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Week 9

Lewis Klahr

I've never seen collage animation. This technique is incredible and so attention grabbing. The color tinting is something I would really love to learn. The negative space can be a lot at time but the colors draw more attention. The animation in his films is seamless and the pieces are trimmed perfectly. They blend well with the backgruond. I appreciate that Klahr uses same sex romance in his art. He doesn't seem afraid to tackle any topic through these comic clippings. I love that in Altair Klahr uses simpler background colors and textues but keeps the movement.

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Week 8

Robin Rhode

Robin Rhode focuses on the body combined with drawings in chalk, ink, and more. I love the way the humans interact with the still drawings to give movement to the scene. The basketball shot is the one I favor the most. The stop motion like shots give it a ney york street ball easthetic. It reminds me of something Spike Lee would make. I loved the shot of the record appeaering on a chalk record player. I didn't really care for the last shot of the drawings because the needle gets blurred.

Harrowdown Hill

The shots are good but the score holds the film for me. If the score were different the film wouldn't be that good in my opinion. I'm not sure if the bird in the video is an eagle but it seems to represnt America's fleeting idea of democracy and the continued problems developing.

I Am (Not) van Gogh

The film focuses on time. The artist seems to confront the notion of how fast time moves. It seems to tackle how humans don't appreciate time and we're steadily moving without cease. He wants to show his art at a festival and I think he needs an audience to get others to appreciate time.

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Week 7

Arrival

This experience is truly an anomoly. This film starts as if someone is about to sky dive. Having a calm narration bring you down to the ground slowly and describe the beautiful features of the land is cool. I've never seen anyone approach that height in that way. This short made me feel better about going sky diving. I love the shots and angles taken especially when on the ground and seeing the nature eye level.

Random Acts

Having the visual of these landscapes in circles gives the feeling of fleeting life. The horror pluck of the score intensifies this feeling as well. Capturing the dry lands and still water lends to the idea of fleeting life as well. There aren't any animals or humans captured either. This environment that we think we are familiar with because of photos seem now close to a wasteland.

Aki Sasamoto

I loved the overtop shots of the bartender handing Sasamoto glasses, napkinis, and more. The way she draws her ideas are dynamic as well. Normally you need mediums to execute a vision but she seems to be able to write them out as well. The transitions of her in the bar to her different projcets were nice as well. They give me ideas for my projects. I love the way she tackles her drinking problem and connects that with the idea of romance. Throwing both out to focus on the development of herself.

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Week 6

Virgil Widrich

The Copy Shop seems like a mor dynamic stop motion film experienced through a copy machine. The style makes this feel a little horror but the score changes the mood drastically. The score goes from somewhat scary to happy. Its ironic that the main subject (character) goes to a copy shop and looks as if the machine is a unknown object.

Maya Deren

Meshes of the Afternoon is a black and white film that seems to play with form and shadow of the human body. The human body is used in different ways to move the film forward. You only see hands and feet but the shadows show the intention and direction of the human figures. The film seems to have a confrontation theme with the figure with the mirror face. It's very interesting to have no true sight of the human face but have a figure with a mirror face. The knife on the staires also lends more to the idea of a scary theme as well.

Stan Brakhage

Mothlight uses film to probe the body of the moth. The close-ups of the wings and body flashing quickly move the video forward while becoming lost in the random shapes as well. Keeping the light was a smart idea but I would like if the level of light changed throughout to make it more interesting.

Simbiosis Carnal

The use of color in this film is amazing! the animation style and colors lend to a childlike and joyful theme. The use of blue and pink to describe the sexuality of the characters keeps the film simple. We typically use blue for me and pinkk for women, but when the humans show up the woman is blue and the man is pink. This film also tackles how the world treats women currently and even how the government tries to control them. Its not surprising at all that we live in a time where women rebel against these stereotypes of what human past has tried to put in concrete.

