Just ran across this very nice feature at the NYT Lens l Essence of Atmosphereby Nicole Bengiveno, produced by Andrew DeVigal and Josh Haner. Some fantastic images and a very sweet dedication to watch out for at the end. I didn't like the music, and it could have been shorter I think. Lots of repetitive [...]
Just ran across this very nice feature at the NYT Lens l Essence of Atmosphere
by Nicole Bengiveno, produced by Andrew DeVigal and Josh Haner. Some fantastic images and a very sweet dedication to watch out for at the end.
I didn't like the music, and it could have been shorter I think. Lots of repetitive images. Something to think about is the fact that I believe the editing process is being lost in multimedia projects. Seems like just becasue the web has unlimited space we want to use as much as we can. I really hope we can bring a strong sense of editing to our projects. I think this project would have been much better if there were less images and we got to linger on some of the really wonderful ones.
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17 Responses
I like the approach overall, certainly a mood piece and more artistic in intent. I didn’t mind the repetition in the piece but the sequencing seemed a little forced, maybe using the repetition in sequence to accentuate points or moods might of worked better. I can’t help but think a drag sutter video at about 2:04 would of really spiced things up. I also agree that shorter would of been better. I like the fact that it’s different and trying something a little off beat though.
offbeat —
the music of the piece sets a mood for the viewer. that’s why it was an audio slide show. The photos worked with the images one by one.
that’s the role of the audio slide show — the two have to work hand in hand.
if you want to linger on an image and the slide show does not contain ambient sound — that is what a photo gallery is for.
we as multimedia storytellers need to decide what the best way to present the story is.
the producer and photographer obviously worked hand in hand to produce a piece that sets a tone.
do me a favor turn out the lights set the laptop back a bit on the table — open a beer, lean back in your chair and watch the slide show again.
there is a sort of rain day feeling to it that is accentuated by the music.
– and of course if the photog got some ambient sound — it would have been much better —
-seth
Beautiful pictures, though I would agree that some of the repetitive pictures could have been cut… leave only the strongest images. I didn’t think the music enhanced the slide show… the moods seemed to clash, and the music was a little distracting. It almost seems like the music was chosen to complement the dedication to her mother – it was sweet, lazy Sunday afternoon music – melodic and nostalgic. Many of the images were moody, low key lighting, ethereal, impressionistic — “the essence of atmosphere.” It might also have been nice to use a piece of music that had varying rhythms, not always the same tempo.
Which are the repetitive images?? . I think it’s wonderful getting an insight into the parallel world that the photographer lives in, These images pokes at my imagination and momentarily puts me behind her minds eye as she traverses her daily life. The strength in doing these great multimedia slideshows is that you are somehow editing the flow of the whole project while you shoot and transirion into the next images. Of course there might be a few orphaned images that doesn’t seem to belong to the whole show but then who are we to dictate the feeling that they want to convey.
The music seems just right for this show. Mood is the most important part of our newest medium. Very nice job
Beautiful images and a nice idea. I wonder if the images were edited for the piece or was there a concept first and it was shot for this purpose?
The music sets a nice mellow, nostalgic mood but I think the images are far more sophisticated and could have benifitted from music that matched that sophistication – string quartet, cool jazz, etc.
Overall, very enjoyable!
I have to agree with the initial post, tighter editing would have helped this piece. I really like the idea, but I only needed to see one subway blur shot and I too wanted to linger on the really cool shots.
I think tony is right and that jazz might have been a better musical choice. On that note, pun intended, I hope that the NYT got permission to use the music with that piece. As issues about rights and usage continue to become more prominent in our field, I hope we as photographers and multimedia journalists respect other artist’s rights and work.
don’t get me wrong, i loved this piece. Mostly for the images and the obvious mood they successfully set. For me the images were strong enough to stand alone without the music.
I disagree with seth about a click-through or gallery show when you want to linger on an image.
I look at it this way–when we present images in an art gallery(brick and mortar) or on the printed page (book or newspaper) we decide to ‘tell’ the viewer which images they should look at longer or more intently by running/printing/presenting those images LARGER. we as multimedia storytellers have the same responsibility. we should not be
afraid to let the best images stay on the screen longer (thus telling the viewer, “really look at me.”)
in terms of the music i agree with seth that -
“that’s the role of the audio slide show — the two have to work hand in hand.”
but that was exactly my problem with this show. they didn’t go hand in hand for me, they went two different directions. the master of this technique is martin scorsese. watch any of his films and wait for the music. the music choice always seems to work.
this piece, because of the music, took me in two directions, which was a distraction. but that’s just me.
in terms of repetative images, how many images of the train passing do you need to set the tone? there were at least four. also did the piece really need three puddle reflections turned upside down?
maybe the answer is YES. but for me it was no.
don’t get me wrong, i, in no way posted this piece or care to post projects on this site and be critical of them, that’s just not good karma. maybe i should have saved my ‘rant’ for a seperate post.
i just thought it was a good time to point out, what i feel is a general lack of editing in most multimedia projects on the web. i love this discussion, but i hate that it is taking away from this wonderful piece by nicole. next time i will post my work and start this kind of discussion.
tnxs,
-r
r
I don’t think you should feel you need to ‘defend’ yourself or the piece. My impression was that you liked it, but it raised some good points that you want a dialogue about.
You are absolutely correct that ‘we,’ whomever ‘we’ are, need to learn a new visual language, or at least understand how the visual language we know works on the web.
I think it would be much stronger with a tighter edit, almost every multimedia piece is. I do like the fact that Nicole Bengiveno and NYT ‘went for it’ and put the piece out there. All too often the print journalism I see falls back on formulas, instead of trying something new and succeeding or failing but doing something fresh.
no it’s good that you posted this piece and gave your take — some folks out in the multimedia world post comments yet have nothing to show that they can do the work themselves — and you can do the work and are a good shooter — the fact that people are commenting is proof of concept.
This site needs to promote dialogue among multimedia storytellers, to promote conversation. We must continue to evolve this medium.
and I WILL GO BACK TO — we as storytellers must decide what makes a good audio slide show. what makes a good gallery? when can you linger on an image?
When is one image with long sound ok?
Coming up with good reasons for these questions will help the medium to evolve and help improve the work that is being produced on the net.
-sg
what about the use of music in this?
NYTIMES
granted it has photographer voiceover but the music drives the story — as it works hand in hand with voiceover.
-sg
I loved Nicole’s moody and evocative images but I think the song was totally distracting, primarily because of the lyrics and the “folk/country” sound juxtaposed with “city” images. The photos convey to me a sense of internal heartache related to her mother’s illness. The only thing that could have made the visual presentation stronger was a tighter edit and varying the length each of the images is displayed. In this case, LINGERING on some of her best images would have changed the pacing. Other than that it totally rocked.
I saw that piece the other day. It came across as self-indulgence — hey, we forced a theme out of some pretty pictures! — rather than a coherent package.
a little harsh on your comment JD.
all photography is:
Self-indulgence (Self`-in*dul”gence) (?), n.
Indulgence of one’s appetites, desires, or inclinations;
it doesn’t make the intent or final product bad.
seth, i think the photog’s journal piece you posted above works fine, right music for the piece and the narration is fine because he is talking about his own images, he is the authority giving us the backstory.
tnxs for the link, nice show, some fine images.
-r
I liked the pictures a lot. The music, though, was irritating because, as Susanna pointed out, there’s a gap between the visual message and the sound. Here’s a great example how music and pictures can make a perfect fit: Requiem in Samba (Magnum)
fabian nice catch. i couldn’t agree more.