Video Url: "Embody"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtJ4PXtzwm0&feature=plcp
Self-Assessment
The central theme
of my work focuses on zooming in on different parts of the body as they perform
mundane and routine actions in effort to create a life and significance for
these parts of the body and make these actions important by making them
monumental. In one day, our body, from our hands to our feet, our eyes, our
mouths, and from our ears down to our toes individually and collectively
perform over a hundred actions in one day. We make over a hundred decisions and
a hundred interactions whether we are typing a paper, looking through a book,
or even hugging and kissing, such simple actions are what make us human. They
are what give us personality, language, culture, practices, religion, etc.
Ultimately, they are what give us life. And yet such critical things go
unnoticed because we see them as everyday and unimportant though they allow us
to do so many things and maintain our routine way of living. This is the very
realization that drove me to create this visual salute to such ordinary objects
and mannerisms. I want to express the significance to viewers yet at the same
time spark an interest in anatomy. Human anatomy also inspired my work because
it is fascinating to think that over a thousand functions are being performed
within the body not to mention the millions of interaction of cells that are
pertinent to the functioning and basic survival of a human being. However,
zooming in on parts of the body, just as American photographer, Jason Horowitz
does, may generate negative reactions from the viewer because such a large view
of things like kissing or chewing food may come off as repulsion. Yet, again
like Horowitz shows in his works, there is also this attraction that the viewer
will toward to such a close up image. It is so close up and large scale that it
proves difficult to avoid. So with that in mind, I intended the outset of my
work to underline this same theme of repulsion and attraction as well to create
a conscious awareness for the significance of our bodies.
So the process of
executing this project began with my first attempt at portraying the “secret
lives” of hands and feet. I wanted to show their daily actions as sort of a
montage of different actions and interactions. I began by filming my hands and
feet as I performed my own daily routine and then I introduced other people
with their hands and feet performing their daily routines. Yet the message was
not effectively communicated nor executed because the mundane actions that I
attempted to bring life to, still ended up remaining as mundane actions because
I had I excluded actual experimentation with the camera that I was using.
Instead I just gave the picture as it was but there was no content, there was
no interest, and ultimately there was really no significance. Then in my second
attempt, I began focusing more on the experimental side of filming rather than
the subject matter. Yet I also expanded my subject matter to include eyes,
lips, and fingers and I took my camera into more “unseen” places. I
experimented with water, angles, and obscuring the lenses in different ways to
affect how the camera and the viewer sees the images. Then I looked more into
the works of Jason Horowitz and used them as my inspiration. What I have
understood from my second attempt as well as from Horowitz works was that I had
been limiting myself to a regular image in a regular frame. This led me to
improve the quality of my images by using a higher quality camera (in
conjunction with my flip camera that allowed me to film underwater), zooming in
on my subject matter to capture the details, wrinkles, crevices, and the
creases that personalize these parts of the body and make them seem more alive.
My overall process began as an
almost frivolous attempt to characterize hands and feet and give them
significance yet the effort in the execution was definitely lacking. I did not
attempt to capture from a different angle or perspective, experiment with the
lens capture or even quality of the camera, and I didn’t really make it as
creative as I could have. After the feedback from my first project, I struggled
with my concept and subject matter and there were many times that I had wanted
to change my direction completely. Yet examining the works of Jason Horowitz
and using them to inspire me really aided me in generating a stronger concept
and executing it in a timely and efficient manor. For the second project, I
experimented with stills rather than film because I wanted to focus on the
experimental side of the media and I found a lot more joy in coming up with new
ideas and ways of capturing an action. I also found that I spend a great deal
of time shooting one action. I would constantly perform an action and
experimentation with the camera lens until I was able to capture that exact
image I was looking for. And so for my final project, I worked even more
diligently in trying to capture interesting actions through various and
interesting perspectives. I filmed in different types of light and I would film
a shot over and over until I received the perfect image. In terms of editing
and adding life to the piece, it took me several days to figure out how I
wanted to animate it as well as a song that would fit perfectly with the piece
without distracting viewers from understanding the theme. It was a long process
in all, yet it was worth it because I paid more attention to details—the very
details I was trying to signify and characterize.
Stepping back from
the piece, I’d say that it does a good job of clear expressing and presenting
the subject matter as different parts of the body. It also has a clear
direction in terms of how it is organized. The piece begins in the day with the
rising sun which the rising of eyelids plays off of. The morning routines are
relatable and recognizable yet it is made interesting with the play on
perspective of actions performed such as showering, brushing one’s teeth, applying
makeup, putting on clothing. This play on perspective and obscuring of the lens
follows through into the afternoon and night with scenes taken from the
reflection of the computer screen on the eyes and eyeglasses and the view of
food being consumed by the mouth and teeth. There is also a sense of feel and
intimacy that is projected on the audience with the zoomed in view of a smile
showing and each wrinkle and crease. The play on perspective and experiments with
the lens are the strongest points of the piece yet where the piece lacks is
portraying the theme of the “life” or personification of these various parts of
the body. Though the music adds to a sort of liveliness in the portrayal of
these parts, it just seems that these images are close-up views taken from
different yet interesting perspectives. Yet the theme of repulsion and
attraction is definitely accomplished through the way the scenes are captured
close up. Perhaps what could be adjusted is the music played over the actual
sounds of the scenes. If there were more natural sound effects, maybe even a
dialogue over the piece, it would make these parts of the body seem like there
were their own individuals. Also, the changes in different people and parts of
their bodies may have also distracted or complicated the theme. Focusing on one
person going through their whole day may simplify the image and provide a
clearer portrayal of the theme of the significant lives and actions of one’s
body parts. And with this in mind, I feel as though my grade lies somewhere
between A- and B+ because there was a
definite organization of the storyline but the theme may have not been
communicated as strongly as it could have been.
