Crossing the Road of Mundane and Beautiful

by Steven Rowe and Marshal Davis

When we got together to talk about the process assignment we both wanted to represent a simple and overlooked process that all humans have in common. We hoped by highlighting the seemingly mundane; that our sound would transcend from its overlooked state to something that has so many levels and depth and beauty.

            Our initial choice was to record the sound of brushing teeth. It was exciting as we recorded; when amplified you could hear the unanimous movement of the each and every fiber, working towards your dental cleanliness. Then on September 26^th, at 12:53 pm our worlds were rocked when we discovered that ‘getting ready for the day’ processes were not a valid option. So we had to scrap the recording and start at the beginning.

            We talked about a few options, but few really hit the ticket on the ‘seemingly mundane’ yet beautiful vibe we were going for. The day of the assignment grew closer. Discouraged, we began the long walk to Wymount, where we had previously stored the recording equipment. As we trudged along the sidewalk we glanced forward and saw a light… literally, we saw a stoplight up ahead and it hit us. We could record the sound of crossing the street. It was seemingly mundane, it is something that we all have in common, and it is definitely an ignored process.

            As we set out to record the process we ran into a few obstacles, the wind was blowing so hard that the microphone was overpowered. After playing with the gain and putting a ‘dead cat’ on the microphone we managed to capture some crisp sounds of traffic passing through, the sound of pressing the crossing button, the beep that announced our turn to cross. We had to record the footsteps at a more remote location, because the faint sound of Stevens footsteps were overpowered sounds of traffic and screaming passersby.

            This project became significant for me as we started to edit the sound and listened to the play back various times. I remembered the simple joys of childhood, racing my siblings down the sidewalk, each of us with the hope of being the one to hold the honor of pushing the button that magically illuminated the mysterious walking man on the opposite side of the street.

            I learned two things during this process, the first being that when you are in a creative stump, whether it is writing, playing music, filming or recording sound just move forward and the idea will likely come to you. Second, sound has can be very powerful, perhaps more than image. It allows us to paint the image ourselves, based off of the reflections of our own being.

Tiny Stories

Patrick Pato was not a gato, Robert Cat could not quack,
not content with what they had, they died confused and sad.

Harriet Hare couldn't run, Timothy Turtle couldn't swim,
both disowned by their own kin, 
they became all the other had.
When 'til death' was said,  both gladdened to be wed.

Zedekiah Zorro died of boredom, 
Sally Salamander dug his grave.
It was only when she was done that she saw,
the dirty rascal move his paw.

 Vladamir Bat ate Robert Cat.
Federico Ferret saw through Vladamirs bull guano.
He was a skilled garlic cook.
Robert cat was saved, but Patrick Pato took his place.

Abby Armadillo would not laugh 
while Francise Frog sang for the class.
Zedekiah Zorro did not care, 
he laughed harder than Abby dare

Initially I wanted my tiny stories to carry some rhyme. I felt that the rhythm would serve as an interconnection between all five proses. I began thinking of funny names for my characters, starting with Patrick Pato, little by little I had filled five note cards with my goofy names. Once the names were written I went back and filled each note card with a story. After each note card had a story I mused over them and edited them until they where each within the thirty word limit.

 I was happy with the way the names and the rhythm came together to make a connection between all five stories. When I was done I felt the stories were goofy and fun, and still managed to teach a small lesson.

-Patrick Pato and Robert cat teach us that being something we aren’t only brings sadness.

-Harriet Hare and Timothy Turtle teach us that just because we are different doesn’t mean we can’t find love.

These are just a couple of examples from my ‘tiny stories’. The hardest part of this assignment for me was the thirty-word limit. For a couple of my stories they were in the forties and they were really complete and fun stories, but I had to cut them back to fit the assignment. In the future I would probably have spent more time fine-tuning my stories and word counting them before drawing the illustrations and tying myself down to that image.

I enjoyed drawing the stories because I realized that the story grew more when I was drawing the image then when I had actually written them. They ended up having more meaning and depth. There where things that could be told visually that made up for the lack of words. I was particularly happy with the result of Harriet the Harry and Timothy Turtles story. I just started drawing it and thought ‘how could I represent visually that Harriet cant run’. I drew the wheel chair first. I then asked ‘how can I visually represent that Timothy can’t swim’, and a turtle with floaters came to mind.

This assignment really showed me in depth the power of imagery combined with a short narrative. It reminded me of times in the past when I have had a story come to mind just by driving a scenic road and thinking, ‘this would be a great place to shoot a movie’ or seeing an old building and thinking ‘I wonder who built that’. In reality the world around is full of imagery and narratives, if we just watch slowly and keep our minds eye open.

Trial

Open Deep In An Ancient Hawaiian Forest in a separate tab and listen as you reflect on the images.

I chose and designed these images to go with this music because of the deep and rapidly evolving emotions that are apparent while a couple is struggling to start a family. I photographed and pulled images from the internet to make these collages that I feel accurately represent the confusion, confusion, pain, doubt, resentment that comes from a couple that suffers a miscarriage.

