Thursday 23 December 2010
Uncanny Media - Cyber-real and Intelligent machines
Blade Runner is a perfect example of the "Uncanny Valley" concept.
Most horror in some way shape or form uses the concept whatever the platform.
Stop motion....etc
BBC series LIFE
Terence Mckenna - Psychedelics in the age of intelligent machines
Sums up and expresses interesting views on humanities connection being integrated with progressive technology and machines.
Its a few years old and unfortunately slightly out of context but the attitudes expressed i believe are genuine.
(Cultural Icon)
Thursday 16 December 2010
VFX sequence evaluation
My initial thoughts after being given the brief were about being given an opportunity to experiment further with After Effects techniques and create a VFX sequence. This is much more in line with my designs for career and job moves after the course is finished.
Initially I decided to think about what was meant by the term ‘music video,’ videos that I had seen that I like/influence my view on aesthetics (the two being very different things.)
The sort of a/v that have influence the way I work are by people such as Phaphinderai, Chris Cunningham, Quayola, 1024 Architectre, anti vj.
They are all progressive in their field and radically different.
Quaola has been a huge influence this year/ In particular the new shorts he has done with Minus records that are on his website. quaola.com
But the main influence for this particular project has been the Cunningham video for ‘WindowLicker.’ The brilliant sheen and mastering illustrated in the video is immense and the colours so full and exuberant.
First of all we had to select a track from freemusicarchive.org
This in itself was a challenge as there is page after page of dross.
This in mind I decided to choose something that was entirely different, a sound that I had never heard before.
This ended up being Alexandre De Gabrial’s ‘La Route.’ An avant-guard, experimental spoken word track that seemed to put me in a strange mental place when I listened to it.
So to kick start the project, I put the song on repeat for a few hours and wrote words and imagery that I associated with the audio that I was hearing. I also knew I wanted to use time-lapse technique.
-Discordant, noise, poetry, beat, minimal, stylization, colour, original, innocence and creativity, naivety, abrasive yet flowing and rythemitical, sleaze, culture, character, open expanses, travel-
These words influenced the video in the sense that my aim was to make a VFX sequence that went someway to representing the audio faithfully. This, I feel was achieved to a degree.
The reasoning behind the colour scheme and the ‘sky’ theme was really an evolution on from previous projects. The colourful ‘vice’ sunset sky, that can be seen over Miami on a regular basis. I have become infatuated with these colours and what they represent. The blue meaning peace and tranquility, the reds and purples bringing some fire, truth and passion, and the pinks just add a little flamboyance, flare and arrogance to the pallet. In doing this I made up some swatches. These were linked together as a storyboard that gave some direction and external narrative that had been missing up until this point.
Filming was a complete failure due to weather. I planned on doing a timelapse of the sky from my back garden. Due to the time of year, the sky was either all grey, or crystal blue. This meant that the picture was either full of dull, grey information, or brilliant blue and nothing else.
This was frustrating, especially as Ken was supposed to be the camera operator.
So after three or four failed attempts to capture the footage, it was decided as a team, and okayed by Will, the director, that stock footage would be used.
Collating the footage was easy enough, although the quality of some of the footage was poor. This had to be expected. There are plenty of sites that do stock footage, you just have to pay obscene prices for it. So due to a tight budget, this was not doable.
Due to the lack of raw footage gathered, Ken took on the role of editing the video. This gave him Art direction and control over the composition of the video. This would have been the same whether stock footage, or raw footage was used.
He did a great job, collating all the footage and composing and arranging it. It was done over a short period of time, allowing for more time to be taken over the VFX, something that I did not think would be as advantageous as it was. It provided a much bigger window for experimentation in post.
Will okayed the edit, and we moved into VFX. Due to Wills’ skills and knowledge with After Effects, I enlisted his help as an advisor on the sort of effects that were going to be employed. This was very advantageous and speeded up the whole process no end. He suggested using the Gaussian Blur to smooth over some of the edges left by low-resolution footage that worked a dream. As everything was experimental, its hard sometimes to justify why certain actions were taken, other than that it was tried, and if it felt right and it fitted, (narratively and aesthetically) then it was kept. Really I was doing the experimenting, and Will would always tweak the end result so it wasn’t too brash or abrasive. Will dictated the ‘bandwidth’ of the parameters used. This meant that the footage could be almost completely deconstructed, safe in the knowledge that the level of effects would be moderated at a later date. Basically meant no restrictions with the amount of experimentation done.
The audio Key framing really gave the video some backbone and brought it all together. Gave in narrative and interactivity. The result of which can be seen, although subtly, in the video. I was worried about the amount of time this would take, but using it in the simple and naïve way that I have, its effect Is lessened. Further experimentation with this function Is essential and I would like to use it again in projects to come.
Despite all the time management issues and stress caused by needing to stick to my production chart, I feel the sequence ended up ok. I definitely feel the Audio keyframin could have been utilized to a greater extent. Possible used for the manipulation of more obvious perameters. Also, the contrast sometimes blows the highlights out and the white balance needs to be altered.
The colours in general are ok. Again could have definitely spent more time on manipulating the hue and saturation to highlight more purples and reds.
Ken also did the Box art for the sequence. He watched the video and decided to use abstracted skies, sea, and various other textures, using the colour pallet from the swatches made earlier in the process. Apart from it turning out a bit dark, which i believe too be down to the quality of printer, it has the right aesthetic. The only thing i would have done differently is use Helvetica as the font.
Working as a team has never been an issue for me. This time it really hit home how fast a product can be turned around. The production process, when broken down into roles and tasks becomes simple, quick and easy. Having worked with ken and will before, this was made even easier in as much that we all know what sort of aesthetic result the other is after. (less questions asked).
I feel we all worked cohesively and efficiently together. To the point where I feel this group of people would work well under the pressure of industry standards.
Initially I decided to think about what was meant by the term ‘music video,’ videos that I had seen that I like/influence my view on aesthetics (the two being very different things.)
The sort of a/v that have influence the way I work are by people such as Phaphinderai, Chris Cunningham, Quayola, 1024 Architectre, anti vj.
They are all progressive in their field and radically different.
Quaola has been a huge influence this year/ In particular the new shorts he has done with Minus records that are on his website. quaola.com
But the main influence for this particular project has been the Cunningham video for ‘WindowLicker.’ The brilliant sheen and mastering illustrated in the video is immense and the colours so full and exuberant.
First of all we had to select a track from freemusicarchive.org
This in itself was a challenge as there is page after page of dross.
This in mind I decided to choose something that was entirely different, a sound that I had never heard before.
This ended up being Alexandre De Gabrial’s ‘La Route.’ An avant-guard, experimental spoken word track that seemed to put me in a strange mental place when I listened to it.
So to kick start the project, I put the song on repeat for a few hours and wrote words and imagery that I associated with the audio that I was hearing. I also knew I wanted to use time-lapse technique.
-Discordant, noise, poetry, beat, minimal, stylization, colour, original, innocence and creativity, naivety, abrasive yet flowing and rythemitical, sleaze, culture, character, open expanses, travel-
These words influenced the video in the sense that my aim was to make a VFX sequence that went someway to representing the audio faithfully. This, I feel was achieved to a degree.
The reasoning behind the colour scheme and the ‘sky’ theme was really an evolution on from previous projects. The colourful ‘vice’ sunset sky, that can be seen over Miami on a regular basis. I have become infatuated with these colours and what they represent. The blue meaning peace and tranquility, the reds and purples bringing some fire, truth and passion, and the pinks just add a little flamboyance, flare and arrogance to the pallet. In doing this I made up some swatches. These were linked together as a storyboard that gave some direction and external narrative that had been missing up until this point.
Filming was a complete failure due to weather. I planned on doing a timelapse of the sky from my back garden. Due to the time of year, the sky was either all grey, or crystal blue. This meant that the picture was either full of dull, grey information, or brilliant blue and nothing else.
This was frustrating, especially as Ken was supposed to be the camera operator.
So after three or four failed attempts to capture the footage, it was decided as a team, and okayed by Will, the director, that stock footage would be used.
Collating the footage was easy enough, although the quality of some of the footage was poor. This had to be expected. There are plenty of sites that do stock footage, you just have to pay obscene prices for it. So due to a tight budget, this was not doable.
