Video Art Installation

This is the link for the Video Art Installation.


Also, I couldn't find anywhere an email you sent of Hall and Fifer's Essential Guide to Video Art.
It isn't available as a pdf online either. Sorry! If you resend it, I'll read it.

Avatar: The Last Appropriation

Inspired from the anime fandubs of yesteryear, this class project was, once again, much more time-consuming than intended, yet also worth it due to how much fun I had, and what I've learned about editing and video gathering.

Here

If I Were an Alien

Using ScreenFlow, I appropriated footage from the perspective of a benevolent alien communicating with humans on Earth.

Here it is

Utopian Plagiarism, Hypertextuality, and Electronic Cultural Production

Response to Simon Penny's 1994 article, published in Critical Issues in Electronic Media:

General thoughts on Article:
       Interesting point on how plagiarism may be contributing most to cultural enrichment and distribution of ideas. Penny points out this is the age of the recombinant: bodies, gender, texts, culture (I'd add genes as well!); and I hesitantly agree, though I cannot identify what specifically makes 'this era' one of exceptional recombinance, save for rapid technological advancements. I totally love how Penny makes a point of calling out how plagiarism resists privatization of culture that serves the powerful elite, I think this is incredibly topical, especially in the context of information sharing and the press for open access for academic journals, academic content in general, and entertainment (music, film, etc.)--people feel they 'deserve' this information, but the companies (often very wealthy corporations) who own the content resist this ever-increasing demand. Penny radically calls for open access to the whole cultural data base. I don't see how this is practical or sustainable in any context, but that isn't to say I disagree with Penny on an ideological scale, simply that if there is no reward/privatization of information or art, that it may lose significance and an element of prestige that motivates artists/intellectuals to produce more similar content with rigorous demands in creativity (if no one profits from their creations, there could be a decline in quality production). I don't know this for sure, but it's not an issue to disregard, even if it is pessimistic. I think there's a distinct difference between appropriation and plagiarism, wherein appropriation does not claim to be 100% original in its content, but may be more original in its meaning (intended or not), regardless of the interpretation one gleans from it. It could be that the golden rule may be appropriate to consider in this context: if you made something, would you be upset if someone used exactly/changed somewhat your creative content.
If the artist/content creator is unknown and the content is utilized by another person, it makes a difference if the content creator was well known, because others will likely recognize it (Mona Lisa or Dali versus a digital portrait). 

Notes during discussion in class:
Also, who is to say the content creator is original? What technology are they using? Where did they learn their craft? Who inspired them?
On the subject on inspiration, where does it become plagiarism? 
Whee does apathy and lack of citation/cultural awareness of disdain for plagiarism are unaccounted for?
We're very focused on Western culture in this discussion, not even considering how other cultures (or even hypothetically might) consider appropriation/plagiarism/inspiration. 
We aren't questioning why we are so opposed to plagiarism; why we consider it a despicable, dishonorable act. We're just accepting it as it as a bad thing, likely because of how ingrained the import or 'academic honesty' is in this institution/group or institutions in 1st world academic prestige. 
I agree with Penny in how so much innovation and progress has occurred due to appropriation/plagiarism; think of how tools/hunting developed, for example.



Postmodernism is the opposite of individualistic, glorifying one's holistic environment instead of an isolated microcosm of existence.

Actual Stop Motion Film Reveal

After an absurdly long period of time, the stop motion film none of you have been waiting for is complete! I estimate a whopping 60+ hours was spent on this, much of that was undergoing a strict learning curve. If I were to do this again, I now know so much more about so many little things, it'd probably only take 40 hours. And definitely have a less shaky camera. 

I wrote the original script in junior year of high school, where it was selected to be performed by professional (!) actors on a public stage. My senior year, a good friend and I reworked it to become a one-act which we co-directed. Freshman year of undergrad I started working on a (still very unfinished) graphic novel of the story, starting when the characters attended university. Finally, this year (junior undergrad), I have taken the script and crammed the dialogue into under seven minutes, and added stop-motion animation in key areas. Just over 5,000 photos were taken. 

I'm not sure having such a dialogue-heavy, complicated script was the best thing for a stop-motion short, but I am very excited and proud that I did it. I sincerely hope it makes sense.

I am acutely aware the audio does not flow very well. I couldn't get the actors together, so each line was recorded several times with different emotions, and the best match was used in the final version. Next time...

