Spring 2021 was the semester where I decided to make pivot from working in film to pursuing a video concentration within the Studio Art Major.
The course ‘Video in Context’ focused on video installation and the ways that video can shift our relationship to objects and space. In a world where screens are taken for granted, the class shifted my perception on how I interacted with video in my daily life.
My final project ‘Unboxing’ was my first foray into video art. Unboxing is about what it means to be a content creator on the internet, the relationship between the creator and the audience, and the struggle of existing within an online space. The video features Mason, an aspiring YouTuber who is struggling to find his niche, in which he attempts to directly talk to his audience for positive reaffirmations.
At the time, I was interested in how people presented themselves online through a camera. This was reflected in the process where I wrote a loose script and encouraged my actor to improvise for it to be natural and amateurish. The video itself was a long take where it was displayed on a CRT TV on the floor.
