Oct 28,
1999
Film 200
in-class project
Roger Ing,
a painter came to Canada from China in the 1950's and purchased the Utopia
Café. He became well known around Regina
in the 80s through his paintings which he made and sold at his café, until its
closure a few years ago. His paintings often followed the abstract
expressionist model, but also included figures of cows, coke bottles, and
iconic religious or celebrity images. He includes collage in much of his work. His paintings were known as “Rogerisms”. At
noon today, Roger Ing will be listening to a lecture by new visual arts faculty
member David Garneau in UC 050.. Following that, he will speak for a few
minutes with other attendees at that talk. At 1:15, Roger will be in UC 233
where he will paint and/or draw for the benefit of this class. We will have
three groups, each with a high-8 video camera and a 60 minute tape, which will
document Roger’s University visit and create a portrait of him.
Decide
amongst your group who will do what roles. At the head of each tape, give a
verbal description of who is in the group and who is doing what job. You may
swap jobs within your group during the course of the class. Take opportunities
to speak as a group and suggest shots or approaches amongst each other.
Conserve your batteries! I do not expect you to shoot the entire tape.
Group 1 -
Follow Roger Ing, capturing his works as they are created and the things he
says. Roger likes to goof around in front of the camera but rarely speaks to
it. Make sure to get close ups of him working.
Group 2 -
Capture the mood of the event. Get wide shots, reaction shots, images of
previous art work, the mood of the room and of the world outside the room (ie:
does the weather or the events in the hallway affect the event as it
transpires?). Pay close attention to the image - get some interesting visuals
and compositions around the event.
Group 3 -
Interview people who are in attendance. At the end of the presentation in 050,
capture conversations (if any) between Roger and other people there. Determine
a short list of questions to ask people while Roger is painting. Begin with
asking if they were previously familiar with Roger and the Utopia Café. If so,
they likely have a story about how they first met him or where they have his
work hanging. Have a handful of questions for everyone. If you get someone
really interesting, don’t be afraid to got for a few minutes with him/her. Pay
attention to sound recording - have an external mic if possible or else stay
close to your subject.
Label your
tapes. I will collect them at the end of class. Have fun.
