# VINE ‘STYLE’ – Challenging Vine specific creativity

Does the 6 second constraint lend to a specific kind or style of creativity?

Will lengthening Vine videos affect or diminish its originality as a specific form or video practise?

Record a 6 second Vine video – Stretch it (slow it down) to 10/20/30 seconds

# HASHTAGS – In relation to NARRATIVE STRUCTURE

Hashtags connect – Can they be used to communicate?

# JAIL BREAKING – Phone Hacking – NEW MEDIA only

Cannot HACK traditional media – e.g. TELEVISION (YOUTUBE ADBLOCKER–NO TV EQUIVALENT)

# VINE Specific DIGITAL MARKETING

Condensing marketing to fit one individual platform

#NEW MEDIA vs TRADITIONAL MEDIA marketing schemes/plans

# FLIP BOOK VINE

Combining individual VINE videos to create/complete a narrative

6 second narrative sections – IE one for  ‘exposition’, one for ‘rising action’, and one for ‘climax’.

‘Things of Interest’:

Challenging Time Constraints – Vine’s six second limit on videos is seen as one of its creative strengths, as the restrictiveness of the six seconds is thought to be a driving force for creativity. What would result if we were to lengthen a 6 second Vine video to 10/20/30 seconds and beyond? Would it alter and/or damage Vine specific creativity? Are people currently hacking and challenging Vine’s time constraints?

Asynchronism – Asynchronism is the disparity between what is seen and what is heard. It is a technique of ‘discontinuity editing’ employed by filmmakers to create meaning through aural-visual dissociation. Vine records sound and video simultaneously, therefore we would need to explore various processes of video-making and uploading (to Vine) to achieve video asynchronism. What are these processes? Are they simple and/or effective?–considering Vine videos are limited to six seconds.

Dialectical Montage – Dialectical Montage, according to Sergei Eisenstein, is the juxtaposition of two shots (the Kuleshov effect). Eisenstein explored the progressive alternation, and consequent conflict, of images as a vehicle for abstract concepts to be understood by inference (visceral effect). How do Eistenstein’s theories on dialectical montage relate to new media non-linear/montage video practises? If I placed contemporary examples of montage video alongside Eisensteins earlier (1920s) examples of video montage would I recognise a difference in form and/or purpose? How has Sergei Eisenstein’s work on dialectical montage shaped new media software and practises?

‘Remix’ – Micro-blogging video service Vine is rife with unauthorised appropriation of copyrighted material, as it allows users to upload and ‘remix’ pre-existing cultural works for their own purposes. Explore remix culture in relation to Vine, as well as the copyright issues and consequent infringement ‘loopholes’ which arise from this.

 

 

 

Bordwell and Thompson’s teachings on ‘the concept of form in film’ are hugely relevant to our studios objective: exploration/deconstruction of narrative/non-narrative form in online video practice. Although Bordwell and Thompson refer specifically to film form, though their ideas cover narrative/non-narrative form across many artforms, and thus can easily be applied to online video practises. Artistic form relates to the network of elements that constitute a work: visuals, sound, cause and effect et. al. This system generally relates to the processes of human perception. A significant factor that inspires a work’s form is the way an audience may navigate the work. For instance, a succession of events may encourage a particular expectation in the audience for the events to follow. How this expectation is created and whether the expectation is gratified assists to define a work’s form. Furthermore, in relation to artistic form, the implementation or resistance of conventions structures the form. Most importantly, the form provides context for emotion and meaning. In relation to our course, it is interesting to consider the audience’s role in actively perceiving, though passively informing, form, because this relationship may have even more weight in online video practises due to the evolving role of the consumer.

Eric Booth encourages creative freedom when it comes to developing ideas and end products. His teachings define the processes in which our studio is expected to engage in throughout the semester. Instead of over-thinking, over-analysing and projecting ideas toward and result, Booth supports a playful, experimental approach to developing ideas. The idea is to just make, make, make, and allow the previous sketch to inform the next, and so on. This approach is new to me, as I usually jump (mentally) to an end product, rather than take small developmental steps toward and end goal. Although this process is somewhat foreign to me, it makes complete sense and I absolutely want to adapt my usual practises to fit this attitude. For example, for project 2 I spent a lot of time brainstorming ideas, though after I was satisfied with my research. I plan, however, to apply Booth’s method to project 3 as I believe it will encourage me to push beyond what it already known and ‘been done’ and, rather, shift my focus toward innovative ideas and “hybrid” texts–the course objective, essentially.

