Volume 1, Issue 7: Black Lives Matter Playlist
Race, Revolution, & Violence Playlists; Student Spotlight on Dubbing in Twin Peaks
Cydnii Harris, Kevin B. Lee, and I are compiling a list of video essays that will eventually become a playlist dedicated to Black Lives Matter and other pertinent topics published at www.thevideoessay.com. Please help us gather the list by reading our statement below and submitting links via the form.
Black Lives Matter. The need to stand for racial justice and against police brutality and systemic inequality is greater than ever. Video essays can play an important role in illuminating these issues, critically examining their representation in film and media, serving as a medium for Black visions and voices to be seen and heard in alliance with the expressions of all other people of color.
To make this potential more visible, we are gathering video essays on these and other topics related to the Black Lives Matter movement, the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers and subsequent protests. The easiest way to do so is to use this form.
Alternatively you may email willdigravio@gmail.com or alsolikelife@gmail.com or cydniiwildeharris@gmail.com or DM @videoessaypod on Twitter/Facebook with links to be added to this webpage.
For the purposes of this project, the basic criteria for “video essay” is an audiovisual work that critically reappropriates works of film and media. There are also video essays that are "essays in video form” (i.e. the archetypal YouTube explainer). Those videos could have a place in this list as well, especially if they are authored by those from communities most affected by racism and systemic injustice.
Cydnii Harris
Kevin B. Lee
Will DiGravio
P.S. Thank you to Criterion for highlighting the list on The Daily. Read David Hudson’s round-up “Right Things” here.
News & Notes
Have something that should be featured in this section? Email me: willdigravio@gmail.com
A trio of themed playlists from the University of St. Andrews: “Revolution”, “Traces of Violence”, and “Race and Policing In the U.S (Documentaries)”
“The TREE lab at Northwestern's School of Education and Social Policy and the Block Museum have partnered to present an online screening of three documentaries produced by students of the Young People’s Race, Power, and Technology (YPRPT) project: Targeted, Racial Recognition, and Melting Ice. Learn more via the Facebook event here.
Beyond the Essay Film: Subjectivity, Textuality, and Technology is forthcoming this month from Amsterdam University Press.
“2020 LOATHING: Digital Tensions, Fragmentations and Polarisations” — The King's College Digital Humanities Department PhD Conference will be held on Friday, June 26th. Click here to register for the online event.
The audiovisual essay journal Tecmerin issued a new CFP and is accepting submissions until August 1, 2020.
Jason Mittell completed the last of his videographic deformations on Singin’ In the Rain. Check out his full project showcase, “Deformin’ in the Rain.”
Student Spotlight: Q&A with Valerie Špuláková
Each week, the newsletter will aim to feature a video essay made by a student along with a short Q&A. Is there a student or former student of yours you would like to see highlighted? Email willdigravio@gmail.com.
Valerie Špuláková created this video essay in the Department of Film Studies at Charles University in Prague under the supervision of Jiří Anger and Kevin B. Lee.
Will DiGravio How did you come up with the idea for this video essay? What was the creative process like? There are a lot of great video essays out there about David Lynch. What is it about his work that makes it so appealing to work with in this format?
Valerie Špuláková: I have been interested in dubbing, for a long time. In my country, dubbing is very popular, particularly among older people. But people don't realise how much dubbing changes a film. This bothers me. It's a more serious offence when a director so meticulously crafts a film with sound being such a vital component for the audience. This storytelling through sound is why David Lynch states the extreme importance of sound design. Speaking about David Lynch is not the purpose, the aim was to speak about dubbing. Using Twin Peaks is a great example to demonstrate the issues I talk about. I decided to work with this topic (where I talk especially about sound) using an audio-visual essay format because it’s impossible to describe sound precisely in words; just as you could hardly describe the beauty of a piece of music in words alone. It’s much more effective to hear it, rather than attempt to put it into words. If I were to do so, it would further distort the film in the mind of the audience.
WD: Why did you decide to not provide the voice over for the essay yourself? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of collaborating on a video essay?
VŠ: The answer to this question is very simple. I decided to use someone else’s voice because I did not find my voice good enough for two reasons. I am not a native English speaker and I think the foreign accent is a little distracting. The second reason is that it’s harder to be objective listening to my own voice because I am focusing on the sound of my voice, rather than the content of what I am saying. The benefit of collaboration is that I can impartially evaluate the merits of my script and what I aim to impart to the viewer and whether I’ve achieved this. Some people found it interesting that I decided to collaborate on the voice-over and they mentioned that it could be seen as “dubbing” (which is quite ironic considering that the topic and critique are about dubbing). I don’t consider it as a dubbing though. I see Josh (who provided the voice-over) as a voice-actor. I worked with him, in fact, I directed him - it did not break the author’s purpose, which is one of my main problems with dubbing, as I state in the essay.
WD: I found the mirrored multi-screen and the use of black space to be very effective. How did you come up with this idea? Why did you choose these effects? What do they bring to the piece?
VŠ: The mirrored screen has a precise purpose - it was holding a mirror up to the film. I am talking about two different versions of the same film. It should have implied that although the dubbed film seems to present itself as the same film, it differs from the original, just like that of a mirrored image: it differs a lot, it’s twisted and distorted. Black bars on either side provide a space for the text. The text was mostly just highlighting something mentioned in the voice-over. I didn't want to intrude on the film scenes with my commentary. I'm a big fan of minimalist, brief, and clear audio-visual essay style. In my opinion, it helps the audience concentrate on the issue and is less likely to distract them.
WD: What was the most difficult part of making this video essay? Is there one part you're most proud of?
VŠ: For me it was difficult to determine the audience for this essay; in the first versions of the essay, it's obvious I wasn't sure about this. In the end, I decided to create an essay with the main purpose being to show and demonstrate the problems with dubbing. These issues are not just the linguistic and vocal differences, but also less obvious problems which damage the intended meaning and purpose of the original film. I am actually content with the whole piece in general, as it was my first audio-visual essay. It provided me with a new way of thinking about and expressing my work; especially since it is a more effective and engaging way to “write” about film. I am very grateful to my supervisors Jiří Anger and Kevin B.Lee for this experience.
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