This is my proof I didn't just think about my nails all week.
I printed all my pictures and text, however did not get a chance to take video as some of my other projects fell apart. I will film as soon as possible because its kind of stressing me out I don't have it done yet. The section of I want to be sung is around 30 seconds, so I have to keep the time in there. Other than that I don't have much else of an update.
I might be over thinking this, but I'd rather over think it than under think it.
It bothers me more than anything when there's a really nice video in every aspect, except for a woman's nails. I hate it when it's just worn down nail polish, I think it's really distracting
Getting to the point, I've been thinking about what my nails are going to be, because I don't want them to be distracting because they're bad, however I don't want them to be distracting because they're too busy either, since they're the only part of me you're going to see in the video
I was experimenting with the crackle nail polish because I thought it would go really well with my theme, however I could only find my silver and blue, not the black that I wanted to use. and I don't like the blue and I think the silver is too distracting
with that I think I'm going to go with a plain color, I'm leaning towards this dark purple because I think going straight black would be too morbid? or like I'm trying too hard to morbid, when I'm not. So it'll definitely be a darker tone.
I plan on printing and taping this week, definitely. Tyler is still working on the song, he needs to get a hold of microphones and equipment and such, but I trust him to get it to me in time!
Update 1
I have some more choices and I'm still not sure I like any of them, it seems I'll just be walking around with all my nails different colors
I think I might like the lighter colors, but they can't be too shiny and distracting
these are actually 4 different colors, the two seem to be very close though
this is kind of a shiny purple than the previous one, and unfortunately shiner isn't better in this case
Update 2
I have found the perfect color, not distracting, not shiny and very subtle
I was going to print the other day, but I got distracted, so I will be doing that Monday morning and then hopefully shooting Wednesday morning? I was just going to use natural light , so I might have to experiment with different times of day.
the song should be done this weekend, I'm still considering different effects on it, I don't know if I want it to be fairly clean, or add an effect to make it sound old and kind of crackled, but that should all be determined soon!
I've always been inspired by music. The use of imagery with sound is really powerful, I think that's why we're a media obsessed society
In Flogging Molly's " if I ever leave this world alive", the lyrics have really just made me think about death, and just decayed, worn down things.
If I ever leave this world alive
I'll thank for all the things you did in my life
If I ever leave this world alive
I'll come back down and sit beside your
feet tonight
Wherever I am you'll always be
More than just a memory
If I ever leave this world alive
If I ever leave this world alive
I'll take on all the sadness
That I left behind
If I ever leave this world alive
The madness that you feel will soon subside
So in a word don't shed a tear
I'll be here when it all gets weird
If I ever leave this world alive
So when in doubt just call my name
Just before you go insane
If I ever leave this world
Hey I may never leave this world
But if I ever leave this world alive
She says I'm okay; I'm alright,
Though you have gone from my life
You said that it would,
Now everything should be all right
She says I'm okay; I'm alright,
Though you have gone from my life
You said that it would,
Now everything should be all right
Yeah should be alright
The lines that speak to me in particular are
"If I ever leave this world alive
The madness you feel will soon subside
So in a word don't shed a tear
I'll be here when it all gets weird
If I ever leave this world alive"
Speaking of either your death, or the death of a loved one, "the madness" in my interpretation is the stress of being sick, being around someone that's terminally ill, and once they pass, it's a bitter sweet relief, they/you are no longer suffering and people can begin to make peace. However most still hold onto the idea they can be there for you in some sort of afterlife.
For my project this relates to the death of all things, structure, organization, humanity, society, everything. I know the last page in my book will be one of the cemeteries with moss on the gravestones and one is fallen over. I think it's a beautiful image and the perfect way to end my message.
Once I discovered two different songs that would go very well with my projects, I was torn between the direction I wanted to go. With "little boxes" I feel like the message would have been a depressing, pessimistic outlook, where all of our lives are meaningless, as we turn out all the same, while as "will the circle be unbroken" wasn't any happier, I feel like its more of a memory of what was, and what can be, while still being about death.