Due to the lack of raw footage gathered, Ken took on the role of editing the video. This gave him Art direction and control over the composition of the video. This would have been the same whether stock footage, or raw footage was used.
He did a great job, collating all the footage and composing and arranging it. It was done over a short period of time, allowing for more time to be taken over the VFX, something that I did not think would be as advantageous as it was. It provided a much bigger window for experimentation in post.
Will okayed the edit, and we moved into VFX. Due to Wills’ skills and knowledge with After Effects, I enlisted his help as an advisor on the sort of effects that were going to be employed. This was very advantageous and speeded up the whole process no end. He suggested using the Gaussian Blur to smooth over some of the edges left by low-resolution footage that worked a dream. As everything was experimental, its hard sometimes to justify why certain actions were taken, other than that it was tried, and if it felt right and it fitted, (narratively and aesthetically) then it was kept. Really I was doing the experimenting, and Will would always tweak the end result so it wasn’t too brash or abrasive. Will dictated the ‘bandwidth’ of the parameters used. This meant that the footage could be almost completely deconstructed, safe in the knowledge that the level of effects would be moderated at a later date. Basically meant no restrictions with the amount of experimentation done.
The audio Key framing really gave the video some backbone and brought it all together. Gave in narrative and interactivity. The result of which can be seen, although subtly, in the video. I was worried about the amount of time this would take, but using it in the simple and naïve way that I have, its effect Is lessened. Further experimentation with this function Is essential and I would like to use it again in projects to come.
Despite all the time management issues and stress caused by needing to stick to my production chart, I feel the sequence ended up ok. I definitely feel the Audio keyframin could have been utilized to a greater extent. Possible used for the manipulation of more obvious perameters. Also, the contrast sometimes blows the highlights out and the white balance needs to be altered.
The colours in general are ok. Again could have definitely spent more time on manipulating the hue and saturation to highlight more purples and reds.
Ken also did the Box art for the sequence. He watched the video and decided to use abstracted skies, sea, and various other textures, using the colour pallet from the swatches made earlier in the process. Apart from it turning out a bit dark, which i believe too be down to the quality of printer, it has the right aesthetic. The only thing i would have done differently is use Helvetica as the font.
Working as a team has never been an issue for me. This time it really hit home how fast a product can be turned around. The production process, when broken down into roles and tasks becomes simple, quick and easy. Having worked with ken and will before, this was made even easier in as much that we all know what sort of aesthetic result the other is after. (less questions asked).
I feel we all worked cohesively and efficiently together. To the point where I feel this group of people would work well under the pressure of industry standards.
Wednesday 15 December 2010
Audio Keyframing
- Generate audio keyframes
- Move null object outside the composition
- Create new layer (solid/vid layer....)
- Solid transform
- Hold down the alt key (stopwatch)
- Use the 'swirl' toggle to snap/assign it to the function on the keyframed layers 'slider'
- Set peramiters
Reactionary audio visual achieved.
This was a lot more straight forward than i initially thought. It was made even more fun experimenting with the effects and settings. The results that can be achieved are so diverse. Almost every peramitter is modifiable so there was lots of trial and error, lots of mistakes, especially as i wanted the effects to be subtle and tactful. After sorting out the 'bandwidth' for the amplitude of the wave form, the amount of the effect being used was far less erratic and much more manageable. In the end i decided to link multiple layers of keyframes to different sequences of squares that react in time with the audio, repeating the process stated above and applying it to different objects and layers according to what looked and felt right.
This element has pulled the sequence together and given it a backbone. It now feels like it has continuity and an aesthetic narrative. Im unsure of some of the colours still. I think at times it is to contrasted and the white balance is quite far out. Further tweaking will be needed as the video is finished off tomorrow.
- Move null object outside the composition
- Create new layer (solid/vid layer....)
- Solid transform
- Hold down the alt key (stopwatch)
- Use the 'swirl' toggle to snap/assign it to the function on the keyframed layers 'slider'
- Set peramiters
Reactionary audio visual achieved.
This was a lot more straight forward than i initially thought. It was made even more fun experimenting with the effects and settings. The results that can be achieved are so diverse. Almost every peramitter is modifiable so there was lots of trial and error, lots of mistakes, especially as i wanted the effects to be subtle and tactful. After sorting out the 'bandwidth' for the amplitude of the wave form, the amount of the effect being used was far less erratic and much more manageable. In the end i decided to link multiple layers of keyframes to different sequences of squares that react in time with the audio, repeating the process stated above and applying it to different objects and layers according to what looked and felt right.
This element has pulled the sequence together and given it a backbone. It now feels like it has continuity and an aesthetic narrative. Im unsure of some of the colours still. I think at times it is to contrasted and the white balance is quite far out. Further tweaking will be needed as the video is finished off tomorrow.
Sunday 12 December 2010
Vfx
Still early days of delving into Aftereffects so enthusiasm and trail and error are the skills i can utilise during this project. That and using knowledge of other adobe products and language to identify functions within the interface. I am Looking forward to developing my skill set further and exploring more detailed aspects of the program. Basic functions are easily manageable, its the audio key framing that might take some time figuring out.
These are the actions i have taken from opening Aftereffects.
-new project
-1440x1080
-import footage
-Size alterations. When i was sizing the layers of video, i accidentally placed it in the wrong position leaving a black strip along the bottom of and the top. (Wide screen) I liked the contrast of the black and the blue so much and found that the slightly distorted footage worked great, that i decided to incorporate it into the final video. I feel it adds a slightly surreal element, assisting a differentiation away from other music videos. Having said that i have seen this used on a D-fuse video where they use a strip of across the frame, and then have shapes and objects appearing as if they are coming out the screen by layering them over what you believe to be the edge of the frame.
-Layering the video in the correct order will determine the layers that will be made more opaque.
-Making the water droplets. I got a slow motion video of a single water droplet. Sharpened it, then pasted it into different sizes and opacities, allowing for a 3d effect.
-The colour correction for the main footage, was managed by the hue/saturation settings. Trying to emulate some of the character of the 'windowlicker' video, i wanted to make sure the colour was vibrant and full, opting for a slightly off sky blue, teal in places, and with the saturation setting, was able to add in some further purples, pinks, and reds for expression in relation to the audio.
-Where the audio almost falls in on itself, i decided to tint the overall image with more purple. It needed a subtle change at this point and the blues led perfectly into the purples of a vice sky.
-There is a a layer of cloud in the video that has a psychedelic/ kaleidoscope effect. For this i just used the mirror/reverse and rotate functions to organise a square comprised of 4 separate pieces of video playing the same thing at the same time. Then layered this in an opaque layer to the whole project. This had the effect of making the clouds moving on other layers swirl into the kaleidoscope layer and all morph and blend into one. A surprising and interesting result.
-The video now set up, i wanted to see what some of the functions of Adobe Bridge had to offer. Now, a lot of these are basic and 'Office' style effects, but they are obviously ripe for modifying.
I ended up using a program of floating squares. I added a new 'solid' layer, this became the basis for the program to run on. Set the colours, adjusted the size and speed at which the squares moved, then duplicated the set to another layer. 1st layer was kept small, and positioned in the bottom right corner, half off the comp, half on. The 2nd layer was made 5 times the size, and positioned over to the left of the comp. This added another layer of depth.
(I would like this to be linked to the audio keyframe so the squares all move in accordance with the waveform. Fully syncopated to the audio)
-The second thing i used from Bridge was the spiral from the left during the first minute and a half of the vid. (This will also be audio key framed to react to the sound)
This was made opaque and discreet, being positioned on the left of the frame. Again resized and placed well outside the composition, only allowing fragments of the set program to be seen. Added subtly and discreetly layered, these programs from Bridge can be used to dynamic effect.
Colour Corrected and and general housekeeping complete. Layers and effects in place. The next big section is the Audio Key framing. This should bring the sequence to life. It will syncopate the sequence and tie the piece together.
These are the actions i have taken from opening Aftereffects.
-new project
-1440x1080
-import footage
-Size alterations. When i was sizing the layers of video, i accidentally placed it in the wrong position leaving a black strip along the bottom of and the top. (Wide screen) I liked the contrast of the black and the blue so much and found that the slightly distorted footage worked great, that i decided to incorporate it into the final video. I feel it adds a slightly surreal element, assisting a differentiation away from other music videos. Having said that i have seen this used on a D-fuse video where they use a strip of across the frame, and then have shapes and objects appearing as if they are coming out the screen by layering them over what you believe to be the edge of the frame.
