Launching the Imagination CH 14: Narrative and Non-Narrative

Story telling is one of the oldest forms of sharing information. Stories communicate understanding, provide inspiration and can increase self-awareness. Multiple image structures can be used to express complex ideas in both narrative and non-narrative videos. The 3 most common multiple image structures are group, series and sequence. Filmmakers use the beat, scene, sequence and act to create a screenplay. Non-narrative approaches are categorical, rhetorical and abstract. Establishing boundaries develops effective stories. Boundaries like deciding on the beginning and when the story ends, who the story is about, what is the underlying theme and the setting. A change in style can really affect communication. Ideas and emotions can be communicated through a straightforward series of causes and effects or through a series of seemingly unrelated images. The opening and closing, personal perspective and characters used can make or break a story. TV advertisements can present ideas in less than 15 seconds 8 different approaches!!
In my final project I will be using the group multiple image structure. I will group by shape and subject matter. In the end it will be narrative like. It is the battle between order and disorder.

Explanation for final project

This piece is a combination of the Norman Installation sound piece and the concept Ritual in Transfigured time. My ritual is cleaning while humming the same mindless tune over and over again. These acts take my ind to a far away place, transfiguring me states of chaos to calm chaos to calm etc. i want this video to be surreal and dreamlike/nightmarish. To create that effect I am going to have several layers of video that come in and out of focus depending on which layer is most dominant at a particular moment. In the beginning is the calm state and the scenes flow in and out of each other in slow fading transitions. In the second half is the anxious state where transitions are more abrupt. I want the video to be cyclical. If successful the end should flow right back to the beginning.

TBM Final Project

Moment forming and MOMENTE by Stockhausen

A moment in music is when characteristics like the speed of the sound and the region of a sound are constant. When these characteristics change it creates a new moment. Music is almost like the interactions of people in a room. There is a mood and a quality to the people that may change with a sudden event or change slowly as people enter and leave. The degree of change in music can be composed and it is also a characteristic of music that actually changes. Stockhausen composed a piece called MOMENTE that focused in on the changes in moments with a controlled randomness. There are 3 main kinds of moments: M moments which are melodic creating Heterphony sound, K moments creating Homophonic music and is made of male voices in the choir in combination with precission instruments and D moments which is the duration creating silence and polyphony which is made of female voices and is melodic. These three moments can mix in countless different combinations to create a feeling of randomness. The fourth moment is the I moment which serves to neutralize the other moments.
It is strange to think that something that sounds so random like music can of ten resemble, is actually created with a formula beyond notes. Instead it is made of moments strung together. Each moment is crafted and each moment creates a series of moments which is music. Controlled randomness of distribution creates atmospheres within a musical piece.

SOOOOOO..... Critique today!!!! I am excited to see everyone's reaction to my groups interpretation of our theme :) HEHEHEHEHE! I feel evil.

Fluxus group Project

lalalalalala. Nothing....

Group Project

What I was thinking of doing was getting the sheet music for old hymns in both spanish and english because not only do I not know the words well , but I cant read music. Maybe our groups theme can be about being lost and how we deal with confusion? Hymnals are things of the past and a lot of churches don't use them anymore. Its also about traditions and how this one will not be passed down to the next generation. I dont know. Just a thought. Im also bringing my sketchbook.

