mezblog

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Storyboards

i have found storyboarding particularly useful, since i have moved further into attempts to animate by subtractive methods, and begin to lose track of where i intend to lead in the imagery. i think i will employ this for all my future work that requires film as it has allowed me, particularly as in film you can't take back a scratch, to create a storyline without so many mistakes to edit in premiere. Thanks Rowena for showing this in class, i know shoutouts in blogs aren't the norm, but it was really helpful.

Thanks ;)

Storyboards for found footage and plain emulsion film:

Final scratches from storyboarded animation:

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Final Attempt

I tried more experimentation with my found footage for this second attempt, as i only used it as overlay footage on my first rhythm project. i only used subtractive scratching techniques for this but was able to make movement in my scratching as the footage is relatively still. I am interested to see the effects and how well the movement of scratches comes across in the final work.

Thankfully, my footage connects to the film’s concept of recording my surroundings, as it appears to be a science aid demonstrating the brain function when receiving input from sight and sound. hopefully I will be able to employ this conceptually to pair well with my additive footage of items that i have found along the path.

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Final Project Proposal

My final project will focus on expanding and exploring concepts that were begun in the first project. i hope to use collections from my surroundings to record my environment in microscopic and newly abstract ways. I would therefore focus on form in my film which includes elements of recognition- not only abstract images.

I would like to further expand from my first film additionally through expanding into physical manipulation of found footage. This would be through subtractive techniques, most likely through scratching. I would also like to expand into new and different experimentation with found objects in order to see how they would translate into film.

The use of additive techniques will particularly contribute to the concept of presenting surroundings in different ways as the quite abstract translation of the objects into film and the personal agency of the film in this process makes for an alternative means of filming a person's interactions with their environment.

Two artists that have contributed to this concept are Christine Khalafian and Stan Brakhage. Christine Khalafian, in her 2002, 16mm film, Mark Set Burn, which uses shaved body hair attached to film to comment on societal norms surrounding expectations of the removal of body hair, creates quite beautiful imagery through the use of the camera as a microscopic tool. This microscopic effect is also displayed in Brakhage’s Mothlight, which particularly inspired me to use flora to create abstract forms in film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt3nDgnC7M8

Above: Stan Brakhage use of plant matter in his film- Mothlight

https://lightcone.org/en/film-3355-mark-set-burn

Above: Christine Khalafian, Mark Set Burn

I hope to use a soundtrack that explores potentially 1920′s dixieland jazz such as the music sung by Louis Armstrong. I particularly like the record buzz/ disturbance from 1920′s jazz recordings as they appear to replicate the sound of the steinbeck when operating. It would also be fun to change the beat of the track when transitioning into different sections of the film.

Timeline:

By 6th of November (for postage):

- manipulation of the found footage (3 days)

- scratching of the black emulsion film (1-2 days)

- use of additive techniques on clear film (6 days- accounting for failures)

From 15th (roughly) to 28th of November:

- finish visual editing buy at least the 24th

- finish soundtrack by 27th-28th

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Experimentation

I used undiluted watercolour paint and wattle flowers for my first reel of experimental film, however although the wattle and paint make interesting silhouettes, no colour can be particularly seen in the final digitisation. I do not mind this, however it will be interesting for future attempts to experiment with how to bring out the colour in the film. 

This also became an issue for the elements of film that i coloured with highlighters- although the colour was more visible than in the case of the paint, it was so pale as to be unnoticable. i think, for future ventures, i need to work out how to bring out colour in the digitised film with potentially thicker textures or a more diluted paint mixture. 

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During my Australian History readings for another subject, i encountered an article that discussed the engagement of Aboriginal artists with historical photographic archives. The images created reminded me of the processes employed in experimental film practise and was inspired by the extent of such mediums to strikingly portray intense ideological and political meanings through the manipulation of found footage.

In the article, Decolonising and Re-imagining Photographic Evidence from the Colonial Archive by Brook Andrews and Jessica Neath, artists took found photographs from ethnographic archives such as those in the Mitchell Library and overlaid other imagery in order to either manipulate or emphasis the original meanings behind the photographs. The use of techniques such as painted dots or intricate drawings that retraced the images, shows the ability of simple techniques to provide re-humanising and politically charged messages through found footage. 

 I thought this was an interesting example to study as it shows the impact of film photography and the methods that could be employed when overlaying imagery as a means to point to and even criticize the meaning of the original photograph. Such an effect could be similarly displayed or even enhanced in film footage. i obviously do not intend to display such meanings in my own work so far, however the article still shows the malleability of the discipline to the different meanings that an artist may want to portray in their work.

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this is my first experimentation with the stop motion app. i used some cut out beetles for the subject. It was much more enjoyable than i had first expected to make the film. I will definitely keep this technique in mind as i think about my future projects- especially the rhythm film, as the stop motion definitely creates an almost rhythmic beat in the visual frame changes that could be employed or manipulated if you needed in the editing stage of the film making.

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i loved the simple concept of the work. it was not overly complex, either visually or conceptually. there was no editing of the physical film strip, however there seemed to be more clarity around the simple concept due to this factor. It only used an optical soundtrack, but created a backbeat with an alarm clock, which was clever. The atmosphere was very light and had visual surprises and hilarity throughout it. overall it was enjoyable to watch and fun. the shortness of the film (1:30) also created an un-ordeal like atmosphere. i think what i enjoyed the most was not only the humour, but that the techniques employed were specifically selected in order to display the conceptual idea well, rather than obscuring it through overly complex visual and sound effects- i thought that this was a clever move that needs to be in the forefront of my mind when i start to think about creating my own film works in the future.