Project #2 Proposal

For my second project I really want to build something with my hands. After attending Kiel Johnson's lecture earlier this semester and seeing the videos he created following his various projects I was really inspired to actually make something physical instead of just manipulating things with a computer.

Kiel Johnson's Cardboard Twin Lens Reflex Camera Time Lapse from Theo Jemison on Vimeo.

While he made all sorts of objects out of cardboard, I want to make a bike entirely out of wood that will roll and have working pedals and steering. I plan to tie my project into digital media by filming the entire construction process and making a short video showing all the steps to make each aspect of the bike and the final product. The final product will be a wooden copy of a real bike with a video to accompany it. Everything possible will be made by hand leaving all the wood raw with no paint and each process will be revealed in the video.

Project #1 - MOTION

By filming with the GoPro I was able so get a new perspective on forms of motion that many of us see every day. Combining this video footage into a moving collage and adding an original score composed of sounds from the different motions involved in the video adds another element of movement to the piece. I really wanted to convey movement through the video and with all the elements used I believe I was able to do so.

WEEK 5

Since last week I have filmed more and tested out the new mounts I got. I have also been recording sounds with the Zoom recorder that I have access to through my Music 409 class to record sounds of motion that I will mix into an original soundtrack for my piece. My original plan was to use eyecon to control the sounds, but after thinking about it I don't think it really adds anything at all to the piece and will probably just confuse viewers. Instead of using the eyecon, I plan on dedicating my time to making an experimental music piece to accompany the video which will play along with it. I plan to use sounds from the motions I filmed and mix them together into something entirely different. I got to use to new mounts on the back of a snowmobile and i think they add a very cool new view.




Im going to spend the next week getting everything worked together in Final Cut and After effects and writing the soundtrack to have to all ready for Tuesdays presentation

week 4

I ran into a couple speed bumps this week. I ordered a couple different mounts for the camera 2 weeks ago expecting them to show up pretty quickly but I didn't get them until today leaving me no time to put them to use. I do have them now and can't wait to put them to use this week.

Before I was pretty much using duct tape so secure the camera on the skateboard and car so these new mounts will help stabilize the picture and allow me more confidence that my camera will be safe on a car or other moving vehicle.

I was able to get much better shots on the skateboard using the duct tape and better lighting. I was planning on getting some different shots outside on the streets and in other skateparks but the weather stopped that pretty quickly so I will make sure to shoot as much as possible as soon as the ground is dry again. Here is a quick mix of the shots I got last night .



This week I plan to shoot more, record sounds and edit a soundtrack with them to apply to eyecon. I hope to get enough footage to start editing it all together in final cut and after effects to get closer to finishing.

Week 3

I spent this week refining my idea and I feel like I've finally honed in on a concrete way to arrange my project and show different aspects of motion through video. I shot a bunch more video with the Gopro and ordered a couple new mounting options that will make the final product a lot easier to get right. So far I have just been compiling video and haven't edited anything together yet, but I made this mockup in photoshop of how I see the final product looking with screen grabs from some of the video I shot.

Each cluster of videos, 4 in this mockup, will have a different subject with the camera filming forward, backward, left and right while mounted to the moving objects. In this one I used a truck, skateboard, snowmobile and motorcycle. Im still playing with what modes of transportation to use for the final product and am open to more ideas. I also mocked up a picture of lights in motion with a slow shutter speed as the background to emulate the futurist paintings and might have a slideshow of photos like that for the final video product. I used one I found on google for the background and then went and shot my own at a skatepark afterwords that I like a lot more.

I want to try it out this technique at different places to get different streams of light in motion. When it all comes together their will be multiple views of different motions playing at once.

Week 2 Progress

I shot more video with the Gopro, both under a skateboard and under my car to similar perspectives of motion and watching the wheels turn. I need to work on the lighting with the skateboard and making a better mount that will handle more movement. I also came into the lab and played with eyecon to get a feel for it and how I want to use it for the sound aspect of my project. After looking through some of the works of the futurists and their treatment of motion even with static forms like painting like these ones. 

I want to explore effects in final cut and after effects that might give it the blurred ripple effect like in the second painting and apply that concept to parts of my video. Overall I want to keep shooting and hone in on exactly how I want to represent motion in my video piece.

Progess Report #1

So far I have been playing with the gopro camera and the camera on my phone to come up with a more definite idea of how to portray motion through the video installation. I have filmed some short test clips with the camera mounted on the bottom of a skateboard showing the ground go by, the wheels spinning and the side to side motion of the trucks turning. I also want to mount it to the wheel of a moving car to get the camera to rotate around with the movement of the vehicle. I want to get as many clips of different types of motion as possible and then edit and refine my final product from there.