subject further. Each media has something different to offer than another media choice. It is not a simple retranslation of content into a different media form but the use of different media to bring something new and further explore the subject matter. 

I great example of a transmedia piece which we explored was the website Highrise. Highrise brought the audience into a highly interactive and explorative enviroment which  could branch into many options of how to consume the content. The website was a branch of additional and repetitive information which could be viewed in the film Highrise. The website offered different means of viewing the film, such as viewing segments that were linked to parts of an interactive tour. The website also offered the option of reading and exploring virtual stills of various highrises and how the degeneration of these buildings are affecting our communities. This website was not just simple a recreation(translation) of the film but a means to present additional information in a highly interactive manner. 

We discussed how the choice of a transmedia website brings the interactive element of media into the presentation of the subject matter. This interaction allows the audience to become more involved in the subject and the manner in which they become involved. As Gaudenzi discussed, there are several general types of interaction commonly used between the audience and the creator's content. These include the conversational (user’s navigation of content), hitch-hiking (user’s navigation of content but with pre-determined pathways), participative (user’s navigation of content contributes and organizes content), and experiential (user’s navigate real space in time). These different types of interaction allow the audiences to become more involved in a subject and create a pro-active approach for a audience member in their participation on a subject. This makes transmedia an excellent choice of presentation for subjects which wish for people to have the opportunity to become involved with the subject or issue directly. 

Doc Mode Activity 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD1rVC6-aWw&feature=youtu.be

For this doc mode activity, I first approached it as an autobiographical documentary. However, there is not much of a personal linear narrative, but more of a reflection on something I have learned in life. I was going to try to include a more linear story from high school but it didn’t really work in the flow of the analogy I am making in this doc so I cut it. Even though I don’t have a personal linear narrative I feel that the it still in a autobiographical documentary because I am talking about a principle I have learned in life. My choice of still photos moving with the ken burns effect was inspired by the film we watched in class about the girl who met her biological parents in China.  

The Fox reading discussed how the autobiographical mode was a presentation of self. I feel that this piece is a presentation of my outlook on life and how one needs to strive for a balanced life. Finding balance in life is something I struggle with and so I feel very strongly about trying to implement this idea into my life. 

For this piece, I also feel it is part observational because of the observational photos of my making bread. I am documenting a process but using it as a means to illustrate the analogy about life I am making. Because of the symbolism and the sound effects I use I also feel the documentary has a poetic aspect to it. The background sound are the sounds of my making the bread. I was inspired by last semesters 112 project of documenting a process for this aspect of the film. By incorporating this various modes to protray my autobiographical documentary I feel that this film is also multimodal. It combines the autobiographical, observational, and poetic modes. 

The Essayistic Mode

The Fox reading gave me new insight to the essayistic mode through Fox’s explanation of the term ‘essay’. Fox explained that the term ‘essay’ comes from the French verb ‘essayer’ which means “to test” or “to try”. The mode is like a verb; the essayistic mode is an active mode “in which a proposed idea or question is tested by a range of means and intersecting lines of argument.” I hadn’t thought of the essayistic mode being particularly active since an essayistic documentary doesn’t always promote an active response to an issue or even an active point of view of an issue. The active nature of the documentary is not necessary the message of the documentary but the approach to the discovery and making of the message. The mode is active through its exploration of an issue through multiple perspectives and approaches. The filmmaker is active in working to acquire a broad range of perspectives and opinions of a question or issue and using what they discover to formulate an answer or opinion to the question/issue. Though, as Fox explains, “quite often an essay does not arrive at a finite conclusion, yet the ideas discovered during the process may reshape and reinform the initial query in unforeseen ways.” The essayistic films seems more concerned with the process of shaping and discovering a perspective than the actual final perspective and opinion. 

These ideas can be seen in Marilyn Levine’s and Ross McElwee’s film Something to Do with the Wall. In this film the film makers create a collage of opinions and perspectives of the Berlin Wall by people who live near the portion of the German wall which was near the former heart of Berlin. The film makers demonstrate that not everyone hates everything about the Wall. For example, some like the un-trafficked area which allowed children to play safely in the city. While another lady describes how the Wall lets her creative side thrive since the Wall reminds her of the danger and constant presence of reality. These perspectives along with others perspectives of detachment, anger, awe, and acceptance, shape a overall new perspective for the viewer of the Wall without the filmmakers ever specifically stating what the Wall is and what it does and has done to society in that area. They show that there is no real concrete view of the Wall and that people’s opinions are changing and evolving just like society. The filmmakers are able to show the change of people’s perspective of the Wall through their continued exploration of perspectives three years after their previous exploration in Germany and days after the Wall fell. The film was more concerned with exploring what the Wall was and how it affected those who lived closest to it than it was concerned with what the Wall literally was. The film didn’t come to a finite conclusion but it did provide new insights which shaped a new perspective of the subject which is what an essayistic film typically does. 

