Artist Influence - John Baldessari

Because we have previously been struggling to decide whether or not to show our hands with the frame in shot and how we can use the frame to our advantage, by ensuring it adds something to the background already, I have been researching how other filmmakers and artists have achieved a similar concept.

One artist that uses his hands visually in shot to create new meanings within his photographic art work is John Baldessari. Even though the images are stills, viewing a selection of his different work has helped me to visualise how adding something like this to a shot can be visually pleasing as well as create new meaning, and made me think of new ideas of how we could use our hands holding the frame in shot to convey a new meaning to the viewer in terms of our overall theme of memory.

This has influenced our idea, as after viewing how adding a separate frame into shot can add extra layers of meaning to visuals, and can be used to direct the viewers eyeline to a particular area inside part of a larger overall scene or image, it has inspired me to experiment more with taking the frame out to different locations and also at different times throughout the day, to see how this concept can be used within our fragments of memory theme. Adding the use of the frame within the visuals works well to make scenes look less busy, and instead let the viewer focus on one area of the scene, which will work well alongside the overall memory theme that we have running across our piece.

Based upon this, I have come up with a list of ideas that could be visually achieved in order to connect the frame to the idea of progressive memory loss:

Some memory loss ideas (with using frame in shot)

·   Having the frame progressively getting closer to the camera/further away as memories become more vague and less focused.

·  Having objects/items moving in and out or even through the frame, to create the meaning of memories flashing by/searching for a memory within fast paced background visuals - the contrast between the frame being the part of the memory that is left, and the busy fast moving environment that is happening alongside this, not from the subject's perspective.

·  Some shots include the frame, some don't necessarily have to. The framed scenes could be the bigger picture; the location scenes. The ones which don't contain the frame could contain the finer details that may spark a key memory from a larger scene e.g. items from childhood. This also links well within our title for the piece; 'Fragments'.

Hands framing New York Harbor - John Baldessari (http://jpgmag.com/news/2010/10/museum-watch-john-baldessari-pure-beauty.html last accessed: 11/12/13)

One of our framed shots in the evening - Traffic moving through the frame.