Final Drift around Milwaukee

Final Cut

2008-05-01T16:55:00.004-07:00

*Headphones may be necessary.

Rough cut sketch number three

2008-05-01T16:55:00.003-07:00

Roug cut sketch number two

2008-05-01T16:55:00.001-07:00

Rough cut sketch number one

2008-05-01T16:54:00.002-07:00

Production Strategy

2008-05-01T16:54:00.001-07:00

I wanted to be in a area of the more desolate and industrial, so to have the space for wider shots. I spent most of my time in this area (the end of the green drift 3 line ,Google Maps) trying to get footage that would compliment slower and longer cuts. The idea was to slow down the edits and rely more on the image itself. For fear of pigeon holing myself into a preconceived idea, I had a specific concept based around the sounds that I would use and how the image was going to compliment them. The idea itself was going to dictate and limit how much was going to be captured and the style in which it will be done.

Ten questions

2008-05-01T16:53:00.001-07:00

1. How much will my preconceived ideas limit or allow openness and freedom of what I will capture on film?
2. Does the true experimentation lie in the drifting or the editing process?
3. How much will the contextual explanations of the footage and drift weigh on the images themselves?
4. Will these shots be able to stand alone?
5. How much stake should I put in a no trespassing sign?
6. Will the wide shots translate well in the QT window?
7. Are more shots of this area necessary to convey the landscape properly?
8. Is it necessary to see activity in these shots?
9. Will I compromise the images in the editing process?
10. Can one stand alone image explain or convey the experience of the location?

Drift assessment number four

2008-05-01T16:52:00.002-07:00

4. Describe your favorite experience, situation, place, or recollection from either of your Drifts. Be specific about what happened, how you felt, how you reacted, and why you think this particular experience affected you so much.

I think the location of my Drift 3 final cut had to be the best experience and location out of all. I had come into the location with a certain aesthetic in mind, and I had found it in this location. I wanted desolate and somewhat industrial, cold and somewhat warm in the same breath. Bleak in the original images, but with the possibility of editing in some focal points and draw some attention to the minutia of the long shots. In this experience I have found, that like most artists, I live more through the screen and composition then I do in the reality that surrounds me. How this landscape can be translated is my concern. In a way this has opened up my eyes to this "focus"; Or maybe blindness to the real surroundings.

Drift assessment number three

2008-05-01T16:52:00.001-07:00

3. Describe three surprises or unexpected situations you encountered on your Drifts and in the days that followed. The surprise could stem from your expectations that conflicted with "on the ground" realities, cultural or social issues of which you were previously unaware, feelings and reactions that you did not expect to have, appearances and soundings of things you did not expect, good or bad outcomes of "on the spot" decisions you had to make, or the discovery of "deeper" realities in the materials you brought home. (Again, skip anything technology-related!)

Number one and most obvious is the conflict and reaction of the passersby or witnesses when one is taking footage. I believe there is some cultural stigma and paranoia when one sees someone taking photos in an somewhat uninhabited area. I felt at times that and explanation would calm either them or me. Which leads me into number two. I believe my anxiety in taking photos in this manner forced me to not over think my images. The strategy was to plan out shots prior to actually framing and shooting. And the when shooting, quick and often. I felt while I was on location that I could not relish the images until I returned home. I had planned to have a different attitude about capturing images, but once on location I felt differently. I needed to move quickly. Having to move allowed me to wander through a construction site almost unnoticed. This being my third point. Making the on the spot decision to keep walking on through brought me three of my favorite shots. Like I stated before I was aware of people around me and wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible. Walking through this area was going to draw that unwanted attention, but yielded the best material in my opinion.

Drift assessment number two

2008-05-01T16:51:00.000-07:00

2. Describe, with details, two situations during Drift 1 and/or 2 in which you felt unusually peaceful, at ease, or contemplative.

In answering this question I feel somewhat reminiscent of things that I would have thought I would not. The process itself allows me to take inventory of what has happened this semester. I believe in one instance it was the finished project that made me take note of what was actually happening. I speak of Drift 2 in the context that it was mirror for a horribly personal time. And if not for the images unfolding before me I would have easily disregarded the situation as null. Was I personally pleased with the final project? Not at all. But the process of putting together media has always allowed, for filmmakers and audience, the insight to see things detached. I had put together the sequences to fulfill a requirement, but in turn have now a documentary of sorts, waiting for a peaceful conclusion.

In a more simple and lighter experience was the recording of sound during Drift 1. A moment where I was recording a fan and heating ducts is where I reached that moment of artist dimmentia. The moment where it was hard to understand where you were for that moment; having been lost in the drone. Sometimes it easy to accomplish and sometimes one searches for that moment. Beleiving that moment is the only true creative mark.

Drift assessment number one

2008-05-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

1. Describe two situations that aggravated, bothered, shocked or otherwise stressed you during Drift 1 or 2. (Please note that the situation CANNOT be technology-related.)

I am going to address a problem I found on Drift 1 first. I think this may apply somewhat to all of the Drifts, but I can pin point and describe clearly the Drift 1 scenario the easiest. None of the problems I had can be attributed to place or recording, but more to the idea of experimentation. Is this material sufficient enough to quiet the urges of the extreme, or should it be merely representational of the moment and place. I feel I could have done more along the lines of intense sounds, a least in my opinion of intensity Instead, I kept more of a quiet minded approach given the restrictions of the areas, assignment parameters and criteria. Moreover, it was difficult for me due to my experience in sound engineering and editing, to rely on the pure and somewhat untouched sound image. And let the image speak for itself.

Conversely on Drift 2, it was hard for me to come up with a preconceived idea or final image to work toward or off. Collecting imagery without an experiment or narration in mind left me with a hollow final project. On top of it all, and in conclusion, the great winter of 2007 and 08 presented the greatest obstacle of all. The weather itself created hard times for just leaving the house, and the disposition indoors created conflicts in my understanding of where I was. Brass tacks being, God bless Wisconsin, and God bless having not seen my skin in five months.