Review 2 :)

I then watched another two experimental videos. I had to analyise these and write about how they affected me, and what I thought of them.
My first choice was Telling Lies made by Simon Ellis. This video was very amusing to watch as it was shown in such an unusual and clever way. The background was black with a textually based theme. The letters and words flashed quickly in different colours. The plain background made it easier to read the words that came up as they stood out more. The pace of the words is inline with the audio apart from when the characters are lying and the text cleverly changes to what their thinking rather than what their saying. This piece is non diagetic and diagetic. Everytime the phone rang, the screen would crackle slightly or flash, the sound fitted the imagery. Even though you cannot see a phone or the characters, you can hear the dialling tone and conversations. With each character there are different tones, pronounciation on words, agressive, high pitched etc. The premise in this video is about people lying to each other. The artist is making a point of how nothing is ever proved, its easier to mask your true thoughts rather than look someone in the eye and tell the truth. The main point behind this video is how we all believe what we read rather than what we here, thus why the text was typed up on the screen while the characters spoke the lies. After watching this video i was very engrosed in the characters story. It was very amusing and didnt hold back at any times which was very good as its more realistic and believeable. Its easier to relate to. The whole piece wouldnt have even had a point if it didnt have the text, as it tells the truth and proves the artists point/theory.

The second video I watched was 'The Girl Chewing Gum' by John Smith. The video was made in 1976. It was a real video with real people which was good as it was believable. The set was in a town centre outside a shop. The artist, John Smith was narrating the fim but made it look like he was directing the people in the shot. This worked well, in a humourous way. It was mainly non-diagetic because of all the commentry. The video was all in black and white which was a bit boring to watch because it was so long as well. I liked the way the video was un edited as it made it more real. The way John began to joke after a while about certain people made it more interesting, for example when he spoke of the man who had a gun in his pocket. The video became more exciting. It was a bit too long, and didnt seem to have a strong point at first, until you look further into it. I think the premise is about getting lead to believe things that are untrue and the concept that theres control in the world and that we are being controlled without realising. John's point is that you can always be fooled with the help of audio or visual.