Self Assessment 1
India Duncan
Self Assessment- Project 1
Feb. 13th, 2013
My approach to this project has been from the very beginning, to incorporate my personality. By incorporating the shows that I love to watch, like Jack Ass, Scarred, Viva La Bam, etc, and having the video be so intense- gruesome, but funny (which is how I like to think of my past art) is very much my style. I have had many chances to indulge in risky activities like the stunts that are done on the shows I watch. The common since that I possess has stopped those urges, and so I believe those urges are explored through these types of television shows second handed. After working on the project a few days, I decided the video needed to be more engaging, and therefore thought of the audio setting the tone for the video rather than its visual elements. I wanted to bring to the audience attention the rhythm of an individual heartbeat as they experience life.
During the creative process there was the idea to loop television shows which I love, but to also incorporate other elements that would put the viewer in a trance- like a sound with an interactive rhythm. At that moment, I knew I wanted the audio of the video to speak to the viewer the most, rather than its images. So, a heartbeat was added to the second half of the video. To engage the viewer more, bright flashing lights were added to hypnotize, but foremost to disturb the viewer. And with all the advice and critiques that had been received I followed through with maybe two or three. One of those suggestions was to create smoother transitions between audio. The audio in some places where I thought were needed was adjusted to have a smoother transition. And in those spaces which were left blank with no sound rubbed many the wrong way. But, I decided not to change this aspect of the video because I strongly believe that without out these pauses, or if they were filled with any type of music, my message in which I know, would be ruined. It was also suggested to me that the lights be placed at the beginning so the video could become well rounded, which helped my video out a lot.
Another way the artistic ideas of this project has captured my personality is through its audio. I can admit that I am often scared of experiencing life, especially by myself, which is why I have chosen the song YOLO- not for its lyrics but for its phrase. You only live once (YOLO) is the phrase that I now keep in mind because even though life is scary, “you only get one life,” and one life only to experience all before time ages you, and to be all that you can be. And as I experience life, I pay close attention to how the different stimuli of the environment I may be in at the moment effect the rate of my heart.
How this video is interpreted by the audience is very important to me. To have the idea of this video understood by viewers would be marvelous. Though, during critique, some of my classmates were able to pinpoint what the video was trying to convey; others, not so much. But, I have learned from almost four years of being an artist that not all will enjoy, praise, like, or understand the artwork of an artist. And the artist can only alter so much before their original intension or idea, and therefore personal style is lost. It was mentioned that the pauses (no audio) was disturbing, jarring, or did not make sense. During the first half of the video, there is a back and forth rhythm of high pitched and silent scenes, as well as fast and slow clips/ audio to mimic the rhythm of a heartbeat in the moment of experiencing life. But, if this abrupt silence was indeed jarring then my idea was halfway accomplished). The people of these television shows who I decided to incorporate in this project are those I admire- for their audacious attitude, and their dreams that have driven them to success, like Turf the contortionist/ winner of America’s got Talent. As Turf performed on this show from beginning to end, I can imagine his heart rate while performing, and during each elimination. To convey a type of worry and anxiousness to the viewer, having no sound in some places as I explained above was for this specific purpose. Also, the addition of the heartbeat was chosen to help the viewers interpret what this project is about.
In the beginning this project I thought of just creating a video that looped with the television shows I loved to watch. But, as I continuously worked on this project and altered it, I began to see a relation between what was being created and myself as a person- which I saw completely when the project was complete. And as the viewer watches this video I believe they will be engaged with the lights, visual elements and jarring sounds. This video all around is uneasy, which was pre-meditated. Because these clips are sort of gruesome, some viewers may cringe, which is why I also think of the audio to mimic the heartbeat, or emotional effect of the audience watching these types of shows, and my classmates critiques and expressions confirmed my thoughts.
This project was created using Final Cut Pro, which is a program that was kind of similar to the Adobe program After Effects, which I have worked with. Having experience with After Effects made the manipulation process very easy, and enjoyable. But, the difficult aspect of Final Cut Pro was the introduction to new affects. While trying to mesh videos together and sound to create smooth transitions, it was difficult to create and keep changes especially after rendering- the video/audio would contract glitches. The audio would either get to loud, or speed up for the lyrics to sound jumbled. After each alteration to the video, rendering had to be done before proceeding; this was frustrating. Also, it became impossible to freely alter certain clips; I could not alter the imovie clips that were finalized into a quick time movie. Not being able to alter these clips was a major limitation to my project. So, in a way, I did compromise because of these limitations.
As for my grade for this project, I should receive an (A-) because I stayed true to my art style, which is a combination of grim, and funny. As for the quality of my video, I would have to say that the scratchiness seen on the final product was not a planned intention, so it is none the less annoying. However, it does work well with the rest of the chaotic elements. And, as always, I put a lot of time and effort into this project. As you know I am overloading this semester, I found time within my busy schedule to create this wonderful masterpiece I am so proud of. This is indeed a compelling piece, whose message may be over thought or not read correctly. I however, will know its intended message, and that is all that should matter sometimes as an artist.