Autobiographical Mode

According to Fox, the autobiographical mode is a type of the performative mode in which one performs self. A mode in which one re-creates/creates one’s story for the audience. From our discussion and the examples of films we viewed I feel that there are performative aspects in some autobiographical documentaries but that an autobiographical film does not necessarily have to be presented in a performative manner or solely in a performative manner. For example, the film History and Memory: For Akiko and Takashige (an autobiographical documentary) has performative elements, but I feel the film is more of an essayistic documentary than performative. There are moments where there are re-enactments in the film which is performative, but there are many essayistic qualities including narration, images being used as evidence, and the film meanders in flow while the filmmaker makes discoveries with the audience. The things which the filmmaker discovers are things about herself which is what makes it autobiographical. She explores the concentration camps of WWll and her families’ past as a means to discover herself. She does this more with an essaysitc approach than an approach of performing herself for the audience. From this example, it can be seen that an autobiographical film does not have to be approached or presented as a performative film. Therefore, I feel what Fox presented(that autobiographical films are performative) represents many autobiographical films but not all of them. 

Two clearly autobiographical films which present themselves through the performative manner are Sadie Benning’s films A New Year and A Place Called Lovely. This performative element is particularly evident in A Place Called Lovely when Benning uses her performance in front of the American flag, in which she performs the way others wished she were, and her juxtaposing performance of herself as her natural self. These presentation of these two performances allow the audience better understanding of how Benning sees herself and how she feels others see her. Benning uses the performative mode to tell the story of who she is. 

Overall, the autobiographical mode focuses on the filmmaker’s story being the primary subject. These stories are commonly presented through the use of the performative mode, but other times use other modes to tell their story. However, Fox may agrue that the fact alone that the filmmaker is presenting a created art on themselves it is a performance of self. I don’t believe this counts necessarily as the performative mode since with this definition every piece of art is the performative mode since it is ‘performing’ an idea. So, autobiographies are commonly performative but do not have to be performative. 

Doc Mode Activity 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPq8fFTiN7Q

For this documentary mode activity, I focused on trying to make a documentary that had elements of the participatory mode. In Sick Around the World and Sicko the filmmakers asked normal citizens what they thought about health care. This gave me the idea to ask BYU students what they thought about caffeine since it is a type of health concern at BYU. Therefore, I decided to focus my doc on BYU students perspective on caffeine and on their opinion on whether BYU should sell caffeinated drinks on campus. I interviewed several students asking what they thought about caffeinated drinks and whether or not they thought BYU should sell them on campus. Interviews, as we discussed in class and as the reading discussed, is a common part of participatory mode documentaries because they demonstrate the interaction between the filmmaker and the social actors. I feel my film is not as strong of a participatory doc since the audience never sees me but only hears me ask a question and ask for clarification. 

We also discussed in class that participatory documentaries commonly have an pointed opinion. Sicko clearly demonstrated this idea through Michael Moore’s very pointed irony. I feel mine lacks this opinion since seems more to just observes the students’ answers. The only way in which I feel I did point the opinions of the film was in decided which interviews to include, what part of the interviews to include, and the order of the clips. For example, I tried to show that the their could be a possibility of caffeinated drinks eventually being sold at BYU by having the last shot be of the student of draws upon the historical fact that now BYU allows mustaches so maybe someday they will sell caffeinated drinks. 

Another concept addressed in the reading is ethics and how a filmmaker can manipulate subjects to get the reaction they want. I thought about this when making my film because one of the students I interviewed, I know to be highly addicted to caffeinated drinks. He is usually always drinking a Monster and this contributes to his having a sleeping problem. I really wanted to get this dynamic of his addiction in the film but he didn’t want that represented on camera and so filtered his answers. Also, I had footage of other students teasing him about his addiction but I decided not to include this because I know he would be very hurt by this being documented on camera.

Reflexive Mode

I feel that the manner in which the New Oxford American Dictionary defines the term ‘reflexive’ gives a good basis when approaching what a reflexive documentary strives to do. The dictionary defines reflexive as: “taking account of itself or of the effect of the personality or presence of the researcher on what is being investigated.” When this is relied to film a reflexive documentary takes into account the doc, film, or filmmaker and its relation to what is being made or investigated. 

With this reflexive nature of filmmaking, the filmmaker is more concerned with the encounter between filmmaker and audience than the encounter with the subject. It is through the encounter with the audience that the filmmaker tries to convey ideas and question assumptions about what filmmaking and documentary filmmaking is. In order to convey and bring attention to the processes of the film, a filmmaker will often try to jar the audience from the norms of a film. This is what Bertolt Brecht described as “alienation” or as the Russian formalists explain as ostranenie or “making strange.” Nichols elaborated on this term of alienation to be “ a conscious mode of detachment or distantiation [which] separates us from prevailing assumptions”. Examples of this alienation can be seen in the film The Man With the Movie Camera. In this film, Mikhail Kaufman continually brings to the audience’s awareness that a film is being made. He does this by showing the making of the film at the same time that the film is being made. He does this to make the audience question how they view a film and to demonstrate the constructed process which a film undergoes. From this demonstration Kaufman in more concerned with the audience encounter with the him, the filmmaker, through his film than he is concerned with what is being filmed. The purpose is not to make a pretty film but to make a film which makes an audience aware of the processes of filmmaking and which allows an audience to realize that what they see on screen is a constructed reality and not life reality. 

Overall, a reflexive documentary is concerned with the encounter between filmmaker/film and the audience and how this encounter can reveal new insights into what a film really is. 

