Contemporary Australian Artists

Below are some contemporary Australian artists who incorporate video into their practice:

TV Moore works with paint, video, film, photographic and theatrical forms. Using psychological space, performance, narrative and non-narrative structures, Moore operates in a myriad of worlds where there are stories within stories. Histories within Histories.

Philip Brophy is an interdisciplinary artist, working in film, music and design, blurring distinctions between the art gallery, the music industry and commercial art in provocative, sensuous and challenging images. 

Soda_Jerk is an Australian two-person art collective that works with found material to trouble existing formulations of cultural history. By strategically reimagining historical trajectories, the artists are concerned with producing counter-mythologies of the past that open new possibilities for the present. Taking the form of video installations, cut-up texts and lecture performances, their archival practice merges the zones of research, documentary and speculative fiction (http://www.sodajerk.com.au/about.php)

... And someone you might be familiar with...

Sue Dodd uses the medium of pop music/video to create works that resonate like the bedroom posturing of an emotionally dysfunctional, media-saturated teenage fan, or the shonky image on a pirated DVD that could never quite pass as the real thing. The deadpan vocal delivery, robotic movements and simple manufactured beats (generated by GameBoy and palm pilot) underscore the poignancy and emptiness of our cultures addiction to superficial entertainment, constant novelty and instant gratification.

Burning your video to DVD

Open iDVD
Create new project. Name and choose location to save project.
Select relevant aspect ratio (standard or widescreen)

Before doing anything else, we need to make sure the settings are correct. In the menu bar > iDVD > Preferences > General > Uncheck show Apple watermark.
Projects > Video Mode: PAL


When it opens it will look like this:

 

         ^ Info button    ^ Show Drop Zones       ^Play

Playing in the centre is what the DVD menu looks like. Running along the right hand side is the menu themes you can choose from. Select a theme if you want a menu. You will notice grey 'drop zones', these are areas where you can drag and drop still images or video to play like previews before the the DVD plays. Be sure to drag and drop the image/video directly into the drop zone, other wise you will be adding a video or image to be played. Depending on which theme you have chosen there may be more than one drop zone. Click on the show drop zones button to identify all of them.

Click on the Info button (bottom left of the screen). It will give you the menu info where you can choose the music or the loop duration of the background for example.

It is not necessary to have a menu, as you can set the DVD to play as soon as it is inserted into the drive or player.

Click on DVD map (first button of the three in the middle)

                                ^ DVD map  

                                          

This shows you the flow of the DVD. As you can see you can drag contents into the first box to play automatically when inserted. I would use this option if I were showing a video piece at an exhibition on a loop. 

 

             ^ Info button

 Here I have dragged my video directly into the first box, then clicked on the Info button bottom left. The grey movie info dialogue box opened, I clicked on Loop Movie. This means that my movie will automatically play looped when inserted into the player. 

If you do not want that to be the case, you can click on the Add (+) button next to the info button. Add movie. This will add a box after the menu into which you can drag and drop your video.

You can add multiple videos or slideshows. It will look like this in the DVD map view:

Or like this if you unclick DVD map:

If you click on the video titles (seen here under Revolution Main), then the info tab you can change the font, colour etc. 

If you click on any of that text (ie Revolution main, sequence 2, test) you can rename them too. 

You can preview your DVD at any time by clicking on the play arrow.

Once you are happy with your DVD, click on the burn button directly next to the play button.

It will direct you to insert a blank DVD. Then it will proceed to burn the DVD. You can make multiple copies easily by inserting another blank DVD when it has finished the first.

Exporting your finished video

File > Export > Quicktime Movie

Name and  choose location.
Settings: Current Settings
Include: Audio and Video (unless of course your video in silent, then you can just include video)
Markers: None
Make movie self contained is checked.


You may also like to export a version specifically for the web (eg.  your blog or vimeo), so it will need to be compressed into a smaller file.
File > Export > Using Quicktime Conversion
Name and choose location
Format: Click on Options.
Video Settings > Compression type > H.264
Frame rate: Current
Compressor Quality > Best
OK

Uncheck prepare for internet streaming.
OK

Transitions in FCP

From the FCP manual:

Common Types of Transitions 

A cut, the most basic type of transition, is a transition with no duration; when one shot ends, another one immediately begins, without any overlap. All other transitions gradually replace one shot with another; when one shot ends, another one gradually replaces it. There are three very common transitions used that occur over time: fades, cross dissolves, and wipes. 