In this sketch we will explore one specific trend/convention of Horror narrative: isolated locations.

https://vine.co/v/eBFLWOger2K

A common convention of Horror films is the isolated location. Typically, this was due to low production budgets, forcing the film to be shot in one place with a minimal cast. Primarily, the other reason for the isolated setting is to scare the audience: the feeling of being alone in a horrific situation enhances tension and creates audience suspense. After the film has ended, viewers find solace in the thought that the events in the film existed only in that one isolated location. Some of the most popular forms of isolation may include, though are not limited to, the haunted house visage, or teenagers stuck in the woods without their mobile phones. The purpose of isolation is to create an environment where the protagonists are inevitably cornered by their antagonists (evil).

This sketch was technically easy to achieve, and we found it to be a common technique among #6SecondScare applicants.

GROUP STATEMENT

Our group has chosen the online video competition launched by Eli Roth and his digital horror network The Crypt through short-form video sharing service, Vine. If we contextualise this work/project in relation to the studio activities so far (the mindmapping and personal case studies) it would be placed in the genre of microblogging video practice. We will produce a number of sketches which analyse the narrative/non-narrative form of this online video practice. Each of these sketches will focus on different aspects of the work/project as a way to understand how it has been made and how relations have been formed between shots to create a narrative/non-narrative structure.

Eli Roth, The Crypt, and the Competition

In October, 2014 Eli Roth and his digital media network, The Crypt, launched an online competition through short-form video sharing service, Vine. Vine was formed in June 2012, though it was acquired by microblogging website Twitter in October 2012, before its official launch. The service lets users record and edit five to six-second-long looping video clips and re-vine, or share others’ posts with followers. Some Vines are re-vined automatically based on popularity. The videos can then be published through Vine’s social network and as well as on other popular services such as Facebook and Twitter. Vine’s app can also be used to browse through videos posted by other users, along with groups of videos by theme, and trending, or popular, videos.

The #6SecondScare Vine contest, advertised via The Crypt’s website and a personal callout by Eli Roth through The Crypt’s Vine account, gave horror devoted fans the chance to win career-defining prizes. The contest was judged by some of Hollywood’s most reputable names. ‘Hostel’ director, Eli Roth was joined by Rob Lowe, Kid Cudi, Elijah Wood, Vanessa Hudgens and Quentin Tarantino in selecting the finalists. The grand winner was given the opportunity to develop their idea with Roth and Davis Entertainment, which has distributed such projects as the acclaimed 2012 sci-fi movie, ‘Chronicle,’ and the Golden Globe-nominated crime drama television series, ‘The Blacklist.’ The contest’s runner-ups received a variety of film equipment. The contestant winners were announced

Anyone had the opportunity to enter the contest by uploading their video to Twitter and/or Vine, and using the hashtag #6SecondScare. Those entering the contest were required to tag and follow The Crypt @fearthecrypt. There were no limits to how many entries people may enter, but Roth encouraged users to think outside the box.

“I wanted to create a global contest that anyone with a smart phone can enter. You don’t need a big budget or stars or makeup effects, and with the time limit you have to be creative. It’s not about being over the top or looking professional, whoever comes up with the most creative six second scare wins. The difference now is that your work will be seen by the amazing judges who have generously donated their time to support budding new filmmakers. It doesn’t matter if you’re from Iowa or Iceland, Brazil or Brussels, if you make a short on your phone for the #SixSecondScare we will see it. I remember the feeling of being 22 with a short film, dying to get anyone in the industry to watch it – that’s all you want when you’re starting out, and now we’re able to give anyone with a dream of directing that chance,”–Eli Roth.

