Rough Cut

This is the rough cut for the video From me to You.

The Concept

From Me to You portrays a story that communicates natural and technological aspects of mixing language, which also may include the exchange of information. It starts with a typewriter to set the theme of telling a story, as it is a traditional writing tool that often may be associated with writing novels.

The video mixes several stories and forms of language together to deliver to the viewer. The typewriter keeps coming back as a reminder that this is a story being told, and the sound of the airplane sends the listener off into the different stories being heard. It is an exchange of language in all forms of communication, whether a dialogue, the sound of birds chirping, children playing or a conversation in a restaurant.

In correspondance with the audio, the video was created with an abstract intention. Illustration was used in order to best depict the feel of the story, using images to reinforce the sound being heard. A detailed storyboard was avoided, making way for more abstract and almost minimalist illustrations, and photographic representation of a paper plane that is always present to carry the viewer to the different stories being told and sounds being heard.

Exercise 3: (Part 2) Sound Essay

Listen to the Sound Essay

The Process

A Sound Essay is composed to explore a theme or a point of view. To generate our creative direction, we have chosen 1 noun: ‘Language’ and 2 verbs: ‘exchange’ and ‘mix’. Everyday sounds were brought out of their normalized text and echo the sensibilities of the chosen words instead of interpreting them as literal sounds.

After choosing our theme, we searched for different sounds on freesound.org

137_anton_keyboard_typing
17185_rensamba_nightingale_song_3
26760_zeroagtime_baby_crying1
3808_noisecollector_unkraut_misik_female
11723_833_45_atc

We then did some short individual versions of the Sound Essay in Final Cut Pro, and came together for some ideas and created the final version of the 1 minute long sound essay together.

The Concept

Beginning with the typewriter, a traditional writing tool that is associated with writing novels or telling a story, the sound essay begins. It mixes different stories together and several forms of language, whether natural or technological/mechanical, like the typewriter is immersing different stories and forms of languages into different stories for the listener.

The typewriter keeps coming back as a reminder that this is a story being told, and the sound of the airplane sends the listener off into the different stories being heard. Computer sending data to the printer, air pilots communicating to other stations, or people talking in a restaurant. They are all exchanging information.

Exchange is the second verb being used, and depicted as an exchange of language in all the forms of communication being heard, some form of dialogue, monologue or conversation is being exchanged.

Exercise 1: The Bus Loop

How did you choose the framed composition? What did you look for?

The framed composition maintains the flow of transport, whether it is people walking, or buses and cars passing by. The bus loop was chosen as a location of high activity and noticeable changes within the duration of an hour. The specific framed composition was chosen in order to show the road, moving buses, as well as people walking in and out of the student center, waiting for the bus, or crossing the street. Plants and surrounding nature is also shown and moves in correspondence with the wind. The sky was also purposefully included in the frame in order to compare and observe the changes that occur over the duration of an hour between 5:30 and 6:30 pm, whether it is the position of the clouds or darkness of the sky.

In taking the photos, what were your thoughts and observations? Were you more observant of the surroundings? In what way?

While taking the photos, because there were only slight changes in the different shots, and a gradual change in the lighting and sky, I did not expect to get conspicuous variations in the video. Having said that, for an hour I was definitely more observant of the surroundings, specially the certain framed composition. Knowing the intent of the project, while taking the shots, I closely observed of the surrounding trees, buses coming and going as well as the movement of people. I was looking for changes to happen whether sudden or gradual, which was less imminent, nonetheless present. This project allowed me to see or focus on certain things that on any other day I would probably just pass by.

Did you notice any changes in landscape/composition/light that were interesting?

Since I set up my shoot at 5:30 which is around the time the sun sets, there were drastic changes in lighting throughout the hour, as the shots got progressively darker with the last few shots not having very much light. After viewing the photos in the studio, the clouds also appeared to have shifted a lot during the duration. It was also probably a time when a lot of students were finishing class and commuting back home, since there was a high rate of activity around the bus loop towards the beginning of the shoot which slowed down at the end.