Participatory Mode

The participatory mode focuses on the encounter/s between filmmaker and the social actors. The camera’s presence becomes an element of the encounter between filmmaker and subject and is used as a means to explore their relationship. Nichols explains this idea further in his statement:

“We see how the filmmaker and subject negotiate a relationship, how they act toward each another, what forms of power and control come into play, and what levels of revelation or rapport stem from this specific form of encounter. Cinéma vérité reveals the reality of what happens when people interact in the presence of a camera.”

From this explanation it becomes clear that participatory documentaries tend to focus more on the exploration between filmmaker and subject than the issue at hand. The film acknowledges that people behave differently around the camera and the film uses the camera as a means to achieve its point/s. The filmmaker is not simple observing action but creating the action and situations which are seen on screen. One common way in which the filmmaker can create a situation for a film is through an interview. The interview takes shape because of the filmmaker and the filmmaker can also shape the conversation through the questions asked. An interview is one of the most direct manners in which the filmmaker can encounter the subject on an issue. An interview can also be approached in a very stylized manner to achieve the affect which the filmmaker wishes to convey. 

For example, the films, Sick Around the World and Sicko, both utilize interviews to help establish their statements on the issue of health care. However, each filmmaker approaches the interview in distinct styles to help support their opinions on health care and to persuade the audience in different manners and directions. In the film, Sick Around the World, T. R. Reid takes a rather passive approach in his interviewing; he is very poised like a reporter. Though he is very poised to be politely discussing health care it is still obvious he has an agenda through the way he shapes the conversation. For example, in each interview he makes a point for each representative of a foreign country to declare that no one goes bankrupt in their country for health care and Reid usually shapes this question so that the subject also laughs at the idea of someone going bankrupt. Reid is doing this specifically to create a very pointed statement against the US health care. He however is making this statement through polite conversations. This style allows Reid to make his statement passive aggressive so as to be less likely to anger anyone but also to insure he gets his opinion across. 

On the other hand, in the film, Sicko, Michael Moore is aggressive in his interviews and works to achieve strong emotional reactions from his subjects. This type of interview is used by Michael Moore to build intensity in the subject and to try and make the audience more emotionally invested in the issue. Moore uses this type of interview to be very up front in his opinion and to make the audience emotional so that they are more likely to react and act upon the issue. 

So, interviews are commonly used in participatory documentaries to demonstrate the encounter between filmmaker and subject and the type of interview is used to help the filmmaker create a statement of the issue at hand. Overall, the participatory mode allows the filmmaker to explore encounters created by the filmmaker and for the filmmaker to use these interactions to make a statement on the issue being addressed. 

Documentarian's Statement-Poetic Mode Piece

This piece is a a poetic mode documentation which relates the decreasing value of physical books and the increasing value of electronic books. The process of reading a book physically is becoming less common as people switch to reading on electronic devices. My piece represents the switch to an electronic book society.  

Some elements of the poetic mode, which we discussed in class and which are part of this piece include the use of deliberate artistic intentions, abstract meanings, and themes. The has deliberate artistic intentions with the overall composition. The bookcase is on the left side which flows into the growing mass of ripped paper which then flows into the CDs. This flow from left to right is deliberately done to demonstrate the passage of time. The piece is like a timeline. 

The piece has abstract meaning and themes in the symbolic meanings which the images have in representing the decreasing value of physical books and the increasing value of electronic books. The symbolism and themes are shown mostly through the materials I deliberately used to make the piece. My piece is created on a bookshelf from a bookcase which broke. I used an old broken and slightly beat up bookshelf as my canvas to represent that the need for a bookshelf to hold books is dying out because people are less likely to buy a physical copy of a book. I then carved into the bookshelf a bookcase falling apart to represent the dying need for the bookcases. 

From the books falling off the bookcase comes a collage of torn pages from books. These torn pages represent how books are not valued like they used to be. The pages are from 3 books which a friend of mine was going to just throw away because he didn’t want them anymore. One of the books also included a digital copy of the book. I have pasted this digital copy over the torn pages the CDs which contain the digital copy of the book to represent the switch to electronic books. The CDs are placed over the paper to represent its dominance over physical books. 

Overall, this piece is an abstract timeline of societies opinion on books. 

Observational Mode

The observational mode has a quality which makes it appear as if the filmmaker is stepping out of the world they are filming and letting the audience just observe what is going on. The filmmakers trust approach is one that relies on the audience making connects without the filmmaker narrating the connections like the expository mode. A example of this style is seen in the clip from the film High School, which we watched in class. In this scene the filmmaker doesn’t say anything to direct our opinion of the subjects but just spends time with them so that the audience can form their own opinions. We discussed how this clip didn’t need narration to make the connection that the school’s authoritative figure in this scene wasn’t listening to a word the young man was saying. The filmmaker is using this scene to make a statement on how some figures of authority are ‘above’ that of others and show this through their behavior to others.

An issue which comes up with documentary filmmaker, particularly in regards to the observational mode, is the ethical issue of being sure one is not prying into anthers life disrespectfully. Nichols makes some good points that the filmmaker needs to be aware to what extent they have informed the subject about how the participation in the film will affect them. Also, the filmmakers has to strive to find the balance between the social actors awareness of the camera and how this affects there normal activities. Another ethical issue which Nichols points out is the question of when should a filmmaker intervene in a situation. Nichols presents that these situations are ones which the filmmaker will have to judge personally in the situation. These ethical issues are difficult because no matter what one chooses to do you’ll still end up upsetting someone. 

