1. Using the student exhibition as an example, describe an aspect of your work or
something you have worked on, where you have found a symbiotic relationship
that is both complexity and simplicity?
Within the walking shots. Its seems like its would be easy as its just someone's feet walking. But the complexity arises when we want to merge each walking frame into another and have either 3 or 4 feet walking at the same pace and all within screne frame. When people are different shapes and sizes it makes it difficult on another level again. There is always alot more to take into account than first percieved.
2. Provide a conceptual example of a situation that has arisen during this project
where you have had a return on failure?
I am yet to see a failure return for us. I predict that there will be a few dodgey shots that we can fix up and stabilize to use If we are pressed for time and cannot afford to film anymore and need to go into edit mode.
3.Provide a short explanation and example of how FAILURE can be
turned around using the law LEARN. Describe how this relates to the TIME law.
Failure is the easiest way to learn. Having a catastrophic failure can ensure that you will never do it again. Time also has to be considered when thinking of failure , because if you failed repeatedly but gained small improvements, you could begin to see how close you were to success and whether it is acheivable and worth the time and effort.
Some amusing examples of failure.
The project is still running on schedule. We have spent a lot of time doing practice shots for the more difficult scenes, we just need to finalize those shots and do some more filming. The filming process is estimated to be finished by week 13 at the latest and will commence video editing day and night.
This is a video with some film editing tips and advice.
This video is some information on video editing. Something very relevant to what I am doing now.
Describe your contribution to the exhibition in relation to TWO of the laws.
Learn: I have tried to learn as much as I can about the other people in the class and in my group. I remembered the failures we had and wasted time spent, and have learnt from that. I have learnt a lot of technical aspects in film, and surprisingly alot about human psychology and interaction.
Emotion: I have been thinking about the video and how the characters will best convey emotion. They need subtle expressions and relaxed composures. The music will feed the veiwer with the most emotion, which has been quite hard to make, as I am usually into my heavy rock music and atmospheric dark stuff. The type of music i am going for is really out of my comfort zone, although I would like it to be in it.
Away (Stepping back and coming at things fresh) Open (Being honest and offering simplification) Power (Use less, gain more)
2. Describe how you have used these in your work towards the exhibition? Give
at least one example of each key. AWAY - I think we have seen things clearer and noticed subtle things that would improve the project once we had come back to it and thought over the context Idea properly.
OPEN - It has been helpful that none of us seem to have any trouble speaking up if they don't like an Idea. We have offered our opinions and in some cases, the opinion has pointed out a fault in the new idea and saved valuable time in that we could have ended up spending making the new idea fit the story. POWER - What I can take from this key is that by using less and only what is necessary, you gain a clearer understanding of what you are doing and better control. Having too much within your project my confuse things or distract from the original Idea. I think we have used this by breaking up our roles into a "character" each. this means we can focus on our roles and cleary show our character traits. The the other use of power I beleive Is resting with Ben, as the usual driving force of the group, Ben takes charge of filming and planning and often has a more specific Idea of what angle and what light is needed. 3. Describe an incident in the production of the exhibition where technology has
been an enabler.... and another where it has been a disabler! Well the whole project is relying on technology. Use of film, Computers, Animation, Editing software. Probably the biggest enabler, Is access to the HD video camera's and tripods. The Dolly has also proven to be a really big help to achieve that proffesional look. I just wish it was a couple of metre's longer, our walking shots have become quite difficult due to this.
The biggest technological disabler I would say Is the limited film production accesories, such as steady cams, and extra dolly's.
THe video below is a brief look into film technologies used in the production stage.
4. At this stage in the exhibition process you are all working on some element or
process for the big event. List 3 things (in your current project) that you could
take away to simplify and one thing you could add for meaning. I think we are removing one character from the story to simplify the whole process. It also fits some perfect hall way shots where there are three entry ways for each character. The contemporary art student character is also taken out and swapped over to a photography student who will be played by John. I will now be the music student and have more time and energy to focus on that.
Back side of reason. THe program I will use to make most of the music.
The ending projector scene may also not be worth putting In as the character who would be doing it Is now out of the video. We would have to make another character do it and I am not sure we would have the time.
Pocket projector we planned to use.
The final footage scenes are coming together, and theres only a few long scenes to be ticked off. I'm a bit anxious of how much editing time we will end up with.
It has proven hard to keep to our shooting schedule, although some of the shooting time frames it took to get some shots done were much quicker than expected. The group is overall confident that we can
complete the project. Due to our lack of camera experience and amatuer film production we can only hope to get somewhere close to what we dreamed up in the first week's of this unit.
