In part 1C of the FST 302 Project, the groups had to go out and take photos, using three different exposures. My group decided to go to the Wildflower Preserve on campus to take some nature shots. The first shot I took was a closeup of moss on the bark of a tree. The forest we photographed in was very dense, therefore the lighting was not as bright as we wanted it to be. Plus, it had recently rained, and the sky was still gloomy. With this in mind, we had to use a smaller F-stop, to let more light in. The lighting was hitting the moss from the back, but I thought it created a nice highlight around the exterior of the moss.
My group took a few more photos in the Wildflower Preserve where there was more light, and less canopy coverage on top. We got a few long shots of grass and flowers. The F-stops were a little bigger (in number) than the one of the moss, because the lighting was a tad brighter in those areas.
The last place we decided to go to take photographs was the south end of Wrightsville Beach. We went at nighttime, a nice change from the other photos we took. We went to the beach around 11pm - there was practically no ambient light, only artificial from street lights and our phones. I took a close up of a palm tree, and since lighting was sparce, we created our own through phone lights. I placed one phone at the back, and one to the side, casting a nice shadow to the right of the tree. Obviously, our F-stop was on the smallest number, due to the limited lighting.
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
What I Learned About Sound Design?
The sound design project was designed to make us rely more on our ears than our eyes. In film, obviously the eyes dominate the five senses, and sound is often put on the back burner, but this project challenged me to realize the importance of sound. Listening to each soundscape in the dark was a neat experience - I was able to completely block off my sight sense and just listen to the sounds for what they were; the layers, the movement, the construction, the pictures created in my head.
The first soundscape we listened to was David, Kendall, and Miko's group. Initially, I pictured a graveyard scene in my head. The sounds of heavy breathing established a consistent tempo, along with the bell toll and rain. There was a shift halfway through that changed to a calmer, mysterious ambient sound. After class discussion, we agreed the soundscape symbolized waking up from a nightmare.
The second soundscape was created by Paul, Walt, and Danet. Immediately, I realized there was more of a narrative feel to the layered sounds. The conversation with Parker's mom that was used, paired with the car door, revealed this "person" was driving somewhere. There were sounds of metal clanging, chattering, and abrupt noises, indicating a public setting. Interestingly enough, the title the group chose was "Marriage Temple", and that proved to me how sound can be interpreted in various ways when a visual stimuli is not present.
I really enjoyed the soundscape created by Porshia, Ashley, Nick, and Joshua. They had a lot of dynamic transitions between loud and soft sounds - very crowded, busy, on-the-go. Throughout the soundscape, there was a constant ticking noise that indicated passage of time. The class as a whole agreed it was self reflexive, drawing attention to the medium, but I viewed the soundscape as "a day on a movie set". I talked with Ashley after, and she said that is exactly what the group was going for. Despite some people not interpreting the soundscape correctly, I liked how various sounds paired together can create different pictures in everyone's mind.
All in all, I believe that was ultimately the point of this assignment. To learn how to manipulate and pair sounds together without visual stimuli, in order to create a new art form. This project definitely allowed a lot of artistic freedom to flow, and truly reveals the power sound has in media.
The first soundscape we listened to was David, Kendall, and Miko's group. Initially, I pictured a graveyard scene in my head. The sounds of heavy breathing established a consistent tempo, along with the bell toll and rain. There was a shift halfway through that changed to a calmer, mysterious ambient sound. After class discussion, we agreed the soundscape symbolized waking up from a nightmare.
The second soundscape was created by Paul, Walt, and Danet. Immediately, I realized there was more of a narrative feel to the layered sounds. The conversation with Parker's mom that was used, paired with the car door, revealed this "person" was driving somewhere. There were sounds of metal clanging, chattering, and abrupt noises, indicating a public setting. Interestingly enough, the title the group chose was "Marriage Temple", and that proved to me how sound can be interpreted in various ways when a visual stimuli is not present.
I really enjoyed the soundscape created by Porshia, Ashley, Nick, and Joshua. They had a lot of dynamic transitions between loud and soft sounds - very crowded, busy, on-the-go. Throughout the soundscape, there was a constant ticking noise that indicated passage of time. The class as a whole agreed it was self reflexive, drawing attention to the medium, but I viewed the soundscape as "a day on a movie set". I talked with Ashley after, and she said that is exactly what the group was going for. Despite some people not interpreting the soundscape correctly, I liked how various sounds paired together can create different pictures in everyone's mind.
