Thursday, 4 November 2010
Monday, 3 May 2010
Final Post
For this project, this is my final post now that all four videos are complete and the hand-in date is soon. I have already given analysis of each video and what I feel works or doesn't, on the post where I've put each final one and so this is an evaluation of the project as a whole.
Overall, I'm very happy with how the project has turned out. It's been good to try something different and to experiment some more with video which has always taken a backseat to photography. I had fun putting the project together and it's a personal one to me as I go undertake journeys a lot and editing the footage or the photographs reminded me of journeys, or of events that happened on them or once I'd reached the destination.
Since I started the project way back last year, it has changed a lot and the idea has pretty much done a turn from being all about stills to wanting to make a video, to ending up with four shorter videos that form more of a collection. As a collection I am happy with them, but I do prefer three of them whereas as 'Time' isn't my favourite. Ultimately, I couldn't get it to do what I wanted and on the whole found it frustrating. It just isn't as powerful and doesn't achieve its purpose as much.
The only problem I picked up with any of them is that the aspect ratio in 'Time' changes as I used clips from two different cameras that had different sizes. I hadn't thought about this until I came to edit and forgot it would be a problem. It doesn't ruin the video as per say, but it is noticeable. However, it was too late to reshoot footage and I wanted those specific clips so I'm coping with it.
Overall, I'm very happy with how things have turned out. If this was a longer project I'd try and do more road trips to collect more footage to give a different look, but it's still gone well and I do have a variety.
Overall, I'm very happy with how the project has turned out. It's been good to try something different and to experiment some more with video which has always taken a backseat to photography. I had fun putting the project together and it's a personal one to me as I go undertake journeys a lot and editing the footage or the photographs reminded me of journeys, or of events that happened on them or once I'd reached the destination.
Since I started the project way back last year, it has changed a lot and the idea has pretty much done a turn from being all about stills to wanting to make a video, to ending up with four shorter videos that form more of a collection. As a collection I am happy with them, but I do prefer three of them whereas as 'Time' isn't my favourite. Ultimately, I couldn't get it to do what I wanted and on the whole found it frustrating. It just isn't as powerful and doesn't achieve its purpose as much.
The only problem I picked up with any of them is that the aspect ratio in 'Time' changes as I used clips from two different cameras that had different sizes. I hadn't thought about this until I came to edit and forgot it would be a problem. It doesn't ruin the video as per say, but it is noticeable. However, it was too late to reshoot footage and I wanted those specific clips so I'm coping with it.
Overall, I'm very happy with how things have turned out. If this was a longer project I'd try and do more road trips to collect more footage to give a different look, but it's still gone well and I do have a variety.
Thursday, 29 April 2010
Final Version of Time
This is the video that I struggled with the most. I had an idea of what I wanted it to look and sound like in my head, but no matter how many edits I tried, I couldn't get it exactly right and I think tried too hard. By the time I got to this version I had five completed edits that I thought were rubbish and three unfinished ones that just totally lost their way halfway through.
Considering the original idea was to keep all four of them around 40 seconds, I've not managed it on any of them and this one turned out to be the longest. However, to achieve what I wanted it would have been near impossible to cut it to a shorter length.
I found this one the most challenging to make because I needed it to be independant and different from the other three but time on a journey is sometimes awkward to illustrate unless the viewer has had that experience. To try and demonstrate the point that how fast the journey goes changes, as does how much you notice and the repition of ultimately repeating actions or getting that deja vu feeling that you've seen that before or driven around that roundabout before were important. I also wanted to try and use footage that hasn't appeared in any of the other videos.
Thinking of what to do with sound was again, an awkward one. I think one of the issues is that when I was filming, I didn't think about sound as much as I should have and originally, I planned to use a lot more of the conversation that went on during the journeys. However, once I sat down and went through the footage, I decided that I didn't really want to use the conversation as it almost made it too personal and quite a lot of it was talking about personal or family issues or football and I didn't feel it interesting or relevant enough.
Something I added in to try and keep that flicking feel as you realise a lot of time has passed (sometimes so much that you're on an entirely different road) was to use fade in, fade outs as transitions between certain clips. I also took advantage of the speed of clips, starting off slowly as the car left a starting point (in this case a service station) and gradually getting faster and then changing a couple more times in rhythm until the slow, frustrating traffic jam in the evening after an already long journey.
While I don't hate this video, I don't feel it gets its point across anywhere near as well as the previous three and it was generally frustrating because even though I left it several times and came back to it, it didn't help.
For now, unless I suddenly gain inspiration or vision of things to improve it, it will be my final piece, meaning I now have four videos that explore four different themes of my original theme:- journeys/road trips.
Considering the original idea was to keep all four of them around 40 seconds, I've not managed it on any of them and this one turned out to be the longest. However, to achieve what I wanted it would have been near impossible to cut it to a shorter length.
I found this one the most challenging to make because I needed it to be independant and different from the other three but time on a journey is sometimes awkward to illustrate unless the viewer has had that experience. To try and demonstrate the point that how fast the journey goes changes, as does how much you notice and the repition of ultimately repeating actions or getting that deja vu feeling that you've seen that before or driven around that roundabout before were important. I also wanted to try and use footage that hasn't appeared in any of the other videos.
Thinking of what to do with sound was again, an awkward one. I think one of the issues is that when I was filming, I didn't think about sound as much as I should have and originally, I planned to use a lot more of the conversation that went on during the journeys. However, once I sat down and went through the footage, I decided that I didn't really want to use the conversation as it almost made it too personal and quite a lot of it was talking about personal or family issues or football and I didn't feel it interesting or relevant enough.
Something I added in to try and keep that flicking feel as you realise a lot of time has passed (sometimes so much that you're on an entirely different road) was to use fade in, fade outs as transitions between certain clips. I also took advantage of the speed of clips, starting off slowly as the car left a starting point (in this case a service station) and gradually getting faster and then changing a couple more times in rhythm until the slow, frustrating traffic jam in the evening after an already long journey.
While I don't hate this video, I don't feel it gets its point across anywhere near as well as the previous three and it was generally frustrating because even though I left it several times and came back to it, it didn't help.
For now, unless I suddenly gain inspiration or vision of things to improve it, it will be my final piece, meaning I now have four videos that explore four different themes of my original theme:- journeys/road trips.
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Final Version Of Sights And Places
The experimental version of this was very, very rough as I still didn't know exactly where I was going with it on both video and sound levels, so it's nice to formulate and get a final piece finished.
The major changes I made were to get rid of the white text on black screen that introduced each places. I thought that as in some of the pictures you can read what it says and work out where it is, that perhaps the inclusion of the text that preluded each one was a bit too much and slowed down the rhythm. It would flow better and give people something more to concentrate on if the pictures just followed one another.
Sound was something I was worried about for this video but as it's more about the visuals, the idea to just put the monotonous sound of the road behind them all was appropriate. It kept the theme of the road trip going and suggested the means of travel as well as keeping viewers in the frame of mind. This video was all about demonstrating that if it wasn't for being a football fan and these places, that the journeys wouldn't have been done, the miles wouldn't have been covered and I'd have had nothing to record and so keeping the dull tones of the road behind the visuals was important.
Something else I added was the inclusion of two other clips that featured radio in them. I didn't have as many radio clips as I'd have liked but these two add something different that none of my other videos have because it's a different soundscape and it's the only video that really gives insight into conversation in the car.