Online Response 3: The Expository Mode

The term “expository” means “intended to explain or describe something” (as expressed by Webster Dictionary). Therefore, the expository mode of documentation seeks to explain and describe its topic. Also, it generally seeks to express and convey a specific perspective on a topic, issue, or argument. This mode is usually very linear and direct on the perspective it takes on the subject. It also utilizes commentary and spoken word as the main driving force in the structure of the piece. According to Bill Nichols, “images serve a supporting role” in the expository mode of documentary film making; “they [images] illustrate, illuminate, evoke,  or act in counterpoint to what is said” (Nichols 168). Therefore, the spoken word is the driving force in the structure of an expository mode of documentation. 

For example, the films The Vampire (1945) and Love Life of the Octopus (1967) are structured around the voice over commentary. The images in the film are used to re-instate what the narrator is saying. In both these films the commentary takes on the persona of being the “voice-of-God”(Nichols 169). The voice is separate from the subject, appears to have great wisdom, authoritative, is male, and professional. The use of voice-of-God narration is used to demonstrate authority in what is being said and is a common practice in expository films. This type of narration is a tactic used by the filmmakers to try and give the commentary authentication.  

Film editing in the expository mode pays more attention to “continuity of the spoken argument or perspective” than it does to the continuity of the image (Nichols 169). This technique can be observed in The Vampire. In The Vampire the cut to the popular fiction human vampire to the bat vampire is not disruptive because it is used to re-establish the filmmakers point that the bat vampire is freaky like that of the fictional human vampire. 

Another film which demonstrates this film editing technique is the film Manufacturing Consent (1992). In this film the choice of sequences and clips is driven by the dialogue heard in each clip, rather than the image shown. It is also organized on how the diallogue with further the argument which the filmmakers are trying to make. The filmmakers primary concern is the dialogue and not the time or location of the dialogue. This technique allowed the filmmakers to jump around in time and space without disorienting the audience because the cuts were consistent with the subject matter of the argument at hand. 

Overall, the expository mode is concerned with explaining or describing its subejct matter or argument. It seeks to do this through a linear and straight forward fashion. The expository mode is usually driven primarily by the spoken word and then by image. Since this mode primarily focuses on the spoken word narration is common and the “voice-of-God” type of narration is the most common form of narration. Also, the editing focuses more on the continuity of the spoken word. The editing is not as concerned with time, space, and other factors which are normally needed to keep the audience orientated. 

Online Response ll

An element of documentary films which Bill Nichols discusses in his book, Introduction to Documentary, is the development of rhetorical oratory. Nichols describes this element as follows: 

“Rhetoric in all its forms and all its purposes provides the final, distinguishing element of documentary. The recorder of facts, exhibitor of attractions, teller of stories, and poet of photogénie coalesce into the figure of the documentary filmmaker as orator, speaking in his or her own voice about a world we all share” (Nichols, p. 141).

From this section it becomes apparent that rhetoric is the main manner in which a filmmaker establishes their voice and direction in a film. A documentary film is a creative construction which cannot possible view the world without a bias. There will always be a direction of opinion established by the filmmaker and this is the rhetoric. 

For example, the film Triumphant of the Will (1935) by Leni Riefenstahi demonstrates the manner in which a filmmaker can try to craft certain emotions and reactions from the audience through the manner in which they present actual events. Riefenstahi gives a aura of dominance and power to Adolf Hitler by presenting the bird’s eye view of Germany being the view which Hitler has of the country as he flies in on the plane. She gives the impression that Hitler is watching over the country. Also, Riefenstahi focuses on children in the crowd more than adults to have the reaction of the audience be towards the rising generation of Germany rising up with the new leader. From history, we know Hitler was a ruthless dictator but from this documentary film he is presented as a loving and caring leader. This opinion is shaped by the filmmaker and is the filmmaker’s rhetoric. 

Another example of opinion being shaped through the rhetoric of the filmmaker is seen in the film Nothing But Time (Rien De Les Heures). In this film the filmmaker presents various people in Paris and their activities. However, the filmmaker uses editing greatly to help establishes a point of view of the city. For example, the beginning of the film first presents the well off higher class on grand stairs and then juxtaposes this with the images of struggling everyday people. Through this juxtaposition the filmmaker is relating the significance of the everyday struggle which the lower class (the class of the average citizen) must endure. This creates greater sympathy towards the everyday class and their everyday activities which are not always focused on. 

Also, the films Drifters and Coal Face are films which presented occupations in a positive and uplifted manner. They are both films which present  national industries of the UK and were created in a manner which seeks to generate pride in these occupations and thus pride in the nation. This pride is established through the choices the filmmaker used on what to show. For example, the film Drifters focuses on the vast quantity of fish in which the fishermen are able to produce. This gives the presentation of the occupation being very industrious and profitable. 

TMA 293-Online Response l- What is documentary film?

The distinction between what is a documentary film and what is a fiction film is not a cut black and white distinction. Bill Nichols describes documentary film as the “creative interpretation of actuality”. With this definition it is understood that documentary films are not reality but strive to represent reality in a creative manner. This creative manner and license for interpretation is what makes the distinction between documentary film and fiction film less clear. 

