Another lecture, another blog post!
Today's lecture was all about landscape moments in imagery. So, we were told about the invention of the camera. A potted history that we could have picked up from Wikipedia and Google, if we really wanted to. However, we were also told about other parts of image history that might not be readily apparent. For example, before today I was unaware of the work of Joseph Brady, who apparently staged war scenes in order to make better photos.
Also, we were told about the Rodney King footage, which was ruled inadmissable in court, because it was apparently 'out of focus'. To be fair, the judge had a point.Regardless of his decision leading to the LA riots, he did the right thing. Not being able to see what happened before the police started assaulting Rodney means that the footage itself can not be viewed objectively. The majority of people who did see it were extremely angered by it, but how many of them cared to wonder about what happened prior to the record button being pressed?
Why discuss these things? I can understand how Leica's introduction of the first 35mm camera was a milestone moment, as could anyone. But, why do we need to know about Brady? I think the point that John was trying to get towards today was that the presentation of media is of equal import to the actual media itself. (Of course, the truncated nature of the current timetable works against any kind of discussion time inside the lectures, which really is a shame.) As illustration, I offer this version of the trailer for one of cimena's most iconic movies , Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining'.
Robert Ryang did more than just win a contest when he made that. He showed how our perception of information alters when it is presented in a different way. By ignoring such things as the river of blood, and Jack's conversations with dead people, coupled with playing Peter Gabriel's 'Salisbury Hill' as a backing track, our perception of the movie alters. Instead of one of the scariest horror films of all time, here we see a light-hearted and uplifting family movie. You have to have knowledge of the original movie to understand just why the new trailer is so clever. If you haven't seen it, you simply see a trailer for a movie that you perhaps would want to watch with your family.
Basically, our take on the information presented to us can be manipulated by the photographer/cinematographer. This is both disturbing and enlightening. As technology becomes more powerful and more accessible, enabling more people to present these framed realities, then the implications have to be studied. Personally, it is my hope to one day reach a similar level of ability. As to whether or not I should? Well, that is a debate I will leave for a future date.
Also, we were told about the Rodney King footage, which was ruled inadmissable in court, because it was apparently 'out of focus'. To be fair, the judge had a point.Regardless of his decision leading to the LA riots, he did the right thing. Not being able to see what happened before the police started assaulting Rodney means that the footage itself can not be viewed objectively. The majority of people who did see it were extremely angered by it, but how many of them cared to wonder about what happened prior to the record button being pressed?
Why discuss these things? I can understand how Leica's introduction of the first 35mm camera was a milestone moment, as could anyone. But, why do we need to know about Brady? I think the point that John was trying to get towards today was that the presentation of media is of equal import to the actual media itself. (Of course, the truncated nature of the current timetable works against any kind of discussion time inside the lectures, which really is a shame.) As illustration, I offer this version of the trailer for one of cimena's most iconic movies , Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining'.
Robert Ryang did more than just win a contest when he made that. He showed how our perception of information alters when it is presented in a different way. By ignoring such things as the river of blood, and Jack's conversations with dead people, coupled with playing Peter Gabriel's 'Salisbury Hill' as a backing track, our perception of the movie alters. Instead of one of the scariest horror films of all time, here we see a light-hearted and uplifting family movie. You have to have knowledge of the original movie to understand just why the new trailer is so clever. If you haven't seen it, you simply see a trailer for a movie that you perhaps would want to watch with your family.
Basically, our take on the information presented to us can be manipulated by the photographer/cinematographer. This is both disturbing and enlightening. As technology becomes more powerful and more accessible, enabling more people to present these framed realities, then the implications have to be studied. Personally, it is my hope to one day reach a similar level of ability. As to whether or not I should? Well, that is a debate I will leave for a future date.
posted by CheekyLee at 7:21 AM
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