Chapter 3 - Narrative and Non Narrative

Doll Face has a concept of media and perfection behind it, and the video shows that easily and people understand this by the way the video has an narrative. The film starts out with the mechanical girl appearing from the box and staring into a television, wanting to look like who is on the screen. This gives the video its beginning and middle, with a complete narrative understanding. Coming to the end the mechanical girl goes to the extremes and causes herself to destruct. This video has a structured narrative, with a beginning, middle and an end.
This helps the audience understand what this video is apart, and becomes clear of its concept.

Whereas a video such as Koyaanisqatsi it doesn't have a structured narrative. You understand the concept about destruction, however the video shows way of a beginning a middle or an end. Just as Muto doesn't have a storyline, it's just alot of stop frame animation with a highly crafted idea behind it.

Though with some films; short or long, you don't always need a narrative to understand what is happening. It can be quite obvious or our minds are just able to pick up pieces and place them together, without the film telling us outright. Experimental videos test the ideas of narrative and non narrative videos as it gets the audience to make their own interpretations of what is going on.

Chapter 6 - Audience Interpretation

Why do we all have different opinions towards these pieces of art? Is it important to have the same opinions? Does it matter if we feel different about the art work?

Each individual has a different view on a piece of art. To me a piece could represent life or past memories as a personal opinion. Whereas to another teenage girl, the art could remind her of a different memory compared to mine, or not even feel a connection.

I think each person has a different feel when it comes to art, some people have no interest so if they were to enter an art gallery they are more likely to take less notice, than to someone who has a love of art.

Certain videos can cause different reactions aswell such as Muto or Gisele Kerozene. Many people looked at Muto and thought it was confusing and had no concept at all, however if you look carefully it's all about rebirth and life cycles, so different understandings can have different views.

Review - Eulogy For Things Left Unsaid

Eulogy for things left unsaid is the most recent video I have seen, from 2008 and was directed by Rob Chiu.

This video is made up of video sequences and photographs. It's concept is the idea of loss and sadness, and how these make us who we are today. It's how things are sometimes never said, but should have been mentioned to someone, or some people.

It also shows us how emotions and memories guide us to where we belong, and how as a child these are what will help us grow and become the adults we are destined to be. It seems this short film is about the journeys we all take as individuals, the things we are left with at the end and how we sometimes regret not taking certain chances.

Review - Gisele Kerozene

Gisele Kerozene is an experimental video created by Jan Kounen in 1989.

This video is about a group of witches who are seen to be worshipping an object that seems important to them. Another witch on a broomstick, steals the object so they fly after him to retrieve what is theirs. During that time one of them is badly injured as well as members of the public. In the end, the witch who stole the object gives it back to the other 3 witches.
The video doesn't have much of a concept other than don't steal, you may get hurt.

Though this video is heavily crafted, due to the time and work that was put into this piece. Jan Kounen's experimental vision of stop frame animation has made this piece very fun and enjoyable.

The way the witches were able to fly was to jump mid-air and take a photograph and connect them through speeding up the time, to create the stop frame animation video.

Chapter 1 - Past and Current Artists and Their Work.

John Smith and Andy Huang both send out the same message through a piece of their own art; "Girl Chewing Gum" (1976) and "Doll Face" (1998). The message is about the Media's influence and how it can control a person, or a whole group of people. Doll face's main media focus is how we let the media control our looks and how we show ourselves to the world, whereas Girl Chewing Gum is how we are tricked into believing the nonsense of what the media tell us, from magazines to television. Each have an effective meaning about how to explain how the media is warping the future with what they are telling us. Though both of these have the same concept during the production, the crafts are very different. Girl Chewing Gum is quite simplistic, being that John Smith filmed a London Street, with a voice over. Whereas Doll Face was highly crafted and technical with the way the video was created, and what was shown in the video.

Godfrey Reggio and Rob Chiu have two very different videos, however they both send out very personal messages to individuals and/or groups. Reggio's video is "Koyannisqatsi" (1982) which is about the chaos and control of the world. Whereas Chiu's "Eulogy for things left unsaid" is about the emotions posed by the individuals. Each of these have powerful meanings of life.

Review - Girl Chewing Gum

Girl chewing gum is a short video of about 12 minutes, which is directed by John Smith, this piece was created in 1976, on a busy London street. This video is about the influence of media in society during the 70's, which is still the same in modern society.