One possible distinction between fiction and documentary films, which was discussed in class, is that fiction films consist of actors representing reality through fictional characters while documentary films consist of people portraying themselves. However, this is not always the case. The film Iron & Silk (1990) was categorized in film festivals in the dramatic category. This film is an autobiography of Mark Salzman and his relationship and journey with his Kung Fu teacher Qingfu Pan. However, Mark Salzman and Qingfu are both played by themselves. They are recreating an actual event and portraying themselves (a reenactment); however, the film is categorized as fiction. In contrast, the film Be Kind, Rewind consists of fictional characters making a documentary film, in which they recreate a reality with actors portraying historical figures and not themselves. This, however, is categorized as a documentary film because they categorize it as such. This goes to show that what we categorize a film can give more distinction to what a film is than a film itself. In these two examples, we can observe that the distinction between fiction and documentary can be determined by what the filmmaker wishes the film to be described as. They also demonstrate that there is no set rule which distinguishes fiction from documentary, but the distinction is based more on the interpretation of the viewer and film maker. 

One common attribute of a documentary films though is the observational quality; the quality to organize “historical” footage in a manner in which one observes a situation. One film which does this very nicely is Man or Aran. The film conveys the more observational quality largely due to its attribute of being a silent film with some ADR dubbed in occasionally. This film focuses mainly on observing someone’s way of life. This is also a common attribute of many of the Lumiere films which silently observed French ways of living. This focus of a film of striving to observe life is a common attribute of documentary films. It can also be a distinction of documentary films as compared to fiction films. Fiction films seek to describe life while documentary films may seek to observe life.    

Fireside Chat Artist Statement

        I decided to do an interpretive dance as the “more-or-less scripted story” and my graphic design piece in the accompanying visual with the story. I first  searched music or speeches to inspire me, but nothing really seemed to match what I wanted to say. Therefore, I decided to just say what I wanted simply through dance. I began my process of choreographing by first writing out the story which I wanted to tell. This is different for me because when I normally choreograph, I approach the story in the dance as string of emotions rather than specific events and I rely heavily on music. However, this time I drew upon more details of a story and I choose not to rely on external music. I see dance as the visual of the music. When dance is in its most perfect form, dance is the music, not just a representation. So my piece is an interpretive piece which means it isn’t necessarily inspired or based on music. My piece is the story I wrote out. I choreographed movement which I felt was the story. The rhythm of the dance is the rhythm is which I say the story to myself in my head. The movement is purely the direct translation of my story is written English to movement. 

The visual I created includes many images of places, ideas, and external influences blended together. The images being blended together is representative of how these ideas and places all help shape what I believe. They are all blended together within me. Also, I blended the text of my story into the piece as well. I wanted the text to be very faint so that its not the main focus and because I didn’t want the audience to have the script of the story before I could tell it. Overall, the visual is a visual blend of the influencing factors to the dance. 

Some outside media that influenced me would be Emmy Rossum’s song Slow Me Down. It was I song I was listening to a lot during the time in my life in which the story occurred. In the visual accompanying piece, an image of Emmy from the music video of this song is included. Another media source which influenced this piece was President Monson’s talk “The Only Constant is Change.” The title of this talk is actually the theme of my story and the mention of the talk is the pivotal moment is the story. From the reading I found the Pinkhassov photos influential because they re-emphasized that you don’t need words/text to tell a story. 

I think this class has been a lot about learning different ways to tell narratives and different ways to communicate ideas. We have explored several mediums and several approaches to different mediums through out this class. I feel like my fireside chat was a “sort of culmination of the course” because I explored different ways and mediums to tell a narrative. I didn’t take the traditional wrote of speaking with words or text but I told my story through the language of dance with the aid of a visual. 

Media For Fireside Chat

Concerned Citizen

https://soundcloud.com/dancermlee/concerned-citizen-tma-112

Artists’ Statement

We decided to focus on someone who is a part of the armed sources. A song which inspired us to pursue someone in this field is the song “Citizen Soldier” by 3 Doors Down, even though its talking about the National Guard, it applies to all men and women in the service. They are all citizens and everything they do helps provide us with a better tomorrow. We decided to film Lieutenant Colonel Boberg, who is the Professor of Military Science over the Cougar Battalion (includes BYU, UVU, SUU, and Dixie) because he is concerned over the development of the next generation of leaders and firmly believes that what is learned in the ROTC makes better people as wells as better soldiers and officers. In the reading there was a quote that said “The antidote to despair is to remember the world to come.” LTC Boberg is always talking about the future of his cadets in the ROTC program. He strives to build better people by training them today. What better way to gain hope than to help provide the hope for everyone else?

When editing the interview which we had with LTC Boberg we focused on what the ROTC strives for as a whole, what LTC Boberg personally strives for in regards to the ROTC, and how the ROTC affects the community, and how the members of the ROTC affect the community. Also, originally we were going to have the piece be a film but upon examining the interview we decided that it was best to focus solely on LTC Boberg’s words. We have included about 15% of the interview and because of what we decided to focus on from the interview it was impractical to include the footage we had captured from his personal training session and from practice at the range with some cadets as cut-aways during the interview. Therefore, we decided to focus solely on his words and have the piece be audio only. 

Overall, piece seeks to demonstrate and celebrate the role which LTC Boberg has in teaching future leaders of armed services as well as future leaders and contributors of our community and how they give priceless service to this country and community. 

