To Do This Week
DUE: AI Cinema Project (5%)
Watch:
Blog Prompt: Watch the above videos that introduce the popular video essay form and its history in the “essay films” from the past, and then look at some video essays on your own. Do a search on YouTube or maybe you have a favorite.
In a post, share the video essay along with your thoughts/opinions about the use of language (spoken and/or on-screen text) with image. How are voice-over, text, sound, graphics and video combined to explore an idea or make an argument? How would you begin “writing” your own video essay?
Class
View AI Cinema videos…
Discuss the video/film essay…
Brainstorm Video Essays Projects
Editing Techniques for video essays
Notes
“The film essay enables the filmmaker to make the ‘invisible’ world of thoughts and ideas visible on the screen. The essay film produces complex thought–reflections that are not necessarily bound to reality, but can also be contradictory, irrational, and fantastic.”
-Hans Richter
The Film Essay:
using the cinema to explore, investigate, “essay” the world and experience.
Michel de Montaigne – “essai”
1) an attempt or effort
2) personal writing on a particular subject
3) open ended (not like traditional college essay)
Explore an idea cinematically.
Questioning, divergent, meandering
Subjective/Objective
Evidence/Argument/Speculation/Imagination/Documentation
Poetic real, Surreal “documentary”
Capturing the mundane real, “pure cinema”
Sans Soleil, by Chris Marker, 1983
Video Essays / audiovisual presentation of subjects
Personal Essay
Daniel Liss
The Wizard of AI (2023) Single Channel HD Video Essay, 19m 19s, subtitled.
In-Class Exercise:
Brainstorm Video Essays:
- On a sheet of paper, diagram your ideas for the Video Essay. Make connections between thoughts, images and sounds, etc.
- Turn the page over, and write quickly a few paragraphs about your idea.
- Then write a paragraph about the style or approach you will take. Will you use video that you shoot, search for archived media, or public domain images/videos? Will you use montage and/or continuity editing? How will you use sound: voice-over narration, music, sound effects, asynchronous sounds.
Favorite Place Mini-Video-Essay
next week’s post (not graded separately)
Create a 30-60 second video essay about a favorite local place. What is special about this place for you? Is there anything important about getting there? Is there anything you like to do in this place? Does the place bring back memories, stimulate thoughts? What connections can you make through this place?
You should visit the place in order to capture images and sound for editing. Use voice and/or text to express your ideas/thoughts along with the images and sounds. Besides the images and sound you capture you may incorporate other images and sounds to help with expressing your thoughts.
Video Essay (15%):
DUE March 20th
Project Overview:
In this project, you are to create a 1-2 minute video essay on a subject of your choosing. This task encourages you to blend a variety of visual storytelling techniques learned throughout the course, such as continuity editing, montage, temporal manipulation, loops, compositing, and special effects. Your video essay should be a reflection of your personal insights and style, that may incorporate a mix of your own captured video, existing video clips, AI generated video/audio, screen captures, graphics, and still images. Use text overlays and/or voice-over narration to add depth to your visual narrative. While it’s possible to craft a video essay without spoken language, this assignment requires the inclusion of written text and/or voice-over to enhance the communication of your ideas.
Project Development:
- Subject Identification: Identify a central theme, subject, idea, or argument for your video essay. This may emerge through the creative process, but once identified, articulate it concisely to guide your project. A video or film essay is “allowed” to be divergent, it is good to have a central theme to work from.
- Visual and Textual Material: Collect and create visual evidence and textual content that supports your essay’s argument or narrative. All visual elements should serve a purpose beyond mere illustration, acting as integral parts of your argument or story.
- Essay Form and Pace: Decide on the structure of your essay (voice-over, text with image, or purely visual narrative) and the pacing (fast or slow). Draw inspiration from various examples of video essays to inform your decision.
- Editing: Assemble your clips and text in Premiere to explore the structure of your essay. Adjust and refine your narrative as your project evolves.
- Supplementary Media Collection: Gather or generate with AI additional materials such as graphics, sound, and music files, considering copyright limitations and fair use guidelines. Remember to cite all sources appropriately in your credits.
- Drafting and Refinement: Draft your textual content, allowing for a free-flowing exploration of ideas. Later, refine this draft based on the edited visuals and audio, aiming for a tone that’s more conversational than formal writing.
- Audio and Visual Finalization: Record and fine-tune your voice-over or apply text overlays, focusing on achieving the right tone, pacing, and clarity.
- Final Touches: Incorporate titles, credits, and sound mixing to complete your video essay, ensuring a polished final product.
Evaluation Criteria:
- Innovation and Creativity: The originality of your subject choice and the creativity of your narrative and visual storytelling.
- Technical Proficiency: Your ability to effectively utilize various video editing techniques and integrate multiple media forms.
- Narrative Coherence: The clarity and impact of your central theme, subject, or argument, and how well it’s communicated through your video essay.