Project # 6 Youtube Video Mixer

It's all right if you find my version of this project to be boring. You can even say so. Believe it or not, I intended this to be boring, and slightly annoying. I based this on my personal experiences living in Las Vegas. A year or two ago, I was suffering from strong fatigue that caused to me to sleep at least 14 hours a day. Coupled with this (or due to this), I was dealing with depression and anxiety. I quit my job, and I stopped going to school. I was embarrassed about my situation, and afraid that people would think I was just lazy. I hid in my apartment, compelled to sleep most of the day. When I woke up, I would lay in bed or on the couch, too tired to do anything but stare at the ceiling or out the window. It was very claustrophobic. Finally when the quiet rooms would weigh on me and I felt like I was going crazy, I would turn on music or get on my computer, anything to create some noise to distract from the ambience.  So, for this project I attempted to catch the lethargic, closed in sensation of being trapped in your home, and trying to distract yourself.

I shot the video on a Canon 7D, edited it in Final Cut Pro, and created the page in Dreamweaver. The screen shot is awaiting a link.

Reading Assignment # 3: Manovich

Question #1: What would a post-language and post-symbolic society be like? How would it function?

Question #2: Manovich postulates that with new media, "the computer user is asked to follow the mental trajectory of the new media designer." Is this form of manipulation transparent, or do you believe that it is more insidious, if you consider it at all?

Assignment #5 Video Reenactment and Viewing

The video I chose to reinterpret is entitled "Autumnal." It was filmed by experimental filmmaker Scott Nyerges.



My interpretation follows the first two minutes and forty five seconds of the video. It was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II, using a variety of lenses and household materials. I edited it using Final Cut Pro 7.


Autumnal - Recreated by Jessica White from Jessica White on Vimeo.

I was not interested in re-creating any of the experimental videos with actors. Wanting something along the lines of Stan Brakhage, I decided on the video by Nyerges. Autumnal is a somewhat disturbing, moving piece, and the music compliments it nicely. I enjoyed trying to re-create the different shots, and I was constantly surprised by the strange shots I was able to get. I don't normally work with such bright colors, so it was fun to edit the different shots and play with them in post-production.

Reading Assignment Questions: Chapter 2 - Video Art

Question 1:
Video artist Vito Acconci created visual scenarios that explored the sensations of voyeurism and false intimacy that video and film provide. What do you believe are the consequences derived from the constant bombardment of video/film images?

Question 2:
Chris Burden's work aimed to "shock viewers into a new relationship between the performer and the audience, in which the viewer becomes implicated in the performer's extreme actions." How do you feel about this sort of manipulation? What emotions would be invoked in you as the viewer? Would you feel complicit or would you feel separated from the acts being witnessed?