Week 3

MONDAY

Lecture: Simple Instruction Videos

Simple/instruction based video art

Assignment: One Feat, Three Ways video project

Video Art: One FEAT, Three Ways*

You will work with a partner to make three videos 1-2-minutes (MAX) each in length each.

Your videos should be shot at the studio in controlled, illuminated conditions.

Pick your FEAT. You will repeat variations on your “FEAT” in each video below.

Your FEAT should be an everyday gesture or activity that you can push to its limits. Push yourself to your limits. Push a material to its limits. Do not take ANY risks with your safety – subtle, quiet, funny risks are better and more interesting anyway. Just watching someone smiling as long as they can as hard as you can is fascinating and even painful to watch for its duration.

Examples of gestures from past students include: Eating something, Juggling, Kissing, Blowing up a Balloon, Smiling, Holding an Awkward Pose, Reaching for Things out of Reach… etc.

It might be an absurd thing – something pointless, or an impossible feat that you can’t actually do

The object is to try to do the thing, not to “act” – and what happens… happens!

You, your partner, or someone else may perform. Maintain your concentration and explore how a simple gesture becomes interesting when performed with commitment and intention.

NOTE: Add a title to some of your videos, and they should be approximately 1-2 minutes in length MAX.

Video #1: The One-Shot

The video will consist of “one shot” – there will be no editing, other than a black screen to mark the beginning and end of the video. You may focus on camera function, unusual points of view, and framing. You will also add titles and end credits to your videos.

Video #2: The Sequence

The object of this video exercise is to shoot a series of shots with the intention to edit them into a sequence. It may require 5 minutes, an hour, a day, or a week, and you can show it in a series of stills or a time lapse. Edit your footage to be less than two minutes.

Video #3: The Loop

The object of this video exercise is to create a video that is meant to be played over and over again indefinitely, without stopping. Consider the content of the video when you are shooting your feat, and use looping to complete the meaning of the work. Don’t make a short GIF type video – think of a longer loop – something that could play in a gallery on repeat without end.

Edit your loop footage to be less than 2 minutes long, and then play on a loop for the critique.

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Videos will be graded by the degree to which students demonstrate:

Understanding of the key concepts in the assignment
Clarity and originality of ideas
Investment of time and contributions to the group
Focus in performance and intentionality about everything in the frame
Technical success using lighting and professional camera equipment in works, and technical success using editing software and exporting gallery-quality video
Presentation and openness to feedback during critique

Students are also expected to post a final work (including any revisions after critique) to the class blog with a title, artist names, and a short description of the work within ONE WEEK of the critique for final marks.

Videos will not receive a grade until a

READ: NYT Dance Article

Turning the Gestures of Everyday Life into Art, Katja Heitmann

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/21/arts/dance/gesture-archive-art.html

(if you are blocked by a paywall use this PDF of the article and watch the video for examples of movement)

Turning the Gestures of Everyday Life Into Art – The New York Times Download

Make notes on your blog:

Describe the work discussed in the article and the unique challenges – as well as the unique gifts- that come with attempting to archive personal movements?
Discuss one or two examples of movements in the article – what strikes you about them?
Describe the habitual movements/unconscious gestures, tics etc. of 3 people you know well. How do individual body parts move, and how does the whole body interact? What about facial expressions, and emotional valence of the movement? How does body type inform the movement?What do these examples of small movements mean and imply?

WEDNESDAY

FRIDAY JAN 24th EXPERIMENTAL FIELD TRIP

9:30 AM to 6PM – Toronto Museums

Here is the eventbrite link for students to purchase tickets:

https://www.eventbrite.com/checkout-external?eid=1141141217099&parent=https%3A%2F%2Fx23.experimentalstudio.ca%2F2025%2F01%2F12%2Fweek-2-8%2F

SCHEDULE and assignment:

EXPERIMENTAL FIELD TRIP 2025 Download

FIELD TRIP ASSIGNMENT:

Due ONE WEEK after field trip on the blog.

Mandatory: Create a FIELD TRIP blog post illustrating, describing and responding to two art works from each museum. How are these works relevant to your own research interests and practice? What did you notice, learn, or take away from the experience of the works in the gallery?

Note: Students who are not able to attend the field trip must visit one of these Toronto museums, in addition to the AGG exhibition and create a blog post based on this field research.