Fireside Chat

I think by far this was my favorite assignment we did this semester. Not only because of what I was able to create and express, but what my classmates shared about their beliefs and passions. While others were presenting, I thought to myself, "Man, I kind of wish we did something like this earlier in the semester so we could get to know each other on a more personal level." The vulnerability and willingness to open up that so many people presented was humbling to me and made my appreciate my classmates more. I appreciated that we could create a space where we felt comfortable to do so.

For my belief that I presented I knew instantly that I wanted to focus on my true passion and the reason I ventured into film in the first place: preserving and perpetuating cultures. Previously, I have been shy to voice this passion of mine because I haven't yet met anyone in the program who shared a similar interest. In fact, leading up to the presentation I was nervous to open up because I didn't know if anyone would understand or even care. I was completely wrong. Conversations I had with classmates after the fireside chat proved me wrong. I even met Rae's husband who had served in New Zealand and got so excited about what I was talking about. That was really cool, just to be able to communicate like that with someone I didn't know.

After the fireside chat I had an interesting conversation with my husband about my belief. When I told him I talked about preserving culture he instantly disagreed and said we need to focus on preserving the values that stem from cultural traditions. I was taken off guard and a little defensive, but as I thought about it I think he's right. Now my belief has evolved into preserving both cultural traditions and values, two inseparable parts of culture in my opinion.

Concerned Citizen

View doc here. Made by Aaron Fisher, Shawn Hall, and Taylor Barlow Tiave

Teaching is crucial to making our society a better place.  Some of the most influential people in my life were my teachers in public schools who motivated me to not just learn but to dream.  My (Shawn) aunt, who teaches elementary school in Orem, embodies this type of teacher.  She spends hours meticulously planning fun interactive lessons so that her students will not just pass their tests but learn life lessons to help them become better citizens as they grow up.  When reading about Goldbard’s Datastan and Storyland, I couldn’t help but think of my aunt’s unique way of teaching her students.  For her, stories, drawings and art teach us just as much as numbers and figures.

When it came to editing the short documentary, we needed to strategically plan what would and would not be included in the small time frame we were allotted. What was good about our footage was that this schoolteacher had plenty of examples of how her students are not only learning scholastically, but she is also going the extra mile by teaching them lifelong lessons such as conflict resolution. The problem we found in this was picking out which parts to use since, unfortunately, we can’t use everything. Since some of her interview was a bit rambling we decided to use her most concise declarations to show how she was herself simultaneously being a concerned citizen and creating future concerned citizens.

What was interesting to us about Shawn’s aunt, was her pride in problem solving. She seemed really invested in making sure that her children reacted and responded to each other in a dignified and respectful manner. She took great pride in her children, and new that they were also capable of doing great things. Much like Robin William’s character in Carpe Diem, she believes that if her students learn new ways to view the world that they will improve their communities and the world at large. In her eyes, her kids were the future. She believes her kids can change the world, and she feels that it’s her job to make sure that they are developed into productive members of society. Especially with the current divisions in societies created across America based on race and income, this caring teacher strives to make sure that her kids respect each other and each other’s backgrounds as well.

            When we were filming this project, what we decided to do was get a lot of establishing shots. We made sure to get shots of her room and the exterior and interior of the school, to make sure that the setting and the environment of these kids was known. The teacher had such a beautifully decorated classroom, and we wanted to highlight all of the care and time it took to make it that way. What was even more interesting about this classroom is that the teacher changes up the theme for every this, and this year’s theme was the Pixar movie UP! We also set out to get shots of drawings done by kids in the hallway and shots of encouraging signs and papers as well, to show that this school was a nurturing environment. Not only that, but it’s a place where kids can mature and become good people. And we also did long shots of the teacher in an interview style so that with these longer takes, we can juxtapose audio over other establishing shots and also cut back to her interview. This way, we can make the interview and documentary polished, and really be able to hit home our argument and subject matter.

World Building

(Pamphlet pg. 1)

(Pamphlet pg. 2)

When creating something we truly believe it is incredibly important to think about the intricate qualities that make up the world. There are so many nuances that make up this world. It lives in its own culture, and breeds new identity. It was an interesting perspective to see how coming together with other people can help develop and create those things. There were three different articles we decided to use to best describe the world of gradually losing sight, and gaining the ability to see ghosts. We felt that showing a billboard of an issue, a pamphlet, and a P.O.V. perspective of a person affected by this affliction would gives an interesting view on the culture and the world that surrounds these articles.

