Keep Watching Vo. 2: Police Pepper Spray Protesters
Police officers pepper spray UC Davis students with countless digital recording devices capturing the event. Digital counter surveillance--namely what we see happening as protesters become citizen journalists by turning digital cameras on the system that is meant to protect them, can arguably be seen as a tactic of the #OWS movement. Time will only tell if, in fact, these are tactics of the movement that can work to transform policies in the long run. In the meantime, keep watching.
"A police officer uses pepper spray on an Occupy Portland protester at Pioneer Courthouse Square, Oregon" (via The Guardian).
Video of UC Davis students being pepper sprayed by the police.
Story Melodies Vol. 2: A Tale of Two Cities
Story Melodies Vol. 2: A Tale of Two Cities is the next installment of Story Melodies from tara l. conley and marks the beginning of the next phase of documenting the life and times of New Orleans and survivors of hurricane Katrina. This project will develop into a significant piece of social commentary that takes a critical look at a city filled with so much culture and history yet still remains in turmoil after the levees broke.
Story Melodies are short vignettes produced by tara l. conley that incorporate musical and visual elements about stories of the everyday. Story melodies present social commentary by thoughtfully interweaving audio and visual elements with the unique stylistics of documentary maker tara l. conley. Some Story Melodies are complete in their final form, others may be transformed into a larger and more expansive films for mass public view. For tara, stories are melodies in the key of life.
To view more Story Melodies from tara l. conley please visit our Vimeo page.
All photography by tara l. conley
Story Melodies Vol. 1: Coming of Age in the City
Story Melodies Vol. 1: Coming of Age in the City from Media Make Change on Vimeo.
Story Melodies Vol. 1 is the first of a series of upcoming digital shorts. Coming of Age in the City highlights the stories of three individuals living in New York City. Their stories are weaved together by the sounds of some of the world's most talented street and subway musicians.
I came up with the idea to begin a series of stories that read like the music we hear. I set out to explore and capture the paradox of sound and image, both of which asks us to consider, what does the image sound like and what does sound look like? Through the paradox we can find meaning.
Because of this project, I've been able to explore nearly every facet of my imagination. I've engaged with my favorite art forms, video and photography, and Ive discovered brilliant sounds of music along the way. After months of collecting sounds and images, I hope to have created a visual and audio work in concert.
I am sincerely thankful to all of the street and subway musicians I listened to along the way. A few listed below:
The Crowd (http://wearethecrowd.com)
Alex Lo Dico Ensemble (http://alexlodico.com)
Charlie Guitar (http://nyccharlie.com/)
Made Over (Youtube: bryken89)
The Meetles (http://meetles.com/)
If anything, through this project I learned that stories are the melody in the key of life. (Hat tip to Stevie Wonder ;-)
Enjoy.
A Trailer by tara
The following trailer is for an upcoming short video/film about people and puppets. Stay tuned!
A Trailer from Media Make Change on Vimeo.
A Short by Tara
The following is short film I created for a graduate course in Video As Art. Here I play with direction, movement, time, space, area, and size by juxtaposing architectural design to people, all of which surround the iconic Apple symbol located on 5th Ave in New York City. Music by De La Soul "I Am I Be". YouTube disabled the sound when I uploaded because I used a De La Soul track. YouTube sucks for that, however, the silent version is still an interesting video.
Now take a look at the video with sound. By the way, Vimeo is awesome because they allowed me to keep the soundtrack.
A Short from Media Make Change on Vimeo.
Interpretations welcome. All photography and video by Tara L. Conley.