mboniadimajorproject2018

[mboniadimajorproject2018]

Final Words

Overall the work has not made much of a departure from the original intention, which was to describe the Image of God through physical means. The most prominent thing which has shifted is the narrative that has been guiding the direction of the shots. It went from reflecting the image of God to describing the narrative by which God came to restore the reflection that is supposed to have existed in humanity. So it is a piece about interaction and intervention; something that I think the 2 screen idea has a lot to do with. Initially I was going to have 2 different flat screen TV’s mounted for the exhibition, however was suggested that I place the images on a single screen which is large enough to show a good quality image yet more practical in terms of being able to sync the images together. I am hoping to find a way of keeping this idea of the two images as totally separate yet united through narrative through the 2 screen format which I had been influenced to use because of works from Bill Viola such as ‘Martyrs’ (2014) and Fiona Tan’s ‘Rise and Fall’ (2011).

A lot of experimenting has taken place, and I have had to restrict myself from using every piece of footage and selecting those that truly worked within the entire structure. At the start of this research I had some test shots without sound; then began to seek out sound. I asked a friend to create some drum sounds for me and it seemed to work for the timing of the edit. I also wanted some harps as I was not yet sure about the grounding nature of the drums, so I used the site ‘Helpfulpeeps’ and found a sound design artist to create a more elegant harp-like sound. However that was too eery and did not fit with the aims I set before me to create something that illustrated a scenario that was spiralling upward in its status rather than downward. The drums were more subtle in their description of the montage and kept an equal balance that allows the spectator to be more observant of the meaning within the media.

I am pleased with the outcome of the work as I set out to do something specific and feel as though through the refining of ideas, cooperation of friends and tutors and research I have been able to successfully create visually stunning material and will be able to portray in a way that is interesting and attention grabbing. In everything I do with my artistic practice I draw in on my faith, what I learn from people around me and the things that I experience as a believer and artist. This is why I felt ‘Bezalel In The Shadows of God’ was an appropriate name; this is something I only recently decided upon. In Hebrew‘In the shadow of God’ is a family term with Tzelem Elohim ‘The image of God’. In the bible it says Bezalel was asked by God to be the ‘chief artisan’ of the Tabernacle (Which is the place of worship), therefore a creative authorship in imagery is a necessary part of his worship. Additionally my work is drenched in shadows and textures made by shreds of light; this is another contributing factor to the chosen title for this piece.

[mboniadimajorproject2018]

This is another amazing sample of music I had asked to be created for the piece to see how it matched with the piece, It didn’t fit as well as the drums so I set it aside. The reason for this is that it was slightly eery whereas I wanted something that would lift the mood of the piece. 

[mboniadimajorproject2018]

This drum sound was designed specifically for my piece by a local Persian band. I have taken a 5 min 30 second segment out of it to use for the piece. 

At first I found that it was too noisy when accompanying the piece, as the piece itself it so slow and fragile that the sound overwhelmed its simplicity. However in a tutorial it was mentioned to be a necessary fit with the image as it was meditative and repetitive which keeps the viewer engaged and enchanted by the matching rhythm.

[mboniadimajorproject2018]

Bezalel In the Shadows of God (2018) 

Maryam Boniadi

A single screen depiction of vertical videos which have been mantled side by side. This piece resembles the atmosphere of a cave that gently glows for the light that seeps through unidentifiable cracks; harkening to the the light of Christ which tore the veil of the temple (Which once separated humanity from God) in order to restore humankind to the likeness of its creator. 

[mboniadimajorproject2018]

These notes were made toward the end of the editing process, here I am trying to see how to best exhibit the piece. What materials to use, what size, what colour etc I had taken measurements of the screen I would be using so that I could start to construct the frame. I intend to cover up the fact that the videos are on one screen in the exhibition. Im hoping to achieve this by creating a frame around the flat screen with a partition and other material to cover the excess screen matter. This would give the effect that there are separate screens and emphasise the distance a bit more.

I have also noted mistakes in the tests that I’ve done, they have helped me return to and remember what to edit. 

There are also some notes I made in class by the comments my peers made.

[mboniadimajorproject2018]

Name choosing:

Imago dei

Image of God

Tzelem Elohim (In the Image of God)

Renewed to the Imago Dei

Renewed to the Image of God

Made in the Image of God.

Bezalel’s commandment. (In the shadow of God) 

Bezalel 

Bezalel means to be in the shadow of God.

Bezalel’s reflections.

To rest in God’s shadow.

To rest in Christ’s shadow.

The shadows of God.

[mboniadimajorproject2018]

A few stills from experimenting with the 65″ in the void. 

[mboniadimajorproject2018]

Spend an hour masking the wires in the background of this shot and it looks very clean now! Works much better without all those pesky wires in the background making it look 21st century instead of 1st. This is following a suggestion made by my peers in the recent crit.

[mboniadimajorproject2018]

CREDITS

Matt Page and Jess Dadds for lending kit/technical support. 

Matthew Noel Todd for tutorials.

Valeria Keller for lighting and acting.

Luther Wolfgang Philip for acting.

Amy Philip for helping film Luther.

