It’s a little crazy how all of my classes this semester relate so much to each other, but are totally different classes. For example, my Music 101 class discussed a man named John Cage, who did a lot of contemporary music. Well, I chose, “American Experimental Film” from Green Cinema, because John Cage just so happened to be mentioned in this article, and the article has a lot to do with what I am working on; experimental media.
“American Experimental Film” talks about the birth of Experimental film which was influenced by German Expressionism, Soviet Constructivism and French Trick Filmmakers. Experimental film artists wanted to get away from Hollywood’s narrative and “storytelling” of film and make their film more for just viewing pleasure. Most of the experimental filmmakers had a background in visual arts so they had practice to work on their films. Some film even had political statements, even though they were mostly free of conventional narrative.
As a filmmaker, this article relates, because my first video was all conducted through experimentation. The whole process to make my video, became my final piece. I didn’t know what I was going to end up with until it was actually done. The process lead me to my final video. I also find avant-garde and abstract art very interesting, and those have a lot to do with experimental film.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Video Hardware/Software Repsonse
How was your experience with the Olympus digital camera? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
I didn’t have the greatest experience with the digital camera provided. When I used it on my first drift to capture still images for the sound clips, I could only take about five pictures and the battery would die. It was easy to use though, compared to other cameras. I do like my digital camera better, but only because it has more photographic features to use with the different scenery. I was able to capture what I was aiming for in my strategy. I got a little side-tracked, but that wasn’t the camera’s fault. I was going for plants in Milwaukee and buildings or structures at angles, not normally viewed, so it worked out just fine. In an ideal world my camera would have a setting to control shaky video. I know there are tripods and such, but it would be so much easier if I could just click a button that takes away that shakiness.
Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
QuickTime is the first video-editing software I have ever used, so I don’t have much history with it. It was a lot easier to use than I thought it would be. I did have a few problems, but they were easily fixed by looking at the tutorials. I chose this application, because I had to purchase it for my Film 115 class. Since I spent money on buying a program, I thought I would make the best of it. Once I started working with it, like I said, it was easy to get used to. It really helped in my final video, because I needed a lot of transition in it. QuickTime was easy to cut out parts of a clip and past. Also the editing and effects were easy to work for the most part. (I didn’t know I had to clear the effects after I was done.) I plan on using this software some more. I captured some footage in Florida just recently, I wanted to make a film out of that.
I didn’t have the greatest experience with the digital camera provided. When I used it on my first drift to capture still images for the sound clips, I could only take about five pictures and the battery would die. It was easy to use though, compared to other cameras. I do like my digital camera better, but only because it has more photographic features to use with the different scenery. I was able to capture what I was aiming for in my strategy. I got a little side-tracked, but that wasn’t the camera’s fault. I was going for plants in Milwaukee and buildings or structures at angles, not normally viewed, so it worked out just fine. In an ideal world my camera would have a setting to control shaky video. I know there are tripods and such, but it would be so much easier if I could just click a button that takes away that shakiness.
Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
QuickTime is the first video-editing software I have ever used, so I don’t have much history with it. It was a lot easier to use than I thought it would be. I did have a few problems, but they were easily fixed by looking at the tutorials. I chose this application, because I had to purchase it for my Film 115 class. Since I spent money on buying a program, I thought I would make the best of it. Once I started working with it, like I said, it was easy to get used to. It really helped in my final video, because I needed a lot of transition in it. QuickTime was easy to cut out parts of a clip and past. Also the editing and effects were easy to work for the most part. (I didn’t know I had to clear the effects after I was done.) I plan on using this software some more. I captured some footage in Florida just recently, I wanted to make a film out of that.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Reading Response #2
I Chose the article, “On the Aesthetics of Urban Walking and Writing” by Phillip Lopate, because of his references to poets and the interesting views Lopate looks at places. I also enjoy how he incorporates his walking journeys with the other poets and giving his own intake on what urban walking and writing is. My favorite sentence in his story is, “Each New Yorker can seem like a minor character who has honed his or her persona into a sharp, three-second cameo”. This paragraph stuck with me, because I never looked at it that way, but is one hundred percent true. When you’re walking through busy crowds it is just a blur of people you’re trying to avoid hitting. But once you get right next to a person there is one small thing you would notice, giving that person their “three-second cameo”.
Lopate points out how he began his walking from his parents and then how it became a hobby. He also writes of how it would get boring and he had to try to find new ways to see the old buildings of New York. He also points out the poets such as Walt Whitman whom loved the crowded streets and Charles Reznikoff whom felt lonely on his walks. He also points out the connoisseurs of the sidewalk, who like the “ragged” parts of the city.
