Monday, October 20, 2008
Journal
The journal I will be following this semester will be the Vectors Journal at http://www.vectorsjournal.org
Projection Method
How does an “artist” project their film- Or video, media, moving images, etc.? Or how should they, are there more effective ways then the cinematic screen? I, until recently, always thought that was the only way! One had to go to the theater and had to pay for a seat and had to sit in a dark room and had to look at the extra large screen accompanied with the extra loud sounds.
I didn’t even consider television as a way of projecting art. It didn’t seem like a way to network and influence people, because I was brought up to believe that the news was propaganda, and TV shows were stupid. And I would have to agree that almost all TV shows are mindless exercises moving the human race further away from existence. But aside from that, the television took away some of the “magic” of the cinematic experience. The screen too small, and the background noise too loud, and there’s no wide screen, and all the swear words and nudity are edited out. So… What’s the fun in that?!
All of these factors and possibly ones that I haven’t even noticed yet, have contributed to my misunderstanding of television and cable potential. And just because the potential is there doesn’t mean filmmakers will strive to fulfill it. One will have to sift through a lot of poor quality in order to find remarkable pieces of media.
While I was wandering through the Milwaukee Art Museum I came across a piece of work that sparked my thoughts- which were much related to the ones I expressed above. It was a series of projections of a short film in a dark room called Brad and Ambers Backyard. It was created by J. Shimon and L. Lindemann. The piece was made in 2008.
What the filmmakers did was use an old 8mm projector and a new digital projector to project two images onto one pull down white screen. And behind the old projector, and underneath the digital projector was a smaller sized television that also projected an image. The 8mm film running through the projector was footage of an overweight couple in a backyard hangin’ out by the fire pit. This image was shown on the large screen but did not take up the whole screen. It didn’t even take up half of the screen. It filled about an eighth of the size of the pull down screen and was located in the bottom right corner. The digital projector showed an old styled/ sepia looking image which filled the entire pull down screen and showed a man and a woman playing with a large camera. And the small television behind all of this projected the same couple in the backyard by the fire pit, but not from the same camera angle as the one being shown on the pull down screen. If none of this makes sense it is worth while going to the museum and trying to figure it out yourself, but expect to get in the way of the projections and “play” with the installation. Because, in a way, the projection style forces you to interact with the piece in order to understand it. Unless you instantly get confused and walk away!
So is this the right way to project this project? I don’t think that’s a fare question to ask, because there is no right or wrong. The purpose of the film is what should determine the way it should be projected. Watching a moving image in a theater is a perfect way to be entertained. It allows the viewer to escape and forget and dream, but as film evolves and audiences and filmmakers get more complex with the craft, projection methods should vary. Artists must strive to make their audiences interact and think a little.
I didn’t even consider television as a way of projecting art. It didn’t seem like a way to network and influence people, because I was brought up to believe that the news was propaganda, and TV shows were stupid. And I would have to agree that almost all TV shows are mindless exercises moving the human race further away from existence. But aside from that, the television took away some of the “magic” of the cinematic experience. The screen too small, and the background noise too loud, and there’s no wide screen, and all the swear words and nudity are edited out. So… What’s the fun in that?!
All of these factors and possibly ones that I haven’t even noticed yet, have contributed to my misunderstanding of television and cable potential. And just because the potential is there doesn’t mean filmmakers will strive to fulfill it. One will have to sift through a lot of poor quality in order to find remarkable pieces of media.
While I was wandering through the Milwaukee Art Museum I came across a piece of work that sparked my thoughts- which were much related to the ones I expressed above. It was a series of projections of a short film in a dark room called Brad and Ambers Backyard. It was created by J. Shimon and L. Lindemann. The piece was made in 2008.
What the filmmakers did was use an old 8mm projector and a new digital projector to project two images onto one pull down white screen. And behind the old projector, and underneath the digital projector was a smaller sized television that also projected an image. The 8mm film running through the projector was footage of an overweight couple in a backyard hangin’ out by the fire pit. This image was shown on the large screen but did not take up the whole screen. It didn’t even take up half of the screen. It filled about an eighth of the size of the pull down screen and was located in the bottom right corner. The digital projector showed an old styled/ sepia looking image which filled the entire pull down screen and showed a man and a woman playing with a large camera. And the small television behind all of this projected the same couple in the backyard by the fire pit, but not from the same camera angle as the one being shown on the pull down screen. If none of this makes sense it is worth while going to the museum and trying to figure it out yourself, but expect to get in the way of the projections and “play” with the installation. Because, in a way, the projection style forces you to interact with the piece in order to understand it. Unless you instantly get confused and walk away!
So is this the right way to project this project? I don’t think that’s a fare question to ask, because there is no right or wrong. The purpose of the film is what should determine the way it should be projected. Watching a moving image in a theater is a perfect way to be entertained. It allows the viewer to escape and forget and dream, but as film evolves and audiences and filmmakers get more complex with the craft, projection methods should vary. Artists must strive to make their audiences interact and think a little.
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