Back in the studio, what were your reactions/observations in seeing the photos? Did your idea of how they might look change?

I was pleasantly surprised when I got back to the studio and previewed the photos. In the field during the hour we had to take photos, since they were taken every minute, I did not necessarily notice changes in the environment or composition since they were gradual. However, in the studio seeing the photos progressively in order allowed me to witness the many changes that occurred, whether they were the trees shuffling back and forth from the wind or people crossing the road. That allowed me to anticipate an interesting outcome and rhythmic sequence in which the photos might be portrayed.

When assembled in a sequence, how did that look? Did you discover anything new?

Assembling the photos in a sequence allowed for the greatest contrast in light, composition and movement in the frames as they were presented progressively through different rhythms. When the images were assembled in a sequence I achieved the feeling of a bus loop that is almost nauseating. It portrays the cycle that keeps going around and almost never slows down that I felt at the site. The presentation of images one after the other also allowed for a comparison of the single separate images, showing the slight changes in positioning of objects within the frame. It demonstrated the movement of trees, people and buses throughout the frame. It also allowed for the change in light intensity, and movement of the clouds in the sky to be clearly evident from one frame to the next.

What criteria did you use for experimenting with duration?

By focusing on the bus loop as a center for movement, it creates a cycle that is almost never ending, and within itself establishes a time frame or several different time frames. Therefore, experimenting with different durations and frames per second portrayed specific aspects of the images. For example, through a fast sequence I wanted to depict the feeling of a bus loop that is almost nauseating. It is almost a cycle that keeps going around and does not stop or slow down. The bus comes, picks people up, and leaves again. Throughout the hour, there was a constant flow of buses and people which I stressed on in my video. I used other durations in sequences to try to focus on an empty street, which was not very common since there were buses always going through, or pedestrians crossing the street. I also chose to create random focuses in a sequence, in which random images would be shown for a longer duration than others in order to portray the unpredictability of a bus loop. It is in it’s nature quite random, whether it is in the people who ride the bus that is open to anyone and everyone or the cycle in which it goes through.

How did you understand light and frame rate as compositional elements in moving image work?

Whether it is dark, light, fast, slow; light and frame rate can set the tone and mood of the moving image work. As a compositional element, light plays a huge role in portraying a photograph specially in relation to other elements in a photograph. When put in a sequence that results in moving image work, change in light will affect the story being told, and be directly associated with time. Frame rate directly gives priority to certain images in relation to time, whether they are slower or faster and set the overall mood and tone of a moving image work.

Exercise 3: (Part 1) Everyday Sounds

Describe your setting, time, and any important particulars.

Outdoor Location: York University campus. Sitting on the grass leaning on the semi-circle overlooking the pond in front of Vari Hall. It is a warm, sunny day. There are a lot of people around.

Time: 11:52 am – 12:02 pm

Indoor Location: York University campus. Sitting on the benches in the Center for Film and Theater. There are two rows of benches and food booths on the side.

Time: 12:15 – 12:25 pm

What sounds did you notice?

Outdoor Location:

Birds

Bus moving

Bus standing still, I can hear the engine running

Bus slowing down, squeeking

Birds wings fluttering

People talking, laughing, coughing

Snapping fingers

Shuffling through a plastic bag

Someone writing and rubbing their hand against paper

Sound of foot being placed against a wall

Foot movement on grass

Birds chirping

Turning pages of a book

Faint sound of music through an iPod or music player

Something falling on the ground – thump

Construction noises – piling wood

Flip flops walking on grass

Goose landing on grass

Yelling, calling someone’s name

Bus accelerating – sound of engine

Airplane sound getting louder

Skateboarder – jumping

Someone moving on the grass, changing position

Bike passing by – wheels/parts/breaks

Using a drill – construction

Jiggling of metal – jewelery / watch on a hand

Eating – unrolling wrapper

Clear throat

Indoor Location:

Door banging

Feet scraping shoes on ground

Walking heels

People conversing

Door squeaking

Cash register opening

People walking past and murmuring

Keys jiggling

Rolling something around / tray

Closing glass window

People walking past – shoes against the ground

Banging against metal

Shuffling through plastic bag

Metal watch/jewelery on table

Rubbing hands together

People talking, coughing, sneezing

Cash register high pitch punching numbers in, opening, closing

Person opening chips bag

Hard bang, deep sound

Shuffling through something

Pen snapping

People’s conversation getting progressively louder and fainter as they pass by

Did you become aware of previously missed sounds?

