Revision date: 04.11.09
1. Working Title
“Patterns on the Planet”
2. Aims + Objectives
I aim to explore the social agenda of climate change and sustainability through moving image, by presenting visual representations of pollutants such as factory emissions and traffic and juxtaposing them against renewable energy such as wind farms and solar power plants.
I aim to create a pure cinema movie of time-lapse photography. A visual symphonic poem, the cinematic sequences will contain neither narration nor a dialogue. The tone of the piece will instead be set by the juxtaposition or harmony of the images. By taking events typically shot at normal speed and accelerating them, I intend to highlight the activity of modern life, and propose the question of whether Man’s actions present beneficial and/or detrimental consequences. The use of time-lapse photography is intended to reflect the distortion of time, as climate change relies on the scale of time to enforce theories. Addressing the social agenda of climate change and sustainability, I invite the viewer to consider the futures of such actions and reflect upon the social and ethical responsibilities of the human race.
I aim to present a spectrum of diversity within the culture of Mankind by representing different aesthetic, social, political, cultural, and theoretical ideals from around the world to highlight cultural difference and exchange. Visual anthropological juxtapositions can articulate much about contemporary society/culture, within or across cultures, and this project aims to liberate a universally cultural perspective that challenges the effects of sustainability. Throughout the duration of the course, I have shot/will shoot on location in South Korea, China, Mongolia, Russia, Japan and Ukraine.
My aim is to present observations of daily life from each of these locations and although the list principally represents some of the developed countries of the world, the social attitudes associated with the locations will be divergent. With plans already in place to visit the places listed above, ideally I would aim to present observations of other locations, such as those in the Third World, to further enforce the consequences of climate change and sustainability, although the cost of funding trips to these additional areas is currently beyond my budget.
Once I have recorded objects of interest that support/oppose the debate of climate change and sustainability, the objective is to present a collection of moving image sequences that reflect the common attitudes of their locale.
The film will consider subjects such as transportation, the built environment and alternative energy. The objective of focusing upon such subject matter is to highlight that although we are fully aware of the need to find alternative energy sources, the common western nimbyism on wind farm proposals (for example) has to change in order for the planet to survive.
With the suggestion of the destruction of the planet over time, the film may also point to the development of Man’s obsession to find life beyond Earth, by representing things such as satellite communication, solar observatories and possibly space exploration. Such representations will hopefully insinuate that, as a race, we may have to consider migration from Earth due to its decay, destruction and ultimately its death.
Regarding the use of accompanying sound to the visuals, I intend to invite music and sound artists to submit scores for the film, with the objective of evoking different responses to the imagery whilst expanding on the idea of cultural exchange.
3. Context [Including Historical, Contemporary and Theoretical Contexts]
Cultural, historical and aesthetically significant key figures, developments and inspirations for my work include Ron Frieke’s film Baraka (1992) and his cinematography on the production Koyaanisqatsi (1983). Frieke’s film Chronos (1985) holds significant importance to my own project, due to the fact that it focuses upon the passing of time on differing scales.
The DVD project Soft Cinema: Navigating the Database (2005) by Lev Manovic and Andreas Kratky highlights the exploration of the database in cinema. Also Man with a Movie Camera (1929) by Dziga Vertov demonstrates the raw power of pure cinema as a narrative technique.
In comparison to my own work, David Attenborough’s Life of Plants (1995) for the BBC and Microcosmos (1996) by Claude Nuridsany and Marie Pérennou (produced by Jacques Perrinwill) will represent the organic elements of my piece, juxtaposed to Nate North’s Silicon Valley Timelapse (2008) for the man-made elements. Other independent artists such as Tom at Timescapes/Digital Lions represent more contemporary ideals I aim to achieve.
Nate North’s Silicon Valley Timelapse has recently gained more significant importance to my work due to the fact that it applies High Dynamic Range (HDR), a technique that combines bracketed exposures of an image to allow a greater dynamic range of luminance between the highlights and shadows, giving a representation of a scene more similar to that seen by the naked eye than those found in regular digital imaging techniques or conventional photographic prints.
Referring to my decision of utilizing pure cinema as a means of delivery, the opening credits for Man With a Movie Camera support and contextualise my reasoning. The opening credits are as follows:
Excerpt from a camera operators diary
ATTENTION VIEWERS:
This film is an experiment in cinematic communication of real events
Without the help of intertitles
Without the help of a story
Without the help of theatre
This experimental work aims at creating a truly international language of cinema based on its absolute separation from the language of theatre and literature
4. Methodology
Although my research will be conducted using photographic techniques usually associated with stills photography and printed media, my work will be presented in video format; animating the work to create a smooth impression of motion and development. The images will be shot in the RAW file format on a Nikon D300 12.3 mega-pixel D-SLR camera. Recording the footage in these ‘digital negatives’ will allow the production to be processed in 1080p resolution or even 2K, 4K or even 8K Cinema if necessary. Shooting in the RAW format will also hopefully provide the security needed for future formats yet to be developed. Before being displayed in a video sequence, the images will be processed in HDR.
