6th January LUX

I wanted to take this idea of the tense and power hungry relationship between man and nature further. Shana moulding's exhibition really inspired me with her use of green screen. She uses a strong DIY aesthetic which is consciously naive. this made the technique seem very approachable, however somehow she creates this very immersive atmosphere which makes you really believe the dismembered objects and body parts, forgetting its green screen entirely.

Screenshot 2020-02-05 at 22.20.08.png

I took this green screen suit out into the woods and filmed myself wandering around in circles just for a basis to test footage to edit onto to see how it would look. However, this turned out to be really useful! During the crit someone said that the character seemed really frustrated and trapped due to the pacing back and forth in circles like they were angry and lost. I really liked this idea and I want to look more closely at this frustration in my future shots and body language.

As I was exploring the menacing nature of natures relationship with man, and this power struggle I also filmed some very close up shots of swans. swans have always appeared very menacing to me and I think they symbolise what I am exploring in my film well, they appear very beautiful and elegant however they are actually very very strong and at times violent. Furthermore this idea of how fast a birds feet are going underwater but you wouldn't have any idea when looking at them from above water was interesting,

I really zoomed in on the swans neck so much that it could almot be unable to tell what body part it is and of what creature. I did this to explore Salivdor Dali's technique of stimulating madness in the viewer by disorientating them.this technique is called the 'paranoid critic method'

Screenshot 2020-01-10 at 16.56.45.png

Here I used the green screen function on iMovie in order to add erosion and glitching to the scene. I liked how this turned out, almost like there is a virus eating away at the footage. I would like to look more closely at this in future experiementation

Screenshot 2020-01-10 at 16.57.47.png

Screenshot 2020-01-10 at 16.58.08.png

Screenshot 2020-01-10 at 16.58.30.png

Screenshot 2020-01-10 at 16.58.56.png

Screenshot 2020-01-10 at 16.59.16.png

Screenshot 2020-01-10 at 16.59.43.png

silent crit of this experimentation

I think that I have made a good start in terms of documenting my idea visually, however I have a lot to go in terms of refining visually how I should display this. I think that the music works really well with the imagery and I’m happy about this as it was a last minute decision. However I need to work out how to round off the music so it makes a logical ending as it is very ambient and does not have a finite finish. I think that I need to take this further by looking more into my body movement as I wear the suit as the most effective moments for others was where it seems as though I was trapped and struggling within the suit. I’m thinking of maybe looking into that in more depth. I am happy with the start I’ve made and I’m excited to see it evlolve. My next step is going to be taking it into the water.

I think that although disorientating, the speakers really worked well for the piece as with the loud music it made the atmosphere menacing and eerie which is what I am attempting to convey. Speakers are something I would like to further explore in this project, I had an idea of maybe hiring massive festival speakers and filming them play a song in the middle of a field and watching how the vibrations shake the trees/water around them? The use of projection was a little messed up as I think the video file got corrupted when sent over by We Transfer which happened to quite a few other people too. This was useful though as its something I really need to look into for the LUX viewing incase this happens again.

Maybe this isn’t a good thing but something I have found refreshing about this project is that I do not have such a heavy conceptual basis, it is more visually based whereas I usually start with my idea and work backwards. I am looking at nature’s omnipotence and power over man. This started with my initial stop motion experiments which were in response to how Elizabeth Jennings the female poet writes about nature in a lot of her work. She writes about how it is comforting but also terrifying how no matter what happens to us, nature will forever continue despite of us and will outlive and outgrow us. Nature has the final say. This is something I’m exploring in this film through the green screen suit putting images of nature onto the human body.

This is something georfery Chaucer wrote about in his Canterbury tales 'The Franklin's Tale' he wrote about how man could attempt to create order and structure within a garden by walling it and played boardgames with rules inside it, however this is a pretence as god made the garden 'perfect' to begin with.

Yes, the first one I mentioned earlier being the music and how much people liked it which I was happily surprised about as it was a last minute choice. I lied how someone said it makes them question identity as a them. I liked how this person also saw a lot of sadness/frustration in the protagonist. Someone saw the protagonist as nature itself which is interesting as I originally saw the protagonist as the enemy to nature.

How do you feel about the production value of your work?

I filmed my work on a digital canon camera therefore I feel like the quality of the shots look good, however I did not use a tripod and therefore some of the shots where shaky when I didn’t want them to be. On the other hand at times the very prominent shakes made the work seem more effective as it mirrors the angst and turmoil of the character and also the music. it also gives an impression of the camera man being scared by what their witnessing

My work can be improved technically by using a tripod and making sure the time of day is fitting to the mood I am attempting to convey. When filming this it was middle of the day and at times quite sunny. I think it would be more effective at dusk or dawn where the lighting is bit dimmer. However I would need to experiment with this because I am unsure if the green screen suit needs really strong lighting in order to work successfully? It might look too grainy when I attempt to overlay the footage ontop as the green on the suit will be less prominent. Another way I should improve my work technically I by paying attention to detail. For example feedback received in the silent crit informed me that as I kept my shoes on over the green screen suit it ruins the illusion that I am trying to create. Therefore next time I need to make sure that the shoes are under the suit or I don’t wear them at all. I also want to wear more skin tight clothing as in this video it was very cold and I was on a walk with my family so I was wearing a big shirt and large sweatpants with create a weird body shape when squished under the suit.

I think that narrative is the biggest thing I need to focus on. It ends very abruptly as doesn’t have a clear structure other than the repeated themes of the figure and the birds. I really made this video in order to test out how the green screen suit looks and I did not pay much attention in terms of planing a story board ect. However it has been useful whilst editing this footage to think about how I want it to arch climax and end. I would like the piece to focus much more around body moment to re-create maybe a drowning spider of something animalistic maybe thrashing in the water? However before i film this I need to make sure I have used the green screen suit out of the water as much as possible as taking it into the water will ruin it.

Something I have noticed that I need to be careful about is that I sometimes catch myself giving feedback on peoples work that is catered around my own tastes in art? For example I am often drawn towards quite surreal weird imagery and so when I see elements of this in sometimes work I am drawn to it and comment how successful I thought it was, however in terms of that artists style it may not be the most important thing in terms of their own aethetic. This is something I should keep in mind and be wary of when giving and receiving feedback. How much is personal and how much is objective. Keep an open mind!

CONTEXTUAL PRACTICE

Confirm copying