Video Created by Alisha Bennett and the wonderful Zahra Kader!
The choice of images was in accordance to contrast the ideas and visual ideologies of how Los Angeles is represented in the media, compared to the living experience in the environment. Showcasing the components of LA that globally aren’t recognised in the media. The newspaper snipping acts as a perfect example of how LA is represented in the media as a dream city across the world. The other newspaper outlets are only recognisable in the state and within the city. The reality of Los Angeles is misunderstood, and this video essay acts as a reminder of poverty in a location so destined for fortune and freedom. The images are all public domain and allow us to really explain the research attained in this project. We split the video in two to do a simple comparison. We ordered the images in relation to the poem monologue. The poem is designed to show a sense of naïve understandings of Hollywood in terms of what we grew up being exposed to. ‘Making it in Hollywood’, the city of dreams, as advertised. The poem reminds us that there is a dark reality in even some of the richest and beautiful cities in the world. Making a dramatic transition with the audio pieces as well. The rhythm is around 3 seconds per photo depending on the significance and visual stimuli. How much can we reveal about the photo without it being too long is all dependable on the features. Comparing the audio from 1967-2021, the distinction really displays a raw contrast between advertising, to realism documentation interviews with residents. The title ‘Los Angeles, Brings it all together’, is a term that I found while reading about the city itself. I thought it would be a perfect title, as the poem highlights the way this term truly lives up to what it states. While the city brings fortune, freedom, and memories from exciting visitors, it also has a dark history of poverty and a street that was referred to as the ‘Devil’s Junk Pile’.
The speed and duration are inspired by Hito Steryeri’s ‘November’ in terms of monologue speed and amplitude. In terms of presentation, the montage is also inspired by the arrangement of the images and media visual components she used to present her essay film. We preferred to go on a more dramatic and explanatory approach rather than overload. What I loved about ‘November’ was the pacing and her tone of voice being almost too calm despite the topic at hand.
Overall, the essay project really inspired us to be creative. Using imagery to create videos is something I aim to improve on and learned from Zahra herself on ways to transition images in an engaging format. Essay films allow me to explore documentation as well in a past tense and research driven criteria.