Visual Metaphor

There are two versions of the visual metaphor. One version adheres to the assignment’s time constraints, while the other is 5 minutes long. Though they each have slightly different themes, they both touch upon the human experience, particularly that of women. In the original version, however, we created a mashup of different texts that have inspired us throughout our lives. We wanted to create this project because we both view the world through the lens of what we have read and experienced and wanted to convey that message visually. We started by making a document in which we collected excerpts from all of the texts that have impacted us the most. We reworked that document multiple times, until we felt the texts flowed together into a coherent narrative. We don’t have any physical storyboards because most of our vision was developed in conversation during the actual shooting process. 

We had a lot of trouble actually getting together to film, as both of our schedules had very little overlap. While we were apart, I primarily worked on story ideation and compiled the majority of excerpts for the text. I also sorted them into the order we ended up using. Roman and I shared responsibility with regards to filming. Roman did much of the editing, though I helped with color grading and audio mixing. I also included the captions and credits. Overall, I really enjoyed working with Roman. I feel that our personalities allowed for an incredibly open and collaborative environment, in turn helping us get to where we did. 

Though a lot of what we did came from our collaborative effort, much of our creative ideas came from the text themselves sort of giving us an idea of how it should be accompanied visually. For one section, we were inspired by the Norwich City Football Club’s Superbowl ad, particularly the way it depicted mental health.

REFERENCES:

TEXT:

“Nature Poem” by Tony Pico

Van Gough

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

“Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman

“Myth” by Natasha Trethewey

“Citizen” by Claudia Rankine

The “Dead Bird” essay

Human All Too Human by Friedrich Nietzche

All About Eve

“Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernst Hemmingway

“Invitation” by Mary Oliver

AUDIO & VIDEO:

What Was I Made For? (From The Motion Picture “Barbie”) [The Barbie Montage] by Billie Eilish

Lullaby of Takeda [Takeda No Komoriuta], Japanese Folk Song by The Red Birds [Akai Tori]