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Week 5

Bill Viola

I appreciate the way he was able to take a near death experience and turn it into something beautiful. Most people become traumatized but he became enticed. The Raft was incredible in the way he used water to surround the human objects. The way they brace for the water shows the fear as opposed to his personal perspective on the beauty of water.

Pipilotti Rist

Making a chandelere from undergarments is truly the beauty of an avant garde approach, but also showing video against it takes another level. Rist brings up a great point in the confinement of video. Video does not always have to be in rectngular form. Just because companies see that as a typical or affordable way does not mean we can't change form.

Paul Pfeiffer

Pfeiffer does a great job in bringing to life the nostalgia of the horro film he favors. Allowing viewers to to see through the hole into the miniature home he built put them more into the horrifying moment soon to comme. Taking the team name off of the screaming players jersey shows a notion of transparency. Taking away that team shows the true figure. He's no longer chasing a goal nor winning.

[omoaustin]

I plan on using different textures from fabrics and a few other items with diagonal patterns or something close to it. I’m going to flip them back and forth using industrial sounds to accompany the transitions. I plan on opening the video directly to an image versus doing a fade in. I might do a fade out to end my video but I’m unsure. Lastly, I don’t want any other textures too drastic from fabrics because I think my vision will have a disconnect with my viewers and they probably won’t draw any parallels. 

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Week 4

Voice Over

This short was incredible. The narration grabbed my attention for each story. The direction and screen writing was brilliant. Each story was believable and creative. This amazing script tied well into the story of a young boy that was nervous to kiss a girl for the first time. This story connected with me because I felt the same way. You can’t wait too long, and you tend to become short of breath. I would recommend this short for anyone to watch. 

The Gunfighter

The short was hilarious and well executed. I think they are breaking the fourth wall in this film but I’m not sure. With The Voice (Nick Offerman) telling the characters what will happen next, it creates confusion amongst all of them. The direction of this story is not only perfect but also incredibly funny. 

Wanderers

This short was well composed and directed. Seeing this futurist location with minimal shots achieved everything it set out to do. The shots of these wanderers are incredible. The characters were well placed besides the moons or sunsets. The film ended with encouraging energy. The woman’s grin foreshadowed that the wanderers have a lot more traveling and sights in their near future. 

Luis

This is the first film so far that has made me uncomfortable. The storytelling seems so dark. I’m not willing to go far enough to say that I don’t like it. I can’t find the connection between the revolving room and the story told besides the drawings following. Every drawing is dark as well. This short is very creative and bold. The sounds used in this are amazing as well. The breath that’s used to move the room in between each part of the story is mixed well. 

Maybe One Day

This short was about a man that breaks his normal routine. Tired of his stress and boring schedule, the gentleman goes on a joyful detour. He visits a large field and see different animals. He then ends his fun filled evening by visiting a beach. I prefer different shots than what was used but I understand the direction. I do appreciate seeing the gentleman smile before bed while the scene fades.

Losers

Losers is a short about bullying. In today’s world we normalize bullying and antagonizing people. It hurts people and makes them very low about themselves. I thought every part of this short was executed perfectly. It hits home and the last shot makes anyone uncomfortable. The viewer gets to see the first of many tears that are shown when someone is hurt/ broken. This was by far my favorite this week. 

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Week 3 Review

Windows 

Windows is a weird short film. It’s a different shots of windows with different things outside of them. While these shots are ongoing, the speaker is giving facts about deaths from windows. This made me feel nervous to go near my window but overall I  have respect for the work. My favorite shot is near the end when the perspective is upward towards the sunset. The shot is beautiful and made me forget about the speakers words.

New York, Capitalism,...

Lost Book is a perfect title for this film. These shots are unnatural but balance well with the visuals. His uncaring for consent of these off guard shots and sometimes face on shows his attachment to his work. Showing the trash and lost items on the streets of New York connected to the lost part of the title for me. His shots incorporate lost faces, lost items, lost time, and more. 

