January 21, 2007

• A MikeVideo Internet Movie: ArtViews

   

  

  "ArtViews" A MikeVideo Internet Movie
  Copyright  © 2007 MikeVideo Enterprises
  Produced, Directed, Photographed, Assembled, Edited, and scored by Michael F. Nyiri

  Windows Media File: 8:59 minutes: 91.7 Megabytes

  CLICK PLAY. First disable the music player located in the sidebar over to the left by hitting it's stop button. If you have a slower computer or dialup service, you can probably watch the video if you first hit play, then pause, until the slider bar moves closer to the center of the player.

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  "ArtViews" is my latest MikeVideo Internet Movie, just one of the creative efforts streaming from my "YouTube Channel" 

  First conceived and edited as a four minute realvideo file in 2001 and announced on the MikeVideo section of AllThingsMike as one of the first "Internet Movies", "ArtViews" was composed of footage shot at the Huntington Library and Art Gallery in May of 2001, and was scored with the classical piece: "Hungarian Dance #1" by Johannes Brahms. The streaming realvideo files in those days were almost unwatchable. The resolution was nonexistant, and since the video showcased works of art displayed at the museum, shot in low light, the shoddy resolution and the physical size of the video, which was thumbnail sized, contributed to an unwatchable experience. But the video was one of the first three "internet movies" I displayed on the internet in 2001, when I announced that "someday we will all have our own television stations on the web."

  Slowly but surely, I'm "recreating" the three original internet movies, in celebration of MikeVideo's 20th anniversary, which was November of 2006. All of the links from the original MikeVideo Internet Movie page, which was online years before YouTube existed, will soon be active again, linking to the newer "internet movies." The first one was "Selling Sex at the CES", which I completed during Summer 2006. "Artviews" is the second little film to get the treatment, and I've now combined a new music track with the footage shot at the Huntington and also footage shot at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles in early 2005, to create a brand new "ArtViews". Although a lot of the original footage from the Huntington was unusable because of shaky camera work and the aforementioned low light, there are enough good shots, combined with the Getty footage, shot with my latest camera, and framed with more of an "artistic" presentation, to fill a nine minute video. Some of the art, when photographed, displays an almost 3-D quality. I have used the chroma key and transition elements in the Pinnacle Studio video editing program to make some interesting combinations of different artworks, and each individual element is timed to the music "mashup" which was created first. The clips are arranged not with regards to the museum where they were taken, but might seem haphazardly presented, although the intent is to "create art from art" and hopefully the end result proves entertaining. It took slightly over two weeks of almost sleepless nights to assemble this latest MikeVideo "masterpiece". At first, I only wished to create something for the link on the original "Internet Movies" page, but once I began the actual construction of the video, I became almost obsessed with making the most original, interesting, and entertaining video I could with the footage, reaching into the MikeVideo editing bag of tricks more than a few times, and in some cases, layering more than six elements in a single "shot".

  All the videos which contain the MikeVideo brand have a certain trademark, and this is no exception. Even the VHS MikeVideos contained many disparate elements combined in such a way as to make a new presentation. A simple dissolve, if performed with the right two shots, can be stunning and awe inspiring. Since this is a video showcasing the fine arts, every attempt has been made to insure that the viewing experience is enhanced even for viewers who have visited the museums.All editing choices were reworked until I was satisfied with the results. In fact, some of the "traveling mattes" I've used to great effect in "Betty Boop Dreams" and "Clowns", are also used here, and the combination of stills, video and graphics, utilizing the transition effects in the program, all combine to enhance the viewing experience. Ten minutes seems to be the perfect size for internet video projects, and I like to insure that not one second is wasted. There are 270 separate video and 51 separate audio components in this video. This one did not take only one day to make. It's been two whole weeks of almost nonstop assembling and editing to get this polished as much as it is.

  There are more "professional" videos on YouTube and Google Video, but this is professional as I can get with a home computer and a 100 dollar Video Software editing program.

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  EDIT: 6:39 p.m. pst. Thanks for all the comments and kudos. I really like this MikeVideo. I have updated both the main page to the AllThingsMike website and the MikeVideo main page to include mention of this one, the "Nantucket Holiday" and "MikeVideo History" series inclusions.. It's getting late, and I didn't get much sleep last night, because I was putting the finishing touches on the video. Today was spent redesigning my webpages, so I feel a sense of accomplishment.

  EDIT: 1/22/07 6:20 a.m. pst. Thank you guys. It's nice to know all I have to do is ask. Thanks especially to Shara, (renaissancelady ) who gave me "props" as 5 different sites. It's great to have friends like that. The video has been viewed 50 times already, and what I want most is to give the MikeVideo "brand" more exposure. (No comments or ratings yet on the video's YouTube page, but I won't quibble.) From the positive tone of the comments so far, from those on Xanga who watched "ArtViews", I'm glad I spent the two weeks burning the candle at both ends. I have a new 320GB hard drive, a new video card that supports analog input, and my VCR hooked up to the puter. Now all I need is an updated program that will allow me to input analog music files from my 1000 album vinyl record collection, and I'll be able to really get creative with the medium.

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  "ArtViews" A MikeVideo Internet Movie Copyright © 2007 MikeV... Total eProps: 42 | Total Comments: 22 Posted by baldmike2004 - 1/22/2007 at 1:01 AM

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