Month: October 2017

“[This course reflects upon] the ability to look around, rather than ahead.” – Hannah Brasier

The development of this studio throughout the semester has been both skillful and creative. Through certain readings (particularly Mason, Gibson and Bogost) and in class discussions, I have gained a broader understanding on what it means to ‘notice’. To purposely notice is to be aware and to take in our surroundings.  By using various objects- for example a digital camera, we are able to potentially see aspects in an environment that one might not have been able to see otherwise. Using objects can bring a new perspective into the way we notice and view the world. This studio has brought to my attention the different ways we can perceive and notice our environment. I have also enjoyed the experimental approaches to learning that this studio has brought forward, it has been refreshing to focus more on conceptual skill building rather than the pure technical components of media making.

Throughout this studio I have developed my skills in conceptual thinking and critical analysis (especially on a personal level). Whilst developing our final projects we set goals in class of what we wanted to achieve, notice and learn. The ‘biggest thing’ I wanted to achieve was to understand individuals and their habits on an in-depth level- to notice their behaviors and be able to record this and display it in media format that challenged my creative skills.

My portfolio mostly centers around my conceptual thoughts, ideas on noticing and a few technical aspects. I did not want to be definitive in where this project would lead- the ending wasn’t the purpose the whole idea was to experience and record new concepts that arose from experimenting.  The concept behind the final project was that I took the notion of noticing and behavior and created something that presented habits (even ones that may seem dull or unnoticeable) to create a montage that reflects all these little aspects that makes an individual. The project also reflected on the relationship we have with media (especially cameras) and how we behave whilst being filmed.

One of the most challenging aspects during my project was finding a subject to film and observe. My first choice was my sister, as she is an individual I live with and understand. Because of this, I feel that I am able to notice habitual behaviors she does whilst working and find it interesting to wonder if she notices these habits herself. Unfortunately, due to her work schedule I was unable to have enough time with her and record her behaviors. Due to this It was hard finding the time to observe a second individual but I ended up choosing a close friend who I had good understanding of. This challenge didn’t end up necessarily changing the project in a specific way- (as the idea behind it was very translucent and would potentially work with various different subjects). For me it was all about spending time and making sure to record behaviors that I felt suited the montage and themes within the piece.

I did feel like the piece started to have more structure than being experimental (a narrative that focused on rituals from the start of the day till the end) but I ended up embracing these changes. Again, the ideas behind the final project were to experiment with concepts (habits), cameras (our relationship with the camera) and individuals (the way we document with media).

I discovered, my main subject (and those I used for practice shoots) found it hard to move past basic descriptive habits. Even spending more than a day with someone still didn’t necessarily give enough time to observe more deeper rituals, despite this I think the piece still presents a sense of observation, reflecting on day to day behaviors that the individual does.

Overall, I would say that I’ve learnt that the relationship of the camera can make it hard to capture candid behaviors, for this project. As even when I was subtle the subject was still conscious and aware that I was going to be filming. Although they weren’t sure of when I was going to press record the presence of the camera still changed the behavior from a truly candid piece. In saying this most filming incorporates this same issue and to overcome it one would have to record without letting the participant know and in terms of legality and the release of video content that would be an issue. I think in regards to candidness the final shots I choose to be included were ones were the individual was either aware and did not mind (continued on with their behavior) or forgot the camera was rolling (as I continued to film whilst spending time giving into angels that laid the camera still on the table or made it less noticeable)

My favourite aspect of the final project was the soundscape, throughout this studio sound has become one of my favourite topics. I feel I have a greater understanding on distinguishing sounds as well as blending them together. I like that sound is more interpretable than visuals, we can imagine an image when we hear a particular sound and I liked the concept that sound can be so varied and manipulated.
I decided to overlap my sounds for the purpose of immersion, I really wanted this piece to be an atmospheric example of what it’s like to film someone- including awkward or intimate moments like sneezing or spitting. The soundscape also creates a sensory overload that makes the piece have a certain habitual tone, it’s a reflection that throughout our day we do so many things that we ourselves may not observe.

