Concept & Story

What is the concept & the story in your project?

The narration we chose is the opening monologue of the famous musical Tick, Tick, Boom!. The musical is created by composer Jonathan Larson based on his own true story. At the time in the musical, Jonathan is turning 30 in one week. He has been working as a waiter to pay his bills while writing a musical throughout his best years. The musical is also being presented in one week. He kept hearing this ticking, informing him he’s running out of time to actually make something and be somebody, he’s also expecting that sound of “boom”, that day he becomes something big. The anxiety as well as the anticipation of a man who is struggling in life pursuing his dream is what our project is about. 

The true story is, this musical he was making didn’t make it, but he never stopped writing, and years later, the day actually came, he wrote his most famous piece Rent, which is one of the most renowned musicals in the history of Broadway that people still watch until today. But he’ll never know. Because he accidentally passed away one night before the premiere of Rent at the age of 35.

…Boom!

How were you inspired to create this project? 

A few days before we started this project, a movie based on the musical, starring Andrew Garfield premiered. That’s when we first fully learn about this touching story. When we searched online, we found out that there was this monologue at the beginning of the original musical that is fast-paced, could be interesting when demonstrated with camera language, and also has a perfect length for the project, so we decided to use it.

What is the ideation process of this project?

The theme of this monologue is the ticking in Jon’s head, so we tried to find the audio from the original broadway show, since it’s a really early show, it’s really hard to find related media materials. But we still got the sound effect of ticking and the “Boom” from the original sound design of the musical and edited it with Audition to make a track that fits our project. For the visual design, we first split the elements in the script we want to present in the video, and had a brainstorming session about the visual metaphor we’re going to use. Some of them are demonstrated through straightforward visual language, some more imaginary, some more creative. 

Why do you want to explore this topic? 

 Because this stage of “young and anxious” described in this piece is      something that lots of young adults can relate to. The struggle between paying your bills and keeping pursuing your unrealistic dream as you grow older is also an interesting and relatable topic to explore..

Creation Process & Execution

 

Share your storyboard and describe how it helped you in your project. 

The storyboard was a great tool in assisting our filming plan. Specific actions and scenes that were important to shoot were emphasized on our storyboard. Changes in focus, still versus panning shots, and use of blur are some examples of how the scenes were differentiated. 

Describe the process of choosing a setting, shooting, sourcing materials, lighting, and directing (if applicable). 

Since the narration we chose is about a man in his late 20s dealing with his anxiety of potential success and failure. We chose settings that were relevant to what a man like Jonathan Larson would do in his daily life as the thoughts expressed in the narration overlaid his actions. For this project we wanted to extend our efforts and chose not to source and videos from online but rather make sure that all the scenes focused on the one subject and his actions as played out by our actor Ian Nacke. For lighting most was natural or from the ambient light found in the surrounding of our chosen setting; any harsh lighting was edited out in post production. 

Describe the challenges you encountered during the content creation process, and how you solved or overcame them. 

There were hardly any challenges during the content creation process and the ideas and filming direction came very smoothly. The only issues that many have come up with was mainly in the correct use of the stabilizer as it was a difficult task to get balanced and getting the footage off the SD card. Nikita realized there were issues with the looseness of the write protection switch as it prevented the card from being formatted. So, we had to use Nikita’s camera to transfer the footage through Wi-Fi in order to download the footage off of her own SD card. However, after figuring that out, there were no further issues.

Describe your editing & post-production process. You may share a few screenshots from Premiere about the editing techniques and effects you learned.

Most of the editing was in color-correcting the footage that had harsh lighting and slowing down or speeding up footage to time it together with the audio. Since most of the focus changes and movement we did in camera, there was not a lot of movement added in post-production. We also added captions to the video as it made the visuals feel complete and balanced as a whole. 

During the editing process we were able to utilize the split screen effect that we had previously learned from class. By using it in the scene discussing Napoleon, there was another layer design that we thought looked very nice, even as a still shot. 

We also altered the opacity of some scenes so that they would overlap with another image that stayed consistent and added extra meaning to the visual metaphor. The constant ticking in the audio was referenced in the visuals as well.

Collaboration

Describe your own role and contribution to the project. 

