Video Art
Project Name: Evil was made as a final project for my Video Art I class. I chose a stanza from a Notorious B.I.G. song titled "Suicidal Thoughts" to be repeated throughout the video. The selection lends itself to the meaning of the video and acts almost like a recurring score as the main character goes on his journey to hell and back.
The requirements for the project were as follows:
Create 5 videos each 30 sec -1 min in length. Include 5 “truths” and 5 lies in either in the audio and/or the imagery. Use this as a starting place for each video: Find or write a letter or a piece of text. Record someone reading the letter (or text). Use this as the soundtrack for your video. There can be other sound as well. The letter or text can change in each video. Things to think about: What does truth looks like? (i.e. what are the aesthetic qualities that make us assume something is true?) What sounds or looks “real”? How can we play with assumptions about fact and fiction to get a greater personal truth? What can the audio tell the viewer that either adds to or subverts what the imagery is telling the viewer? How can we surprise the viewer with new information, causing them to question or reconsider the “truth” of what they have already seen?
Writer, Director, Producer, Cameraperson, Actor, Editor: Judah Angert
This Project was completed on May 6th, 2024
This was shot entirely in London as I was there attending my Great-Uncle's wake. I used to visit him in London as a child, and it felt strange to wander eerily familiar streets with a new perspective as a young adult.
This video was made as a part of a manifesto project for my Video Art I class.
The manifesto I needed to follow for this film included rules made by the professor:
1. Think ahead about how you want an image, or images, to appear, and also how you will have to create them. Use post-production effects only when specifically motivated by the content of your work. 2. You should not appear on screen. Your voice is OK. 3. Your friends cannot appear in the film. 4. Do not shoot this piece in your room or living space. 5. Music is allowed, but do not use songs or pieces of music in their entirety. 6. Sound is allowed, but consider what possibilities emerge when limiting sound and/or swapping sound. Silence is a conscious sound decision
In addition to rules I made up for myself:
1. All collaborators must previously know each other before working on the project. 2. The camera must be handheld, sitting on the ground, or leaning against a wall. No tripods. 3. Dialogue is discouraged. If it is there, it is to be kept minimal and only includes what is absolutely necessary. 4. Natural lighting. No change can be made to the environment’s lighting for filming purposes. 5. The film must portray mental anguish, not physical anguish. A little physical pain is OK but the film should be centered around mental illness, feelings of loneliness, etc.. 6. Must be filmed on phone or digital camera worth less than $300. 7. Nobody should be paid to work on the project. It should be a passion project or helping out a friend for everybody involved. Everybody should be working on the video because they want to not because they are being paid. 8. Candid shots should be used. The director/camera person should not tell the performers exactly when the camera is recording and when it isn’t. 9. The editor needs to have a role/ be involved in the pre-production and/or production of the video. 10. Everything used in the production and post-production process should be already owned or borrowed for free.
Director, Producer, Cameraperson, Editor, Actor: Judah Angert
Background Voices: Dr. Michael Schwartz (my grandfather) and Shanna Schwartz (my mother)
Fox: Fox
The project was completed on March 18th, 2024.
Daddy Issues was assigned as an editing exercise intended to simply showcase my technical abilities using Premier Pro. I ended up recording a voice-over that connected well with the visuals and formatted the videos to show only a small picture compared to the size of the display. This was intended as a form of symbolism to show that as long as we live in our father's shadows, we will never see the full picture. We must step back from our immediate emotions and try to understand life on a grander scale.
The initial requirements of the exercise were as follows:
Make a short video (1-2 mins) using every single technique here: https://blog.pond5.com/11099-13-creative-editing-techniques-every-video-editor-should-know/
Actors:
Aurora Sikelianos
James Perlleshi
Director, Producer, Editor, Actor, Cameraperson:
Judah Angert
This project was completed on April 22nd, 2024