Polizoms (video)

Had a conversation with Professor Wascovich this afternoon around 2:30p, but it took 6 hours for the  thoughts to gel.  Now, my hands are ready to act but I have trouble until I have a plan.  I am filming and have to get my actors, etc. and they will want to know what the plan is.   So...The gist of what came out of what we talked about this afternoon is that my work would benefit from an uncoupling of the components of one of my big ideas.  It was too much like a smorgasbord, and well, nuff said, I will take that advice.

It occurred to me this evening that I have been working on these pieces for almost two years now.  I've been picking the brains of Professor Wascovich, Merrill, and Daun's and friends who are studying art along side me, for even longer than that actually, and I have not forgotten any of the important stuff they have said....  So some of my ideas might seem well formed...but, I am doing all that I can to consider the current influences, and stretch my thinking that much more.

The first I'll work on is called Polizoms...

Originally, I envisioned Polizom as a piece that surrounded a couple of my other pieces.  They are of the same conversation, just separate pieces.   

However, this piece can be made to stand alone. ​It could be projected onto the exterior of many sides of a building (such as the church that one of my cohorts, Jareth Arcane, had found)...or a similar building.  It can also be projected onto a holographic foil or simply a piece of material that acts the same as a rear-projection screen.  The material could be left to hang free, and  I can envision this material hanging from the eaves of any structure.  For example, the covered picnic space would be interesting.  Or!, if I could use some of the holographic foil I have discovered, I could project map the film onto the foil and it could appear as if the subjects are present at the picnic space we talked about in class.

Anyway, my general idea is outlined as this:

• Enlist my subjects for the project... shoot on a Saturday, before foot traffic becomes an issue.
• 6 to 8 people, walking back and forth, left and right, into and out of frame
• 3 groups acting differently, but with similar objectives
  1. Enter frame looking at phone walking normally, possibly acknowledging passers-by
  2. At some point each individual is struck by the light emanating from their phone and their gait slows, and they then stare straight ahead while holding the phone the same as when they were looking at it
  3. they reverse direction and walking in zombified mode back to where they came from
  4. Hopefully when all 6 or 8 are in frame it feels like a bit of a crowd
• Post-processing is where the rest of the story is told.
• Don't let the post-processing take the stage, just let it work just enough to help tell the story.
• Shoot wide-angle (28-35mm);
• Shoot slow shutter speed (looking for a bit of etherial texture);
• Capture ambient audio, perhaps get some local footstep foley;
• Be flexible and let the environment and/or subjects affect the piece.

Action plan:

• Tomorrow I will go scout some locations, and I'll reach out to the subject/actors I have in mind.
• Monday or Tuesday, shoot a test with Kristina and anyone else that I can get to participate (out in Commerce).
• Ingest the footage and start working on testing the concepts that will happen in post processing.