Right of the bat this did not turn out to be the nonlinear video making software I hoped for. Based off its brief mention in the lecture, I assumed that Popcorn video maker would resemble Kosakow or even Zeegas. Instead it is more of an online Windows Movie Maker. It did have a few neat features in the way you could edit videos that have been uploaded to youtube or vimeo without downloading them. I don’t understand why other major video editing programs, such as Sony Vegas or Adobe Premiere have not adopted this feature in some way, big or small. It appears as though this program is made for people wanting to get a quick rough cut done. It’s fast, easy, and judging by its time line at the bottom , linear.

Zeegas was program mentioned in the week 9 lecture that bears some resemblance to Korsakow. Frustrated with Korsakow’s interface I decided to sign up and check it out. I was pleasantly surprised by how relatively easy it was to get started. Its UI is much more stream lined than Korsakow, allowing you to see the clips being manipulated in real time with plenty of on screen prompts. I just had a play around with some of the videos the site provides for you to get a feel for the program. You could view your finished product almost instantly and supports mobile.

However it did not have the depth Korsakow has. After 10 minutes I felt like I had seen all there was to see, and there was very little alterations I could make to the videos once they were in the program. It seemed like music videos was the sites main focus and not documentary films like Korsakow.

When you export the video it does look like a better version of Korsakow

I can safely say that I will not be spending any more time with Zeegas. Its far too limiting to be seen as a professional tool. There is however still a lot korsakow can learn from Zeegas when it comes to mainstream associability.

This week’s Lecture further explored the creation of Korsakow films in particular the process of putting the clips together. It was stressed that you shouldn’t always go into kosakow with an exact idea of how each clip is going to link. Instead you should start the building process and let new ideas take shape.

The Lecture also went into the concept of montage verses narrative. It was explained how montages/compilations are not narratives. Korsakow projects rarely follow the narrative line but rather the compilation of lists. Korsakow and nonlinear narrative films do not always work well. By both our lecturer and tutor it is insisted that we stay away from non linear story telling as it is a complicated process to get right.

The end snu is a ongoing debate. Miles mentioned how ending your Korsakow film with an end snu can be problematic in determining how and when the audience will end their experience. Viewers may not see your film to the very end. Korsakow films a generally designed in a way where there is no end and you can just come back to the project at any time and have a different experience. Think about how you can make a film that lets the viewer have an experience they like without having an ending.

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This lecture generally focused on the difference between mediums in relation to Korsakow. It was pointed out that interestingly writing is one of the few art forms that aim to shy away from repeating itself. Other art forms like paintings have no problem recycling old content. I am blown away by the recycled use of content in the media. Just last week I was watching the Planet of the Apes Television Series from 1974. There were three shots that I distinctly remember seeing in another episode. When I went back through the previous episodes I found that these shots were in fact identical as if they copied and pasted them.

There was one moment in the lecture that really got to me (in a good way) it was mentioned that when creating films don’t try and show an emotion, try to make your audience experience an emotion. As an aspiring Director I often find myself wanted to make my audience feel for characters. I often assume that the best way to make someone feel e.g. sad is to show someone sad. As this point illustrates this is not a good way of thinking when constructing narratives and will be something I’ll remember whenever I am involved in productions in the future.

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– Useful to think of the visual space as misenscene. Each clip has a visual weight. There needs to be relations with each clip like in cinema.

– Key wording in relation to Korsakow.

Think about the taxonomy you are creating, themes, patterns. Thinking about the fragments as independent movies. How are they designed in having multiple relations with each other?

–          The shape of the work immerses through the shape of making. Don’t draw the relation before you start making the film.

–          Montage is not a narrative technique

–          Should there be a end snu. It can be problematic In determining how and when the audience will end their experience. How can i think about making a film that lets a viewer have an experience they like without having to have an ending.

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 Week 10 lecture notes

• Other forms of media repeat themselves but not writing.
• van gogh can paint the same thing over and over but a writer cannot use the same paragraph or sentence more than once
• Its up to the maker to define their audience
• When creating films don’t try to show an emotion. Try to make your audience experience an emotion.
• K films that respond to a constraint generally work better. So theme is important.
• Linear story telling is not the only way to attach value to a work
• None linear works have value too. ( this is one of the focuses for the course)
• Absence of narrative can make for a more satisfying work.

Since my last organization post I have put in careful consideration to the different pages of my blog. As mentioned in the last post have written a brief introduction to each page so that viewers of my blog will understand what that selection of blog posts is about. These introductions a written at the top of the page and stating in the most simplistic way possible, what those blog posts are revolving around.

Although I wanted to have these pages take on a more visual form (rather than simple hyperlinks) when I inserted images as links it became cluttered and messy. This resulted in a lack of legibility which is my main focus, making my blog easy to navigate and understand.

I’m running out of ways to improve my blog. I still want it to maintain the blog aesthetic. This aesthetic design lends its self well to my blogs scrap book style. Although my blog writing is more formal the most, I still want to picture it as a note book for Integrated Media 1.

Image Source: http://www.futurebird.com

This week’s lecture focused on language. It was discussed how language does not rule everything, there was humans communicating long before language. Images are a medium to communicate that does not use the conventions of language. Unlike language, images are not governed by a strict set of rules, instead it is up to the creator how they want to present something.

Images can transcend language barriers. You can show people from primitive tribes feature films and they will gather a basic understanding. Despite never experiencing anything like it. There are many ways to create meaning from images but we all create some meaning. This is unlike language. I cannot create any meaning from looking at Vietnamese writing. I have no understanding of it.

The lecture also touched on whether the lists in our K films can be infinite. I believe this to be true. I can create a list of me starting up my computer. Although the initial ideas I will be thinking of e.g. reaching down, pressing the computer button etc. only have so many possibilities you can dive deeper into how the power button operates and create a list about that or even about the muscles my hand is using to perform this task. Despite the list not having a strong theme there is a correlation between its parts and even though it may not be interesting, it is still limitless.

Image source: http://www.artchive.com

–          Cinema is language based. American cinema can be viewed all around the world because image is a language.

–          Image is usually self-explanatory

–          Mass printing is only 400 years old. Images have been around for hundreds of thousands of years.

–          Language does not rule the universe

–          Popcorn Maker: other software to create interactive documentaries.

–          K films don’t have time lines, pop corn does, making it linear.

–          Zeegas another program similar to Korsakow

–          Do lists create infinite possibilities? We are not working in a structure that is linear. Depending on your theme there can be a limit.