Assignment #2: Spatial Montage

Length: 1 – 3 minutes, tagged with your name/pseudonym/URL at end

Due Thursday, February 18th

Style board/storyboard and concept worksheet (Blackboard)

DueThursday, March 4th at the start of class:

Complete edit ready to critique (played from hard drive is fine)

Due Thursday, March 18th by 4pm:

1.  Video compressed and embedded on class Tumblr

2.  Project statement printed and handed in as a hard copy

Using found and/or original audio/video, create a multi-channel (split-screen) video that explores the interaction of several different video streams at once.  The goal of this project is to explore connections created through multiple visual threads, narratives, and/or aesthetic compositions afforded by the splitting of the screen. In other words, explore the notion of montage with an emphasis on space as much as on time.

In approaching to your project, consider the following questions:

• Will the visuals in each frame acknowledge the action happening in the others, or do they remain completely separate?
• Will the action in one frame transition into another, or does the action remain totally separate in each?
• Will you create a sense of synchronicity between all frames?
• How will you draw the viewer’s eye to specific action or elements in your composition? How will you use color, brightness, sound, etc., to control the viewer’s attention?
• How will you approach the pace and rhythm of the piece? Will you use synchronicity of action or sound to create rhythmic or narrative punctuation?
• Others???

Your video should have two primary aims: 1) Interactivity among frames and 2) A sense of development over time. So, as in the previous assignment, the most successful projects will avoid a “one-note” presentation; rather, they will exhibit a narrative, visual, or aesthetic progression over the course of the video, with attention to achieving complexity and depth.

Criteria for evaluation:

• Use of split-screen to achieve interactivity – the frames create a relationship with one another narratively and/or aesthetically
• Use of at least three simultaneous frames
• Attention to editing techniques and principles
• Clear sense of progression and development
• Attention to high quality compression/playback
• Strong sense of unity – all elements serve a purpose in conveying the overall message
• Video meets requirements of Fair Use

Project Statement

In addition to your video, prepare a 1 - 2 page, double spaced paper in which you describe the role of spatial montage in your project. How does this project utilize split screen to convey an idea? How does it utilize this technique in a way not possible in a single channel work? Are you employing smart montage to create a critique? If you used found footage, how does your project meet the requirements of Fair Use? Use specific examples from your project to demonstrate how your video creates connections through multiple screens.

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