Abstract Video Analysis

Sarah Haspel

Part One:

1.) This video maintains a good continuity throughout. The way the photos fade in and out and sometimes flash quickly right next to each other in rhythm with the sound. An example I found is very interesting, mostly because it goes from a black city, to bright white to the daylight. This is a very effective choice for creating a transition which goes with the sound she chose.

2.) This video modulates fairly well and there are some changes of pace. What is most interesting is when things are going slowly and she throws in an image so quickly that you cannot necessarily understand what you are seeing. This change of tempo is unexpected and therefore keeps the viewer interesting. This was a good decision in terms of change of pace.

3.) This artist did not distort the images in any way. It's very interesting how she kept all the images in the original condition, although it might have interesting to play with the effects on more on certain tones in the sound that strike us as eerie or unnatural.

4.) a. Most of the pictures are warm in temperature, though they may differ in light and dark. This brings all of them together in the movie, though their subjects are all very different.

b. The frames are all fairly standard. There is not a lot of abstraction at all, and there are no black frames, which is a solid continuity throughout.

c. The camera angles don't vary too much, except of the elevator buttons, which is looking down, and the stop light is looking up. Otherwise they are all pretty much head on.

d. The pictures do vary in proximity. Some are closer to the eye and others are at a distance, which makes for some cool transitions.

e. The pacing was fairly constant. There wasn't as much variation in the pacing as there could have been, but it varies enough so that it keeps the viewers attention.

f. There is a contrast between some of the photos that are in the day time to those that are in the night or even in a heavy shadow. The bright light and the dark nights are constantly contrasting.

g. There is a lot of repetition throughout this video, and a lot of it is in the same order. It might have been interesting to show one picture in a row a few times to change up the images and to continue using repetition.

h. The quality of light is considered well. Whether the scenes are during the day or at night, there is a bright, warm sense of light throughout, whether it be from the sun or from the lights of a city night.

Part Two: Our choices were a clip from Peter Pan (the live version with Jeremy Sumpter) when they start dancing with the fairies, or a trailer for the movie "Jet Li's Fearless" We chose the movie trailer because it shares many of the same aspects as the abstract movies we just made. Though this trailer is a little bit faster than her abstract video, it had a very similar flow. The repetition of light quality throughout films is contrasting throughout, but still connected via its subjects and the way the transition run in between them. Sarah's video and the movie trailer make good use of the transitions using fading in and out and the wash out effect to transition from dark to light scenes and vice versa.

- Lauren Dickinson- Communications Design