Also, I added more pictures into the video that followed of various sights or places that I photographed while making the journeys. For the weather one it helped illustrate and prove I had and some of the images are literally a flicker on the screen and force you to try and snap into gear and work out what it was.
Generally, I'm very pleased with this video and feel it works. It might have a calmer, less in your face feel than the others (particularly Lost) but it does what I intended and is a much more personal insight into the purpose of journeys and why I spend hours driving around and what makes it all worthwhile.
The major changes I made were to get rid of the white text on black screen that introduced each places. I thought that as in some of the pictures you can read what it says and work out where it is, that perhaps the inclusion of the text that preluded each one was a bit too much and slowed down the rhythm. It would flow better and give people something more to concentrate on if the pictures just followed one another.
Sound was something I was worried about for this video but as it's more about the visuals, the idea to just put the monotonous sound of the road behind them all was appropriate. It kept the theme of the road trip going and suggested the means of travel as well as keeping viewers in the frame of mind. This video was all about demonstrating that if it wasn't for being a football fan and these places, that the journeys wouldn't have been done, the miles wouldn't have been covered and I'd have had nothing to record and so keeping the dull tones of the road behind the visuals was important.
Something else I added was the inclusion of two other clips that featured radio in them. I didn't have as many radio clips as I'd have liked but these two add something different that none of my other videos have because it's a different soundscape and it's the only video that really gives insight into conversation in the car.
Also, I added more pictures into the video that followed of various sights or places that I photographed while making the journeys. For the weather one it helped illustrate and prove I had and some of the images are literally a flicker on the screen and force you to try and snap into gear and work out what it was.
Generally, I'm very pleased with this video and feel it works. It might have a calmer, less in your face feel than the others (particularly Lost) but it does what I intended and is a much more personal insight into the purpose of journeys and why I spend hours driving around and what makes it all worthwhile.
Final Version Of Lost
While I liked the experimental version of 'Lost', I felt like it could use some work, particularly on the sound front and also trying to make the video flow more in time with the soundscape. There were a couple of things I wanted to change especially.
In the experimental piece, I deliberately left in a cough on one of the sat nav instructions. The effect it created was one of annoyance, you wanted the person to shuttup and it got more annoying as the video went on. While I was going for being annoying and building up that level of tension, the cough began to annoy me and so taking that out or only using it very sporadically was important.
Sound isn't my strongest point on video and so it was important to really try and work on the soundscape since in this video, it's as important as the visuals. It was decided that building up the tension and gradually increasing the different instructions going on as well as the volume would help build that tension and get more annoying and overwhelming as the video progresses. I think this final version achieves that and to check it did what I wanted, I had my house mates watch it.
Now when watching it, the video isn't edited down to a tee to go in time with the sound, but it does have more of a rhythm and does fit more in time with it than the experimental version. To try and reflect the confused, frustrated feel of being lost, I upped the pace of the cuts, so the scene changes more. I also tried to blend in more road signs that add to the confusion and went through all my footage to find two more sat nav sounds that I had used to give the video a better beginning and an ending that resolves the issue of being lost.
I'm very happy with this video because by the time it was done, I'd got up to 20 sounds layers on several parts and it was getting rather confusing for someone not used to editing video. I don't think I need to touch anything up on this video and so I have one of my final pieces.
In the experimental piece, I deliberately left in a cough on one of the sat nav instructions. The effect it created was one of annoyance, you wanted the person to shuttup and it got more annoying as the video went on. While I was going for being annoying and building up that level of tension, the cough began to annoy me and so taking that out or only using it very sporadically was important.
Sound isn't my strongest point on video and so it was important to really try and work on the soundscape since in this video, it's as important as the visuals. It was decided that building up the tension and gradually increasing the different instructions going on as well as the volume would help build that tension and get more annoying and overwhelming as the video progresses. I think this final version achieves that and to check it did what I wanted, I had my house mates watch it.
Now when watching it, the video isn't edited down to a tee to go in time with the sound, but it does have more of a rhythm and does fit more in time with it than the experimental version. To try and reflect the confused, frustrated feel of being lost, I upped the pace of the cuts, so the scene changes more. I also tried to blend in more road signs that add to the confusion and went through all my footage to find two more sat nav sounds that I had used to give the video a better beginning and an ending that resolves the issue of being lost.
I'm very happy with this video because by the time it was done, I'd got up to 20 sounds layers on several parts and it was getting rather confusing for someone not used to editing video. I don't think I need to touch anything up on this video and so I have one of my final pieces.
Monday, 26 April 2010
Final Version Of Subconcious Driving
After a very helpful tutorial which left me to go away and think about all of the videos and where I was going with them, I decided to sit down straight away and work out the final way I wanted the videos to look.
I started with the subconcious driving one and have now come up with what will be used as part of my final piece unless I suddenly decide any of it needs a tweak. The main things I changed were instead of having a black screen with white writing flash up (that represented the things on my mind instead of the road), I used images of the objects or things related to my thoughts. It did require some tweaks because for some of the text, there were no direct photos I could use and so I got more creative and substituted some things like 'tutorial Monday' for something else that I had an image of.
On the experimental video, some of the sound that involved the sat nav voice had got accidentally sped up and sounded like a chipmunk and so I corrected this and smoothed out a couple of bumps in the audio that made it sound uneven and jerky. This is the only real change I made to the sound because the monotaneous drone of the road leads you to that subconcious, not paying attention state that I wanted and with a simpl, plain soundtrack there's nothing to detract from the visuals which are the key thing.
I'm generally happy with how it's turned out. To try and give me an opinion and perspective on it, I had my house mate watch it and tell me what he thought I was trying to achieve as well as his opinion. He understood what I was trying to achieve and also liked it, so hopefully, it does what I want it to.
Below is the final (for now) version:-
I started with the subconcious driving one and have now come up with what will be used as part of my final piece unless I suddenly decide any of it needs a tweak. The main things I changed were instead of having a black screen with white writing flash up (that represented the things on my mind instead of the road), I used images of the objects or things related to my thoughts. It did require some tweaks because for some of the text, there were no direct photos I could use and so I got more creative and substituted some things like 'tutorial Monday' for something else that I had an image of.
On the experimental video, some of the sound that involved the sat nav voice had got accidentally sped up and sounded like a chipmunk and so I corrected this and smoothed out a couple of bumps in the audio that made it sound uneven and jerky. This is the only real change I made to the sound because the monotaneous drone of the road leads you to that subconcious, not paying attention state that I wanted and with a simpl, plain soundtrack there's nothing to detract from the visuals which are the key thing.
I'm generally happy with how it's turned out. To try and give me an opinion and perspective on it, I had my house mate watch it and tell me what he thought I was trying to achieve as well as his opinion. He understood what I was trying to achieve and also liked it, so hopefully, it does what I want it to.
Below is the final (for now) version:-
Subconcious Final from Helen Nutter on Vimeo.
Initial experiment version of 'Sights and Places'
The 'Sights and Places' one was probably the one I was most looking forward to because it really sums up the point of my project. I enjoy the travelling, don't get me wrong, but it's the sights and the places that I do it for and namely football.
I worked out how many different places I've been since August in the name of supporting Leicester City and it came to 22 individual places, but some places I've been to twice due to cup games and this isn't counting the 11 other football games I've undertaken. I worked out that since August 8th I've travelled over 4000 miles and that wasn't counting the trip to Preston (again) this weekend. 1000 of those miles came in two weeks thanks to trips to Blackpool, Bristol and Plymouth.
