For this final project I studied several “deconstruction” videos to learn about developing a surreal mood with simple video work. Fortunately I had a few good subjects to work with. Morgaine graciously allowed me to user her spiders as subject matter, and I was able to use their sounds (heavily amplified) to set the dreamy/nightmarish mood for the piece. The piece simulates sleep dream-state, in that you can recognize shapes, images and voices, but they are distorted by other subliminal natural background sounds in sleep…heartbeat, breathing, etc.
As to the title, “Fear Is Relative,” the spiders’ actions in these clips are all defense actions brought on by fear, intrusion into their calm habitat. Many of us are afraid of spiders, bugs and other “slimy” creatures, but the case is always the opposite. They are fearful of us, and act in a frightening manner, intending to scare the intruder away from their tranquil space. In that regard, fear is relative to the actor, not the observer. Viewing this video without any embellishments tells a completely different story of two very frail arachnids trying to protect themselves from intrusion into their homes, in the only way they know how.
The video was recorded with a GoPro Session camera. Audio was recorded with a TASCAM DR-40. Video and audio were heavily modified, looped and overlaid on multiple tracks using Adobe Premiere CC.
I thoroughly enjoyed this ART 211 class. I thought the projects and blog assignments built upon each other, and more importantly, pushed and encouraged me to focus my creativity on projects that were completely different from anything traditional. I was encouraged to take risks and push boundaries. I loved it.