My role in this project was mainly in filming and editing. Almost all of the filming was done by me as I have some experience with camera work and photography. Some scenes that I could not film due to my height was done by August.  Since I had the role of editing the video and post-production work, I made sure to think of how the video would be edited together while filming the scenes. Through these contributions and efforts I feel very content with the results of my project.

Express appreciation for the work your teammate did. 

August had found the monologue and pitched it to me, after agreeing with the piece we began to work on assigning visual metaphors to the project and making the message as clear as possible. 

How did the collaborative process and exchange with your partner inform your project? 

Since we have had a thorough understanding from the beginning on how we wanted our work to be visually pleasing and meaningful, our partnership worked well in achieving that goal. The collaboration was very good as we are very satisfied with our work.

Was there something you learned from your partner? 

I learned that it is always good to get a second opinion and try things out even when it is possible that it will not work out. I felt that August was good at voicing his opinion and making sure our deadlines were met. 

 

Aesthetics & Results

 

Consider the aesthetics you choose to pursue your concept and story such as the following, tell us why do you think it is effective and you may also share your inspirations and references:

Camera language 

We made sure to use different camera angles so that there were a variety of  shots placed in sequence in post-production. Most of the shots we used were medium shots followed by either a close up or extra close up shot to place emphasis on certain details and actions we wanted the scene to be in use of. 

Color correction/adjustment

Since we used multiple settings and scenes in our video there was a variety of lighting and tones the footage had that came with the ambient lighting of each surroundings. When editing, we made sure to make the scenes that were placed in sequence of each other have a similar tone and color so that they did not seem out of place. WE also made sure to correct any colors that were too bright and saturated as it would give the wrong tone to the video and our visual metaphor.

Tone/Pace of video 

In order to demonstrate the emotion of anxiety of Jon, we used lots of  fast cuts, but also put some longer shots among them to release the tension from time to time. The pace of the video was thought out to mirror the pace of the audio. For the narration, on the contrary, our actor used a casual and relaxed tone throughout the narration. First, it’s determined by the character he’s playing. Jon is still an optimistic person in general, which is well demonstrated on this contradiction. With the build up of ticking getting louder, after the “boom!’ In the end, he’s done explaining the stage of life he’s in and says “This is where we are…”, it becomes quiet and a simple but delightful piano melody starts, which is indeed the opening number of the musical, We hope this gives the audience an anticipation of the show, like they would if they’re sitting in the theatre, it’s just we transformed it as a short film.

 

Project Title: “Gratitude”

1. Team Members: Nikita Seet,   August Wang

Concept | Storyline:

       1). The piece we chose is a poem named Gratitude written by Susan Ludvigson. 

       3). We will be expanding on the theme gratitude and capture precious moments in life that we often times over look. Specifically highlighting our senses of sight and sound through metaphorical expressions of the poem’s content.

       4). We want to make our project mainly in a modern urban setting, but also add elements that demonstrates the beauty of nature. The tiny moments of everyday life that are often looked past and unappreciated on a normal  level. 

1. Execution Plan: 

       1). We plan to use DSLR camera, sound recorder, and tripod for the project.

       2). We will shoot at several locations around Shanghai in different time, we might also include footages from other sources. However, this will be a last resort as we desire to use our own media and film. 

       3). We might need many outdoors scenes in the city, the shooting condition of which is unpredictable, we need to check conditions like how the weather is in advance to ensure the best outcome in the video.

       4). Nikita is more familiar with cameras and August is more experienced in video editing, but generally we will work together in each step of the project and our work division is flexible, we will modify it as we encounter actual challenges.

1.   Storyboard Draft

 

 

Link to Movie: 少年的你 Better Days

https://dramacooli.com/better-days-movie-eng-sub/

My concept for my memory soundscape is the memory of deciding to stay in Shanghai for the summer while my many of my friends flew back home to see family and friends. The absence of my friends and familiarity made me start thinking about how my life in Florida used to be before I came to  Shanghai for college. My bed at home, my high school friends and everything else was so far away from me. However, I did end up finding the same comfort within my time here in Shanghai. I had made new friends that awakened the sense of familiarity and comfort that I experienced back home in Florida. These feelings I wanted to express reminded me most of a storm. For these reasons I had decided to replicate a storm by using the sounds of my friends and various objects to express “The crescendo of emotion traveling along with the decrescendo of the storm” as I said in my Memory Soundscape post.The echo of laughter in the storm helped emulate the old memories of my life in Florida with the paralleled laughter following the storm. 

