Project Four Critique: Maggie

1. What is your cold read, or initial reaction to the piece? After a single viewing what stood out to you about the work (this could be visual, sound, or narrative and possibly all three)?

I think the sound piece is really good and overall the film worked very well. There were some places that I thought were super successful, like the very last clip with the drum roll, the people walking, the fish eggs and the strainer (?) dipping into the pond. It was a really fun video to watch.

The pace was also really good. I liked the grainy quality of some of the images, too.

2. Was there something that pulled you into the piece, or made you want to go back and view it again?

I think the sound is really jazzy and cool, so I want to listen to that again. The words that come to mind when I initially think of the video are “fun” and “weird.” I would watch this twice in a gallery.

I really liked the pool strainer scene in the beginning and the cut to the fish eggs.

3. Upon subsequent viewings, how did your view of the piece change? Did you find yourself more, or less, engaged with it?

I was more engaged with it. I’m glad I got to watch it a few times – it gave me the chance to see the transitions a little better, and it was just as fun to watch the scenes I liked initially the second and third times.

4. If you were given the chance to make an edit of this piece what would you do (this can be anything from cutting parts, repeating current parts, adding new sections, changing color, sound, etc.).

The only parts that seem incongruous are the shots of trees and (maybe?) the boots in the second half of the video. I think Maggie brings the video to a really interesting, weird place in the second half, and the tree shots pulled me out of that a little bit.