The shots in my video based on my understanding of poetic lists are on paper planes and the nostalgia of making and flying them when I was younger. I decided upon this idea from the class activity where I listed images and fragments which came to my head with memory as a prompt. I listed many ideas to do with memory and the nostalgia associated with events and moments related to it but since the video was only 1 minute, I narrowed it down to paper planes. Afterwards I received peer feedback as to how I can make the idea of paper planes as a poetic list to be presented in a video which included having repetition of similar shots given, developing a character around the paper planes as well as perspectives of how they are seen to be thrown.

In class we watched a part of the 1949 film “Pacific 231”. The film having elements of a poetic list I learned was that it highlights details which are not normally seen in a train and captures the trains’ different rhythms and patterns. I tried to utilize this technique emphasising unique details to paper planes by  having patterns of the perspectives of watching it fly,  highlighting the various shapes made folding the planes as well as its changes in its creases in the process of making it

An element I learned about poetic lists and how it differentiates from personal and practical list is that it does not rely on chronological order and “also allows us to consider it as a mode of thinking, evoking all the non-linear potentiality that can be associated with thought.” (A Poetic Approach to Documentary – Discomfort of Form, Rhetorical Strategies and Aesthetic Experience (Frankham, B.L) Pg143). Having non linear connections in a list presented lets the audience themselves piece together how shots connect and relate to one another based upon their own interpretation. This makes the viewer and audience an active participant in the work they are viewing or listening to. In my video I experimented with this idea by having shots of the process of making a paper plane and flying it placed on after another. 

The poetic list readings use the example of the direct gaze in the film “How Many Ways to Say You” as another method to directly acknowledge the audience and to include them in the exchange process of the film. To create this interaction with the audience and the film, I tested the idea of putting different faces on the planes giving them their own character and the end stepping on them in an attempt to bring out a sense of feeling or emotion from the audience. However doing this may have made the video not of a poetic list as it brings closure and signifies an end to the video. 

References : Frankham, B.L., 2013. Complexity, flux and webs of connection,’ in: (Links to an external site.) A Poetic Approach to Documentary: Discomfort of Form, Rhetorical Strategies and Aesthetic Experience University of Technology Sydney, Sydney. pp. 137-176

I created a sound piece based on my understanding of a personal list around the theme of “Things that make me feel clean” I initially approached this task in the by listing out sounds of tasks I thought are obvious to the theme such as cleaning or sanitizing furniture or objects around the house. But then I listed down other tasks or actions that are not obviously associated of things which makes me feel clean such as opening a window and letting fresh air in, the process of organizing as it declutters my mind and watching someone of a profession having a very good technique consistently such as a basketball player making every shot or a skater landing every trick. From this class activity of constructing our own  personal lists, I learned that this type of listing can hold many different interpretations of the author based upon their own way, their own thinking and perspective. 

After reading lists written by Sei Shonagon, I learned that personal lists can be a reflection of our everyday experiences and our own perspectives of how we process information. The way Shonagon wrote about and detailed items or thoughts on her lists were ordered in a way such that her writing about a her view on detailed items or thoughts on her liststems is loose and flexible in creating a meaning and connection. Along with class feedback with my theme, i tried to implement this method into my sound piece by interspersing sounds which to me are obviously associated with the word clean and not so obvious sounds that give me a clean feeling. Peer feedback I received in class after completing a draft was to make some sounds more obvious, in particular the basketball going into the hoop swish sound effect to bring some clarity to the work and make it a bit more clear as to what the sound the audience is listening to. 

References : Perkovic, J., 2013. ‘Sei Shonagon’s Lists’ [WWW Document]. Guerrilla Semiotics. URL https://guerrillasemiotics.com/2013/05/sei-shonagons-lists/

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My practical list was based on a series of tasks I aim to complete throughout the Day such as reading, checking on my pot plant, cleaning or doing other types of work and going outside for a walk or to dance practice. All these items have a function which helps me to complete these tasks. I constructed my practical list with an understanding of tasks or objects having a physical form that can be categorized and organized to serve a purpose in completing a set goal or “constitute the goal of a certain project” (Umberto, E 2009, ‘There are lists and lists’, in The infinity of lists, Rizzoli, New York pg116). I agree with this as a project can be broken down into smaller tasks as a way to guide the a process whether it be creative or not by prioritising what to do in order or daily (such as watering and frequently checking my pot plant or creating a thought out plan before taking photos for an assignment) which all go towards completing an overall task.  

Items on a practical list can also hold “a purely referential function” (Umberto, E 2009, ‘There are lists and lists’, in The infinity of lists, Rizzoli, New York pg113) I also agree with this as something that may be seen as excessive and a lot in numbers such as shoes can be justified to hold purpose in serving a function for what they are particularly used for daily such as exercise, work or for a specific activity. 

Having each item in focus with a depth of field in its context and surrounding along  the use of a composition technique leading lines is how I aimed to create formality and consistency among my images to make it very obvious what the viewers should be looking at. The use of these techniques was successful as they were positive elements in my photos which was brought up in the peer feedback I received. 

References: Umberto, E 2009, ‘There are lists and lists’, in The infinity of lists, Rizzoli, New York, pp. 112 – 129.