1. Provide an
example of a situation where you have to have trust – in the same vein as the
author in his swimming lesson example. What made you trust in this situation
and how did you feel?
When I was in
high school I had the good fortune to spend a lot of time learning outdoors
activities as such as abseiling and rock climbing. These sports both require
harnesses and another person at the end of your rope that you DO trust. I have
had a person at the other end of my rope controlling how much rope is beneath
me, which is a good way to also know how far you will free fall before the rope
and harness catch you, and the person in control of my safety is day dreaming
and holding the ropes with a weak grip. It is not a pleasant feeling, I admit
to also playing games and fooling around while someone is dangling in the air
with their safety in my hands. Although I do think I still had their ropes
tightly under my grip, It was simply my assurance and attention that the person
in the air needed to trust they were safe.
Typical group trust exercise.
2. Where in
our exhibition do we need to instil trust? Give examples. How are we going to
achieve this?
We will need
to trust that the visitors to the exhibition don't want to and run around
and make a mess or be too loud or break or steal something.
We will also
need to trust that we set up a good enough exhibition to impress the viewers
and entertain them. A very welcoming vibe should be presented throughout the
exhibition wherever we can.
Nick Cave Exhibition
An nice video exhibition layout.
A nice example of good flow and lighting.
3. What
strategies are used to instil trust? Examples? Where do we need to employ this
in this year’s exhibition? How are we going to do this?
Branding
instils trust; probably the most obvious is McDonalds with the ads they make
marketed towards children. I remember how good a "happy meal" used to
seem, and mainly because of the collector toys.
If we have CDU
logo's at the side of art pieces and at the start of video presentations it
will instil some trust into the viewer, in knowing that it was provided by a
credible workplace and has the final touches that you see in professional
works.
I don't think
the University will have any trouble being trusted by people, it's a very
welcoming place and really easy-going. The rest is up to us to be welcoming and
approachable and provide a attention grabbing exhibition!
4. If you
could “undo” any aspect of the preparation for the exhibition to-date,
what would you “undo”? With this in mind, what would you
change now in your preparation strategy to overcome having to “undo”
anything?
Firstly, I
would have gone back to the concept origination and picked a solid concept that
wasn't too obscure and ambitious.
I think doing
that would have changed everything, and there is nothing else I could
undo.Looking back on the project, there hasn't been a lot of filming. A lot of
planning, scheduling and conceptualizing. Just none of the material has reached
physical presence yet.
One thing I wish i could have is an 'Undo' button for real life painting. Well, guess what! I found something pretty close! watch the video below.
5. Homework: How are you
using the laws in relation to your contribution to the student exhibition?
Provide a short explanation and example for each of the laws so far.
I have not
been personally using the laws in relation to the exhibition, although I do
appreciate the valuable lesson of Maeda’s laws and hope to remember them and
employ them in any future projects I undertake.
1.REDUCE. The simplest way to achieve simplicity is
through thoughtful reduction.
We achieved this recently by swapping John over to be a “Photography guy”,
and then I switched to “music guy”. This meant I didn’t need to make as many 2D
animations and could focus just on the music for the video. This task was taken
over by myself, as I am already quite familiar with music software and
production.
2.ORGANIZE. Organization makes a system of many appear
fewer.
Our scheduling system was an attempt at organization and will prevail
eventually!
Our initial success of organization was with storyboarding. We took photos
of the areas we liked for scenes and had each other pose in various directions
to give an idea of camera angle choice, distance and order sequence of the
shots.
3.TIME. Savings in time feels like simplicity.
I feel like we have spent too much time planning and not enough time doing.
All our planning has been warranted, we have just not spent our time as wisely
as we should have and would be in a good position with all the practice and
planning we’ve done, if only we had more time!
4.LEARN.
Learn all you can about employee engagement.
We have learnt a lot about film
production and the work and time involved. I think the biggest aspect for me is
the technical side of things; it is also the most interesting at this point.
I’m sure filming will become more enjoyable. I am excited to start editing as I
believe that is one of the best parts of a project and a moment where you can enjoy
the fruits of your labours… until the editing begins!
5.DIFFERENCES. Simplicity and complexity need each
other.
Everyone in our group gets along
really well even though we all have different tastes and come from different
backgrounds. Its always hard collaborating or doing a job with a new person,
and I think we all welcome each other’s Idea’s and direction for the project
with openness and don’t have ego’s getting in the way.
6.CONTEXT.What lies in the periphery of
simplicity is definitely not peripheral
The context is quite adverse and
appealing to a variety of tastes. I’m
not sure what will actually end up in the video but we have planned to have 2D
animation, 3D animation, Music, Video effects and text.