Analysis? The idea of the video is to document some of these sights and places. I've mixed still media with video and I think it works quite well. I like that the editing is relatively quickly, but not too quick that you don't get a glance at the places. However, I did try an initial edit where you got longer looks but felt it slowed the video down and you get the general idea anyway since several in a row might just be stadiums.
Some things to consider for moving it on? It doesn't have a completed soundscape as I needed to upload the spot sound for the birds at the beginning (I couldn't take it at the direct time because the service station car park was so loud you couldn't hear the birds, so i recorded a spot sound in my garden back in Grimsby) and then I wasn't sure what sounds to put with the still media yet.
However, after a talk and thinking about it, I've decided that since the sound of the road, that lumbering, constantly going sound that has its own sort of rhythm and is present in both of my other videos (and will be in the next one) that it could do with featuring here too. Perhaps not as loud as the other videos, but at an underlying rhythm.
Although the sound isn't the most important part of this video, I still need there to be some to enhance the video and complete it, so I will have to really think about it. Currently I also have a radio clip and some talking to compliment the end of the video, so it may be a case of mixing various sounds.
Here is the initial experimental version of the video...
I worked out how many different places I've been since August in the name of supporting Leicester City and it came to 22 individual places, but some places I've been to twice due to cup games and this isn't counting the 11 other football games I've undertaken. I worked out that since August 8th I've travelled over 4000 miles and that wasn't counting the trip to Preston (again) this weekend. 1000 of those miles came in two weeks thanks to trips to Blackpool, Bristol and Plymouth.
Analysis? The idea of the video is to document some of these sights and places. I've mixed still media with video and I think it works quite well. I like that the editing is relatively quickly, but not too quick that you don't get a glance at the places. However, I did try an initial edit where you got longer looks but felt it slowed the video down and you get the general idea anyway since several in a row might just be stadiums.
Some things to consider for moving it on? It doesn't have a completed soundscape as I needed to upload the spot sound for the birds at the beginning (I couldn't take it at the direct time because the service station car park was so loud you couldn't hear the birds, so i recorded a spot sound in my garden back in Grimsby) and then I wasn't sure what sounds to put with the still media yet.
However, after a talk and thinking about it, I've decided that since the sound of the road, that lumbering, constantly going sound that has its own sort of rhythm and is present in both of my other videos (and will be in the next one) that it could do with featuring here too. Perhaps not as loud as the other videos, but at an underlying rhythm.
Although the sound isn't the most important part of this video, I still need there to be some to enhance the video and complete it, so I will have to really think about it. Currently I also have a radio clip and some talking to compliment the end of the video, so it may be a case of mixing various sounds.
Here is the initial experimental version of the video...
Sights and Places from Helen Nutter on Vimeo.
Initial experiment version of 'Lost'
So I made the first version of my idea for the 'Lost' theme. I've embedded it below.
Things I like about it:- I think the use of the sat nav sound is very effective. Layering it up and causing the confusion because you're hearing it say three or four instructions at once is very confusing and it gets annoying. I deliberately left in a cough of annoyance on one instruction from the sat nav and this also builds up.
The way the sound is cut and the changing of the video means that it builds up tension and almost starts to form a rhythm. I think it does generally achieve confusion because you can never really tell whereabouts you are on the road and although signs flash up, they're for different places. I made sure there were no landmarks or recognisable places in the editing, just ambiguous landscapes and stretches of road and I think it helps add to the idea of being lost.
Things that I think could be improved:- I think the sat nav voice works, but I think it needs to be built up and the tension achieved more gradually. Obviously I still want to keep it around the same timeframe, 40 seconds and so I need to think about this and how to achieve it.
Perhaps to start the video, the sat nav could be saying something along the lines of 'You have reached your destination' or 'route guidance had been cancelled' as that always sounds very snappy and frustrated. It would also help break the video in. The opening clip could do with being different too. It's open road and I like the ambiguity but if it was something different, a faster edit or two, perhaps that would make it better.
So now I'm going to work on the other two first and then go back and rework this video and also the subconcious driving video too.
Things I like about it:- I think the use of the sat nav sound is very effective. Layering it up and causing the confusion because you're hearing it say three or four instructions at once is very confusing and it gets annoying. I deliberately left in a cough of annoyance on one instruction from the sat nav and this also builds up.
The way the sound is cut and the changing of the video means that it builds up tension and almost starts to form a rhythm. I think it does generally achieve confusion because you can never really tell whereabouts you are on the road and although signs flash up, they're for different places. I made sure there were no landmarks or recognisable places in the editing, just ambiguous landscapes and stretches of road and I think it helps add to the idea of being lost.
Things that I think could be improved:- I think the sat nav voice works, but I think it needs to be built up and the tension achieved more gradually. Obviously I still want to keep it around the same timeframe, 40 seconds and so I need to think about this and how to achieve it.
Perhaps to start the video, the sat nav could be saying something along the lines of 'You have reached your destination' or 'route guidance had been cancelled' as that always sounds very snappy and frustrated. It would also help break the video in. The opening clip could do with being different too. It's open road and I like the ambiguity but if it was something different, a faster edit or two, perhaps that would make it better.
So now I'm going to work on the other two first and then go back and rework this video and also the subconcious driving video too.
Lost from Helen Nutter on Vimeo.
Narrowing down the ideas
In a tutorial a few weeks ago, it was discussed that perhaps the idea of doing one 2-3 minute video was perhaps too much. For the various ideas and themes I wanted to put in it it may overload it and lose the point, or end up being too long.
So the idea to create 4 or 5 shorter videos that each explore one theme in full was suggested and seemed a very good idea. So that is what I shall be working with. The idea is to create them at around 30 seconds in length which builds up the time I need to submit them as a group for a final piece. Whether or not any are longer, I'm not sure yet.
The themes for them are going to be:-
The subconcious level of driving:- I've already done an experimental version of this one below. It's looking at the lack of concentration on the road, that usually there are other things on your mind, lots of different thoughts running through your head and usually none about how you're driving. To analyse the version I've already done I'd say I like it, but I think it needs some work to really achieve what I want from it.
Lost:- The idea of being lost on a journey, having taken a wrong turn. Something I want to achieve is the tension that is apparent in a car when you're lost, it almost gets awkward and arguments usually start. It gets almost desperate if you can't find where you want and sometimes a sat nav isn't always useful. For the soundtrack, I want the sat nav to build up and get very confusing and annoying.
Sights and places:- This is a theme I really want to explore because it's the whole reason I've made virtually all of the journeys that have contributed for this project. It's a chance to mix still images into it as well. The soundscape for this one is probably most awkward. I had initial ideas to use some commentary from the various football games, but I can't get hold of any that's not copyrighted. However, the sound is slightly less important on this one because I want the emphasis to be on the sights and the places.
Time:- How time passes in a journey, how it can seem so fast then suddenly so slow. How traffic jams or queues or weather factor into it. How we as people pass time on journeys. However, I don't want it to get too much like the subconcious one and so I will avoid putting thoughts in and instead will try and make it work with the timing of edits as well as the speed of the video.
Other ideas should any of these not work include:-
Weather- I have experienced so much, everything except fog and it could be worth putting all the various clips together just to see how it looks!
The car- Looking at how it takes on a persona of its own, how much people value it.