Last bit: there's a whole mythos behind this story, it's much longer, and, in my opinion, much more interesting. 

HERE YOU GO

In response to Life Feed: Webcams, Art and People by Brian Droightcour:

It's fascinating to read about video from a combined lens of historian and artist critique; as I've participated and formed my own experiences with the topic-- something that before I've always been removed from temporally or geographically. Published in 2011, most of author Brian Droightcour's links to video artist archives lead to broken sites rife with 404s or undownloadable/viewable clips, echoing the fragility of smaller, older projects. It's not necessarily true that once something online, it's there forever. 

Avital Ronnell's conceptualization of video as a superhumanizing prosthesis is an accurate descriptor. As someone who for years (until the college workload hit my sophomore year) watched a few hours of video logs (vlogs; or, as the predecessor term Droightcour hi-lights: lifecasting [I argue this is still a more applicable term, but c'est la vie]) each day, I became enraptured in the lives, causes, and stories people across the country and planet put on youtube. 

I found it unusual that Droighcour didn't mention the vast community so often referred to by those who watch the same vlogger or pool of vloggers. Possibly Droightcour hasn't experienced it, or maybe he dislikes it, or doesn't consider it to be 'art' enough (unlikely), maybe his focus was on the earlier stuff, and he intentionally left out the yawning chasm of available content and its immense complexity. 

Time Travel Dog - In-Class Exercise with Final Cut Pro

I made this for you.

This is what I mean when I say Tim and Eric are performers.

It's like they were possessed by the spirit of Chris Burden, but they're kind of more depressing.


Here you go.

Favorite Video Art Performance

I've been a huge fan of Improv Everywhere since about 2008, when I first saw them on youtube.
I love improvisation and involving the public sphere in a transient moment that's being recorded and has so much intent behind it on the part of the artists, and is so fleeting and absurd to those unsuspecting others captured in the moment.

Here's one called the mp3 Experiment, which every year has been gaining momentum (this one is from 2012, and it's the 9th annual installment). In this particular video, over 4,000 people participated. You'll get the gist of it when you watch it.

Here's another called the 1860's Bar, it's very jolly and puts two guys in a beautifully crafted, full-on performance piece, where they interact and explore this spontaneous-to-them world. Their reactions are great to watch, I don't think I could see this without a smile creeping up on my face. It's interesting how in the vast majority of these videos, everyone who isn't in on the bit reflexively laughs and smiles.

I encourage you to check out Food Court Musical, and Frozen Grand Central, both of which went viral shorty after they came out in 2007.

Lastly, if you're still with me at this point, No Shirts is a great social commentary as well as a comedic awakening to men's bodies in pop culture compared to reality. So often the focus is on the  idolization of distorted women's bodies, but here 111 men take off their shirts and explore a large, multi-floored Abercrombie. I especially love the interactions between the model at the entrance, and the other men.

Video Art Notes (pg 6-20)

Introduction:

• emphasis on presence of video screens in our lives: Times Square, computers, televisions, and mobile phones.
• "No beginning/No end/No direction/No duration - Video as mind" 

                            -Bill Viola

              I am confused by this quote. Videos have duration. unless you replay them. How could one say that other art forms have duration? Surely Viola does not mean other art forms (painting, sculpture, dance, fiber, theatre, etc) grow old and inapplicable while video does not; or that video art 'lasts' longer than other art, for all art is subject to both temporal and physical decay. The last part of the sentence: "Video as mind" conjures analogies to consciousness. Human consciousness is more easily likened to video than a painting or other 'stagnant' object, as the mind is described and describes itself as a motile 'object' in time and space. Metaphor is language, and this simile provokes one to conceive of oneself as a stream of images flashing quickly on a screen. (That's a very stupid idea. What is the screen? What are the images? What is producing/editing them? What is projecting them? What is watching them? "video as mind" implies passivity on the part of the viewer, I interpret this viewer as the 'ego', or, better put and with less Freudian baggage, 'attention'.

Maybe I'll stop this analysis of consciousness, because if I don't, I'll not complete what I assume I am assigned, and I'd rather not get zero credit on an assignment because I wrote something tangential to your intentions.

But I don't want to write any more about the intro, because the rest of these quotes are (like Viola's) initially intriguing, and, upon several seconds reflection, completely ridiculous.