7.EMOTION.More emotions are better than less.
The main way we will achieve emotion is through the music. It
will have to be uplifting and catchy.
Within the video; the expression on our faces should be
peaceful and focused. It should make the viewer interested in what we are
doing. The different artistic practises we are all partaking in will also relate
to any one who has spent many past times doing the same.
8.TRUST. In simplicity we trust.
We
all have to trust that we will do our part for the production. We have assigned
each other roles and taken on tasks that we have experience or interest in.
9.FAILURE.Some things can never be made simple.
Failure is not an option!
We have attempted a few different things and decided for the sake of
finishing the video; we would cut those ideas out. These included technical
shots and extra walking scenes.
10.THE ONE.Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and
adding the meaningful.
I will use this law in editing and
hope to gain a better method within editing processes.
When Maeda uses the “Feel, and feel for” principle, he is drawing on peoples
connection to a very personal experience: feelings. List 3 ways that would make
use of this principle to visitors of your exhibition
The setting for the video to be seen will need to be dark anr closed in so no one has distractions in the background, or things like glare on the screen. I think the music will play a big part in relating to the viewer although there will be no voacls. the beat will sync up with us in the video as we walk, and will give a familiar sense that everyone gets whilst walking with a spring in there step. The final possible touch may be adding words into scenes to introduce each person and give each person a definate character association. Eg; Sam = "The Music Guy" This band "Tool" have the perfect setting for their live shows, It allows you to completely emerse into the music and explore your imagination. Watch the video below to get an idea of what I mean.
What is animism? Why do you think the “Tamagotchi” craze of the ‘90s became
such a craze? How can you apply this to your exhibition?
Animism is the belief that all object inhabit a spirit. Animism
is so widely varied and only verbally communicate. Primarily
belonging
to nomadic tribes with unwritten tradition, and no
authoritative writings.
Animism Symbol
I
remember the Tamogotchi craze, I was never into it and I didn't
understand it at the time, and now that i look back on it , I still
Don't understand why it was so big. The technology was't new at the time
either, but the concept was, which was basically like a responsability
simulation. I guess everyone just jumped on the band wagon.
Tamagotchi
Name 2 products that you have purchased that gave you that feeling of
“Aichaku”. What feelings did those products evoke? Was it the feeling that sold the product to you?
Recently I bought underwater headphones and a waterprrof ipod case. I saw these two product while I was at work, and put them aside immediaetly as they gave me excitement, firstly to experience music underwater, which I now know is awesome! And secondly feelings of doubt, hoping that they actually sound good and arent't just a wasrte of money.
How do the references to emotion relate to the simplicity/complexity relationship
discussed in Law 5 - Differences
Simplicity is something that everyone strives for, In everything you do, you try to cut down costs, time and effort. This creates more complex planning and thinking, and then becomes a matter of worker harder to make things easier.
The Project:
The filming process is proving to be quite difficult, alot of the shots we have been dreaming up require practice shots, and specific lighting, etc. Its very helpful for learning, but frustrating at this point.
Its hard to get everyone together for filming and it is also mainly a quite complex idea we are going for, and i do hope it comes out close to something I imagined.
What does the word ENTROPY mean and why is this relevant?
Disorder; Involving too much content or idea's can take away from the oringinal concept. A problem I constantly come across when deciding whether to continue a picture; It is rare for me to finish a painting or drawing and be completely happy with it. Adding more and more into the image doesn't always help and can often ruin what you were oringinally going for. This clever little show throws so much information at the audience that it become somewhat overwhelming and irritating to watch. Although the show is well done, I think its a bit too clever for it's own good.
This video is a decent example of how one of there usual segments looks.
If you are attuned to everything around you, does it help you deal with what is in front of you and why or why not ?
Gaining information from your surroundings just by being aware and understanding is definatey helpful and can help you relate it to the task at hand.
How is this different from FOCUS ?
Focus is being singled minded and dedicated to the task at hand without taking in any outside inspirations.
Being “comfortably lost” is a balance between what 2 feelings?
It aslmost descrides the word " intruige" perfectly it is a balance between confusion and curiousity.
Describe a recent scenario when you found yourself to be “comfortably lost”. Did you
enjoy the sensation?
When I listen to my favourite music and look at my favourite artworks i'm comfortabley lost. It is often inspirational and at the same time daunting.
If you couldn’t hold back the urge to write on the “don’t write on this page” page –
what would you write?
I would definately not write anything... I'd draw a picture..