So the idea to create 4 or 5 shorter videos that each explore one theme in full was suggested and seemed a very good idea. So that is what I shall be working with. The idea is to create them at around 30 seconds in length which builds up the time I need to submit them as a group for a final piece. Whether or not any are longer, I'm not sure yet.
The themes for them are going to be:-
The subconcious level of driving:- I've already done an experimental version of this one below. It's looking at the lack of concentration on the road, that usually there are other things on your mind, lots of different thoughts running through your head and usually none about how you're driving. To analyse the version I've already done I'd say I like it, but I think it needs some work to really achieve what I want from it.
Lost:- The idea of being lost on a journey, having taken a wrong turn. Something I want to achieve is the tension that is apparent in a car when you're lost, it almost gets awkward and arguments usually start. It gets almost desperate if you can't find where you want and sometimes a sat nav isn't always useful. For the soundtrack, I want the sat nav to build up and get very confusing and annoying.
Sights and places:- This is a theme I really want to explore because it's the whole reason I've made virtually all of the journeys that have contributed for this project. It's a chance to mix still images into it as well. The soundscape for this one is probably most awkward. I had initial ideas to use some commentary from the various football games, but I can't get hold of any that's not copyrighted. However, the sound is slightly less important on this one because I want the emphasis to be on the sights and the places.
Time:- How time passes in a journey, how it can seem so fast then suddenly so slow. How traffic jams or queues or weather factor into it. How we as people pass time on journeys. However, I don't want it to get too much like the subconcious one and so I will avoid putting thoughts in and instead will try and make it work with the timing of edits as well as the speed of the video.
Other ideas should any of these not work include:-
Weather- I have experienced so much, everything except fog and it could be worth putting all the various clips together just to see how it looks!
The car- Looking at how it takes on a persona of its own, how much people value it.
Monday, 19 April 2010
Video Experiment
In a previous post, I talked about experimenting with a shorter video that explores one specific theme. After doing the theory and research on subconcious levels of driving, I made this shorter video based on that.
I'm reasonably happy with how it's turned out. I was originally going to have it shorter and so that is something that can be looked at as it's around 50 seconds when I was aiming for 30, however it has a beginning and an end which are important.
The sound is quite simple for this particular one as it's supposed to lull you into a sense of not paying as much attention and get you into that subconcious level of watching but not concentrating as much at first (just like driving) and I'm hoping the flashes of text are brief enough to make you pay more attention and have to think about it more.
Something I considered was putting effects on the video, like in one I looked at in my research. The effects would give a hazy look to certain parts of it, perhaps showing the person falling into that state of subconcious driving, but so far I haven't tried that as I thought it might be a little too much. It's something I can discuss in my tutorial later this week.
Below is the experiment version of this anyway.
I'm reasonably happy with how it's turned out. I was originally going to have it shorter and so that is something that can be looked at as it's around 50 seconds when I was aiming for 30, however it has a beginning and an end which are important.
The sound is quite simple for this particular one as it's supposed to lull you into a sense of not paying as much attention and get you into that subconcious level of watching but not concentrating as much at first (just like driving) and I'm hoping the flashes of text are brief enough to make you pay more attention and have to think about it more.
Something I considered was putting effects on the video, like in one I looked at in my research. The effects would give a hazy look to certain parts of it, perhaps showing the person falling into that state of subconcious driving, but so far I haven't tried that as I thought it might be a little too much. It's something I can discuss in my tutorial later this week.
Below is the experiment version of this anyway.
Subconcious driving from Helen Nutter on Vimeo.
Sunday, 18 April 2010
Research
While the theory was interesting and gave me a good idea or two, it doesn't help me when it comes to thinking about the filming and editing process. While I've already shot a lot of the footage I need, the most important part is editing and so I'm continuing to look at the work of others.
For this one, the embedded video is at the bottom and the screen shots from it are among the writing.
The only problem with the research is it isn't done by well known names, but it's been hard to find that sort of stuff and a lot of the amateur made videos are equally interesting and helpful. This one is shot through the windscreen of a car carrier and one of the more original ones I've come across.
The limited perspective and view you get is very realistic and as it's shot from the person's eyeline you feel as though you're there. Because you're not seeing much it's interesting and creates a different viewpoint on the screen.
Ignoring the music which really doesn't fit with the visuals and is actually rather annoying, I did quite like the editing. The way it cut together between the different places and the rather, hazy, dreamy effect felt like the subconcious state you slip into and gives me something else to experiment with for the odd time in my video that i feel that sort of transition would be necessary.
There was a lot of ambiguity with where you were in the video. The landscape changes so much that you know the video is made over a large period of miles, but the lack of signs or really recognisable places leaves you wondering exactly where you're going and also what the point of the journey is as this is never discussed and doesn't become obvious at any point.
For this one, the embedded video is at the bottom and the screen shots from it are among the writing.
The only problem with the research is it isn't done by well known names, but it's been hard to find that sort of stuff and a lot of the amateur made videos are equally interesting and helpful. This one is shot through the windscreen of a car carrier and one of the more original ones I've come across.
The limited perspective and view you get is very realistic and as it's shot from the person's eyeline you feel as though you're there. Because you're not seeing much it's interesting and creates a different viewpoint on the screen.
Ignoring the music which really doesn't fit with the visuals and is actually rather annoying, I did quite like the editing. The way it cut together between the different places and the rather, hazy, dreamy effect felt like the subconcious state you slip into and gives me something else to experiment with for the odd time in my video that i feel that sort of transition would be necessary.
There was a lot of ambiguity with where you were in the video. The landscape changes so much that you know the video is made over a large period of miles, but the lack of signs or really recognisable places leaves you wondering exactly where you're going and also what the point of the journey is as this is never discussed and doesn't become obvious at any point.
Research
As one of the things I was interested in while creating this video is the subconcious level of concentration people have while driving, I thought it might be useful and interesting to try and do some more theoretical research into this to back up the more visual research i've been doing.
I came across an article which is actually to do with a book by a hypnotherapist where he talks about driving. The opening quote caught my eye really:- "Most people hypnotised while driving their cars". The article also has a quote which is something I've experienced as a driver and I'm sure many others have. "It does not take a hypnotist to induce a hypnotic state of mind. In fact, we are all constantly moving in and out of these fluid hypnotic states as we engage in normal daily activities, such as day dreaming, studying, watching television, and even driving our cars. These transitions are so natural that they usually go undetected, except at times when we are startled to discover that we have driven 50 miles past our destination on the freeway."
I've never driven past my destination, but I have suddenly snapped out of whatever trance I'm in and realised I've driven a lot further than I thought and that my junction is actually the next one, meaning I've gone past many others without actually noticing. Last week, I drove from Kent to Huddersfield in one straight journey which due to various delays took 7 hours. Towards the end, the M1 was becoming a blur and I lost track of the junctions between 30 and the one I needed, 38, nearly missing it until my passenger pointed it out.
The article goes on to say "Let's take that driving example further. Think about it for a moment. When you drive, you are in many ways driving subconsciously. If you were to consciously think about all of the dangers associated with your driving, you would immediately stop the car and leap out of the vehicle! Your heart would be pounding fiercely and you would break out in a cold sweat. Driving is the most dangerous activity we engage in, and yet we do it every day, scarcely giving a second thought to the daring high-speed maneuvers we execute in our attempts to be the first to get where we want to go." The danger aspect is one I hadn't really considered while thinking about this work and making it. It makes a very good point. Sometimes you wonder how there are far less crashes than there are.
