Skype Film

::::::::Pre Production::::::::

I have been tasked with making a film with whatever tools I have lying around. I figured it may not be fair to use the 5D MkII that I have lying around so I thought a tad simpler...

Skype.

You know, that  free program you use to talk to friends, relatives, the family dog - whoever and whatever you desire to see and speak to. Skype has really taken off in the recent years since its creation in early 2003...when I was 14. I only recently have decided to download it for sake of adding yet another means of communication with my peers to my repertoire and I am delighted with the quality and functionality.

Outside of it's normal video chat purpose, what if you used Skype as means of making film? As the camera? As a means of remote directing? As the medium itself?

I haven't gotten there yet. I do know that I want to make a functional film using this popular communication device and utilize it's 'raw' tendencies to achieve a unique aesthetic.

My first thoughts are as such:

I. Make a film about 3-6 friends who each appear in their own Skype window (similar to the Brady Bunch). The friends would communicate, leave their window and end up in their friends window; basically confining the viewer to limited space of the webcam. I would probably make this a horror-esque film since the inability to see what is going + lack of good quality = bascially the Blair Witch Project...with Skype. But I fear the acting would be terrible and distract from what I am actually trying to achieve.

II. Use Skype as a means to remotely direct a film being made. I would be the ever present floating head yelling out commands and shots from a laptop on set while a crew attempts to execute 'my vision.' Essentially the film being made is irrelevant. It is the fact that I am directing it using Skype that makes it interesting...or not. The only problem to this route is my lack of 'crew.' Even if it was just another person, I hate not being in charge of the camera, directly. Maybe this would be interesting then, eh?

III. Use Skype as the camera. Carrying my netbook as I would a camera I would film every scene and capture all audio using the program. I would then edit it together in post-production but that's a whole different blog post. I have no ideas for a film of such caliber...ideas?

If you happen to find yourself reading this, any feedback would be great. I need to start like tomorrow...

Your Friendly Neighborhood Giant,
~Alan

Road to Remix

:::::::Stage Three:::::::

After compiling the footage need to create the piece I spent about three hours on the computer lacing it all together. I was shocked to discover how well you can bend something to mean something else when you're behind the mouse.

There are several Sesame Street 'Letter of the Day' videos that, when juxtaposed with news clips of analysts and political leaders, transformed into something new.

Which I guess is the goal of remixing in the first place.

I liked the idea of butting childish television up with adult television.We all view Sesame Street as a fundamental staple in our childhood (well, at least I do) but we hardly ever sit down and watch it as an adult. Mixed in with television samples that we are bombarded with on a daily basis to the point of shutting them out I think it made the banality of the news a bit more fresh.

You can check out the finished work here. Feel free to let me know what you thought of it and if it worked in the manner that was described.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Giant,
~Alan

Road to Remix

:::::::Stage Two:::::::

While sitting in front of my computer for the better half of the evening I can truly say that getting started on a remix project is by far the worst hurdle in the process.

Sticking with my desire to be political I thought and thought and watched YouTube video after YouTube video (I couldn't help but default to YouTube) but still had a hard time with coming up with something that had meat.

I chanced upon a Sesame Street spoof of the new Old Spice commercials that have taken the internet by storm; it made me smile. I decided to pursue a Sesame Street search to see what would come up. Some of the more popular videos concerning the old TV show are the 'Letter of the Day" videos in which a Sesame Street character displays a letter from the alphabet and discusses different words that start with that given letter.

The first video I saw was Telly talking about the letter D. I immediately began thinking of current political words that start with the letter D and "depression" came to mind. Watching the video in light of Telly talking about depression made the video all the more comical. I sensed a trend.

I gathered a list of current political and social issues and found the relative Sesame Street 'Word of the Day' video to introduce the topic. Here is my list:

D is for Depression

H is for Health Care

M is for Mortgage Crisis

U is for Unemployment

I is for Iraq

To name a few. 

I then began an extensive search through many political interviews and talk shows looking for people and political figures mentioning the given word. So when Telly or Cookie Monster asks if we can think of any words that start with the letter ___ I will start a montage concerning the word. This of course juxtaposes the childlike humor of the Sesame Street gang with the current woes and worries of our present time.

This is far as I have gotten so far. I will start the downloading process tomorrow and begin splicing up the segments into coherent chunks of relevant material to see if the outcome is how I am intending.

I think I may be on to something...

Your friendly Neighborhood Giant,

~Alan

Road to Remix

::::::Stage One:::::::

When you think of a remix your mind tends to go to the newest viral video on YouTube or that latest techno song combining your two favorite artists. But at the root of it all, what is a remix?

I ask such a question because I find myself asking it now. I have been tasked with creating a remix from virtually anything I want and I struggle with the concept because I don't really feel that I, as an artist, am creating something that is possessive. 

Art for me tends to be possessive - if I make something, I call it mine. In the instance of creating a remix though can I stamp the finished product with my digital signature and possess the new creation as my own? Welcome to the perpetual war of copyright supporters and the digital pirates that steal their booty.

All of that aside, I am still making a remix and I am still thinking through the pre-production process in forming a new work of art out of something preexisting. So for those of you who are bored and intrigued or if you're my professor who's grading this (hi Tracy!) here are my current thoughts/narrowed results:

1. Avoiding YouTube :::::::::
While no doubt the largest and most accessible video database on the interwebs, the vast majority of videos on YouTube are not art and (much to Duchamp's chagrin) I tend to think that if it didn't start as art it wont end up being art.

2. Content of the Remix :::::::::

I am a huge fan of satire. I think the results of poking fun at politics is by far the most rewarding feeling when it comes to my work because people go absolutely mindless when their particular viewpoints are showcased in a not-so-fashionable light. That being said, I am aiming to remix something political.

3. First Thoughts :::::::::

The first fruits of my mind tend to be the most radical. Hence my first creative ideas tend to be the ones that I keep to myself due to the possibilities of offending someone or kicking up unnecessary dust. My first thought when thinking about a political remix involves making a 'commercial' that contains sliced up clips of past and current American political leaders edited to be jointly saying the Communist Manifesto by Carl Marx.If you asked me why I wouldn't be able to produce a good answer except for that it would make people uncomfortable and instantaneously opinionated. My second thought would be to write a paragraph for a political campaign commercial and, in a similar fashion to my previous idea, cut up clips from presidential speeches to say my paragraph that would contain harsh opinions of puppets and corrupts. 

That's all I got as of Oct. 4th

I'll keep this updated as my "road to remix" develops further. Until then, enjoy my current favorite remix on YouTube here.

Your friendly Neighborhood Giant,

~Alan