Edward De Bono's "6 Thinking Hats"
Which hat best represents your group? Why?
our group is best described as the green hats. we all have ideas coming out of our ears. Some of the ideas conflict and it's is very clear that we all have specific tastes. Most of our time is spent brainstorming and throwing out new concepts and ideas.
Describe the Exhibition Group meeting where you may adopt the BLACK hat
The blach hat needs to be put on by everyone in the group. It gives us an idea of how much work is actually involved in the project. I may adopt the black hat in areas of editing where I believe I have a keen eye for detail and can Differentiate
--> between what is relvant and what serves the project best.
This week we discussed
Edward de Bono’s “6 Thinking Hats” to help our creative juices flow. The hats are basically a project planning thinking guide.
Blue Hat Thinking- Process
Thinking about thinking
What thinking is needed?
Organizing the thinking
Planning for action
This is mainly a task of getting four minds thinking on the same page and compromising to be happy with everyone else's idea's.
White Hat Thinking- Facts
Information and data
Neutral and objective
What do I know?
What do I need to find out?
How will I get the information I need?
We need to storyboard the video and organise how long each scene will take and when people are available. we also need to tke int o account for editing time.
Green Hat Thinking - Creativity
Ideas, alternative, possibilities
Provocation - "PO"
Solutions to black hat problems
This is again a matter of getting people on the same page in a group production like this.
Yellow Hat Thinking- Benefits
Positives, plus points
Logical reasons are given.
Why an idea is useful
When an idea is brought forward and is accepted, everyone else can own it a little and gett excited about the project.
Black Hat Thinking - Cautions
Difficulties, weaknesses, dangers
Logical reasons are given.
Spotting the risks
Time frames that we can work together within, equipment use, technical difficulties and taking into account that some footage may have to be re-shot.
Red Hat Thinking - Feelings
Intuition, hunches, gut instinct
My feelings right now.
Feelings can change.
No reasons are given
Inspiration or motivation can be lost. confidence that the project can be done well should not be lost and needs to be re-inforce
2. Reading Quiz
1. Describe the relationship between complexity and simplicity
Complexity
allows us to identify simplicity when we encounter it. If we had no
contrast to compare, there would be no foundation for either concept.
2. What analogy does Maeda use to demonstrate this relationship? Maeda descrides how blank surfaces like an empty page in a book invite chaos, in the same way that a counter top at home collects change, mail, keys and so forth. 3. In what context does Maeda discuss rhythm / beat in relation to the fifth law
Contextualise this relationship and discuss how this can be used in relation to the
Student Exhibition - giving specific examples
Maeda talks about phrasing of beats and rythm's. He also mentions counterpoint which is a method in music where multiple musicians hover around the same rythm and tempo while each person is sitting at different speeds' for example; whole notes, half , quarter etc. Doing this hides the simplicity of each instrument and allows each part to flourish when neccessary aswell as compliment the overall sound.
This band "Isis" is awesome at counter point and this video shows them discussing how they would like the directon of the songs to go.
Art by Alex Grey
Simple design genius
Seems complex at first, but on a closer look, its just a bunch of circles and numbers.
Starts out very simple, ends up looking quite complex.
I think the main point for our collaboration video is to focus on all the key events in the video and then add in extra parts that we think couldn't hurt.
Question time: answer the following questions as succinctly as possible
in your own words.
– Describe the relationship between teaching and
learning according to Maeda?
Maeda says “knowledge
makes learning simpler” meaning; the more you know, the easier learning becomes
through the process of relating previous learnt material to the new information.
–
Describe the importance of the use of metaphors in learning, why would
you use them, how, give an example?
Metaphors are the easiest
way to relate a completely new method or idea to someone by relating the new concept to something else that they have already had
experience in.
– BRAIN -
what does the acronym stand for – why is it important?
BASICS are the beginning
REPEAT yourself often.
AVOID creating desperation
INSPIRE with examples
NEVER forget to repeat yourself
This method re-enforces the age-old saying of “practice makes perfect “.
– Describe a situation where you have been required to
teach someone a skill.
Learning songs in a band. Teaching someone else a riff. Muscle memory is
required and repetition is key.
How could you apply the
BRAIN principle to it?
· Inspiration is created
through feeding off each other’s ideas.
·A song or jam always
starts off better if it is simpler.
·Desperation is avoided by
discipline.
·The rhythm is created
through repetition.
Brainstorming ideas for our
collaboration film.
Still unsure of what we are doing but there is a lot of good
ideas being thrown around, mainly to do with camera angles and camera tricks.
We want to incorporate various elements of the course that we are learning,
like film, photography, design n, etc.
This video shows the art of dozens of artists around the world who are all involved in this ink drawing project.