I took recordings of pillows and curtains along with some flutterings of paper and plastic. In order to create a storm with essence of laughter and memory I overlapped some recordings of my friends laughing. The process of implementing certain sounds into the 1 minute was complicated to create. The sounds I utilized in my project were at first very random and repetitive, so I had difficulty finding distinct sounds that I could work with in my project.Due to this issue, I decided to take recording again and this time focused more on the slightly insignificant sounds that would help with audio-visualizing the memory I wish to express. 

– The image above shows a single snap shot of my trial-and-error process while creating my project-

My editing process starting out as a trial-and-error journey. Based on what was taught in class, I had an overall idea on how Audition worked and the use of specific elements. However, I went more in depth when presently creating my project. One tool I enjoyed working with was the Notch Filter tool in the Effects section of Audition. I was surprised at how altering the effect was to the  sound, it made the original sound strikingly different.  I did encounter some  difficulties in controlling the volume. However,  I found a solution by cutting down the size of the sound wave. By doing this I did have to compromise the opportunity for the listener to feel the power of the audio.  My takeaway from this editing process was that through thorough investigation everything is a learning process. 

– Snapshot of my process playing around with the Notch Filter Effect- 

To conclude, I am very proud of how my project turned out; however, there are always improvements to be made so there are some things I would have done differently if I had more time to work on my project. 

On presentation day I received feedback that some aspects of my project seemed repetitive. I was advised to decrease some of the paralleling audios in my work so that there could be an added sense of fantasy.  This suggestion helped inform me on further steps I should take to better my story-telling of this emotive scene. Even with these observations, I have also received compliments on my use of Audition effects and spatial creation of sound. The overlapping and use of silence were two of my favorite characteristics I had implemented into my project. 

 

– Image of my final project on Audition –

Steyerl talks about how the documentary-style “unbroken belief” is questioned. He believes that many films do not reveal the truth directly, but rather their emotional effects. As people empathize, they overlook some of the images and effects of the film itself. We only believe in the right thing, not what could be the truth. The stories that are true, but the composition of the film is significant in how viewers are impacted and influenced to believe. Fiction utilizes truth and belief in the same way that Steyerl describes in the film Close Up; this expression is done visually in by Abbas Kiarostami. Even when the credibility of the documentary is reduced and people still tend to have belief, due to the amount of uncertainties it is impossible to take everything into account. When describing how fiction and truth work together in film, the  truth is the what fiction is built upon while fiction is an artistic expression of reality. Fiction is constructed on the basis of truth, and after being processed, truth becomes fascinating fiction. When people are attracted to fiction it is simpler to inform the truth. 

The significance of the authenticity and representation of the truth in the media that is consumed by us everyday is that we are exposed to it by choice. Whatever is put in front of us is perceived as part if the truth. Documentaries have the ability to create false truth in media. They make us familiar with the world, but they do not give us the opportunity to participate in the world. They make a difference to us, but they are hostile. Questions about the truthfulness of documentary claims are actually part of this series of emotional simulations. The closer you are to reality, the more focused and unstable it becomes. Let’s call this the uncertainty principle of modern documentaries. Simply said, the sooner the belief is gone, the less you see.

 

I thought back to this past summer. I had decided to stay in Shanghai rather than flying back to the states as I recalled the difficulty of my journey here. I had mixed emotions about this decision, I had not seen my parents in a while, and they were still getting used to life without me. Many of my friends ventured off as well, returning to their home, family and friends. But I felt staying was best, it would be unfamiliar and different; I hoped for a change within myself following the end of summer.

One of those midsummer nights, I remember waking up to the sound of rain and thunder. Awaking the sense of familiarity and comfort as I often experienced these awakenings back home in Florida. The rain hitting the window and my sheets muffling its sounds. After hearing some thunder I rose out of bed and went to the window for a closer look. The rain got louder and clearer as I opened the window, just as my mom used to do so I’d  wake up faster.