A P.O.V. immerses us directly into the world and the people that are suffering within it. I set out to document how these people would feel, and it would look like. Using an incredibly powerful flashlight and long exposure, I was able to attain the image that is present. I thought if I were to deal with this and constantly see ghosts in this fashion, it would be difficult.

As we were brainstorming as a group we wanted to focus on what a young teenager would be going through is suddenly their vision was rapidly changing and they had to deal with seeing ghosts. Just like normal puberty, many teens go through this dark abyss barely understanding the changes taking place. Surely this is what some teens seeing ghosts would feel so we decided to portray that through a billboard advertisement. In the image the background is black and white while the billboard remains in color to show how the teens don’t instantly lose sight of color. We also thought it’d be cool to include in this world a psychotherapy line to help troubled ghost-seeing teens.

What we also decided to do was touch on the literature of this world. Losing color and seeing ghosts is a transition for everyone in the world, just like puberty. So we thought, what if in this world, seeing ghosts was treated regularly, just like puberty, and what if it was an actual process from puberty as well. With that idea we decided to commission a stereotypical puberty pamphlet that kids get when they reach that age. But instead of addressing puberty itself, it addresses the change kids have from losing their sight and becoming knowledgeable of the ghost world around them. This would be an excellent example of literature because it gives insight into the culture of this society in regards to health and normality in regards to the body. Not only that, but it also shows how this phenomenon is a cultural norm that occurs regularly and is expected to happen to everyone in this society. This pamphlet is able to highlight society’s views on the issue, as well as trying to make it apparent that this transitional stage is natural and happens to everyone, just like puberty. With these examples, we feel that we are accurately able to portray this society, and how the people in this society feels and perceive the environment around them.

Webspinna Battle

What we found interesting about this week and the webspinna battle, was how open ended it really was. Going into it, we knew we needed to do a battle of sounds with a partner, and create this story, or this theme that we can show to the class. And with that theme or story, we can educate people on how we feel about a certain subject, and how they should possibly feel about it as well. From the start, we wanted to do something that involved music. We were both impressed by the mashup of The Beatles and Jay-Z. We found it interesting how someone took the theme of old meets new, and combined the two together, showing that they could work as one.

So what we wanted to do was take that concept of old meeting new, and applying it to music from this generation and the last. We wanted to combine the classics of yesterday, with the classics of today and see how they compared and contrasted against each other. So with these styles, we thought it would be fun to do a Pitch-Perfect style riff-off battle, where I was representing the New Age, and Taylor would do The Old classics. And we also thought that since lip sync battles are really popular at the moment, that it would be fun to memorize certain lyrics from our songs and lip sync along to them in front of the class. It was a lot of fun to find the songs that we were going to perform. Not only that, but we found that some of the songs applied to our subject matter, such as the lyrics from “Radioactive” where the singer says “Welcome to the New Age”.

Our decision to create a battle between the new age and old age of rock’n’roll gave us the opportunity to find differences as well as similarities between the two genres of music. In Jonathan Lethem’s article “The Ecstasy of Influence” he speaks on the technique of musicians having the opportunity and sources to recreate music from past sources, for example blues and jazz musicians. We live in a day where technology gives ample resources to remix, rewind, and replay so one can create their own version of a song or a piece of that song. For example, the remix artist, Pogo, takes classic Disney songs and literally puts his own spin on them creating a new age of Disney music.

Many things can be learned from this assignment and the approach we decided to take. Similar to what is discussed above, we were able to highlight differences between the two genres, however, what brought them together was their similarities. This can be applied with not only music, but any form of art. We can remix two vastly different mediums or techniques in order to produce a more abstract and meaningful piece. It also poses a challenge that promotes creativity built from limitations.

Textual Poaching

Ko Ngatokimatawhaurua te waka

Ko Mahia te tupuna

Ko Ngapuhi te iwi

Ko Te Uri o Hua te hapu

Ko Hikurangi te maunga

Ko Awarua te awa

Ko Taanara raua ko Tiiana oku matua 

Ko Barlow raua ko Wihongi te whanau

Ko Taylor Terewai Tiave ahau

Growing up I was at a constant personal battle trying to understand my identity. My father's side is made up of mixed Caucasian blood while my mother's is a mix of Maori, Tongan, German, and English. When I filled out forms in school, and even now as an adult as I fill out government forms or surveys, I'm always torn between marking "White" or "Pacific Islander". Why do they only give the option to fill one? Where does that leave us multiracial beings? The older I get the better I understand how to uphold and keep alive my Polynesian ancestry in not only a predominantly white society, but also a post-modern society.

