2 Hour Creative Roughs

1 week in lockdown - a daily creative challenge - 2 hours from idea to result - given a random word to start - an artist friend for critical discussion - not knowing keeping going

I began this project because I wanted to experiment with video art and expand my visual vocabulary in a short space of time. To this end I made a decision to stay away from words and narrative, there would be no story or any dialogue ‘delivering’ the idea. The idea was to force myself to express primarily through visuals and non-verbal sound. Below is a day-by-day recounting of the learning process.


DAY 1

Lush: is eye-poppingly, verdant green

Creative process: I didn’t stop and think. I grabbed my DSLR and headed straight into the garden and began capturing extreme close-ups of leaves. I knew I wanted to try and capture the depth and the lusciousness of the green of a summer garden. After returning inside, I decided to score the film before editing and sat with my guitar and improvised along to what I imagined as the basic structure of the film.

I learned that: Spontaneity is good, but having a bit of a plan to begin with will leave me with a more cohesive end result. When I got into shooting, I started having other ideas and so the end product feels like a couple of things stuck together. Even in a 2 hour limit, you can stop and plan for a little.

My friend Shivaangee says: it’s very dramatic, the moody music and stalking camera at the top particularly.

I would develop: the progression of leaves breaking through the concrete, it was almost like a stop-motion animation. I’d love to try this in reverse and make a piece about how nature can be squeezed out by drab concrete.


DAY 2

Therapeutic: is anything that helps me cope without harming me in the process.

Creative process: I did a little storyboarding today before setting out. I wanted to take the picture-in-picture editing of yesterday and try a different arrangement. I had the idea of opposing elements: the feeling of being low and anxious in these dark interior spaces – my bedroom or living room – with these bright, outdoor spaces and humble things that I employ in opposition to that.

I learned that: I have to think of the overall composition, not just where the smaller image sits within the larger image, but how the elements within those images relate as a whole. For example, I found that a busy composition in the smaller image complemented a larger, simpler shot.

Shivaangee says: she feels like she’s in my head: What can she feel and see as Tom? It’s very contemplative but there’s an eeriness to it too. She liked having the time to focus on the details of these still images.

I would develop: There are more locations I’d love to go to, as it was raining a lot this day. I want to be even more meticulous planning the composition and inter-relatedness of the shots with what I’ve learnt here. I’d like to have a tripod or some camera stabilisation. I’d not use a wide-angle lens when I intend on cropping shots as I think this looked bad because of the distortions being abruptly cut off.


DAY 3

Tire: is the physical result of the relentless trying, day after day

Creative process: I quickly decided I wanted to tire the viewer out and a staring contest seemed like a fun idea. It was simple: I shot my eyes first, then spent the remaining time on the graphics/edit and wrote and recorded a quick script. I excused myself for breaking my rule a little here on verbal exposition.

I learned that: it’s odd creating a piece that relies entirely on how much the viewer leans into it. A lot of my effort went into coaxing them to stare. This is probably something you can only get reliably right by trying, failing, and adjusting until it works.

Shivaangee says: it’s all about oppression. It’s sinister and authoritarian, particularly the line “if you care enough”. It’s about a system that convinces people to be responsible for their own oppression. The interactive nature reminds her of OK Future, an immersive dance performance.

I would develop: I could add more sound design and fancier graphics, but it feels like tinkering around the edges. I didn’t feel excited by making this video – it wasn’t much of a challenge. I think I just wanted to make something I knew how to do after the last couple days.


DAY 4

Plastic: is dangerous, ubiquitous and can be a little annoying

Creative process: Plastic is such a good jumping off point that I actually shot 3 very different films today, but this was the only one I edited in time. It was the lightest of the ideas and had a little humour in it. The idea I wrote down was “PLASTIC BAG RUSSIAN DOLLS” and I think it does what it says on the tin. A simple idea executed well.

I learned that: I wanted to get better at looping videos as there’s scope on social media platforms to share work in this format. I also published this GIF version of the above film too.

