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Writer's pictureMegan MacDonald

Creating a link to memory with objects

The use of slow motion proved to be effective in my last experiment. I was thinking of the physical action of remembering: some memories crash into the forefront of our brains without warning, and others slowly drift into view whilst trying to recall details of a particular incident. I wanted to incorporate both of these physiological experiences into my films, so that perhaps the viewer would experience, or be reminded of, the same physical effect.


The challenge came in recreating these occurrences in a tangible way. Often when we are lost in a memory, we are immersed in it without all that much thought being given to present actions or to the present moment at all; so that when we realize that we are "daydreaming" or inside of a memory and we realize it, the present oftentimes comes back suddenly. For me, this was most effectively communicated through quick cuts. The use of a cross dissolve or fade would have softened the transition too much, so I chose to cut right to the "present" in a way that would feel almost like a memory was being interrupted. I also enjoy the feel and look of people or objects slowly coming into focus, as though the memory itself has finally fully "loaded" and clarity of the memory is achieved. Also with objects, I realized that for me, when someone asks me about a particular event, it is the images of objects involved in that memory that come to me first. For example, I chose to use a video of pebbles in this experiment, because when remembering my recent trip to Skye (where I filmed much of this footage) the first image I see is discovering pebbles on the beach, because that was my favorite part of the trip. In this particular experiment (which I will add a link to at the end), I could have improved this effect by showing the object (pebbles) and immediately cutting to me picking the pebble up in a different location (on the beach). Unfortunately from a practical standpoint, I didn't get any footage of this because it was raining heavily and my camera batteries were dead. So with that being said, the important take-away is that I now know that if I show an object, I should attempt to show the memory that it is associated with. Without further ado, here is the link to my most recent experiment: https://youtu.be/wA4YxFqhF00


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