Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Perceived Persona Proposal

I plan on making a digital video that will show houses which will then portray or give a visual idea to the viewer on what the individual(s) lifestyle or customs are like. The way at which the individuals are perceived is entirely left up to the audience. The video will be two to four mintues in length and will be entitled, "Perceived Persona." This video will explore how are surroundings can visualize or give a mental representation of who we are.

In this piece, the setting of the houses, or their visual appearance from the front will produce some sort of an identity to the audience. The audience, by viewing these houses and the difference in their upkeep, or the items on the property, will form a visual perception of its inhabitants. This will form a connection and can remind the viewer how his or her own house portrays who they are to a passerby. It will also show how people connect an environment and a lifestyle together.

The street or neighborhood (consisting of two to three streets) will be chosen by random according to zip code (all within a 40mile radius maximum). An area in Memphis will be chosen then the zip code of that area, if that area is chosen, will have a street or neighborhood chosen to be visited. I will record still shots of the house from the front. This will get a view of the yard and the items in it, and the porch and any adornments that may exist on the house. The focus will be on how the house is maintained on the outside. Depending on its state, the audience will form a different opinion on each person living in the houses.

Most of the emotions and what the audience feels will come from how each owner of the house maintains its visual appearance. Someone with a house that had toddler toys and a pulled up lawn would cause the audience to perceive an entirely different image or identity than a house that had lawn gnomes and a cleanly cut yard with a pile of manure on the side. In a way, the houses will become a physical or visual representation of the people(s) living in it. This representation will be perceived differently by each viewer.

This video will be shot in the manner at which still shots in the lengths of maybe 5-10seconds will be recorded. The camera will be setup so that as I drive, I can stop record the frontal view of the house, and move on to the next one. The sound featured will only include that of the near environment and surrounding area. The lighting will be natural, and shooting will take place in the areas to be chosen from noon to 5:00p.m.

This video is target at any person that has the ability to form an opinion of another. It is more so target at the viewer that has a home and focuses on ways to display their house in a manner that reflects back up on them. The video will be hosted on the internet and original digital copies will be provided upon request.

7 comments:

Alex said...

Now that I think about it, this video seems really judgemental. It's like judging a book by it's cover. I live in an apartment that is really awesome on the inside but the landlord doesn't really keep the outside looking that good. I think this video almost speaks about stereotyping. Sounds interesting.

Wesley Catlett said...

I think the sounds in the environments will be very important, such as birds chirping, police sirens, trains, etc. Are you going to try and arrange the camera in the exact angle at every house or will you use the angle of the camera to emphasize what you are judging about the people?

Dwayne Butcher said...

It good to see the inclusion of the apartments into the idea. I still have one problem. Will our predictions of who the inhabitants are ever be known? Will we ever see the inhabitants of the dwellings?

Jeremiah J. Patlan said...

I like the possibility and intention of interaction here with this idea. The final execution will be something to see, and also how you intend on getting the point across as to how we are supposed to form opinions. Will this happen automatically? Or will this concept be explained or hinted at?

ry said...

The problem with the title and your content, only rich people really will build a house that reflects their 'persona'. A bit close to holloweenish, if you want to make seasonal videos than make a seasonal video.

atheistpally said...

the random choosing of which area to film is important. otherwise you would be forming opinions about the place before your audience even got a chance to. this should work out nicely i think.

*~Erin M~* said...

I like the idea of the viewer being the one to make up there mind about who lives in this house. There are many, many , many different house in the city of memphis. I think on will be able to distinguish personalities of all the presumed houses not just the rich. Again, please be careful where you go in memphis, I would be careful about which zip codes area you go to. There are some I would avoid.