The World, As It Is, A Stage

1. 'Mama Who Bore Me'
2. Soccer player running
3. Fencing with a stick
4. 'It's Raining Men'
4. Flame blown out

My 5x5 is based on the notion of performance. Webster's Dictionary defines performance as 'execution, accomplishment, fulfillment; operation or functioning; something done; deed or feat; a formal exhibition or presentation'. A performance is an action with intention--of entertaining, satisfying, enlightening, or bringing joy. Of the clips presented above, one was staged, one was impromptu, and the three between were reckonings, endeavors--moments, merely, but quests nonetheless. I leave it to you to decide the motive of each, the thoughts in each person's head as they sought--what? Why were they performing? Would it even have been a performance if it wasn't caught on tape? What is performance? I don't know. I just made the video.

All but one of the clips were made with a Sony Handycam. The second clip was made with a Canon Powershot S5IS. I edited my clips in Windows Live Movie Maker. I attempted to use WeVideo, but it was not in the mood to function.

I am not particularly pleased with my 5x5; that is to say, it's okay, and I'm not sure I could've made it better in the time I had, but I don't think it lived up to the possibilities offered by the 5x5 Challenge. 5x5s to me seem a terrific opportunity to let meaning and simplicity to weld together, but welding them is harder than it looks, and I don't think my 5x5 is as interesting as I was hoping, much less meaningful. For our next independent video challenge, I think it would be interesting if everyone picked a word out of a hat and made a 5x5 or short film about it. It could be what that word means to them (for example, what 'beauty' or 'normal' means), a direct demonstration ('dog', 'street'), or an adjective ('scary', 'funny'). Personally, I am very interested in and love filming people, so I'd be interested in learning more about street filming and getting good shots and angles on people and actions.