Over the last couple of days, I have been tormented by the choice of whether to write a 4-6 page essay or do an interpretive poetry video. My friend made a picture video a couple of weeks ago that touched my heart; he also paid $14 for it. I thought it was so creative and endearing but the price?? What a coincidence to discover through Intro to Lit that an interpretation of poetry can be expressed in a similar fashion.
I love the idea of making a video that marries my interpretation of a poem (or any work for that matter) with pictures, music and voice over, but just how does one go about deciding what pictures tell “it” best?? I gave this question deep consideration. Professor Murphy mentioned that just as in a music video, the images do not have to be a picture of exactly what’s on the line. Do I play the images to fit the sound that the author intended? Do I concern myself with how he would want me to interpret this or do I personalize it to fit what I see in my mind? Even if I wanted to remain true to the author’s era or intent, how could I verify that is what he had in mind without speaking to him personally? Asking these questions is making me entirely change my mind on which poem I will interpret.
This will be an interesting project; one that I am sure I will learn a lot from – if I can stir up the Creative Genius inside and force her to create outside of her comfortable box.
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Making a video is always quite difficult. It's always hard to decide what exactly to do when there is no "right" answer. I have always had problems in doing these types of projects. I look at others and they seem so creative, but I never quite like mine. My advice is to just follow what you think looks and works best, and it'll work out fine.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could help you make your decision, but if you have the capacity to be creative, I think the video would be really neat. I lack that creativity gene, so I'm doing the essay. Good luck on your project either way.
ReplyDeleteI also thought the same thing when it came to the pictures part of the slide show. In the end I decided I wanted to be more creative/artistic and not always go with what the poem was saying. I wanted to bring my own spin to the poem and give it a modern day feel. I thought this was a good assignment. It allowed us to be more creative and open-minded. It also allows our classmates and professor to better understand how we, ourselves, understand the poems. While making this slide show was a task and a half, I believe it has also been some-what of a fun assignment!
ReplyDelete-Mandy
I can understand how hard it can be to find a picture that is just right for it. I'm glad that you went for the creative option. I went for the boring way.....interpetive essay.
ReplyDeleteI love to write, produce, create, take photos, video, etc. I love it all. But, when it comes to creativity, video and audio is my thing. I suffer from a tremendous writer's block. I always think my writing sucks and I end up rewriting everything over and over. With movies, I can usually get a vision in my head and go in that direction.
ReplyDeleteI decided on the video. I used "We Real Cool". I used some photos I downloaded and made them real grainy, black and white in Photoshop. I then took audio from Gwendolyn Brooks reading the poem and mixed it over the top of Digable Planets and also mixed in my voice. I think it turned out okay. I posted it on YouTube if you are interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5Bc_oo5RlQ
What did you decide to do for your project?
-AKA
Indeed, it was quite the work to come up with a video for a poem. Often, poems can be taken in many different ways. Each of us sees a poem in a different light. I believe that that is the indented goal of poetry, to make us relate to it and see it in our own context.
ReplyDeleteThat said, it is hard to determine how you want to display your interpretation of a poem. Sometimes, it can be hard for others to understand.
I relate to your tough situation with the decisions.