While danger isn't exactly something I want to cover in my video, it does raise an interesting point and something I hadn't thought about in my video was putting text either at the beginning, in between clips or at the end. It could be another way to achieve what I want. The video may read differently though, or seem like I'm preaching something instead. However, I could just use more simple text that explains the destinations, the miles covered and then how many of those miles were done subconciously. It gives me something else to think about.
"The subconscious is quite skilled at driving, just as it is at walking, swimming, or riding a bike. Once it knows how to do something, it just does it; it doesn't need to think about it again. When you drive, your subconscious mind handles most of the driving while your conscious mind entertains higher cognitive functions such as contemplating your golf score, anticipating your evening date, or deciding what you will have for dinner." - This particular quote from the article really gave me an idea of something I want to try.
One of the ideas that was raised in a tutorial was perhaps making shorter videos, maybe 5 or 6 videos that are only 30 seconds each, but each explore a different theme. The quote above gave me a very good idea for the subconcious driving one. In a previous video I made, the edits were so quick at the end that they were nearly at the speed for subliminal messaging and this is something to think about. I could still have the 30 seconds of sound and video needed, but in between clips flash up words, thoughts I was having at the time, things that were on my mind. It'd snap the viewer into having to concentrate more and break them out of the subconcious level of viewing which would add to my point.
I plan to edit together a 30 second video that experiments with this tomorrow, so fingers crossed I'll be able to upload it and put it on here tomorrow as well.
I came across an article which is actually to do with a book by a hypnotherapist where he talks about driving. The opening quote caught my eye really:- "Most people hypnotised while driving their cars". The article also has a quote which is something I've experienced as a driver and I'm sure many others have. "It does not take a hypnotist to induce a hypnotic state of mind. In fact, we are all constantly moving in and out of these fluid hypnotic states as we engage in normal daily activities, such as day dreaming, studying, watching television, and even driving our cars. These transitions are so natural that they usually go undetected, except at times when we are startled to discover that we have driven 50 miles past our destination on the freeway."
I've never driven past my destination, but I have suddenly snapped out of whatever trance I'm in and realised I've driven a lot further than I thought and that my junction is actually the next one, meaning I've gone past many others without actually noticing. Last week, I drove from Kent to Huddersfield in one straight journey which due to various delays took 7 hours. Towards the end, the M1 was becoming a blur and I lost track of the junctions between 30 and the one I needed, 38, nearly missing it until my passenger pointed it out.
The article goes on to say "Let's take that driving example further. Think about it for a moment. When you drive, you are in many ways driving subconsciously. If you were to consciously think about all of the dangers associated with your driving, you would immediately stop the car and leap out of the vehicle! Your heart would be pounding fiercely and you would break out in a cold sweat. Driving is the most dangerous activity we engage in, and yet we do it every day, scarcely giving a second thought to the daring high-speed maneuvers we execute in our attempts to be the first to get where we want to go." The danger aspect is one I hadn't really considered while thinking about this work and making it. It makes a very good point. Sometimes you wonder how there are far less crashes than there are.
While danger isn't exactly something I want to cover in my video, it does raise an interesting point and something I hadn't thought about in my video was putting text either at the beginning, in between clips or at the end. It could be another way to achieve what I want. The video may read differently though, or seem like I'm preaching something instead. However, I could just use more simple text that explains the destinations, the miles covered and then how many of those miles were done subconciously. It gives me something else to think about.
"The subconscious is quite skilled at driving, just as it is at walking, swimming, or riding a bike. Once it knows how to do something, it just does it; it doesn't need to think about it again. When you drive, your subconscious mind handles most of the driving while your conscious mind entertains higher cognitive functions such as contemplating your golf score, anticipating your evening date, or deciding what you will have for dinner." - This particular quote from the article really gave me an idea of something I want to try.
One of the ideas that was raised in a tutorial was perhaps making shorter videos, maybe 5 or 6 videos that are only 30 seconds each, but each explore a different theme. The quote above gave me a very good idea for the subconcious driving one. In a previous video I made, the edits were so quick at the end that they were nearly at the speed for subliminal messaging and this is something to think about. I could still have the 30 seconds of sound and video needed, but in between clips flash up words, thoughts I was having at the time, things that were on my mind. It'd snap the viewer into having to concentrate more and break them out of the subconcious level of viewing which would add to my point.
I plan to edit together a 30 second video that experiments with this tomorrow, so fingers crossed I'll be able to upload it and put it on here tomorrow as well.
Friday, 16 April 2010
Research
Similarly to the previous post, I found this video in the same place. This one followed the presenter driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in a much more classic American car, a Mustang (which he also named, referred to as his girlfriend in a joking way and tret more like a friend than a car that he's just driving) and I found it a little more relevant.
It was shot more like a road trip video than the previous one, even if the concept of using the internet and visiting places was still more of the theme than the journey itself. Again, I couldn't embed it, so I settled on screen shots instead.
There was much more emphasis on what they were seeing out of the car and more adventurous angles that included shooting through the rear window which worked well as well as filming the presenter from the passenger side. The interesting thing about that angle is that the car was a convertable and the top was down meaning you got to see a lot more of what was going past while he was talking which kept it visually interesting while you had dialogue to cover the sound aspect.
They just made much better use of the various shots and landscapes available to them than the previous video. All aspects were covered and it was interesting to be given several more ideas. Something they did was using the focus, so changing from out of focus blurry lights which looked soft and enchanting to the harsh headlights of cars once fully in focus.
It was shot more like a road trip video than the previous one, even if the concept of using the internet and visiting places was still more of the theme than the journey itself. Again, I couldn't embed it, so I settled on screen shots instead.
There was much more emphasis on what they were seeing out of the car and more adventurous angles that included shooting through the rear window which worked well as well as filming the presenter from the passenger side. The interesting thing about that angle is that the car was a convertable and the top was down meaning you got to see a lot more of what was going past while he was talking which kept it visually interesting while you had dialogue to cover the sound aspect.
They just made much better use of the various shots and landscapes available to them than the previous video. All aspects were covered and it was interesting to be given several more ideas. Something they did was using the focus, so changing from out of focus blurry lights which looked soft and enchanting to the harsh headlights of cars once fully in focus.
Research
As I move into the last stages of the project, I am beginning to have very clear ideas of what I want and where to take the video, however it is always good to continue researching others and see if there is anything I am missing or that could work better. I find it helpful to see what sort of stuff is out there.
I stumbled across this article (http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/drive-smart/road-trip/article/265/) with a simple google search for 'roadtrip videos' having got a little stuck doing research. The person was doing the trip for Yahoo! Cars and did a 500 mile trip from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, filming it and also taking still photographs at places of interest or things that caught his eye. The idea was the only thing available to guide him of where to go and what to do, would be the internet.
Something that stood out in the article was the sentence 'Take a ride with travel presenter Mark Durden-Smith, and his companion Jeff the Jeep'. It goes back to previous research and ideas I looked at where the car becomes more than just a metal shell used for getting from A to B. Here, the car almost takes on the role of a person. It has a name and is referred to as a companion before the word 'Jeep' is mentioned. It suggests a relationship with the car, that it is more personal and something treasured.
I'm unable to embed the video, but have taken a few screen shots of it instead. The video itself was interesting, the presenter was very annoying and it generally swung me away from wanting to use people and voices as much in my video, but I'll get to that later. The video uses a lot of quickly cut panning shots where you see a variety of landscapes and locations which keeps it visually more interesting as it's forcing you to take notice and look at it all.
