The Invasion Event
The idea of doing my Bjorn Melhus remix came to me out of the blue or so it seemed when I heard we could do a remix on anything we wanted. I was so thoroughly impressed by Bjorn Melhus’s, “Deadly Storms,” when I saw it the first time in Professor Amerika’s History and Theory of Digital Art class. I had just had the opportunity to personally meet and talk with Melhus at his installation, "Still Men Out There," at the DAM Blink exhibit. His installation was an incredibly creative social statement on how human being’s emotional perspectives are manipulated through specific intended techniques in American movies. I thought it was brilliant. I was equally impressed with his "Deadly Storms," a work of art with a serious comment on the censorship and receptiveness of our media, particularly the news. I have always thought that the media, especially of late, doesn’t really say anything of real substance. The newscasters bleat out a stylized and sanitized form of what is going on in this country and the world, then repeat the same stance over and over again. Two very profound subject examples are; the War in Iraq or is it Afghanistan and the recent nuclear melt down in Japan. It seems that the information we see here on the news media, is vague, insignificant, unvaried, and mechanical. So, when I started thinking about my remix Melhus’s, “Deadly Storm,” was just what I wanted to work with.
The creative process was challenging to say the least but well worth it in the end. The script was one of my favorite parts. I tweaked the most repetitive part of “Deadly Storms,” he said, “there is an ongoing situation,” and I added, “and it is getting worse.” By adding the statement “and it is getting worse,” it clarified and added how I feel about what is happening here in the media and probably in other countries too, the lack of honesty, integrity, or the reporting of the actual truth. My whole script gestalted, I was very pleased with it. It was simple and it clearly reflects my personal beliefs, in the similar context that Melhus utilized. The next couple steps went hand in hand, I needed to figure out how I was going to actually alter the video and what should be presented. I decided that I wanted to have a plain background, unlike Melhus’s choice. I did imitate the same vertical three panel that he used. I decided to use myself as the actor, as Melhus does in many of his presentations. I had to get over the fact that I would be on the screen in front of my class. After I decided on how I was going to artistically convey the main character in the video, the next part was figuring out how to read my lines and to film it. I ended up making a powerpoint presentation of my lines and had my friend take the video that was propped up to keep it stable. It took many times to get the lines correct and in sync with the other panels. Once, I got all that done I had to figure out how to edit it. The process is long and rather hard to explain in detail in this blog. Let just say it was on a trial and error basis.
Finally, I put a lot of work into this project and I am very proud of the finished product. I feel this video remix was tight, it maintained Melhus’s original content but evolved into a work of art that represented and mirrored my individuality too. Also, it was quite gratifying to get the positive responses that I got in class and at the premier, “The Invasion Event.” By pushing myself past my comfort zone as an artist I learned I have greater potential then I once thought.
Wow, to see all the other digital installations and to listen to everyones conversations discussing some of the work was really awesome! At one point, I looked at some of these digital installations and thought, here in this room are some of the future famous digital artists. It makes one feel very fortunate for their educational experience and the people one is sharing their ideas with.
Out of all the digital works presented, my favorite digital art installation piece was Amelia’s remix Peco projection onto the mannequin face. I loved hearing about her artistic process and was thrilled to see the completion of her project. Another special presentation was Ian’s VJing piece. It was a great way to end the Invasion Event. Although, I have chosen my ‘favorites’ I was very impressed by the entire event.
