Month: April 2022

Visual Metaphor Proposal

 

Visual Metaphor Proposal

  1.   Project Title: No Justice, No Peace or This is America 
  2.   Emma Blosser & Gaby Juhala

III.  Concept | Storyline:

       1).  For the narrative portion of our visual metaphor we are going to combine a variety of clips from the protests themselves, news reports on the protests, trial hearings, and speeches. (possibilities linked below) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATPSht6318o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF9qi-FTTz4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF5wS9YzQ9k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Vl4I0weXPU

 

       2). Our goal is to convey the message conveyed through the Black Lives Matter movement in America through the voiceovers of multiple speeches, news outlets, and audio clips from the protests themselves etc.

       3). The focus will be on the 2020 BLM protests following the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The video clips will be from that time period and aid in furthering the narrative catalyzed by the outburst of protests seen in 2020, demonstrating how wide-reaching they were and the deep impact they had on breaking down and rebuilding the deeply flawed justice system in America. 

       4). The style/aesthetic we are going to try and pursue could possibly be in the noir genre of editing because of the fact that it will allow the viewers to focus on the content/message of the photos and video clips themselves rather than the colors which could distract from the overall narrative.

  1. Execution Plan: 

       1). For the Visual Metaphor Project we will strictly be using our cell Phone camera and audio recorder.

       2). The main location for shooting is Portland, Oregon. Portland became known as the hub for the BLM protests in 2020. The videos used were shot from May-July 2020 with both clips from day and night time being included. Showing clips from both day and night allows for the message/narrative of just how widely recognized and impactful the movement was, it didn’t matter the day or time, people were always gathering and showing support for the movement.

       3). Due to the fact that an event like a protest is so unpredictable, the quality of the filming might not be of the highest quality but considering the limitations to filming equipment and inability to meet in person as a pair I believe the content we have does a good job of conveying the narrative we hope to demonstrate through our visual metaphor.

       4). How will you collaborate? How will you divide work? (Gantt Chart)

 

  1. Gantt Chart*

 

Task Owner Start Date Due Date Duration PCT of Task Complete
Audition audio editing Emma 04/26 04/30    
Premiere pro photo/video editing  Gaby  04/30 5/5    
Premiere pro combination of audio file and photos/ videos Gaby 04/30 5/5    
Final tweaks/

revisions

 Gaby and Emma 5/5  5/12    
           
           

Storyboard Visual Metaphor

Memory Soundscape

Concept

The memory I chose to base my memory soundscape on was a reminiscent memory about when my parents would come home from work and me and my sister would run and greet them. We would then start the preparation of dinner and catch up on the day. The reason I chose to do this memory was because I am currently in my childhood home and all those memories came flooding back. Also the noises that I can recall from back then would be easy to recreate here since I can use the original sounds. I wanted to convey the actual sounds that I would hear as my parents would come home so the composition was supposed to be in the perspective of myself. I wanted to make some sounds faint and some louder as I would hear them in real time.

Process

The sounds I used for this were those I could recreate easily or those that stuck in my mind when I thought of this memory. For example, I included my garage door opening and the alarm system going off. This sound indicated to me and my sister that my parents were home so that was almost like a trigger for the other sounds like the footsteps and the door opening etc. When recording these sounds, I didn’t run into any problems. The only problems I encountered were when editing the sounds together and adding FX to them. I wanted to make sure I conveyed the memory correctly so it proved to be very time consuming when adding FX. I think with sound projects like these and using this kind of editing program, the key is to understand the system at first and take it day by day. Do little bits here and there so you’re not stuck on one section for hours. 

Conclusion

If I had more time to improve my project, I would go back in and play with the actual compositions of the sounds just to see if there was one way I could add more dimension to the sounds. During the presentation of my soundscape, the feedback I received was mostly about the whole composition and how the sounds connected to one another. I definitely reflected about the composition and not even just in a sound project like this. With any creative project, there needs to be coherency in the composition so I will take this take away into future projects.

The Uncertainty of Documentarism Post

 When Steyerl mentions an “unbroken belief” in the documentary images that we see in today’s news coverage, this is basically mentioning how we live in a world that needs to be heavily doubted for it to even be considered truth. In the past, people have had that “unbroken belief” that everything they have been fed was the truth and with the newer technology today, we have to question that. We see in today’s society, we desire more of an intense news coverage or document versus accuracy because we are consumed with the drama that follows. This is how truth can feed fiction, in a way, because rumors and falsities flow out of a smidgen of truth and vis versa. Authenticity is rare to come by but still alive in the documentation process if done correctly. When documenting images or film, the accuracy needs to be spot on so the audience will be consuming correct information.