Critique

In other studio classes I've had, we have looked at our work halfway through our process to get feedback and help from professors and classmates. In our Video I class this was not a technique that was ever used, as in most classes we just viewed our final piece. There are some definite pros to doing an in-progress critique.

Doing an in-progress critique can help the artist see their work in a new light that they previously hadn't seen. This can help them continue on in their original path in a positive way, or it can steer them in a totally new direction than they had originally planned. I also think that the critique will make the work stronger with the feedback from peers.

I felt really great about the feedback I received from my in-progress critique. Larger scale things such as my aspect ratio of my various videos needed to match up, which is a pretty important thing. I most likely wouldn't have noticed it on my own. Smaller scale things such as slowing segments down were also pointed out. The combination of all the things can make the piece as a whole so much stronger.

Any chance an artist can get to have their piece critiqued can be beneficial. Even if the comments are negative it can help the artist build emotionally. Critique can be hard to handle, especially that first project of the first studio class freshmen year. Overall it is vital to the arts and to learning in school. We are here to be the best and take the most out of our experience.

Silly Bears

On saturday morning I took my mom to Ann Arbor to see Films in Competition 5. We were one of the first ones there, but as people began to fill in we noticed they were mostly young children with their parents. We laughed and thought it was funny that we ended up at the only 6+ appropriate screening.

The first film was UFOs and was made in 1971. Once it had been restored years after, they discovered it had stereoscopic qualities, and they made it into a 3D format film. It still amazes me how much technology there was in the 60's and 70's.

Another film that I really enjoyed was called Silly Bears by Matt Brunson. Visually it appealed to me because of the audio he used and there was a lot of bright colors (I am such a girl lol). It was just an entertaining piece to watch for all ages. It shows teddy bears and life size bears and a young man flying a plane in this alternate universe.

August Song was another film that I really liked. It was a collaboration with Jodie Mack and Emily Kuehn. It follows also follows an animal around an alternate space or universe. This video follows a cat and has a lot of cat imagery. It also appealed to me in the visual sense with the colors and imagery they used.

Both artists were there at the film festival and went up onstage to answer questions after the screening. It was cool to be able to see them and hear them talk about their work. I really enjoyed myself at the film festival and can see myself going back in years to come. As an artist I think its important to see and support other art forms.