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alter by me

dancer yasemin bilgin

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There are no coincidences in life. What person that wandered in and out of your life was there for some purpose, even if they caused you harm. Sometimes, it doesn’t make sense the short periods of time we get with people, or the outcomes from their choices. However, if you turn it over to God he promises that you will see the big picture in the hereafter. Nothing is too small to be a mistake.

Shannon L. Alder (via perrfectly)

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the dream girls

photography by Simay Yöndem

23.05.2019

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The Muse, Marina Abramovic

The title is may be a little over the top, but for me, who really inspired me is Marina Abramovic herself. Some people find her really over the top, strange and so sexual in terms of art, but i see the deep meaning, at least from my perspective. I wasn’t really sure and confident about which installation art i was interested in. I always go back and forth when it comes the installations, but when i really tried to understand and observe what Marina was trying to convey, i fell in love. I was really enlightened in a completely inexperienced way. Her art, i think, is mostly about how we are much more than just a flesh, yes we do bleed and get hurt, but the internal experience is what really matters. 

After she fell in love with Ulay and they became partners in the art that they were creating, and i can simply say that their performance together is something that will never happen again, like ever. 

Personally, this performance that is on the top is my favorite one. ‘Relation in Time’ w/Ulay is somehow give me chills everytime i see it. There are no words that i can explain how i feel, but to say, i really find the inspiration that i need in Abramovic.

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Warhol’s “Screen Tests”

The thing about experimental films is that they are more abstract in certain ways but the end product is so powerful and charming that i am falling deeper and deeper to find out more. While i was trying to observe and acknowledge the concept of experimental film making, i’ve really enjoyed finding out the music videos that are shot in a way referring to experimental film making. But the thing that got me was the videos of Andy Warhol. The videos are so simple and causal, but the visuals and the faces of various people made the videos experimental and quite interesting.

“Conveying a curious demeanour and pasty complexion, Warhol specialised in the structural aspect of the American avant-garde, utilising a minimalist aesthetic and silent soundtrack to turn images of everyday America into exhibitions of art.” - Garreth Llyod

Andy Warhol - Empire

Andy Warhol - Kiss

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“Holy” Foley Art

When it comes to the art of sound, i think foley art is pretty important. Creating sounds with different objects like using celery for cracking bones, is pretty cool. This inspiring section of art really impresses me because the imagining how sounds would change and manipulated by the artist creates a whole new perspective for the movie. 

From another perspective, the art of the sound adds meanings to the thing we are watching. Ambiance and aura of a particular scene makes the spectator acknowledge and give meaning to the narrative, and it is mostly achieved by the sounds. I personally really give importance to the foley art because i believe foley artists are the ones that shifts the quality of the end product. When i tried to experiment on foley art, i found out that when you are watching a scene and at the same time trying to achieve a consistent sound effects for the actions, you go into the essence of the movements, our ears catches the every little thing we see and understand. 

Not using pre-recorded sounds are for a movie with the help of foley art, introduces us a great and strange experience, to understand the content. You watch the scene and you hear the sound, it really changes everything.

-Simay Yöndem

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Art of Making Trailers?

Think of a world, without trailers, not knowing anything about what to expect.. I think in the past trailers were not that much of a deal, but in this hyped, fast, fun and young generation, trailers are everything for a movie. We give our full attention while watching trailer because there is not much of an information about the thing that we will watch, play, etc. By saying that, i think lately a lot of trailers are revealing to much information that i lose my interest and excitement for a particular movie. Spoiling and spilling the tea in trailers are the worst because if something new is coming you be thrilled about it, but then bam! every little information about the plot is revealed, you know the story by watching the trailer for just 1 time. 

Besides getting angry about spoilers, i think trailers has become one of the most fun and creative form of art. The sound, the music, cuts, choosing specific scenes, dialogues, and everything about trailers are i think very essential and beneficial for the sake of art. Because the combination of sounds and scenes needs to create a big connection and rhythm, trailers became the key element to achieve success in now movies and games. 

This is cool

This is really cool, i mean the music and action scenes??

But in particular, the trailer for the 2nd part of The Last of Us game, like i watched it again and again after it came out, the sounds, the cuts integrated with the rhythm of the sounds.. and you don’t really understand what is waiting for you.. This is the coolest. 

-Simay Yöndem

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The Kuleshov Effect (attention! you may get emotional)

The word “montage” which was used in a striking way by Lev Kuleshov, we could also say that the third eye of the cinema was opened a little bit. For Kuleshov this psychological, artistic way of editing is something more than just cutting scenes, it is a way of expressing emotions. This way of thinking led him to create a very important and uncommon experiment for the cinema. 

With only one or two image, meaning becomes a cloud of many thoughts, emotions. Thats what i like about this style, because your imagination comes forward, it leads you to think more, you decide what to feel while he suggests you to think. 