The Birth of Fluxus

Rene Block coined the term fluxism to refer to the idea of eternal transition and the core philosophy that animates fluxus. Fluxus, appropriately emerged during the era of electronic music and video around 1962. This was a shifting point of world views. Fluxus is constructive and founded on the principles of creation and transformation and its central methodseeks new ways to build.In Europe, Japan and the United Statesseveral artists had been working in parallel art forms and pursuing many of thee same ideas in therir artwork. there was an art show called the Fluxus Festival and the participants in the festival came tio be known as the Fluxus group. John Cage was a professor teaching at New School in the late 1950sand early 1960s and influeced his students in the ideas of Fluxus. there are 12 criteria for Fluxus : Globalism, Unioty of art and life, intermedia, experimentalism, Research orientation, chance, playfulness, simplicity, implicativeness, exemplativism, and specificity. Most fluxus work is ephemeral as an analysis of time. Musicality refers to the favct that many nfluxus works are designed as scores, with exact instructions of how to do the art piece second by second. George Maciunas is central to Fluxus but thinkning of him as the central figure in fluxus is a mistake. George was the central organizerand sometimes the chairman of fluxus but loosened the idea of central control and was more interested in spreading Fluxus as an artistic action rather than determining the terms of fluxus. What is unique about the Fluxus movement wwa that it was named that by members of the group and not an outsider like an art critic. Fluxus has happened and continues to happen.
The most interesting part of Fluxus is its relation to real life. However, life is not controlledand mapped out. My understanding of fluxus is that it is a manipulate version of life taht iws minultly observed. Fluxus has a way of understanding our mortality and human time in segments rather than time as a large abstract concept. The idea of controling time is one tha thumna beings have chased since the beggining of time and Fluxus, though seemingly unusual, does not seem to deviate very far from this human longing.

Stop motion results

I finished my video I am not happy with it because I cant figure out what kind of music to put to it because there are so many different feelings all going on in one video. There really isn't a good "theme song" I guess. Its about several stories that are made up by looking at the stars. Its called Constellation and I am happy with it other than the sound part.

Change of idea

Sooooo... My original ideas were not practical. I tried doing the dog idea but the dog is so fat and floppy that he is difficult to manipulate without the strings showing or without also taking a picture of someone manipulating the dog. New plan: A piece of cardboard, painted black, and hundreds of white push pins. The push pins will be moved one by one to create a scene. I guess the idea is that push pins are used to display information, but in my video they become the information (visual information). IDK. I thought it was cool. I'm crossing my fingers.

My Setting Pics!

Ch. 13 Aspects and Elements of Time

Time is critical in art and design and if composed well, can create profound and memorable experiences. There are four basic units to sequential structures: frame, shot, scene and sequence. There are four major ways in which shots can be related: graphic relationship, spatial realtionship, temporal relationship and rhythmic relationship. There are four main ways of transitioning from shot to shot or scene to scene: cut, fade, dissolve, and wipe. For comic books there are more transitions like, action-to-action, subject-to-subject and scene-to-scene. There is also non-sequitar transitions, moment-to-moment, and aspect-to-aspect transitions. There are six major elements of time design: duration, tempo, intensity, scope, setting and chronology.
Determining an appropriate duration and tempo of the film and matching it with an appropriate duration of the plot is crucial to the power of the story. The intensity of the story can be determined by the tempo but also by the emotion and passion portrayed in the scope of the scene. A great example of the use of time and all its elements in a powerful work is the movie, Schindler's List. I have never actually seen the movie, but even the description of the scenes and the transitions used, build up an intensity and a compassion for the stories of the people in the film. The symbolism of the little girl in the red coat is powerful and heartbreaking merely by the description of the film. I am definitely watching it this weekend.

My ideas for a stop motion project!!!

This is a picture of the cutest hamster in the world! Her name is Pumpkin and she is a Winter White Dwarf Hamster (in the winter her fur turns white). She is extremely hyper and what is so hilarious and at the same time annoying (its annoying because she makes the wheel rattle and she is most hyper at night when I am trying to sleep), is her on her exercise wheel. She runs for the sake of running and she goes nowhere. What I would like to do is take several photos of her in her cage as she runs, stops, drinks water and runs again with such determined focus and determination to run nowhere. I guess this is such a strange concept because for me running for running seems stupid. In a stop motion video it will appear like the wheel is not moving at all but she is still running. Because the wheel is a circle and is therefore the same on all sides it will appear to stand still because it will be contrasted against Pumkin's motion.
Another idea is to feature a really cute stuffed animal that I got for my boyfriend for Christmas. ITs the cutest dang thing I have ever seen. Its a dog that is so fat it is literally a ball of fluff and it has tiny ears and legs and a tiny tail that could not possibly support its weight if the dog were real. Its eyes look so sad and it just calls for you to hug it which is very much like a real dog. My idea is to place the dog on the bed with My BF, Matt. Matt will get up in the morning and go downstairs. the dog will "wake up" and search for its "master". The dog has a one track mind. It is lonely and needs love, so he searches for Matt everywhere until he actually finds him and leaps with joy! Hurray!

