365 By Lee Bamsey

365 By Lee Bamsey is an experimental video released in 2005. The video took 12 months to create and is about the use of todays technology. Lee collected and recorded all his recieved text messages for a year and decided to make a video about them making it very personal and very relative to todays technology.

This video was heavily crafted. The whole video had some kind of computer animation in the video to show how the sheer scale of how many people use up to date technology and how quick it actually is. At one point in the video there was a guy watching all these text messages fly by him and using computer animation it gave the illusion he was able to catch them.

Eulogy For Things Left Unsaid by Rob Chiu

Eulogy For Things Left Unsaid is an experimental video by Rob Chiu released in 2008. It is about exploring the different emotions that we all go through during the duration of our lives.

The concept behind it is how memories help show our emotions, whether its loss which will make us sad or the future which could make us feel intimidated, not knowing whats going to happen. Also it explores the idea of childhood and how those memories make us who we become when we grow up. It also has the idea of life cycle. We start very young not know what our futures hold for us and when were old we look back on our memories.

This flim is heavily crafted. The actual film heavily relies on audio. When it first starts you hear the words "Memories" which immediatly establishes what the video is going to based around. The voice over then reads what seems like a poem and all the visual clips then relate back to whats being said. Some of the lighting in certain parts of the film were much darker than others. This could also suggest that these are someones memories and only parts have been remembered.

Contraction by Christopher Hewitt and James Cambourne

Contraction is an experimental film by Christopher Hewitt and James Cambourne which was released in 2009. Its about the idea of how life is forced back into the man who laying unconscious on the rooftop of a building.

The concept behind this video was the idea of rebirth and the lifecycle. It shows how life can be pushed back into you by anyone as if they were giving it to you as a gift. When the women was giving the man CPR the ground shock everytime she pressed down on his chest. This could also suggest that life is a very powerful thing and that it should be valued, not thrown away.

This piece of work wasn't very heavily crafted. However special effects were used throughout the duration of the film such as when the ground started shaking. Also lighting was very key in a particular part where it looked as if the sun was shining into the camera.

Chapter 6

The audience interpretation of MUTO by Blu had a very mixed reaction. The short film was very highly crafted as the whole video was made my stop frame animation. Also there wasn't a very clear narrative to the piece so the concept was hard to understand.

Some people reacted saying they confused and didnt understand the point behind the video. However a few saw that the film had a concept of rebirth and reincarnation, which could be the underlying concept to the video.

Personally when i first watched this film i was very confused. It took me a second time of watching it through to understand some of what i was seeing. I was also very impressed because the artist had created the whole video using stop frame animation by painting graffiti on the wall. Normally i wouldn't really aprecitate what graffiti is but from watching this video it has changed my views.

I think its important for everyone to have their own perspective on the different concepts of experimental videos so we can learn and discover some of the artists ideas behind their work.

Chapter 3

Gisele Kerozene by Jan Kounen is about a group of witches who are trying to get back a stolen item from a theif. The short film has a clear narrative (Beginning, middle and end.) At the begining of the film the witches look as if their worshipping the object and one of the witches takes it. The middle of the film is the chase between the witches to get the object back and the end is how the theif has beaten the other witches but returns the object and flys away. This layout makes the film easier to analyse and understand the concepts behind it.

MUTO by Blu is a short piece made by stock-frame animation of graffiti on the wall. There isn't any clear storyline in the whole film which makes it a non-narrative piece of work. Even though there is no clear storyline there is still a sense of the circle of life within the video which could suggest that there is some kind of narrative in the film.

Experimental videos dont need to have a clear narrative to work. Having a non-narrative film could be because the artist wants the viewers to look deeper into the subject rather than have it spelt out on a plate for them with a storyline.

Chapter 4

The exhibition that i went to was called Chameleon by Tina Gonsalves at the Fabrica in Brighton. It was a interactive video installation that looked into people emotions and how they can be used to change others moods in the room.

