Y.Q Project proposal

First Draft

1/ What do you want to make?

This work will be presented in the form of video. I hope the structure of this video is experimental, non-linear narrative, interspersed with performances,2nd-hand archives. ▶[describe this better]

"XXXX" is a continuation project after my first video "Improvisation". It’s a further discussion about the current online environment in China (online identity disguise, the gradual dissolution of reality, the erratic history, and the invisible interference of political tactics) raised in the previous work. "XXXX" will use several characters (3 or 4) extracted from social space to narrate the main part of the work.(I will let them talk in their own space, maybe home, studio…and the space won’t be overlapped) The characters themselves represent virtual units, or "skins". ▶[Are they real actors or normal PPl] When the characters' voices run through the entire video work, it is the so-called "ontology" and the consciousness under the "skin" that stimulates the audience to reflect. They contain the consciousness and at the same time act as the disguises for the consciousness, providing it with a safe “abode”. I hope these actors can share their own experiences and stories, I will give all the improv part to the actors, and based on their stories, I may collect some video archives and second-hand materials ▶[Where do you want collect these?]to support. I want the narration and the film to be separated.I hope these different stories can be separated from these actors and become a resonance.

2/ How do you plan to make it?

I would like to start with the stories or personal experiences shared by my friends and then I film and edit. After that, I will look for some relevant materials according to the story: text, video archives, news reports, etc. as support.

3/ What is your timetable?

Oct-Nov Filming and Editing Nov-Dec Collecting and Writing Feb Final Editing, Colour Grading…

4/ Why do you want to make it?

I think this is a topic that is rarely discussed in China,This current online environment has made me lose many “channels” to understand the status quo of society, such as topics about the LGBTQ community and discussions about political and economic topics. I hope that through this video, I can express a state of isolation and helplessness when I faced with this situation, just like what I want to show in this film, I will isolate all the actors, they seem to be talking to themselves. That will show a feeling of loneliness and isolation. Of course, I am also paying attention to the politically intervention on social media, such as the fake news sent by the government to appease the masses. The online platform undoubtedly provides the best ways of disguise. This is also a point I hope to present directly in my works. By separating the sound and the image, I hope to make a hint to let the audience reflect on these sounds, whether the consciousness really comes from these actors, or these actors are just some "puppets", these consciousness does not come from them, I hope to express this kind of alienation of people, and the uncertainty brought about by online platforms, everyone in the digital community may become such a puppet, and under these skins, is the carnival of consciousness.

5/ Who can help you and how?

If I faced with some technical problems, such as editing, colour grading,3D models, I will find Barend. And maybe Simon could help with the structure of the script and film. And I think Rossella shared with me the film made by Agnès Varda, in her film, she only show a single photo, and she recounted a lot about her feelings about the photo in the narration. Maybe I also need to give some explanation about the video archives? ▶[ different perspective on the same events, based on point of view (for example European archive, Chinese archive, American archive, etc)]

6/ Relation to previous practice

This work is a continuation of my first video, and I hope to give some further discussions that are closer to reality, rather than just stop at theoretical research and personal research. I might add some visual elements from the first video to this work.I've been following this topic for a while, so I'm hoping to do some more in-depth and comprehensive research this semester.

7/ Relation to a larger context

I was thinking and trying to study the reasons behind this phenomenon, what caused this phenomenon to happen in China. That must related to the political or historical background in China, for example, after the Tiananmen Square Protests in 1989, (students called for greater accountability, constitutional due process, democracy, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech in this protest.)normal people gradually lost their voices in political participation due to the failure of this protest. From this large-scale social movement to the present, whether this act of restricting freedom of speech has been deepening. So I may do some research on this, and it would be helpful for me to better understand the current state. And I think this historical background can also be added to the film, because I prefer my actors(interviewees) are in different ages like 60s, 70s, 80s,90s.

8/ References/bibliography

The Medium is the Message - Marshall McLuhan\ Quentin Fiore

Living Bodies of Thought: The “Critical” in Critical Autoethnography - Stacy Holman Jones (not for thesis, only for creative method)

Duty Free Art - Hito Steyerl

Truth (How the Many Sides to Every Story Shape Our Reality) - Hector Macdonald

Im Schwarm: Ansichten des Digitalen - Byung- Chul Han

Recommendations :

Jonas Mekas  https://www.humboldtbooks.com/en/book/transcript-04-44-14-lithuania-and-the-collapse-of-the-ussr

Federica Zotti https://phroomplatform.com/federica-zotti/