Finally, I want to add that this project has made me really think more conceptually about sound and I hope with future endeavours I continue to experiment and find inspiration for way that sound can be changed, manipulated and incorporated into various media platforms.

This project was filmed by Natasha Khan, Credit and special thanks to Finlay Fitzgerald for participating in my project and for allowing me to record him.

During filming I expected the relationship between the person being filmed and the camera would play a major role, and it did. I think the main observation I have found and learnt through producing this project is that the camera itself has it’s own ‘presence’. When I first started filming the participant noticed the camera quite predominately and was conscious of the way I was filming shots. As the day progressed the alertness between the participant and the camera slowly became more leveled. The participant became more accustomed to it’s presence and it not longer had a ‘stigma’ attached to it. Its interesting to see and observe the relationship between individuals and technology, many individuals do not mind using their phones to be recorded but when it comes to using a professional DSLM camera the dynamic changes. The ‘intent’ behind filming is what makes a lot of people feel awkward– they don’t want to be captured coming across as unlikable or dislike the idea of intimate moments being broadcast-ed. I find it fascinating that the dynamic between social media (such as vlogging) and trying to film professionally (or journalistic-ally) is very different. One would suspect people would become use to the presence of the camera after using applications such as Snapchat and Instgram but this isn’t always the case. Overall this project has made me think about how selective social media has become and how afraid many individuals can be for audience to see their true unfiltered behaviors and personalities. Filming an individuals habits has made me more aware that habits can be an issue that makes them feel awkward and uncomfortable- not everybody wants their intimate behaviors shown. 

In order to practice technical components for the final task I have decided to add in a short portfolio of practice images that play around with the cameras functions (Panasonic LUMIX GH4). I focused on Shutter Speed, f/stop and white balance. I think this will help me figure out the type of look I want to film with and to keep things as neutral as possible so that the camera displays a true reflection of what the viewer would see without it.

WHITE BALANCEf/stop 2.8, shutter speed 1/1000, ISO800, WBbluehuedf/stop 2.8, shutter speed 1/1000, ISO800, WBneutral

f/stop 2.8, shutter speed 1/1000, ISO800, WBwarmhued

F/STOPf/stop2.8, shutter speed 1/1000, ISO3200f/stop6.3, shutter speed 1/1000, ISO3200
f/stop16, shutter speed 1/1000, ISO3200

SHUTTER SPEED
f/stop2.8, shutter speed 1/8, ISO200
f/stop2.8, shutter speed 1/60, ISO200
f/stop2.8, shutter speed 1/1600, ISO1000
f/stop2.8, shutter speed 1/4000, ISO2500

From doing this task I’ve learnt to take an important note on the fstop and the way it changes the depth of field, although I like that fstop2.8 blurs the background and focuses more on the object in view it was nice to see the 6.3 stop stop giving a more ‘fuller’ image and displaying more of what was also in the background. I think for when I start filming I should practice around with these settings to make sure I get the best and highest quality images and footage.

“How can we notice new qualities in our media by letting a piece of software create random relations between our media parts?”
(Week 11 Tutorial)

In this week’s tutorial we learnt about the platform ‘Korsakow’ which allows you to select media, add keywords or tags and create an interactive platform. This platform plays the media you have selected and connects it through the keywords entered. I found this platform interesting and I liked the examples Hannah showed us including the project ‘Ceci n’est pas Embres’ which displayed the juxtapositions between Winter and Spring. The most wondrous aspect from this particular project for me displayed a grid (roughly 8×8) of various clips of windows. Every now and again someone would open or interact with the windows and it was interesting to see the inter-connecting relationships between the clips and how altogether they create a new piece of media that is completely different than from the individual clips themselves. Kane and myself were also in charge of the weekly update, Kane filmed whilst I decided to edit the video- I did so in a way that was inspired by the Korsakow platform, unique, innovate and introspective. Below is what we put together, I think it is a good reflection of week 11 and I am interested to see what next week brings.

W11, Studio Update, Tash & Kane from Seeing the Unseen on Vimeo.