Band of Horses: projection ideas

After spending a day working on my 3min narrative it was quite a relief to get out of the studio and go and watch some live music. The musical lovelies we went to go see were Band of Horses and not only were they BRILLIANT but they had installed a large projector at the back of the auditorium which projected images and films, based on North American landscape and wildlife (stags, hawks, lakes, forests etc). These projections fell onto a large screen behind the band, so their shadows created silhouettes. Also the projections created imagery on the bands tshirts and skin. The imagery also mirrored the beat of the music and created a great tone and atmosphere for the evening. Another interesting piece was a photography collection that showed the bands 'tour' photos that quickly flickered from one to the other, creating a montage and dynamic effect.

Imagery Ideas

This is a screen shot of my Green Screening, showing both Adam and Sarah. Today I hope to finish my 3 minute narrative (I'm thinking Horror, however I will ask my composers to create a Horror & Romantic Soundtrack) I may also experiment with known songs & soundtracks.

Another idea, My Black Male friend dressing as Shirley Bassey (see below) green screened on a stage.

Initial Gaze Ideas

My work has always focused on feminist theory, I am a feminist and I believe in the constructs of a male patriarch especially within film. I was introduced the Mulvey years ago and her writings on the male gaze, it is only recently I realise that there are some gaps in in her theory. Although I believe her statements are accurate and not only make sense but seem to provide some clarity when watching a film and comfort to me as a woman I also believe she has avoided a rather important aspect when looking at the gaze. A male on male gaze, I think it's easy to create the assumptions that we live in a male dominated society and the image of a woman is not only constructed to provide, what is believed, a 'perfect' specimen but at the same time as a female film artist I too are creating works under what I believe is a 'perfect' example of my ideas. I do not wish to control women upon my screen, but at the same time I do control them and act as a dominant controller, I am not male I understand the constraints of a male patriarch. However I create as an artist an example of film and enjoy doing so. My work addresses issues of the male gaze, however I do not wish to disregard this gaze (as we all gaze) I wish to obtain and some how using my work transport the viewer. The work of Pipilotti Rist comes to mind and my dissertation for my BA Hons degree posed the question, Is Pipilotti Rist a Feminist Artist? Initially Rist's work followed a highly critiqued look and confronted look at the male gaze, where she literally obstructed the male gaze. However recent works do not follow the same feministic statement, perhaps Rist believes her work to be more than statement, the affect of Rist's work is the heart of her creation and I too do not want my work to solely revolve around a statement against the male gaze. It's been done, I hope to create a work that allows a gaze to occur and the control of the subjects gazed upon to be my control.

I'm living in my own patriarch.

Gaze (notes)

'Cinematic codes create a gaze, a world and an object, thereby producing an illusion cut to the measure of desire. It is these cinematic codes and their relationship to formative external structures that must be broken down before mainstream film and the pleasure it provides can be challenged.’

Laura Mulvey, Visual and Other Pleasures

'As the subject of the gaze, I can also see the gaze of the other; the gaze of the other can also be the object - as long as the other’s gaze is not directed upon me: once this occurs, it is no longer the gaze of the other which is the object, it is myself, the subject of the gaze, who becomes the object of the other’s gaze'

Zizek Slavoj, Everything You Wanted To Know About Hitchcock (But were afraid to ask Lacan)

The gaze is built upon culturally defined notions of sexual difference. There are three looks:

(i) within the film text, men gaze at women, who become objects of the gaze;

(ii) the spectator, in turn, is made to identify with this male gaze, and to the objectify the women on the screen: and

(iii) the camera’s original “gaze” come into play in the very act of filming.

Ann Kaplan

Recent thinkings...

The past few days I've been creating a three minute narrative using my footage with the green screen. My aim for the next few weeks is to send the footage to a few composers and ask them to compose some music to fit the 3 minutes of footage. In my head I imagine my viewer sat watching the 'dollshouse' (I have been thinking about expanding the ideas for installation, as a dollshouse seems rather predicable, but has a good use for experimentation) watching Adam and Sarah interacting with each, without speech, the music should build as the film's tension build, think JAWS! I purposely asked my actors to avoid expression when directing them into different movements, as I wanted the camera, direction and music to express my intentions, I again refer to myself as 'The Master'.