For the past few years there has been a vast number of viral videos released of high schools football teams (or similar settings) performing the traditional and sacred war dance, the haka. Anciently, these chants were used to honor ancestors and to prepare warriors for battle. However, nowadays we often see it performed by boys (and sometimes even girls *knife to my heart) who have little to no understanding of its sacred purpose, other than they want to look "cool" and "fierce". In a video like this, for example, they look nothing but the opposite. I not only find it disgraceful but incredibly disrespectful. Excuse my bluntness.

Oil Portrait of Ina Te Papatahi by C.F. Goldie

That is why for this assignment I wanted to pay an honest and sincere tribute to my Maori heritage, something I hold very dear to my heart. I was inspired by an 18th century classic oil painter, C.F. Goldie. He is primarily known for his captivating oil paintings of elderly, tattooed Maoris. The first piece I created was a manipulation of his oil portrait of Ina Te Papatahi. I decided to recreate it as an Andy Warhol pop art style piece to represent my bringing my culture into the modern day.

Waka Taua of the Maori of New Zealand by Herbert Kawainui Kane

The second piece I created was to represent my grandparents (my mother’s parents) immigration to U.S. In Maori culture, we learn of the seven waka (canoe) that traveled to New Zealand. Ironically, my family went the opposite direction of their ancestors in search of better opportunities. I purposely meshed a painting portraying Maori voyagers and a photo of my mother’s family as they travelled by boat to America to show this contrast. I’m grateful for my Maori ancestors and their discovery of a new land, New Zealand, as well as the sacrifices of my grandfather and his family to find their new land, America.

Maori Girl with Moko Chin by New Zealander Photographer

The final piece I created is a representation of my own self and how I carry on my ancestors’ legacy in a land other than my Maori homeland. My culture and ethnic heritage inspires me to create work and media that properly perpetuates not only my own culture but others as well.

***Just for kicks and giggles here's what a haka should look like

Haka

Medium Specificity

[ le film ]

When the description for this assignment was given to us last week I found it a bit confusing to understand the task at hand. I felt that, yes, the pieces we viewed that were medium specific did portray specific characteristics of their relative medium, however, I also felt that many characteristics were also applicable to other mediums. This presented a challenge to me: I needed to dig deeper in order to find a certain aspect of a medium that didn’t apply to any other medium. Considering Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics”, I was better able to understand how to approach this assignment. McCloud helped the viewer (me) grasp the concept of medium specificity by finding a more creative way to tell the history of comics. Rather than resorting to a boring written history of the art, he actually creates a comic to complete do the teaching.

Initially I wanted to focus on one defining trait of photography. My mind shifted from aperture to shutter speed to playing with lighting until finally I realized how photography is able to snapshot a single moment in time. But wait. The more I thought about it the more I realized that film does this as well. Except film is able to take it one step further and adds the motion and sound of a specific moment.  

As I pondered how I could create a commentary or explanation of how I see film in an actual film, I knew I had to play with or manipulate certain tools in order to successfully represent the classical characteristics of this certain medium. As mentioned above, I knew for certain I wanted to focus on how film captures a moment, whether that be a fraction of a second or a few minutes long. My approach to my creation was to base my work off the classic three-act structure of film, yet present it more abstractly.

My subject for the short  film were dancers that participated in a BYU Dance production a few weeks ago. I was able to shoot from backstage which presented some challenges yet also provided unconventional angles that I wouldn’t have if I were anywhere else. I decided to show the exposition by using shots of the performers backstage and also in the wings of the stage as they prepared to perform. I also decided to only use shots that were poorly lit in order to add to the contrast of later shots in the second and third acts. This created a change of pace as I moved into other parts of the film.

To represent the inciting incident and climax I decided to increase the speed of the clips I used. This represented conflicts and suspense we experience as we go through these parts of the films we view. I particularly enjoy the chaos that this creates. This chaos is resolved in the last few clips as a solo dancer uses more flowing and graceful moves.

