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Final project installation sketch

Though I add transitions between each color themed clip, I prefer to separate them for the installation. Actually, I would add some more color-themed clips if I have enough time to make the whole exhibition more integral and “Palette” feeling. I want the whole space to be a medium sized all white wall, ground and ceiling polygonal room. Then I will use the projector to play each color palette indefinitely at the same time starting subtitle “Palette No. XX” on each side of the white wall. Also, one thing I need to make the adjustment is I need to make the duration of each clip exactly the same to make the audience feel more comfortable and each to understand. Given that each clip has different background sounds, I prefer to prepare headphones for each clip displayed. And I will also play one background sound publicly which is suitable for the whole thesis.

I want my audience, first of all, have a strong visual feast and “Palette” feeling, therefore the room should be not too big and without light. Then when the audience walks in the room, they will naturally walk through each wall with headphone on to enjoy each clip. Also, for the whole ground, I will also use a projector to display a very short trailer demonstrating what this project and the title (like what you saw at the very beginning of the video but will be a bit longer than that).

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Final project statement

Title: Palette

Major thesis:

Inspired by film director Karwei Wong’s intense color art, I want to play with colors for the final project. I intentionally choose five girls with very different personal characteristics and dressing styles. Then I ask them to choose their favorite color and have different environment settings according to what they wear. And I want to investigate “Relationship between people's behaviors/characteristics/movements and the outfit color texture/style as well as the environment cooperated with the outfit. More specifically, how people's characteristics affect their choice of outfit; and how the choice of outfit as well as environment affect people.

About the video:

I named the video “Palette” because it could not only represent range and variety of colors, but also a person’s characteristics, movements, feelings, etc. All five girls have very distinct traits and representative color(s):

Peiyao - light green, light pink, baby blue, white

Camila - black, white

Stacy - vintage red

Gina - pink mauve, burgundy

Maya - yellow, orange, denim blue

And it’s interesting to find that the color match really fit their own personal traits representatively.

For the transition part, I spent lots of time figuring our which is the best way to transit fluently given that each clip has different colors, people, music, etc. I then feel like adding similar transition music with several seconds highlight part of each clip is the most natural way. I also add subtitles: “Palette No. 1”, “Palette No. 2”, etc. to look like a trailer.

Music & sound credit:

팔레트(Feat. G-DRAGON), instrumental

Ride of your life, instrumental  

The 1975

some music names unknown:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAQ9_IyiM88

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyeRi5iov4s

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Final Project

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Research

Video installation artist - Pipilotti Rist

Video installation work - <Pixel Forest>

I know this artist actually in our class and I really like her piece of <Ever and orverall>. Then I started to watch her other pieces. <Pixel Forest> is a comprehensive presentation of Pipilotti Rist’s work in New York. As Pipilotti Rist explained: “Pixel Forest features a new installation created specifically for this presentation and also reveals connections between the development of my art and the evolution of contemporary technologies.” It also interesting to see that she utilized television monitor, clothes, smartphone, communal experience of images, etc for the installation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRnDHu0Fmtk

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Proposal & timeline for final project

For my final project, I want to explore my personal interest in fashion, and combine video techniques together with my understanding about the relationship between “color”, “clothe texture”, “mood” and “surroundings”. I want to play with colors and try to use more creative editing methods to better match with each color theme. More especially, when thinking about color “blue”, the first words and feelings that come into my mind are like “comfortable”, “sea”, “vacation”, “relaxing”, etc. Then I will shoot some footages based on these words and feelings that first popped up into my mind, and show my understanding towards clothes, the relationship between clothes’ color/texture/cutting and a person as well as how the outfit color match to the surroundings. Also since there are hundreds of colors actually if subdivide them, I will choose several colors based on my personal preference.

