Jessica Madden
S3663684
Screen Lab
Assignment Four Reflection
Blog Posts
Video
My final work aims to engage with its audience by introducing them to a niche component of computer history in an easily accessible and fun format. This is done through simplifying the content so as to not overwhelm the audience. By focusing on the visual nature of ANSI art, the audience can relax into the work and enjoy the vibrant imagery without feeling pressured to focus on the educational content. Thus, this incentivizes the audience to become naturally interested in the topic as it doesn’t feel explicitly educational. Another way my work aims to engage the audience is by connecting the content to its present day relevance. This is achieved through concluding the video with a summary of how ANSI art has influenced modern day digital aesthetics and culture whilst visually referencing the popular media of Undertale and Discord to demonstrate this. By linking ANSI art to current popular culture references, this engages the audience through making the content feel both personally relevant and purposeful.
A key concern of the studio this work aims to address is exploring how educational short-form content can also be engaging and aesthetically appealing. This is achieved through utilizing dynamic, colourful ANSI artworks in motion, as well as footage of retro digital devices and videos that appeal to nostalgic aesthetics. The work also addresses this key concern by creating an energetic tone that prioritizes fun and aestheticization, subverting traditional expectations of educational content. This is accomplished through fast paced editing and transitions, as well as predominantly featuring the ANSI colour palette which is inherently vibrant and pop art-esque.
As the ANSI art movement is largely about community, a natural progression of the work would be adding a collaborative element. In being consistent with ANSI culture, This addition also feels particularly current considering the need to build digital communities post pandemic. There are a number of ways in which this could be executed, thus providing the opportunity to inject multiple means of collaboration, creating a richer, more diverse end product. One means of collaboration could potentially be commissioning current ANSI artists to create educational graphics in the ANSI medium to be used in conjunction with the voiceover. This would further connect the visuals and audio, engaging both visual and auditory learners. Another potential avenue of collaboration would be contacting former and founding ANSI artists for interviews. This would provide specialized insight into the ANSI community during the height of its popularity. As ANSI art is a niche subject, there is limited, contemporary educational media on the topic that includes multiple perspectives from those involved. The few interviews I managed to find included grainy video and poor quality audio that made it unpleasant to watch. Thus, by including high quality interviews from members of the community, this work could become a go-to recourse for those wanting to learn about ANSI.
In week 8 I selected the ANSI art topic from the selection given by ACMI. I had selected this topic as I had never heard of ANSI art before and thus thought it would potentially be introducing the audience to a niche part of digital history they were also not aware of. As this was a new concept to me, my pre-production began with a lot of research. This is where I met my first challenge. As ANSI is such a niche, underground subculture that is not commonly practiced today, I found it quite difficult to source peer reviewed academic articles on the subject. Of this same vein, it was also difficult to source content that discussed the history of ANSI art. I had discovered that this was due to ANSI art being a small cog in a much larger machine – Bulletin Board Systems (BBS). Through my research I was finding that ANSI art was an extension of ASCII art, which was a form of digital text- based art, of which was designed for BBS’. This meant that much of the academic resources overlooked ANSI art in order to focus on these overarching topics that encompassed ANSI art. Though this made researching my topic difficult, it also encouraged me knowing that I would be creating a resource that could hopefully help someone learn about ANSI, when the information is otherwise scarce. However, I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to find enough information to present an educational work I could be proud of, so I had decided to seek advice from Field in the following week’s presentations.
Fig. 1 Storyboard
This week I also created my storyboard in preparation for the presentations next week. As I was struggling with what content I would include in the video, I decided to focus the storyboard on structuring and the aesthetic qualities of the work. In this storyboard, I outlined a linear narrative that would begin with defining and describing ANSI art, the history and relationship to BBS’ and ASCII ART, and how it exists in the present day. The storyboard reflects two main concepts I want to focus on – the historical value of ANSI art, and how it is relevant to us today.
In week 9 we met with Field to present our video pitches and receive feedback. In my presentation, I gave a brief overview of what ANSI art is and discussed how I was planning to focus my work on the history of ANSI, and then connect it to the present. In this presentation I managed to ask Field for his advice on if I should branch the film out or remain focused on ANSI art. It was clear to me that Field was a fan of this topic, this was encouraging as it made me consider the possibility of my work appealing to the passionate ANSI art community. Field suggested that I could reference digital text-based art as a whole, but it would be better to concentrate predominantly on ANSI art. Field discussed how ANSI visuals are so stunning and interesting, that it would be possible to dedicate most of my project to exploring these works without overcomplicating with other concepts. I very much agreed with this point as the visuals were what drew me to this topic initially. This advice was helpful in pointing me in the right direction and helped guide me in prioritizing the research I was so overwhelmed by.
