Gesture pieces by students: Ville Lampi (gesture) Ellie Jabbour (gesture) Edek Sher (gesture) Darya Tsymbalyuk Ben Ros, Gesture Morgan MacDonnell Olivia Cucinotta Margaret Stohlman Lucy Adams 1 original sound Lucy Adams 2 altered sound Chloe Shane Caleigh Law Phuong (Phoebe) Tang Katie Lensmeyer Kayla Cameron Messinides Miles Shebar Erica Littlejohn George Halliday Sydney Dani Gorton Barbara K Shannon Hart Mary Sawyer Margot Wagner Anjelica Luisa Estrada Phoebe Pohl Clara Hart Anya Isabel Max Smith Elena Ruiz Jacqueleen Morgan MacDonell Eric Sutton III Some professional examples below right Kate Gilmore (gesture and cliches) Check out Arts 21 and PBS digital Studios for short videos that relate to this work Here is one on performance art Here is one on video art View several examples of professional work below right: María Gaspar (disappearance suits) Cheryl Donegan Head from NIDEA on Vimeo. |
Gesture: verbs as action
responding to sound, objects, otherness: Arts 107: Digital Imaging in the Visual Arts Prof. Claudia Esslinger For this project you will respond to your soundscape but not illustrate it. You will create gestures following verbst that describe actions that compliment or complicate the sound, along with clips from contextual locations or objects that add to the the meaning of the piece. You will also choose or make the clothing or props the gesture-maker uses. Gestures are often associated with human hands emphasizing a verbal point, but they can be created without words, without hands. They can be created with knees and elbows, feathers and fabric. The meaning will continue to evolve as these elements are combined. You will then edit to your sound timeline that already has a time structure, learning more about Premiere Pro in the process. The juxtaposition of image and sound will create more complex meaning than either can alone: for instance, electrical sounds with images interacting with water, or sandpaper sound with human touch. Conceptual Process: Watch the videos of the artists and students on this page. Then, working with a partner, listen to each other’s sounds. Play with the verb lists and make more verb lists for yourself. Make suggestions and make a list of possible shots (considering the production notes below) but also be responsive to opportunities when you work that might change your ideas. Think about how your sound and image could be metaphors that stand for something else, depending on the point of view of the audience. Technical and Formal Skills: At the same time we are creating actions, we will also be creative and skilled in our style of shooting, emphasizing the aesthetic qualities of the image. Use purposeful camera movements that either follow a motion or let the motion pass through the frame. Consider shooting from an unusual point of view. Use close-up shots whenever you can. This will help you move away from the context of Kenyon and will help make your shots work with each other in a sequence and will help you view the world in a different way. Use manual controls as much as possible. In all your images, think about movement and the composition of the 16x9 video screen. Does the image move left to right, zoom in or out, tilt up or down or remain centered and pulsing? Remember that this is not a still camera and explore what movement can do. Try clips of varying length. Make the movement slower than real life so the viewer can focus. You can change speed later. Make sure you have more light than you think you will need. (a dimly lit room will just look grainy in video, but adding a little light can still give you the feel of candlelight). Use the camera on a tripod. Use the camera without a tripod ONLY if you really need the viewer to be aware of the camera operator as part of the movement, and even so, make sure image stabilization is on and you move slower. Artists: Marina Abramovic, Janine Antoni, Nick Cage, Joan Jonas, Oliver Herring, Ai Weiwei Rebecca Horn, Tony Orrico, ZhangHuan, Bruce Nauman, Cheryl Donegan, Cheryl Pope, WilliamPope.L. Allison Crocetta, Production Considerations for Creative Film and Video Composition: The arrangement of the elements is called "mise-en-scene." How do the elements of : line, shape, value, texture, color, space, movement, time, support your idea? How do compositional principles support your idea?
Type of Shots: Establishing shot: wide shot that lets viewer know context at onset. Medium shots: show action, dialog Close up: shows emotion, details Extreme Close up: Macro can be used to abstract the subject Still shot: keep camera still allows action to take place with subject Moving: pans, quick cuts, tracking create mood (action or disturbed, violent) Swish pan: pan quickly (blurred) landing on subject. Creates movement, rhythm, tension. Shoot to edit: Let movement go off and on and off screen Continuation (consider action leaving one frame and going into another) Framing: Don’t change framing on shots you want to edit together continuously. Frame within a Frame: Using interior compositional elements to set apart part of the image to impact the meaning, creating a focal point, a sense of theater, a sense of isolation, etc... Using Camera Angle: Use camera angle along with other video elements to emphasize your point. (Looking down on a figure makes it look helpless, looking up looks powerful) Physical qualities of digital film Composition: 16x9 horizontal output (mostly) unless your delivery device is sideways! Especially remember this when shooting with a cell phone Range of Contrast: Video greater than film. Projectors blow out whites. Consider what delivery device is when adjusting color and contrast. Lighting: Make sure you have more light than you think you will need. (a dimly lit room will just look grainy in video, but adding a little light can still give you the feel of candlelight Consider these creative methods while shooting: Use a dolly (wheel chair option)/ glide track Camera Angle: dog-walker or get up on a ladder. changing the axis of the camera, masking off part of the image, using color filters, unusual filters, plastic bags, marbles, shooting through a semitransparent object, a mask or matte, bounce off a mirror, Use a combination of in-focus and out of focus Shoot extremely closely (macro) Use purposeful camera movements that either follow a motion or let the motion pass through the frame Use non-traditional or spot lighting (a flashlight, car headlights, etc) Use a projected background or project onto an object while taping, Use a color you will later key out either in background or elsewhere. timelapse Still Version of my class presentation on Gesture:
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