View the competition callout here: http://www.fearthecrypt.com/6SecondScare

Visit The Crypt’s website here: http://www.fearthecrypt.com/

In this sketch we will explore the juxtaposition of binary opposites as an embedded and recurrent theme in Horror film narrative.

https://vine.co/v/eBF5DDMTWpt

Binary opposition is a theory closely examined by French anthropologist and ethnologist, Claude Lévi-Strauss. In critical theory, a binary opposition (also binary system) is a pair of related concepts or terms that are opposite in meaning or, simply stated, the contrasts between two opposite things. Binary opposition is the system by which two mutually exclusive terms, such as light and dark, up and down, good and bad, are set off against one another.

Binary opposition can be applied to Horror narrative as there is always the contrast between good and bad, pure and evil, and sanity and insanity. In this sketch we explored some of the common binary opposites represented in Horror film using visual representations to exemplify the common, distinctive opposites essential to the Horror film genre.

 

Dundes, A, Binary Opposition in Myth: The Propp/Lévi-Strauss Debate in Retrospect, Western Folklore,Vol. 56, No. 1 (Winter, 1997) , pp. 39-50, Published by: Western States Folklore Society http://www.jstor.org/stable/1500385

In this sketch we will explore and discuss how remix culture is applied and engaged with using Vine.

https://vine.co/v/eBFJFdKOx5B

The purpose of this sketch was to explore remix culture. The concept of remixing originally spawned from the introduction of multi-track mixers that made remixing a standard practice. With each element of a song (vocals, drums, etc), it became possible to “re-mix” the song.  Gradually the term evolved to represent any reworking of already pre-existing cultural work(s). Lev Manovich, professor of Visual Arts, at the University of California, specialised in new media and digital culture. Manovich theorised and applied the concept of remix frequently in his papers and books. In his article ‘Deep Remixability’ (2007) Manovich explores the way both the production and the consumption of culture has changed with the coming of new media. Through the development of new media software, remix is ubiquitous.

Our exploration of remix culture in relation to the #6SecondScare Vine competition, led us to consider: can you infringe copyright in six seconds? And furthermore, would a remixed video submission be an acceptable submission. We found that a lot of people (including businesses and institutions) have created artificial rules for fair use, for example, the number of seconds a video clip can be. Seemingly the regulations around Vine copyright infringement are vague and flexible.  Creators and consumers may think it is hard to infringe copyright in six seconds (the length of a Vine), as a clip that short is unlikely to defame an original work. As for the competition, we both agreed that a remixed video is still applicable, as the competition is seeking creative ideas, not skilled video practitioners.

 

 

Vine is a constrained media which limits its entries to six second loops, however it allows the user to combine multiple individual shots (or images) to comprise the six second loop. In this sketch we will explore the use of collage and juxtaposition using the application Vine.

https://vine.co/v/OLqr1iT9ihg

The purpose of this sketch is to define the intentions of the collage aesthetic as a non-linear language, which reflects the visual processes of perception that are common to all of us.

The concept of montage is paralleled in other art mediums; for example an assemblage of magazine clippings to create a whole new image. The Oxford English Dictionary defines collage as “a piece of art made by sticking various different materials such as photographs and pieces of paper or fabric on to a backing.” While collage is foremost a technique for making art, it has theoretical implications, such as the importance of juxtaposition. Juxtaposition of multiple seemingly different things challenges the unity of conventional art forms.

We find this particular loop visually challenging. The flashing of the individual shots in a continuous loop is somewhat disorienting. Furthermore, due to the nature of some of the individual shots, we find it rather sinister (i.e. image of Hitler, and a man being dragged by two policeman). There are, however, moments of beauty: flowers, floral print and sensuous lips. This lends to our exploration of juxtaposition, which we have come to understand as an extension of collage. We found that juxtaposition enhances the appeal and the visceral quality of montage video. Similarly, juxtaposition is an intrinsic quality of collage.

 

In this sketch we will explore the three part plot structure of exposition – rising action – climax, and how imperative this is to the effect/success of a Horror film or video.

https://vine.co/v/OLq3Fiex3O6