While the purpose of the video is obviously to show you the various locations as well as the experiences he undergoes I did find it helpful just to see a different approach to the concept of road trips, it was quite spontaneous and he let google control a lot of the places he went by seeing where it told him to go when looking for things.
The main shots the video consists of are ones that show the presenter driving to add the dialogue, ones that set the places and the weathers (panning shots, from the window, through the windscreen, of the sky) and also of the experiences he undergoes. There are also a fair few shots of the car itself which is something I have generally avoided in a bid not to be too obvious.
However, I did like this one particular shot which would have been achieved by hanging the camera out of the back window. Not the safest thing, but it gives a different and interesting angle and view of the road as the yellow lines ticks by.
I stumbled across this article (http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/drive-smart/road-trip/article/265/) with a simple google search for 'roadtrip videos' having got a little stuck doing research. The person was doing the trip for Yahoo! Cars and did a 500 mile trip from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, filming it and also taking still photographs at places of interest or things that caught his eye. The idea was the only thing available to guide him of where to go and what to do, would be the internet.
Something that stood out in the article was the sentence 'Take a ride with travel presenter Mark Durden-Smith, and his companion Jeff the Jeep'. It goes back to previous research and ideas I looked at where the car becomes more than just a metal shell used for getting from A to B. Here, the car almost takes on the role of a person. It has a name and is referred to as a companion before the word 'Jeep' is mentioned. It suggests a relationship with the car, that it is more personal and something treasured.
I'm unable to embed the video, but have taken a few screen shots of it instead. The video itself was interesting, the presenter was very annoying and it generally swung me away from wanting to use people and voices as much in my video, but I'll get to that later. The video uses a lot of quickly cut panning shots where you see a variety of landscapes and locations which keeps it visually more interesting as it's forcing you to take notice and look at it all.
While the purpose of the video is obviously to show you the various locations as well as the experiences he undergoes I did find it helpful just to see a different approach to the concept of road trips, it was quite spontaneous and he let google control a lot of the places he went by seeing where it told him to go when looking for things.
The main shots the video consists of are ones that show the presenter driving to add the dialogue, ones that set the places and the weathers (panning shots, from the window, through the windscreen, of the sky) and also of the experiences he undergoes. There are also a fair few shots of the car itself which is something I have generally avoided in a bid not to be too obvious.
However, I did like this one particular shot which would have been achieved by hanging the camera out of the back window. Not the safest thing, but it gives a different and interesting angle and view of the road as the yellow lines ticks by.
Monday, 29 March 2010
The next experiment
Since the last tutorial, I sat down, looked at all the footage I had shot (which included newer footage from more trips) and began to really narrow down what types of shots and content I need to include to achieve the effects I want.
I also went back and looked at my initial experimental edit which only featured footage from one journey. I like it as an initial piece, but it was a little all over the place and seemed to be trying to show several things.
This latest version I have done includes newer footage and I tried to think about achieving the subconcious drifting in and out of full awareness on the road more.
The one thing I didn't fully work on for this particular edit was sound. I've been thinking quite a lot about what I want for a soundscape though. I do like the sounds I have on it, the way the car sounds on the road and how it differs for each road. I'd also like to include snippets of the radio, of conversation. However, after talking in another tutorial it also got me thinking that it might be good to mix in sound that doesn't match the visuals.
For example, recording sound at a service station where you often hear birds over the top of the road in the distance or the conversations inside, which wouldn't have anything to do with the visuals. I have already been including the sat nav sounds which might not necessarily match that particular piece and adding rain on scenes where there isn't any rain could add to the disorientating feel of when you're not fully paying attention.
One of the problems I have encountered with trying to achieve what I want is, the potential is so much. I could just keep shooting more footage with how much travelling I do, but this would be pointless as it would just give me more and make it harder to focus. So I have lists now in my notebook of shots that I think I need to complete the video. I'll take a photo of this to show my thought process in more detail.
I also went back and looked at my initial experimental edit which only featured footage from one journey. I like it as an initial piece, but it was a little all over the place and seemed to be trying to show several things.
This latest version I have done includes newer footage and I tried to think about achieving the subconcious drifting in and out of full awareness on the road more.
The one thing I didn't fully work on for this particular edit was sound. I've been thinking quite a lot about what I want for a soundscape though. I do like the sounds I have on it, the way the car sounds on the road and how it differs for each road. I'd also like to include snippets of the radio, of conversation. However, after talking in another tutorial it also got me thinking that it might be good to mix in sound that doesn't match the visuals.
For example, recording sound at a service station where you often hear birds over the top of the road in the distance or the conversations inside, which wouldn't have anything to do with the visuals. I have already been including the sat nav sounds which might not necessarily match that particular piece and adding rain on scenes where there isn't any rain could add to the disorientating feel of when you're not fully paying attention.
One of the problems I have encountered with trying to achieve what I want is, the potential is so much. I could just keep shooting more footage with how much travelling I do, but this would be pointless as it would just give me more and make it harder to focus. So I have lists now in my notebook of shots that I think I need to complete the video. I'll take a photo of this to show my thought process in more detail.
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Narrowing my idea...
After a tutorial today, I realised that it is probably best to just concentrate on my video. While I really like the stills idea it is more of a project in its own right and perhaps not connected enough to the video. With the help of my tutor and my peers I also realised that I really need to narrow my idea down.
The objective or the aim for the video is exploring time, but obviously that is a pretty wide category and to make my video the best it can be I have to be more specific and really nail down what aspect of time.
I went back and looked at the video from my last assessment to try and help me think and also took into consideration what we spoke about in the tutorial. I'm quite interested in how time passes from the point of view of the people making the journey. Particularly from the point of view of the driver. Sometimes you'll be driving along and you'll suddenly realise that you've passed six more junctions than you thought.
Or for example, the subconcious levels of driving you do. That state where you are concentrating, but you're switched off on some level and just going through the motions until something snaps you out of it. Usually a set of traffic lights, or a roundabout, or a traffic jam. Something that forces you to really pay attention. You almost start to think how out of it you must have been because of the things you've missed or stuff you haven't noticed. I tend to find this happens more if i'm travelling alone rather than with company.
To achieve showing this in my video I was thinking that time lapses are best. Playing with how fast or slow I use clips of video and quick edits that change a lot. For example they may skip large chunks of the journey in the way they're cut together and will go from lots of fast, changing footage to the real-time of the car going around a roundabout becuase it's those sort of things that snap you out of the subconcious, driving like a machine and doing it all but really just going through the motions rather than concetrating. I already have one piece of footage which is good for this that I shot when I went to Swansea. My Dad was obviously in that subconcious zone as we approached a roundabout and ended up going through the lights when he probably should have/could have stopped.
For more research on this I'm going to try and pay more attention when I travel to and from Plymouth in one day on Saturday. I'll be driving so I won't have an oppurtunity to shoot, but i will be able to see how much or when i slip into that realm of driving but not really noticing my surroundings.
Other things that might help achieve my aim:-
Repitition, or building a rhythm:- The dashed lines, barriers, all straight and all continue on roads, they pass by so fast and half the time are just a blur because you know they're always there.
The noise:- The different noises each road make and how they vary depending on the weather and the speed. In my last video that was something that accidentally worked really well and I want to maintain this.
The objective or the aim for the video is exploring time, but obviously that is a pretty wide category and to make my video the best it can be I have to be more specific and really nail down what aspect of time.
