Week 12 / Context + Further Thinking

For this assignment, I treated this as a very personal project that related specifically to myself and the memories that were evoked when reading the poem. In saying this, I believe that the idea of ‘quiet rituals’ can reach a wider audience as it is a reminder to participate in a ritual of your own.

So, to give context, I could see this displayed on repeat in public spaces such as an airport, train station or areas where people may need a reminder to breath or meditate for a moment.

Also, since I am not hugely skilled at the programme After Effects – I used this as an opportunity to gain further skills. I did not achieve everything I wanted to in the outcome of this, however, so I have included a few images of text that I wanted to achieve but did not manage to do.

Week 12 / Final Video

This is the final outcome of my project. Please bear in mind that when I uploaded it to youtube, the resolution was compromised.

Rationale:

In the project, I took inspiration from the poem Look Here by Rachel Bush. I toyed with a large number of typographic ideas around the concept of things being tempory, ephemeral or liminal. This I felt, however, was not successful in showing something self-reflective, memory related or overly visually appealing. From this, I found that the idea of ‘personal rituals’ was very apparent throughout the poem. I decided to depict a personal ritual of my own and use the typography element over the top in order to create something contemplative, meditative, peaceful and introspective. This is very much a personal project- showing exactly how I feel when surfing, however, I believe that the idea of rituals can relate to anyone viewing this, as a reminder to partake in a ritual of their own. The text and music help to set the mood and ambience making it a relatively calming experience.

Week 11 / Stills from video

I have been editing my new video including subtle animations that add to the ambience of the video. I have found that this is quite a personal project now and believe that the simpler and more understated it is, the better as it conveys the idea of ‘Quiet Rituals’ clearer

I have played around with using different colours, tints, effects and grain and I believe that keeping it understated as I said above will be the most successful outcome for this project. I the really blue and green colours that feature more towards the middle and the end really resonate with me and reinforce this action as a personal ritual of my own.

I have captured some stills while editing that I think help portray my idea:

Week 10 / Update

So, as I have changed my idea quite a bit, I am going to edit another version of the surf video. I am also making this as a project that is really personal to myself so am not really looking at it from an outsiders point of view, however, if it were to be displayed, I can imagine it on repeat as a projection in areas where people need to be reminded of nature, to breath, meditate for a moment or maybe do a ritual of their own soon.

I want to include little-animated lines etc. into the video to give it some more life and make it more visually engaging. This would also tie in the typography further.

The idea of ‘QUIET RITUALS‘ is:

-Contemplative
-Peaceful
-Fulfilling
-Understated
-metaphorical: as in, viewers would be able to gain their own meanings and relate it to something in their personal lives.

Week 9 / Video for Interim

From last class, I decided to take a different route with my idea and development. The idea of ‘quiet rituals’ stood out to me from the poem as the poet takes you through her morning routine. I thought I could develop on this further by depicting a ritual of mine. This makes it more personal and gives more context. I have put together a short film that still clearly needs a lot of work. The typography aspect still needs to be developed along with possibly a change of soundtrack.

I wanted it to be less about the act of surfing and more about the routine of putting on a wetsuit, the feeling of being in the water, along with the sun hitting the ocean and the tranquillity and peacefulness I get from waiting patiently for a wave.

Week 9 / Feedback + Developed Idea

Through feedback in class I have decided to now look more into the surf aspect but in a way that is less about the act and more about the ritual or process. The idea of being at one with the ocean, being refreshed and revitalised, the way the sun hits the water, the quietness you experience between sets. These feelings are intrinsically linked and are such strong feelings/ meanings for me.

I plan to film on a go pro, me going for a surf, but capture the little details rather than look at the big picture.

Week 9 / Storyboard

A rough sketch of the storyboard for my video. I am aiming to film this week so I can edit and show for interim presentation.

Process – made in the sand – or try to think of something more inventive
Over – made from shells
Permanence – made from rubbish collected at the beach

Week 9 / Further Brainstorming + Finalising Direction

I have decided to essentially change my path. I am still focusing on the idea of ‘process over permanence’ however I am going to look back at the poem and incorporate more of the initial memory it evoked.

So, I am going to look at the beach as my starting point and imagery.

“…it is morning because the jug quivers and bubbles and switches itself off and my fingers force the skin off my orange, and the blue and white teapot holds fresh tea, and it is morning because things to be done line up 1n front of me and say, look here”

The idea of a routine or ritual os apparent here and the memory I am going to look at is the beach, my bach, going surfing in the morning during summer.

Week 8 / Contined Exploration

I re-did the previous video as the typography was not clear enough. The idea of “process over permanence” really resonates with me so I think it is important to make the memory etc more obvious. I want to relate it more to the beach as that was the original memory that I in mind when reading the poem.

Week 8 / Trial video *clunky*

I wanted to continue with the food idea- as that aspect is very temporary, however, I chose to write “PROCESS OVER PERMANENT” or permanence as this describes how I feel about the idea of things being temporary, liminal or ephemeral.

I was unable to slow this down so for future developments I will aim to better my skills in the post-pro / editing dimension.