Experimental Video Evaluation

After receiving the questionnaires from the audience of my EXP video, my doubts about it were confirmed. After I had finished editing my video I watched it back and couldn't help but think it looked rushed and boring. My original plan was to have at least three actors playing a game but one actor couldn't get round my house so I had to settle for two actors and because I didn't get as much footage as I wanted, I had to recycle some of the footage and use some of Nathan's in game footage because I couldn't upload mine. Because of this, the end product looked very rushed and lacked the level of action I originally wanted. If I had a second chance, I would have ensured that I had more reliable actors and my own in game footage so I could match my original vision. I also would have spent more time planning the shooting and would have tried to film more footage so I would have more to choose from.

Also, when the gamers died I would have preferred it to be more exciting and also would have liked it to fit in better with the other footage.

Although I didn't match my original plan, I liked some parts; I think the post production went well even though it was rushed and I didn't get the chance to add music, I still managed to salvage my video.

Overall I don’t feel like my video was as good as it could or should be but it could have been worse. If I got another chance I would make some big changes and I would have spent more time planning, that way I wouldn’t have to rely on the post-production work so much and it wouldn’t have been so rushed.

Film Diary

On Monday 26th of October, I filmed the majority of my video at my house. Nathan came round and we filmed the few shots I needed after I helped him with his. I got the shots of me playing my Xbox then dying. I got the same shots with Nathan, I also got shots of the Xbox turning on and then loading the game before I set up a match.

All I need to film now is the in-game footage I can get using the file share system on Halo 3.

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Since filming 2 weeks ago, I have begun post production but still need to create and download the in-game footage from Halo 3 because without it the story doesn't make sense.

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While trying to create the in-game footage needed for my Experimental Video, the connection for Xbox Live cut out so i couldn't join any games. In order for me to get any in-game footage I needed, I had to go into 'Custom Games' and create it myself with me moving both characters with two different controllers. After uploading the footage to Bungie.net (where I would render and download it) I found out I couldn't download it because my subscription for Bungie Pro had ended and I would have to pay and wait two days until I could access the footage. Luckily Nathan had some spare footage from his Video and let me use it.

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The next day, I continued with my editing and finished everything. I exported the film into quicktime and took a still image and had it burnt onto a DVD.
I don't think this project was as good as I was hoping because I didn't get the planned amount of in-game footage and this caused me to be behind everyone else so I rushed the ending and forgot to add in credits.
If I got the chance to do this again I would have got more in-game footage and taken care with the transitions and cuts. I also would have liked to check the audio on 'Garage Band' to ensure it wasn't so quiet.

Chameleon by Tina Gonsalves

This was the piece we saw in Brighton. It was a number of screens hanging from the ceiling with a projecter showing videos of peoples faces that responded to peoples faces.

Most screens had a camera attached to the side of it, these cameras read the viewers face and 'understood' the emotion being shown then responded to it. The way this was crafted was by filming a persons face displaying a number of emotions, then the camera was attached so when a viewer had a strong look on their face, the facial recognition software on the camera would know to mirror the emotion by displaying the filmed persons version of that emotion.

For the most part, this piece didn't work but the idea of showing people all these clear emotions could have had an effect on some people.

Gisele Kerozene

Gisele Kerozene is a stop motion chase film made in 1989 featuring four witches on flying brooms.

In order to create the illusion of the flying brooms, the actors would have been asked to jump so that image could be captured on camera, they would keep doing this for as long as it takes. It is clear to see that this took a long time to film because the clouds in the pictures appear to move much quicker than is expected

There didn't appear to be any concept other than having a chase scene with witches.

Doll Face by Andy Huang

Doll Face is a 3D computer animation mixed in with live footage of a woman's face and the TV.
This film shows a cyborg strive to become something it believes to be beautiful on TV. The cyborg tries so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn't even matter because it's mechanical box breaks causing the cyborg to fall and shatter.

The concept of this film is about how hard people try to look like the people they see on TV and in films but go so far that it ruins their life.

Muto by BLU

Muto is a stop motion animation created by a group of Frenchmen painting on a wall, rubbing it out, then painting on a wall again.

This is a heavily craft based experimental video because it depicts 'life cycles' of the animations. The graffiti artists would paint on a wall for one frame, take a picture then rub the painting for one frame and with 25 fps and the film being 8 minutes, this would have taken over 9000 frame changes.

The Concept is all kinds of different life cycles and is shown to the viewer by having creatures being born and dying.

Chapter 2: Use of Technology, Techniques and Styles

'Doll Face' is a 3D computer animation mixed with live footage of a womans face and the TV. This technology is easily attainable nowadays.

'Girl Chewing Gum' was filmed with a basic video camera and, most likely, a sound recording studio to record the narrator. In 1976, this kind of technology was much more state of the art than what we use nowadays.

The difference in technology is clearly divided by the time between the two films beacuse of how available these technologies were during their time.