Leanna for acting.

Fisola for acting.

Kersten Queku Delasauce for acting.

Emily Jasmine Wilson for acting.

Adsum Try Ravenhill for acting.

Leah Fossey for acting.

Rosie Carina for acting. 

Farshid Misaghi et al for sound.

Charles Keys for sound.

[mboniadimajorproject2018]

Rise and Fall (2011)

Fiona Tann

The major part of this work is that it draws a great link between my vertically framed videos. However what strikes me about Tan is that she alternates between still and moving shots within her work, all the while creating a storytelling dynamic within the piece yet still disorientating the spectator as to what time and place the events occur. 

I am particularly fond of the distance between the two screens and the size. The distance is quite tight therefore bringing a unity between the shots. This is ideal for my piece as I would like to indicate that the two screens are coming together to create a whole unit and idea. Because the screens are separated, one can imagine the spectator only properly focusing on one screen at a time in order to absorb the details and clues left by the author. This is something I hope to initially avoid; which I believe is achieved by bringing the screens closer together. 

In another segment of the exhibition she has work that is spread apart. This does not seem to work in the way of bringing two shots together, though I Imagine in the space once the spectator has fully examined the entire collection of footage they will come to a fuller understanding from having looked at the segments. A similar style was suggested to me a while ago in a crit, I contemplated creating further distance between the screens however it is apparent to me it would not achieve the outcome I would like. The footage I have is not independently meaningful but is meaningful when placed together. This follows the theory of montage that Eisenstein has created. 

[mboniadimajorproject2018]

This is a test of the 2 vertical screens I had done in March 2018. As you can see the other screen is not showing anything, there were some technical difficulties but in the May tutorial the screens were both working fine and the footage was crisp. 

I have moved onto a single screen idea, not to eliminate a 2 separate vertical idea but to be more stringent with the equipment and practical in terms of being able to sync up the clips better. In addition to this I can be more flexible with the size of the footage, make it as small as I would like - and testing out the distances between the two ‘screens’ easier. 

The two screen idea fits with the dualist idea of spirit and earth - though I personally adhere to the idea of those things being one and the same for humans, it is certainly a theological idea that is passed around a lot and it provides a childlike and simple explanation to the complicated nature of the spiritual and the physical.

As mentioned in the group crit on the 4th of May, the lighter images certainly outweigh the darker ones. The contrast is too high. In my recent edit I have altered the lighter images to highlight specific parts of the image and darken th outer with a vignette. Unfortunately I did not record the tutorial from yesterday otherwise the foot

[mboniadimajorproject2018]

Tutorial MNT - 11th May 2018

Use one large screen to show work and then improvise a covering to separate the images (White panel/sheet). This will help keep the work in sync, as it was difficult to achieve that with separate screens and the media players acting up. 

Have the work out in an open space rather than closed space. 

[mboniadimajorproject2018]

Group Crit - 3-4th May 2018

Sound is too Earthy and human, may confuse/diffuse its relationship to spirituality.

Chains too obvious/not ambiguous or metaphorical enough. 

2 wires spanning across the balcony shot make it look modern - try masking it out. 

The brighter shots overwhelm and are too starkly contrasted against the darker studio shots. Use colour grading/vignetting/lighting effects to tone it down.

[mboniadimajorproject2018]

Tutorial with MNT - 27th April 2018

Positive regard of the cinematography and sound. Sound meditative/relating to the spiritual in-keeping with the themes.

Instructed to use colour grading to bring out certain colours that seem to keep reappearing in the shots. 

Fiona tann - Vertical filmmaker

Keep in line with the story that is being told

[mboniadimajorproject2018]

Later edit with sound.

Some gaps are blank as I have yet to take the footage. Some complications arose especially with the baby footage where the child was moving around a lot and disrupted the continuity of the other shots and their stillness. Understandably its a baby. However I have chosen to find a time where I can film the baby asleep rather than awake so that it will not be moving. 

I like the pace of the shots at the moment, they each last around 30 seconds long which is a good enough time to have a close look at the details but not too long where the spectator loses the storytelling aspect of the structure. 

The shots at the moment seem quite flat and I would like to add some levels and colour to them to make specific colour themes stand out. The main themes are red, green, white and black. 

The sound is quite violent and noisy, I’m not sure if I like this very much but at the moment it is what I have to work with. I have tried using the ‘delay’ effect for the drums in premiere pro, this has helped the sound drastically to pick up key parts of the drumming. I have asked someone to help produce another sound for me with a harp instead, which is quite the opposite of the drum as it is more elegant and heavenly. Perhaps they will go well together, we shall see. I would definitely either need the volume to be quite low or have head phones attached to the screen so people can listen and be engaged. 

[mboniadimajorproject2018]

What I will need for the exhibition:

2 Flat screen monitors/TV’s (Between 20-40 inches)

2 Wall mounts for the screens

4 Panels to create the room (2 panels with have pieces cut out of them to secure the image on the screen)

|| | ||

White paint

Blue + Purple + Scarlet linen material to act as a doorway.

Black fabric for the ceiling (With holes poked through)

Speakers 

[mboniadimajorproject2018]