Arik’s Got A Ramblin’ Mind

This is the first of two final projects. It originally started out as a short project to familiarize myself with editing equipment, but I really liked where it was going and put a lot more effort. The snow footage was shot entirely on a whim, since it was snowing and I had the camera and I thought it might come in handy. The footage of the girl, Allie, is actually for the main project, which is still in progress in the editing program.

Whoops, forgot to credit the music.  It’s My California Love by Ryan Adams, off of The Suicide Handbook, which has never been officially released.

Video Art and Artful Video are not the same. Not even close. But I have a different view as to what the difference between them actually is, compared to most of the art world. It seems like video art has become so absurdly broad that anything on video can be considered video art. Unless, of course, it has a linear logical plot, real acting, and plenty of editing, in which it loses its art status in a lot circles and becomes “commercial”. I disagree with this. Art is all about aesthetics, and a lot of the “video art” pieces as they are called lack that completely. A fine example of that would be Vito Acconci’s work. Or the work of Paul McCarthy, which is not even truly a form of video, but is much closer to performance art recorded on video. And that’s the nub of it. For something to be a medium of art, it must bring something to the art. Performance video is not video art because the video itself brings nothing to it, it is merely a replication, much like a print of a painting is not a painting itself, it is only a replication. There is nothing wrong with basic camera angles, a lack of editing, or one continuous shot in video art, but it must be that way intentionally, to bring something to the art.

I started writing this blog a while back, but never finished it.  So with the blogs being due today, I figured this would be a good time to get on that.

In The Love for Oranges, I did 100% of the filming, with the exception of the cheese stop animation in the beginning.  I wanted to talk about why I picked different shots, distances, angles, etc.  Also on the table is where the influences are from.

The first shot of the film, besides the intro, is Chad’s homeless man character sleeping in the van.  It was difficult setting this up, since the sun was causing annoying reflections, however once I found a good angle, it’s a beautiful morning looking shot.  I wasn’t consciously thinking of anyone to emulate there, however in retrospect it seems Ellen Kuras’s work in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (as Director of Photography) played a large part in the natural camera motion, and almost voyeuristic feel.

Other shots were intentionally chosen to try and emulate styles, at least, though they didn’t always work out on the editing board.  The part where Chad walks past Merida in the real world was meant to almost emulate a spaghetti western, but largely failed.  I guess in retrospect, that would’ve been almost impossible to edit like that, but it can be hard to picture things when you’re on the street with a camera.

My favorite shot though, is with out a doubt, the long walk in front of the hydro plant.  Maybe others weren’t as fond of it, but there was something beautiful about this lush place with a horrid building in a background, and a small man walking in front.  So much of modern cinematography is up in people’s faces, as if the director, or DP expects the audience to forget who’s who.  I wanted a slower more beautiful scene, showing the aloneness of Chad’s character.  If I had had my way, it would’ve probably been twice as long, which is why it’s a good thing this was a group project, since that would’ve certainly turned out too long and sluggish.

I tried to incorporate color as much as possible, whether the use of a coke machine by Merida’s character, or seeing as much of the thick greens in the last scenes of the movie.   The only part where I wasn’t happy with what I did was the walking the forest parts, which Sean edited fantastically.

So I watched some of his videos for class tonight, and I found him strangely…touching?  I guess that’s what I can come up with.  I liked his use of the TVs themselves in addition to the recordings.

For instance, you can’t really watch Video Flag on a normal set, you have to have the whole thing of rows of TVs with each showing the proper image.  In a way, he’s really gone beyond simple video art, and combined it with sculpture.  He does the same thing with Charlotte Moorman in TV Bra for Living Sculpture.  This is an approach I have a lot of respect for, as it makes no pretense at telling a narrative, it is simply aesthetic.

Strangely, his work reminds me of photos I’ve seen of U2’s Zooropa tour.  Their backdrop was almost completely walls of video art, and it seems like he was an influence on the tour’s art director.

