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.

Ideas for next assignment

1.  I want to go from house to house in different neighborhood and go up to the doors of them and record the entrance way.  The idea of a home could also extend to any living environment that can be recognized as having inhabitants.  I want to do this at different times of the day, maybe at night and then again in the morning.  I can go up to many houses  throughout the period of the day, or I can visit a  set of houses in the day, and visit them again at night to see if the variation in lighting sets a different mood on them.  Through this I want to show how just a front porch or yard can portray the differences in dwellings and lifestyles.  This is not meant to show and distinguish the bad from the good, but to depict that someone's lifestyle cant be portrayed by how they maintain the front of their house.  

 2.  For this idea, I'm thinking of shooting in a deserted area or at least one that seems that way and has an eerie tranquility to it.  There will be a figure sitting in the field looking ahead.  He's not but does not want to be found.   I want to record his view of the field and the area he lives in.  The figure will traverse the terrain and continue to stare out with a look of content in his eyes.  The journey will begin with him in the field, then walking to alternate locations in the same area.  With this I want to play with the idea of man not needing anything or anyone but himself to be happy.  The biggest problem I'll probably run into with this is showing that the model is content and happy.

3.  As this assignment goes with creating your own music, my last idea involves using mostly video effects.  The video will be composed to go along with the sound after it is composed.  It won't be directly in sync the whole time but will be somewhat close.  For this one, the transitions and colors will be a way of seeing the sound of the music, sort of the way when looking at its wavelength as its playing.  I really want to play with the mood on this one with different effects and variations in the hue of the colors.  Also, depending on how the song comes out to be, I will choose one location, record it and have it loop in the background.  This is, again, to play with the mood and visualization of sound from the musical piece.

The Search Final Edit

Luna Nova Video: The Search

(EDIT: Will try and upload higher quality video later)
The class was right, it's impossible to make a serious movie involving a light saber. Thinking this, filming couldn't even begin because there was laughter about it. The Search illustrates man's falsified illusion of his power over nature. In the video, Chris is in search of insects to collect and take back to society, simply because he has the power to do so. He succeeds in catching them, but the insect escapes just as easily. This represents how easy it is for nature to break out of our grasp. Chris, believing so confidently in his ability to catch and keep the insect, also created an advantage and opportunity for the insect to escape.

The hardest part in filming this was actually trying to capture an insect. We thought it would be easy to catch them with our bare hands, we thought we were smarter. This worked maybe half the time. The lighting iris setting had to be adjusted too. The shot went from morning till afternoon. Also, location was important. We had to go deeper into the field to get rid of the vehicles in the background. This posed a problem when shooting because the further in we went in, the deeper the ground got. I sort of had to prop the tripod up on my feet. Because actually catching insects turned out to be difficult Chris started to bring his frustrations onto the camera. This turned out interesting, because my original idea was centered around a struggle. If I could do anything different it would be to wear some pants, and anticipate a sudden change in the terrain and actions being done there.

Political Debate Extra Credit

After finally downloading and having a chance to watch it, after about 30min. it became predictable about how the cameras would move or switch from one candidate to the next. When Gwen Ifil was speaking the camera would either have a close up of her face or be behind both candidates and recording her (this happened during a lot after the debate began). However, one thing I noticed, at times there were moments when the audience couldn't be seen. The lighting seemed off and too dark as I could not make out anything behind Ifil's head. When Palin would speak it would go to her then switch to the camera at an angle behind her so as to get Biden. When Biden spoke it did the same. When Ifil interjected it went behind the two candidates and focused on her as previously mentioned. There is also a camera stationed behind Ifil herself so as to get both candidates together too. There was only one shot from which the candidates were viewed from the audience which was at the beginning. I'm surprised they didn't repeat this at the end of the take.

Revised Edit

Here's the revised edit of "How to Disassemble a Gamecube" Instructional video.  

Sound Video Idea

I keep listening to Painted on the Firmament, I. Thunder Moon by Mark Volker over and over again. The piece has definately captured my attention. Whenever I listen to it though I can't help but picture a duel or some sort of struggle taking place. Right now I'm thinking of creating a piece that follows the life of a duelist. Since the music reminds me of that which would be used in star wars, maybe I'll base it on my friend and his lightsabers. It's still rough. I will either base it on a duel between himself and I, or his struggle to come to terms with his dueling and the emotional stress its put him in. I want to go with the latter and try to incorporate some flash black moments of maybe where him and I are dueling. I guess this would be done in post production to give it a correct look.
Outline:
A figure is seen in a dim room (still enough light to make out everything)
Camera zooms in on the figure and then cuts to his face (to see the desperation)
Maybe now the camera pans down to view the cause of it which is the lightsaber.
(This is where maybe a quick flash back pops up of him dueling against himself or practicing, or fighting against me)
Camera records as the figure struggles to pick up his weapon and fight again.
Ends with the figure deciding not to fight.

Link to the song.