NATURES TEST CARD DEVELOPMENT

Due to family illness (boys and wife) progress on filming the boys in the TV studio for my siblings piece has been slow. I may have to forgo getting them up there unless something breaks soon. However I have played around with the footage I have got and planned for the shoot by getting all of the pre-production planning ready. In this downtime I have also been working on the audio for the Poetic love piece and developing the Natures Test Card Piece.

NATURES TEST CARD
Having a career in film and TV there are certain artefacts and devices associated with the job that I use often without thinking and if you stop to think about it I am fascinated by. One of these is the test card used to balance and attune colours in TV both in production and post production. These are recognised by perhaps all (especially the BBC one) but often overlooked, unconsidered or not understood. Working in a visual art colour is hugely important too me and something that I appreciate everywhere and this overlaps into my love of the natural world. I am amazed by the colours apparent in the world around us and their often vibrancy and want to try and bring these two elements together. I want to explore the relationship between the two one being now computer generated and the other natural. I aim to try and collect moving video footage of the colours in a test card as represented in the natural world use them to replace them for the colours on  a test card, with slowly moving images so subtle that the audience will hardly notice them moving at all until up close.

I have began to develop this idea inspired by the bright yellow rapeseed currently in the fields. I have added to the idea below and want to consider to explore my fascination of dissecting the documentary by trying to dissect that most formulaic of documentary the nature documentary. My manifesto for this project is outlined below in points and picks up on the themes I have been exploring all along.

DIGITAL COLLAGE
I have been looking at the work of a lot of montage especially pieces by photographers and Pop Artists I admire. Here is a link to my pinterest site where I have flagged up many of these. Inspirations include artists such as Robert Rauschenberg, Nam June Paiks multiple screen work, James Rosenquist as well as digital collage, animated GIFS and even the stained glass like grid art of Gilbert and George. Click below to view my pinterest board of ideas.

https://uk.pinterest.com/jonathansaward/ma-test-card-art/

MANIPULATE AND SUBVERT DOCUMENTARY FORM
In this case nature documentaries. Generally nature documentaries are only expository with the "voice of god" more often than not Attenborough explaining and providing the exposition. I want to see if the modes I have been exploring performance and in particular poetic can be used to blow this wide open.

BLURRING OF REPRESENTATION
How far can representations be blurred. In nature documentary already most things are a construct. It can take weeks to film for instance one cheetah hunt and kill. 10 or more hunts will be filmed generally by one sole cameraman or a couple and then used to construct the narrative of one hunt. I aim to exploit and expose this.

SHOOT NO ORIGINAL FOOTAGE?
Can you make a nature documentary without shooting any footage by recycling old footage. This is a staple of some nature documentaries using archive footage and could be used. I like the idea of creating a documentary without ever having shot a frame.

MULTIPLE HAPPENINGS AND STRUCTURE
Multiple screen happenings. nature does not happen one event at a time and I aim to try and reflect this. Multiple things happening, coming and going, picture and sound to try and construct a version of natural reality.

TECHNOLOGY AND NATURE IN PERFECT HARMONY?
Can technology and nature co-exist in the same piece side by side? What is the impact on one another. Can the test card tame nature and can nature wilden up the grid like test card.

EXPLORATION OF COLOUR
I have a real passion for colour and use it wherever possible in my work and will explore this to the hilt on this project. Colour wheels

NARRATIVE AND CHARACTER
I do still want to explore narrative and character. Character is tricky with animals and the natural world but I want to make sure that every element has an identity within the piece. Narrative is alos hard but through sound and image as well as placement i am sure i can build in narratives, animals hunting each other, day break to sunset, the seasons and such.

EXPLORATION OF TECHNIQUES
Exploration of technique. this will be sound but especially picture. Can test cards be used as a grid. Will this make the piece too busy.

VIDEO INSTALLATION?
I see the piece as being another video installation at this point. Huge, colourful, beautiful and ever changing on a gallery wall. Slowly imperceptibly moving like some nature can be so that the audience has to stay with it to notice its changes. I really want audience immersion on this piece and it to be almost a moving wallpaper.

USING TECHNOLOGY
Growing my use of technology. Previously I have tried to shoehorn technique onto pieces where it did not suit the subject-matter. Here I will need to develop new techniques and software skills as they are integral. Most notably I will have to get my head around Adobe After Effects to create the grid and many layers I will need.

FORMAL ELEMENTS
This project is also good for examining alongside colour the other formal elements of nature. Line, tone, texture, angle, space etc. By using close ups making things abstract and giving the piece a avant garde feel these can all be put under the spotlight.