This blog entry was in fact written on 12/11/14!
After several weeks of reviewing the current issues of Drama, Theatre and Performance, I have finally come to a decision on both of my essay and performance.
First, the essay. My essay will focus on modern technology’s use in theatre. Over the weeks, we have discussed on the nature of modern technology’s involvement with theatre and performance. We spoke of the use of the Digital, as well as the power of live broadcasts and recordings. So far, I am indecisive on whether or not live broadcasts and recordings are beneficial when watching a performance as an alternative form, so for me to research further on this matter will be rather interesting. I also wish to further question the necessity of cyberspace if possible. During my final year studying for my first degree, I was a part of the Multimedia Performance module, and one of the question raised during my time in this module was whether or not the future of theatre was in cyberspace. This essay would be a great opportunity for me to expand on this matter further by utilising the findings that I have uncovered on this Current Issues module.
Now, for my performance idea. The video below will hopefully give you an idea on what I am aiming for:
The video above entitled The Kuleshov Effect, is a montage called developed by renowned filmmaker Lev Kuleshov around the 1910s. The montage emphasizes on the aesthetic power of using single camera techniques and transitions. As you can see in the video, it illustrates images of various objects (the man is the prime subject) transitioning one after the other to convey a meaning or emotion. For example, when the montage transitions from a bowl of soup to the man, it is meant to emphasise that the man is hungry. What makes this experimental video brilliant is that shot of the man is repeated and not rerecorded for the montage. Below is a synopsis of the meanings conveyed in The Kuleshov Effect.
My performance will be based around the idea of The Kuleshov Effect, however, I plan on adapting this live rather than mediatised, and instead of images of various objects, I plan to use quotations based on different emotions and project them on a wall. My decision for these changes is so that I can experiment with liveness and mediation, as well as to see if the quotations work just as well as images of certain objects.
Works Cited:
EsteticaCC (2009) Kuleshov Effect / Effetto Kuleshov [online video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gGl3LJ7vHc [Accessed 12 November 2014].
Moura, Gabriel (2011) The Kuleshov Experiment [online] Available from http://www.elementsofcinema.com/editing/kuleshov-effect.html [Accessed 12 November 2014].