Final Cut

The final piece is finally complete. There is now a logical ending and the audio has been tightened and overlapped to create a more fearsome effect, adding to the frustration of losing the game. The end is complete, with the main view fading back in to the original hiding spot, still haunted by the laughter of the enemy as the feeling of defeat lingers. I am pleased with the work, and was glad to be able to use the vast majority of the footage I took to make a short film about the worry free life of an innocent child.

Rough Cut 3

The third and final rough cut, I can almost call this work completed. I have added a somewhat logical ending and changed some of the pictures around slightly. There is a more hurried pace towards the end of the video, suggesting a frustration in the protagonists (first person) to find the elusive opponents in the hide and seek game. The world starts to move faster and stand still at the same time, leading to unanswered questions and an exhausting game.

Rough Cut 2

The second time around, I have tightened up the audio, adding some fades and fixing some rough patches. The rough lay out of the audio is somewhat finalized, I still need to find a way to end it. I through on a picture at the end that does drag on, it was merely a placeholder so I could estimate how much time my final film would actually be.

Rough Cut 1

This is my first attempt at a logically flowing video, with very rough audio to help begin to form the shape of my final project. At this point, I am still in need of some sort of ending, a lot of audio tightening, and a little more razzle-dazzle to make the project complete to my satisfaction. As a base line of something to think about, the intent of the piece is a small game of "Hide and Seek" with unknown amounts of participants.

My Strategy

After thinking about the questions at hand, I decided to cover a similar area as the last drift, but exploring inland a bit more. Hopefully I can find some parks, some hiding places, so nooks that were previously un-explored, and some run down structures. Much like the last two drifts, I will let my eyes guide me in the direction I wish to take, not so much a set course, but whatever peeks my interest along a walk through the city.

Instead of taking random footage of unique places, I want to make sure that some of the pieces I capture resemble the life through the eyes of a young child; eager to explore and full of wonder at the most mundane of objects. I will maintain my normal strategy of going to new areas I have not previously been, drift wise or in general. Hopefully this will leave me feeling more excited about objects and places that others see in their every day lives.

For the sound portion of the project, I want to gather sounds of nature, what you might hear if you were the only person left in the world. Obviously with a less morbid motive, I want to capture the innocence of the daytime as well as the horrors of loneliness. I will let my ears guide the way.

Things to Consider (Ten Questions)

1) Where would there be interesting places to get inside?
2) Where would be good hiding spots for hide and seek?
3) Where are there places that have rarely been explored?
4) Are there any parks that are less visited?
5) Are there any parks that are overly trafficked?
6) Are there any spots with great views of the outside world?
7) Are there any private places left in public?
8) How can I experience what an eight year old would in a crowded environment?
9) Can I find a place to hide from the city life?
10) Are there any places that I can visit that make me feel younger than I am?

A Second Chance (Assessment 4)

My favorite experience in this class was definitely my trip to the beach. I hadn’t been having the best school year, scholarly or personally, so the free time to sit and reflect was exactly what I needed. I wont get in to my personal details, but I was able to come out of the whole drift with a different lease on life, and a new attitude to the way I approach things. I think if everything now goes according to plan in my life, I would easily be able to look back and recognize this day as the day that everything turned around. For that I am eternally appreciative that the stars aligned perfectly for me to have a free Thursday to do the drift, the weather to be nice on that specific day, and the thought to pop in to my head to walk on the path I chose.

Social Oddities and Swollen Ankles (Assessment 3)

Like I previously mentioned, the most surprising and shocking thing for me was on my first drift, seeing the sleeping bags half buried in the snow, abandoned from the night before. I had always noticed a homeless population in Milwaukee, without truly thinking much of it. It was shocking to see this sight, especially considering what came next on my trip…

Right after making my way out of the makeshift bedroom for the night, I found myself carefully walking through a nearby park. Trying to step lightly as I walked on the extremely icy, previously less traveled path, I was approached by a (seemingly) homeless man, curious if I was lost. At first I was a little nervous to have the inevitable conversation with this man, having had unusual experiences in the past, but the man could not have been a nicer person. He asked if I was lost, needed any directions to get out, then shook my hand and told me to have a nice day. As he was walking away, I had hoped with all my heart that he wasn’t the man who had spent the previous night under that bridge; truly a person undeserving of a lack-luster life.

Another ramification of the drift I incurred was after I returned from my second drift. I was near the lake on higher grounds when I decided to take a shortcut to the beach itself. There were two ways to get down; walk all the way back to the path and take it down to the lake, or attempt to simply take the extremely steep hill down to the path which happened to be right below me. Like the reckless youth I am, I tucked my camera in a safe place and started the downhill slide to the path below. Needless to say, the snow when coupled with a massive incline did not make for a turbulence free trip. When I made it to the bottom, I didn’t notice any immediate damage, but when I returned my ankle hurt like nothing else. Thankfully I did my drift on a Thursday, so I was able to take the weekend off to nurse my extremely hurt ankle, and I was better in time for class on Monday.

Calming Experiences (Assessment 2)

The first thought-provoked moment on my drift was when I found the sleeping bags underneath the Milwaukee River bridge on Locust. Although it wasn’t a calming experience in any way, it did make me appreciate some of the smaller things in life that I and others take for granted. Considering it took all of my will power to hold the microphone to the exposed air for more than a minute and a half, I felt more than sorry for the people who had to spend the night in the same exact spot.

One of the most peaceful moments of the drifts, my week, and the whole semester for that matter was during the second drift. I had taken my iPod along, considering I wanted to only think about the motion around me and not the sound, and it was nearly out of batteries when I started. By the time I made it to the beach, I noticed that the power supply appeared to be fully drained, yet it continued to play the music. For the first time all semester, I got to sit down (at the beach no less) and just stare out in to the distance, without a care in the world. Seeing the waves crash against the rock on the first beautiful day of the semester, mixed with the calming music and complete freedom that came with the drift set something off inside me. I spent a good hour and a half there, reflecting on the drift, the classes I took, and life in general. When I had finally completed my drift, and was a matter of feet from my apartment, my iPod finally decided to give out. This was 5 hours after I set out.

Aggravating Circumstances (Assessment 1)

The first aggravating situation arose during the first drift exercise, when the sound recordings didn’t happen as naturally as I had expected. I initially thought that if I had cleaned my ears out and stuck them towards the city, some noises would spark my interest and I would quickly be able to gather what I needed. This was however, not the case, as I spent most of the drift hunting for the slightest semblance of a unique sound. The relentless hum of a passing car and the sound of the wind on a crisp Milwaukee day made for a bizarre symphony of sounds and experiences, to say the least.


The second most aggravating part of the drift was during the second exercise, when I initially found nothing to film. I set out on my drift with a little too specific of an idea in my head, leading to the first hour of walking being a complete waste. I had (maybe) 30 seconds of footage and a handful of photos, knowing that something would have to change. Thankfully, I expanded my mind a little bit, and was able to get some interesting footage that may have strayed from my initial opinions.