Caterina Rossato
"I put together all the images taken during a sentimental relationship in a single collage: in this eternal present time does not exist and everything can be or not be at the same time."
Caterina Rossato currently lives and works between Bassano del Grappa, Milano and the Val Senales’ mountains. Rossato studied piano in 2006 at the Music Academy in Como and Castelfranco Veneto. She is a graduate in Fine Arts from Italy's Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti in Bergamo, and in 2010 she earned a Master’s Degree in Design and Production of Visual Arts at the I.U.A.V University of Venice. She has worked as an assistant for different artists such as Pascale Marthine Tayou and Nan Goldin, and since 2011 has been the teaching assistant of Alberto Garutti. She earned a second level Master’s Degree in Interactive Arts for Architecture, Performing and Visual Arts at the same University in 2015. Her work has been exhibited in various countries across Europe. Her work makes use of both digital and physical techniques, and she is well known for her collage layering of postcards which she sticks to wood to recreate beautiful scenery across the world. Rossato has said that she aims to "create landscapes made through a collage of other landscapes, combining images in which the sense of recognition of reality slips from one level to another and it is never clearly identified."
Rossato takes pictures of landscapes and creates new scenery from it. Many of these images are from Italian landscapes and therefore relates her identity to her work which has more personal impact.
This is one of Caterina Rossato's pieces that depicts the rural setting on mountains in the background accompanied by the architecture of a city beneath it. The image is all in focus, so a higher aperture must have been used when photographing the artwork, and so is each individual cut out piece of paper that has been layered. There are no noticeable lines in the image as each image is closely layered together and instead the audience are encouraged to look at all of the image rather than a single point. The structures of the buildings are all similar, so there is repetition in the foreground of geometric shapes which contrasts with the irregular shaping of the mountains behind. Despite the artwork being layered, the image appears more 2D as there are no shadows that create depth. There is not much negative space compared to the positive space, however its brighter grey at the top of the image is noticeable against the mix of tones underneath. The artwork has a lot of contrast between its lighter and dark tones but still has a lot of mid tones, and appears to be in black and white at first glance. There is some beige colouring of the buildings, however the mountains are in black and white.
Rossato has not used the rule of thirds in this image, which contributes to the detailed layers and sense of chaos created. Instead the image has been composed with the buildings in the foreground and mountains in the background which are evenly balanced. It has been cropped to a square which has cut off the mountains and buildings at the side, creating the illusion that the image could stretch out forever.
Contact Sheets
This photoshoot plan will allow me to quickly adjust my camera settings so that the photoshoot goes smoothly. It also allows me to generate ideas before the actual photoshoot takes place.
For this photoshoot I followed my photoshoot plan quite closely, and found buildings that would be easy to edit (to cut out of the image and edit). I managed to capture photographs of buildings with different architectural styles. This way I will be able to create different compositions that feature a variety of styles which will hopefully contrast. During the photoshoot, I mainly adjusted the shutter speed and aperture settings which would affect the lighting. This was due to the weather changing frequently.
I think that this photoshoot was successful, as I produced images that I can mirror and flip. This way I will be able to manipulate the shapes of the buildings. Another successful aspect of this photoshoot are the camera settings. The photos are mainly in focus, and they are not underexposed (which can happen when the aperture is higher).
Whilst I think that I have a good number of photographs, I think that I
could have focused on more interesting structures that are typically more industrial. I am hoping to capture pictures of more buildings that (how it links to identity) To improve on this photoshoot for the second time, I will continue collecting images of different buildings and also experiment with different angles.
For my initial developments, I will be layering cutting the building out of an image and then layering it on top of itself. These edits will most likely be very simple and uninteresting, however they are mainly going to help me outline how to carry out these edits.
Initial Developments
These developments are my first most simple edits. To edit these I used the quick selection tool to select the parts of the image I wanted to cut out, and then duplicated the layer. I then coloured the background using the paintbrush tool, and transformed the images to mirror them. The final step was duplicating and layering the buildings at different levels at smaller sizes to create an illusion that the image was being taken from the ground upwards. As the buildings towards the back of the layers were smaller, I had to duplicate the images and place them next to each other (and merge these) to create a longer image so that it filled the entire edit.
