Beauty,

The Mona Lisa, By L. Da Vinci. Image source https://webtoolfeed.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/doiuytreownload-2.png

Mmm. Nah, I’m thinking more contemporary and more Multi-media-ish

You have just finished Ms Fetche’s

“Director of my Own Life: Self Portrait Video Montage“

In which the overarching ideas were:

a self-portrait video montage. You will be collecting and creating a number of short audio clips, video clips and still images and editing them together to make a 1 minute video about who you are, whatever this means to you. You will use the images and the way you edit them together to tell a story in the form of a montage. This story can be told in many different ways (abstract, literal, linear, non-linear, etc.

So where to go from here?

Technically, I want you to move forward in your use of video. I think that as a medium video has HUGE potential for students to get their own voice out into the world.

American Beauty. by Sam Mendes, Alan Ball, Thomas Newman

“Do you want to see the most beautiful thing I ever filmed? It was one of those days when it’s a minute away from snowing. And there’s this electricity in the air, you can almost hear it, right? And this bag was just… dancing with me … like a little kid begging me to play with it. For fifteen minutes. That’s the day I realised that there was this entire life behind things and this incredibly benevolent force that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid. Ever. Video is a poor excuse, I know. But it helps me remember … I need to remember…

Sometimes there’s so much beauty in the world … I feel like I can’t take it… and my heart is just going to cave in.”

(video source Youtube)

ProsperosSample By Peter Greenaway

(Video source Greenaway’s Prospero’s Books, adaptation of The Tempest.- Youtube)

Peter Greenaway is an AMAZING filmmaker who with the equal AMAZING composer, Michael Nyman have made some of the most aesthetically stunning and mentally intriguing films I have ever seen. You might want to wait until your a little older to watch these powerful films, but when you are a few of my favourites are; Drowning by numbers, A zed and two knots, and The cook, the thief, his wife and her lover.

He also does short films that art AMAZING!

Jabberwocky, by Jan Svankmajer

(Video source vimeo.com)

Jan Švankmajer is a Czech artist and filmmaker. Some people put the ‘filmmaker’ first, but I can’t. To me, Švankmajer’s work is textural- not just to the touch, but for all the five senses that even though I watch his film my whole body engages with each frame. Zoot Alors! He blows my mind… I first encountered his work a couple of decades ago when I found myself in Prague, Czech Republic, in a 17cent baroque theatre watching The Faust legend a Czech puppet show version in which the Puppets or marionettes were of various sizes including Human! It was amazing. From there I watched two of his featured films Faust and Something of Alice. Both films have Marionettes, humans, stop-motion photography, claymation, etc, which came to a local alternative movie theatre. When I dug a little deeper I found a treasure trove of short films by Švankmajer which are truly amazing… I will stop writing here because no matter how I try to use words to tell you about his work and how amazing it is I will fail… you just have to experience them for yourselves.

The Project:

Ok, what I’m seeing is a project which encompasses you wish to play with or incorporate, but the medium of output is video. The topic is Beauty.

Yup, Beauty.

what is Beauty?
What is ‘classical Beauty’?
How does it differ from contemporary Beauty?
What is Beauty to you?
What is Beauty to someone in a different geographical area? …Why?
Are there cultural differences in what is considered beautiful?
Does temporal location, the time or date that the paradigm of beauty was produced in change?
Why do you think something is beautiful? Really, WHY!?!?!

Think about it. Think about it a lot! How can you translate your thoughts, or understanding of “Beauty” into a 3-5 minute video?

Mediums to use:

Sound,
Text
Video,
Images.
Painting
Drawing
Animation
Computer generated effects
Have I forgotten anything???

OK, you see that you can really do anything you want, with any medium you want. I also want you to realize that I do not need the Mona Lisa!!! Nope, not at all. Honestly, I simply want you to look into your world, a world filled with beauty, beauty even in ugliness, and pull something out. I mean, even a cup slowly filling with rain water and the corresponding rippling patterns fighting for dominance.

Timeline:

Class One: Intro to Project
Class Two: Writing task “What is Beauty to you and Why?” -Post on blog!
Class Three: Discussion of Beauty and potential projects
Class Four: Story boarding, intro and online applications (See biottom of page for links)
Class Five: Working on story board/Idea
Class Six: Submitting your story board and Idea
Class Seven: Work Period
Class Eight: Work Period
Class Nine: Work Period
Class Ten: Work Period- Post final project on blog
Class Eleven: Popcorn and Critiquing!

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO EXPERIMENT, TO CAPTURE, TO PLAY!!!

Lines Horizontal

Neighbours

Oh, PLEASE NOTE that I think it best if you shot all your footage and make your own score. Even if your score is a mashup of other things I think that is better than just copy/pasting someone else’s work. I think that Music/the soundtrack is incredibly important!!!

If interested in the differing roles of Music within in video and the potential to create emotional connections with the audience, please watch: The use of music in the films of Ingmar Bergman

On your blog I want you to post your answer to ‘What is Beauty’? and ‘Why do you think something is beautiful?’. I also want a description of what you video is about after you post it.

Interesting NFB Films. (National Film Board of Canada)

RYAN,An Interesting NFB video on Ryan Larkin,
Lodela,Inspired by the myths of the afterlife, this allegorical dance piece illuminates the soul’s quest by exploring movement and the human body in new and astonishing ways. An evocation of the origins of the world. A hymn to the beauty of the human form. A celebration of movement. A metaphor for life and death. A film without words.

Syrinx
By Ryan Larkin
Bydlo

By Patrick Bouchard
An allegory of mankind heading for disaster, this animated short is a tragic vision inspired by the 4th movement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Drawing on the composer’s brilliant ability to evoke work and labour in his music, animator Patrick Bouchard brings earth to life through animated clay sculptures, creating a tactile nightmare in which man is his own slave driver.

Poen

This short film features 4 readings of a prose poem from Leonard Cohen’s novel Beautiful Losers. Read by Cohen himself, the poem produces a distinct emotional effect every time it is read, following the poet’s rendition and accompanying visuals.

Story boarding stuff:

Laying out your film/video idea is a great way to organize your thoughts, and explore your options for meaning making via juxtaposition of scenes, sounds, and dialog.

image source https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com

Over all a storyboard lets you see the beginning, middle, and end of your film. Yet, PLEASE remember films don’t have to be a linear event- 1,2,3,4,5. No, they can be woven together regardless of temporal location or site location.

Here are a couple links to storyboard templates 1 & 2

For more info pleases see this great site: Media Commons