As a media artist, I experimented my first drifts on the boarder lines of Walkers Point and the Fifth Ward, which lead into a variety of people. Just as the connoisseurs of the sidewalks, they liked the boarders a lot, because it attracted the “…different high-low, joli-laid personalities of both”. Lopate also writes of how he needs to observe with more work now, because he’s done so many walks and knows all the details. That is true for me too in the sense that when I started observing more on my everyday monotonous walks, it did become more difficult to find the beauty in things.
Lopate points out how he began his walking from his parents and then how it became a hobby. He also writes of how it would get boring and he had to try to find new ways to see the old buildings of New York. He also points out the poets such as Walt Whitman whom loved the crowded streets and Charles Reznikoff whom felt lonely on his walks. He also points out the connoisseurs of the sidewalk, who like the “ragged” parts of the city.
As a media artist, I experimented my first drifts on the boarder lines of Walkers Point and the Fifth Ward, which lead into a variety of people. Just as the connoisseurs of the sidewalks, they liked the boarders a lot, because it attracted the “…different high-low, joli-laid personalities of both”. Lopate also writes of how he needs to observe with more work now, because he’s done so many walks and knows all the details. That is true for me too in the sense that when I started observing more on my everyday monotonous walks, it did become more difficult to find the beauty in things.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Audio Hardware/Software Repsonse
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
I actually looked forward to building my microphones. I’m usually a fast learner and thing like that come easy to me. So when it actually came to doing it I had everything working out smoothly until the actual soldering the metal together. The solder machines weren’t getting hot enough so it was melting anything. It took a long time before I actually got my second wire on, but when I did it was a huge relief. The microphones worked great on my drift. Sometimes the felt to block the wind would come loose, but it was an easy fix. I was able to capture both overall ambience (construction) and close ups (waterfall).I guess my ideal microphone would look a little nicer than orange duct tape wrapped around felt. I would like it a bit more professional. I would I have something to block out more of the wind. I didn’t have a big problem with that, but I still could hear it.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
The MiniDisc recorder gave me no problems. I turned it on and out I went. Like I said it takes a minute and then I pick up quickly on working most electronics. I have never really used any recording equipment except a camcorder or a karaoke machine. It probably had more steps to follow, so that recording turned out. In an ideal world my recorder would have four buttons; record, play, skip and delete. Everything else would be automatic.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used Audacity to edit my sound recordings, because it was the application I heard most about in class. I never used any audio-editing software before, but once I got used to it, it was easy to complete the rest of my editing. I thought it would be a difficult task to complete editing all my drifts, but the software was easy enough to get the job done. I will definitely use this software again.
I actually looked forward to building my microphones. I’m usually a fast learner and thing like that come easy to me. So when it actually came to doing it I had everything working out smoothly until the actual soldering the metal together. The solder machines weren’t getting hot enough so it was melting anything. It took a long time before I actually got my second wire on, but when I did it was a huge relief. The microphones worked great on my drift. Sometimes the felt to block the wind would come loose, but it was an easy fix. I was able to capture both overall ambience (construction) and close ups (waterfall).I guess my ideal microphone would look a little nicer than orange duct tape wrapped around felt. I would like it a bit more professional. I would I have something to block out more of the wind. I didn’t have a big problem with that, but I still could hear it.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
The MiniDisc recorder gave me no problems. I turned it on and out I went. Like I said it takes a minute and then I pick up quickly on working most electronics. I have never really used any recording equipment except a camcorder or a karaoke machine. It probably had more steps to follow, so that recording turned out. In an ideal world my recorder would have four buttons; record, play, skip and delete. Everything else would be automatic.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
I used Audacity to edit my sound recordings, because it was the application I heard most about in class. I never used any audio-editing software before, but once I got used to it, it was easy to complete the rest of my editing. I thought it would be a difficult task to complete editing all my drifts, but the software was easy enough to get the job done. I will definitely use this software again.