The first image is colorful and exciting, it is the definition of fruitful both literally and figuratively.

The second image is a near twin of the first, but instead of emanating excitement, it is dreary and unclear.

The third image shows different people suffering pain, while a preacher points to Abraham faithfully passing his trial (the sacrifice of his son). Many times people think that when someone suffers a miscarriage that they need spiritual guidance and such, when sometimes it’s the last thing they need. Maybe they just need someone to cry and feel with them

The fourth image shows us how a loss, or a fear can cause us to cope in a variety of ways. These coping mechanisms can often drive people apart, when what one needs during a trial is to be together.

The fifth image is to show people coming together.

The sixth image is to show the ultimate healing, coming back repentant to accept the atonement and it’s ability to heal. The connection with God…

The seventh image represents the courage to try again after having been dealt such a painful blow.

The eight image is ‘hope’. I intentionally replaced the ‘p’ with a question mark. This was representative of the fact that even after going through this process of grief and ‘atonement’, it is hard to remove that small glimmer of doubt and fear from our hope for happiness.

I chose the song ‘Deep In An Ancient Hawaiian Forest” because it’s rhythm and pace vary enough to effectively convey the insanity that ensues after such a loss. The different tones helped to reflect emotions of happiness, pain and healing. I felt it was the most accurate representation of what the images reflect emotionally, and what such trials feel like.

Graceland; reflections of a Hollywood Misfit

The television series Graceland, confronts the deceptive world of undercover police work. It also represents the identity crisis and familial gap that often ensues in the lives of all whom choose to dedicate their lives to such a difficult line of work. Graceland’s representation of identity crisis and loss of family is a reflection of creator Jeff Eastin’s own personal identity crisis and loss as a film maker.

            Eastin is a journalism major from Greeley Colorado, a small town east of Fort Collins. He somehow ended up in living in Hollywood producing television shows for USA Network, a path he never planned­­. Graceland revolves around a scrawny young FBI agent who fresh out of training gets assigned to spy on undercover ICE, DEA and FBI agents, essentially an undercover-undercover agent.  Throughout the show, the main character slowly gets drawn into their lifestyle, and grows inappropriate loyalties with various members of this home of undercover agents.

            His boss soon becomes suspicious of his loyalties and begins spying on him. He later discovers this and turns on his boss. However he is reminded of his mission and emotionally separates himself from the home of undercover agents.

            I don’t cover all this information to bore you with a plot recap but to draw some clear comparisons between this scrawny undercover agent, and a scrawny journalism major from Greeley Colorado, with no apparent Hollywood upbringing or training. I wager that this scrawny young adult upon arriving in Hollywood must have felt similar emotions to the protagonist of Graceland. He is a stranger to those amongst whom he dwells, and a stranger to those from whence he came.  As his Hollywood career developed, he must have found himself being drawn deeper and deeper into a life he never expected to participate in. At some point he must have had an awakening, someone that cared about him deeply enough to tell him he was going down the wrong path. Perhaps this person was injured by his sudden change, similar to the story line of the boss, who is killed as a consequence of the agent’s inability to trust.

            Apart from just designing a television show. Graceland built an app, that allows viewers to participate more in the show. What this app allows is for users to sync up and follow the location and actions of every character in the show, and in the investigation of the scrawny young man at any given moment in the show. This app definitely gives the viewer a false sense of control. False because when we use it, yes we can see more of what is going on at once, but this information does not allow us to alter any future or past consequences throughout the narrative. I suspect that the creators perhaps designed the app with this in mind, helping us to come to their level of identity lost, knowing so much but in all reality knowing so little. Allowing us to experiment the same emotions that the protagonist and Eastin must have felt during their crisis.

            There is another relationship in this program that I would like to explore on a deeper level. Two of the agents living in the house seem to be constantly clashing throughout the show, but ironically they both have similar goals. One character is an ICE agent that lives with the regret of estranging his wife and son as a means for protecting them from the dangers of his career. Another agent in the home’s only desire is to make his fellow agents his family, because he has no one. The agent who has lost his wife and son pushes everyone away, especially this agent who wants them all to be family. It is ironic that these two clash so much when in all reality all they both want the same thing, to have a family.

            Overall I would wager that the complex issues of loss or lack of family life and identity are true reflections of the programs creator Jeff Eastin. The characters, the scripting, and the additional media outlets (apps) provided to experience Graceland point to an all to true life experience. The show was an opportunity for Eastin to communicate the confusion he lives by trying to assimilate to the life of a filmmaker in Hollywood, when he was raised and trained to be a Journalist in Greeley.

            I understand that the evidence to prove my thesis is limited. But one should not take to lightly the strongest of all evidences; Eastin is the stories creator, and thus his authorship will leave imprints of his own soul and experience on the media form. By using this complex story line, and new technology (iPad Apps) Eastin has allowed me personally to take a deeper look at my potential life, and the consequences of seeking a career in an industry often founded on deceit.