ACTION! On the Real City: Site and Sound - In Situ Filmmaking Experiments

Abstract

We watch films at the cinema, at home, under the stars, and everywhere in between. But how does where and how we watch film affect our understanding of them? Do some locations reach other audiences, or better convey an idea?We will encourage reflections on this topic by developing new forms of urban literacy through ethnographic research methods, filmmaking and other forms of digital media.

Objective

Through a combination of practical exercises in video and audio techniques in parallel with the study of seminal observation-driven texts, this course aims to equip students with the basic tools and core principles to create short but complex portraits of urban space. This semester, the focus falls on the topic of site-specificity in filmmaking, asking students to think not just about what they are making, but where are they exhibiting it. How does space (and therefore design) affect how we convey things? This approach will be applied to experiments in filmmaking and photography. Through various audiovisual experiments, students will collectively speculate on ways to marry the various forms of research methods that traditionally do not intersect, creating mosaics of experimental research. This semester will be unique in that students will be asked not only to think about how to make a film, but also where to show it. Using widely available recording tools and editing software, students will turn their fieldwork into short video or audio works of about 3-5 minutes. NOTE: Students of this course will be given preference to the Semester Studio of the Chair of Architecture and Urban Design

Content

The course will compose of lectures, practical crash courses in media use and storytelling, and fieldwork sessions. The course will be a laboratory in the creation of short media works that aim to inform the architectural design process, working between the city and the studio in ONA. Students will be expected to complete all required work within the hours that the elective meets, with few requirements outside of the class hours.

Resources