I think that these edits are less successful as they are too simple and aren't exciting. Despite this, they show layering which is seen in Caterina Rossato's work. I have also successfully recreated perspective in many of the edits, where abstract structures have been layering in a way to reflect the landscape of a city. I also think that the white and grey backgrounds are successful in portraying a city's bad weather, and the contrast also often brings attention to the structure of the buildings. The fact that the buildings become smaller going upwards also helps create a perspective that seems more realistic, and I also made some edits where the buildings become larger going upwards, which make the buildings look as if they are growing.
Next I will be using more than one building in each edit, however before that I will be adding backgrounds to see how they can affect my images.
Further Developments Using Backgrounds
I wanted to see how I could incorporate backgrounds into my work. This was mainly experimentation for when I will have some more complicated developments, and if I do decide to include natural scenery in my work then it would come from my own photoshoots and images. These background images were taken from online.
To edit these images I opened the background image on photoshop, and placed my own edits on top. By using quick select I deleted the areas of my edits that I did not want which revealed the background image underneath. I did not use my own images for this work, so I will not be using these backgrounds if I do decide to include them
for a final project.
I think that these edits were successful in imitating the surrealness that Caterina Rossato has in her work. She explores scale, and often has creative backgrounds which do not match the scenery she has created. I think that this contrast is what adds to the creativity of her pieces, and similarly with this work, the contrast between the mountains and industrial buildings for example is what creates an unreal perspective. I think that these edits are still lacking layering and variation in architecture, which is something that makes Rossato's work so distinct. Next I will see how I can layer using multiple buildings and see how I can create my own small landscapes.
Layering with Multiple Buildings
To edit these I followed a similar process as before, however I used several buildings from different images. This process was slightly more complicated because I had to layer several images and make sure they had been cleanly cut from their original images. I mirrored several images (by duplicating the image, transforming it and then flipping it) so I could create a longer building that seemed as though it was one building. This was also to create more surreal structures that had symmetry as well.
I think that these edits are more successful than the previous edits. This is because there is a better display of layering. The variation of structures in each image brings me closer to imitating the landscapes that Caterina Rossato creates in her own work. I would like to continue this process of layering different buildings to create an interesting perspective like she does. I also like how the buildings reflect industrial architecture, which is something that I explored with my previous artist, John Riddy. This is another theme that I would to keep prevalent in my work with Rossato as well. To improve these edits, I think that I could have included even more buildings in my layering to create an edit with even more depth and to expand on the structures already there. I will be doing this at some point, but before that I will be exploring how having images in black and white will affect my work.
Black and White
To edit these, I used the black and white filter on photoshop, and sometimes changed the colour balance so that some colours underneath the black and white filter were darker or brighter. I think that these edits were successful in emphasising the industrial themes, however since these are still experiments, I will keep my work in colour so that I can make adjustments to colour when creating physical work, as I predict that I will be using these edits, or edits like these when I begin creating physical pieces.
I think that including the backgrounds for this work is not necessary. This is because the edits as a whole still look uncompleted. I will be leaving them out for the future work. Next I will be highlighting successes.
Highlighting Successes
These are what I consider to be my most successful edits from my previous work. Most of these edits have a variation of buildings, however one of them (the third from the left on the bottom row) is an example where I have successfully used one building to create a perspective as if the camera is positioned upwards. These edits also involve mirroring, which I think successful created symmetry in my edits. Most of these edits do not have a background, except for the edit on the bottom right, which I think successfully shows the absurd contrast between the two settings the images are derived from. I will be using the same concept of layering different buildings in my next work, however I will focus on creating more layers of the buildings.
Second Photoshoot Contact Sheets
The way I took this photoshoot was similar to the previous photoshoot. I used the same camera settings and angles. I explored the areas of Covent Garden and Kings Cross for this photoshoot, photographing structures that I found intriguing. I made sure to have as much of the structure in frame as I could, which will make it easier when I have to edit and develop the pictures.