For types of footage and techniques used, I think it really based on what clothes/environment I choose. Given that I haven’t decided what surroundings and outfits I’m going to choose, I’m not sure what types of footages I’m going to use. But I do think that I’m going to use many editing techniques like hard cut, fade in/out, cross dissolve, layers combined together with different blend mode, etc. Also, I want to experience with the projection which I think would be very interesting to play with!

Lastly, I want the piece to be installed on the window-blinds. Since I think my video would have many colors appeared and I want the audience to see those colors clearly, I want a very light-color and clean background. But the texture and shape of window-blinds are very different and much more attracting than just the white wall.

Timeline for final project

ï Week 1(4/10~4/16)

1. Look up some video arts on fashion for inspirations

2. Brainstorm contents

3. Finish storyboard by 4/10

4. Start collecting materials needed and contacting models if needed  

ï Week 2 (4/17~4/23)

1. Finish shooting all footages needed

2. Finish recording all audios possibly needed and start to look for some background music

ï Week 3 (4/24~4/30)

1. Start editing the footages and audios

2. Finish editing them into one piece

3. Prepare for critique

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Project #3 write-ups

The topic of our documentary is to discuss the current situation of refugees in the United States. U.S. has a well-known long history of welcoming refugees, which represents “its highest value and aspirations to compassion, generosity, and leadership”.(Refugee Admission, U.S Department of State, https://www.state.gov/j/prm/ra/) However, the public knows very few about how refugees’ lives are in the States. Are they really better off here? What price do they need to pay to survive in the detention center? Also, it’s often ignored how American people think of this policy. Are they really welcoming the refugees as the political propaganda suggested?

Our documentary starts from an artists-refugees program at the University of Rochester that has been shut down recently. We are going to interview several professors about their understanding about refugees’ life in the detention center and how they think of them. To create a counter-argument, we plan to collect comments on social media about this issue. B-role footages may include some images and screenshots of social media.

Tasks distribution: Linda–Collection of B-role images, finding comments on social media Jeff– Interview with Allen, collection of relevant audio Yuting– Interview with Heather, collection of relevant audio *All the editing would be evenly distributed between group members according to planned sequence of footages.

Timeline: Mar.21 Interview Heather Mar.23 Interview Allen      Collecting all the B-role footages Mar.27 Start editing  Mar.29 Half finished Apr.3 Finish draft       Some adjustment, finalize everything Apr.5 Final Video

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Reading response

This article helps me to have a deeper understanding and thinking about “What is a documentation?” as well as authenticity and reliability of a documentation.

Usually, people will believe everything they see in a documentation to be true like I did before, which means media has an extremely strong power towards the public. Then, after reading the conversation between non-trans film maker Sam Feder and trans activist Dean Spade, I understand the goal of “Boy I Am” is to uncover some of the judgments of people on trans people. That’s why Dean Spade thinks the filmmaker should emphasize on arguments, living status, etc. on trans people rather than holding different points of view. However, I agree with Sam that the power of documentation shows instead of telling. It’s important that a film maker strives to maintain a balance between creating media and keep boundaries of respect, then it opens dialogue, understanding, and thinking of viewers.

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Project 2 Statement

Title: “Relationship”

Statement

When I was thinking the footages that I was going to shoot, I was actually inspired by roses my roommate received which the color is vivid and bright for a nice-looking shot. I want to experience both outdoor and studio shooting, and make this first attempt at video editing to be creative and fun; therefore this footage is not a realist depiction of an everyday action or event of a specific person, it’s more tend to be an abstract depiction of relationship between people’s ‘relationship status’ and ‘personal status’, including emotion, living habits, etc.

I used a lot of blend effects with several footages overlapping together and I had lots of fun when playing with this part. Since I discovered that when overlapping still shot and moving shot, close shot and long shot and two shot with very different contents, could have an amazing and unexpected effect. I also took a lot of time exploring how sound and image and combine together. One of my restriction is no silence, it’s actually a little bit challenging to me because some of my shots sound not very good, so for some of the footages, I used other sounds recorded later on and combine them with the footages.

