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:

  1. 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.

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  2. 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.

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

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  4. 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? : )

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  5. 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!

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  6. 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.

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  7. 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.

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  8. 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.

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  9. 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.

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

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