Chapter 3: Narrative and Non-Narrative

In order for an Experimental Video to be Narrative, it needs a story to it with a beginning, middle and End.

'Doll Face' is an example of a Narrative film; it begins with the cyborg watching the TV, the middle is the cyborg trying to imitate the face on the screen, and the ending is when the cyborg goes to far and breaks.
'Muto' is an example of a Non-Narrative video; it has no real story to it, it is just a stop motion animation of some kind of graffiti life cycle.

Chapter 1: Artist Comparison

'Doll Face' and 'Girl Chewing Gum', on the surface, are two very different videos. 'Doll Face' is a modern animation, while 'Girl Chewing Gum' is a scene from a fairly average road in Britain with narration. When looked at closer, the films seem to have a common concept; Truth in Media.

'Doll Face' is about a woman striving to match the level of 'perfection' she sees on TV, without realising that a lot she sees is a lie. 'Girl Chewing Gum' is about the narrator who, after masquerading as director, exposes himself as being at another location than that of where the filming is taking place.

The differences are much clearer than the similarities, 'Girl Chewing Gum' is an ordinary street being filmed in 1976 with what appears to be a director telling people what to do, as the film goes on, it appears he is lying about everything and isn't even at the filming location.

'Doll Face', is an animation from the year 2003, about a cyborg-thing trying to lean forwards into a TV to get a closer look at the face she is trying to copy.

Chapter 5: Inspiration for my Idea

The Original plan for my experimental video was to have someone creating a character on a game and when he changes the characters clothes, his clothes change in real life. This was inspired by 'Dollface'. While planning this video, I realized it had a number of flaws; I would need to gather a lot of clothes and even after that I would have trouble getting good footage from the game.
When trying to think about how I could get around these problems, I had another idea. I would have a gamer playing in a multplayer game, and when he gets a kill, the opponent dies in real life. I can get in-game footage from Halo 3 from the 'Theatre' and 'File Share' menus, and I can film a small number of people playing an XBOX 360.

Chapter 6: Audience Interpretation

Experimental Video is created to be something new, so when it is watched by an audience, it will provoke many different reactions among a group. It can bring out all kinds of reactions, from horror to joy and sadness to confusion, so when shown to a group of people there will usually be a combination.

Because Experimental Video is supposed to be new, it is important to get a reaction so the creator(s) know how their work affects people and how to get certain responses from their audience.

It is important that everyone has their own reactions because each person is different and it is important that everyone can express their individuality.

Koyaanisqatsi

Koyaanisqatsi is an experimental video directed by Godfrey Reggio, it took 6 years to collect and film all the footage used in the film. It was released in 1983 and is composed of numerous clips of cityscapes, cave paintings, destruction of buildings and slo-mo and fast forward clips of all kinds of examples of everyday life. Alot of this film is contradictory; at the end of the film a rocket is shown taking off in slow motion, eventually it explodes, leaving the burning debris to fall through the sky. While this violent image is on the screen, a calming chant is played over it and even though you would be watching something quite aggresive, the music has a calming influence. This clash of feelings can leave the viewer feeling uneasy.

This film starts with cave paintings and ends the same, in between however, images of modern life and the natural world are shown. The way Koyaanisqatsi is put together makes me think about the contrast of old and new in the world. It also gives me the impression that the director is trying to send a message about the way we are treating the planet. The message I got is that if we want to keep building, we have to destroy nature and we have to make changes to the way we live if we want to save our planet.

Chapter 4: The Use of Exhibition Space to Create Meaning

The context in which you view the work is often as important as the work itself. The atmosphere can often change your opinion on the works importance as, depending on where it is, there can be numerous distractions, like if music is playing or if lots of people are there. Also the surrounding work can affect the meaning of the work; if one picture is a bright, colourful painting, it may draw attention away from a darker image you may otherwise prefer.

UPDATE, 28/9/09 :: When we went to the Tate, I looked at a lot of installation art but the one piece that stood out was 'The Pack' by Joseph Beuys. It was an old, rusting VW Bus tied to 24 sleds hanging out the back doors; each one was fully equipped with a Survival Kit. To me, this seemed like quite an important piece of work because in the large room, there was only 2 pieces there and it was in the opposite corner to 'The Pack'. This piece is mainly a concept driven one, it is quite a surreal piece and the area it is in heavily impacts it because if it weren’t in a gallery, I wouldn't consider it to be art.

Girl Chewing Gum - John Smith (1976)

'Girl Chewing Gum' by John Smith is a crafted short film depicting everyday life on one street with a voice over desribing what happens.

Craft
As the film goes on it appears the narrator, who initially acts like the director, may not actually be at the scene and is now predicting what will happen and gives most characters a story about where they are going and what they are doing. It is eventually revealed that the narrator isn't there and is apparently in a field miles away.
When the film finishes, it is clear that the footage was most likely pre-recorded and the voice over was added later.

Concept
When the narrator gives the characters stories he adds another dimension to the film so it goes from random people on the street to real people with real stories.