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Storyboard project #2

Three rules:

1.    Incorporated stills (any kind of stills)

2.    Wipe transition

3.    No silence

 My storyboard for project #2 

Clip 1

·      Location: street

·      Description: I received a bunch of roses on the street on daytime and hold it while crossing the street

·      Types of shot：

o   full shot of me crossing the street with a big smile backward

o   Close-up of flowers

Clip 2

·  Location: bathroom

·  Description: I put the flower into a vase happily and pull some water into the vase

·  Types of shot：

o   Medium close-up of me pulling water into the vase

o   Cut in of the water flow

Clip 3

· Location: restaurant

· Description: have dinner together with “him”

· Types of shot：

o   Bird’s-eye view of hands holding together

Clip 4

· Location: Rettner Studio

· Description: cut flowers using hands and pulling out the petals

· Types of shot：

o   Full shot/ cut-in/of me cutting flowers

o   Extreme close up of petals being pulled out

 Here’s what comes to my mind when I’m thinking about my second project and I’ll upload some pictures showing my progress during weekends (I’m bad at drawing things…). Also, I want to share the thesis/thinks after I finished some part of the clips. Since I feel like the thesis could change during my progress of shooting.  

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“Improvising beauty” Tosh

I’ve watched many art videos and I typically love this piece by Tosh, because I think first of all, the movements of the performer’s hair has a great match with the background sound “I’m not human at all” by sleep party people. Second, I love how the whole video is about the movements of performer’s hair and the hair as just a small part of body can actually express many things to the audience like different emotions. Also, Josh used many editing techniques to corporate better with the sound and I think it’s really cool to have these effects and transitions.

Next piece that I want to share is actually not made by an artist, but my favorite yoga youtuber Juliana and Mark. This video is a look back of 2016 with their gratitude and excitement for adventures, videos and memories they made for the whole year. I was very inspired by this video because I love the life philosophy of this couple that “when you embrace the change that life brings your way wonderful inspiring amazing things can happen”. I also love what this video said that “we are wonderers on this earth, hearts full of wonder, souls deep with dreams, grateful for every breath” and “never forget to smile, never forget to dream”. Together with the background music and a throwback of their 2016, I think sometimes the existence of camera is really to just record things happening around you. And edit it in a way of you style.

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Timeline for project #2

Week 1(2/13~2~19)

Look up some video arts for inspirations

Brainstorm contents

Finish storyboard by 2/15

Week 2 (2/20~2/26)

Finish shooting all footages needed

Finish recording all audios possibly needed

Week 3 (2/27~3/5)

Start editing the footages and audios

Finish editing them into one piece

Prepare for critique

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Reading response —— “Introduction” from video art

After reading Michael’s “introduction” from video art, I learned a lot about the history and formation of video art and more importantly, what video art actually is.

I found out the I used to have a very cryptic understanding about “video art” and I even mixed it up together with film. From the book, I learned that video art is actually an all embracing art form which “embraces all the significant art ideas and forms of recent times - abstract, conceptual, minimal, performance and pop art, photography, and digital art”. And there are generally three generations of video artists: from massive communication medium for their own purpose to an implement of commerce and then a material for art. Today, most artists prefer to see video as one material among many to be used in their art. So they always combine photography, video, drawing and sculpture to express whatever they’re interested in.

The author states that the major thesis of this book is that “performance has been highly influential in the unfolding story of video art”. I personally totally agree Micheal’s opinion because in order to deliver the artists’ personal ideas and understanding about themselves and the society, they focus more on the content of the video and performance is a major form to constitute a video.

Also, I found it interesting that some people would say that video art is a narcissistic art because it’s all about the artist himself: his body, soul, thoughts, etc. apparently, Michael totally disagree it and me either. Like Michael explained that video art aims to “maximize the perceptual potentials of the medium as well as to engage in cultural critiques”.

