Category: Reflection

Constraint task: Frustrations and Observations

As I discussed at the beginning of the semester I am fully aware that I am linear minded. I have found the constraint tasks each week slightly frustrating as I am not yet able to see the end product.

We are all trained from a young age to attempt to find meaning of the world around us. I can appreciate that these weekly tasks are helping to release us from natural urge and train us to notice.

Rather than becoming overwhelmed with the task I will instead focus on each clip being self-sufficient in their own right rather than rely on where they are going. Once all clips are completed I will then try to find relationships and links between each video rather than trying to manufacture a narrative in the creating stage.

 

Inspiration: Major K-Film

Watching the some the student Kfilms has give me some ideas for my major project.

I know I want music to play a big part in the film.

Brainstorming themes and concepts for the major essay.

  • Time – progression, aging
  • Dependency – attachment
  • Light

 

 

Sketch Film Essay: Assessment 2

Korsakow Film: Bright Splinters

Created by: Michael Lincoln, Katrina Varey, Sunniva Sollied Møller, Scott Huang

Link: http://vogmae.net.au/classworks/2012/BrightSplinters.html

‘Life is not like conventional fiction: life is more real, flies at us in bright splinters’

Shields, 2011

Introduction

The Korsakow film Bright Splinters is an observational work that uses pattern, interface and content utilising the recurring theme of ‘light’ to highlight the underrated beauty of Melbourne city. The collage of clips are comprised of different fragments of time and space providing a dynamic yet fluid experience for the user. Moments that occur every day that ordinarily go by unnoticed, suddenly seem so significant and meaningful. There is something very beautiful and thought provoking about each individual clip, however when viewed in relation to each other a new, polysemic meaning is created.

Pattern

Bright Splinters presents a number of connections between clips that allows the user to establish recurring themes throughout the film. The consistent theme of light is present throughout each clip. To compliment this concept, combinations of day and night as well as artificial and natural light are cleverly employed throughout the film. The correlation between the clips becomes apparent when seen on the main interface. The effect of the videos being similar in appearance around the main media is visually dynamic and prompts the user to create their own patterns.

There is also a recurring theme of motion depicted throughout each clip. Again this is generated though the use of both natural and artificial objects and helps to create the atmosphere of Melbourne as a metropolitan city, constantly moving through time and space. The movement throughout each clip also helps to establish rhythm throughout the film.

The recurring patterns that are evident throughout the piece are supported by the continuous soundtrack, which plays uninterrupted throughout the film. The ambient and slightly somber music assists to establish mood and sets the overall pace of the film. The constant background music also helps to create continuity and flow throughout the work.

Interface

This interactive documentary utilises a simple yet effective interface design, which remains consistent throughout the duration of the film. The main SNU, which is played in colour, is surrounded by seven black-and white thumbnails. The large number of preview windows presents the user with a greater amount of choice on how to proceed through the film. The thumbnails are arranged along the top of the main media window and continue down the right hand side. By not forming a complete square the user is left feeling free and liberated rather than contained by their decisions. The edges of the thumbnails also blend seamlessly into the black background, making them less defined and less likely to pull focus. This also relates back to the significance of light and its ability either expose or conceal.

The individual clips are not looped which helps to add to the fragmented feel of the piece. Each clip seems to be capturing a specific moment in time. Although having the soundtrack continue to play once the clip has completed helps to maintain the overall flow of the piece.

Content

Visually, the film is impressive. A variety of different shots are utilised to create a complex film that is both captivating and stimulating. A plethora of clips, which all relate to light, are captured throughout Melbourne. They comprise of both natural and artificial light and vary from day to night, inside to outside. Some clips include people while others do not. However they are consistent in their quality and have been edited in a stylistic way that enhances the overall feel of the film.

The opening sequence presents itself visually engaging and slightly more intense than the other clips throughout the film. The Shields quote “life…though flies at us” is introduced using the sporadic nature similar to that of a fluorescent light in juxtaposition with a wide-shot, light-heavy time lapse sequence, allows the user to immediately be able to establish the subject. Text is only utilised in the opening sequence, which allows the user to focus on the visual beauty of the clips rather than be distracted by having to read throughout the film.

The videos are recorded from a first person point of view, which is a common trait for observational mode of documentary. The filmmaker remains hidden behind the camera, ‘ignored by the surrounding environment that we neither change nor influence the events being captured’ (Nichols, 2010). This helps to draw the user in allowing them to feel like a part of the work.

Connection

The decisions made in the patterns created, the interface design and the content captured throughout the interactive documentary form a strong cohesive theme of light that can be interpreted by the user to create meaning depending on their individual experiences.

The interface design along with the continuous background music encourages the user to progress through the piece, although not necessarily forward as the piece takes on a multi-linear narrative structure. This allows space for the user to interpret the relationship between videos and the meaning of the work.

Through utilising specific design elements, the filmmakers highlight fragmented moments in time that are usually taken for granted and invite the user to take notice and appreciate their surroundings. By combining content, rhythm and the recurring theme of movement the film not only establishes a sense of place but also successfully creates atmosphere, successfully capturing the culture and diversity of Melbourne city.

Evidence

Bright Splinters is an interactive documentary that can be recognised as a hypertext, as it allows the user to create their own journey through selecting a range of pre-existing options (Ashton & Gaudenzi, 2012). Even though the filmmaker has the power to create the content and make relationships with the keywords, it is still up to the user to create meaning, based on their own personal experiences (Ashton & Gaudenzi, 2012). This interactive documentary, which combines a number of observational clips, also highlights the changes in the way in which users engage with digital media (Sørenssen, 2008).  The film takes an experimental approach to documentary making, to produce common themes and patterns throughout (Bordwell & Thompson, 2013). Bright Splinters is a highly stylised and powerful Korsakow film, which eloquently explores the underrated beauty of Melbourne city and reflects on how we interpret the world around us.