Except:

• Bertolt Brecht is cool, he points out "the risk of enforced conformity and indoctrination". This kindled discussion of media from a philosophical and sociological perspective. 

More will be posted, I do promise.

The 1960's

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The 1970's

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The 1980's

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Personal Favorite Stop-Motion Videos

Expect this to be updated (sporadically):

• Playful and hilarious, this is the first video from PES that I ever saw, many (like 5, but that's FOREVER in YouTube Time) years ago.

• As a highschooler, I was deeply invested in watching and interacting with youtubers (from June 2007-May 2012(ish)). I was subscribed to over 120 channels, and though not all updated frequently, I nevertheless spent about 2-4 hours per day watching youtube videos from vloggers I admired. This video, from Rhett and Link BLEW MY MIND. It's an example of an amazing collab between TheFineBros and MysteryGuitarMan (Joe Penna).

• While this video is not as visually stunning as MysteryGuitarMan's more recent work, Guitar: Impossible launched MGM's popularity, and captivated my awe and attention. A more recent stop motion work from this prodigal content creator (he updates SO often, and posts daily vlogs, extras, behind-the-scenes shots, and more to alternate youtube channels) is this face paint video. Lastly (from MGM) is an example of how intricately he used the site YouTube (along with many other content creators) to make interactive videos his fanbase would enjoy.

There's more, I'm sure, but it's late and I need to do my cell physiology homework.

*Thanks to Google for the Images, yo*

Short Stop-Motion Tester Video

Here is a link to my Short Stop-Motion Tester Video I completed (finally) for this course.

This took a while, and not on the 'fun' or 'simple' parts, rather, vainly trying to figure out why I could neither export, nor upload my video; and then why it did 'not exist' in either my hard drive or external hard drive, yet was clearly readable in the enigmatic, esoteric video editing software. 

This should be the end of it.

Notes on: Final Cut Pro X Essential Training

Ch 1 - Taking a tour of the FCP X Interface

• Really, it's essential to name the folders 'Final Cut Events' and 'Final Cut Projects', elsewise the program will not be able to locate them.
• The extent to which one can seed their files within each other is an impressive organizational feat. This makes sense in the context that some entire feature-length movies will be edited with Final Cut.
• Audio skimming is helpful if you do or do not want to hear the sounds of the clips w/o using the mute button. 
• You can go to 'Window', then 'Show Event Viewer' to have both the Event and Project video playing.
• To go frame by frame, use the left arrow and right arrow.
• To select event library: cmnd 1
• To select timeline: cmnd 2
• To select viewer: cmnd 3

Ch 2 - Creating and organizing events from scratch

• Make sure you create events based out of the Hard Drive, makes things easier to organize and ensures we'll take up less space.
• In Organizing, when you're creating an event (importing media), if you select the first box that says Copy files to the Final Cut Events folder, this means that new media will actually be created and placed in the Final Cut Events folder.
• Keyword selection is there as well, and this ensures the organizational format (naming of files/embedding in folders) used before.

Ch 3 - Playing and Marking Clips in preparation for editing,

• A much more efficient way to utilize editing keystrokes: JKL is a three-button play tool, whereby J plays in reverse, L plays forward, and K pauses. Wow, I had no idea.
• To mark an Out point, which is where I want my edited shot to end, press the O key.
• To play the selection, press the / key. [Wow, this info is so great, I just learned through trial and error, and never picked up how to do these quick tricks!]
• To trim up the ends of select clips, put it in slow motion. This is done by holding down the K button and then rocking forward with either J or L. [ohmygod so much easier].
• Favorite sections by pressing f. (This stars them).
• You can place markers (like digital bookmarks!)

Ch 3 - Understanding different types of editing tools

• Using 'e' to add clips from events to the project is a much faster way to add them (to the end of the storyline)
• General overwrites take the clip you selected to be cut from in the project, and replaces (based on how many frames the cut clip was) it with the clip from the event at its selected start point.
• To replace a section in a project, drag the clip from the event and hover over the clip in the project--right click and select replacement options. Different from overwrite, because it doesn't matter how many frames are there.

Apple's helpful FCPX Shortcut List:

Notes on Lynda Tutorials (DSLR Camera Functions)

Link to Youtube Channel

This is my channel:
Gattaca Cat Youtube


All videos; however, will be uploaded here as well.