Closing the window, I placed my hand against the glass as I listened to the wind howling. Knowing that I had found some pieces of home in a place that was not home, I was happy about my decision to stay.

 

Through the manipulation of zipper and paper sounds, I hope to achieve the growing sense of comfort in an unfamiliar place. I want to utilize the recording of a clicking pen to mirror the consistent rhythm of the storm through my increasing attachment. The crescendo of emotion traveling along with the decrescendo of the storm is what I hope to capture most. 

Nikita Seet: Diptych

Concept
The concept for my diptych is very familiar in the sense of still life. However, there are many forms of symbolism that these fruits showcase. One of the aromatic effects of grapefruit is to support our feelingof self-love, especially when it comes to self-honor. Grapefruit encourages us to look inward and address the problems we avoid. I placed the grapefruit front and center to metaphorically deal with the problem straight on.Lemons express longevity and happiness among other things. I wished to remind the viewer of such desires with the incorporation of the bright colored fruit. Pomegranates have the symbolism of fertility and a strong association with Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, as well as Hera, the Greek goddess of marriage and childbirth. This is strongly the reason behind my creation for the second part of my project. having the natural elements to represent childbirth in the original photograph, I pieced togetheran image that depicted rebirth in a parallel world. Visually piecing together a representation of the female reproductive system to fully immerse the viewer in the symbolism of the fruit in the original photograph. 

Process

 

When creating the setup for part I of my diptych, I wanted to create a very organic visual that would be almost portrait-like through the eyes of the viewfinder. When staging the fruit (pomegranates, grapefruits, and lemons) I knew I wanted to capture the colors of the slices and reflections of color through various perspectives. By changing the placement of the fruit, vase and mirror throughout my photographing process, I was able to achieve a variety of shots that expressed the feeling I wanted to display.

When creating part II of my diptych, I wanted to make sure there was still a connection between my original image and the altered image created using Photoshop. I did this by keeping some of the most eye-catching elements, such as the grapefruit in the foreground, consistent in the framing of the collage. Since the original photograph was very real and fresh, I wanted to explore what the opposite of that would look like in my design. Thus, I tried to create a outer universe feeling while still keeping the natural visuals intact. To explain the design as a whole, in the most simplest terms, I attempted to recreate the symbolism of the female reproductive system. 

Conclusion

If I had more time, I would definitely improve the setup of my original photograph to have been more balanced and easy on the eyes. I feel that my photograph right now is very focused on specific areas due to the direction of the lighting. With my photoshopped collage, I would have wanted to incorporate a complementary color palette. I felt that there was strong emphasis on  the colors of the grapefruit, which I do not mind; however,I wish those colors were equalized with the lemon and pomegranate. Even with these thoughts, I am quite pleased with what I have learned and created in the second part of my project. Though I know there are always improvements to be made, such as the flow or aesthetic appeal, I recognize my growth while I designed this piece.

In Our Own Image explains the idea of digital imaging throughout its history of uses and developments in media technology. Fred Ritchin introduces the “fluidity of the digital” in the post-photographic age, to be the replacement of fidelity of the mechanical age. Due to improvements of technology, it is inevitable that reality will not be as achievable through photographs. In the modern era of digital media, much of it is altered to achieve a desired visual. This ability to change and distort reality is the “fluidity” that Ritchin discusses. In the fidelity of the mechanical age, photographs had always captured true reality as the camera was the only technology needed. Fluidity of digital media usually has extra elements added and altered. An example of such alteration is shown below. Witnessing how the overlapping of the woman’s portrait and the flowers indicate that the image is not true reality. This photograph allows for a better understanding of “fluidity of the digital”.In order to understand the extent of which photography is capable of capturing reality, it is best to have some experience with the media itself. When taking a photograph, there is a second after where you are able to remember everything about that specific moment. With the visual acting as a reminder of what once was, reality is closer to be captured. There are times where this does not occur however; the more you chose to alter the reality of the photograph, the individuality is lost and at times even reality is lost. In conclusion, keeping elements of the truth is most important when attempting to capture reality. When discussing the comparison of photography with other forms of media, whether that be text, video etc, there are benefits of photography that surpass other technologies. Photography and other similar medias such as video and virtual reality provide a greater space of reflecting reality as they are moving images with the ability to showcase a constant visual that only changes when altered using digital softwares and programs. Texts and books allow the reader to visualize and create their own form of reality that differs from person to person, which explains the idea behind “In Our Own Image”. These differences can help filter which media an individual prefers to capture their own reality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nikita Seet