The software I intend to use for processing the RAW images and constructing the moving image sequences include Adobe’s CS4 versions of Photoshop, After Effects and Premier Pro. With regards to High Dynamic Range, I have opted for HDRsoft’s Photomatix Pro software. With reference to the construction of a database (please refer to section 5 Outcomes) I anticipate that I will be using Flash Action Script, although this decision may change with further research. For the construction of the website, I anticipate using Adobe’s Flash and/or Dreamweaver. For the DVD authoring, I anticipate using Adobe’s Encore, yet I have not currently researched this aspect of production.
As a means of documenting the research information and the creative process, the use of my blog is vital (davidtatnell.wordpress.com). Recording dates and locations of the production schedule will signify the development of the project. Keeping a record of camera settings, exposure times and intervals between frames will also be a valuable reference. The number of frames for each sequence will also be included in the log.
5. Outcomes
The final piece will be presented in the form of a film. It will be an example of database cinema, where both the sound and imagery will be held in a database and presented at random.
The film will be available online.
The film will end without resolution, neither cinematic nor musical. My intentions for such will be to enable the viewer to come to their own conclusions, take for themselves what it is that the film actually means, and in turn, encourage them to challenge their experiences and immediate surroundings, seeing them in new perspectives and possibly influencing them to consider their attitudes and behaviours regarding the environment.
Due to the aims and nature of my project, ideally I would aim to deliver my project solely online. Unfortunately, I feel that this would not be as effective in reality as it is in theory. Bandwidths and data-transfer rates vary substantially depending upon location and variables such as the service provider, I feel it only fair to provide a more accessible format. I anticipate that this may be reproduced in DVD format (or possibly even Blu-Ray format if the technology is more readily available within the duration of the course) and mass-produced for as public distribution. Other means for distribution could be a digital download from the website.
Although I wish for the movie to be extensive (a feature film around an hour long) this may be a little ambitious for the time scale. With the proposal of a supporting website for the production, particular functions of the site would present the viewer with displaying clips of the film, details of the production and the ability to purchase (by means of download or DVD).
I also anticipate screenings of the film in cinemas, theatres and film festivals.
6. Work Plan
The research phase will consist of familiarising myself with new media theory and context, starting with the bibliography below. During this time, I will also be developing my skills in the software packages listed in section 4 Methodology. I will dedicate much effort to the research phase during the coming winter months.
The practical phase will be ongoing throughout the duration of the course as my project will ultimately be a compilation of sequences displayed through a database. The data collection relies on my travel plans and there will be times when I shoot masses of work. When not traveling, my time will be spent processing the images and archiving them for future use.
Once I have expanded my knowledge of theory and context of new media, and I have a significant collection of sequences, I will construct a database (probably using Flash Action Script). This phase may commence in spring.
Construction of the website and DVD will start in the summer, as by this time, I expect to have a good body of output to work with.
7. Bibliography
Books
Manovich, Lev 2001. The Language of New Media (Leonardo), MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Murray, Janet H 1997. Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace, MIT Press New York
Paul, Christiane 2003. Digital Art (World of Art), Thames and Hudson, London
Colson, Richard 2007. The Fundamentals of Digital Art, AVA Publishing, Switzerland
Lister, M, Dovey, J, Giddings, S, Grant, I, and Kelly, K 2009. New Media: A Critical Introduction, Routledge, Second Edition, London
Onedotzero 2004. Motion Blur (with DVD), Graphic Moving Imagemakers Publishers (Onedotzero), London
Websites
http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com
http://www.siliconvalleytimelapse.com
Film/DVD
Manovich, Lev, Kratky, Andreas 2005. Soft Cinema: Navigating the Database MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts
D:Fuse 2004. D-TONATE_00 DVD, Onedotzero DVD label, London
North, Nate 2008. Silicon Valley Timelapse, Mobius/Quark Pictures, Santa Clara, California
Reggio, Godfrey 1982. Koyaniqaatsi, Island Alive, Los Angeles, California
Frieke, Ron 1992. Baraka, Mark Magidson Films, Inc., Culver City, California
Nuridsany, Claude, Pérennou, 1996. Microcosmos, Mirimax, New York City, New York and Cambridge, Massachusetts
Frieke, Ron 1985. Chronos, Les productions de la Géode, Paris
Vertov, Dziga 1929. Man with a Movie Camera, Dovzhenko Film Studios, Kiev
Scott, Ridley 1982. Blade Runner, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