I think that the photoshoot was successful because I photographed a wide variety of structures of different architectural styles. This will provide a contrast in the building styles when I edit the structures together. Another successful aspect of this photoshoot is the experimentation of angles. I made sure to photograph buildings from various angles and positions, either from further away or from a closer perspective. This will allow me to manipulate the point of view when editing, and create an image that is abstract with its dimensions.
To improve the photoshoot I think that I could have been more careful when positioning the camera, as the wide lens meant that it was easy for the buildings to look distorted.
Whilst photographing I had several ideas about what I will do to develop my ideas further. Since I am working with backgrounds, I can do a smaller photoshoot photographing plants and greenery close up , which will give me my own backgrounds to edit into my building edits. I think this will allow me experiment with scale, and create an abstract image where there is no sense of space or scale. Another idea I had was to include people in my edits. Whether this is something I will do in my initial edits or later on when layering physically, I have photographed a couple of pictures where there is a person going up the stair which I can use.
For now, I will be editing photos from my second photoshoot by layering different structures on top of each other. Afterwards I will be printing out my pictures to physically experiment with them.
Second Photoshoot Developments
These are my second photoshoot developments. To edit these I cut out buildings from various images using the quick selection tool and transformed them (to mirror or change the perspective/angle). I layered each of the buildings on top of each other at different levels to mirror the appearance of a building landscape. I tried to include various building styles in each edit so that there was some contrast architecturally. These edits took slightly longer individually than my previous ones, because there was more layering involved and I was more careful about positioning and composition. It was also more challenging because there were more layers to clean and make sure looked neat. The buildings originally came from pictures where they were positioned against a bright, white sky, so if the quick selection tool did not select everything, I was left with white colour around the buildings which I had to erase by hand. I think that these edits are the most successful so far, as these (and a few from my previous developments) have the most potential for experimenting with work physically. This is because they have the most layering, which I can develop even further by layering these edits physically. They also have the most mirroring of buildings, which manipulates their original structure into something that you would never see realistically.
Since I have been taking pictures of buildings and exploring how I can create abstract landscapes, I would also like to explore the idea of movement as well, and I plan to do this by creating GIFs where the layers of these images actually move. I will do this after I have highlighted my successes.
Highlighting Successes
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These edits are what I consider to be my most successful edits. They are edited well and cleanly, and best create a perspective which is abstract. I think they best demonstrate the ideas of industrial architecture that I was exploring previously as well, and there is a contrast of architectural styles due to the intentional pairing of buildings. I used older styled buildings, as well as more modern architecture which created a bizarre contrast which I think is effective.
Next I will be printing out some of these edits, as some more previous ones which I think are the most successful, and layering them physically. Before this, I will experiment with creating moving GFs.
Creating a GIF
Above are the four main stages that I went through when creating a GIF that moved. It was a longer process that I had originally expected as I had to find a successful way to create the GIF. Below outlines how I made it.
I first began by creating a landscape like I done with my previous work. I had to have each building as a separate layer so that I could make it move later. I then made sure each layer was a smart object so that I could transform it when making the GIF. Once I had each layer separate and in order, I created a video timeline. I then transformed each layer, either rotating it or moving it up and down. Since the image was symmetrical, I animated the opposite sides of a building so that they rotated away from each other. To make these animations, I chose the transform option underneath each layer, and rotated the image at even intervals by the same angle until it make a full 360 degree rotation. It took a while to get to the final product, as I first began by simply rotating the buildings as the cut out images they were, however I realised that it would look neater and more complete to mirror the buildings downwards so that they created a more complete structure. After putting the GIF together I realised that I had not trimmed the video correctly so that it made a smooth repeating GIF, and also that the rotation was too fast. To fix this, I made the video longer by making the clips longer, and then readjusted where I had the transformations to fit the longer clip. I then came to the final product when I decided to actually blend each layer so that the scenery would come together better. Below are two GIFs. The only difference between the two is that I chose a different blending option for the building second from the back so that it appeared less dark. I made these GIFs even slower, which resulted in them being bigger files. When exporting them, I had to reduce the file to a smaller size, since both Photoshop and Wix would not let me upload a file that was too big.
