Sound and Light Project

This project was very interesting because we were asked to edit together pictures that we did not necessarily take, to provide the visual component of a soundscape that we did not create. It was very interesting to try different photo filters and decide whether to use straight cuts or final cut transition filters.

This was also a difficult project because we had to retake the photos for our class library while simultaneously utilizing said photographic library to create an interesting visual. There was not time to fully live into the individual projects, instead I thought of the two components as a single project using different departments.

I really enjoyed taking photos for the visual component of this project- I experimented by changing the shutter speed and the exposure of the camera to create more expressionistic photographs. It was challenging to set up the camera to be steady enough for a long exposure (which blurs movement) because the contrast between a crisp and detailed stationary object and an indiscernible blur of motion caught in the same photographic moment fascinates me to no end.

Editing the photos together felt like a big experiment because I was using photo filters I had never used before. It became a game of "lets see what this looks like!" before randomly throwing a filter or transition onto a photograph. Fortunately, as we continued the editing process, we knew enough to pick filters for the emotional or visual quality that our soundscape required.

Amanda, my editing partner, is an incredibly artistic and dedicated girl. Her creativity enthuses me and her modesty makes her a dream to work with. You will not find a kinder, better team-player and her future collaborators are lucky to be able to work with her. She does not draw attention to herself so her sheer ability may not be obvious at first, but it is such a bright light that it will eventually shine through.

Our planning for this project was actually minimal. We went into it with the vague intention to create "trippy images" and "interesting effects". Once we were ensconced in the editing lab we began to pay more attention to the rhythm of the editing itself. We also tried to match shapes and lighting between the different photographs. The pure visual component of this project became our almost tunnel vision approach but this was appropriate for an abstract, non-linear piece based upon a soundscape that we did not alter or edit in any way.