Independent PracticeJonathan Saward

Learning Agreement

• Factual film making/fictional/avant-garde hybrids.• Explore factual film making style, codes &

conventions.• Push boundaries of representation. “The ecstatic

truth”.• Utilize new doco formats, exhibition & distribution.• Create a body of work exploring the above.• Reithian “Inform, Educate and Entertain”

Ideas For Work

Video Installations•Amen Brother: Installation on famous Amen drum sample.•Global Warmning: Installation on climate change.

Docos experimenting with AV style, modes and formats.•The Nature Of Love: Documentary on 3 loves of grandmother.•Anonymous: Style first docos on characters hiding their ID.

Site Specific Video Installation •Cinematique: Multi screen installation/doco set in cinemas.

Amen Brother

• Multi screen video installation?• Character and narrative at it’s core.• Still grounded in factual but for gallery?.• Use stylistic approach to visuals and audio.• Deconstructed doco style, codes & conventions.

Subversive?• Ideology: Religion, appropriation (sampling) debate & irony,

unsung hero & representation (pop icons).• Revelation and enigma. Puzzle for audience to solve.• Aural memory and recognition.• Reithian “Inform Educate and Entertain”

Art Movements & Theory

• Appropriation: Koons, Walker-Evans. Also sampling.• Post-Modernism: Koons, Salle• Fluxus: Cage, Paik, Ono & Marclay• Pop Art: Rauchenberg, Warhol.• Montage Theory: Eisenstein and Soviet Montagists.• Audience theory: Audience reception• Narrative theory: Todorov, Labov• Hierarchy of visual design elements.

Doco Inspiration/Research

Jonathan Hodgson: Man With Beautiful Eyes, Religion.Guy Maddin: My WinnipegKeith Maitland: TowerAlex Gibney: Zero DaysPete Middleton & James Spinney: Notes On Blindness VRJulien Temple: the Filth and the FuryBruce Weber: Lets get LostDavis Guggenheim: I am MalalaAri Folman: Waltz With Bashir

AV Installation Research

• Bill Viola: Martyrs, The Veiling &Nantes Tryptich• Christian Marclay: The Clock, Quartet. etc• Nam June Paik: Electronic Superhighway, Sound work• Cory Archangel: Mig 29 Fighter Plane, Clouds & OSX• Kinwah Tsang: Seven Seals• Lol Sargent: Vinyl Requiem• Nate Harrison: Can I Get an Amen• Janet Cardiff: 40 Part Motet• Rachel Rose: Palisades, Everything & More & A

Minute Ago• Ugo Rondinone: Thanx For Nothing• Kalil Joseph: m.A.A.d• Dominique Gonzales-Foster: Opera QM.15

Visual Ideas Research

• Oskar Fischinger, Len Lye & James Whitney.• Blue Note Jazz Album Covers.• Double exposure photography.• TV/Film opening sequences: True detective titles.• Music video stylistics, codes and conventions.• Concert visuals. VJ’s, As Described, John Hopkins.• Typography & kinetic Typography.• Roto-scoping animations. Scanner darkly, Tower etc• Robert Rauchenberg• Split screen TV/Film work.

Struggles & Issues

• Creating work thought MA wanted to see NOT work for me.• Not a natural fan of video installations. Not a fine artist.• Sticking to 3 screens for far too long. Too many elements as

3 screens creating confusion. Less is more.• Too many layers of ideology & preferred reading missed.• Amen idea too literal and lacking style and visual impact.• Revelation not working. Closeness to subject matter.• Design skills a little rusty. Hierarchy of design elements.• Software issues and learning complex software. After Effects.• Losing sight of objectives. Narrative & character. Emotion

too.• Making content fit style rather then the other way round.• Legal and ethical issues.

Revelations

• Need to be enjoying work & making for me not MA.Being more abstract with the imagery. Move from boxes!

• Re-instating important narrative (exposition) & character.• Epiphany of combining Anonymous stylistics & Amen.• Magpie of style: Blue note, Double exposure, True Det

titles.• Less is more. Stripped back version. Less AV elements.• Less is more. Stripped back ideology to central theme.• Software issues and learning complex software.• Losing sight of objectives. Narrative & character.• Clean lots of ideologies and work with central theme.

Learning Agreement

• Factual film making/fictional/avant-garde hybrids.• Explore factual film making style, codes &

conventions.• Push representation boundaries “The ecstatic

truth”.• Utilize new doco formats, exhibition &

distribution.• Create a body of work exploring the above.• Reithian “Inform Educate and Entertain”

Where next?

• Extend Amen Brother: Kinetic type (Kinwah Tsing)• Get work out there. Online, festivals etc.• Live drummer performance art.• Revert to Film/TV documentary work. • Less installation. Tempted by Cinematique

though.• Planet Splendid animation piece.