I enjoyed the challenge of this assignment and honestly want to explore it more in my later works. Not only with film, but in other mediums as well.

Historical Story

Voodoo is often seen as evil, though few know its benevolent doctrine. Similar to the story of Satrapi’s “The veil,” we wanted our story to be about a well meaning follower of a religion that runs against the grain of local beliefs somewhat. Thus we developed a story around a Voodoo practitioner living during the Salem Witch trials.

This story was inspired partly by the Bones episode, “The Man in the Morgue,” which represents truer Voodoo beliefs of protection, harmony, peace, and service, and highlights the social stigma attached to the religion. So, our research reflected this good side of Voodoo. We decided John would be trying to bring balance to Salem. Huffington Post discusses the concept of the Lwa (or Loa, phonetically). The Loa is a spirit which practitioners converse with to bring balance. Thus John prays to one in the beginning. Another source pointed out that snakes were the symbol of the god who is the “protector of the helpless.” so, we decided to add a snake to his ritual. More than just that, Voodoo practitioners believe highly in community, according to the African Holocaust organization. That is why John references his service as he pleads for his family’s lives.

As mentioned above, our story focuses on the heated interaction between a voodoo practitioner and a Puritan priest. The story is set in colonial America during the hectic Salem witch trials. Historically, these trials came about due to a mass hysteria that  swept across Salem where young girls claimed to be witches (http://www.history.com/topics/salem-witch-trials). Locals hanged many who were accused, regardless of evidence, and some accused others for self-preservation. Not even children were safe, according to the Smithsonian. In our piece, however, we decided to make our protagonist a true practitioner, not merely one who claimed to be.

The two primary characters of our script are John Phelps, the protagonist, and the preacher, the antagonist. As our piece progressed we discovered additional ways to heighten the intensity between their relationship. Initially, we wanted to focus on the preacher’s angst and disgust toward the voodoo practices of John. As we got dove further into their relationship we felt it would add an extra kick to the script if John recalled times where he not only helped the preacher with voodoo, but also members of the community. We further developed their violent interaction by having the antagonist and his party destroy the tools John used to call upon the spirits-such as the sacrificial animals, jars, etc. By including these actions in the scene descriptions we were able to add to the suspense of the story.

Sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saumya-arya-haas/what-is-vodou_b_827947.html

http://listverse.com/2013/12/11/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-voodoo/

http://www.africanholocaust.net/news_ah/vodoo.htm

http://www.history.com/topics/salem-witch-trials

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-the-salem-witch-trials-175162489/

http://www.history.com/topics/salem-witch-trials

Process Piece

 Jam Sesh Process

When considering what we could do for the audio documentary, there were many thought that came to mind. Chasing children and hearing them get ready for bed, hearing the process of writing a poetry slam, and hearing the process of beginning to write a song. We decided to go with the latter. We all crammed into Colby’s warm home as he and his friend Seth began to pluck away at their instruments. Initially, things felt clunky and unobserved, but it felt good as things began to take mold. It immediately became clear that a process was not only prevalent, but necessary in creating.

As we dove further into the art of documenting processes, we were able to more easily recognize the numerous characteristics of a task such as this. Through the process we recorded of two young mens’ jam session and also the assigned viewings from last week, we could see that throughout the world people participate in common processes, however, the differences lie in preferences, circumstances, and social norms. For example, when viewing The Mercandantes’ Five we follow an unsuspecting bunch of children who originate from various parts of the globe. The short film is a series of juxtaposed sequences of the five children getting ready for the day. One example of a micro-process represented in the film is breakfast time. Utensils used range from hands or bread in India to a spoon in Africa. Vastly different, yes, yet all achieve the same purpose: to eat the first meal of the day. While watching, I assumed the final product of the process would be the children at school. However, we come to find out they all end up in their respective houses of worship. A simple yet surprising process, indeed.

The process of creating something from nothing, of spontaneously working with someone in the moment to produce a work of art is wonderful. The making of an impromptu song was fun, and the solitary audio aspect offers a unique way to tell the story. This reminds of a popular YouTuber, the pianist Kyle Landry, that has gained a significant following. Kyle Landry on YouTube has done several covers of very popular songs, but he also has a series of videos where he does musical improvisation. He sits down and begins to play. He chooses a chord progression, a melody, and just has fun with it. This process can be a bit more difficult with two people instead of one. What can be uncertain and rough at first in musical improvisation, can quickly find its voice and develop into something truly original and wonderful. Following the different stages of creating and improving on a song, the process changes and progresses as one chord flows to the next.