Ch. 5 Cultivating Creativity

Rather than waiting to be inspired, we can be proactively creative by taking upoon 7 charateristics of creative thinking: receptivity, curiosity, having a wide range of interests, attentiveness, seeking connections, conviction and complexity. People who think creatively are receptive to new ideas in order to solve a problems and learn from listening to others.They also ask lots of questions and research topics they are curios about to make a better design based on what they find. It is also important to have a wide range of interests rather than to only focus on one area of interest. Paying attention to minor details helps to develop and understanding of available possibilities. Creative thinkers make connections between 2 seemingly opposite things. New ideas are often created from old ideas. It is important to acknowledge the past and then ask how could it be improved? To become a great creativ ethinker, one must combine rational thinking with intuitive thinking. By combining these two, balance is created between energy and rest, savvy and innocence, responsibility and playfulness, risk-taking with safe-keeping etc... Goal setting is an important because it makes a sense of purpose and pushes creativity to new heights. Good goals are challenging but attainable, are compatible and work together, things that are self directed and in your control, specific and clearly defined, and temporary. Time management is a big factor in completing goals. Choose the goal, prioritize your time and make a habit of working in the most efficient way possible. Do not wait to be instructed to do so, but take the initiative.
A creative person's mind is full of dichotomy. Creative people give long hours to hard work, but then understand what it is to fully relax. Creative people are responsible but playful and silly. When I read this section in chapter 5 it was like I was reading a book on me. I have the characteristics of a creative person but stil have trouble at times thinking creatively. My theory concerning this problem is based on another excerpt from chapter 5 "When in doubt, crank it out". Normally I try to get all my ideas and research perfect before beginning a project and having the perfect plan. However, i hsve found that if I wait until I have the perfect plan, I never start and i become increasingly dissappointed with my ideas. Fear is the biggest setback. Fear that the idea I planned in my mind is not going to be executed as precisely and flawlessly when I create my art. I am a great goal setter most of the time. Sometimes I create goals that are not possible for me, like giving myself too much to do in avery short amount of time. These are the 2 things that hinder my creative process the most and it is interesting how the book addresses these topics in a very systematic fashion.

Milies' and Paike's videos!

The video by Melies called, "To the Moon" is ancient but really entertaining. Even though its in French you can still understand what is going on. I had seen snipits of this film before in Bill Nye. This video shows everything and everyone at all times. He didn't move the camera. It was interesting to me to see the progression of film beacuase after watching "To The Moon", we watched Nam June Paike's "Global Groove". The camers is no,onger just a tool for recording but is used artistically, creating feeling by showing different perspectives. Paike's video reminded me of the Beatles because it was all about music and very trippy.... Strawberry fields forever.... As far as content, I found Paike's video to be more interesting than Melies. Melies video was very straight forward and was just like a theater performance and was very predictable with rising action, climax, falling action and resolution. Paike's video was much more abstract. Rather than one climax like in a story, there were several climaxes throughout the video, created by the music. Like in a horror film, when someone is going to die , the music becomes more intense and causes your heart rate to speed up. The connection between the characters in Paike's video do not have a clear connection accept that they are all of different ethnicities and they all respond to music or create music differently. Is there another kind of bond between them or is it music that brings all cultures together?

About Me

Idk. Im from Miami. The only experience I have had in video is in high school. It was a required project just like this is a required class. Though it seems kinda fun, technology is always intimidating. I guess my goal is to get beyond this fear so that I wont avoid time based media when it comes to my art. I have thought of doing videos and incorporating them into my sculptures and drawings. I think video can really add a lot to my concepts. I need to also use video to document work. I am short. This is my first year at UF and I like it ok. I am glad I didnt go to an art school up north because its freeeeeezing. I hate winter! I have gotten shocked so many times! I am now paranoid when I go to touch metal. I dont know how one person can create so much electricity. It must be some kind of world record. Sara Martinez... worlds most electric person.