All in all, I believe that was ultimately the point of this assignment. To learn how to manipulate and pair sounds together without visual stimuli, in order to create a new art form. This project definitely allowed a lot of artistic freedom to flow, and truly reveals the power sound has in media.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
The Absolute Film
We were assigned The Absolute Film, written by Dr. William Moritz. As stated in the article, this term was coined through comparison to "absolute music", which is defined as music that has "no reference to a story, poetry, dance, ceremony...besides the essential elements - harmonies rhythms, melodies." Mainstream music tends to follow a pattern, have an overarching message to its rhyme and reason, but absolute music does not. Similarly with absolute film, the film itself does not follow a plot line or rely on human characters to convey a story. The visuals created on screen do not present a story, but rather an aesthetic. Absolute film falls under the realm of experimental, and immediately I thought of Stan Brakhage while reading this article. The article talks about various filmmakers, specifically Hans Stoltenberg, who painted directly on the filmstrips. Brakhage practiced this same technique with his films using other materials where direct manipulation of the film was created, such as Mothlight.
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Jonas Mekas Presentation
Last Thursday, Natalie spoke on the life of Jonas Mekas - "the godfather of American Avant-garde". As a student interested in experimental, I found her presentation on this largely influential person in film fascinating. One aspect of Mekas' style that was touched on was his interest in rhythmic film. With recent discussion on synesthesia and cymatics in class, I can see why this figure was chosen to be presented to the class. The idea of movement and flow of not only music, but the way in which the film itself is presented, is artistic to say the least. As Mekas defines it, "cinema is light, movement". Intentional decisions to put a clip here or there in order to establish a particular rhythm is an art form in itself.
In the presentation, a point that was emphasized was the term coined by Mekas as diary film, meaning a film that looks at snapshots of one's life. This "slice of life" filming reminded me of French New Wave cinema, a genre we explored in FST 200 and excessively in upper level film classes last year. French New Wave films focused on the everyday man, his family life, and his day to day activities, with little to no embellishments. The idea was simplicity, something Mekas practiced in his experimental films.
I cannot help but draw comparisons between Mekas and French New Wave filmmakers. Mekas believed in the notion of "defiant amateurism", meaning he intended to style his films in a way that appeared less professional - shaky, handheld, repetitive. Similarly, in French New Wave, yet perhaps less intentional, the young filmmakers only had access to certain types of equipment. They had to make the most of what they had and be creative with the ways in which they film. The result appeared somewhat amateur to older filmmakers and critics, yet it became part of the style.
Jonas Mekas assisted in the establishment of Avant-garde style in America, as seen through his rhythmic, slice of life films and "amateur" technique. This paved the way for future experimentalists.
In the presentation, a point that was emphasized was the term coined by Mekas as diary film, meaning a film that looks at snapshots of one's life. This "slice of life" filming reminded me of French New Wave cinema, a genre we explored in FST 200 and excessively in upper level film classes last year. French New Wave films focused on the everyday man, his family life, and his day to day activities, with little to no embellishments. The idea was simplicity, something Mekas practiced in his experimental films.
I cannot help but draw comparisons between Mekas and French New Wave filmmakers. Mekas believed in the notion of "defiant amateurism", meaning he intended to style his films in a way that appeared less professional - shaky, handheld, repetitive. Similarly, in French New Wave, yet perhaps less intentional, the young filmmakers only had access to certain types of equipment. They had to make the most of what they had and be creative with the ways in which they film. The result appeared somewhat amateur to older filmmakers and critics, yet it became part of the style.
Jonas Mekas assisted in the establishment of Avant-garde style in America, as seen through his rhythmic, slice of life films and "amateur" technique. This paved the way for future experimentalists.
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Synesthesia and Cymatics
In class last Thursday, we discussed two intriguing topics - synesthesia and cymatics.
Synesthesia being "the production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense of part of the body". This concept fascinated me, and part of me developed jealousy that I was unable to combine two senses, as discussed in the video we watched. To be able to combine taste with hearing, or sight with smell, is mind-blowing. I remember while watching the video, I tried to think back at times where I too could smell colors or hear tastes. Even throughout the video, I thought I could smell the visuals on the screen - but alas, I think it was a placebo effect instead. Randomly this weekend, my friend Brooke started talking about how she can taste colors and hear smells. I immediately turned to her and diagnosed her. I knew she had synesthesia! That was neat to apply something we talked about in class and use it only a few days after. She had no idea why she could do the things that she did, but that has changed.