I think my fascination with abandoned places comes from society's obsession with death. It's the one thing we all fear, the end of us. The common things around us, the worn down places that were once strong and built to last are no more, and I think that's a reminder of death as none of us will last either. Yet we all stress over the little things when that's not what you remember in the end. I think these things we pass on the way to work, on the way to the grocery store, or on the way to where ever we're going should remind us that maybe what we're stressing about isn't that big of a deal in the end.
So with all that, I'm going to use "will the circle be unbroken" in the background of my images.
I took a lot of photos this weekend, but unfortunately the most beautiful wonderfully overgrown site, was torn down. I was very upset, but I still got something I think I can work with. I'm still not sure what message I'm going to go with, I think I need to take more pictures and see where that gets me.
I loved how terribly dusty everything in this window is, I'm not even sure I'll end up using it in my final project, I just really liked it
I liked the way it looked like a tree was growing out of this car
I was so lucky to find this empty billboard, I love it so much
these burned down/boarded up houses are right off the highway, on the way to Bexley. I've always admired them and it seemed like the perfect time to have the chance to take pictures of them!
I swear there's nothing in the window, it just super creeps me out
By the one place that I really wanted to go to, I found this Jewish cemetary, where it appeared no one was buried later than the fifties and most of them never lived past thirty
I liked this one that included the mossed gravestones and the one that fell down, I think I can definitely use this in my final project
This location is also in Bexley, it's right by Kroger and the tracks, I was in a hurry so I couldn't go exploring inside, but I definitely plan to go back to explore inside.
In hopes I'm not getting too ambitious, I want to try and make a video of flipping through my book or even just my images and text if I don't get the chance to get my book printed. The reason I want to make a video is that I think adding music to it would really add to the effect of the images.
So originally I was going to use "Little boxes", the theme song from weeds, with these lyrics
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky-tacky,
Little boxes, little boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.
And the people in the houses
All go to the university,
And they all get put in boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
And there's doctors and there's lawyers
And business executives,
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.
But when suggesting this to Tyler, who would sing the song for me, he suggested a song from Bioshock: Infinite called "Will the Circle be Unbroken" and I think the lyrics could also work with my message.
You can picture happy gatherings
Round the fireside long ago,
And you think of tearful partings,
When they left you here below
Will the circle be unbroken
by and by, by and by?
In a better home awaiting
In the sky, in the sky?
I feel like they're both completely different and they both work really well so I'm still undecided.
I drew up some sketches for what I want to do, I have a lot of the images planned out and most of the words. I'm going shooting this weekend if the weather picks up and images will be uploaded before Tuesday, as well as maybe some sound clips of Tyler singing. I'm going to a few cemeteries that I found online as well as some abandoned buildings, hopefully I can get some good stuff!
I want to kind of build off my group project proposal and I'm considering making a picture book of sorts. I remember watching a documentary series in high school called "Life After People"
It was so fascinating, the idea that if humans were to disappear instantly, although our things would stand for a while, they too would deteriorate and only nature would come to prosper.
So that's kind of what I want to build off of.
I'm thinking I can make a book, starting off with a thriving city, much like Columbus and create a narrative to follow the deterioration of the city after humans.
I don't think I want to Photoshop places to be taken over by nature, like in the show, but rather just show other places that have been worn down and abandoned.
I want to get the point across that sometimes we all take things a little too seriously, hold our possessions a little too close, and just need to let go sometimes. I don't want any models, just nature and buildings.
This link to stunningly beautiful abandoned places http://imgur.com/a/D9iDC
I just love this idea that some of these places were important, and were filled with many people, and now they're nothing but an old building taking up space, a simple reminder of what was.
Now, making this book, its not exactly going to have a happy fun tone, nor will there be a happy ending. So I'm not sure how I want it to come across.
I have a projected schedule on Google calender
So over the past 5 weeks, I've learned a lot from this project, make-up techniques and coloring tricks, its been a lot of fun, although very stressful towards the end. I enjoyed working in a big group, I though it was a good learning experience to have to work with so many people to make one collaborative project and make it run smoothly and efficiently, even if that wasn't always the case. But I think all of us tried our hardest to complete the project the best we could and that we truly came together to make a pretty good project. It's been a lot of work every week, especially the last week when I just picked up what needed to be done, but I can walk away feeling like I was an important member of the team.
