Thursday, January 14, 2010

Two Machines

[These are micromovies no. 4 and no. 5.]

What are these two machines?
They are common; but I'm not sure how obvious their identities are here.
Clue: I filmed them at the library.

I'll leave the answer in the comments.

(16 sec.)


I am interested in "found special effects": things that already exist in everyday life but seem really amazing when you take them out of context or manipulate them a little bit.
Sort of like how when you stare at a toothpaste cap long enough you start to see its miraculous beauty.

I duplicated the central clip in the movie above, and then increased and decreased its speed. And got a headache for it, too.

(18 sec.)


I'm especially proud of this one because I made the sound for it, which is new for me. While filmmaking is highly mechanized, I like the idea of keeping it as handmade as possible.

It's funny---I have no formal knowledge of filmmaking, but I see that within a few days of making these micromovies, I'm already applying my philosophy of aesthetics to them.
Basically that is, I never want to get too far away from scratching in the dirt with a stick, at least in theory. If that makes any sense.

11 comments:

Fresca said...

1. "zɪərɒks" is the phonetic spelling of "Xerox." I put the camera on the glass surface and filmed the laser light bar.

2. The cable is part of the see-through elevator at the library downtown.

femminismo said...

I never would have guessed a Xerox machine. An elevator cable?! Serendipitous! Zounds! Both great little films and I love the light on the wet window. Very arty. I thought I could see something to the left also, like a person flipping through book pages. But maybe I was daydreaming of what I would rather be doing than work.

Jennifer said...

And now you're a Foley artist as well! The sound works really nicely with the cable's motion, accentuating it...

Fresca said...

FMISMO: What you're seeing in "Condensation" is me typing on my laptop. I like the idea of a person flipping through a book... I'll have to do that in another video!

JENN: Thanks! I made the noise drumming on a wood table with my fingers. How's that for sophisticated computer-age technology? : )

bink said...

I love the sound on both movies. Who knew your fingers were so drum-like...I thought you probably did it on GarageBand. Nice job!

deanna said...

Creative projects these! Stick with the scratching in the dirt theory all you can - I know you'll come up with more to make us ponder.

Rick said...

You can't fool me. All of the sounds are clearly recordings of my two cats playing with an assortment of household implements while I'm trying to write.

momo said...

I guessed the Xerox because I just copied a book today.but I wasn't sure. This is reminding me of a class I had where we saw a lot of film from the early part of the 20th century, before everything became narrative.

Fresca said...

BINK: I blush to admit I cannot figure Garage Band out. Help?

Thanks, Deanna and Momo.

RICK: Close! In fact, it's cats playing while you are trying to sleep.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo said...

Love your short films...

Fresca said...

Thanks, Manfred.
I'm so pleased they are pleasing.