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

Johnny Cash Project

Participants are invited to create a drawing that is woven into a collective tribute to Johnny Cash, set to his song “Ain’t No Grave.” The project was inspired by the song’s central lyric, “ain’t no grave gonna hold my body down,” and represents Cash’s continued existence, even after his death, through his music and his fans. The work continues to grow and evolve as more people participate. A collaboration with director Chris Milk.

Click here to see the video

Taxonomies

Taxonomies are a way of organising. Throughout this weeks lecture, Adrian argued that this is restrictive when referring to documentary as it can apply boundaries to the creative process. When boundaries do exist, things can become stereotyped and then the detail can become lost. The emphasis is put on the end product rather than then the overall meaning of the work

Adrian’s notes relating to Taxonomies.

Week 3: Lecture

Documentary as a ‘project’ in regards to definition is becoming very broad – so, does it need to be redefined or broken up into categories? Does a taxonomy of definitions need to be created?

  • More importantly than trying to categorise the project, you need to start from the premise of creating work. ‘What do you want the work to do?’
  • Taxonomies create dualisms and these distinctions always create problems of power which can be limiting i.e ‘This is, this is not’.
  • However Seth made a good point that categorising can be seen as a useful tool in the fact that they provide us with the language in order to discuss documentaries.

How do documentary practitioners work with participatory contributions in regards to copyright and intellectual property?

  • Intellectual property and copyright applies to all participatory documentaries
  • Appropriate release forms are signed – Johnny Cash Project
  • Twitter feeds are a grey area – public Vs private
  • YouTube relies on consumers to provide content whilst documentaries are set up to encourage change and are set up for people to comment on social or political issues – different motivation

In regards to understanding the four categories of interactive documentary – How are they important independently, or should they complement each other?

  • As discussed in question 1 it is important to think about the individual work rather than the category

How exactly are these relationships formed using different technologies? What connections can be made between different types of i-docs in regards to how they use technology?

  • Utilising technology to represent reality
  • User is internal or external
  • It is important to look at each platform/project separately
  • There are no general rules
  • Need to look at what the work means/does

 

Week 3 Reading: Digital video and Alexandre Astruc’s caméra-stylo: the new avant-garde in documentary realized?

This week’s reading by Bjørn Sørenssen looks at the predictions made by French film maker and critic, Alexandre Astruc, in his 1948 essay in which he “envisioned a new breakthrough for film as a medium, no longer only as an entertainment medium, but as a fundamental tool for human communication” (Sørenssen 2008, p. 47) and compares them to the realisation of the contemporary world.

Sørenssen highlights the foresight Astruc demonstrated when discussing the fundamental changes to the medium’s production and distribution. Astruc’s prediction that everyone will possess a projector was remarkably accurate with the introduction of DVD players and even more recently, computers and smart phones.

Sørenssen summarises Astruc’s conclusions into three main points:

  1. New technology provides new means of expression. As a result of this film medium (i.e. forms of audio- visual expression) develops from being exclusive and privileged to a common and publicly available form of expression (Sørenssen 2008, p. 49).
  2. This, in turn, opens space for a more democratic use of the medium (Sørenssen 2008, p. 49).
  3. It also opens up new possibilities for modern (contemporary) and different forms and usages (avant-garde) (Sørenssen 2008, p. 49).

The article then goes on to discuss the introduction of new and expensive technology used for creating, editing and distributing media developed into more ‘consumer-friendly’ versions that became more readily available (Sørenssen 2008, p. 51). Examples cited in the text include Apple iMovie, the internet and mobile phones.

Sørenssen summarises the rise of user participation within the audio-visual culture into three points:

  1. Economic availability: The gap in costs and quality between production and editing equipment and software for professional and mass consumers has closed up considerably (Sørenssen 2008, p. 51).
  2. Miniaturization: Equipment that previously demanded considerable resources in terms of logistics has been replaced with equipment that is lightweight, does not occupy much space and is well adapted for individual operation (Sørenssen 2008, p. 51)
  3. New and alternative forms of distribution: From being forced to circulate in a very restricted public sphere, the establishment of distribution sites on the World Wide Web has opened up possibilities for mass medial distribution for alternative for alternative audio-visual products (Sørenssen 2008, p. 52).

Sørenssen discusses the correlation between the developments of new media, in particular the Internet, and the impact it has had on the public sphere. It is discussed that these technologies provide users with opportunities for people to communicate, access information and comment on social and political issues. Although their characteristics are different to classical approaches and issues arise in regards to accessibility and commodification, new media provides users with a platform to accomplish change by communicative actions.

The internet has successfully invaded the private sphere and opened with websites such as YouTube providing a platform for free video uploads and sharing capabilities. Sørenssen attributes YouTube’s enormous success to “the fact that it operates as an open channel for the teeming millions of prospective content producers who, thanks to the technological and economic developments of digital media production equipment, now have the possibilities to exchange meanings, experiences and – perhaps most importantly – ways of expression through the film medium” (Sørenssen 2008, p. 54).

The text concludes by using an elderly YouTube user ‘Geriatric 1927; also referred to as Peter to support Alaxandre Astruc’s vision that “the perceived new media situation would open up alternative ways and means of audio-visual expressions, hence his insistence of connecting the new technology with the aesthetics of the avant-garde (Sørenssen 2008, p. 58)