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Project #1 description

Location: O’brien dance class

Background sound: dance practice

Specific sound source:

·      tie up the hair with a ribbon

·      draw the curtain

·      footsteps 1 (jumps)

·      footsteps 2 (slides)

·      finger snap

·      breathing

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Reflection about listening exercise 1/23

Part 1

I went to the film developing area for the listening exercise. 

And the following are the sound sources that I can hear:

Water flow in water pipes

exhaust fan

water flow in dark room beside the film developing area

each of them has the following properties: 

Water flow in water pipes: continuous, very apparent, relatively appeals loud in the quiet room, sounds like a little stream of crystal clear water.

exhaust fan: continuous, the loudest sound in the room, sounds like wind blowing. 

water flow in dark room beside the film developing area: discontinuous, much more far away from the water flow in water pipes, sounds like several streams of water coming from a high mountain. 

In general, when closing my eyes and listening to the sound around me, I felt like I was in a small village without anyone living around. And there are mountain streams, stones besides me. It also seems like it was a windy and foggy early morning which actually gives me a relaxed feeling. 

Part 2

Then I used the professional microphone to record each sound respectively and the sounds in the room. I feel like for the general sound in the room, it seems no difference when I played them back later on, despite the water flow sound in water pipes appeals can be heard more detailed things. Also for each sound source respectively, I put the microphone to the sound source as close as possible. Then when I play back the music, each sound source can be heard very clearly. However, one problem is that I can’t avoid other sound sources to some extent even if I’m very close to a specific sound source.

So one concern that I need to deal with when doing my project one is that for each specific sound source, how can I avoid other sounds coming in if I only need that specific sound in a space?

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Research #2

Artist: Thomas V. Christie

Plant sounds, 2011

I find it an interesting art work created by Canada composer and sound installation artist Thomas be because I’ve never think of or noticed the sound of different plants around me before. The sound of plant is so whispery and it’s actually my first time listening to plant’s sound. Thomas utilized electrodes to detect plant lily’s micro-voltage fluctuations resulting the soundscape. It’s also amazing to know that plant actually respond to changes in its environment such as touch. So I’m thinking about that plant itself can actually generate nice music by touching to different body parts of it.

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Reading response——“The three listening modes” by Michel Chion

After reading Chion’s opinion and classification about listening modes, I find it interesting that listening can actually take a variety of modes and strategies which I’ve never noticed before. Different listening modes are applied based on the context and task need to be finished. In Chion’s book, he classified listening into three modes: causal listening, semantic listening and reduced listening. Causal listening is listen to a sound in order to get information about a sound’s source. Also, “When the cause is visible, sound can provide supplementary information about it” and  “When we cannot see the sound’s cause, sound can constitute our principal source of information about it.” Semantic listening is listening to understand and interpret the meaning of a spoken language and other encoded messages. And lastly reduced listening is listening the quality or characteristics of the sound itself.

It’s worth mentioning that the author thinks though causal listening is the most common mode of listening, we can’t overestimate the accuracy and potential of causal listening. I totally agree with author’s opinion if taking our everyday life into consideration. When we hear a voice of an unknown people, we’ll always image that person’s physical characteristics and give that person a visual image objectively. However, there is always a big difference between the real person and the person we imagined based on the voice.

Also, Chion asserts that “ the descriptive inventory of a sound can not be compiled in a single hearing. One has to listen many times over, and because of this the sound must be fixed, recorded.” As a result, reduced listening takes advantages of opening up our ears and sharpening our power of listening. This particular helps film and video makers, musicians, etc who benefit from paying attention to the inherent qualities of sound.

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Research

Artist: Nikki Pike

Ice Bellows(Remix), 2011

I’m very inspired by Nikki’s art work “Ice Bellows”, which she put the ice into different amount of water and display the sound of ice.  She believes that silence doesn’t exist and we can actually hear “silence”. So she did experiment with ice and enlarge the sound and display them respectively, we can hear various sounds and the ice sound is so musical that I’ve never imaged before.