Another idea discussed in class was cymatics. Cymatics is defined as "the study of wave phenomena, especially sound and their visual representations". I am a visual learner, a filmmaker, and an artist. This concept allowed me to see sound. The designs created through sound vibrations. I knew sound waves followed a certain pattern, however I could not visualize those patterns until watching the video with the sand shifting on the pan. Sound is its own art form.
Synesthesia being "the production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense of part of the body". This concept fascinated me, and part of me developed jealousy that I was unable to combine two senses, as discussed in the video we watched. To be able to combine taste with hearing, or sight with smell, is mind-blowing. I remember while watching the video, I tried to think back at times where I too could smell colors or hear tastes. Even throughout the video, I thought I could smell the visuals on the screen - but alas, I think it was a placebo effect instead. Randomly this weekend, my friend Brooke started talking about how she can taste colors and hear smells. I immediately turned to her and diagnosed her. I knew she had synesthesia! That was neat to apply something we talked about in class and use it only a few days after. She had no idea why she could do the things that she did, but that has changed.
Another idea discussed in class was cymatics. Cymatics is defined as "the study of wave phenomena, especially sound and their visual representations". I am a visual learner, a filmmaker, and an artist. This concept allowed me to see sound. The designs created through sound vibrations. I knew sound waves followed a certain pattern, however I could not visualize those patterns until watching the video with the sand shifting on the pan. Sound is its own art form.
My Sound Recording Experience
The ability to hear has always been one of my favorite senses - because it is so unappreciated and quite frankly, taken for granted, I have gravitated towards it. I grew up in a musical family. My dad and brother were gifted instrumentalists, so naturally I was molded into a musician as well. Playing a musical instrument brings certain things to life that you would not notice otherwise, and that is the power of sound. My ear has been trained to hear the quietest ring or the deepest hum. I can tell when something is out of tune or off balance. A very useful skill, it can also be annoying. But regardless, having a good ear did help me during the soundscape project.
My group did not have a structured plan regarding what we were going to record.We did it as we went, and I feel that was still effective - it made the recording process more natural, and we were able to pick up sounds we would not have thought to pick up otherwise. My group recorded a few ambient sounds from popular locations on campus (Randall library, outside Kenan, parking lots, etc.) and acquired lots of human sounds from listening in on conversations, but my favorite sounds to gather were the sound effects. This was the first time I was able to experiment with foley. Another interest of mine, I have always found foley impressive. Andre mentioned in films that had scenes of birds flapping their wings, often times leather gloves were used to create the sound effect - how cool is that! My group brought quite a few extraneous items, such as trash bags, soda bottles, a toothbrush on a laptop case, to obtain some unique noises. It amazes me how realistic certain effects can sounds, even though they are fabricated.
All in all, I had a pleasant sound recording experience. I had done something similar in my 201 class when we made another soundscape, so this was familiar territory for me. That being said, no recording experience is the same, and I enjoyed furthering my knowledge with the equipment and sound itself.
My group did not have a structured plan regarding what we were going to record.We did it as we went, and I feel that was still effective - it made the recording process more natural, and we were able to pick up sounds we would not have thought to pick up otherwise. My group recorded a few ambient sounds from popular locations on campus (Randall library, outside Kenan, parking lots, etc.) and acquired lots of human sounds from listening in on conversations, but my favorite sounds to gather were the sound effects. This was the first time I was able to experiment with foley. Another interest of mine, I have always found foley impressive. Andre mentioned in films that had scenes of birds flapping their wings, often times leather gloves were used to create the sound effect - how cool is that! My group brought quite a few extraneous items, such as trash bags, soda bottles, a toothbrush on a laptop case, to obtain some unique noises. It amazes me how realistic certain effects can sounds, even though they are fabricated.
All in all, I had a pleasant sound recording experience. I had done something similar in my 201 class when we made another soundscape, so this was familiar territory for me. That being said, no recording experience is the same, and I enjoyed furthering my knowledge with the equipment and sound itself.
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