So I went home this past weekend for my birthday (it’s actually today) and while I was there I went to the theater and watched the new James Mangold film, 3:10 to Yuma.  The film is, to say the least, amazing.  It stars Christian Bale and Russel Crowe as a rancher and a bandit respectively.  Bale’s character is paid to help transport Crowe’s character to Contention, a town where they can put him on a train to a prison at Yuma.  Needless to say, the train arrives at 3:10, giving the film its name.

The film features an incredible script, having a great source too, a classic Western of the same name.  Bale is a fantastic actor.  The entire film he keeps up this image of being a tough war vet whose foot was shot off, until at one crucial moment it all comes down.  Crowe does a great job playing off of Bale, as their characters are foils for each other.  Bale’s character represents absolute law, whereas Crowe’s is absolute chaos and ruthlesness.  However, being foils gives the two men some empathy for each other, especially in the end.

The cinematography is gorgeous, though it’s not at the point of near-distraction, like you’d find in a Leone film.  The shots show you what you need to see, and add to the feel, but they don’t take away from the characters.  The score is very flowing and builds up the plot wonderfully, though takes a few cues from Morricone’s Western work (not that this is really avoidable).

In the end though, this is a spectacular film.  It really brings back the Western genre as it was meant to be, rather than retreading The Wild Bunch or The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.  And it avoids the cheese that plagues films like Wild Wild West.  Also, I’m calling an Oscar nomination for Christian Bale.

For my video class, here are some tips to help have good, understandable, and fun discussions on the internet.

1. Use proper grammar. “lol” is not acceptable in a semi-serious discussion and it detracts from what you’re saying. I don’t think I’ve seen this yet, but just in case.

2. Avoid the wall of text. It’s impossible to decipher. Reading things on the computer without straining your eyes is difficult as is, but when you have huge things of pure text, it’s just frustrating for everyone else and you will likely have whatever your amazing knowledge you attempted to gift us with ignored.

This is a literal wall of text. Not necessarily a bad thing. The not-so-literal one is bad.

So break it down. Put it in a list form, or just make smaller paragraphs.

3. Don’t be vauge. On the internet there are only the written words, no extra cues to what your’re saying or meaning. So be as specific as possible. And if you use sarcasm, try and indicate it in some way. 93% of communication in conversations in non-verbal. When online, you lose that 93% and you have to make up for it with specificity.

4. Be nice. Again, this is not from anything I’ve seen yet. It’s just that the internet seems to encourage meaness.

5. Use images and visuals. They add a lot to conversations. They get the point across a lot more clearly, and can even be used for my next point…

6. It’s okay to be humorous. This doesn’t mean go into Carole’s blog and make everything a joke, but you can make things a little lighter. It makes it more enjoyable to read.

7. Don’t over use punctuation. Long lines of !!!!!!!!!!! don’t make you seem more excited or angry or whatever you’re aiming for. It makes you seem kinda funny. In the same way the strange kid in your class who uses the bathroom at 10:14 everyday for exactly 3 minutes and 18 seconds is kinda funny.

The first video below is a Coke ad featuring a song written by Jack White specifically for Coke.  While the song, “Love Is The Truth”, features Jack White’s usual incredible level of talent, the video is pretty amazing too.  It’s not something I’ve really ever seen before, and the only thing I can compare it to is maybe The White Stripes video of The Hardest Button To Button (below the Coke ad).  Enjoy!

Bluegrass is one of those great music genres that almost nobody listens to. Not to say that nobody does, but upon asking the majority of people who, say, The Carolina Chocolate Drops are, they couldn’t tell you. They might know who Nickel Creek is. If you’re lucky they’d say something about Ricky Skaggs or Alison Krauss and Union Station, but probably not.

What people don’t realize is that bluegrass is actually a very developed music genre. It was created largely by professional musicians, not hillbillies. The talent that goes into the instruments is incredible. Bluegrass was never a folk music style, though at this point in time it might as well be considered one out of the sheer longevity of the songs. Bluegrass is, surprisingly still going strong in some circles. Bands like the aforementioned Union Station sell out smaller concert venues and other groups like the Carolina Chocolate Drops have been getting incredible reviews. So understand that bluegrass is not country, not folk, and give it a chance. Here’s the Carolina Chocolate Drops.