I went back and looked at the video from my last assessment to try and help me think and also took into consideration what we spoke about in the tutorial. I'm quite interested in how time passes from the point of view of the people making the journey. Particularly from the point of view of the driver. Sometimes you'll be driving along and you'll suddenly realise that you've passed six more junctions than you thought.
Or for example, the subconcious levels of driving you do. That state where you are concentrating, but you're switched off on some level and just going through the motions until something snaps you out of it. Usually a set of traffic lights, or a roundabout, or a traffic jam. Something that forces you to really pay attention. You almost start to think how out of it you must have been because of the things you've missed or stuff you haven't noticed. I tend to find this happens more if i'm travelling alone rather than with company.
To achieve showing this in my video I was thinking that time lapses are best. Playing with how fast or slow I use clips of video and quick edits that change a lot. For example they may skip large chunks of the journey in the way they're cut together and will go from lots of fast, changing footage to the real-time of the car going around a roundabout becuase it's those sort of things that snap you out of the subconcious, driving like a machine and doing it all but really just going through the motions rather than concetrating. I already have one piece of footage which is good for this that I shot when I went to Swansea. My Dad was obviously in that subconcious zone as we approached a roundabout and ended up going through the lights when he probably should have/could have stopped.
For more research on this I'm going to try and pay more attention when I travel to and from Plymouth in one day on Saturday. I'll be driving so I won't have an oppurtunity to shoot, but i will be able to see how much or when i slip into that realm of driving but not really noticing my surroundings.
Other things that might help achieve my aim:-
Repitition, or building a rhythm:- The dashed lines, barriers, all straight and all continue on roads, they pass by so fast and half the time are just a blur because you know they're always there.
The noise:- The different noises each road make and how they vary depending on the weather and the speed. In my last video that was something that accidentally worked really well and I want to maintain this.
Monday, 15 February 2010
Getting back on track...
I didn't update this as much as I planned this month because I ended up spending more time filming video for it and editing, so I need to get back on track here.
After the assessment, I thought about what I wanted to do for the negotiated project and decided that I wanted to keep going with this project but move it forward. So I started to think about making a 3-4 minute video and perhaps a set of stills to accompany them.
Thinking about what I could do for the stills side, I thought about photos from the journeys themselves. The places, perhaps people. However, i thought that almost seemed too obvious and so I got thinking about other options.
I've previously looked at Stephen Shore (above image) and how he presented his images from a journey. He collected items from the journey and put them on a page. On the journeys I'm making for this project I collect a lot of things, tickets, receipts, bottles, sweets, anything really and decided that perhaps a studio style shoot of laying all the items out would be a good thing.
It would be something different to the video and perhaps personalise it and add another element to it. Rather than just seeing a video where you don't really see any people or hear any human voices, you'd be seeing items and know a bit more about the person or about what happened on that journey.
I did a very rough example image for one of the journeys I shot when I went to Blackpool. This one was shot on my bed in poor light conditions rather than at a studio like i'd prefer, but it gives the general idea of what i want to achieve. I tried one where everything was just thrown on top of each other and very messily done, but decided that each item layed out next to each other worked much better.
The next oppurtunity I'll get to shoot video will be on the 23rd as I'm not driving and so I'm going to start to think about that in more detail now.
After the assessment, I thought about what I wanted to do for the negotiated project and decided that I wanted to keep going with this project but move it forward. So I started to think about making a 3-4 minute video and perhaps a set of stills to accompany them.
Thinking about what I could do for the stills side, I thought about photos from the journeys themselves. The places, perhaps people. However, i thought that almost seemed too obvious and so I got thinking about other options.
I've previously looked at Stephen Shore (above image) and how he presented his images from a journey. He collected items from the journey and put them on a page. On the journeys I'm making for this project I collect a lot of things, tickets, receipts, bottles, sweets, anything really and decided that perhaps a studio style shoot of laying all the items out would be a good thing.
It would be something different to the video and perhaps personalise it and add another element to it. Rather than just seeing a video where you don't really see any people or hear any human voices, you'd be seeing items and know a bit more about the person or about what happened on that journey.
I did a very rough example image for one of the journeys I shot when I went to Blackpool. This one was shot on my bed in poor light conditions rather than at a studio like i'd prefer, but it gives the general idea of what i want to achieve. I tried one where everything was just thrown on top of each other and very messily done, but decided that each item layed out next to each other worked much better.
The next oppurtunity I'll get to shoot video will be on the 23rd as I'm not driving and so I'm going to start to think about that in more detail now.
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
Road Trip Video Experiment
Over the weekend, I went to Swansea and so took my new video camera, shot lots of footage and then decided to edit it, perhaps try and achieve some of the things I want to do for the final project. Obviously I want to have more than one trip for that piece, but this was a good chance to experiment with my camera since I hadn't used it before and also see what works and what doesn't.
So it was a very rough piece that is basically an experiment, although I do like it to a point. I think speeding it up is the key to making it work and I do like the shot in the service station, discussing how much further we have to go in the journey.
There are some shots which work much better than others and now I know what sort of things look good and visually compelling i can carry this forward into the next section of my work. I kept the underlying motorway sounds and also used the sat nav lady's voice but admit i didn't want the chipmunk effect sound. I just forgot to slow down the audio on those clips.
But as an experiment I'm happy with it and look forward to shooting more video. I'm going to Cardiff this weekend, but the only problem with that is I'm driving. I'm contemplating strapping the camera to my dashboard and just recording, see what i capture, but I may just try and take stills from places we go to/stop instead.
Anyway, here's the roughly edited video. I might go back and look at what other sound i can add. One of the things i meant to do was have the radio on in the car so that you'd get a mixture of music which would change with the clips, but I forgot as I was concentrating on filming.
So it was a very rough piece that is basically an experiment, although I do like it to a point. I think speeding it up is the key to making it work and I do like the shot in the service station, discussing how much further we have to go in the journey.
There are some shots which work much better than others and now I know what sort of things look good and visually compelling i can carry this forward into the next section of my work. I kept the underlying motorway sounds and also used the sat nav lady's voice but admit i didn't want the chipmunk effect sound. I just forgot to slow down the audio on those clips.
But as an experiment I'm happy with it and look forward to shooting more video. I'm going to Cardiff this weekend, but the only problem with that is I'm driving. I'm contemplating strapping the camera to my dashboard and just recording, see what i capture, but I may just try and take stills from places we go to/stop instead.
Anyway, here's the roughly edited video. I might go back and look at what other sound i can add. One of the things i meant to do was have the radio on in the car so that you'd get a mixture of music which would change with the clips, but I forgot as I was concentrating on filming.
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Research- A couple more photographers
I'm still trying to look at how other artists and people interpret road trips and so I'm still looking at other people's work. Noah Kalina's own look at road trips on his site is interesting and again different to previous ones I've looked at.
His road trip series reads to me more like a narrative of their journey, and features people which I've yet to do so far. Perhaps it's something I shouldn't just rule out. Interestingly, he also composes using windows terrifically.
This image is probably the most interesting in the set. I'm not sure what it is (possibly the lighting or the set feel to it) but it makes me think of Crewdson's images. Either way, it's a great image and one of the best in the set. Very different to most road trip imagery.
I also love this image. It's simple but very, very effective and the composition is great as are the colours. I tend to forget about light trails, maybe because they're so overdone, but they are beautiful and this is great use of them, particularly having the car in shot.