10 Questions of my Drift
1. Were there any allies or smaller roads I could have taken?
2. Were there any areas less concentrated on construction?
3. Is there an interesting area to capture several different angles of trains?
4. Were there any interesting beat down buildings in the area?
5. Are there any animals around besides birds?
6. Are there other interesting waterfalls besides in front of the art museum?
7. Where can I find interesting views on my drift?
8. Is the same area good enough to use again?
9. Is there an area where less cars drive threw?
10. Is the cold going to make my drift more difficult?
2. Were there any areas less concentrated on construction?
3. Is there an interesting area to capture several different angles of trains?
4. Were there any interesting beat down buildings in the area?
5. Are there any animals around besides birds?
6. Are there other interesting waterfalls besides in front of the art museum?
7. Where can I find interesting views on my drift?
8. Is the same area good enough to use again?
9. Is there an area where less cars drive threw?
10. Is the cold going to make my drift more difficult?
Drift 1 Assessment
1. Describe two situations that aggravated, bothered, shocked or otherwise stressed you during Drift 1. (Please note that the situation CANNOT be technology-related.)
My most annoying situation during my drift 1, was catching all the automobiles going by. Everywhere I went, cars, buses and motorcycles would pass by in the background. I understood I was in the middle of the city, but I preferred no car or bus engines zooming by in the majority of my recordings. Another thing that annoyed me was the long walk where I felt I wasn’t getting anything worth blogging. My first recording of the train was amazing, so it downsized everything else I recorded after.
2. Describe, with details, two situations during Drift 1 in which you felt unusually peaceful, at ease, or contemplative.
When I sat down on a ledge near the O’Donnel Park Office (across the street from the Milwaukee Art Museum) I was taking a break from the hot sun and walking for almost 2 hours, when all of a sudden birds started chirping. It was the first sign of real nature on my drift. I live in rural area, so I’m used to more natural sound of animals, trees and grass without construction and automobiles. Also another time I got caught in the moment was when I recorded the train. Something about it was beautiful even though there was the screeching of breaks and clanking of metal. Like I said in my Drift1 blog, it reminded me of when you trace the rim of crystal glass and it makes a beautiful sound. I was so caught in the moment that I didn’t realize the guy honking at me to move out of the way.
3. Describe three surprises or unexpected situations you encountered on your Drift and in the days that followed. The surprise could stem from your expectations that conflicted with "on the ground" realities, cultural or social issues of which you were previously unaware, feelings and reactions that you did not expect to have, appearances and soundings of things you did not expect, good or bad outcomes of "on the spot" decisions you had to make, or the discovery of "deeper" realities in the materials you brought home. (Again, skip anything technology-related!)
On my drift it surprised me that nobody really cared what I was doing. I thought people would be staring at me or tell me to get lost, but nobody seemed to even notice. I also had an “on the spot” decision to make when I was recording some decent sound of a construction site when I heard the drawbridge start to chime on Young St. I stopped the recording and went right next to the drawbridge to get the sound and it turned out pretty cool. I even used it as one of my clips on my blog. Another thing that interested me was the sound of the waterfalls I recorded. I did three different ones and they all turned out different. Two of them were nearly the same, but at different distances. I could tell the difference, but they were both a solid sound with no tones or variety. The one that I keep and put on the blog had a verity of tones from the vent and waterfall which I didn’t notice until I listen to all the recordings. It was a little bit of a surprise.
4. Describe your favorite experience, situation, place, or recollection from your Drift. Be specific about what happened, how you felt, how you reacted, and why you think this particular experience affected you so much.
My favorite experience was the train. I stood there for a long amount of time recording as much as I could, so that I would have the perfect recording. The sound was just amazing and I never listened to a train like that before, which is why this event affected me so. I heard the train coming so I went under the bridge and figured I would get some interesting sound there, but it actually muffled the train and the only thing I could hear were cars. So I went to the side of the bridge and began recording again. Soon the train put down its brakes and that’s when the really interesting noise came. I couldn’t stop recording and like I said before, that’s when a guy was honking at me, but I thought it was just part of the train. Finally, I looked over to check my surroundings and realized this guy has been honking at me for the last 45 seconds and at the end of my recording you can here an “Oh” of embarrassment come out of my mouth.
My most annoying situation during my drift 1, was catching all the automobiles going by. Everywhere I went, cars, buses and motorcycles would pass by in the background. I understood I was in the middle of the city, but I preferred no car or bus engines zooming by in the majority of my recordings. Another thing that annoyed me was the long walk where I felt I wasn’t getting anything worth blogging. My first recording of the train was amazing, so it downsized everything else I recorded after.
2. Describe, with details, two situations during Drift 1 in which you felt unusually peaceful, at ease, or contemplative.
