Ryan

Ryan was an extremely trippy look into the downfall of a Canadian animator, named Ryan. The film was a short created by another animator. Though not completely my style, I was able to see firsthand how expressive animation can be. The narrative style was pretty unique, too- the story was told in sections dealing with the people in Ryan's life. The cartoon versions of people showed scars through creative means- like bars of color or missing bones. Some of the depictions were kind of cringe-worthy to me, but ultimately effective.

When the Levees Broke

Though I saw this film in its entirety a few months ago, I still find significance in its message. When the Levees Broke chronicles Hurricane Katrina- the way in which a natural disaster affected people, the way that water plays into that, and the way that people reacted to the problem. I learned a lot from this film. I knew that Hurricane Katrina happened, but that's about it. I didn't know that the city had expected the disaster to happen, and had just improperly prepared for it. It's so strange to think of water as something that can completely engulf a city, when at the same time, we are dealing with a small body of water that has been changed to be "efficient." In that way, the city of New Orleans and the city of Syracuse are similar in that they both changed something about their nearby water. Syracuse channelized, while New Orleans created levees.

POTLUCK

The potluck was one of the first times [the first?] where I got to kind of see what other people thought of our project, after witnessing a sample. I got to watch people and their reactions to listening to the interviews that Fereshteh conducted. For the most part, people seemed pretty into it, which is very reassuring. It's nice to know that you have a captive audience. Beyond that, the food was very tasty, I wish we had been able to get there earlier. The throwing of the sprouts into the creek was really nice- I like being able to participate in things that I'm not really familiar with. I took it pretty seriously, too, taking the time to reflect and hopefully it will do some good.

Script

I. Introduction
A. Sound of rushing water possibly layered over “Colors of the Wind”

II. Route and Colors
A. Begin at the Redhouse
i. Red: clip of rosebush
ii. Talk about past community
iii. “The area you see now was formed after decades of development”
B. Turn off tape recorder and walk across the street to small park area
i. Brown: look at the contrast between the Brown original buildings, the Warehouse, the large red wall, the pink newer office buildings
1. note the awkwardness of the layout, especially with the sculptures
ii. White: Syracuse Train graveyard in the distance. “Much like the Vanderbilt train station used to thrive and be a hub of commerce in the community, the Creek used to be clean.”
iii. White: Mushroom sound clip
C. Stay to the left and have first sight of the Creek
i. Black: Fence barrier. Use quotation from Creek walk engineer
1. contrast between the new industrial barrier and the chain link fence
ii. Blue: Beer bottle label on the side of the creek
1. pollution - possibly mention treatment facility
2. keep walking on the street, talk about Beer and bar industry in Armory Square
D. Interview one of the local shops and businesses briefly along the street
i. Pink (?) : signs on chocolate store
1. briefly talk to business owner for personal anecdote
E. Reach the end of street and cross the road to bench area
i. Green: “Notice the familiar, ubiquitous green of Starbucks.” Mention the development of the area, trying to remain nostalgic for the past. The buildings are a fake brick exterior that attempt to look like the true old buildings of Armory Square.
ii. Mention the shot clock in front of them
iii. Look at old pictures of the area
iv. Beige (?): Look at the Most buildling. Notice the medieval architecture of the building
1. The Most is a center for science but has no mention of the Creek and the citizens remain woefully ignorant about it
a. Cue Mitchell sound clip
F. Turn around and walk back towards Redhouse
i. Play clip of Piano Lady - mention of Syracuse community
ii. Silver: Walk past Sushi restaurant and look into mirror. “Check yourself out. Is it windy out?”
G. Walk back and take final look at the creek. Look down at the Graffiti and on the steady erosion of the ground beneath it. How quickly the rapid water of the channelized stream is flooding the landscape.
i. Magenta: the graffiti on the wall. Mention the neglect of the creek.
ii. Possibly interview a Graffiti artist
iii. Look at picture of the creek in the unchannelized portion and how the creek could look.
H. Walk back to Redhouse. Cue music.

