Tag: Time

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Project 4: Poetics of Time (Process & Final)

Final Video

My final video, entitled ‘My Day in 60 seconds‘, is a project which shows 60 segments of 1-second scenes of what I do on a particular day.

 

 

Project Proposal

Project Title: My day in 60 seconds

Project Description

The project is a 60-second video sequence which showcases different activities happening throughout the day, from when I wake up to when I go to sleep. There will be a sound track of a ticking clock, each activity will only be shown for one second (the duration between each tick of the clock). Each tick will occur on an on-beat, the off-beat will include a single beat of sound of the particular activity happening, e.g. flicking of a switch, slamming a door close, pressing a lift button etc.

I was inspired by time lapse videos and other ‘my day in 60 seconds’ videos found online.

This project is a new concept and not a continuation of a previous project.

I intend to express measured along with edited time to the audience. Also, how sound can enhance the rhythm of the video.

One innovative aspect I would say is that I will approach it in a slightly different manner as described, having each scene only last one second, and according to the beat of the clock ticking. Unlike other similar videos that have each scene last a few seconds along with a music track, I want the audience to focus more on the beat of the soundtrack and the rhythmic vibe it creates.

Objectives and Activities of Project

I will be creating an estimated 60-second video.

It is a videography project utilizing an iPhone camera.

Dimensions are standard 16:9 aspect ratio resolutions of 1920 X 1080 pixels.

Equipment for Project

The project would require the use of a camera to capture each individual 1-second shots, in this case an iPhone camera, as well as Adobe Premiere Pro to produce the final video.

Installation of Art Project

The final video will be displayed on a laptop.

Process

Here is an example of something similar I will be doing,

However, one difference is that I plan to have mine more quickly paced (at 1-second intervals), with the underlying sound of a ticking clock. The reason why I decided on having my scenes as 1-second shots is because I wanted to incorporate sound and rhythm into my final video, instead of having a slow-paced video, I wanted a more fast-paced rhythmic video to express both measured and edited time.

Below is the initial list of scenes I planned out before I started filming. Along the way, there were a few changes and I had to add/ remove scenes.

  1. alarm
  2. toilet door open
  3. brush teeth
  4. toothpaste spit
  5. toilet bowl up
  6. shit sound
  7. flush
  8. shower on
  9. hairdryer
  10. hairdryer down
  11. spray deo
  12. gate open
  13. throw shoes on floor
  14. wood door close
  15. key lock
  16. gate close
  17. lift button
  18. tap bus
  19. bus ding dong
  20. tap out
  21. traffic button
  22. green man
  23. gantry tap
  24. train gate door open
  25. train door close
  26. guy snoring
  27. door open
  28. gantry tap
  29. fd door open
  30. put stuff down
  31. set up easel
  32. tear newsprint
  33. put newsprint on easel
  34. charcoal drawing strokes (start)
  35. charcoal drawing (end finished)
  36. put back easel
  37. fd door open
  38. gantry tap
  39. train door open
  40. train door close
  41. gantry tap
  42. tap bus
  43. bus ding dong
  44. tap out
  45. traffic button
  46. green man
  47. lift button
  48. gate open
  49. key insert
  50. wood door open
  51. put shoes inside cupboard
  52. close cupboard
  53. toilet door open
  54. brush teeth
  55. toothpaste spit
  56. clothes throw in basket
  57. shower on
  58. on aircon
  59. lights OFF

After that, I simply filmed each scene, taking note of a few aspects such as what I was wearing and most importantly, the time of the day.

The scenes will be filmed from my POV and hence it does not allow for any shots taken from a tripod etc.

I had to download some sounds online which I could not record, example, the honking of the car when I was crossing the road, I didn’t really want to purposely have a car honk at me, I would have to piss the driver off if that was the case. Also, the pooping sound was taken online, it was surprisingly hard to get a good sound of poop splashing into the toiled bowl.

Consultation 1

For the first consultation, I had to show Wen Lei a short concept of my video, to show the transition of the scenes and how the sounds appear.

Consultation 2

One problem with an initial version was that there were some scenes with a slight pause at the start, which made it look awkward as I was waiting to execute the action, rather than film it ‘naturally’.

Slight pause at the start, awkward
Continuous action, more natural

Secondly, I had to insert a couple more scenes between ‘ending class’ and ‘going home’ as it seemed too similar to ‘leaving home’ and ‘entering classroom’.

Challenges faced

One challenge was coming up with 60 scenes which produced a single or double beat which will fit with the rhythmic beat of a ticking clock. Once the filming was completed, stitching them together was relatively easy.

Conclusion

This project has taught me how to work with both aspects of time and sound, even though this project was time-based. The rhythm is important as it sets a pace for the audience for them to follow, in other words, creating causality via sound, that being said, if this rhythm is broken, the audience may get disoriented and lost.

 

 

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Project 4 – Research

The End of Civilisation, by Douglas Gordon

The End of Civilisation by Douglas Gordon is a three-screen video installation with sound. It shows a piano burning at a remote landscape, a re-enactment of an ancient local tradition of igniting beacons as an admonition or communication.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ0CQb4vsTs

Another video of ‘The End of Civilisation’

One screen is devoted to a close recording of the burning piano, from when it is first set alight to when it has been reduced to ashes. Another presents a panning shot of the tranquil surrounding landscape. Occasionally, licks of flame or wisps of smoke invade the periphery of the screen, the only indication that the seemingly serene landscape is in close proximity to a raging fire.

I find this project interesting as there are three cameras at the same location, but they are recording different things at the same time, the artist  makes use of space and the visibility of the piano to make the audience wonder if the videos are showing the same location. The artist also makes use of layered sound to further differentiate between the three events, making the audience feel that they are at three different locations when they are actually not.

Déjà-vu, by Douglas Gordon

Déjà-vu uses footage from D.O.A. 1949-50, a Hollywood thriller directed by Rudolph Mateé. The film has been transferred to video and is projected simultaneously on three parallel screens at 25, 24 and 23 frames per second (left to right).

All three identical videos start simultaneously but diverge increasingly overtime, this play on time induces the experience of déjà-vu in the audience, also, as the three videos are placed side by side, the artist also uses space to have the audience able to see all three videos at once, but diverge as time passes, making them feel as if they are suddenly watching three different videos. As each video is playing its own sound, it also diverges overtime, making the viewer hear the same thing repeated two more time, furhter inducing the experience of déjà-vu.

Comparison between the two artworks

Both artworks uses measured, linear time.

The End of Civilisation further uses linear-edited time, when the camera cuts back and forth to close-ups of the burning piano. However, it is still in linear, or chronological time.

Déjà-vu can also be seen as to have used edited time as the framerate for the other two videos are sped up and slowed down by one frame, making them faster and slower than the normal video respectively.

Extra

An interesting use of edited time to make the two people look as if they are solving the cube with their feet and blindfolded, when in actual fact they are scrambling the cube and the video we are seeing is played backwards.

To fool us further, there is a third person walking in the background, when in actuality, he is walking backwards.

This is an example of measured time, but also conveys edited time as it is played in reverse.