Process Project - by Chris and Leo

Our Sound Project : Balloon Animal

We focused on the process of creating a balloon animal by separating it into its individual steps and components:  stretching out the balloon, using the pump, tying the end, and bending and twisting the balloon into its animal shape.  We also included possible problems: the balloon flying off the pump and popping by overstretching. The form, obviously audio, provided a good arena for this process as each of the events described above provided unique sounds that added to the texture of the overall work. Finally, in the end, the recipient of the animal isn’t all that jazzed with the final product, despite all of the effort put into it. This problem of unappreciative recipients is not uncommon.  How many times have we been critical of a film, play, song that maybe ended up being something other than what we expected? 

In contrast, I heard of a film producer who, after each and every film he saw, would stand and applaud, knowing just how hard it is to get any film made.  Looking at the all the balloon animal steps helped to show us that a product cannot be fully understood without appreciating its process. Even the process of creating this piece; and the little bit of time that it took to brainstorm, plan, execute, and edit; gave us a greater appreciation for art in general, especially that of sound design, and the effort that is put into even a simple 1-2 minute audio work. But in even this short process of creation we as co-creators got to know each other better. When the process becomes the focus, appreciation for the product is enhanced, but, more importantly, a connection to the people involved in the process is strengthened.

We saw this in the short films that we watched with week. In “Scriptures” of course we gained insight and appreciation into the process of family scripture study. But even more importantly we gained a real human connection with Dean’s family as we witnessed scripture study unfold. Because we saw them perform a process we know them better. The same could be said of Commoner’s “The Smokehouse.” We don’t gain a connection with Rohan Anderson by simply seeing the finished smokehouse, we become connected with him, his life, as we participate in the process with him. In the end, humanity is found not in product but in the process.

It is easy to be fooled, when looking at process pieces, that nothing is happening. In Jacques Tati’s M. Hulot’s Holiday it might appear, at first, that plot or story is absent. Plot maybe, but story, no. Because the viewer has spent the entire process of vacation with M. Hulot, by the end the viewer finds herself wishing, with the rest of the characters, that they did not have to leave and that they will see him again. And so, the story is not entirely what unfolds on screen, but in the connection made between the viewer, the characters, and the filmmaker. Processes can do that. Processes, in reality, make up life, draw us closer together, and give us insight and appreciation for those whom we might not know otherwise.