PATTERNS by NASAYA (featuring Sara Diamond)

A. Concept and Design

My concept for this project was to create a dynamic and flowing piece that reflected the feeling and emotive layer of the music I had chosen. Throughout the song, there is a consistent melody in the background following a repetitive drum beat. I analyzed the circles to represent drops and basses in the song and the wavy elements on the sides and corners to flow like the melody. I incorporated Gestalt theory with repetition and symmetry within both the shapes choices and the letter choices. By choosing a distinctive pattern and mixing uppercase and lowercase, I was able to achieve rhythm and movement.I also attempted to explore the principles of similarity and closure in the work by utilizing similarly structured lettering and closing in some of the figures around certain elements. I made these steps to try and create a piece that translates the intent of the music into a visual scene. 

B. Process 

To achieve a desired design and expression I first explored the functions of many aspects of the software so that in the process of creating my work, I would have an easier time in following the flow of ideas I generate. There were times where I could not achieve certain visual elements I wanted and had to resort to utilizing a different type of design.During the mid-critique, I was given suggestions to incorporate more of the principles into my work as they were not as profound as the should be. After taking various perspectives and opinions about my work, I decided to eliminate any unnecessary elements that were distracting from the flow of the visuals.

C. Conclusion

The main improvements I would like to make would be the cohesiveness of the visuals. Through the final critique I was able to gain outside opinion and suggestive theory on how my project spoke to them.There were a few cases of success as viewers described seeing wave-like structures and circular objects while listening to the music track. I counted these as successes since those same elements are found in my work. 

Author :  Nikita Seet & Valeryn 

 

For this project, Nikita and I chose to introduce a camera to the heptapods.  The picture above shows a pioneer plaque that shows the operations of a camera. The pioneer plaque helps the heptapods to understand the concept of a camera. We are utilizing this to exchange information on how a camera assists in capturing a moment in time. 

How do explain what a camera is to heptapods? 

The heptapods, just like any other living thing, interact with each other. The reading Story of Your Life, explains the methods humans took to understand and communicate with the heptapods in their own language. We understand from the reading that the heptapods have similar modes of communication and senses as humans. Their eyesight and vocality allows us to have an easier mode of communication with them. If the heptapods had lacked the sense of sight, the experiment would not have been successful with a mere pioneer plaque. However, their slight difference in view should also be acknowledged. According to the reading, the heptapods have seven eyes on the top of their body which alters their navigation of the world; unlike humans who have a forward and backward direction, heptapods do not. With simple association and directional actions, we are able to educate the heptapods on certain concepts and knowledge. 

To explain the conceptuality of a camera, we can first demonstrate the ability to capture a visual in a specific moment for an infinite amount of time. Simply put, a camera is a box with a hole that allows light to enter inside it, to assist in the capture of a picture. As shown in the diagram above, the camera acts as a mode of holding an image for later viewing. It is important to note that there are many types of cameras available but the idea behind each is the same. The camera that we are explaining to the heptapods is a pinhole camera which was first invented in 1856. We chose this camera to explain to the heptapods as it is one of the earliest cameras made so it should be easier for the heptapod to get a grasp of what a camera is. The camera takes in an image and later captures it to the wall of the box. With the heptapods understanding the camera, it would mean a huge discovery for us humans as they could show us how they survive in outer space. 

When communicating this idea with the heptapods, we emphasize the way a camera takes avisual from reality and copies it into an image. This nature of informing the heptapods would be almost fully visual in the sense that explaining the linguistics of camera-technology would be difficult to achieve. It may be possible after gaining extended knowledge of the heptapod’s own language and attaining the ability to translate into their own form of communication. However, as also seen in the reading, getting the heptapods to understand simple concepts and associations should be more than enough to communicate this simple system that is part of human culture.