The actual room itself was very dark and open with only spotlights on the pieces which were scattered throughout the room creating shadows through the whole room. I thought this gave the whole exhibition a very dark, almost menacing feel to it. It was also very cold. Also with the artwork being small and being hung in such a big place i think it made you feel quite small as a person. The artwork also make the room seem much bigger than it is.

If this piece of work was to be placed somewhere else like a field i dont think it would have the same effect as it did at the Fabrica. This is because the darkness seems to help portray some of the portraits emotions. When they were crying the dark atmosphere suited their mood and when the subject (being me) was crying and upset the darkness fitted my mood. Putting this in a field wouldnt make the piece seem as special as it actually is.

Chapter 2

Compared to now and the past, technology has developed so much and even now is still developing and getting better. If you compared Girl Chewing gum by John Smith to Andy Huangs Doll Face you can clearly see the difference. Doll Face is completely computer animated which Girl Chewing Gum has been created by an old camera that filmed in only black and white.

Nowadays the media industry uses black and white for effect rather than only being able to film in just that. Also editing has come a long way. Girl chewing gum has hardly any edits at all in the whole film, whereas Doll Face clearly relys on editing because it has been so heavily crafted. When Girl Chewing Gum was made the technology was deemed as state of the art equipment. This just shows how far technology has developed as Doll Face uses computers to create the actual film rather than cameras.

Chapter 1

During the past and present there have been many examples of experimental media and in someway they all have their similarites and differences. The experimental videos that i am going to be comparing are Girl Chewing Gum by John Smith, Koyaanisqatsi by Godfry Reggio and Doll Face by Andrew Huang.

Girl Chewing Gum was made in 1976 and its about the illusion that there's a director giving orders while sequencing a film. You then find out that there isnt a director and theres a man talking over a pre-recorded film. The short films gives the illusion of control.

Koyaanisqatsi began filming in 1972 before finally being released in 1982 and it stands for "Life Out of Balance". The whole film was made by stop frame animation. Its about the destruction of the world because of the advances of technology and man-made problems such as skyscrapers and the destruction of nature.

Doll Face by Andy Huang was released on the internet in 2006. This video was a computer animation about how far someone would go to look perfect. But in the end they take things to far and land up destroying themselves. It adresses the problems today with how everyone feels the need to try and achieve perfection.

There are some similarites between these videos. Doll Face and Koyaanisquatis both are about destruction in some ways. Doll Face with how far people will go to achieve perfection. Koyaanisqatsi is about the destruction of the earth because what humans have done. Also these two films are heavily crafted. Doll Face being completely computer animated and Koyannisqatsi being made by stop frame annimation. Koyaanisqatsi and Girl Chewing Gum both heavily rely on audio. Girl chewing gum gives the illusion that the director is standing there out of the frame because of how he says whats going to happen in the frame. Koyaansiqatsi relys on audio so it fits the scene. If its a busy scene then the music is going to be quick and lively whereas if its a calm scene then the soundtrack is going to be slow.

The differences between these videos could be how they are made. They are all made using different methods. Girl Chewing Gum uses video footage, Koyaansiqatsi uses stop frame animation and Doll Face uses computer animation. Also the editing style is different. Girl chewing gum has hardly any cuts during the whole duration of the film, whereas Doll Face cuts everytime a different angle is used.

Gisele Kerozene - Jan Kounen

Gisele Kerozene is a short film by Jan Kounen. The short experimental film was made in 1989. The film itself isnt very concept orientated. Instead its very craft orientated, using stock-frame animation to create the video.

The video itself is about four witches flying on broomsticks three of which are trying to get back an item which seems precious to them back. This results in what seems like a race however each of them gets killed off in the process until the theif who hands back the precious item hands it back. This is the story line that i am getting from the video.

As the video uses stock-frame animation it means that the video is incredibly intricate and difficut to create. In order to give the illusion that the witches are flying they had to take 100's of pictures of the jumping in mid-air, then link these pictures together.