This class was heavily orientated around the making of videos and the idea of “fake.”
First Assignment: Our first assignment was to create a flip book with the option of creating a video for it. The basic premise of the flip book was to explore New York city with an imaginary friend. We could go anywhere and do anything.
Here is the video of my completed flip book:
I was happy with the final outcome of my flip book, but I then realized that the exploration of the city was left out. I think I focused too much on the imaginary friend and the story that I forgot about the exploration of the city.
My instructor commented on the material I used, which was basic printer paper, pencil, and marker. He said that It would be better that I used card stock, or a stiffer material so when I pull each frame, it wouldn’t disrupt the next frames.
Assignment 2:
The warm up to this assignment was walking through the Highline of NYC. The first thing I noticed was the juxtaposition of the industrial, man made items and all the nature infused into it. There were also bits and pieces of art throughout the Highline. Our objective for that first day was to photograph anything that stands out to us.
Here are some of the photos I took:
Then we were asked to edit down to 40 photos and bring them to class. I misunderstood this and actually tried to edit (using photoshop and stuff) each photo. I only got about twenty done, but that’s okay because I still had other photos to show.
Here are some of my edited photos:
WE were then put into groups, because the video to be made was a group project. We compared images and found that all of us focused on the nature of the Highline. That was to be the topic of our video. After some brainstorming, we decided the video would be somewhat like a PSA. It would be to inform the general public to stay away from plants. To limit their manipulation, use and abuse of nature in order to protect. The video clips we took were shots of the nature in the Highline, shots of people/crowds in the Highline, and shots of people touch stepping or doing whatever to the plants.
Here are some video clips taken:
I do not have the final cut of the video because my partner edited it on her computer. However, I do have the opening and ending credits, which I edited myself and with my other partner. We used clips from the Highline as a background for the credits.
Assignment 3: This assignment was almost like the video version of one assignment from Integrative Seminar. In the Seminar class, we had to create a story/autobiography about a famous person. The assignment was called a mockumentary. It was supposed to be completely made up. To prep the class for this video version, we watched Woody Allen’s “Zelig” in studio class. It was a fake documentary about a man who could look like and act like any person he wanted. For studio class we were also required to research notable creative people. My person of topic was fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez, my group mates had jewelry designer Elsa Peretti and playwright/director Robert Wilson. We jotted down details of each person on a big piece of paper. These details were to be combined to created the person that our mockumentary would be on.
Here are images of the notes made when creating our mockumentary subject:
After brainstorming we decided that our main character would be a journalist/writer, female, mysterious, work-driven, and a mother. Her being a mother was a big part of the film. We wrote a letter from our main character to her daughter detailing her life before she vanished. It was going to be a voice over for the film. The letter doesn’t say what happened to the mother, but it talks a little bit about her upbringing, her love life, and her career.
Here is an excerpt from the letter:
“I remember the time I met Antonio Lopez at a bar on W 80th street. We had drinks and he invited me to write about his next studio session. We got along very well. His Union Square studio was like nothing I’d ever seen before. It was filled with music and dancing while he sat and sketched the movements of the people. After I published my column on Antonio I was recognized by Time Magazine as the most credible journalist of 1988. I gained more readers, specifically those who were looking for the next innovative artist in New York City.”
Before shooting the video, all the groups in the class were assigned three locations in the city. We were supposed to showcase these locations while creating our videos. My group was assigned The Lincoln Center, Central Park-Sheep’s Meadow, and Central Park-Poet’s Walk. Each of us scouted one location and took pictures. I scouted The Lincoln Center.
Here are my scout photos:
Then we got started on shooting the clips for the final video. Our approach was to film the location and edit it so that the clips match the letter. Some parts of the letter take place in Lincoln Center, Poet’s Walk, and Sheep’s Meadow. We were looking for the actions of the people that were already there. They would essentially reenact some of the statements of the letter. But these were candid, except for a few which we asked people to do. For example we asked one couple to “propose” and we had one of our members walk up to the fountain and twirl her umbrella.
Here are some clips I took:
The song we picked for the video was a piano rendition of Justin Timberlake’s “Blue Ocean Floor.” It matched best from all of our options, and with the volume low it set the mood for the voice over of the letter.
I do not have the final cut of the video. However, I do have the ending credits.
Here are the ending credits:
Assignment 4: Final Video
Out final assignment was very reflective of all the topics we covered. It was a simple idea for the video. We were in groups again, and were supposed to talk about what we learned, liked/disliked, and review all the topics/assignments. And it was supposed to involve food somehow. The food could be the center of everything or it could be a simple prop or whatever. My group went to a breakfast place, had breakfast, while we talked about our semester of Integrative Studio: Fake. We used the food as a gag or comedic relief. And when it was time to present out videos, we were served donuts!