I want to translate my poem, “Just a New York Poem” by Nikki Giovanni, into a film that emphasizes the people of the poem without actually including full shoots of them. With the opening lines, I can imagine directly replicating the line by having a shot of two people holding hands. Or maybe even shoots of two people’s feet while they’re running. From there, I want to have a laughing shot where you can actually see and hear the person laughing. For the next few lines, I want to include different scenery clips. These clips wouldn’t be random. They would be shots of places where love can be found, i.e., under a tree in a park, in a book store, a cafe, etc. For the line about clothing, I have the idea of a mirror video of a skirt twirling. Overall, the first part of the film should feel light-hearted and spontaneous. After that there’s a slight tone shift.
The cyclone line makes me think of spinning around at night with the streetlights on. I’d like to replicate that but through the eyes of the person spinning. For the hurricane line, my mind immediately goes to a somber clip of heavy rain. However, since weather may not be on my side, I also see the hurricane in a more figurative way. So the hurricane of someone’s life which could visually be trying to navigate through a cluttered room. For the lines about cocktails and steak, I actually want to subvert that moment. So rather than having shots of fancy dinners, it could be late-night runs for fast food. I think a really cool concept for the rejected violin player would be to have a shot of a subway performer. From “maybe some fall evening” to “new york begins,” I kind of want to bring back earlier clips but in the opposite order they first appeared. The only original clip that would change would be the laughing shot. This time, the person wouldn’t physically be in the shot but we’d still hear them laugh. Lastly, I would end the “yes?” line with a clip of an outstretched hand. These ideas are a bit ambitious but I want to make the film feel like a video collage filled with snapshots since that’s how the poem felt.
September 20, 2021 at 4:24 pm
Are you going to make the video of the skirt swirling– I would recommend that.
rejected violin player would be to have a shot of a subway performer. — LIKE THIS
— ad there are violin players– often in the times square station.
What is the argument for shooting fast food? Don’t get it. The point is shared food that is delighted in and that is somehow special.
This time, the person wouldn’t physically be in the shot but we’d still hear them laugh
This could work well– I would think about whose voice you want laughing– it’s important to get that laugh right, so have your or your actor rehears a number of times until it sounds like love.
What you need to be careful of is making your film too cluttered in the time frame limits you have. So, what could help with that is making sure there is unifying thread throughout. That could be simply the pacing of the poem itself. Will you/ an actor be reading it aloud or will it be text on the screen or a mixture? WIll you use the whole text either way?
September 20, 2021 at 10:25 pm
I love the plethora of images you have in mind. I agree with Prof Purves that a potential pitfall is perhaps the movie being crowded with too many images—but I see how there’s a justification in the pacing of the poem itself, so maybe it’s a question of how much you linger or speed through a particular image, and the pace at which the poem is read, as Prof. Purves noted.
Have you tried reading the poem aloud a few times? I think reading it aloud may also give you a sense of speed/pacing of the images, of how long you want to focus on each shot.
I think in reading the poem aloud you can also think about the different emotions that are conveyed by the images. What are the emotions that the poem elicited for you, and then how are these images you are bringing in bringing forth that emotion? Is there an “emotional story” you are trying to tell? It sounds like you are noting something light hearted maybe turning to something overwhelming and like a hurricane.
I’m really intrigued by the forwards-backwards order of the shots, too! What made you want to run through the shots backwards for those last lines of the poem? I like the idea of the contrast between expensive steak dinners and fast food, too, I think it could be a very fun visual joke, and you just may want to think of what’s the emotion that those lines are evoking whether you are showing a fancy steak or a Big Mac.
What are you thinking in terms of sound/music for this piece? (For example, is the twirling skirt paired with the “swish” of the material twirling around?). What do you want those sounds to evoke?
The outstretched hand image at the end sounds lovely and like it captures the question mark/open-handed request of the “yes?”