My video:
Project Statement:
For this project i tried to focus on creating a piece that was able to be interpreted by the viewer to create aesthetic engagement rather then just telling a story to the viewer. This lead me to try and focus on a conceptual idea rather than a narrative. I tried to focus on the concept of always being watched/judged.
I used continuity editing to create a flow in my project mostly heavily relying on the way shot reverse shot works and almost as a ‘camera magic trick’ to put someone always watching as the video I go about judo.
This combine with the montage nature of the piece means it maintains a temporally correct flow forward in time. This is very clearly presented and uninterpretable element to my project which i think balance well by the non explaining of the other character figure who is watching whether i am training or competing which i believe both with the sound that slowly builds until the start of the competition section helps with. This was intended to create the sense that he is always following but leave the questions of why he is following and what he is looking for or doing.
The sound in this project is a collation of ambient sound mostly used to avoid silence and jarring sound and has most diegetic sound turned down but the soundscape behind the project feels very diegetic in the second half of the piece which environments like it are where most of the sounds are captured from. The underlying sound helps link the shot and reverse shots together and maintains temporal and spatial reality throughout the piece.
The use of always sound even though it is soft at the begging helps tie the end of my project together and highlight and cause you to focus on why/what is the older figure doing. The use of absence of sound (like Fred Ott’s sneeze in 1984) really draws the mind back to focus.
Research:
shot reverse shot first showcased in Greed (1924) is now a staple of continuity editing which became popular pre WW2 and has maintained the predominant filming method since which i used heavily.
A montage feel which was first used by early soviet filmmakers to shorten the time it took for characters to go about certain activities and avoid the slow/boring parts of the film. This helps continue my project flowing for those not already interested in judo. This effect i tried to use to maintain engagement for those not interested in judo so they can they aesthetically engage with the ideas/concepts that can be interpreted from my project.
Fred Ott’s sneeze in 1984 helps show us this impact of the absence of sound and the usage of sound as discussed in this article about film sounds.