Protest Poster

Artist's Statement

        I addressed the controversial patents on genetically modified seeds. These patents state that if a farmer buys seeds from the company and the company gets money from the farmer. Then after the harvest if the farmer uses seeds from the last harvest he is required to pay for the seeds again. Also, if the seeds blow into someone else’s field and begin to grow. The owner of the field must pay the company for the seeds as well, even if they didn’t plant the seeds. With this aspect, genetically modified seeds could blow into fields and grow under “mother earth’s” care and not anyone specific. Under the patents the earth would have to pay for these seeds. I decided to take this approach of how it would seem odd to require “mother earth” to pay a company for seeds growing in her fields naturally. Also, I wanted to address the controversial of patents of living organisms. Seeds and nature seem to be under mother earth’s care while human’s human’s are manipulating the earth and expecting the earth to do what they want. I sided against the patents and tried to show that companies can’t control nature and shouldn’t profit from the cycle of natural life of plants letting seeds go each season so that new plants grow. 

So, to address this visually I created a poster which demonstrates a member of the Monsanto Company (the company holding the most patents for genetically modified seeds) holding up a bill to Mother Earth. I should Mother Nature favorable but subdued in color because she is melancholy, her posture also suggests a melancholy attitude. I represented the Monsanto man visually repelling by being stout and unpleasant to look at. Also, the background was darker to demonstrate the sadness and wrongness of the situation. 

I received reactions from three people from my social network posting; Facebook. Two of the people “liked” the poster and only one committed. This person’s comment was: “Monsanto's business practices are totally unethical. They take advantage of law's loopholes to make a profit. The poster is well done.” The third person liked this commit. Therefore, the response which I received was aligned with the same view on the issue which I was stating. I feel like this issue is not commonly known, and I wonder if I would have received a greater reaction if people knew more about the issue.

An outside source which has influenced me would be the documentary film Food Inc. It was this film which first made me aware of this issue. I have done further research since viewing this film and have learned that patents exist on genetically modified genes to create incentive for scientist to do the research for these seeds and to help provide the funding for the research. I however, think the patents extend beyond just this. I can understand and agree with Companies receiving money when first selling the seeds but to have people fined if seeds are re-used (as in the seeds from the harvest from the first batch of seeds). I don’t think this should happen. I also don’t think people should be fined if genetically modified seeds blow onto their land and naturally begin to grow. This just seems flat out wrong to me. Nature is nature and man can’t expect to control if and shouldn’t try to control it to get material gain. 

The viewing for this weeks made me contemplate how their are several aspects to this issue but considering the facts which I have researched on both sides I think there needs to be modification to the patents. I can understand patents for genetically modified seeds and to promote research and help fund research (both federally stated reasons states for the purpose and use of of patents), but I think that companies such as Monsanto have gone beyond these to reasons and are overstepping into the realm of nature. My take on the issue is not aligned specifically with any particular party but if would probable lean toward the left political field since the right is a larger supporter of business. 

Webspinna Artist Statement

For the webspinna I searched for and was drawn to sounds which I found peaceful. I started working on the webspinna assignment during an extremely stressful week and that is why I was drawn to sounds which I find peaceful and calming. I began with sounds of birds chirping etc. These sounds were actually from some web game. I then mixed it sounds of the ocean since this is a universally peaceful sound. I started the previous web game which then played a video of someone walking down a path. I wanted to use the footsteps here since the sound showed action and gave the sounds more life. The other sounds which I mixed into my piece are other sounds which I find peaceful, which included music by the artist Sigur Rós and sounds of a piano. To juxtapose these peaceful sounds in the middle of my piece I played the inter-galatic audio mixer game on sound.net, which creates crashing sounds. I wanted this juxtaposition because the inter-galatic sounds represent unease that can be calmed through peaceful sounds. Not only did I choose my peaceful sounds because they are naturally peaceful but also because they remind me of peaceful memories. Since I had this focus for peaceful sounds and I had memories and specific sounds in mind it made navigating the web at least have some direction. 

I was influenced by outside media through the example which Ben presented in class. I really liked the raindrop sound he had in his piece, which he got on sound.net. This led me to explore sound.net and it is the place where I found the inter-galatic sounds and were I found my concluding sounds of the piano. Also, the reading of DJ Spooky, “Rhythm Science”, I particularly liked the his definition for “flow”. I think flow was very important for this piece and I liked how he described how past experiences help us format flow. This is true in the construction of flow in my piece because the sounds are representative of past memories and experiences woven together. 

I felt that the webspinna was more of an environment created rather than the concert setting I was expecting. I feel like this was due largely to having the food and open conversation during the performances which made the setting casual and not fully focused on listening to all the mixes. When performing, I liked this setting because I felt less pressure. Overall, I enjoyed the webspinna. 