I think that the GIF has been successful. I learnt more on using the animation feature on Photoshop, and it was a challenge since it was my first time making a GIF like this. It took a few tries to reach a final product that I was happy with. I like the portrayal of the movement of buildings. It is a contrast to John Riddy's stillness, and depicts a landscape similar to Rossato's, however with movement. The movement of the buildings is unnatural, and so emphasises the movement and business of a city environment. I think that the GIF is successful in bringing together my ideas so far. Next I will further explore layering by layering my work physically.
Third Photoshoot with Physical Layering
I wanted to create a physical project where I layer my work and photograph it. I had the idea to print out my previous work, and find a way to prop the images and stack them to create a landscape like Rossato does. Below outlines my process.
Set up
I first began by printing out all my favourite edits from my previous work. I then cut out the buildings using scissors. My next step was to outline the cut out onto some stiff card using pencil. I then cut around this tracing, making sure that it was slightly smaller than the outline I had drawn, as I wanted to make sure the card would not be visible from the front. In the example above, I had to use two pieces of card as the card was too hard to use a scalpel and cut the middle out, so I had to use scissors on the two sides individually. I also had to make sure that when gluing the images onto the card, there were no creases or bubbles on the paper.
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Since I had used two pieces of card for this example, I wanted to make sure the piece was supported and wouldn't bend and damage the image. To make sure this didn't happen, I cut out strips of the card and glued them on top of the two pieces, which provided support.
Once I had stuck all of my images to the card, I took some of the card I had used to make triangles that would prop the pictures up. I used tape instead glue so that they would be easier to remove once I had finished.
Once I had all the pieces ready, I set up a white background using a backdrop, stacked books on the floor in a way that resembled steps, and set up the pieces onto these books to photograph. I put the pieces onto books at different levels so that each picture was visible.
To the left is a first attempt at this project. I initially began by gluing the image onto a piece of cardboard first, and then cut around it. I found that I could not cut around it without leaving the cardboard visible. It was also too difficult to cut without damaging the image. I realised that it would be better to cut the card a smaller size than the actual image to it would not appear messy. I also found that cardboard was less effective to use at it was easier to bend and damage. The card I used later was stronger.
Contact Sheets
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This photoshoot is my first attempt with physical layering in the style of Caterina Rossato. To set it up I cut out some chosen edits and stuck them onto cardboard so that they could be propped up. I first tried this by sticking the cut out image directly onto the cardboard and cutting it out, but it did not work as the cardboard was visible over the edges. Instead I traced the outline of the image onto the cardboard and cut the cardboard slightly smaller
than the actual image so that none of the cardboard was visible. This way the image still had support. I then made triangles with the cardboard by folding them twice and attaching the ends, which I used to prop up the images. To actually take the pictures, I set up a white background and stacked books on top of each other to create different levels so that I could experiment with perspective and separate the images so they were all visible (since the edits were varied in height). I had a lamp nearby so that the images were well lit, however some images were still dark as I experimented with a higher aperture.
For some images I experimented with lighting and placed a light in between the layers. I then adjusted the aperture so I control the strength of this light. These shots weren't that successful because the light was often too bright which meant the rest of the image was too dark, however there are a couple that I can edit as a development.
Overall I think that this photoshoot was successful, as I experimented with various things such as perspective and aperture. I used a good camera so the quality was also good, and I could control settings such as the ISO and shutter speed. I will be doing some more experimentation with physical layering later on, but before that I will edit some of this photoshoot's images and see how I can develop them further.
Developments
These are my developments to my third photoshoot featuring physical layering. When editing, I adjusted the brightness as some of the images were quite dark, and then changed the saturation. In general I lowered the saturation, and for some I lowered it all the way so the images were in black and white. I wanted to see which way the images looked the best, as Rossato has work both in colour and in black and white.