The Missed Steak: The Exquisite Corpse

 A conversation via text message can either be incredibly compelling or absolutely boring, mainly depending on your individual role in the conversation. To tell a story through this medium, however, is something completely different all together. It was a fun (and actually somewhat challenging) assignment to concoct a story that could be told in such a way. In this case, we had nothing but dialogue as our method of delivery - not unlike the story “Kidnapped” we read on the “Hoot” app. This assignment was different, however, as the two of us had to play off of each other for creative inspiration.

In DJ Spooky’s text, “Totems without Taboos: The Exquisite Corpse,” we were introduced to the idea of creating a work of art and then letting someone else expound on it. He conveyed the idea that everything we may create is simply a remix of something done in the past. We are, in the end, products of our experiences and what we’ve seen. In a way you could say our little assignment here was another remix of “Kidnapped.” Regardless, we were able to work together and bounce ideas back and forth – essentially remixing the other’s ideas – to create a new story. This, believe it or not, can be hard to do. Many of us are hardwired to create on our own, but it is imperative to be able to build off of one another and work together. After going through our various exercises to come up with fun short story ideas, we figured we’d have a lot of fun staging a conversation between a girl and her dinner. It was as if the more wonky fairy tales of the Brother’s Grimm, or even something as modern as the film “Sausage Party” (in which talking food ignorantly desires nothing else but to be eaten by humans) acted as some sort of inspiration.

Our creative process for this assignment was a bit different than most others. Due to the fact that we had to rely on each other’s creative responses, the assignment to produce a story was mostly done in the moment. However, this could not have been done without some collaboration/inspiration time. After we decided on the characters and interaction we were going for, we discussed together the individual characteristics of our characters so we would know how to react and play that role. As a result, we were able to bring to life our characters.

An interesting aspect of our dialogue is the use of personification. The conversation we created is between a young girl and a piece of steak from the girl’s dinner. Through texting, emojis, bitmojis, and GIFs, we were able to portray the meat as any other average person of our day.

Music Mosaic

As a young girl I was put into piano lessons contrary to my will. Perhaps that’s a dramatic way to put it, but that’s how I saw it at the time. Like many other LDS mothers, my own wanted all her children to know how to read notes, execute more than just a staccato melody and hopefully be somewhat able to play the hymns. I cannot say I could do this even after a year or two. I quit piano lessons and didn’t return until a few years later. I wasn’t expecting the passion I would soon develop for the piano.

It didn’t take long before the simple black and white keyboard transformed into my trusted confidant and soothing friend. Pieces such as Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune took me to a place much further and higher than the small black bench I performed on. Each time I played this piece the rises and falls of the melody put me in a trance where all I could feel in my body and see in my mind was the music.

I chose this piece for this assignment because I feel that Debussy has translated my life into a song. My mind’s eye interprets this song to represent the phases of a woman’s life. I decided to explore the feminine, what that meant to me and how I could portray that through art.

Each image represents a different phase of a woman’s life. They range from feelings of anger, independence, and happiness to more concrete phases such as childbirth and menstrual cycles.

Similar to what is discussed in Annie Dillard’s “Seeing”, I wanted to take a more thoughtful look into what I visualized as I listened to the music. I decided to use watercolor paints, a medium I was previously unfamiliar with, for many of the pieces to first, challenge myself and second, convey what my mind’s eye saw. I visualized the piano to be the painter and the notes of Clair de Lune to be a painting itself. The melody is soft and ethereal. The way I blended and melted colors was to represent this aspect of the music.

In the black and white line drawings I decided to not use color so the images presented would remain simple and straightforward. Because I personally feel that I am represented in this song, I decided to represent my cultures in some of the images I created; for example, the lips drawn with a traditional Maori tattoo on the chin. In traditional Maori culture, this tattoo or “moko” represents social class and superiority of the women wearing them. They are a silent call for proper respect to be paid to these women.

The colors, shapes, and objects drawn are all used as tools to represent the feelings and images Clair de Lune creates in my mind. By doing this I hope to have promoted the acknowledgment of the power and existence of the feminine.