Here is the list of actions I used (my notes for directing)

3 Minute Horror

Woman in Kitchen

Man Enters Kitchen

Turn to face Man who walks up to Woman slowly

Woman walks Away from Man

Man grabs Woman’s arm

She rejects his grasp and walks away

Man in Sitting Room alone sat in chair

Woman in Bedroom alone

Woman stood: Man appears behind Woman

Woman backs away slowly from ‘door’

Man stands up from chair ‘slow manner’

Woman Screams in Bathroom ‘looks terrified’

Man and Woman struggle in Bedroom

Man in Kitchen stood still

3 Minute Romance

Woman in Kitchen ‘looking out’

Man in Sitting Room ‘looking out’

Woman in Bathroom ‘sorting out appearance: checking hair, smoothing clothes’

Man and Woman meet in Bedroom

Slowly approach each other

Man grabs Woman’s hand slowly, Woman looks up at Man

Man and Woman stare at each other ‘prolonged stare’

Man and Woman hug in Kitchen

Man in Bathroom ‘sorting out appearance: checking hair, smoothing clothes’

Woman in Sitting Room sat on chair

Man and Woman walk slowly up to each other in Kitchen

3 Minute Comedy

Woman in Bedroom moving back and forward ‘hastily’

Man in Bathroom ‘hands on head’

Man and Woman in Kitchen smile at each other

Man taps Woman on shoulder who spins round in Kitchen

Man Laughs

Woman Laughs

Pacing back and forth (Both Man & Woman)

As you can see I chose very basic, simplified directions as I wanted to layer the footage myself with editing to create a more dynamic look, using Green Screen I am able to place Adam & Sarah in the same space, like moving dolls in their house I too am able to control my figures, my dolls.

I can see this idea of being the Master getting to my head a little, power is a strange tool!

Green Screening

As I have never used Green Screen before I was rather excited to start the process, I set up the velcro screen in a seminar room which had no natural light, enabling me to control the light and had a large another scope for the camera to film the whole body of my actors, Sarah & Adam. Using a traditional male/female dynamic I did not prep my actors as I wanted their actions of be spontaneous and unrehearsed. Directing the actors to move naturally in the space individually, adjusting their clothes as if in a bedroom, crossing their arms, moving back and forth. Interacting together Sarah & Adam embraced each other and detached from one another, I asked them to stand behind each other and look at the camera, their actions wavered from aggressive to humorous but at all time they acted rather disjointed. I wanted my actors to create basic movements enabling me to layer and editing their actions to create a narrative that will build in tension.

The joys of Green Screen allow you to alter your background, experiments into background ideas (colour, scale, simple, high colour, light, historical, none) I can have my actors on a blank white space or on top of a mountain range. This control works well within my works context, as I act as the role of the Master, I choose where the actors are placed, whether they interact with one another and also create my own narrative.

As part of my assessment I showed a short narrative projected into a Dollshouse( as shown), I wanted to test how the projection worked in the space. There were some issues with background as the space does not fit the Dollshouse room for scale (an issue I will address as I experiment further with my footage). Overall the experience of Green Screen has been a very positive one and I look forward to create a world of my own and act as a creator of my very own Dollshouse.

First Ideas

The beginning of a new idea is always a tricky one when it come to projection, the development of my ideas of the Peeping Tom led me to want to take this idea of viewing into someone's domestic setting and manipulate it. Previous work of mine looked at the deconstruction of Hollywood cinema, ridiculing the set up of camera to develop tension in both horror and romantic movies. As shown I replicated shot for shot a celebrated example of Hollywood history asking my actors to recite the lines without expression. There deadpan faces and simple movement highlight the narrative of the scene and as a collective of works you were able to recognise certain tendencies with movies, for example a romantic scene involves a large amount of 'over the shoulder' shots, close ups of the face and close placement of actors. This deconstruction of cinema and the filmic techniques used has allowed me to focus my ideas on creating a cinematic space and deconstructing this ideas of camera shot. The idea of a Master's Dollshouse, allows me the Master to control my dolls (or actors) in there domestic environment. By shooting my subjects full body length I hope to remove all idea of Hollywood Cinema and look at the building of tension within a scene and the concept of a Peeping Tom. Asking the audience to peep into a domestic setting watching, like a movie, a development of tension and genre.

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Description of Reflective Journal

As part of our Advanced Practice Module we are able to create a reflective journal, I will use this blog to document my ideas, drawings, film work, rants and so on with the hope of creating a book at the end of the project. Last term I focused my practice on the deconstruction of Hitchcock's Rear Window. As I editing the footage of the film I was able to create two separate narrative, which the viewer was able to view as separate films. Contextually the work looks at the issue of the male gaze and the idea of a Peeping Tom, using constructed boxes mimicking the apartments in the film I was able to project the footage into the boxes in an installation. This installation is to be considered a test piece, however the work has led me into what I feel is a development of the ideas gained in my creation Jeff & Thorwald (shown above). Research into Hitchcock I was introduced to the concept of Hitchcock as the Master of the Dolls house which with regard to issues of the male gaze and Peeping Tom can be interpreted through work.

I hope this reflective journal will help me understand the flow of thoughts, my main problem is I work virtually, my thoughts and ideas live on a computer and most of the time is spent thinking of the work not documenting it. Hopefully if this commitment and the desire of creating a book of my work will allow me a steady work pattern and reflect (as this is a reflective journal) my thoughts and desires for my art work.