Webspinna links

http://www.lukewhittaker.co.uk/soundfactory/index.php

http://archive.org/details/OceanSound-NatureSounds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr_MJAOyOeU

http://www.soundtoys.net/toys/inter-galatic-audio-mixer

http://www.soundtoys.net/toys/fpp-flash-player-piano

http://www.soundtoys.net/toys/fpp-flash-player-piano

http://www.soundtoys.net/toys/fpp-flash-player-piano

Webspinna Rough Draft Links

http://www.lukewhittaker.co.uk/soundfactory/index.php

http://archive.org/details/OceanSound-NatureSounds

http://www.soundtoys.net/toys/fpp-flash-player-piano

http://www.soundtoys.net/toys/fpp-flash-player-piano

http://www.soundtoys.net/toys/inter-galatic-audio-mixer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr_MJAOyOeU

Medium Specificity-Film

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwsQNbm5kP8&feature=youtu.be

Artist's Statement:
The main influence for my piece was the Russian writer Maxim Gorky. Gorky described film as "the Kingdom of Shadows." Film is the capturing of light. Therefore, for my piece I wanted to explore capturing light. Light is energy and the basic way of observing the energy of light is observing fire/flame. I therefore captured various images of a flame. Light has a range and colors are various values of the visible light spectrum. I decided to keep the color around the value of light I was capturing and the flame was towards the lower end of the visible light spectrum so that is why it is reddish/orange.
The reading which influenced my piece was the portion on The Matter of "Seeing". We don't all interpret what we see the same way and we don't always know "what is 'really' there." This statement from the reading "what is 'really' there" applies well in regards to film. All that is "really" there is light and shadows but that's not necessarily how it's viewed. My piece sought to be more basically light and shadows though it could also be seen as various images of a flame. What is "really" there and what is seen is a large part of film and the film craft. Filmmakers have great control in trying to shape what an audience believes they are seeing. However, if you look at film on the surface level, all it is is light and shadows.
While working on this piece I was also influenced by Plato's "The Cave Theory." Plato believed that we only perceived a imitation of true and perfect objects in life. He had the analogy that we are all tied up in a cave facing a blank wall. Behind us is a fire and which casts shadows on the wall. These shadows of objects are what we believe to be the real object but are only an imitation of the real and perfect object. Film is very similar to this theory. Traditionally to view film we sit in a dark room while light is projected from behind us onto a blank wall. The light and shadows form images of objects which we believe to be the objects. We do know that it is a representation of the real images but sometimes we set too much in store in something which is only a representation. Film is a version of Plato's "The Cave Theory."
Overall, my piece explores the concept that film is the kingdom of light and shadows.

Inspirational Art for Piece For Movement Manifesto

Art Created By Class as Part of the Presentation

Movement Manifesto

Movement Manifesto:

-The exploration of art mediums

-The exploration of the senses

=>Through the presentation

Montage of Thoughts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K9gkdU7V80&feature=youtu.be

Artists’ Statement 

Are manifesto is very broad and allows many interpretations of how to explore and present art. If a piece of art explores are mediums and the senses through its presentation then it is a part of this movement. This movement is trying to enable a greater connection between art mediums and the senses they use. Several art mediums only involve one sense but when we partake of art are minds think and recall various sensations and memories. This led us to the piece for the manifesto. 

Our piece begins with each member of the group viewing a piece of art (which the audience can’t see). While they view the art a montage of visuals and sounds are presented on a screen behind them. Each member has their own montage. The montage represents what they are thinking while they view the art. Next we will then give the audience sticky notes and explain that we want them to create, write, art with their sticky note when we show them the piece of are we were viewing. The audience will then have 2 minutes to be inspired by the art and produce something onto the sticky note and put this sticky note on the white board. We then will discuss with the audience how we are influenced by what is around us and how this affected them in their creation. Also, we’ll observe the similarities and differences in the audience’s art and the manner in which they assembled their art together. 

Also, our piece sought to explore connections between the physical and the metaphysical. Also, it was exploring how are thoughts are shaped by what we sense around us. When coming up with this idea we were influenced by the piece which first inspired Melissa (which was Trey McIntyre’s The Sun Road). We then we all influenced by countless memories and thoughts which fueled our discussion. We were also influenced by the reading with the discussion of remixes since our thoughts are remixing sensations from are past influenced by are present. Also, we were each influenced in the creation of our montage which we will each briefly describe.  

Jeff: For my movement manifesto montage, I immediately thought of a baseball when seeing the sphere. Once the image became a baseball to me, I pictured scenes from one of my favorite films, Moneyball. I saw the scenes where we saw in slow motion various shots of batters at the plate swinging at a pitch. From this, I found different slow motion shots of a batter, catcher, outfielder, and pitcher all with the baseball. Also, the shot of the catcher is from this year’s World Series, where my favorite team, the Giants won! This is my thought process when looking at the original image of the sphere. 

Melissa: The process I went through when creating my montage was I first made a list of my thought train when I saw the images. The image first made me think of the pixar short Red’s Dream which is a unicycle, which made me think of the Boise Art fair, which made me think of lemonade, summer wind, tumble weeds and of New Mexico, coyotes and their howling, moon, rockets, an observatory, then Bruno Sand Dunes, etc. For my montage I didn’t even complete the whole list I made since my montage was getting lengthy. Most of this train of thought I listed are made up of memories and associations which my mind quickly connects and jumps through. My montage is a demonstration of how the minds trail of thought can be sparked by one thing and then led through a series of memories and thoughts to something completely different. 

Claire: My montage reflects the tangential associations my mind makes when introduced with a thought, memory, or idea. My train of thought when I initially saw the triggering art piece was very similar to my representation; I was reminded of music, lyrics, sounds, smells, particular moments in time and emotions. Each of these associated memories led to the next in a way that makes absolute sense to me. I think it is fascinating how this montage could have gone on indefinitely. 

