Whilst having our briefing for the project set by Alex Rueben there was alot of discussion about the effect of Sound and how much we rely on sound to fill in the gaps of what we are seeing.
Sound within a film gives us a reference point to work from, to help us realise what we are seeing, used as a navigation of culture. Is sound necessary to create a narrative?
Although the brief was to create a film without sound, it was soon obvious that that was only a starting point and didn't have to be anything to do with the direction of the film.
We talked about how you can have a physical reaction to art, for example, with films by Jacques Tati the eyes dances across the screen as there is so much stuff going on, so many different scenarios and charachters to follow.
Other references is the Anish Kapoor show - which i still desperately need to go to.
And the Miroslaw Balka's box in the turbine hall from the Unilever Series. A piece of art which is a completely disorientating experience, where i felt scared, sick and excited all at the same time only to look back and realise how light it was by the entrance and to feel normal again. An example of feeling physically effected by art.
Setting up a temporary studio, with lights and backdrop to ensure optimal shooting conditions and quality of image.
SO....what we wanted to do was -
take away the sound, but still create something that works aesthetically to create suspense and tension, create some sort of emotional/physical response from the viewer.
Ideas? Something unknown...something unnatural? Isolating the viewer? The journey/process something goes through? Organic visulisation?
After a long day of group discussion, we started Youtubing and came across...
-The Weissenberg Effect, Barrus Effect, Oil in water, Sodium Acetate (Instant hot ice) and The Honey Coil effect - Basically solutions doing something you wouldn't expect them to.
We went home that day and experimented with honey and food colouring and a HD camera.
The effect was beautiful. Working best when the human element was extracted and scale unknown. Disorientating and isolating the viewer by completely indulging them by the image.
Our aim to isolate the viewer from the sound through the image. Sound is no longer an issue for the viewer.