A fade-out begins with a shot at full intensity and reduces until it is gone. A fade-in begins with a shot at no intensity and increases until it is full. These are the common “fade to black” and “fade up (from black)” transitions. 

A cross dissolve involves two shots. The first shot fades out while the second shot simultaneously fades in. During the cross dissolve, the two shots are superimposed as they fade. 

A wipe is where the screen splits, moving from one side of the image to the other to gradually reveal the next shot. It is more obvious than a fade or cross dissolve. Final Cut Pro also comes with two audio transitions: a +3 dB cross fade (the default) and a 0 dB cross fade 

Cross Fade (+3 dB):  Performs the same operation as Cross Fade (0 dB), but applies an equal-power ramp to the volume level, rather than a linear ramp.

Cross Fade (0 dB):  Fades the first clip out, while simultaneously fading the second clip in. This effect applies a linear ramp to the volume level. As a result, the volume level dips in the middle of the cross fade. 

Each cross fade results in a different audio level change as the transition plays. Your choice of cross fades depends on the clips you’re transitioning between. Try one, then try the other to see which sounds better.

Using Transitions in Your Sequences 

Transitions, especially dissolves, generally give the viewer an impression of a change in time or location. When very long transitions are used, they become more of a special effect, useful in creating a different atmosphere in your sequence. You can use transitions to: 

• Convey the passing of time between scenes 
• Fade up at the beginning of the movie or scene 
• Create a montage of images 
• Fade out at the end of the movie or scene 
• Create motion graphic effects 
• Soften jump cuts (cuts between two different parts of the same footage) 

To add the default video transition, do one of the following: 

• Select an edit point between two video clips or position the Canvas or Timeline playhead at the desired edit point, then press Command-T.
• Control-click an edit point between two video clips in the Timeline, then choose Add Transition from the shortcut menu. The name of the current default transition appears next to the command in the shortcut menu.

To add a transition from the Effects menu: 

1 Do one of the following: 

• Click an edit point between two clips in your sequence to select it. 
• Position the Canvas or Timeline playhead at the desired edit point. 
• Position the Canvas or Timeline playhead on a transition that’s already been edited into your sequence. 

2 Do one of the following: 

• Choose Effects > Video Transitions, choose the type of transition, then choose the desired transition from the submenu. 
• Choose Effects > Audio Transitions, then choose the desired transition from the submenu.

If there are enough overlapping frames on both sides of the edit point, the selected transition is added to your edit, centered at the edit point.

How Transitions Appear in the Timeline 

Transitions are applied between two adjacent clips in the same track of a sequence in the Timeline. In the Timeline, a transition is displayed as an object overlapping two adjacent clips. You can still see the cut point between the two clips. A dark gray slope in the transition’s icon in your sequence indicates the speed, alignment, and direction of your transition. 

Aligning a Transition in the Timeline 

You can place a transition so that it starts on, centers on, or ends on the edit point between two clips in the Timeline. You should choose a transition alignment based on the editorial effect you want to achieve: 

• Starting on the cut:  Choose this alignment if you want the last frame of the outgoing clip to be fully visible before the transition begins. 

• Centered on the cut:  Choose this alignment if you want the cut point between the two clips to be the midpoint in the transition. 

• Ending on the cut:  Use this alignment if you want the first frame of the incoming clip 
  to be fully visible. 
  
  
  
  

Effect filters in FCP

Applying a Filter to a Clip 

You can apply filters to clips in a sequence or to clips in the Browser, but it’s very 

important to understand the distinction between these two methods. 

 If you apply filters to a sequence clip:  The filters are applied only to that clip. The 

master clip in the Browser remains untouched. 

 If you apply filters to a master clip in the Browser:  Instances of that clip already in other 

sequences are untouched, but if you edit the master clip into a sequence, the new 

filter accompanies the clip into the sequence. 

In most cases, you apply filters to individual clips in sequences, not to master clips in the 

Browser. There may be occasions where you want every instance of a master clip edited 

into a sequence to have the same filter applied, such as during color correction. In this 

case, apply the color correction filter to the master clip in the Browser. However, filters 

applied to clips are still independent of each other. If you modify the filter parameters 

for a master clip, the same filter parameters in affiliate clips are not modified. 

Tip:  To maintain consistent filter settings across multiple clips, you can copy and paste 

filter settings using the Paste Attributes command.

To apply a filter to a clip in a sequence, do one of the following: 

• Select one or more clips in the Timeline, then drag a filter from the Effects tab of the Browser to one of the selected clips in the Timeline.

• Select one or more clips in the Timeline, choose Effects > Video Filters, then choose a filter from the submenus. 