Overall I think that this photoshoot and edits are successful, because they link back to Rossato's ideas of layering architecture and creating landscapes. I think that this photoshoot links strongly to Rossato's work and also with the theme of identity, as I created my own landscape with buildings that I am familiar with and I see often. I like how these edits have experimented with aperture and angle. I think that these are important in creative a perspective. Because of the way I had positioned the buildings, it appears as though there is no real scale, or at least direction. The way I had positioned the camera aiming upwards is important in creating the illusion that the person looking at the images is much smaller and looking at buildings much bigger than them. The aperture also makes the point of view appear more realistic, as there are only certain buildings in focus, mimicking how the eye would perceive this scene if it were realistic. To improve these edits, I think that I could made some of the images brighter, and maybe added more contrast. Despite this, these edits are successful as they bring together my ideas about layering and creating a landscape that the audience feel they are a part of.
Next I will be doing a similar thing with my next photoshoot, but with unedited pictures. This is to see how realistic I can make the images seem, even though the scale feels off. However before this, I will be re-editing these images to make them brighter.
Refining my Work
These are the re-edited images from the previous work. I felt that the last images were too dark which resulted in not enough contrast and too many darker tones, which resulted in the images not being as clear. Here I just increased the brightness and then contrast on photoshop so that the images were clearer.
These images are more successful because they are clearer. They also have more contrast between the darker and lighter tones, which I think is important in bringing out different shapes. The landscapes are clearer since they are brighter.
Fourth Photoshoot Using Unedited Images
Contact Sheets
For this photoshoot I decided to do physical layering once again, but instead this time using unedited images from my second photoshoot. This way the outcome was slightly less surreal and less symmetrical, as each image was an individual building.
To set this photoshoot up, I did the same thing as I did with my previous physical layering project. However this time I printed out the original images from my second photoshoot, and cut around the parts that I wanted in my photographs. I then traced around them on cardboard, cut the shape out slightly smaller and stuck the image onto the cardboard using glue. I made small triangle stand for each image to keep them upright and then positioned them to photograph. To create different levels, I used stacked up books and placed each image on different numbers of books
As I wanted to experiment with aperture, I needed a bright light source so that the images would not be too dark if I were to use a higher f stop number. To do this I used a studio light and put it on the brightest setting angled towards what I was going to photograph. Some of the photographs were still quite dark, but I can brighten them in photoshop when editing.
I think that this photoshoot was successful, despite being a lot shorter than my previous photoshoots. They mostly were all in focus, and I experimented successfully with aperture and angle. Because of the lighting, some of the photos have a slightly yellow hue, but I can adjust this when editing in various ways. I liked the use of the small figurine that I cut out, as it let me experiment with scale and angle. As the photoshoot was short, however, it meant I was limited with the ways I could have experimented with the photoshoot, including with perspective. I think that I could have cut out different sizes of the figure to allow me to work with scale more, and maybe could have created something even more absurd and abstract. For example by having the person bigger than the buildings, however for this I will need to take some separate images.
Next I will be editing some of these photos by adjusting contrast, saturation and brightness.
Developments
These are my developments for my fourth photoshoot. To edit these, I simply adjusted the brightness, contrast and saturation. I managed to get rid some of the yellowish hue, but there are still warmer tones that are obvious. I like how the warmer tones ended up looking, however with any future edits I may try and counter this by adjusting the colour balance instead. I think that this photoshoot was successful, as I managed to experiment with scale and perspective by including a figure of a person. Despite this, this photoshoot was short and didn't give me many images to work with.
I think that my fourth photoshoot was more successful than this one, because the images I used were layered already, which created the illusion of there being more buildings. Despite this, I proved that I can create a bizarre landscape even when the images were previously unedited. By adding a figure of a person, I was able to make the proportions appear inaccurate and unnatural. I also experimented with aperture and angle, which was also important for creating this same effect. For some final piece ideas I could combine props from both photoshoots so that some images are edited and some are not. I will first be redrafting my third photoshoot next, using more edits and layers.
