This has been a very, very, VERY busy week. We worked at Frierson, finished up our internships and read the last 5 chapters of Out of Architecture for our Community 1:1 Book Club. Days off? Tuh. Not this week.
One additional assignment we had to complete for this week was a short 5 minute film for our ARCH 8620 History/Theory class. Each student was assigned a building, and we were to create a short high-quality film that would “Analyze an architectural work to reveal its meaning and context with a detailed multi-media investigation of a contemporary Charleston building, recording physical, temporal and perceptual findings to uncover the work’s theoretical framework and/or cinematic qualities.” Our professor, Michael Maher used the word Explicate to wrap this project up into one word. We were also instructed to tie our films with either a film that we had watched over the semester or use one of the readings that we read previously throughout the semester.
Now me personally, never had I ever created a short film as a documentation of a building; however, this was indeed a pretty interesting experience. Some students used Adobe Premiere as the software to create their short films, while others, myself included, opted to use Clipchamp (shoutout to Maddi and William for putting me on). This assignment was a bit challenging and daunting at first, but once we (well, let me speak for myself; once I) began using the software, the process of creating this film became fun and enjoyable. These are new skills that I wouldn’t mind honing. It brings me to some of what we read in Out of Architecture, where the authors make not of how individuals with architectural training have so much value, and this assignment is definitely indicative to me of some of the value that we as architecture students have.
Now will these films actually win at the Sundance Film Festival? Well, mine would need a little work, but some of my classmates seem to have an eye for cinematography and videography. Some of their films are amazing in my honest opinion. This assignment is just an addition to the intrinsic value that we as architecture students have within us.