Derrick Markowski Trek03

Final Clip - A Walk Through The Park

2007-12-03T12:23:00.001-08:00

Run Time: 2 Minutes, 21 Seconds

My final clip is a combination of the three rough clips, but I decided to go away from the theme of the first two clips and make a movie on what I did and that was walk through the park.

Rough Clip #3

2007-12-03T08:19:00.000-08:00

Run Time: 1 Minute, 19 Seconds

This is a continuation of the first two clips in a sense, however it is based more so on the theme of my final clip, "A Walk Through The Park."

Rough Clip #2

2007-11-21T12:47:00.000-08:00

Run Time: 1 Minute, 34 Seconds

This is the middle section of my three part piece. It starts off slow like the first, keeps with the theme, and again sets up the final clip. I tried to use fragmentation a lot in this clip because in reality it takes about 5 minutes to walk the actual route that the video follows, at that speed.

Rough Clip #1

2007-11-21T08:46:00.000-08:00

Run Time: 1 Minute, 15 Seconds

This is my first rough clip and the beginning of three that will go together to make my final movie. I used some of the sounds I captured to try and make an ominous feel that leads into my next two clips.

Production Strategy

2007-11-21T08:33:00.001-08:00

The place that I plan to explore more in depth on this trek is the parking lot and pond area of Calhoun Park. It is about 100x100 yards and should help me in using more man-made examples to contradict the images of nature that I am also bound to see. The sounds that I will be able to record should also be able to contradict the images of nature as they are more metallic and “fake.” The only strategy that I am going to try and follow in this trek as I am attempting to form a broad narrative will be fragmentation. I think this will be the best in helping me combine my ideas. The way I plan to limit my sound capturing is by only capturing man-made sounds, whether from trash, wind coming off a structure, or other unbeknownst ideas.

Ten Questions for Trek03

2007-11-21T08:32:00.000-08:00

1. Can I use my recorded material to create more of a narrative?

2. Can I use more man-made structures in my visual recordings?

3. How can I make my recordings reflect the images in a meaningful way?

4. How can I still use nature as a tool in the narrative?

5. Is there anywhere that I can capture a more enclosed sound?

6. Is there anywhere that I can capture a darker image?

7. Is there anywhere that I can look and see only man-made structures?

8. Is there anything harmful to the park present?

9. Can I use myself as a way to push along my ideas?

10. How can I use fragmentation to my advantage?

Trek Assessment #4

2007-11-21T08:31:00.000-08:00

Describe your favorite experience, situation, place, or recollection from either of your Treks. Be specific about what happened, how you felt, how you reacted, and why you think this particular experience affected you so much.

I think that the experience that I remember the most was on my second trek. I was walking through the trails at Calhoun Park and I figured I was almost done collecting pictures, but I realized that I didn’t have enough material to form 5 diverse clips. I stopped to look through the pictures that I had taken just to confirm my belief. It turned out that I was correct. At this point I only had pictures of single leaves that I planned to make into my eventual “Rebirth of a Leaf” clip, and the only other idea that I had was to make a clip of the growth of a tree, which would also use a picture of a dead tree at the end. I figured I would use the same idea as the leaf video and try to get stills with a solid color, but with an entire tree. Just as I looked up to think of where I could find good pictures, there were 3 distinct colored trees, each by themselves, all of which worked perfectly into my idea and jump started my enthusiasm into the idea.

Trek Assessment #3

2007-11-21T08:30:00.002-08:00

Describe three surprises or unexpected situations you encountered on your Treks and in the days that followed. The surprise could stem from your expectations that conflicted with "on the ground" realities, cultural or social issues of which you were previously unaware, feelings and reactions that you did not expect to have, appearances and soundings of things you did not expect, good or bad outcomes of "on the spot" decisions you had to make, or the discovery of "deeper" realities in the materials you brought home. (Again, skip anything technology-related!)

As soon as I came home I feared that I didn’t have enough material to start to form a halfway decent track. During the entire trek I felt that everything I was recording was very bland and tasteless, however I was pleasantly surprised when I went back in the studio how many of my pictures fit together to form previously unknown matches and details. After this I went back to the park when I wasn’t on my trek and was surprised again when I thought of so many more ideas I could have used for image correlations an how many different sounds there were that I didn’t record the first time. One “on the ground” decision that I found worked out really well was that when I was on my second Trek, I decided right before starting to take video and pictures that I was going to change my light capturing strategies. I first wanted to use “things moved by the wind” and “things that were damp or soaked.” Fortunately I realized that those strategies would have made for some very bland movies and I decided to change to “color transitions” and “only dead/fallen trees.” It turned out that those two strategies yielded a lot of opportunities for matches and blends.

Trek Assessment #2

2007-11-21T08:30:00.001-08:00

Describe, with details, two situations during Trek 01 and/or 02 in which you felt unusually peaceful, at ease, or contemplative.

One situation while I was on Trek 01 where I felt peaceful was when I was sitting on the side of Calhoun Road. I could remember many times in past that I would sit there with friends, just relax, and talk about whatever. Not only that, but the sounds there make you feel like you’re out in the woods and not on the side of the road near the expressway. One situation on Trek 02 that I felt at ease was when I was walking around Calhoun Park, taking pictures of different leaves and trees. That whole area was a huge part of my childhood and taking a piece of my favorite season at one of my favorite places was more than enough to put me at ease.

Trek Assessment #1

2007-11-21T08:28:00.000-08:00

Describe two situations that aggravated, bothered, shocked or otherwise stressed you during Trek 01 or 02. (Please note that the situation CANNOT be technology-related.)

One situation that bothered me while trying to record Trek 01 is that there were very few places in which I could stay for longer than a few seconds because I was on private property. I think that it really limited my results that I ended up posting. One situation on Trek 02 that stressed me was my own lack of creativity while I was out taking pictures/recording video. Hopefully for Trek 03 I will have a clear mind to get some more diverse images.