« September 2005 | Main | November 2005 »
October 27, 2005
Editing in Shirin Neshat's New Movie
Last weekend, I saw the Shirin Neshat film at Barbara Gladstone. The video seemed to be composed of several types of shots: shots that set the scene, reaction shots, and action shots. Shots that set the scene showed the kind of space we were in; sometimes introducing a character at the same time. Action shots showed some kind of action; for example, there is a scene when a man’s hands are moving over the main character, and the camera follows the hands. Reaction shots would show the expression of a character.
The movie seemed to follow this structure: 1) establish the scene 2) show some action 3) show people’s reactions. Of course it got a little more complicated than this, but I got the feeling this was the basic idea.
Posted by rus200 at 05:50 PM | TrackBack
October 26, 2005
Foooooom
For my daily exercises, I'm going to take found footage and reedit it.
Here's the first one:
Posted by rus200 at 10:49 PM | TrackBack
October 25, 2005
Head w/ Accessories
Posted by rus200 at 02:16 AM | TrackBack
October 24, 2005
Manatee
Posted by rus200 at 02:21 AM | TrackBack
October 23, 2005
It's got legs...
Posted by rus200 at 12:52 AM | TrackBack
October 22, 2005
Wine Bottle Wine Bottle
Posted by rus200 at 02:34 AM | TrackBack
October 21, 2005
Animations
We had to create an animation with sound, twice. Here they are:
*****
Animated Again
I tried out some new ideas (with mixed results). Otherwise it's the same idea.
*****
Red Animation
Posted by rus200 at 02:39 PM | TrackBack
Creative Act Composition Studies
I spent a week making compositions in Illustrator and MS Word, here are all six...
*****
"Small" is the whole composition. "Big" is the composition blown-up, and you can make your own composition by scrolling.
*****
Flow Momma
Once again I'm on a computer with only microsoft word.
*****
Pastels Anyone?
*****
"Website"
*****
Camo Party
*****
Composition 1
This week, I'm going to work on graphic composition. I'm going to start by arranging shapes in a rectangle. I will focus on color and layout.
Posted by rus200 at 02:31 PM | TrackBack
Head to Toe
Posted by rus200 at 01:07 AM | TrackBack
October 20, 2005
Movie about my apartment.
We had to make a 30sec film out of still pictures. I took pictures of my apartment.
Posted by rus200 at 04:45 PM | TrackBack
October 19, 2005
Clay Tools
Posted by rus200 at 09:59 PM | TrackBack
October 17, 2005
Baskets and Windowsill
Posted by rus200 at 11:56 PM | TrackBack
TV
Posted by rus200 at 11:50 AM | TrackBack
October 16, 2005
Chair, Table, and Radiator
Posted by rus200 at 01:27 AM | TrackBack
October 14, 2005
End Table with Pancakes
Actually they're coasters.
Posted by rus200 at 11:02 PM | TrackBack
Coffee Maker on my Coffee Table
Posted by rus200 at 01:31 AM | TrackBack
October 13, 2005
Project 2 Proposal
For my second project, I would like to remake a video I did last semester for video art. The original video was based on a musical structure. I took 8 frame clips and arranged them into beats, arranged my beats into measures, and my measures into sections. For footage, I filmed myself flipping onto a mattress on my living-room floor.
I was very happy with the result of the original, however, not much thought went into the shooting. I had no lighting, the background was my living room, and some of the shots have different exposures or the camera has moved slightly. With the remake I intend to correct a lot of this.
You can see the original here.
Posted by rus200 at 05:46 PM | TrackBack
October 10, 2005
Pens that Skip
Problem: Pens that skip.
Solution: Litigation. File a class action suit against pen manufacturers. We'll claim false advertising.
Posted by rus200 at 10:36 PM | TrackBack
Phone Use In Restaurants
I propose requiring one of these.
Posted by rus200 at 01:56 AM | TrackBack
October 09, 2005
Stoopid ATM's
I have a tough time with exorbitant ATM fees. I feel $1 dollar is expectable, maybe even generous; everything through $1.75 I will pay begrudgingly; $2 and above I feel like I’m being ripped off. I propose an add-on to some existing or in-the-works cell phone application that can point out more generous ATMs. Take Google SMS for example, perhaps you could enter your location followed by the words ATM, and you would get a list of ATM’s sorted by price. Now, the technology is probably too premature—that’s a little too much work to save 25¢--but it would be nice to see this kind of knowledge included in future easier-to-use systems.
Posted by rus200 at 02:05 AM | TrackBack
October 08, 2005
Messy Kitchen
I suppose that there are algorithms out there that can determine the orderliness of an image. If not, I can propose one: perform edge finding on the image; convert the edges to vectors, using a trace function like that found in Illustrator; then compare the vector image to the edge tracing--the closer the resemblance, the more orderly the original image.
This is relying on an untested assumption: the more orderly the edge-tracing, the better it could be rendered by the vectorizing function. The trace algorithm has setting that determines the accuracy it can achieve tracing the image. If these settings are set for lower accuracy, the results are simple forms. A more orderly edge-tracing would be more accurately represented by simple forms than a disorderly one.
So to what purpose could I use this algorithm? Well, I’d have a camera that would analyze the neatness of my kitchen. When things got messy, the fridge would lock until someone cleaned things up.
Posted by rus200 at 01:28 AM | TrackBack
October 07, 2005
The bus is late, or worse, it came too early
In Paris, there are cheap LCD displays in some bus stations that give you the time until the next bus arrives. I am assuming that these are just giving the hypothetical times, i.e. the amount of time until the next bus on the schedule. I'm proposing something similar and a little more sophisticated, but cheap--no GPS, no internet, no satellites.
Ok, so select bus stops have a solar powered RFID reader, and each bus has a RIFD tag. When the bus arrives or passes the stop, the reader logs the time. The times are then put through a Gaussian filter or something, and the stops would come to know the "true" bus arrival times. This may offer a slight improvement over the posted bus schedules, but in addition it would provide the MTA valuable traffic info. For the user, it is a lot like the paris system--there is a little display that says the amount of time until the next bus--except maybe more accurate. Also, if you run out to catch a bus and it has already come and gone, the display will be reset and you'll know that you've missed it.
Afterthought: Maybe RFID is too expensive. It could be done using cheap radio technology and PICs though. Like maybe some of those radios from sparkfun.
Posted by rus200 at 05:39 AM | TrackBack
October 06, 2005
Portrait Project Response
10/ 06/05
For my portrait project, I started out with a very detailed plan. I found that this allowed for little experimentation during the filming process. With projects I have done in the past, I have had the luxury of off-camera editing, and this has allowed me to take more risks. In this project, when I planned out all the shots and had to do in-camera editing, I felt there was less room for inspiration later in the process.
The off-camera editing also made for a more painful shooting process. This was not only because the awkwardness of the process, but because the decisions I made about takes were final. Although the project overall went quickly because there was not any editing to be done later, shooting took a long time because of all of the extra decision-making necessary.
Because the project is a self-portrait, the content is a little difficult for me to judge. I think the resulting piece says a lot about me, but it implies I talk about myself more than I do. While my process—choosing three objects that I think represent me—was an effective study, watching the film in class made me feel immodest.
Other student’s films were more experimental. Some were studies in colors, shapes, and movement. I have an urge to attempt this kind of filmmaking, were I can learn about some of the more sensuous qualities of video. In this case my approach was documentary style; I just recorded myself talking, and presented the subject matter as straightforward as possible.
I also think video has a lot of power for artifice, and this is something I have not explored.