Third Photoshoot Redraft
Contact Sheets
This is my third photoshoot redraft where I continued to layer buildings physically and experimented with perspective and aperture. This time I printed out more edits and stuck them onto cardboard. I used the same method as previously to stand them up, and used books to create levels. This time I tried to take pictures further away so that I have both close up
images and images of the entire set. Something I did that I didn't do previously was angle the cardboard buildings individually so they appeared less flat. I think this was an interesting way to experiment with perspective and I will see how these images turn out once developed.
When photographing I mostly adjusted the aperture and shutter speed, so that I could change the depth of field and make sure there was enough light entering the camera. There was a significantly less amount of images that were too dark this time as I used better lighting. I think that this photoshoot was successful because it resulted in a good amount of images that I can work with which are all very different. There was also much more layering of my edits, and I created a larger landscape with more buildings. These photographs are what I can see leading me towards some AO4 experimentation and results for this artists.
Again like with the previous photoshoot of unedited images the photographs had a slight yellowish hue due to the colour of the lighting that I used, however I will see if I can fix this better than last time by adjusting the colour balance slightly. I think that I could experimented more with various angles, not just from the top and bottom but from side to side as well. I touched on this slightly in my previous photoshoot however I did this less in this photoshoot. I will keep this in mind for any future developments I may have.
Developments
To edit these images, I just adjusted the brightness, contrast and saturation. I left some images in colour, and to get rid of the yellow hue created because of the lighting I adjusted the colour balance, getting rid of some of the warmth of the image that made it appear yellow. I think that these developments are successful as I managed to return the images back to a more neutral tone. The images are also well lit, and link back to Rossato's work where imaginary landscapes are created out of photographs. Despite deciding to approach urban settings rather than rural settings like Rossato does, I chose architecture that was relevant to me, and that way links back to the themes of identity as well.
I think that this photoshoot has been the most successful so far. This is because it shows the most layering to create scenery that does not exist and appears unnatural. Like before, I have images in black and white and also colour. I like this variation because it offers two perspectives of this landscape that I have created. Next I will be highlighting successes and them moving on to AO4 experimentation.
Highlighting Successes
These are the most successful edits from my third photoshoot which was my initial experimentation with physical work. I like the use of aperture in these pictures and the lighting. I like the contrast between the lighter foreground and darker background in the first image from the left, and also the experimental lighting in the middle image. The third image had a very shallow depth of field which I also liked.
To the left are the most successful edits from my fourth photoshoot which consisted of layering unedited images. I like the experimentation with angle and aperture the most in these images. With the first image from the left I liked how I changed the perspective, which manipulated how far away the layers looked from each other. With the image on the far right I liked how even with the shallow depth of field the figure was recognisable behind the buildings.
These are what I consider to be my most successful edits from my third photoshoot redraft. Overall I like how these images vary in perspective and colouring. With the first image from the left, I think that the layering was successful. With the middle image, each building was individually positioned at a different angle, so the composition resembled an actual image of a city more. It meant that there was perspective created for each building. I also liked how despite the lack of negative space, the focus is still on the centre building. For the image on the far right, there was an effective use of negative space.
AO4 Experimentation
Set up
My next step for this project was to finalise the ideas that I had developed when working with Caterina Rossato's work. I decided to do this by using the materials I had already created, and create a final project that involved a short video. Above and to the left is the the set up that I used. I punctured holes into my already previously made cardboard pieces and put string through these holes so that I could hang them. For some pieces I had to tape the string on the back of the cardboard so that the string was not visible from the front. Once I had done this for all of them, I tied them in an order than I wanted along the top bar of a stand (shown above), and filmed the piece that I had made. I set up a tripod so that the shots would be still, and filmed short videos, each at around 10 seconds. I had someone stand with a big sheet of paper as a background to ensure everything was even. I then took some images from different angles using the same camera. I will first edit the images photographed, and then put the video together.