Josh: My montage artist statement: Whenever I first come in contact with other art, my thought process is thinking of objects or things that are similar to that image. As I keep looking at the art, over time, I start to see meaning behind the art. My montage starts out with random spherical objects and transitions to the theme that every person has darkness and light in them. This was primarily based on the shadows and light that are on the sphere.

P.S. The inspirational piece of art will be posted after the presentation so as not to be a pre-influencer. 

Good Art
http://www.treymcintyre.com/repertory/the-sun-road/

Historical Story

Artists' Statement

       Several outside media sources were influential in the process of writing our script. Some of these sources were the recent Sherlock Holmes films. The character of Sherlock, who is a misunderstood genius reminded us of Nikola Tesla a bit. From this connection we remembered that Sherlock would test many experiments on Watson’s dog and it would appear at times that Sherlock had killed the dog. This led us to develop Mr. Howard into a dog lover who has his dogs killed through accidents associated with Tesla’s experiment.  Another outside media source which influenced us was the film The Lady and the Tramp. This influence is seen through the allusion to the film with the two dogs eating spaghetti together.   

We also were inspired by “Jack-Jack Attacks.” We liked the idea of Tesla’s neighbor being this innocent person who gets in way over their head in dealing with someone who is more like a force of nature than a human. The babysitter is terrified of Jack-Jack but continues watching him out of duty. We wanted a similar relationship, in that Mr. Howard, the neighbor, is too afraid of Tesla to sit down and talk with him about some of his grievances. At the same time he can’t move, at least not right away. We imagined if the script ever got developed that the short film would be a silent movie with most of the information being conveyed visually instead of with title cards. 

The reading that influenced us the most was the story about the man who thought the photograph of his grandma was about his mother. It was influential because while we wrote about experiments that Tesla conducted, most of them were conducted later in his life or never at all, in the case of the death ray. We decided that it would be more fun to have these outlandish experiments in the story and that they also contributed to the cartoony tone of the script.

The Locket

A quirk of mine is that I always wear a necklace. Always. Necklaces are objects which I have been given or collected which remind me of the person, place, or of the stage in life in which I received them. However, there is one necklace which I have had so long I don’t even remember when I first received it. This necklace is a small golden heart locket with two little hearts carved on front. I wore this necklace in my young childhood. I wore it as I played dress up, climbed trees, roller bladed round the neighborhood, and went to elementary school. I remember other girls at school wearing lockets as well. I remember these girls showing off a picture of their pet dog or a family member which they kept inside their locket. However, there was nothing in my locket, it remained empty. As I grew older I began wearing new necklaces I received and I began to stop wearing the locket. Eventually, the locket came to be put in a box with other trinkets from when I was really young and I forgot about it. 

Years later I was hanging out with my sister in her room as she was packing to leave for her first year in college. I was rather somber as I watched my older sister, my friend, my role model, who I had known and been with for my whole life, pack to leave. As she packed and we talked lightly, I was casually looking through the necklaces lying on her dresser when a small gold heart locket caught my eye. It was exactly like one I had known and worn from years before but.... I quickly went and dug out from under my bed a dusty pink shoe box which I knew was full of little trinkets from my young childhood. I rummaged through it and pulled out, to my surprise, a locket exactly like the one now sitting on my sister’s dresser. It also turned out that her locket was empty just like mine. And so, as a farewell to each other before she left home, we each wrote a note to each other and put it in the other’s locket.   

Each time I wear the locket I am reminded of my young childhood but I am reminded more of my sister, who was the friend at my side throughout my childhood and, of course, still my friend today. When I wear this necklace I think of her and all the times we have spent together. I remember all the times we played dress up with our mother’s old clothes, high heels, and big 80’s sunglasses. I recall the times when we were explorers searching for buried treasure which the other had hid in the backyard. The adventures we had running from lava monsters. Going to dance class together. Playing in orchestra together. Swapping clothes. Our fights. The late nights when secrets were confided. And countless times of laughter. I remember my sister who was always there for me and who has always been there for me and still is. I remember the words she wrote to me and which hang round my neck, “There is no better friend than a sister.”   

Artist Statement

When looking for an artifact to choose for this essay I didn’t know what to choose. However, while I was reading Busch’s “The Uncommon Life of Common Objects” I was reminded of how the necklaces I wear have backstories of my past which others don’t know. I therefore decided I would do my essay on a necklace but which one? While in class the film Citizen Kane in which an  object in the film reminded the main character of his childhood. This discussion led me to think about which necklace reminded me most of my childhood and that was the my locket. 

I didn’t want to introduce that the locket reminded me of my sister until I was at the point of explaining the note inside the locket. Therefore, I decided to first introduce the locket and how it had remained empty for many years. I hoped that by emphasizing that the locket had remained empty that it would highlight the importance of something actually being put inside. 

Also, I decided to first show how the locket reminded me of my childhood then how it reminded me of my sister to make the statement that life is not just about what we do but who we do it with. The necklace came to have greater significance when it came to symbolize not just my childhood but someone I had spent my childhood with.

Lastly, I knew I wanted to end and conclude with an excerpt from the note she wrote me. That excerpt perfectly states one of the themes of my essay which there really is no better friend than a sister, than family.