The 2012-2013 photo class was designed to be an intensive but gentle experience for new photographers as well as students with some prior interest and experience. The class spent the fall learning how to use DSLR and point and shoot digital cameras as well as thinking about subject matter and how to present one’s work. Students discussed the Latin root of the word document/documentary, docere, which means to show or teach, and looked at examples of projects such as

The Cut and Paste Project
See Potential
City of Champions 

Students took digital cameras home to take photographs of their lives and the world around them, and then learned how to use photo editing software to enhance and alter the images.

The class also participated in the participatory performance project The People to Come by submitting photos of patterns in CMW’s neighborhood, and visited the RISD Museum to look at and reflect on the America in View photography exhibit.

After a winter break hiatus, the class reconvened for an intensive week-long project in collaboration with SWAP. Community MusicWorks rented a SWAP storefront for several weeks in February 2012 through an ArtPlace grant and hosted various events in the space. CMW Media Lab students spent several days in the neighborhood with cameras, documenting what they saw. They were joined by young people who live in SWAP housing. Together this group produced a beautiful collection of images professionally printed by iolabs and displayed in the storefront space during CMW events. Also on display were manipulated images of textures from the neighborhood that students documented, hung in constellations around the space.

One student, Malachy Hopkins, brought along an audio recorder when the other students were photographing. He then created a remix audio track of these sounds and Beethoven’s String Quartet in F Major, Opus 135, a piece performed at the storefront by CMW professional musicians.

The final big class project was connected to another ArtPlace partnership, this time between CMW and CommunityWorks RI, a community development corporation in Providence, RI that “creates opportunities within the neighborhoods it serves for people to live in affordable and healthy homes, to improve their lives, and to strengthen their communities.” CMW and CommunityWorks RI produced a concert at Providence’s historic Tirocchi House, also called “The Wedding Cake House.” CMW Fellows performed Beethoven’s String Quartet in F Major, Opus 59, No. 1 amidst an immersive installation created by Zachary Barr, Cathering Murphy, and
Jonsara Ruth of Salty Labs. Media Lab students visited the house with cameras several weeks before the event, and photographed what they saw. At CMW, they spent time with the Opus 59 sheet music, and created visual patterns corresponding to sections of the music, first by hand and then on the computer. These images and students’ photographs were combined into a small book, printed on the off-set press at the AS220 Community Printshop and were hand-bound by volunteers and the students themselves. The books were made available to concert attendees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This semester’s Media Lab photography class is working in the ArtPlace triangle to create images that will be used in one of the ArtPlace performance installations next semester. As an exercise to work on our photo skills and camera use, we most recently captured patterns from the neighborhood to contribute to The People to Come, a participatory performance project featuring music by Laura Cetilia and Production Managed by new CMW Managing Director Kimberly Young.

Learn more here:

http://thepeopletocome.org/

And see some of our photos here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whew! The last 6 weeks are a blur. In this short time, we came up with an idea for a movie, created characters, wrote out scenes individually, and combined them into a script. We talked about the mood of each scene and created (and recorded) music on our instruments to score the scenes. Then we filmed the scenes, revised our script a little, created some new music to fit the revisions, and put it all together into our final movie… the Pillow Monster!!!! Enjoy.

Today marked the beginning of an epic adventure.

David, Juan (Jay), Gaby (Gabrielle), Anthony, Sienna, Jori, and Laura have devised a truly incredible movie treatment involving pillow monsters, snow, and (of course), music.

Backing up, class started with a conversation about the Media Lab for those who were new to the space. We looked at the Media Lab website, and checked out current and past Media Lab student projects, including work from the Experimental Music class and the Different Trains classes.

From there we started talking about narrative, and elements of narrative including:

– setting
– plot
– conflict
– characters
– point of view

We next watched some music videos, including Black Leaf’s The Cave Singers and Math the Band’s Four to Six. We talked about narrative (and a lot of other things) relevant to these videos, and then looked up some music on the Free Music Archive to see how the videos looked with music that had a different feel than the original soundtracks. We also looked at a simple home movie, Friday I’m in Love, as a way to talk about something that was shot almost exclusively in one location yet still held our interest.

We also checked out this awesome video, Birds on the Wires, which helped us think a little abstractly, and then the more literal Peter and the Wolf, in which we saw different instruments and sounds representing specific characters in a narrative.

After that we collectively wrote a kind of secret and very awesome plot for a movie we’ll be making – and scoring – as a class. Stay tuned to see how the project progresses!

 

[audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Imagine-by-John-Lennon-performed-by-David-D-Delea-F-Liam-H-Sofia-L-Hector-R-Paola-P-Liam-B.mp3|titles=Imagine by John Lennon performed by David D, Delea F, Liam H, Sofia L, Hector R, Paola P, Liam B]

“Imagine” by John Lennon, arranged by C. Kline, performed by David D, Dahlia F, Liam H, Sofie L, Paola P, Hector R, Liam R

 

[audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/9Performance-Party-Jan-24-2011.mp3|titles=Performance Party Jan 24, 2011]

“Andantino” composed by S. Suzuki, performed by David D, Liam R, Stephen M, Hector R, Paola P, Angelica Y, Marays S

 

Imagine, by John Lennon

“Dorian Jam” performed by  Jesse W, Anthony D, David D, Jeffrey S, Angel M, Jose G, Rosangel C, Emely C, Genesis P

[audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dorian-Jam-Jesse-W-Anthony-D-David-D-Jeffrey-S-Angel-M-Jose-G-Rosangel-C-Emely-C-Genesis-P.mp3|titles=Dorian Jam- Jesse W, Anthony D, David D, Jeffrey S, Angel M, Jose G, Rosangel C, Emely C, Genesis P]

“Long, Long Ago” composed by T.H. Bayly and “Allegro” composed by S. Suzuki, performed by David D, Genesis P, Liam R, Stephen M, Madeline V, Angelica Y, Mike A, Paola P.

[audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Long-Long-Ago-Allegro-David-D-Genesis-P-Liam-R-Stephen-M-Madeline-V-Angelica-Y-Mike-A-Paola-P..mp3|titles=Long, Long Ago, Allegro- David D, Genesis P, Liam R, Stephen M, Madeline V, Angelica Y, Mike A, Paola P.]

Rhythm Machine into What’s the Answer to my Question? by the Wednesday Music Lab, performed by Angel V, Angie D, Anthony D, David D, Genesis P, Jeffry S, Jesse W, Jose G

[audio:http://www.communitymusicworks.org/medialab/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Rhythm-Machine-Whats-the-Answer-to-my-Question-Jesse-W-Jose-G-Anthony-D-Genesis-P-Angie-D-Angel-M-Jeffrey-Ss.mp3|titles=Rhythm Machine, What’s the Answer to my Question?]