-Layering the video in the correct order will determine the layers that will be made more opaque.
-The colour correction for the main footage, was managed by the hue/saturation settings. Trying to emulate some of the character of the 'windowlicker' video, i wanted to make sure the colour was vibrant and full, opting for a slightly off sky blue, teal in places, and with the saturation setting, was able to add in some further purples, pinks, and reds for expression in relation to the audio.
-Where the audio almost falls in on itself, i decided to tint the overall image with more purple. It needed a subtle change at this point and the blues led perfectly into the purples of a vice sky.
-There is a a layer of cloud in the video that has a psychedelic/ kaleidoscope effect. For this i just used the mirror/reverse and rotate functions to organise a square comprised of 4 separate pieces of video playing the same thing at the same time. Then layered this in an opaque layer to the whole project. This had the effect of making the clouds moving on other layers swirl into the kaleidoscope layer and all morph and blend into one. A surprising and interesting result.
-The video now set up, i wanted to see what some of the functions of Adobe Bridge had to offer. Now, a lot of these are basic and 'Office' style effects, but they are obviously ripe for modifying.
I ended up using a program of floating squares. I added a new 'solid' layer, this became the basis for the program to run on. Set the colours, adjusted the size and speed at which the squares moved, then duplicated the set to another layer. 1st layer was kept small, and positioned in the bottom right corner, half off the comp, half on. The 2nd layer was made 5 times the size, and positioned over to the left of the comp. This added another layer of depth.
(I would like this to be linked to the audio keyframe so the squares all move in accordance with the waveform. Fully syncopated to the audio)
-The second thing i used from Bridge was the spiral from the left during the first minute and a half of the vid. (This will also be audio key framed to react to the sound)
This was made opaque and discreet, being positioned on the left of the frame. Again resized and placed well outside the composition, only allowing fragments of the set program to be seen. Added subtly and discreetly layered, these programs from Bridge can be used to dynamic effect.
Colour Corrected and and general housekeeping complete. Layers and effects in place. The next big section is the Audio Key framing. This should bring the sequence to life. It will syncopate the sequence and tie the piece together.
Editing for Will
Helping will out was fun. It gave me an opportunity to have a go at a different part of the production process in editing.
The only thing will was really specific about was not disrupting the flow of the vdeo with to many transitions etc. So really it was about being efficient, concise, clear and uncluttered.
To start off with i just had to clip the segments of footage to appropriate lengths. This was made easier due to the rough tape sheet that i was given along with the footage.
Once this was done, i began composing the shots i felt best sat with the concept, being careful to check all the footage over and over for bits that might work better.
Once the basic outline was in, cut to the appropriate parts of the audio, the remaining footage, along with spurious bits of film were discarded.I decided to make anotyher edit, that comprised of the footage that wasn't being used. Mainly for Final Cut practice and to give him other edits to choose from, or sections of edits that were lightly different from the main one.
The whole process took 2 days, working about 6 hours each day.
I wanted to be as efficient as possible as Will is relying on me to make sure he doesn't go over schedule.
Saturday 11 December 2010
Pinchbeck - Notes from the edge times: Review
Pinchbeck’s new book Notes from the Edge Times is a slight departure from the subjects he explored in his first two books (Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism and 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl) which primarily investigate prophesy, psychedelics, UFOs and shamanism. Now he takes a somewhat more Marxist (almost Zizekian) slant on where culture should head in the midst of socio-economic collapse. According to Pinchbeck, human culture has reached a precipice where we must permanently puncture the bubble economy and break the cycles of our current social stasis, a time where we need to evolve and adapt or face extinction as a species: “we actually need to build the scaffold for the new society and value system while the old one melts down. I find that most people from the older generation share this blind spot. Many artists embrace the culture’s destructive tendencies, even glamorizing the dysfunctional characters who emerge from our cynical doom-spiral state. We tend to dwell upon the muck, rather than use art to envision and inspire the way out of it”
Although I emphatically agree with Pinchbeck’s core mantra – Evolve! – I understand critics who point out that Notes from the Edge Times simply restates this same message over and over again in different ways, albeit in beautiful and compelling ways. He provides numerous examples, anecdotes, and aphorisms, but all his writing circles around a mystified endorsement for spiritual evolution and a general discontent with the modern capitalist ethos. For me, Pinchbeck is the perfect writer to augment one’s own undertaking of this so-called ‘Great Work,’ the emptying of the ego to enter into a confrontation with the unconscious, the gateway to the numinous, the higher Self. As Pinchbeck describes “The Self doesn’t care if we drive a fancy car or score with supermodels, and might even prefer to smash delusion of the ego to incite deeper realization.” However, for those who haven’t regenerated after spiritual self-decimation (or breaking open the head) should note that Pinchbeck’s writings are a supplement and not a supplanter for such experiences and journeys. Like Jung, he’s the type of spiritual thinker who deters people from becoming clones or fanatical disciples. For example, in one of the book’s chapters, Pinchbeck confesses that “I have taken as my personal mantra the not very transcendent phrase, ‘I don’t know.’”
“Some theorists propose that we have reached a point in evolution where we have the capacity to consciously co-create reality, and choose our own script for the future, this feels fuzzily plausible to me. On the other hand, our past actions and intentions have created the reality we experience now. It seems highly unlikely we can phase-shift to hyperspace, the fifth dimension, or what ever it is, until we have learned how to take proper care of this material world, and those who share it with us. Although maybe I am wrong and we will get a free pass. I just don’t know.”
This chapter captures the essence of Pinchbeck: an honest and brilliant writer who filters through an impossible nebula of information and experiences, assembling it all into prose and accepting none of it as objective truth. Spiritual inquiry desperately needs this quality of deconstructing. We should longer accept faith alone as an intellectual or spiritual strength. In these days of apparent rapture, too many have turned towards divisive factions of thought out of fear. Here, we need to scratch at something new, beyond duality, something beyond the excess that capitalism necessitates for its own economic distention, beyond its Darwinian behavioral deadlock, and definitely beyond the hellfire soothsayers that crave paternalistic punishment. Many open hearted individuals look to the horizon in yearning for a new renaissance of perception, where we shed our ‘us versus them’ mentality for a new global awareness, a paradigm that avows the radical equality of people.
Notes from the Edge Times provides enlightening commentary and critiques of today’s cultural and spiritual climate. It ultimately forsakes the force and otherworldliness of his previous works for a more pragmatic world view and perspicuous style of writing.
Friday 10 December 2010
Footage Arranged and Ready for effects!!
From intrim crit, it seemed to me that i was going to need a bit of help with the workload ahead. So after the nightmare filming days that happened, i decided to not waste Kens talents on camera operation and filming that wasn't going to happen and enlisted his help as an editor. He enjoys the process and is currently doing the same for his film. His creative judgment is such that i can trust. We have always worked well together.
So with the basic arrangement together, i can finally get stuck into Aftereffects.
With this music video, I would like to experiment with colour manipulation and hue, audio key framing, the spectral wave form that converts audio into a visible waveform that can be manipulated. ..... - - - - -I would like to then layer up these waveforms and have them pulse through to the foreground of the frame thorough opaque layers, sending scratches and interference across the screen.
I have been looking forward to this process since starting the project.
So with the basic arrangement together, i can finally get stuck into Aftereffects.
With this music video, I would like to experiment with colour manipulation and hue, audio key framing, the spectral wave form that converts audio into a visible waveform that can be manipulated. ..... - - - - -I would like to then layer up these waveforms and have them pulse through to the foreground of the frame thorough opaque layers, sending scratches and interference across the screen.
I have been looking forward to this process since starting the project.
Art Direction and Camera operator For Ken
Kens film required 6 hours, 2 actors and a camera man. Ken was doing the acting along with another actress, so i assumed the role of Camera man and Art Direction. This meant Ken was relying on me not only to operate a camera (Angles, lights,) , but to help in composition and orchestration (the arrangement of props, giving the actors cues and pointers). Ken really gave a lot of creative control. A lot of the shots are close ups and slow pans. This proved difficult challenge to overcome at times due to the locations limited space ad the intensity of the heat from the lights.