La Jetee

La Jetee is a disturbing dark film. Trying to send people into the past and future to help the present seems like a horrible experiment to try. Risking life and life to accomplish something like that seems foolish. I’m also wondering how they were able to take these shots. None of the visuals are film. Black and white was a great tone setter for the film besides the actual tone of the speaker. The shadows of each image helps show just how cruel this process and the people running it are. 

Ilha das Flores

It seems very interesting that they would include that ‘there is no God’ in the beginning of this film while an eloquent and joyful score is playing. I was shaken by the sudden change in tone when the speaker went in depth about where currency came from and Jesus. A clip was shown of bodies of jews being thrown into a pit. It seems too cruel for this video, then it went back to a cartoonish light mood. The Island of Flowers has such a dark purpose behind it. The fact that this island is used for trash is terrible for the inhabitants. These people eat food that isnt deemed suitable for the pigs. I wonder if they even have anything to clean off the food that they pick from the trash. The Island of Flowers should be given another name. 

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Portrait Project 

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Week 2

Gong

The opening score of this film helps set the mood to be happy and cheerful. As the score transitions into a dark lullaby a snail-like creature comes to attack the village. The colors of the film also change from bright to a pink-ish filter. I didn’t care for the creature too much. I think it would work better if it were a dark mist or a dark plague. The music seemed parallel to something more dangerous coming, so I was underwhelmed when I saw the snail. Overall the quality was great and the execution as well. 

Photocopy Cha Cha

The film opens to a blank screen that follows with a gentleman photocopying himself in different positions. I love simple ideas and that’s what was shown in this short film. The music and shots are great and I love the fact that for most of the film they use a primary color scheme. Everything moves that much smoother because of the color choice. This short film kept me engaged from shots and colors alone. I did not expect the color choice but I have no problems with it. The morphed images that Chel White uses are very colorful. This puts me in the space of an outer body experience. 

Pipilotti Rist Intreview

Rist seems to have a very abnormal approach. It doesn’t seem like she boxes herself in to one medium. She uses as many as she can to relate to human beings and show our complexity. She seems to want to give a deepened feel to how we see things everyday. She admits that screens flatten and limit us. The pixel forest she has is incredible. The lights give such a hypnotic feel while the each pixel grabs your attention. This indoor installation is amazing. I love that they aren’t properly measured and distanced from each other. Keeping things in a random order makes visitors feel surrounded and engaged instead of being bored. 

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Theory of Linguistic

I agreed with the points made in the video. Language is important and it connects all humasn together. If you want to get closer to someone from another country you can learn their language. Language is important for my thoughts because its how I build my confidence. Telling myself what I'm going to accomplish helps me stay accountable while chasing my goals. Videos do expand our language because they express feelings and ideas in a different way. Everyone may not be able to express their feelings through words or others may have learning disabilities that videos help solve. Videos help musicians, teachers, geogrpahers and more get their point across and make their teams better.

Richard Mosse

I apprecited the lengths this team went through to make this film. The color of the film made this all the more better. It took away the things that would make us judge. I couldn't tell how tarnished the clothes were because of the lighting and affects bouncing off their garments. It took the facial expressions to tell these were poor oppressed people constantly at war. This film made these poeple visible and showed me how much bullshit they go through. The color film made the soldiers seem stronger and more prideful. These men fight everyday for their lives and adn their poeples'.

South Africa

This clip was very powerful. Something that stuck out to me was the young lady underwater swimming next to the whip. Her hand trembled as it neared the whip and it froze me. It gives me goosebumps thinking about some of the hardest days my ancestors went through. Another frame that stuckout was the young man in the boat. He never moved his hands and it made me think about slaves being chained while moved on boats and ships. They possible could have moved their feet but chained by wrist on top of each other was nothing short of a nightmare, and it should never be forgotten. This minimally scored video was executed perfectly and reminded me of every aspect of slaves being traded and sent wherever their owners desired.