In developing the narrative of this project, we knew that we wanted to construct a story based on some of the outrageous dreams that we were hearing from classmates.  One idea that came to mind was a zombie apocalypse-type story.  We decided to have it take place in a familiar location, the HFAC.  We mapped out a general circumstance in which our narrative could take place, but we did not want the specific texting to seem too contrived, so we left the details up to improvise as we began texting each other back and forth.  We felt that this spontaneity would inspire more creativity in the details, even though we’d already planned out the beginning, middle, and end.  Because the characters in the narrative are in two different locations of the same building with the same event happening, the audience gets two different perspectives of this zombie-attack event: one from inside the building in the Nelke The other from outside,  travelling towards the HFAC and eventually being outside in the halls being chased and subsequently “turned” by the undead. The narrative leaves the audience with a feeling of mystery, as they don’t get all the details of what the scene is simply because the characters themselves aren’t positive as to what exactly is happening.

     In crafting the apocalyptic narrative, Courtney and I explored many avenues in hopes of achieving something unique and intriguing. It’s no question that the story of a zombie takeover has been so beaten and bloodied that it is difficult to create new and exciting media within that media, at least to those outside of the faithful fan base. Something that struck me was how the Walking Dead, which is definitely new and exciting for this medium, used the concept of recurring characters as zombies. The intimacy and the vulnerability this created was something that I attempted to pursue in the text narrative. It was difficult. I wish that I had been more patient and waited for replies from Courtney. In my opinion, there are too many 2-3 text spurts between the two of us. It could have been interesting to limit that and focus on slowly developing the narrative imbued with fresh ideas and perspectives from the both of us. I wanted to recreate a story similar to the kidnapping story we read on the app, which engaged the audience without too many: “Why are they texting right now!” moments. As we discussed in class, I thought the limiting nature of this medium actually enhanced our story. If you pay careful attention to the textual cues given by Courtney and I, this intriguing narrative begins to take shape.

Extra Credit It's Dark Outside

"It's Dark Outside" is BYU Off the Map's presentation by Perth, Australia's traveling theatre company.  It is a marvelous show that mixes elements of media arts, puppetry, and physical acting in order to tell a story of an old man who's deteriorating mind leads him to have adventures in the woods.  The variety of different types of elements used in this production made it, for me, a masterpiece.  The show starts our with a feel of western adventure, communicated to the audience by the music and the western landscape projected onto the scrim.  An actor wore a headpiece of an old man and interacted with objects in his house that were moved by other performers dressed in black. Throughout the rest of the show, white cotton often "floats" away from his head, representing his thoughts and memories that are slipping away from him.  These cotton "fluffs" were manipulated by the performers to become animated characters and animals that interacted with this old man.  The theme of the western adventure was kept at shadow puppetry was used, showing a mysterious figure trying to catch the "wanted" old man.  This theme was also kept with a tent, manipulated by puppeteers to become a living tent companion for the old man, and he rode this tent like a horse throughout much of the production.  Projected animations were also used to show the old man's travels.  The delightful variety of ways in which the artists were able to tell this wonderful story was dazzling.  I was impressed especially by the 3-dimensional-looking shadow puppetry, which made the lights as if it were a camera.  It was also a lovely look at dementia and losing a loved one, presented in a way that kids could understand and adults could relate to.  This theme of love and loss was represented beautifully through the puppetry and objects used, and this piece was a moving story that the audiences of all ages could connect with.

Music Mosaic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E7XHOotTX0

 This series of photos is one I call "Take Flight"  It correlates with Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini" quite well, especially with the movement that occurs in both the music and the photographs.  The whole photo series is mostly composed of neutral colors: white snow and dark trees, but the hair is a saturated red in order to stand out among the rest of the scenery.  The beginning of the song starts out gently, and the pictures provide a sort of exposition as well.  The pictures because more dramatic as an upward angle is added in the 3rd photo. Similarly, the music at this point begins to climb up the scale and increase in volume.  For when the strings are added to the piece, I wanted to add some dramatic movement to the photos to symbolize this.  That is why the fabric is thrown, whipped, and spun in order to create the visual of the movement of the strings in Rachmaninoff's stirring piece. As the music builds to the climax, my personal favorite part, both the piano and strings begin to pick up speed and intensity. The pictures correlate by preparing for a "jump," where the subject removes her shoes and runs.  The motion blur adds to the feeling of approaching the huge, pulsing melody of Rachmaninoff's song.  The climax of the songs comes at the mid-air "jump" shown in the pictures. The negative space in this particular photo makes the subject a clear focus, unlike much of the other pictures, which have trees and rocks in the background. The ending, while still powerful, trails off gently in the distance, which is why I ended the series with the majestic Provo mountains, which are distant but powerful, shot in sharpened clarity to show detail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E7XHOotTX0

