Oneiric

Short Summary of the work

Our team members came together with similar concerns and made videos around ‘how to create intimacy and resonance with the audience’. Our video uses poetic listing and experimental filmmaking techniques to explore the idea of reveries, dreams, and nightmares. We wanted to focus on mood and tone to communicate the feelings these dreams evoke, such as tranquillity, discomfort, and fear. We also aimed to create poetic resonances while also remaining ambiguous in meaning. This is because we wanted audiences to interpret the pieces in their own way.

 

Video Link: https://vimeo.com/631760619

 

Directed and Edited by – Megan Nicholson, Veronica Rauer, and Xiaoyue Zhang

 

Each Process

 

Megan

I enjoyed the overall process and liked the fact that we each got to explore an aspect of dreams. We put in a lot of preparation when organising the sound and visuals as we wanted to strike a balance between randomness and coherency. In the production process, we all gathered our own clips, which tied in with our chosen mood. Some shots contrasted with one another, whereas the footage of water and nature were similar. We each followed a set of rules to create connections, such as overlays, static shots, and close-ups, which assisted in creating this sense of coherency. We also tried to make the transitions between the dreams seamless as we did not want viewers to realise they had entered a new dreamscape. We preferred if audiences came to that realisation upon reflection, allowing them to draw their own conclusions.
The main thing I got out of making this video was the knowledge that I do not necessarily need to have a clear, linear narrative when making media. Instead, mood and tone can be more effective as it helps draw audiences in; while creating a sense of intimacy with viewers.

 

Veronica

Creating this piece at large was an iterative process of balancing coherency and randomness and in collaboration managing the interplay of similarity and difference within three individually adapted elements. This iterative process of making allowed us to generate ideas put them into formation and then restructure and adapt according to further development and constant feedback. We created three sequences based on varying moods all with their own evocations of intimacy. We contrived a list of shots and sequenced and edited them together through experimentation with techniques governed by our research question and enhanced our established tone with the appropriate sound.
Out of this process, I was able to uncover the strength of the non-narrative film in facilitating intimate and evocative viewing by using specific film and editing techniques. In this I explored potential as a media practitioner to challenge dominant narratives of traditional sense-making of information within the practice of practising deeper noticing, creating space for contemplation and inviting new perceptions.

 

Jane

I really enjoyed the process of making this video, and I’m looking forward to the team members’ presentation of their concepts. But because of the instability and randomness of dreams themselves, we need to find the rhythm that best suits each concept, and tries many things along the way. We edited, restored, sorted or superimposed a large number of materials while maintaining continuity and some commonalities with the other two concepts, which laid a good foundation for future cooperation in the media industry. Personally speaking, this cooperation made me have a deeper understanding of atmosphere and tone description, and more skilled control of rhythm, which can trigger positive feedback from the audience.

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