The theme of this week was process,
and Max Johnson and I teamed up to work together. This was a very interesting
project from the start, because Max and I have very different styles of
artwork. He is into fiction and surrealist film, and I am into realism and
documentary film. When trying to pick a topic, we went back and forth for a
long time. I would suggest a variety of short sound documentaries. I really wanted to
record the process of grocery shopping. I was thinking back to the “Routines” videos, and how
short and simple those processes were. I wanted to portray something very
simple, but something that is also a part of our everyday lives. Max would then
suggest a fantastical idea. This went on for a very long time; until I finally
made the comment that I wished that we were recording our conversation, as it
was getting to be pretty entertaining. That was when this idea came. We decided to do
both of our ideas, and show the process of how we tried and failed to portray those ideas.
In the beginning of this project, Max had mentioned how difficult it would be
to collaborate since our styles are so different. In the end, however, we were
actually able to collaborate extremely well. One thing that really stuck with me from the “Routines”
videos was the sense of heightened reality that was present. This was also very
evident in our piece, though it was accomplished through acting. Before we started recording, Max and I were having a very thoughtful and polite conversation about the pros and cons of both of our ideas. We were both being
too kind to one another, and not saying that we really did not want to do the other
person’s idea. However, when we actually were acting out the processes, both of
us became character’s that were heightened versions of ourselves. We were still
Max and Emily, but Angry Max and Frustrated Emily. While showing both of our
failed processes, we yelled a lot. We were quick to snap at each other, and
criticize the other person and their artistic merit. As a person with minimal
acting experience, it was interesting to take on a character, and to try and
portray that character fully. For this project, I was thinking about pieces of
media that are about very simple processes, and Max was not. I know that the
process of getting ready for the day is overdone, but I once saw a commercial for
Coca-Cola that portrayed the process of getting ready for the day in a very
creative way. That was the thought behind my idea. I wanted to portray something
beautiful in a very simple process. I could not convince Max of the beautiful
simplicity of my idea, and in the end, we chose to collaborate by not
collaborating. I think that our finished project, and the process that it portrays is really great because it is the most honest process that we could have done. This is merely a heightened version of how we were already collaborating, which makes this piece an authentic and insightful one.
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