References:

Bordwell, D & Thompson, K (2013) Film Art: An Introduction. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill.

Judith, A & Gaudenzi, S (2012) “Interactive Documentary: Setting the Field.” Studies in Documentary Film 6.2: 125–139.

Nichols, B 2010, Introduction to Documentary, 2nd ed., Indiana University Press, United States of America.

Shields, David. (2010) ‘Reality Hunger: A Manifesto’ Knopf, vintage pp. 110-122

Sørenssen, B (2008) “Digital Video and Alexandre Astruc’s Caméra-Stylo: The New Avant-Garde in Documentary Realized?” Studies in Documentary Film 2.1

Sketches

This week Seth reminded the class that our weekly constraint tasks are simply sketches, which got me thinking about what exactly a sketch is. Seth used the words – rough, unfinished, draft.

Seth mentioned a resource by Bill Buxton called ‘Sketching user experience.’ Buxton defines a sketches as
– timely
– inexpensive
– disposable
– having minimal detail
– having an appropriate degree of refinement
– are ambiguous.

 

Student K-Film Exploration: Life is a Musical

I have really enjoyed watching past students K-Films. It has really helped me understand the possibilities of Korsakow and got me thinking about by own K-film sketch.

Life is a Musical

Red Hat: I engaged with the variety of different clips throughout the project and liked the use of rhythm to drive the piece.

Black Hat: The difference in quality of the clips. There was also some distorted sound in the clips that were filmed outside which became distracting at times.

Yellow Hat: I really liked the idea as it brought to life everyday sounds that would usually go unnoticed

Green Hat: Mixing up the types of sounds to avoid too much repetition

musical

Week 4: Lecture

Bordwell and Thompson state that after watching Rail Road Turnbridge a person “cannot see bridges in the same way” thus experimental films are not just art for arts sake. Can/are Korsakow projects art for arts sake, or can they effect the way people see things? Or like Rail Road Turnbridge are they both at once?

  • Korsakow films can absolutely change the way both viewers and creators see things
  • Jasmine told an excellent anecdote when she was a child she would pretend to be a time traveller and would imagine seeing the world through new eyes. This gave her a greater appreciation of the world around her – taking the familiar and making it unfamiliar
  • Less about what things mean and more about their materiality
  • non-narrative documentaries and Korsakow films have the same effect on viewers and utilise different ways to set up patterns

Bordwell and Thompson devote a lot of attention to the formal structure and sequence order to deconstruct films, yet through some i-Docs the individual creates their own unique structure. What other methods can we employ to deconstruct i-Docs, and does this interactive structure take some creative control away from the author/filmmaker?

  • Korsakow structure created by the producer – taxonomy of keywords
  • You don’t need to necessarily define something to be able to construct it
  • Creator = Architect and User = Builder
  • Closed reading is not deconstruction
  • Katherine Hail: writing should be specific depending on medium
  • User decides when the segment is over – takes away some of the creative control
  • Designers for providing users with experiences

Do the readings of experimental films rely on the audience that is observing them? And if so to what extent is experimental film an interpretation?

  • Relies on interpretation
  • All films rely on audience to interpret them – experimental is not specific
  • Realist narrative – hides the fact that its pretend
  • Linear/fixed – you are in control

Week 4 Reading: Film Art – An Introduction

This week’s reading from Film Art: An Introduction by David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson introduces different styles of film making.

 Narrative

Narrative can be described as a chain of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space. Typically there is one situation presented at the beginning of a narrative, a series of changes occurs according to a pattern of cause and effect; finally a new situation arises that brings about the end of the narrative. An introduction, a complication and a resolution.

“I had actually trapped myself in a story that was very convoluted, and I would have been able to cut more later if I’d simplified it at the script stage, but I’d reached a point where I was up against a wall of story logic. If I had cut too much at that stage, the audience would have felt lost.” – James Cameron, director, on Aliens

Plot and Story

  • The viewer makes sense of a narrative by identifying its events and linking them by cause and effect, time and space. Viewers also infer events that are not explicitly presented. Adrian used the example in the lecture of time passing in film. Day to night.
  • Distinction between story and plot (sometimes called story and discourse)

Cause and Effect

  • Characters are usually the agents of cause and effect – they make things happen and respond to events. Their actions and reactions contribute strongly to our engagement with the film

Time

  • The viewer constructs the story time on the basis of what the plot presents.

 Space

  • In film narrative space is usually an important factor – events occur in well defined locales.
  • Cinema employs screen space – the visible space within the frame

Experimental Film

Experimental film is intentionally unconventional in the way it avoids the content mainstream cinema produce and the style in which they create it.

Experimental films are made for many reasons

  • Filmmaker may wish to press personal experiences or viewpoints in ways that seem eccentric in a mainstream context
  • Filmmaker may want to portray a mood or a physical quality
  • Filmmaker may wish to explore possibilities of the medium itself

Types of Experimental Film

  • Abstract film – often organised in around theme and variations (usually refers to music)
  • Associational Form – groups images that may not have immediate logical connection but the very fact that the images and sounds are juxtaposed prods us to look for some connection – an association binds them together.

Korsakow: Helpful Hints

I was unable to attend my usual timeslot for my tutorial this week. So I didn’t miss out on the introduction to using Korsakow I attended Hannah’s Thursday class.

Hannah’s helpful Korsakow tips:

  • File management: good housekeeping systems is a MUST
  • Save all the time
  • Save ‘in’ and ‘out’ words
  • Name thumbnails the same as movies
  • Import only a few videos then export and continue to add to the collection.
  • Make sure you set the interface as the same size as the video or picture
  • Always ‘export for web’ NEVER draft