Saturday, 19 January 2013
Assignment Three - A test run of the concept
As I said in the previous post, I'm going to 'test the water' with the video concept that I've come up with for Assignment Three. This assignment, as written up in the course notes, calls for the photographer to take photographs to 'support an editorial feature', and the notes suggest a detailed and focussed brief from the tutor. I havn't had that; my brief being, essentially, to present my take on Paris Photo 2012 and to challenge myself technically. I have worked on the magazine article layout approach, and will present that as part of my submission, I'm sure, but I've also been exploring the idea of an audio visual presentation. As a result, I've produced the following, approximately 50 second long, video. It has some rough edges, certainly, and it is only a structure for the first 1/3 to 1/2 of the finished piece. But I feel the need for some feedback. So, I'm going to publicise it on here and to my fellow students. If anyone has a bit of time to look at it and comment, that would be hugely helpful. I'm quite nervous about doing this, because I know it is definitely not as slick as it might be and is, as I said, unfinished ... but let's see what happens.
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I think the idea is quite good, but it's hard to comment on such a short piece, especially given that it is only a part of the whole.
ReplyDeleteHaving read your previous post, I agree that two minutes should be about right. For the finished version.
In this snippet I thought the initial sequence worked quite well, expect that all the time in each picture seemed to be spent on the transition and I never really got to see the whole picture before the start of the next one. I think you need some stillness - just a second or two, but enough to actually take in what one is seeing.
I felt the transition to the very fast section was really abrupt. I think you need to link these two sections in some way. I also wondered about the repeated picture of the same banknotes. It felt a bit unsubtle as did the soundtrack. There can be a fine line sometimes between making your point and over-making it.
Just to emphasise that all my comments and suggestions are essentially about tweaks - I do think overall that it's a good concept and that you've made a good start.
Oui, c'est bon. Les transitions ont bien fonctionné et la musique est excellent, mais le voix - ooh la la!
ReplyDeleteSeriously I think the piece shows a great deal of promise - I get the sense of what I feel you felt about the event and that lingering look at the price tag - should compare well with Leeds market.
It certainly conveys your impression and feelings about the event and I thought the start was excellent to set the scene. I also felt the transitions moved through quite rapidly and either showing a still or slowing the speed at which the old image disappears and the new one emerges might work? Looking forward to seeing the finished version.
ReplyDeleteI got the message from the video clip - art and money but found the zoom transitions in the first 34 seconds a little distracting and it was all a bit fast for me (but maybe that's why I like still images.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see the differences in the final 2 minute video. Good luck.
Overall gives a good impression of things happening. Pace a little too fast but can be slowed down. Great soundtrack you put together.
ReplyDeleteThanks to all for comments. I agree that some of the early transitions, in particular, were a little too fast & frequent & have amended those to introduce a brief 'pause' on some of them. Also agree that repeating the image of cash three times was a bit OTT. Glad John liked 'le voix'! That was always intended to be temporary, though, & I now have the same piece recorded by someone with much better French pronunciation!
ReplyDeleteOn the question of the overall pace & then Pete's comment about liking still images, I don't want to slow it down too much. It is, in the end, intended to be a 2-2.5 minute video, which I hope will retain peoples' attention and keep the viewer on their toes (if that makes sense). My own, personal preference might be to have lots more of the excellent 'Autumn Leaves' on sax, with interesting images of Paris drifting by - but that isn't what the piece is intended to be about/for. It takes me out of my comfort zone, somewhat, to produce a more punchy, pacey, piece of work, but I'm deliberately trying to do something a bit more challenging. However, that question of 'stills' versus 'moving' deserves some more thought. We photographers become accustomed to taking our time to read and consider still visual images, but most of the ones we encounter in everday life go by as fast or faster than the ones in my video. I am trying, in this piece of work, to do something closer to, say, a music video or an advertisement, controlling the order, pace, nature of images (and supporting soundtrack, of course) to convey a specific impression/message. I think (but don't necessarily know for sure) that I'm seeking to be more manipulative.
Thanks again, I now have a revised version of this intro, which I'll post shortly, and have also recorded my 'market' soundtrack - so will be working on the second half soon.