As this is the most known piece of Kuleshov effect, you see the hunger, sadness and lust with the exact same expression of Mozjuhin (the actor). Editing the scenes in this way directly suggest audience to react in a way that there are many narratives and emotions within the same face gestures. This might be the first example of the Kuleshov effect, but in many well-known movies, if you can pay attention,  you can see that the emotion and the attaching sequences are mostly created by using Kuleshov effect. When we get the emotion from this style of editing, we directly mirror it to the actor. So the spectator basically becomes the one that gives emotion to the narrative. And also because the filmmakers know that they can manipulate the emotions of the viewer, they do it:)

as nice old Hitchcock vs dirt-minded old Hitchcock 

se7en Scene-The Box

So fundamentally, as we see the kuleshov effect, we go back and forth between clues and realization. For creating the contrast between different scene is really about kuleshov, to create yet meaningful and depended to the spectator.

-Simay Yöndem

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Mise-en-Scène?

When we watch a movie or tv series, everything we see, the meaning we get form scenes are basically mise en scene. The lighting, decor, setting, space and lastly costume and makeup are the elements and most of the time the meaning that wanted to be spread in a movie comes from these elements. 

I think decor and lighting are the key ones, at least they are the ones that i really take a close look at. Because the colors in the objects, the shadow that gives a total different meaning, intensity increases. 

Pan’s Labyrinth

The Tent – The Royal Tenenbaum

Creating the theme, mood, thoughts in a movie is really about the setting. For example in the movie The Royal Tenenbaum, the scene where they talk in a tent, the tent looks like a shelter of a kid, it is a childish space, but also a space in which adult passions bubble implicitly beneath the surface.

When it comes to the lighting process, everything changes and every little moment that has a mood in it gets affected by it. There are many movies that i can give example from but specifically, when i watched La La Land in open air, the lighting and the colors looked so intense so dependent to the mood.

If there were a scene filled with love, happiness the colors and lights were more light and warm.

There are some certain times where actors are smiling and the narrative is happy, the lights look much more flat, lighter and brighter. But when the director wants a dramatic and serious scene the lights constantly change as dark-low and high in contrast. I adore watching black and white movies with great lighting. The expressions of the face becomes so intense that you can feel the tension or the emotion in the particular scene. 

-simay yöndem

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Chiaroscuro in everywhere

Highlighting your subject, model or anything in a dark background simply explains the term chiaroscuro. But when you explore it in masterpieces in many forms of art, you understand that the lighting technique is the one that gives the emotion, dramatic tension. I personally think that this bold statement created with high contrast between light and dark gives the actual meaning to the context, whether it is black or white.

The idea of chiaroscuro firstly popped-up when 15th century painters left flat paintings and started to experiment with light, that gives three dimensionality to the visual in their paintings. Imagining a light source in a painting changed the perception of many artist.

Caravaggio-Saint Jerome Writing

The Matchmaker by Gerrit van Honthorst

After the change in the medium, Dutch creators and artists changed the way of projecting the light in a different form, film. The first and earliest example that i know is the The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, which has many many examples of chiaroscuro. The reason behind it i think the tension and drama in the movie. Because its a silent movie, the lighting gives a great meaning to the narrative.

Even though its a technique that has been here for the longest time, its the method artists use to achieve emotions, drama, tension more intense. This simple contrast of light and dark created the desire to achieve emotions, which i think the most important element of a movie.

It was funny when i found out that the movies of 40′s and 50′s are as noir as possible, due to the fact that it was cheaper. They look much the same to each other, so the lighting in a movie really grabs the story as a whole even its not meant to be.

After some time, as I found some creativity, there are some artists that creates in a way that inspires me.

Nicola Samori – Aperto (Il bene di Paolo) , 2015

Gzooh – Sofa

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ideas and little observations about ‘transmedia storytelling’

“Transmedia storytelling represents a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience.” (Henry Jenkins)

Now, when i quote from Jenkins, everything seems so philosophical or theoretical.. But in reality when i digged into the world of storytelling, everything seemed more clean and subtle. I’ve realized that since i was 9, i knew the examples of transmedia storytelling. Because nearly everything we know as movies, magazines, etc. , help us to gain a different perspective of a narrative that wants to be told. The unique contribution of every single medium creates a different sense of understanding to us.

Star Wars, Iron Man, Batman, The Hunger Games, Star Trek, Spider Man, Matrix and more.. They are the things that now i can consider as transmedia storytelling. While i was searching for more examples i found out that the target group that you are deciding on is really important to the medium that you are creating. Even your story or narrative is catchy and famous, without the target audience, every other medium that you are creating won’t be successful in the end.

I think in some way transmedia storytelling is also an interactive process. Because with the participation of us i mean ‘the target group’ the social relations established and built with creative cooperation. Especially after new blockbusters the industry uses them to create and produce new mediums to expand the story. If we can think about these days, transmedia storytelling turned into something that is only makes profit not earnings to the created medium. 

To give  an another perspective, the games we play, are great examples for transmedia storytelling because for example i’ve played walking dead game after i’ve watched the series. This transition between the mediums in some ways (i think) intensifies the meaning of the narrative, which is a good thing.

