William Kentridge

When I am interpreting recordings, I don't want to be restricted to film only what's around me. This is why parts of my visuals are going to have to be animated in several different ways. I was therefore looking at William Kentridge's works today. I love the charcoal animation effect, this also reminded me of Mariana's recent post where she did some tests with charcoal and animation. I always find that traditional techniques give life to digital animation.

"Kentridge's animated films are composed from his charcoal and pastel drawings, which he vigorously reworks, leaving traces of erasure, redrawing, and often highly visible pentimenti." (Moving Pictures, 2003)

I am currently uploading a very quick animation test I did in After Effects - it will hopefully be up by tomorrow morning. I have had to use found images just to quickly see how it would all look. I will try to recreate something similar using my own footage and pictures.

Stan Douglas

"Stan Douglas explores the nexus of the socially and commericially mediated, resulting in video and installation works that examine how cinematic and televisual space constructs meaning in the wider culture."

"Douglas's work reflects an archival, analytic, and creative process, as he expands the artist's territory from the studio to the research room to the production shoot. His disruption of standard modes of reception - be they in the classroom or in front of the television - challenges viewers to explore how meaning is constructed." (Moving Pictures, 2003)

Although I do not find the work of Stan Douglas particularly inspiring (perhaps because it feels dated) I think the context is very relevant to what I am doing - which is why I will be looking further into his work. I am still going through the book 'Moving Pictures' - I want to explore Nan Goldin next, but I want to go into more detail before blogging about her. I will just say that I love her photography, and although it might be too dramatic for me to get inspired from, there are definitely traits I will consider when filming.

Story Tour Day 3

First film with my camera was with a Scottish neighbour, thanks Colin :)
I'm currently thinking about exhibiting each element (video, recording, perhaps even the interview video - which I wasn't going to use previously, music) separately, rather than all in one go. Still brainstorming this idea...

For some reason - I'm using a bad aspect ratio, (black visible border) which I need to find a way of eliminating. Tomorrow I will hopefully be updating my proposal and my schedule - thankfully I have a good two months in the summer where I will not be working - but will be working on the Masters! Filming,  and experimenting.

Updates

I finally got my Canon 600D camera, just in time to shoot something before mid-term review :)

And in other news, it was the college's sports day today so we went to watch some of our colleagues and students' play some basketball. On my way there I saw the following; incidental interactive art? 

Gregory Crewdson

Absolutely mesmerised by Gregory Crewdson's photography, from the book 'Moving Pictures' - Contemporary Photography and Video from the Guggenheim Museum Collections. As soon as I saw the pictures, I immediately thought 'David Lynch' from the lighting, and the positioning / angles of the camera shots and the subjects. Indeed a paragraph from the book states that 'His elaborately staged panoramas often elicit comparisons to the films of Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch, and Stephen Spielberg.'

Unlike my previous post, where I attached pictures that I associated with life, these works seem to portray the exact opposite. What  I like most about them are the long shots being used, and the importance of the ambience around the people - rather than basic the sole focus on the people themselves. I also find the lighting spectacular (apparently Crewdson has recently employed a crew of up to thirty-five to assist in the creation of his visions).

"In Crewdson's work, meaning if kept just out of reach, where it lurks like a repressed trauma." 

(Moving Pictures, 2003)

Documentary Photography

Since I've changed my proposal, I visited the library at the art college (where I work) today to try and find some new inspirational material which involved more photography and video works. I picked up three books, Documentary Photography - Life Library of Photography, Doris Chase Artist in Motion, and Moving Pictures - Contemporary Photography and video from the Guggenheim Museum Collections.

I started looking at 'Documentary Photography - Life Library of Photography' and the following pictures are what I've found most inspirational, and perhaps - more related to what I want to do:

Dan Weiner Street Festival

Lee Friedlander New York City

Cid Grossman

Cid Grossman

Cid Grossman San Gennaro Festival

What struck me most about all of the above pictures is the 'life' in them, because they are all about people - together in groups, during festivals and parties. They reminded me of the weekly Festas we have in Malta all throughout the summer, and I was wondering if I could get a couple of shots and videos during these events.

His & Hers

After speaking to a friend about the project I'm doing, she suggested the following documentary, which I think I will watch in the coming weeks mostly to observe the storytelling and the way it is portrayed in the shots.