Ken is editing the footage.
Ken is editing the footage.
Communication theory
Cybernetics
Norbert Wiener, a mathematician, engineer and philosopher was the first to try to thoroughly define cybernetics. He believed it was the science of communications and control in animals and machines. He took the word from the Greek word for steersman. Ampere, who came before Wiener, wanted cybernetics to be the science of government and philosopher Warren McCulloch thought cybernetics was an experimental idea concerned with the communication with and between an observer and his environment. Some think of cybernetics as the science of effective organization, while others believe it focuses on form and pattern. Margaret Mead, the famed anthropologist, believed it was a language for expressing what one sees.
Cybernetic theory has four components: variety, circularity, process and observation. Variety relates to the information and communication/control theories and emphasizes choices. Circularity ignores concepts of hierarchy in systems, favoring a more level playing field. Process looks at feedback loops and involves regulations within systems. Observation involves decision making and how we compute conclusions.
Currently, cybernetics is applied to cognition and such practical pursuits as psychiatry, family therapy, management and government and is mainly used to understand complex forms of social organization including communication and computer networks.
... society can only be understood through a study of the messages and communication facilities which belong to it; and that in the future development of these messages and communication facilities, messages between man and machines, between machines and man, and between machine and machine, are destined to play an ever increasing part.
Still in its infancy, the full potential of cybernetics is as yet unknown. Called the science and art of understanding and often thought of as interfacing hard problems with soft sciences, cybernetics is likely to be studied by philosophers, mathematicians, sociologists, and other scientists for many years to come before a firm definition evolves..
The Rhetoric
Rhetorical theory is based on the available means of persuasion. That is, a speaker who is interested in persuading his or her audience should consider three rhetorical proofs: logical, emotional, and ethical. Audiences are key to effective persuasion as well. Rhetorical syllogism, requiring audiences to supply missing pieces of a speech, are also used in persuasion.
Semiotics:
Basic Assumptions
Cultures are formed through language. Language is public, social, and communal, not private or personal. (If anyone used a private language, it would be very uninteresting to the rest of the world.)
Users of a common language form what is called a "speech community," though we use "speech" in this context to include many kinds of communication communities (subcultures, dialects, ethnic groups, social-class specific communities, etc.); any individual can participate in multiple "speech communities".
Language is a system with rules (its own internal structure). Language as a system is multi-leveled, from speech sounds, words, and sentences to longer units called discourse. Discourse circulates through a culture, providing meanings, values, and social identities to individuals.
Discourse is the level studied by most cultural theory and semiotics. All of our cultural statements--from "mainstream" and official "high culture" products to popular culture genres and emerging new cultural forms--can thus be studied as forms of discourse, parts of a larger cultural "language."
Communication and meaning are formed by mediations--representive or symbolic vehicles that "stand for" things, meanings, and values. The mediating vehicles are called "signs". For example, words in a language, images, sounds, or other perceptible signifiers.
Therefore signs and sign-systems never present a copy of "reality"--the order of things external to language and our mediated way of knowing things--but a socially interpreted and valued representation.
The study of how a society produces meanings and values in a communication system is called semiotics. (Here "sign" has a specialized meaning, referring to our social and cultural vehicles for signification or meaning.) Languages, and other symbolic systems like music and images, are called sign systems because they are governed by learnable and transmittable rules and conventions shared by a community.
Phenomenology
The intuitive experience of phenomena (what presents itself to us in conscious experience) as its starting point and tries to extract the essential features of experiences and the essence of what we experience. It stems from the School of Brentano and was mostly based on the work of the 20th century philosopher Edmund Husserl, developed further by Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Martin Heidegger. Phenomenological thought essentially influenced the development of existential phenomenology and existentialism in France, as is clear from the work of Jean-Paul Sartre, and Munich phenomenology (Johannes Daubert, Adolf Reinach) in Germany.
"The experience of otherness or dialogue within the parameters of perception: it seeks to explain what is ‘real’ for the individual as communication takes place. The Embodied Mind is seen as a key factor in the development of authentic human relationships. However, it is hard and practically impossible to measure authentic communication between people. "
Social-psychological
Social psychological studies how individuals relate to the societies they live in, particularly insofar as those relations are mediated by face-to-face interaction. Children first learn languages, moralities, and positions in class structures, not by encountering abstract entities labelled 'institutions' or 'social structures' but primarily through everyday intercourse with others. When, as adults, we are in contact with economic, legal, or religious institutions, the contacts in practice are usually with employees or agents of the institutions.
Is continually interrelating three levels of analysis: the individual, the interpersonal, and the social structural (which should be taken to include economic and political structures). According to this view, it is something of an interstitial science: it aims to link the study of the individual by general psychology and the biological sciences to that of society by sociology and the other social sciences, and it is thus a very challenging and potentially pivotal social science.
The sociopsychological tradition can be divided into three large branches.
Behavioral, associated with a stimulus-response approach, concentrates on how people actually behave in communication situations.
Cognitive, the mental operations used in managing information that leads to behavioral outputs, is much more in vogue today because many see the behavioral as too simplistic.
Communibiology is the study of communication from a biological perspective.
Sociocultural.
The sociocultural tradition focuses on social structures and how people interact with each other in everyday life. This view is associated with scholars such as Mead (psychology), Garfinkel (ethnomethodolgy) and Goffman (sociology). For this tradition, the important aspect of communication is the role of the social world and how people work together to create meaning.
There are a number of contributing lines of work within this tradition.
Symbolic interactionism from the work of George Mead, emphasizes the idea that social structures and meaning is created and maintained within social interactions.
Social constructionism, or the social construction of reality investigates how human knowledge is constructed through social interaction and argues that the nature of the world is less important than the language used to name and discuss it.
Sociolinguistics is the study of language and culture.
Critical theory
Critical theory is adequate only if it meets three criteria: it must be explanatory, practical, and normative, all at the same time. That is, it must explain what is wrong with current social reality, identify the actors to change it, and provide both clear norms for criticism and achievable practical goals for social transformation. Any truly critical theory of society, as Horkheimer further defined it in his writings as Director of the Frankfurt School's Institute for Social Research, “has as its object human beings as producers of their own historical form of life”
"Marxist inspired movement in social and political philosophy originally associated with the work of the Frankfurt school. Drawing particularly on the thought of Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud, critical theorists maintain that a primary goal of philosophy is to understand and to help overcome the social structures through which people are dominated and oppressed. Believing that science, like other forms of knowledge, has been used as an instrument of oppression, they caution against a blind faith in scientific progress, arguing that scientific knowledge must not be pursued as an end in itself without reference to the goal of human emancipation. Since the 1970s, critical theory has been immensely influential in the study of history, law, literature, and the social sciences." - Britannica Encyclopedia
Norbert Wiener, a mathematician, engineer and philosopher was the first to try to thoroughly define cybernetics. He believed it was the science of communications and control in animals and machines. He took the word from the Greek word for steersman. Ampere, who came before Wiener, wanted cybernetics to be the science of government and philosopher Warren McCulloch thought cybernetics was an experimental idea concerned with the communication with and between an observer and his environment. Some think of cybernetics as the science of effective organization, while others believe it focuses on form and pattern. Margaret Mead, the famed anthropologist, believed it was a language for expressing what one sees.
Cybernetic theory has four components: variety, circularity, process and observation. Variety relates to the information and communication/control theories and emphasizes choices. Circularity ignores concepts of hierarchy in systems, favoring a more level playing field. Process looks at feedback loops and involves regulations within systems. Observation involves decision making and how we compute conclusions.
Currently, cybernetics is applied to cognition and such practical pursuits as psychiatry, family therapy, management and government and is mainly used to understand complex forms of social organization including communication and computer networks.
... society can only be understood through a study of the messages and communication facilities which belong to it; and that in the future development of these messages and communication facilities, messages between man and machines, between machines and man, and between machine and machine, are destined to play an ever increasing part.
Still in its infancy, the full potential of cybernetics is as yet unknown. Called the science and art of understanding and often thought of as interfacing hard problems with soft sciences, cybernetics is likely to be studied by philosophers, mathematicians, sociologists, and other scientists for many years to come before a firm definition evolves..