Plastic.gif

Shivaangee says: it was 50 seconds in before I realised what was going on. Then it was fun spotting where the jump-cuts were. She felt it communicated the point clearly and in relatable manner.

I would develop: with more time I could have made the jump-cuts imperceptible, but as it was I was racing against the clock. I like the idea of doing a suite of short looping films on a single issue, as by itself it’s a little too lightweight.


DAY 5

Whine: is the tone of self-pity and pain

Creative process: An image that popped into my head: of my forehead and a finger tracing back and forth. With a sound, a high-pitched whine emerging from somewhere. I simply expanded from here to include the other aesthetics: medical, Roman sculpture, anxiety. It felt a very natural process and I knew exactly what I wanted to achieve. The walls were a happy accident though, I came to grade the film and realised that my bedroom was painted blue.

I learned that: you can have a lot of fun making something. This reminded me of my shorts, the satisfaction of translating mental imagery almost exactly into film for someone else to see. I also feel like this communicates something about my health anxiety that I can’t put into words. This is exactly why I am doing this project this week.

Shivaangee says: it’s visceral. She feels like she’s watching the opening to a horror movie, there’s a general sense something bad is going to happen. The piano cutaways are a little absurd but she likes it.

I would develop: I’d love to shoot this with a budget: in a proper location like the sculpture hall in the Walker Art Gallery, or even just on an infinity wall with a pedestal and Roman robes, just not my cluttered bedroom. I think I’d get rid of the piano cutaway shots and simply jump-cut to the ‘X’s on the skin. It was be fun to use stereoscopic sound when the finger is searching out the skin patches.


DAY 6

Unbecoming: is a weaponised word that tells people to conform, particularly how they present themselves

Creative process: I wanted to do something completely opposite from yesterday. I had no idea what the film would look like in my mind’s eye. I also wanted to get myself involved, as a performer, because it felt challenging. My interpretation was very personal, and I haven’t explored my Queer identity through this medium previously. I simply took my camera and a mirror to the bottom of the garden and improvised for about 12 minutes until my DSLR battery died.

I learned that: if you do this very improvisational and unstructured approach, the edit is hard. It was really hard. I was relying heavily on intuition at all stages: what felt right in the performance, what felt right in the edit. There was no intellectualisation beyond the basic premise, and this was very freeing. I loved it, even if it was a little scary.

Shivaangee says: this is very human. It conveys a feeling, an impression, a sense. There’s an awkwardness and vulnerability. It reminds her of contemporary dance, she can feel that it is improvised and there is a certain ‘live’ness that comes with that.

I would develop: I’d love to do more in this general area. Shivaangee and I talked a little about a clunkiness or artificiality that often creeps in in the process of applying craft to ideas. Improvisation seems to be a way to side-step this. This definitely feels more human, more real, than any of my other pieces this week. It’s the most radically honest and vulnerable I’ve made myself.


DAY 7

Better: you can either compare yourself to others or to your past self, but neither is wise

Creative process: I was hitting a lot of walls with this one. I had the idea to shoot against a piano as an image matte, and then layer up all of these actions with emphasis on strong action lines. However, it didn’t really work in the edit of a test I did, and so I quickly reshot using the window as a white ‘green screen’. By this point I’d fallen out of love with the idea.

I learned that: today felt like a bit of a failure. Was ‘better’ a difficult word to jump off from? Had 7 straight days of creating with no time off drained me? I’ve got a resulting film that is a little ironic on this point. The artificiality crept back in for me and the final piece felt laboured. I just had no energy to maintain perspective and switched into panic mode when running out of time and ideas.

Shivaangee says: it felt like I was in a mental space and the business was tiring for me as a viewer. I was witnessing turmoil.

I would develop: Going forward, I’d like to continue with some of this project. Maybe Shivaangee and I can do this one day a month or so. I really valued our critical engagement. It was also great to do some filmmaking where the majority of the time was spent creating and not thinking or planning or writing. I’m reminded of the ceramics class metaphor that a friend retold to me recently.


You can watch a full playlist of the videos here.

And you can read my friend Shivaangee’s account of the week here.