The other photographer I found is Ryan Jones. He isn't usually photographing road trips but needed some time away and made some images while he did. A lot of them are based around people, and they're great photos, but I still prefer still life or landscape stuff and so these two images stood out to me.
His road trip series reads to me more like a narrative of their journey, and features people which I've yet to do so far. Perhaps it's something I shouldn't just rule out. Interestingly, he also composes using windows terrifically.
This image is probably the most interesting in the set. I'm not sure what it is (possibly the lighting or the set feel to it) but it makes me think of Crewdson's images. Either way, it's a great image and one of the best in the set. Very different to most road trip imagery. 
I also love this image. It's simple but very, very effective and the composition is great as are the colours. I tend to forget about light trails, maybe because they're so overdone, but they are beautiful and this is great use of them, particularly having the car in shot.
The other photographer I found is Ryan Jones. He isn't usually photographing road trips but needed some time away and made some images while he did. A lot of them are based around people, and they're great photos, but I still prefer still life or landscape stuff and so these two images stood out to me.
Research- "Miss Shayna"
I stumbled across this page here. Miss Shayna is a visual artist and went on a coast to coast American road trip in 2006. The photographs have been published as a book and some of them are great.
The polaroid style really reflects the feel you want to get when photographing this kind of road trip. I also like the presentation. Numbering them all and putting the locations beneath is great.
The presentation of the book is amazing, put in a box and beautifully crafted. Very inspiring. Photos below...
For my own work right now, I'm thinking that polaroids would be the perfect accompanying thing for the road trip video I want to make.
Research- Brad Zellar
Brad Zellar has also shot on polaroid based around the theme of road trips/journeys. He went through the rural deep South of America, and some of the images are interesting. He takes a less serious approach to things, capturing often ironic things.
They're all quite interesting images and document the places, the things he saw. Again, he's been able to concentrate on framing the image with the lack of control over the camera.
Research- Noah Waldeck
Polaroids were well used, but photographers seemed to turn to them even more during the digital age and these days, particularly when they got discontinued (though they're now remaking them again) they got very popular.
I came across Noah Waldeck's work and find it fascinating. He has a blog where all of his images go. It was particularly interesting to go through all of his polaroid posts. I love the simplicity of his polaroids.
Something I love about polaroid is that it leaves you to concentrate just on the image. You have so little control over anything except framing and what goes in the image, but I think this helps because you concentrate on capturing a subject rather than getting perfect lighting.
Anyway, Waldeck's work is great and perfect inspiration for when my polaroid films arrive.
I particularly like this image. The reflections in the window are what make it, and the figure in the foreground, but only seeing the expression faintly in the reflection. Research- Kendrick Brinson
The gallery that represents Matt Slaby, also represents other photographers which led me to finding the work of Kendrick Brinson. Specifically the project "Viva La Vida", the photographic journey through Guatemala and Mexico.Similarly, a lot of it is about the framing, the use of mirrors, I wish I'd found these people earlier as I think my own images could have been better, though it's still useful to find them now and learn from them.
She really captures the essence of the places, but keeps it visually interesting and they're composed very well.
This image is brilliant. So simple, but so lovely. The colours are great and you get a sense that it's just her, her camera, the driver and the car.
I looked at this image and immediately thought of Lee Friedlander. The framing, the simplicity but yet the interest in the image. Perhaps she was also influenced by his work. Research- Matt Slaby
Researching for other photographers who've used polaroids to show off a road trip or journey, I came across work by Matt Slaby. It's really great stuff. The composition and framing of his images is amazing and very inspirational.
The project is called "My Diving Bell" and you can see the whole series here, but I've put a couple below. Here's the text that accompanies the project on the site...
"A WYOMING TRAVELOGUE IN ONE ACT Driving all night into the heart of Wyoming, I finally pulled the rental car off the road to rest. I reclined the seat but quickly sat back up, exhausted but unable to sleep. Peeking out the windows of this peculiar car, the world had suddenly changed, refocussed through these strange, little frames, their inset into the body of the automobile making them appear as awkward maritime port-holes. Lost in a sleepless haze, the metaphor seemed appropriate. It is how we travel, always peeking through a window into another world that is not completely ours, those foreign places we pass by at 65 mph, rapid-fire zoo exhibits, places we imagine as much as we experience."
Personally, I find these images really interesting and very different to a lot of photography based around cars and road trips. The frame within a frame is a very successful technique and some of my better images have followed that rule. I also love the stark contrast between the black of the inside of the window and the bright colours outside.
The subject matter is very much classic American travel culture which I love and I got a little of inspiration from this set of photographs.
Photo experimentation
So far, in terms of photography, I've gone down two clear routes. One documenting my journeys, mostly using the car mirror to frame things and then also the ruined cars/scrapyard work.
In terms of thinking about what I want to do with my scrap yard images, I would either mount them simply or put two or four of them together, I've done experiment of this below...
(click for larger view)
In terms of thinking about what I want to do with my scrap yard images, I would either mount them simply or put two or four of them together, I've done experiment of this below...
(click for larger view)
For the other set of images, I'm experimenting with text at the minute. Either simple, factual stuff, or adding a narrative element by perhaps adding a diary format to it. Something not necessarily about what's in the image, but explaining something from that day.
Abandoned petrol station. Glentham, A46
123.7 miles left
Abandoned petrol station. Glentham, A46
123.7 miles left
The above ideas I'm not so keen on, I like them, but the text doesn't look real enough and it would be better if i had the polaroids and could write on them. However, the prosepct of polaroid and being able to write on it is interesting. It adds that kitschy feel and seems a lot more personal. I would need to get hold of more polaroid films but now they're back in production this shouldn't be an issue. For now, there is a program i can use to simulate the Polaroid look.
Because I want to carry on photographing the things you see on a road trip, I can carry across the idea of illustrating the images with text and maybe receipts. I can collect things I pick up on road trips. Because most of my road trips are due to football, I will have tickets from this, as well of receipts and maybe other bits. It might be quite interesting to present it as a scrapbook like I've researched.
The next thing for me to do is to look at all of my images for both tangents of this project and pick out the best ones for the assessment.
Sunday, 17 January 2010
Research- tomas Vrzala
Going back into some of the earlier stuff I researched but I came across Tomas Vrzala and really liked his road trip photography. He shoots quite a bit of it through the windscreen of the car and I do like that look.
The way the images, the effect of taking them in the car, through the window catapults you into being there, makes it come alive and seem more real.
Research- David Zaitz
This photographer does a lot of commerical work, but his personal project "Texas Road Trip" is great. He really captures what they call the "rust towns" brilliantly. Making them look run down, isolated and often empty. There is the ocassional sign of a personal, usually a shopkeeper he encounters, but it's the buildings and landscape shots I prefer.
He goes with captions beneath the images, which are often informative of the place but sometimes witty. I particularly like the one that goes beneath the below image that says, "Edie, apparently unclear of the concept of customisable signs."
I'm really liking the idea of putting text with my images to enhance the feel, to help explain them or add another dimension to them. I shall get my best mirror/journey shots and try adding text or laying them out somehow.
He goes with captions beneath the images, which are often informative of the place but sometimes witty. I particularly like the one that goes beneath the below image that says, "Edie, apparently unclear of the concept of customisable signs."
I'm really liking the idea of putting text with my images to enhance the feel, to help explain them or add another dimension to them. I shall get my best mirror/journey shots and try adding text or laying them out somehow.
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