Open a sequence clip in the Viewer, then do one of the following: 

• Choose Effects > Video Filters, then choose a filter from the submenus. Drag a filter from the Effects tab of the Browser directly into the Viewer. You can apply a filter to an entire clip or just part of a clip. 

Once you add a filter or transition you may get a red bar running along the top of your timeline, and if you try to play from your time line it may say UNRENDERED on a blue and black screen. This simply means you need to render the clip to be able to view it. This may take a while depending on the degree of the effects and the length of the clips. 

In the menu bar Sequence > Render > Both

Short cut is Command R.

2nd Gen and Contemporary Video Artists

IMPORTANT AND INFLUENTIAL 2nd GENERATION VIDEO ARTISTS AND CONTEMPORARY VIDEO ARTISTS:
Marina Abramovic : Starting out as a painter, Abramović subsequently shifted her focus to conceptual work, sound installations and mainly performances. She started in 1973 performing several works such as"Rhythm", in which she intended to stretch the limits of her body and mind. This theme appears in all her work, especially in her collaborative work with Ulay.

Dara Birnbaum : appropriates the television images and works with them in a subversive way, but her explicit intention is to show its superficiality and to unmask its manipulative methods.

John Cage : The American composer John Cage, to whom every kind of sound was considered to be music music, is probably best known for breaking the boundaries between music, performance, noise and sound.

Sophie Calle : Consciously conceals the borders between art and life, fiction and reality, and between the private and public. Transforms her daily life with a series of performances, usually executed as a combination of texts and photographs.

Gary Hill : began working with video, text and sound in 1973 and has produced a major body of single-channel videotapes and video installations that includes some of the most significant works in the field of video art. 

Pierre Huyghe : Much of Huyghe's work examines the structural properties of film and its problematic relationship to reality. His work frequently mixes fact with fiction.

Paul McCarthy : performance work in the 70s; in late 80s video/performance installations.

Pipilotti Rist : aesthetic language quite close to music videos through the combination of music, performance and electronic manipulation. 

Matthew Barney : He is best known as the producer and creator of the CREMASTER films, a series of five visually extravagant works created out of sequence (CREMASTER 4 began the cycle, followed by CREMASTER 1, etc.). The films generally feature Barney in myriad roles, including characters as diverse as a satyr, a magician, a ram, Harry Houdini, and even the infamous murderer Gary Gilmore. 

Shirin Neshat : one of a growing number of contemporary international artists whose work crosses boundaries of nationality, culture, and artistic medium. Using photography and video, she has produced a body of work that investigates the cultural conflicts resulting from the collision of tradition and modernity in the East and West. Neshat turned to the media of photography and video in an attempt to investigate the role of women and feminism in Islamic society as well as her own status as a self-imposed artist in exile.

Soda_Jerk :  remix artists who work across the media of video, photo-collage and installation. By atomising and reassembling recorded culture they aim to manufacture counter-mythologies of the past that open new possibilities for thinking the present. 

Bill Viola : "My work? - says Bill Viola - is focused on a process of self-discovery and self-realization. Video is part of my body. It is intuitive and subconscious." 

More links:

Pipilotti Rist- I'm Not The Girl Who Misses Much
Pipilotti Rist- I Couldn't Agree with you MorePipilotti Rist - Be Nice To Me (Flatten 04)
Pipilotti Rist- Sip My Ocean (1996)

Bill Viola - The Reflecting Pool
Bill Viola - Ocean Without a Shore - Venice Biennale 2007

Gary Hill - Mouth Piece (1978)
Gary Hill - Site Recite (a prologue) 1989 

Switch (eye), by Tony OURSLER (1996)
Tony Oursler - Axe
David Bowie - Where Are We Now? (video by Tony Oursler)

Contemporary video art, whilst still including single channel or multi channel works (video works played on the one or multiple screens), has extended into another newish art form; installation. This is where the videos are shown, either projected or on a monitor, amongst an environment incorporating sculptural elements, objects, or intervened space. The video may be projected onto everyday objects, such as in Pipilotti Rist's Himalaya Sisters Living Room, or onto effigies, such as Tony Oursler's many contemporary works.

Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle is a pivotal contemporary work, in that it has the aura of a big budget Hollywood feature film/s, yet at it's centre it is conceptual and experimental.

Video Art Homework

Search the VideoArtWorld website using the categories check boxes for video work which is related to your topic or project. Link it on your blog. Write a short 50-100 words on how this video made you feel.

(don't stop at one... if you find more, keep watching and researching!)