The Rhetoric
Rhetorical theory is based on the available means of persuasion. That is, a speaker who is interested in persuading his or her audience should consider three rhetorical proofs: logical, emotional, and ethical. Audiences are key to effective persuasion as well. Rhetorical syllogism, requiring audiences to supply missing pieces of a speech, are also used in persuasion.
Semiotics:
Basic Assumptions
Cultures are formed through language. Language is public, social, and communal, not private or personal. (If anyone used a private language, it would be very uninteresting to the rest of the world.)
Users of a common language form what is called a "speech community," though we use "speech" in this context to include many kinds of communication communities (subcultures, dialects, ethnic groups, social-class specific communities, etc.); any individual can participate in multiple "speech communities".
Language is a system with rules (its own internal structure). Language as a system is multi-leveled, from speech sounds, words, and sentences to longer units called discourse. Discourse circulates through a culture, providing meanings, values, and social identities to individuals.
Discourse is the level studied by most cultural theory and semiotics. All of our cultural statements--from "mainstream" and official "high culture" products to popular culture genres and emerging new cultural forms--can thus be studied as forms of discourse, parts of a larger cultural "language."
Communication and meaning are formed by mediations--representive or symbolic vehicles that "stand for" things, meanings, and values. The mediating vehicles are called "signs". For example, words in a language, images, sounds, or other perceptible signifiers.
Therefore signs and sign-systems never present a copy of "reality"--the order of things external to language and our mediated way of knowing things--but a socially interpreted and valued representation.
The study of how a society produces meanings and values in a communication system is called semiotics. (Here "sign" has a specialized meaning, referring to our social and cultural vehicles for signification or meaning.) Languages, and other symbolic systems like music and images, are called sign systems because they are governed by learnable and transmittable rules and conventions shared by a community.
Phenomenology
The intuitive experience of phenomena (what presents itself to us in conscious experience) as its starting point and tries to extract the essential features of experiences and the essence of what we experience. It stems from the School of Brentano and was mostly based on the work of the 20th century philosopher Edmund Husserl, developed further by Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Martin Heidegger. Phenomenological thought essentially influenced the development of existential phenomenology and existentialism in France, as is clear from the work of Jean-Paul Sartre, and Munich phenomenology (Johannes Daubert, Adolf Reinach) in Germany.
"The experience of otherness or dialogue within the parameters of perception: it seeks to explain what is ‘real’ for the individual as communication takes place. The Embodied Mind is seen as a key factor in the development of authentic human relationships. However, it is hard and practically impossible to measure authentic communication between people. "
Social-psychological
Social psychological studies how individuals relate to the societies they live in, particularly insofar as those relations are mediated by face-to-face interaction. Children first learn languages, moralities, and positions in class structures, not by encountering abstract entities labelled 'institutions' or 'social structures' but primarily through everyday intercourse with others. When, as adults, we are in contact with economic, legal, or religious institutions, the contacts in practice are usually with employees or agents of the institutions.
Is continually interrelating three levels of analysis: the individual, the interpersonal, and the social structural (which should be taken to include economic and political structures). According to this view, it is something of an interstitial science: it aims to link the study of the individual by general psychology and the biological sciences to that of society by sociology and the other social sciences, and it is thus a very challenging and potentially pivotal social science.
The sociopsychological tradition can be divided into three large branches.
Behavioral, associated with a stimulus-response approach, concentrates on how people actually behave in communication situations.
Cognitive, the mental operations used in managing information that leads to behavioral outputs, is much more in vogue today because many see the behavioral as too simplistic.
Communibiology is the study of communication from a biological perspective.
Sociocultural.
The sociocultural tradition focuses on social structures and how people interact with each other in everyday life. This view is associated with scholars such as Mead (psychology), Garfinkel (ethnomethodolgy) and Goffman (sociology). For this tradition, the important aspect of communication is the role of the social world and how people work together to create meaning.
There are a number of contributing lines of work within this tradition.
Symbolic interactionism from the work of George Mead, emphasizes the idea that social structures and meaning is created and maintained within social interactions.
Social constructionism, or the social construction of reality investigates how human knowledge is constructed through social interaction and argues that the nature of the world is less important than the language used to name and discuss it.
Sociolinguistics is the study of language and culture.
Critical theory
Critical theory is adequate only if it meets three criteria: it must be explanatory, practical, and normative, all at the same time. That is, it must explain what is wrong with current social reality, identify the actors to change it, and provide both clear norms for criticism and achievable practical goals for social transformation. Any truly critical theory of society, as Horkheimer further defined it in his writings as Director of the Frankfurt School's Institute for Social Research, “has as its object human beings as producers of their own historical form of life”
"Marxist inspired movement in social and political philosophy originally associated with the work of the Frankfurt school. Drawing particularly on the thought of Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud, critical theorists maintain that a primary goal of philosophy is to understand and to help overcome the social structures through which people are dominated and oppressed. Believing that science, like other forms of knowledge, has been used as an instrument of oppression, they caution against a blind faith in scientific progress, arguing that scientific knowledge must not be pursued as an end in itself without reference to the goal of human emancipation. Since the 1970s, critical theory has been immensely influential in the study of history, law, literature, and the social sciences." - Britannica Encyclopedia
Thursday 9 December 2010
Projected personality - A little bit of who i am but mainly how i'd like other people to percieve me!
"Today, of all days, i am not myself!"
Music - making/listening, as much as possible, as diverse as possible. Recently a return to Prince, the Electro funk of the late 70's early 80's... Barkays, T Connection......
Books - Karouac, Burrows, Orwell, Philip k Dick, Sartre, T Mckenna, Pinchbeck, Ginsberg, Hunter S. Thompson, Klosterman, Nietzsche, Huxley, Kesey, Tom Wolfe, Barrow, Schopenbauer, Blake
Film - Waking Life, Withnail and I, Fear and Loathing, Mulholland Drive, Into the Wild,
Tv - Twin Peaks, Arrested Development, Modern Family, Curb, BofBrs, Pacific, Gen Kill, Barley, Brooker, Partridge, Trip, Day to Day
Anything done by Chris Morris and or Armando Iannucci
General - Positivity, awareness and self awareness, humanism, existentialism, minimalism, culture, expression and the courage to act upon expression, meditation and altered states, Dreams, innocence, tragedy, Religion/its pros and cons (fascinating) Truth/perception/the interpretation of reality and the conversation that inspires, love, peace, happiness, beat generation and late 50's/60's ideology, Sci-fi, progressive technology and electronics...... How Pretentious?
"the most provocative statement I ever heard Werner Erhard make-yes I know he is controversial and either adored or despised, but this is worth considering-was that over the years, he had witnessed thousands of people literally give up everything in their pursuit of enlightenment. He had seen them give up their jobs, their families, spend their fortunes, devote years of their time, meditate until their knees were destroyed, "ANYTHING," he said, "except the ONE THING required in order to be enlightened. That, no one will give up." He paused for emphasis, then shouted, as was his style, "PEOPLE WILL NOT GIVE UP THAT THEY ARE NOT ENLIGHTENED. IT'S TOO TERRIBLE TO GIVE THAT ONE UP! THEY HAVE TOO MUCH FUN DOING THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO ENLIGHTEN THEM!" He went on in a softer voice, "Now, did I just say you shouldn't do things that are going to enlighten you? No; do them. But do them because it's fun to do them! I would do them. I do do them. But not because they're going to enlighten anyone. You can't get enlightened. But you can be enlightened."
.... I have no idea who i am, where im going or what will happen.... just wide eyed and bushy tailed.
In an ideal world, being asked today, i would ideally like to make fully synchronised, narrative audio visual content.
I would like to work as part of a collective, ideologically motivated and stylistically aware.
To an extent the latter is already happening among close friends and myself. I have been fortunate enough to find 4 or 5 wonderful people that share similar ideas and ideology, share similar levels of conviction and drive, burn the wick at both ends, do projects together and generally spend all our time together making things, or dreaming... talking about making the world a better place and giving back, philosophy, music, books... Ambiguity!
Music - making/listening, as much as possible, as diverse as possible. Recently a return to Prince, the Electro funk of the late 70's early 80's... Barkays, T Connection......