March 31 Homework

Tentative Walk

Word Association:

dirty, trash, muddy, channel, modernization, juxtaposition, blue, decaying, potential, ignorance, fence, boundary, erosion, commerce, graffiti, bars, apathy, ugly, hidden, brown, rapid, altered, historic, path, beauty, restricted, dangerous, natural, unnatural, movement

Inspirational Interview:
-The interview with Theresa, whose house was constantly vandalized, was a great inspiration for our project. Peggy was inspired to think about the colors of the creek from the rosebush that Theresa recalled. We hope to play off of the colors that exist or are absent from the immediate area surrounding the creek into a very thoughtful sound walk.

Background and Contextual Information about Subject:

-We want to focus on the colors of the creek. We want to give the creek color. The creek is currently literally rather gross and dingy. The colorful periphery give the creek depth. By focusing on the colors that occur near but not in, the creek, we hope to highlight what it could be, and what it maybe once was.

Intended Narrative

-We want to lead the listener on a journey through the different colors that are literally occuring close to the creek. We will figure out where these colors are and base our journey off of that. We want to have a connecting story or other audio clip to relate to the colors on the journey. The colors will give the stories more context, and lend to the organization of the walk.

Goals & Objectives?

-We want to focus on the potential of the creek. It's so close to change [what with the city's creekwalk plan] yet still such an untapped resource. We want to touch upon the clear ignorance of the creek- [after our vox pop project, Kalee and myself recorded many people who worked in or visited Armory Square who couldn't direct us to the creek, even though it runs right through it, which is rather disturbing.] By focusing on potential and ignorance, we hope to highlight that much is possible with the creek, that color can occur.

How will we measure success?

-If we have people actually taking part in it, I'd find it to be successful. If the idea behind it compels people to participate, then I'd be pleased. If people actually get something out of it, then I'd really consider it a huge success. I think the ultimate signifier of success would be if our project got people to think about the creek and possibly affect legislation regarding the creek. If we had a sort of institutional influence, then I'd be ecstatic.

Target Audience

-People who are ignorant yet interested in the subject. I doubt that someone who doesn't care would want to pick up our sound walk, so we won't worry about them. Any interested parties would be ideal. We'd also like to appeal to artistically-inclined people, as our project will not likely be only documentary.

How do you want the audience to use your project?

We want them to use it as inspiration and information. We want them to learn about the issue at hand, and also be influenced to take some sort of action in response- whether it be telling a friend what they learned or writing a letter to someone who could make some sort of governmental change happen.

Who do you need to interview?

Once we decide the colors and figure out where they're located, we'll need to talk to people who have stories that might correspond to them. People who operate in the space, whether they work in a shop or are delivering beer or are just walking around, probably have something to contribute to our walk.

Ambient Sounds?

We'll want to include the sounds of the creek, maybe other water, the sounds of armory square [vehicles, beer, coffee, cd filing, individual shops and restaurants, etc.]

Inspirations?

Andrea Hammer's documentary style is a huge influence. Her literal website map and sound association, I believe, has very similar goals to our project. I was also really influenced by Janet Cardiff's exploration of time and space travel within sound, and the artistic experimentation within her pieces. 

An Atlas

I thought that the exhibit was really cool. Being able to see the different ways that people take a concept and map it is inspiring- I didn't even think of how creative a map could possibly be. I liked the more obviously factual ones, like the map that explained oil consumption, or the one that mapped surveillance in NYC. One of my favorites, however, was the map about the water in Los Angeles. I liked it because it wasn't necessarily the most clear to read and understand, but it gave you a very personal and emotional understanding of the way that the artist understands the water in Los Angeles. It wasn't the most cohesive and readily understandable map in the exhibit, but I found it very creative and thought-provoking. I also really just liked the way that the artist drew her map.

Anyplace Brooklyn Questions

1. What sorts of answers are you seeking when you ask people what they're looking for? Or what they'd like to see?

2. What do you hope for people to get out of this?

3. How did you decide on the sounds [marching bands, people chatting]?

4. How long did it take you to collect these sounds?

5. What sort of response have you gotten?

6. How did you come up with the idea to include tangible items in your walk? Is this