I definitely became aware of certain sounds that I would not have noticed unless my eyes were closed. It allowed me to concentrate on everything around me by using my sense of hearing. Little details like shuffling a piece of paper, the sound of flip flops on the grass, or placing one’s foot on the wall are not very loud sounds and usually not paid attention to. However, having to look for them or concentrating to find different sounds allowed me to focus more closely on the environment around me.

Were some sounds more prominent than others? Why do you think so?

Sounds that are constant or that fade in and out turned out to be more inconspicuous than sudden and loud random ones. For example, the sound of birds’ wings flapping or landing in the pond stood out more than the sound of the wind or people murmuring in conversation. We usually tune out sounds that we constantly hear in our everyday lives into background noise, and I found that this exercise helped me focus on and concentrate to hear these sounds that we normally tune out. Thus, sounds that were sudden, near and loud were more prominent than others in this exercise.

What did you notice about the quality of sounds?

Since hearing was the sense I was focusing on and could not rely on sight, I noticed that the quality of sound was clearer, louder and more intense. Certain things that are usually not paid attention to if you are not trying to hear them were eminent, and everything seemed closer than it was. By listening closely, the sound appeared louder than it would be on any other day passing by without paying special attention.

Reflect on your overall experience and understanding of everyday sounds.

I enjoyed this exercise very much. It definitely enlightened my sense of sound and realised the capability that one of the human senses has on experiencing the environment. By only using my hearing, I was able to focus more closely and entirely on the sounds going on around me, allowing them to be revealed intricately. It is an interesting exercise that has allowed me to appreciate certain aspects in life such as everyday sounds that I would have not usually paid special atteniton to.

Exercise 2: Overlooked Elements

The Process

Using a digital camera in photo mode, capture a minimum of 30 images of circles or circular forms. Any units of composition is acceptable (close ups, wide shots etc) however, the center point of the circular form must be in the same position within the frame.

I decided to go out and focus on circular forms outdoors that were found in the natural environment. I went through the process of taking photographs of circular forms that I found outdoors that are not usually paid much attention to unless I was specifically looking for them.

When I began my process, since I was not used to looking for circles and documenting them, I passed by many without noticing them, and as I slowly got used to the project, I realized that I began to notice many more circles around me.

The Concept

The conceptual idea I was interested in exploring is alienation and the disregarded forms that are present in the environment. This project allowed me to realise that there are many beautiful circular forms that are overlooked in our environment, whether it is the shape the bottom of a cup, or the top of a street cone, or a circular print in a tree trunk. Therefore, I decided to focus my project on exploring the beautiful overlooked circular forms in the environment.

The formal idea encompasses the infinite variety in color of the random overlooked circles that embellish my video, as well as the copious amounts of different textures on the surfaces in the images and the play on scale that is evident in the video.

The sequences focus on the randomness of circular forms present in the outdoor environment, as well as the pattern in which I began my research and explored the circles in. The project started with me passing by many opporutnities to photograph different circles that went unnoticed because of the habit of zoning out the excess of visual information present in the world today. That is portrayed in my video as the duration of the frames were very short, and steadily increase in length as I continue with the project and get used to looking for circular forms that are not usually paid attention to.

The dissolve effect as well as the additive dissolve are used to depict the way the large variety of circular forms that are found in the environment go unnoticed despite of their beauty that was noticed in the sequence, as they begin to almost blend together and into each other as seen in the video, and in the natural environment.