Currently working on:
- The methodology portion of the proposal
- Filmed some shots on my phone (~8 min of test footage but most of it is poo :X)
- Moving through some documentaries
- Manufactured Landscapes
- Encounters at the End of the Earth
- Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World (TO WATCH)
- Koyaanisqatsi
- ???Being more intentional with my camera???
This is just too funny…. “BUT WHY”… the opera chorus was nice touch
This clip in Werner Herzog’s Encounters at the End of the Earth is absolutely golden. I do wonder if that penguin is actually heading towards the mountains or if Herzog is using the clips/narration as a way to reference human existentialist perspective. I feel like Herzog is a satirist as I saw an interview where he admits to intensify things for the sake of the narrative. Clever.
Seeing the cute penguin waddling about towards the mountain alone reminded me of this recent Switch game that I purchased for $5 called A Short Hike. My younger brother and I were getting burnt out from playing Animal Crossing so we decided to try this game out:
You play as a bird on a hike through layers of a mountain all the way up to the summit. You can also “complete” side quests by talking to different people or venturing through other “paths”. It was a short game as the name suggests, but nonetheless heartwarming. The ending was sweet and the pixel graphics were beautiful.
After finishing the game, my brother went back to play stickball/beach-ball tennis with the non-playable/AI character for a whole hour. He wanted to see if he could beat it somehow by scoring the ball in the opponents court. I told him it was impossible as the character is definitely programmed to not lose. After a whole hour, he realized it was impossible. He still tried, though.
I think Herzog’s penguin reminded me of A Short Hike’s bird because the characters in question are of a similar species: birds. One is flightless while the other collects golden feathers in order to fly/glide further and further.
Furthermore, one seems to be set on being alone as no other penguin went after him. Did he ask any of his fellow penguins if they wanted to come with him? Who knows. The virtual hiking bird is not alone. Well, for most of the game. The mountain is a bustling scene in the lower valleys. However, the higher up the mountain, the more treacherous the weather; fewer animals could be seen throughout these “paths” as it was quite difficult to maneuver through if you didn’t collect enough golden feathers.
A Short Hike’s bird, once at the top of the summit, makes the journey back down successfully. You are able to see all sides of the mountain as you glide downward to meet your aunt.
I think this humanoid bird is a reflection of our own hike toward life’s “mountains”. Our abilities are revealed when making the journey back and reconnecting with those we saw on our “path”.
In the flightless bird’s case, I’m not sure if he’s gonna find anything out there. Is his brain misfiring and causing him to go against instinct? Is he trying to go beyond instinct? Who knows… Herzog tells us that he is headed toward certain death. I don’t really know what to make of that. The opera made it quite sorrowful. RIP rogue rebel renegade penguin.
I’ve been going on lots of walks lately and using my phone to record. Test runs for my project. I might also use the clips and extract the audio. Here are some clips that I think are workable:
I think paying more attention to light, subject location, and sound is going to be really important. ALSO, stabilization is a must. Walking around is definitely visible on my iPhone 6. I know there are ways to remove the warping and that stuff in post but… I’d rather not if I can help it 😛
- Find a way to stabilize the camera while in motion. Need to create more fluid camera movement.
For this week, I will move onto my digital camera. Time to wipe my SD cards and clean up my drives to make room 🙂
I’ve been super obsessed with Rina Sawayama’s new album. Especially XS. The makeup, the robotic choreography, the accessible lyrics for the TikTok audiences, the mixing of genres. Truly a bop for the times.
I watched Manufactured Landscapes (2006) in which Edward Burtynsky showcases his landscape project on man-altered landscapes. His perspective is to showcase his work as it is to create dialogue.
SIDE NOTE MUSIC VIDEO:
Looking back, I can see how many of the music videos/artists I used to watch with my older cousins still influence me today. I remember being so moved by the music video when I saw it.
Here are two people that are definitely Artists in their own respective mediums. I find their work, while very different, to be working towards similar ideas of consumption of goods whose production is not often seen.
I think Burtynsky is an Artist that follows a “fly on the wall” type of deal. He uses the camera as his tool to depict this visual narrative of man-made landscapes. I like his perspective of using art as a “rocher test” for people to begin to articulate their stance on complex issues such as the ecological puzzle.
I also enjoy Sawayama’s absurdity and exaggeration in the face of what seems to have no solution. She claims that we are all essentially participating in this system of excess. I feel like it all kind of culminates into some blob that can be called Climate Grief.
In some sense, this feeling of grief is something that came up when I watched Koyaanisqatsi. I saw Philip Glass (the composer) tweet a youtube link of Koyaanisqatsi being played backward; ISTAQSINAAYOK: Life Back in Balance. I’m not sure if going backwards is “possible” or necessary in the sense of romanticizing the natural landscape of Nature.
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I wandered onto this talk with Pankaj Mishra at the Berkley Center. I might pick up the book soon.
Long journal entry again.
I took some pictures on my phone at around 6:45pm yesterday night on my phone. I really need to put my digital camera to charge.
TO DO:
- Create list of locations to go to using google maps
- Call urban gardens to get permission to film/take pictures
- Continue daily filming/photography practice