In this short piece a voice-over is directing what is going to happen, within seconds of the voice making the statement a person or car would pass by exactly how we had just been told it would.
The concept in this experimental video, is very demanding, which gives a sense of direction and order of control.
During the beginning of this piece, we automatically think the voice is someone directiong the scene, almost like a narrator for this film, as they have the obvious knowledge of what is happening, or going to happen next in the scene.

However it becomes evident that the scene is not being directed by this voice, but vice versa. The Street was almost directing the voice.
This London Street had been previously filmed from afar and once the footage had been stored, the "directing" voice was added on top of the video.

By doing this John Smith is able to manipulate the audience into thinking the voice is giving order, or that these events were being predicted. Does this mean everything on television is trying to manipulate us, or is it just how we; the audience, interpret what is being told through the media.

Though in a way, it's not all of John Smith's work which has made us believe what was shown. The audience could have taken another understanding which would have been the truth.
With that being said, is it easier to believe what the media tell us, rather than question society?

My view on this video is what we understand about media and how it's not how or what they tell us, but what we make of what they tell us.

Chapter 4 - Table and Four Chairs

Table and Four Chairs - By Robert Therrien

As you enter the Tate Modern Art Gallery and go up the first flight of stairs; the first room you enter is quite large, but as you walk in, you're overcome with a "wow" feeling. As you walk in, you are able to feel the room has an airy feeling, though the room makes you feel automatically cold and chilly.

The art piece towers above your head, though the art piece may be quite large, it does not make the room seem small. You would think that such a large table, surrounded by 4 large chairs would fill a room, however it doesn't make the room seem any smaller than if it were an average table, in an average sized dining room. The only thing that seems small in the room is the people; you feel as if you're the odd object. The art makes you as a viewer feel small and inferior.

The room itself is bright, from the white walls and bright lighting. This is another thing that makes you focus your sights on how the large art does not stand out, with the brightness off the walls, and the darkness of the arts material; it makes you think the art is meant to be there.

However if this piece of art were to be placed in the middle of a field, I don't think you would have the same response, as you would, with it being in an art gallery.
In the gallery it's a work of art, something that matters to people. If it were placed in a field, it would be more of a climbing apparatus, for children to play upon, than something to respect and appreciate.

Chapter 5 - Experimental Video

My Experimental Video

The first ideas for my experimental video were based on emotions and effects they have on everyone. The main idea came from teenagers; their friends, families, school, peer pressure and relationships.

I was going to base my video on a Dear Diary entry and have a young girl sitting by a tree writing a diary; however I would have a voice over, with the girl speaking out the words, rather than them being read out loud.
However I found that this didn’t have much of a concept behind it and started thinking over new ideas.

The next idea I thought about was kind of weird as it didn’t make sense which made me think about dreams and nightmares. How they rarely make sense and even when they do something out of the ordinary tends to happen.

That’s when I came up with the idea of how nightmares and dreams are supposedly made to reflect on what’s happening in your mind. Though your mind ends up playing tricks on you, as you can’t control your mind when you’re sleeping, so my idea was to show how nightmares and dreams can seem so real.

The video was to start of with a teenage girl sat on her bed reading a book when she hears a noise, sort of like a bang but not quite loud. She turns away from the book, but just thinks it’s her imagination. But when she keeps hearing the noises she sets the book aside and walks downstairs, but slowly, as to not disturb what’s making the noise. As she steps onto the bottom step she can’t see anyone around, but hears the noise out the front of her door. That’s when she opens the door; this is when a bright white light takes focus on the screen for a moment.

As the light disappears the girl is in a fielded area with trees all around. For that moment she seems dazed and wonders what has happened, but at that moment she notices a guy near her, by another tree. As she begins to hide from him, she starts appearing from different trees. As she goes behind one, she appears from another. As does the guy, who begins following her, this is when I will have the theme track playing. When they both end up behind the exact same tree they lean around the front, so they have their faces parallel to one another and scream!
At that moment the bright white light appears and the girl wakes up in her bed quite shocked, shaking this feeling off thinking it was a dream, she picks up her book, only to notice a leaf on top. The last image shown will be zoomed on the leaf sat on the book.