journaling project no. 3

The main private component of my project is the personal story my mom and I tell through the audio of my film. We reminisce on a funny memory we have of my dad, reflecting on his incredible humor and love no matter how tough things got. Another private component could be the act of the animation, and just the creation of the film in general. I'm making and animating the film on my own, making it an individual and more private part of my project. 

On the other hand, the public components come to play once the film is finished and played for viewers. The viewer's can take the film and interpret it in their own way, and apply it to their own lives. While it's a personal story of my individual experience with losing a loved one, it is something many can identify with and in turn look at their own lives and loved ones. It could one to take a moment to think back and remember times with their loved ones lost, or for those who haven't lost someone to cherish every moment they have with their loved ones. Barthes explains, "Just as the reading of the modern text... consists not in receiving, in knowing or in feeling that text, but in writing anew, in crossing its writing with a fresh inscription, so too reading this Beethoven is to operate his music, to draw it...into an unknown praxis" (152). It is not the viewer's taking my film and reading it, but making it into their own, 'writing anew' and turning it into something they can use to look back on their own life and loves. 

Someday, it could be possible for my project to be re-made. There are many different ways the film could be executed. It could be turned into live-action instead of animation. It could also have different audio. I have a written version of the story my mom and I tell, that could be used as a narration for a film instead of the phone call conversation audio I will be using for this version of my film. These changes in a recreation of the film could switch up the tone and intention of the film. It would be interesting to see how all the different versions and remakes would affect the viewer reaction and interpretation to the film. Just as I was inspired by another artist to create my films, one could take inspirations from my films and create their own telling their own stories. 

Barthes describes, "The artist is in search of his 'truth' and this quest forms an order in itself, a message that can be read, in spite of the variations in its content, over all the work or, at least, whose readability feeds on a sort of totality of the artist: his career, his loves, his ideas, his character, his words become traits of meaning" (151). In the same way, my work feeds on my ideas, loves, character, etc. My past experiences become fuel for my art, in search for my 'truth' and healing. 

Project update: I have finished recording my audio, and begun to hone it down into what will be included in my finalized film as well as starting the animation portion of my film.