When I sat down on a ledge near the O’Donnel Park Office (across the street from the Milwaukee Art Museum) I was taking a break from the hot sun and walking for almost 2 hours, when all of a sudden birds started chirping. It was the first sign of real nature on my drift. I live in rural area, so I’m used to more natural sound of animals, trees and grass without construction and automobiles. Also another time I got caught in the moment was when I recorded the train. Something about it was beautiful even though there was the screeching of breaks and clanking of metal. Like I said in my Drift1 blog, it reminded me of when you trace the rim of crystal glass and it makes a beautiful sound. I was so caught in the moment that I didn’t realize the guy honking at me to move out of the way.
3. Describe three surprises or unexpected situations you encountered on your Drift and in the days that followed. The surprise could stem from your expectations that conflicted with "on the ground" realities, cultural or social issues of which you were previously unaware, feelings and reactions that you did not expect to have, appearances and soundings of things you did not expect, good or bad outcomes of "on the spot" decisions you had to make, or the discovery of "deeper" realities in the materials you brought home. (Again, skip anything technology-related!)
On my drift it surprised me that nobody really cared what I was doing. I thought people would be staring at me or tell me to get lost, but nobody seemed to even notice. I also had an “on the spot” decision to make when I was recording some decent sound of a construction site when I heard the drawbridge start to chime on Young St. I stopped the recording and went right next to the drawbridge to get the sound and it turned out pretty cool. I even used it as one of my clips on my blog. Another thing that interested me was the sound of the waterfalls I recorded. I did three different ones and they all turned out different. Two of them were nearly the same, but at different distances. I could tell the difference, but they were both a solid sound with no tones or variety. The one that I keep and put on the blog had a verity of tones from the vent and waterfall which I didn’t notice until I listen to all the recordings. It was a little bit of a surprise.
4. Describe your favorite experience, situation, place, or recollection from your Drift. Be specific about what happened, how you felt, how you reacted, and why you think this particular experience affected you so much.
My favorite experience was the train. I stood there for a long amount of time recording as much as I could, so that I would have the perfect recording. The sound was just amazing and I never listened to a train like that before, which is why this event affected me so. I heard the train coming so I went under the bridge and figured I would get some interesting sound there, but it actually muffled the train and the only thing I could hear were cars. So I went to the side of the bridge and began recording again. Soon the train put down its brakes and that’s when the really interesting noise came. I couldn’t stop recording and like I said before, that’s when a guy was honking at me, but I thought it was just part of the train. Finally, I looked over to check my surroundings and realized this guy has been honking at me for the last 45 seconds and at the end of my recording you can here an “Oh” of embarrassment come out of my mouth.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Reading Response #1
In “The Art of Noises” by Luigi Russolo, He begins by saying that the noise was not born until the nineteenth century, and that volcanoes, earthquakes waterfalls ect, were the only noise with exception. I chose this reading, because there were more then just those noises. He is too opinionated and won’t acknowledge that everything is noise. Animals made noises. Wind made noises. People made noises. He also says, “To our ears…[certain chords produced by our orchestras] sound pleasant, since our hearing has already been educated by modern life, so teeming with variegated noises. But our ears are not satisfied merely with this, and demand an abundance of acoustic emotions.” I also believe this is very opinionated because we do hear the noises outside of music. The music of an orchestra is still noise.
Russolo brings up a few inflexible points about noise. Like I said he doesn’t believe noise was created until someone made the first machine to create this “noise”. He also says we are not satisfied with the music because we want more, or that we don’t get what we want. He says that music is boring and that we need to listen to our natural sounds around us. I believe listen to everything around us can broaden our horizon, but I don’t infuriate music because it’s a machine. It is just as natural as a car driving by on a bridge or the construction of a building. Noise is all around us, and music is no different.
As a media artist I think that we need to be open-minded to everything. Noise is noise, but there are all different kinds. I agree with his sentence, “…the art of noise must not limit itself to limited reproductions.”
Russolo brings up a few inflexible points about noise. Like I said he doesn’t believe noise was created until someone made the first machine to create this “noise”. He also says we are not satisfied with the music because we want more, or that we don’t get what we want. He says that music is boring and that we need to listen to our natural sounds around us. I believe listen to everything around us can broaden our horizon, but I don’t infuriate music because it’s a machine. It is just as natural as a car driving by on a bridge or the construction of a building. Noise is all around us, and music is no different.
As a media artist I think that we need to be open-minded to everything. Noise is noise, but there are all different kinds. I agree with his sentence, “…the art of noise must not limit itself to limited reproductions.”
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