After the consultation with Field, I came into week 10 with a clearer, more concise idea of my film narrative. This meant back to the drawing board for research. This time, however, I looked to the ANSI community itself and scoured the internet for ancient web pages (the 90’s & early 2000’s) hoping to find tutorials and practical information. In conjunction with academic texts, these sources directly from the bygone era would add a layer of accessibility and connection to my film. ANSI, after all, was intended to connect everybody and anybody across Bulletin Board Systems.
Fig 2. Script draft
Once I had conducted a second round of research, I began working on the script. A piece of advice both Field and Cat had given me was to present the information in as simplistic terms as possible so that it was easier for the audience to process. This was a major consideration when I was writing my script as I myself was frustrated with how inaccessible the information was. consistent with the storyboard structure I had presented in the pitch, the script followed a linear timeline. The script aims to clearly outline Bulletin Board Systems pre digital text-based art, the introduction of the medium, the rise and significance of ANSI art, the eventual decline of ANSI art, and finally the cultural impact of ANSI art today. It was quite a feat to condense this timeline into two minutes, however I feel the script is able to communicate the key points without feeling overwhelming or convoluted.
Fig 3. Rough cut
In week 11 we were tasked with presenting rough cuts for Field, Cat, and our classmates to review. This was where I was met with my second major hurdle. My editing software would. not. work. I communicated this to Cat who then directed me to a few possible solutions to fix the problem. I completed every option on the list, I watched YouTube videos, I consulted with online forums – it just would not work. This is when the limitations of producing work in a pandemic became apparent. In an ordinary scenario, I would take my computer into IT or use an on-campus desktop. However, these are not ordinary circumstances, and that is a constraint that limits all of us in our production. I was fortunate that I had 15 seconds of a title screen I had produced earlier that I was able to present as a rough cut. This rough cut was intended as an exploration of the colour palette for the video, as well as establishing a tone and stylising the work. The feedback I received on the rough cut was that the beginning with the coding screen would intrigue the viewer, and the swift cut from the coding shot to the title would hold their attention. This suggested to me that the fast paced editing style I had implemented was effective in engaging the viewer as well as communicating the tone of the work.
Fig. 4 DaVinci Resolve timeline
Once I had gathered my research and finished pre-production, week 12 and 13 were dedicated to making the final product come to fruition. Much of this stage involved experimenting with what footage would go where, creating peaks and valleys through editing whilst maintaining a consistently energetic tone, and making a visually and audibly cohesive work. I resolved my software issue by downloading DaVinci Resolve, and though there was a learning curve with using the program, I was just thankful to be able to edit my video. There were a few elements that were important aspects to the editing stage:
– Minimal text, as to not overwhelm the audience and distract from the visuals
– Visuals predominantly in the ANSI colour palette
– Fast-paced editing style and attention to movement; particularly highlighting the scrolling mechanic associated with ANSI artworks
– Voiceover and visuals relate to one another
– Feature footage of an ANSI artwork being made to demonstrate the production process
I managed to include all these elements in my final work, and by establishing them as guidelines at the beginning of the editing process I think this facilitated the creation of a more polished final product. When finishing the editing, I took a short time away and then came back to review. This allowed me to tweak the work with fresh eyes. One adjustment I made was adding a bing sound in some shots for some additional texture. Ultimately, I am proud of the final product and I feel privileged to contribute to the documentation of the ANSI movement.
In week 9, Joyce Wong pitched their idea for their work exploring zoetropes and how they work. In this presentation, Joyce discussed how they were planning to structure their video. This structure began with a compilation of zoetropes, then the history, how they work, a compilation of old and new zoetropes, and finally present day zoetropes. I thought this was an interesting structuring strategy as it was similar to how I was planning to structure my work, except Joyce notably included compilations at the beginning and towards the end of their work. In comparison to my work, I thought that this format would facilitate sections that didn’t need voiceover. This would allow the viewer space to focus on the visuals as well as time to process all the educational information. In this presentation Joyce also described how they had planned to alternate between slowing down and speeding up a zoetrope in order to demonstrate how it works. Using this focus on movement is an excellent editing technique that works harmoniously with the topic, highlighting the constant movement of the zoetrope. As mentioned, Joyce had planned to include a compilation of present day zoetropes towards the end of the video. As I was watching the presentation, I was intrigued by this as I was invested in knowing what exactly modern day zoetropes looked like and where the average consumer of media was likely to view them. This illustrated to me how if I, as a viewer, was interested in knowing something, then there must be an existing audience also curious about the same thing. This solidified to me how important it was to dedicate a portion of my work to exploring how my topic exists in the present day.