Extra Credit Every Brilliant Thing

Every Brilliant thing gave a unique twist to storytelling that enthralled audiences of Brigham Young University. I came with an expectation that this would be a story told in the form of a play: with actors in costume playing characters accompanied by scenery.  Having seen Off the Map shows before, I also came with the expectation that it would be a very well-worth-seeing show.  My expectation of the show's caliber was certainly attained, but my expectation of it's style was greatly contrasted.  It was a one man show, the one and only actor was a brilliant storyteller that used the audience in a very interactive way to paint a picture of his childhood, love life, and depression.  Many of the audience members were given pieces of paper with numbers and "brilliant things" listed on them.  The audience members got to call those out when the actor cued them.  He also included the audience by having certain people play characters in the story.  Much of the story was flexible, and the actor would come up with it on the spot, especially when he would ask the audience to provide books or to say things as the characters that they were playing.  The story as a whole had the entire audience laughing, was uplifting and inspiring, and at times a little sad.  The simplicity of the show was, in part,  what made it so brilliant. Acting in the round, the one performer used almost no props, no extra costume pieces other than the casual outfit he was wearing, and there was no set. I thoroughly enjoyed this surprising, uplifting, artistic theatrical piece because of the unique storytelling techniques the artist used to convey a message to the audience of using small, simple, happy things of life to combat depression.

Courtney Moreland

TMA 112

1/15/17

Some may call it weird.  Others may describe it as disturbing.  Some may scratch their heads and wonder what in the world the artist was trying to tell us.  Alex Stoddard’s photograph is an untitled picture of a little girl, a tall man, and smoke in the distance.  This picture--and specifically the collection it comes from--very accurately embodies the mood of not only his particular style of photography, but of an entire artistic genre.  I have noticed in recent years, especially since the ever-increasing influence of social media, an influx of very young online photographers experimenting with storytelling through the lens of a camera.  While some up-and-coming photographers capture landscapes, smiling pictures of friends and family, or nature’s beauty, others stand out as being astoundingly creative with a seemingly natural talent for conveying a story through powerful symbols.  Alex Stoddard is one of these young prodigies.  He taught himself the use of a camera and, at the age of 17, began a 365 project, a challenge to take and post a picture every day for a year.  It is young photographers like Stoddard who are using surrealism, dark themes, and symbols in order to complement their models (very often the photographers themselves) to bring their photographs to life.  This type of photography such as Stoddard’s “Girl and Smoke” portrait is much more effective in telling a story to inspire its audiences than more traditional pictures of landscapes or flowers or posed, smiling  people.

The way photography is presented can tell us much about where our culture trends in terms of what it is comfortable with.  Photography that earnestly tries to tell a story will often be accompanied by heavy themes and difficult content, presenting a harsh but true message about society and humanity.  Many times, it reveals something very personal about the artist.  Viewers in our society may see this and interpret it simply as weird or even disturbing.  For me, this is what makes photograph storytelling—or any storytelling, for that matter—moving and impactful.  One can see from this photograph how he improved to be able to tell a powerful story through his art.  Much of the time he uses himself as a model and, through body language, props, surrealistic post-processing, lighting, and color, hits the audience with an emotionally charged message.  This picture shows a little girl standing on a hill, prevented by a tall, suited man from seeing a tower of smoke billowing up in the distance.  This picture may have societal themes, such as showing the danger of the government trying to prevent us from knowing the truth in order to “protect” the people.  It may have more personal themes, expressing that we as humans are sometimes blinded by some unknown thing from seeing reality as it is.  Whatever the interpretation, it certainly tells a story much more than it would have had it simply been a picture of a grassy hill. 

While I can appreciate as art the type of photography that showcases a beautiful piece of scenery or landscape, these sorts of pictures seem more to me like the set of a story.  If you sat down in the audience of a theater and observed a beautifully designed set behind the curtain, you would probably be very impressed.  If, however, the curtain were to close in that instant and the audience began to file out of the theater, you would probably be left unsatisfied.  Where was the story? The actors? The conflict and resolution?  I feel similarly with photos that capture a majestic mountain range.  What a wonderful setting!  Where, however, is the story?  I could even go as far as to say that some photography that simply captures a smiling person with no other elements has achieved the same effect: there is a model—even a “main character,” if you will—but the viewer is left without a story.  Of course, this type of picture-taking has its place in our world.  Travel catalogs, family memories, and advertisements are just a few examples of places where we might appropriately see landscapes and portraits such as these.  However, in order for the viewer to actually take something away—some impactful, insightful, and emotional tidbit that they can use in their lives and in society—a story needs to be presented.  A story like Alex Stoddard’s in this photograph wondering about their role in society.  Are they the girl, blinded by a lack of knowledge or even an unwillingness to accept problems in personal life and in society?  Are they the tall dark man, attempting to hide the truth for fear of mass panic, disappointment, or anger?  It leaves the audience with a new insight.  Though the landscape, the models, the costumes, and other elements contribute to the power of the story being told here, it's all of these elements of this picture combined that impress a theme upon the audience's mind, one that may leave us hungry for more stories that will reveal even more about our society, our humanity, and ourselves.