Link to Google Doc with Crit Group Feedback: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZkHEXlJwzeXOHKBAxjG0pIo8hNW3HumnTXhFt3QI0_I/edit?usp=sharing
I specifically asked my crit group about their responses to space, what kinds of space registered or were ‘felt’ on part of the video, their responses to the character ‘selfie’ I’ve been generating from my meditation practice, and the sound score as way of embedding subliminal information, and academic text which I slipped in at the beginning of the video. I also asked about technical camera/film info, as I’m not very familiar with the medium yet.
Some points came up in regard to the studio space I filmed in, and that it should be private, but didn’t feel as such. I think this is because of my awareness of the camera as a voyeur in the room, coupled with the non-space of the studio. I might try shooting on location. This makes sense if the final piece were to be a video, and is something to consider, although perhaps differently, in a live performance setting in regard to how the playing space/set/vantage point is constructed.
I like the note of giving more space to the choreography of the camera – something I was going for on the close-up shots, as I was literally dancing with the camera. I want to put in on a trolley or something that can share more of my movements, but at a distance from me/ my arm. This kind of rolling ‘selfie-stick’ might enable other interactions.
'Time' came up in a few of the responses, which is something I need to clarify. I was thinking the camera angles conveyed two different references to time 1) the close-ups as suspended time of inner thoughts and 2) the long shot as the 'real' or lived time. I can do more to play with this, and think about how the sequence reflects back on previous moments, or changes the way they are seen via affect and relation.
Paolo hit the subject of this work, in its narcissistic use of the word ‘selfie’, and I’d like to explore that form a bit more extensively. Blowing the horn into my own genitalia references the masterbatory usage of the word ‘selfie’, but what I’m really getting at is the performance BY and FOR the self, for one’s own personally crafted exploitative self-narrative that is also somehow self-actualizing in its distribution on the internet. It's a falsehood that somehow makes the maker feel like a participant in his/her own life. This self-reflexivity of the ‘selfie’ already has a form, so I can perhaps make more specific reference to that form and culture.
So far, there were several notes to shorten the video, but I think if I can keep the changes happening at the Hollywood-esque rhythm of expectation (the ‘want/get’ need for change) then it could maintain the viewer’s attention, for longer. If it’s really an egregious selfie, I think it should challenge attention spans somehow. I also don’t expect the viewer to watch the whole thing, necessarily. This is still something to consider in going forward, and changes where I might plant 'information' that changes the way the video is watched, like the academic text at the beginning.
Lis of common suggestions: 1) consider the vantage point of the camera, and dialogue with the viewer, 2) this seems like multiple characters still, of the schizoid variety and not fully separate from me yet, 3) explore this character in the outside world/ doing other things, which I think the sound could also offer but I can go further, 4) how does the character choose her outfits? 5) there is an intimate space being portrayed here, and I can take that further, 6) remember selfie ‘culture’, which could also include ‘belfies’ haha! 7) try medium shots, 8) try making the edit really short, it could reveal something about what’s important to me, 9) if this were to become a live performance, how could I translate the effect of the close-up shots to the live moment? Good question! I don’t know yet. 10) In terms of process, the presence of the camera affects my ability to tap the unconscious, and my ability to improvise. THIS IS TRUE! Maybe I can AMPLIFY this self-consciousness, in true selfie-form, and reference the voyeuristic eye of the camera more, 11) how does the French horn player LISTEN to sound? Good question. If I’m going down the French horn hole, I have to go there fully and consider all the possible sounds of the horn, and not just the image of it, or the dancing with it, as an object, 12) commit to the specificities of the character once I’ve identified them, 13) consider that sounds might compete with the images, so try some black screen moments if needed. This, along with slow motion, will change the viewer's attention to time as well.
References:
Ann Liv Young with her alter-ego Sherry
Keiji Haino
Performance at The Issue Project Room
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW7OXNfdd4Y
Effort” in Laban Movement Analysis
THANKS CRIT GROUP ACE!