Books - Karouac, Burrows, Orwell, Philip k Dick, Sartre, T Mckenna, Pinchbeck, Ginsberg, Hunter S. Thompson, Klosterman, Nietzsche, Huxley, Kesey, Tom Wolfe, Barrow, Schopenbauer, Blake
Film - Waking Life, Withnail and I, Fear and Loathing, Mulholland Drive, Into the Wild,
Tv - Twin Peaks, Arrested Development, Modern Family, Curb, BofBrs, Pacific, Gen Kill, Barley, Brooker, Partridge, Trip, Day to Day
Anything done by Chris Morris and or Armando Iannucci
General - Positivity, awareness and self awareness, humanism, existentialism, minimalism, culture, expression and the courage to act upon expression, meditation and altered states, Dreams, innocence, tragedy, Religion/its pros and cons (fascinating) Truth/perception/the interpretation of reality and the conversation that inspires, love, peace, happiness, beat generation and late 50's/60's ideology, Sci-fi, progressive technology and electronics...... How Pretentious?
"the most provocative statement I ever heard Werner Erhard make-yes I know he is controversial and either adored or despised, but this is worth considering-was that over the years, he had witnessed thousands of people literally give up everything in their pursuit of enlightenment. He had seen them give up their jobs, their families, spend their fortunes, devote years of their time, meditate until their knees were destroyed, "ANYTHING," he said, "except the ONE THING required in order to be enlightened. That, no one will give up." He paused for emphasis, then shouted, as was his style, "PEOPLE WILL NOT GIVE UP THAT THEY ARE NOT ENLIGHTENED. IT'S TOO TERRIBLE TO GIVE THAT ONE UP! THEY HAVE TOO MUCH FUN DOING THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO ENLIGHTEN THEM!" He went on in a softer voice, "Now, did I just say you shouldn't do things that are going to enlighten you? No; do them. But do them because it's fun to do them! I would do them. I do do them. But not because they're going to enlighten anyone. You can't get enlightened. But you can be enlightened."
.... I have no idea who i am, where im going or what will happen.... just wide eyed and bushy tailed.
In an ideal world, being asked today, i would ideally like to make fully synchronised, narrative audio visual content.
I would like to work as part of a collective, ideologically motivated and stylistically aware.
To an extent the latter is already happening among close friends and myself. I have been fortunate enough to find 4 or 5 wonderful people that share similar ideas and ideology, share similar levels of conviction and drive, burn the wick at both ends, do projects together and generally spend all our time together making things, or dreaming... talking about making the world a better place and giving back, philosophy, music, books... Ambiguity!
Communication theory Fundementals
Cybernetics - mainly specific to our modern technological society. It presents communication as “information processing”. However, ideas of consciousness and emotions are not recognised, which can mean that the languages of distortion, noise and overload are not compatible with the human realities of social discourse.
Rhetorical - the practical art of discourse, appeals to popular ideas and beliefs about communication; however it requires us to believe in collective deliberation and judgment and the power of individuals to shape these.
The semiotic tradition explains the use of languages and other sign systems and tends to see all other sign systems as ‘texts’. The problems of this tradition are the gaps and misunderstanding that take place when presupposing that all communication can be boiled down to textual issues.
Phenomenological - focuses on the experience of otherness or dialogue within the parameters of perception: it seeks to explain what is ‘real’ for the individual as communication takes place. The Embodied Mind is seen as a key factor in the development of authentic human relationships. However, it is hard and practically impossible to measure authentic communication between people.
Socio-psychological - is presented as a “process of expression, interaction and influence,” where behavioural and emotional factors play an essential role. This is the process where people interact and influence each other. Nevertheless, this tradition challenges the personal autonomy of humans and relies on a belief in our ability to understand or have a dialogue with what might be going on in the unconscious mind.
Socio-cultural - looks at communication as a symbolic process that produces and reproduces shared socio-cultural patterns, which means that our everyday communication is based on some common pre-existing cultural and social structures. The problem of this theory, as in semiotic tradition, is that there can be gaps during the communication process based on socio-cultural diversity and socio-cultural change, as well as the fact that it does not fully recognise individual agency.
Critical theory - describes communication as discursive reflection. Critical theory, however, questions the rational validity of all authority, tradition, and conventional belief and can itself be questioned if communication needs to stand outside of this debate
Wednesday 8 December 2010
Interesting Video - Gil Scott Heron/Chris Cunningham
Cleverly shot video. The lighting is acute and distinct, captures the darkness of the track perfectly.
Got a lot of time for Gil Scott Heron.
Monday 6 December 2010
Chris Cunningham - Windowlicker
Chris Cunningham - Windowlicker
Uploaded by kalifa888. - Up-to-the minute news videos.
I went back to have a look at the Windowlicker video because i remembered the sheen and high level of production on the video. THe colours and overall feel of the video are outstanding.
The blues of the sky, refraction of light through the lense of the camera. It feels like it has a matte finish to it yet is so brilliantly bright.
I would like to try and emulate this level of 'brilliantness' to my video....
Maybe through the manipulation of photo filters in Aftereffects or maybe in the white balance, hue and saturation modifiers.
Mathematics & art
A short video which shows the beauty of mathematics used for art.
You can see :
- Glowing dots rendered with Processing (Additive Blending concept by R. Hodgin)
- Shapes rendered with Artmatic
- Fractals rendered with Ultra Fractal
Music : Trentemoller - Miss You
You can see :
- Glowing dots rendered with Processing (Additive Blending concept by R. Hodgin)
- Shapes rendered with Artmatic
- Fractals rendered with Ultra Fractal
Music : Trentemoller - Miss You
Filming
The last few days, the weather has been seemingly perfect for filming. However, I have had 4 hour sessions since friday and have managed to gather almost no useful footage. The skies have either been densely overcast and gray, or crystal clear blue sky. Both states have not had the desired effet. The clear skies, although nice and pure in tone, mean the camera picks up minimal information and the video becomes dull and lifeless. The desired result was big rolling clouds across a bright blue back drop. I have ended up trying to edit together 4 hours of blue.
So the video above is the best shots of blue sky, with high whispy clouds. But this is as good as it gets.
Therefore, i plan to find some stock footage off the net.
I have looked before and it seems as if i will have to buy some footage to be able to find film of a high enough quality. Ideally HD as noise and interference will be added in post, so the purer the image the better.
www.archive.org
fotostock.com
Friday 3 December 2010
Reading Film and Video : Genre + The Gaze
In film theory, genre refers to the method of film categorization based on similarities in the narrative elements from which films are constructed. Most theories of film genre are borrowed from literary genre criticism. As with genre in a literary context, there is a great deal of debate over how to define or categorize genres.Besides the basic distinction in genre between fiction and documentary, film genres can be categorized in several ways.
Fictional films are usually categorized according to their setting, theme topic, mood, or format. The setting is the environment where the story and action takes place. The theme or topic refers to the issues or concepts that the film revolves around. The mood is the emotional tone of the film. Format refers to the way the film was shot (e.g., anamorphic widescreen) or the manner of presentation (e.g.: 35 mm, 16 mm or 8 mm). An additional way of categorizing film genres is by the target audience. Some film theorists argue that neither format nor target audience are film genres.
Film genres often branch out into sub-genres, as in the case of the courtroom and trial-focused sub-genre of drama known as the legal drama. They can be combined to form hybrid genres, such the melding of horror and comedy in the Evil Dead films.
Hollywood is built on illusion. As a result, people are unaware of the dangerous portrayals of women in not only films, but across all media. The idea that women are merely objects is the wrong message to deliver to society, however women are still objectified in every form of entertainment. In context, men are the makers of meaning in films and as long as this motif, women will forever be objected to the voyeuristic gazes of the masses. Sexuality is a powerful tool but women are still being objectified as a result and it is a shame that women are fooling themselves into believing that this type of sexual behavior will undermine the dominant ideology. No matter how much she accomplishes, if a woman is sexualized, it is in some way undermining her role as a subject.
Women are always punished in someway, stripped of their subjectivity and transformed into objects, if not thorough visual language (male protagonist/camera angles...), its through narrative.
For example, it could be said that in Hitchcocks "The Birds" When Tippi's chrachter first sees Mitch Brenner, she is intrigued. He has become an object for her satisfaction. She takes control of the gaze, not him, and, as a result, he becomes objectified.
