Week 9

This was a frustrating week for me.

First, trying to really put together a truly abstract film was difficult because I felt like I had no starting point. After messing around with some things in my room, I found that dripping paint into cranberry juice had a really cool effect and I started to play off that. It looked a lot like blood to me and I wanted to work with that and through lots of ideas, I really wanted to do an abstract commentary on self-esteem and the issues many women have with it. I ran with it and was super pleased with most of what I had put together.

Then, in the critique, people did not seem to get the same idea and thought it seemed cliche, which they were somewhat right about. However, I was really upset by the critique and just so frustrated with all the trouble the project was causing me. That weekend I decided to scrap the whole thing and start over, and I am now working on a new idea and trying to play off the concept of memory, which is something I find incredibly fascinating. Hopefully this will be a more successful piece, but truthfully, I will be glad to just turn this project in and be done.

Despite my frustrations with this project, I am glad that I am being stretched in this way and hope that I come away from it a better artist and filmmaker.

Week 8

I was glad to read the Lighting chapter this week as that is a subject that I am not always clear on. Lighting for photography seems so different and much easier to me. In film, the lighting seems so challenging because the very nature of this media is so dynamic that it can be hard to control, especially if you like to film outdoors like I do. Being constantly aware of the sun or having to change your plans due to poor weather can be very frustrating.

Man With A Movie Camera has been very interesting to watch so far, though I'm not as into it as some may be. I still struggle with abstract thinking and have trouble appreciating it as much as a more sophisticated critic might. I do find much of the footage beautiful, but without a complete and straightforward narrative, I fail to see exactly what the artist wants to convey.

Week 7

Not really sure about this Abstractions project. Now that I have seen examples of previous work, I feel a bit better, though I am still struggling. Thinking abstractly is not something I am good at, nor something I enjoy doing. I have been attempting to capture the most random, abstract clips I can, but I do not know what will come out of it all. It is frustrating for me because as an art student, I feel as though something is wrong with me when I can neither appreciate nor create abstract videos. I really hope that this video helps me expand my abilities, but I also know that I should expect some criticism, being my first attempt.

Week 5/6

I'm doing a combined entry since I forgot to write last week, and the material all seemed to blend together these last few weeks in my head anyways. Hope that is ok!

Woo-hoo! Finally finished with Portrait of a Place! It wasn't terribly hard, but I'm glad to be done with our first "real" video! I was really excited to work with After Effects, even though it wasn't required. It's a program that I definitely want to explore further but it was cool to work in a basic title for this project. Though it was a basic project, it was a good way to get started I felt. I really enjoyed screening other people's videos as well since everyone has a different take on how to showcase a particular space. The only thing that I was not pleased with was my final quality of video. I thought it seemed blurry, but I did have to adjust the upload settings when capturing my video for some reason. Hopefully it will be different next time, but it will have to do for now.

I was glad to finish Joan of Arc. It was a good film but I always feel too tired to screen films so early.

I am excited for the next project, though I'm a bit nervous as I am not an abstract thinker, but we shall see!

Here is my final version of Portrait of a Place - Mount Hope Cemetery.