Lastly, to create a contrast about transmedia storytelling, i think cross media is something to be aware of. In short it can be identified as change only in the medium not in the narrative. I understood the differentiation with the example of Harry Potter, a story told by books, games, movies, and all of them follows the same parallel narrative without changing the original. I actually prefer transmedia storytelling because as i experienced, it gives a great perspective to your knowledge about a specific story, for you to expand your expectations. 

-Simay Yöndem

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Edgar Wright’s Approach to Filmmaking

When you watch one or two Edgar Wright movie, you get familiar with the visuals and camera shots.  His unique method of shot transitioning also stands out with the energetic and quirky mood of the shot types. But in his movies, the thing that  is pointed out the most is his distinct comedy techniques. Fundamentally we can say that he is a cinematic master when it comes to comedy and close-ups. Fast and controlled pace of zooms became his signature with well-known comedies. In addition to his camera shots, he does a good job balancing originality with parody too. About this he gives an example from Hot Fuzz and says “... that was the idea of taking the boring parts of job and fetishizing them and people say ‘oh that is strange and great at the same time’ ...” 

“Not only does he use close-ups as a comedy device, but he also uses them to set the speed of his movies and, in a way, force the edit. He mentions in the video essay that by starting a scene with a close-up, you are essentially giving the editor no other choice but to mark that shot as the beginning of your scene -- which might be an effective method if you have very specific parameters for different aspects of your film.” (V Renée)

Heighten emotions and intensity of the shots gives audience to fulfilly experience the movie. Personally, when i watch his work, i always feel the tension whether they are funny or not (they are always funny). Like its so cringy and cheesy that you see the vision and the humour in the scenes immediately. 

“With each film, Wright picks up a beloved Hollywood genre and transforms it into both a comic masterpiece and stunning example of that tradition.Working with his cohorts, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Wright created his enduring saga, The Cornetto Trilogy—named after, of all things, a British ice cream treat. Starting with Shaun of the Dead, a hilarious revival of the genre that refuses to die, Wright went on to make Hot Fuzz, a madcap takedown of action films, and then The World’s End, an apocalyptic sci-fi comedy. While each is distinct in its on way, similar themes, gags, and actors knit the trilogy together as a cohesive work and demonstrate the genius of Wright’s craft.” (Focus Features)

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Francesca Woodman ‘On Being an Angel’

“ Woodman produced over 800 untitled prints during her life. Influenced by Surrealism and Conceptual Art, her work often featured recurring symbolic motifs such as birds, mirrors, and skulls. The artist’s exploration of sexuality and the body is often compared to both Hans Bellmer and Man Ray.” (artnet.com)

For me, Francesca Woodman is one of the most unique photographer ever. Her perception of the world and most importantly herself creates a personal narrative in itself. Her on  masochistic and depressed mind and creativity can be seen in the photographs that she took. Personally when i look at them i see the pain and i see her story, that she wants to tell desperately. And the most important thing that i gained from her was her blurring the image to create movement. 

Self-deceit #1, Rome, Italy, 1978

Providence, Rhode Island, 1976

Narrative Photography both as movies and in sequence still images somehow makes you feel integrated to the photographs and the events that are happening in that moment. You see with the eyes of the people, you see their perspective in the story.

Woodman’s style and technique is special to me, although they are mostly about her inner world, i feel them too. It inspires me to experience and explore my body as my voice in the photographs, and mostly it inspires me in a way that i can show how i feel even though they are sad, depressed or scared. 

Providence, Rhode Island from Space2, 1976

Untitled - New York, 1979

Simay Yöndem

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Comment on Praise You by Fatboy Slim

“Bring in the fictional Torrance Community Dance Group lead by this director, Spike Jonze who plays the part as the dance leader Richard Koufey. In 1999 ‘Praise You’ collected three MTV Video Music Awards, including ‘Breakthrough Video.’What really makes this video so very 90s, notice the people watching the dance, none of them are recording it with their phone!” (Greg Thomas)

When i first watched the video Praise You for the first time,  i was like ‘wait what?’ and honestly i think most of the people would give the same reaction because of its content and visual elements. In the music video, lead dancer and the director of the video, Spike Jonze, spontaneously yet consciously moves around the gate. He was so aware of himself and what he was doing. I think this behavior really improves the whole image, the meaning. 

This amateur-looking music video, ‘have fun break rules’ theme really worked well with the  choreography, as Spike planned to achieve. The cinematography of the music video brilliantly forces you to watch it over and over again, to understand and observe better. The quality of the video and the way that it was taken i think somehow became the first pieces of the pop culture that uses low production quality as a comedic or dramatic choice, which now we see in EVERYWHERE.

The whole concept of the music video attracts the people not with the quality and the expensive production but with the people who perform enthusiastically within the audience. The camera, audience’s reactions, clothes and more adds a humorous side to the video.

-Simay Yöndem

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Canto 24 - Simay Yöndem

series of photographs 

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Dallas Clayton