The scene where she is sitting out in a row boat, in the middle of a lake, watching him from afar through a pair of binoculars. It is at this instant that the first bird attack occurs. For example, theoretically, to my understanding, Hitchcock could be punishing Melanie for attempting to alter the normal standards Hollywood has instilled for narrative film. She cannot obtain subjectivity but rather she must be forced back into society’s defined role for her.
Another obvious example of this is in Ridley Scotts "Alien." Sigourney Weaver obtains her subjectivity over the course of the film, being the lone survivor of the alien attacks. The film then, in an instant, voyeuristically objectifies her by showcasing her walking around half naked. Subjectivity is stripped and her role as object reemerges. She is unwittingly undermining all that she has achieved during the course of the film.
...." Women want to see themselves how men see them." - MAD MEN
This is all part of an archetype that is embedded in human psyche. It should not be dismissed and in story telling, who cares. Every character is there to illustrate a motif, both men and women, who out of necessity must be objectified in someway by the observer or participant.
Fictional films are usually categorized according to their setting, theme topic, mood, or format. The setting is the environment where the story and action takes place. The theme or topic refers to the issues or concepts that the film revolves around. The mood is the emotional tone of the film. Format refers to the way the film was shot (e.g., anamorphic widescreen) or the manner of presentation (e.g.: 35 mm, 16 mm or 8 mm). An additional way of categorizing film genres is by the target audience. Some film theorists argue that neither format nor target audience are film genres.
Film genres often branch out into sub-genres, as in the case of the courtroom and trial-focused sub-genre of drama known as the legal drama. They can be combined to form hybrid genres, such the melding of horror and comedy in the Evil Dead films.
Hollywood is built on illusion. As a result, people are unaware of the dangerous portrayals of women in not only films, but across all media. The idea that women are merely objects is the wrong message to deliver to society, however women are still objectified in every form of entertainment. In context, men are the makers of meaning in films and as long as this motif, women will forever be objected to the voyeuristic gazes of the masses. Sexuality is a powerful tool but women are still being objectified as a result and it is a shame that women are fooling themselves into believing that this type of sexual behavior will undermine the dominant ideology. No matter how much she accomplishes, if a woman is sexualized, it is in some way undermining her role as a subject.
Women are always punished in someway, stripped of their subjectivity and transformed into objects, if not thorough visual language (male protagonist/camera angles...), its through narrative.
For example, it could be said that in Hitchcocks "The Birds" When Tippi's chrachter first sees Mitch Brenner, she is intrigued. He has become an object for her satisfaction. She takes control of the gaze, not him, and, as a result, he becomes objectified.
The scene where she is sitting out in a row boat, in the middle of a lake, watching him from afar through a pair of binoculars. It is at this instant that the first bird attack occurs. For example, theoretically, to my understanding, Hitchcock could be punishing Melanie for attempting to alter the normal standards Hollywood has instilled for narrative film. She cannot obtain subjectivity but rather she must be forced back into society’s defined role for her.
Another obvious example of this is in Ridley Scotts "Alien." Sigourney Weaver obtains her subjectivity over the course of the film, being the lone survivor of the alien attacks. The film then, in an instant, voyeuristically objectifies her by showcasing her walking around half naked. Subjectivity is stripped and her role as object reemerges. She is unwittingly undermining all that she has achieved during the course of the film.
...." Women want to see themselves how men see them." - MAD MEN
This is all part of an archetype that is embedded in human psyche. It should not be dismissed and in story telling, who cares. Every character is there to illustrate a motif, both men and women, who out of necessity must be objectified in someway by the observer or participant.
Thursday 2 December 2010
Blade Runner - Film Review
Blade Runner - Futuristic and downbeat crime fiction from director Ridley Scott.
Blade Runner (1982) was director Ridley Scott's follow-up to Alien and has proven to be one of the most popular and influential science-fiction films of all time, in the process it has become an enduring cult classic favourite. The film however, was originally a financial failure at the box-office after it received negative reviews from critics who described it as muddled and baffling.
Contextually, it was released in the same time period as Spielberg's E.T. (1982), an era in which the popularity of science fiction was closely tied to the original release of Lucas' Star Wars Trilogy
Based on the Philip K Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, the ambitious, enigmatic, visually-complex film is a futuristic, noir crime fiction detective thriller with references to all its classical influences apparent. The storyline delves into the implications of technology for the environment and society by reaching to the past, using literature, religious symbolism and classical dramatic themes.
In meeting the alienated hero of questionable morality, the viewer gains access to an emotional portal in to an otherwise bleak, sterile portrayal of the post-modern psyche. With the beautiful femme fatale, airborne police vehicles called "Spinners", dark sets and locations the film creates a dystopian vision of Los Angeles in 2019. This imagery, along with the downbeat tone of the narration together act as another character and a work as a sublime method for progressing the narrative and developing the theme.
This tension, between past, present, and future is mirrored in the retrofitted future of Blade Runner, in which the high-tech and gleaming is juxtaposed against the decayed ruined imagery of an archetypal dystopian future. Many of the themes explored are an early example of cyberpunk concepts expanding into film.
The main character, Rick Deckard is played by Harrison Ford in Blade Runner. Deckard is a world weary, former police officer who is reluctantly dispatched by the state to search for four androids, termed 'replicants' by Scott. The development of robotics and artificial intellgence has progressed in the world of Blade Runner to an extent that the androids are almost indistinguishable from humans and as such have been created with limited life spans, a built-in fail-safe mechanism to protect their human masters.
The genetically engineered renegades have escaped from the enslaving conditions on an Off-World outer planet. Driven by a need to understand emotion, the Nexus Models have come to Earth to locate their creator and have their questions answered.
‘It’s a not an easy thing, meeting ones maker.’
‘… and what can he do for you?’
Control over the environment is depicted as taking place on a vast scale, hand in hand with the absence of any natural life, extinct animals and species being replaced with their uncanny, synthetic counterparts. This oppressive backdrop explains the frequently referenced migration of humans to extra-terrestrial ("off-world") colonies.
Corporate power looms large, the police seem omnipresent, vehicle and warning lights probe into buildings and the consequences of huge biomedical power over the individual are explored - especially the consequences for replicants and their programming.
These thematic elements provide an atmosphere of uncertainty for Blade Runner's central theme of examining humanity. The replicants are juxtaposed with human characters that lack empathy, whilst the replicants appear to show compassion and concern for one another, at the same time the mass of humanity on the streets is cold and impersonal. The film goes so far as to put into doubt whether Deckard is a human and forces the audience to re-evaluate what it means to be human.
Blade Runner (1982) was director Ridley Scott's follow-up to Alien and has proven to be one of the most popular and influential science-fiction films of all time, in the process it has become an enduring cult classic favourite. The film however, was originally a financial failure at the box-office after it received negative reviews from critics who described it as muddled and baffling.
Contextually, it was released in the same time period as Spielberg's E.T. (1982), an era in which the popularity of science fiction was closely tied to the original release of Lucas' Star Wars Trilogy
Based on the Philip K Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, the ambitious, enigmatic, visually-complex film is a futuristic, noir crime fiction detective thriller with references to all its classical influences apparent. The storyline delves into the implications of technology for the environment and society by reaching to the past, using literature, religious symbolism and classical dramatic themes.
In meeting the alienated hero of questionable morality, the viewer gains access to an emotional portal in to an otherwise bleak, sterile portrayal of the post-modern psyche. With the beautiful femme fatale, airborne police vehicles called "Spinners", dark sets and locations the film creates a dystopian vision of Los Angeles in 2019. This imagery, along with the downbeat tone of the narration together act as another character and a work as a sublime method for progressing the narrative and developing the theme.
This tension, between past, present, and future is mirrored in the retrofitted future of Blade Runner, in which the high-tech and gleaming is juxtaposed against the decayed ruined imagery of an archetypal dystopian future. Many of the themes explored are an early example of cyberpunk concepts expanding into film.
The main character, Rick Deckard is played by Harrison Ford in Blade Runner. Deckard is a world weary, former police officer who is reluctantly dispatched by the state to search for four androids, termed 'replicants' by Scott. The development of robotics and artificial intellgence has progressed in the world of Blade Runner to an extent that the androids are almost indistinguishable from humans and as such have been created with limited life spans, a built-in fail-safe mechanism to protect their human masters.