To the left is annotated contact sheet. I did not take as many images as usual, as my initial idea was to create a video, and the idea of photographing the project only occurred to me later. Despite the photoshoot being very small, I think it was successful because the images reflect all my previous work with physically layering my own photographs, and they will provide a good smaller side project that can be presented with the video that I will make. I think that I could have been more careful with the camera settings, however, as when reviewing the photos later I realised that many were out of focus or blurry, which was either due my f stop number being too low, or the shutter speed being too slow. These means that I was limited with some shots, however there were still many shots that were successful.
These are my edited images. Editing them was quite a simple process. I adjusted the brightness, contrast, and saturation for each, sometimes creating several of these adjustment layers to create the effect I wanted. Below are a couple of screenshots that highlight my process.
I also cropped each image, taking care that I liked where everything was in place and balanced.
I think that the edits were successful, as they are all in focus. I also like how I experimented with angle, which resulted in a variety of shots that were all unique. Having used natural lighting also resulted in softer shadows, and because of the light coming from one direction (the front) the shadows are quite prominent and create a sense of depth that would not have been there otherwise.
The use of aperture was also effective in having only one area of the image in focus so that a particular building was to be focused on. I think that hanging the pictures up using string that was visible in each shot was successful, because it allowed the idea of scale to be explored further, as in these shots string was being compared to buildings, which are supposed to be much larger structures.
Next I will be editing the footageI took during this photoshoot to create a short video.
Creating a Video
The clips I had filmed were 10-15 second clips of the pieces hung up by string. I had someone stand behind the pieces with a white sheet of paper to create a white background, and to sway the stand so that the pieces would move.
Once I had the footage, I first began by opening one of the clips onto an app called 'FilmForth.' I wanted the video to be in black and white to emphasise the industrial themes that I had explored previously, so I chose a black and white filter for the clip. I then got rid of the volume of the clip and cropped it to the ratio of the video. Once I was happy with how I would have the clips presented, I added an audio, which was a short sample of "Vivaldi Variation" that had been arranged for the piano. I only wanted the first few bars to repeat, as I wanted to keep the video short, so I repeated the audio that I had cut out of the 1:52 track. I lowered the volume of the piano, because I wanted it to sound drowned out by the audio of a city that I had on top of that. I found this audio on YouTube, and I wanted the city landscape to be reflected by the sounds playing in the background. I then added the rest of the clips, trying to keep the transition between each video somewhat in time with the music playing, and with a transition that faded to black within 0.2s to mimic the eyes blinking. Once I was happy with the product, I exported the video at a higher frame rate and quality.
Below is the finished product.
I think the final video is successful. The quiet music and city sounds are reflective of the theme of urban locations. To improve, I think that I could have included more clips in the video that changed more frequently, as I think the gap between the videos are too long. Despite this, I like how there is movement in this video in the swaying of the buildings. This movement contrasts the stillness of the camera, which is steady due to the tripod that I used. I like how the moving buildings portray the movement of a city, which is always busy and never silent. It emphasises on the point that there is always movement in the city, so much so that even the buildings have become a part of this movement. The quiet piano music in the background contrasts the sounds of chatter, providing a sense of calm where there is usually disorder and commotion.
Presenting Ideas
This is how I see the work being presented publicly. The video would be centred in the middle, with the still images surrounding the video. I would most likely have the video on a loop, with the sound playing from all directions, to mimic the sounds of a city. The video would be much bigger than the other pieces, and this is to draw attention to the video which is always moving. With the video looping and always playing sound, it is like a distraction from the other pieces, which is supposed to reflect the distractions and movements that are constantly happening in a city. The lighting would also be bright, unlike the natural lighting found outside, to reflect the urban environments and industrial setting that I have explored in my work already.
The fact that the project consists of bringing 2D images of buildings together as a landscape but then filming it as if its a 3D piece of work is almost an ironic depiction of a city. There are pictures of buildings that have been put together in a particular way, however the scenery is not real and many of the buildings were manipulated into different structures from what they actually are. The buildings are recognisable as buildings, however everything about them is unnatural.