Final Video

This is my final video with sound. The sound is all natural sounds with effects. My goal with this project was to disorient the viewer by showing something totally unexpected and creating it out of everyday images and sounds. This video has evolved into many different forms through the editing process and i like the finished product. It has a dark, underwater feel that transforms the frame into something very unusual and almost sci fi. So here it is, the culmination of my drifts in Milwaukee. This the revised video with fades.

Sound

Sound is a big issue. i can't decide whether i want it or not. if i were to have it it would be a atmospherey, unrecognizable sound. i'm going to experiment.

Rough Cut #3

I adjusted the color effects and the brightness and it created this deep, dark filter that i really like. it turns the images into something completely different which is exactly what i want.

Rough Cut #2

I put some solarizing effects on the video. i like where it's going but it's not quite what i want. i want it to be darker and have less contrast.

Rough Cut #1

This is the raw image that i want to change. I really like the sun, how it appears and changes. it suggests a narrative i think.

Complications

So i didn't find what i was looking for at the parking garage. i decided to go to the beach and explore to find some interesting material. More and more i am going at my project with the mindset to make something totally opposite of what's expected. A disorienting Frankenstein put together from parts of the boring everyday.

Production Strategy

My project has become about discovering an interesting texture and then tweaking it in a way that makes it totally unrecognizable. I think it’s interesting to show someone something they see everyday but through a new lense. I’ve found that this works the best with reflections and shadows. There is a parking garage next to my dorm building that has huge puddles on it after a rain so I am going to explore this further. The high elevation makes it easily reachable by the sun and the wind creates interesting ripples in the puddles.

I am going to restrict my image capturing by only filming things that can be changed into something unrecognizable, whether that’s by framing or effects. I want to capture textures. I’m planning on jumping from one spot to the next as I see it but if I get stuck then I will walk in the opposite direction the shadows are pointing to hopefully discover interesting shadows.

1. For my sound collecting, again I want to capture everyday things and from them create something totally unusual and different. For sound this might mean atmosphere sounds or just strange sounds that I happen upon.

Ten Questions

1. Where is the best place to interact with shadows?

2. What can reflect the sun in the most interesting way?

3. How can I catch the reflection of the moon?

4. What textures can I film?

5. How can I make those textures unrecognizable?

6. What different textures can I find downtown as compared to a neighborhood?

7. How do textures change when it’s raining?

8. Where can I find the best atmosphere sounds?

9. What sounds will go best with what textures?

10. How can I entirely disorient the viewer with things they see everyday?

Drift Assesment #4

Easily my favorite experience on my drifts was going to the beach in winter. After I jumped down that slight hill there were no sounds except for the waves rolling in and the ducks peacefully swimming around. I just sat on a log and watched everything for probably 30 minutes and was so relaxed. It was like being in Antarctica. The sky was gray and soft and you could barely tell on the horizon where the lake stopped and the sky started. The beach was mostly frozen and covered in snow and ice and that extended out into a peninsula that formed a quiet bay where the ice flows grouped together. The whole thing was great because it was so unexpected.

Drift Assesment #3

On my drifts there were many surprises that caught my attention. On both drift one and two I was just amazed at how many sounds there were noticable if you just listened. I was expecting to be walking around and find one or two if I was lucky but they were everywhere. Another thing that I didn’t expect was how enlightening it was to walk around with a different mindset of how you traveled. I really paid attention to and sought out little things that I otherwise would have never noticed. Lastly I was surprised at how easy it was to follow my algorithmic path. I was expecting to see something and want to go record it but I was always satisfied with where my path took me. I paid so much attention to just the ground beneath my feet as I walked that I barely had time to look for other stuff.

Drift Assesment #2

Two situations that stick out in my mind that were extremely peaceful are my walk to the beach and when I explored an alley. I walked to the beach on a gray day when there was still snow on the ground. I didn’t expect much because the road was really busy with cars and it was noisy. I walked to the beach and climbed down a little hill and all of a sudden I was immersed in the peacefulness of the waves slowly rolling in through the big ice flows. I couldn’t hear the cars at all. There was a flock of ducks that were swimming around in the water too. I was amazed that I could be so close to the road and be completely shut off. Another unexpected peaceful time was when I walked down an alley in the third ward. It looked intimidating but I did it anyways. Again the sounds of traffic and people died away and all I could hear was the soft humming of this air conditioning unit. I sat next to it and recorded the sound for a while. It was almost like meditation.

Drift Assesment #1

There were two major times of stress on my drifts: when I was filming close to people and when I wanted to film the snow before it melted. I was walking around in a parking lot and I wanted to catch some shots of the sun creating these shadows as it went behind the clouds. There were people all around and I think they thought I was crazy because I had to stand in one spot without moving for like five minutes. The other time of stress was trying to find time to film the snow and ice while it was still there. I liked the idea of the blandness and uniformity of the snow and I wanted to get that before it went away.