The genetically engineered renegades have escaped from the enslaving conditions on an Off-World outer planet. Driven by a need to understand emotion, the Nexus Models have come to Earth to locate their creator and have their questions answered.
‘It’s a not an easy thing, meeting ones maker.’
‘… and what can he do for you?’
Control over the environment is depicted as taking place on a vast scale, hand in hand with the absence of any natural life, extinct animals and species being replaced with their uncanny, synthetic counterparts. This oppressive backdrop explains the frequently referenced migration of humans to extra-terrestrial ("off-world") colonies.
Corporate power looms large, the police seem omnipresent, vehicle and warning lights probe into buildings and the consequences of huge biomedical power over the individual are explored - especially the consequences for replicants and their programming.
These thematic elements provide an atmosphere of uncertainty for Blade Runner's central theme of examining humanity. The replicants are juxtaposed with human characters that lack empathy, whilst the replicants appear to show compassion and concern for one another, at the same time the mass of humanity on the streets is cold and impersonal. The film goes so far as to put into doubt whether Deckard is a human and forces the audience to re-evaluate what it means to be human.
Wednesday 1 December 2010
Hacking - a new form of resistance
The role of the hacker has been a persistent image of resistance or subversion in popular culture from established TV series such as Morse or Primeval to major Hollywood films such as Wargames. As the computer has become more ubiquitous the idea of the hacker has transformed from one of geek to hero.
A passionate and independent minded global community of highly skilled technical experts that frequently functions outside the mainstream of computer development an conventional tech research. The Hacker communities experts are responsible for innovation that pushes the limits of technology, sometimes in unintended or uncomfortable ways, as well as for prescient warnings about the threat of both technology and the governments technology related policy and regulations.
"Hacking is more about innovation and less about
computer security. Hacking and computer science are
so intertwined it is a travesty the two communities do
not share greater respect for and cooperation with one
another. To promote the sharing of common interests
the hacking story must be told accurately in all its
sometimes contradictory aspects. Communications represents
the public record for the professional computer
science community.
There is a narrow path for success that will help
foster collaboration between the two sides of the
divide. Antagonists and critics from both sides are
waiting to pounce, but the potential for success
makes the risk worthwhile. To move beyond common
stereotypes, we may work together to advance
the interests of human knowledge. The main message
is that you should feel free to
challenge convention, explore the work done by
researchers, and seek opportunities to collaborate
with the hacking community"
If computer scientists learn innovation and non-traditional problem solving through working together with hackers, the potential benefit to mankind is potentially phenomenal.
A passionate and independent minded global community of highly skilled technical experts that frequently functions outside the mainstream of computer development an conventional tech research. The Hacker communities experts are responsible for innovation that pushes the limits of technology, sometimes in unintended or uncomfortable ways, as well as for prescient warnings about the threat of both technology and the governments technology related policy and regulations.
"Hacking is more about innovation and less about
computer security. Hacking and computer science are
so intertwined it is a travesty the two communities do
not share greater respect for and cooperation with one
another. To promote the sharing of common interests
the hacking story must be told accurately in all its
sometimes contradictory aspects. Communications represents
the public record for the professional computer
science community.
There is a narrow path for success that will help
foster collaboration between the two sides of the
divide. Antagonists and critics from both sides are
waiting to pounce, but the potential for success
makes the risk worthwhile. To move beyond common
stereotypes, we may work together to advance
the interests of human knowledge. The main message
is that you should feel free to
challenge convention, explore the work done by
researchers, and seek opportunities to collaborate
with the hacking community"
If computer scientists learn innovation and non-traditional problem solving through working together with hackers, the potential benefit to mankind is potentially phenomenal.
Don’t Look Now! Truth, fiction and the art of story-telling
Don’t Look Now! Truth, fiction and the art of story-telling.
When describing a narrative, one of the most important aspects is the point of view from which the story is told. Hence, there are two basic forms of narrative. Diegesis implies that there is a personified narrator and mimesis - that a story is told by an omniscient entity.
Another important aspect of a narrative is the mode of time-awareness which listeners are placed.
More specific narrative techniques include:
* False document is a form of narrative that presents a story as a record in some none existant document (diary, letter, video tape, etc.). This is used to create a sense of authenticity beyond the normally expected suspension of disbelief in the reader/audience.
* Frame story is a narrative technique in which a main story is composed, at least in part, for the purpose of organizing a set of shorter stories, each of which is a story within a story. The A-Plot, thus, becomes mere a link between countless subplots, which are then the real focus of the narrative.
* Metafiction is a kind of fiction, which self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, which means that it deliberately denies the suspension of disbelief for itself.
* Pastiche is a term with a double meaning. On one hand, it may describe a respectful imitation of some other author's style of narrative (as opposed to a parody). On the other, it sometimes stands for a narrative that is "cobbled together" in imitation of several original works.
* Serial is the primary technique used in episodic media (see above). It implies that a story is divided into a number of smaller stories (episodes) but unlike a frame story, a serial may have all episodes bound together into one single A-plot.
* Stream of consciousness is a literary technique, which seeks to describe an individual's point of view by giving the written equivalent of the character's thought processes.
Point of View.
* First-person narrative is a point of view for which the narrator is a part of the story (a character). He or she refers to him-/herself as "I". This is a very common technique since it allows inserting more personal feelings and thoughts into the text than others. On the other hand, it is often incapable of giving an objective view on the story.
* Second-person narrative is a point of view within which the narrator is narrating the story to another character through that character's point of view. This character (likely, a protagonist) is referred as "you".
* Third person limited omniscient is a point of view such that the reader and the writer observe the situation from the outside through the senses and thoughts of a single character, although the focal character may shift throughout the course of any given narrative.
* Omniscient narrator is a point of view similar to third person limited omniscient but unlike it, an omniscient narrator shifts the focal character instantly, without any special events causing the change of the viewpoint.
* Unreliable narrator is a narrator who tells the story from his or her personal point of view but who has flaws or makes mistakes. As a result, such narrator cannot give the entire picture of the story and his or her credibility is often put in question.
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When describing a narrative, one of the most important aspects is the point of view from which the story is told. Hence, there are two basic forms of narrative. Diegesis implies that there is a personified narrator and mimesis - that a story is told by an omniscient entity.
Another important aspect of a narrative is the mode of time-awareness which listeners are placed.
More specific narrative techniques include:
* False document is a form of narrative that presents a story as a record in some none existant document (diary, letter, video tape, etc.). This is used to create a sense of authenticity beyond the normally expected suspension of disbelief in the reader/audience.
* Frame story is a narrative technique in which a main story is composed, at least in part, for the purpose of organizing a set of shorter stories, each of which is a story within a story. The A-Plot, thus, becomes mere a link between countless subplots, which are then the real focus of the narrative.
* Metafiction is a kind of fiction, which self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, which means that it deliberately denies the suspension of disbelief for itself.
* Pastiche is a term with a double meaning. On one hand, it may describe a respectful imitation of some other author's style of narrative (as opposed to a parody). On the other, it sometimes stands for a narrative that is "cobbled together" in imitation of several original works.
* Serial is the primary technique used in episodic media (see above). It implies that a story is divided into a number of smaller stories (episodes) but unlike a frame story, a serial may have all episodes bound together into one single A-plot.
* Stream of consciousness is a literary technique, which seeks to describe an individual's point of view by giving the written equivalent of the character's thought processes.
Point of View.
* First-person narrative is a point of view for which the narrator is a part of the story (a character). He or she refers to him-/herself as "I". This is a very common technique since it allows inserting more personal feelings and thoughts into the text than others. On the other hand, it is often incapable of giving an objective view on the story.
* Second-person narrative is a point of view within which the narrator is narrating the story to another character through that character's point of view. This character (likely, a protagonist) is referred as "you".
* Third person limited omniscient is a point of view such that the reader and the writer observe the situation from the outside through the senses and thoughts of a single character, although the focal character may shift throughout the course of any given narrative.
* Omniscient narrator is a point of view similar to third person limited omniscient but unlike it, an omniscient narrator shifts the focal character instantly, without any special events causing the change of the viewpoint.
* Unreliable narrator is a narrator who tells the story from his or her personal point of view but who has flaws or makes mistakes. As a result, such narrator cannot give the entire picture of the story and his or her credibility is often put in question.
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