Jonathan Dale's essay "Brian Eno" is essentially about the musician Brian Eno who creates performances and recordings for visual media and how the connection between his creation of the music and the actual visual counterpart is created and analyzed. I found it interesting how the music for a visual piece is actually carefully found to fit. In many films I have seen, preassembled music is taken and used as just "filler", however for Eno, the music he made matched the film in specific ways. One example is the loop structure of the film "Berlin Horse" which is reciprocated in Eno's music. Today this sort of matching can be seen very often. Other ways Eno's music is used is in conveying mood. For example his ambient music is put to the background as a "part of the hum of the everyday". Although the music isn't eye-opening, it gives that ambient feel to create authenticity in the film.
Brian Eno’s ambient music created in the 1970s and 1980s demonstrates the narrative effect that song structure can provide in film. Slow moving loops were composed with a focus on time rather than music. At the same time, filmmakers were also experimenting with the temporal quality of film. Eno created slow moving loops using barely audible elements stacked vertically on the main notes. This contrasted with the horizontal development of music. Eno’s audiovisual installations beginning in 1979 create a total environment that shades rather than dominates the experience of those that pass by. In the same ambient form as his music for film, he narratives an experience that quietly engages the viewer. His avoidance of classical genres generates new ideas in combining audio and visual elements.
This article discusses Brian Eno’s thinking and approach to his music in regards to visual media. Jonathon Dale uses the example of Berlin’s Horse to draw a parallel to Eno’s musical score and Malcolm LeGrice’s “structural/materialist filmic style. It seems the most obvious connection is in the looping; LeGrice using ‘loop printing’ and Eno use of “loops and phase patterns” (482). I found the following quote very interesting, “The loops within Eno’s soundtrack are not entirely contiguous to the loops within LeGrice’s film; running at a different pace, the soundtrack parallels the film on the level of structure or design as opposed to rigidified temporality” (483). This quote underscores the connection between Eno’s music and structural film according to my understanding of it from this article. Meaning, structural film itself is temporal, but not in a rigid way. It it meant to step away from the illusionism of Hollywood film and engage the viewer actively. It does this by drawing attention to the film work itself, not the narrative, making for a temporal experience. As Dale states, “structural/materialist film aims to involve the spectator within the process of the film’s construction/interpretation instead of forcing a pre-determined meaning upon them. It seems to me that Eno’s work in music is very similar to this idea. By the addition of repetition and verticality and the removal formulaic pop music narrative, Eno’s music forces the listener to become active in listening, not being able to rely on their preconceived notion of what a song is.
I do not suppose I will be able to get used to the idea of "audio painting" any time soon, since I have generally been immersed in the more visual side of it, but Johnathon Dale's Brian Eno: Discreet Vision made me understand the concept, if only a little more. It is peculiar to think that even ambient music had to be "experimented" on before becoming labeled and recognized as such, but everything must have a beginning.
The concept of the music is really such a structural part in film and other visual media, because it is generally the thing that sets the overall tone of a piece. Eno's specific focus on short musical pieces designed for theoretical short films really exemplifies how dedicated he is to the science of audio and music.
As with what seems to be most artists of the avant-garde generation, I am certain Eno has done some rather strange experimenting on music and developed peculiar pieces not at all similar to what we are used to nowadays....
In this article, Jonathon Dale explains Brian Eno's formulated genre "ambient music" by using the works he created for visual media.In Malcolm Legrice's film "Berlin Horse," Eno uses creates a soundtrack that mimics the structure of the film. The visual aspect of the film has "'found' footage of a horse in training, trotting in a circle on a leash (46)." this loop structure works well with the soundtrack that Eno created; He made a soundtrack that loops to copy the idea of repetition in the film. He creates ambient music; He creates the music to provide a space to think for urban dwellers (49).
Jonathan Dale's essay on Brian Eno focuses on Eno's creativity and the importance of context and the need for engagement with creative expression on many different levels(45). I found it interesting that Eno was looking to attract attention not by using the plot, or story line, but by going beyond the surface and paying close attention to the soundtrack and its construction, such as in "Berlin Horse." Dale suggests that the composition of a film has more to do with time than with music. and mentions the "vertical harmonic spectrum" which determines the color of sound and how the audience interprets it(47). Eno's audio-visual combinations within his work create an environment that attracts attention. Instead of music being a narrative form, Eno uses it to have the audience become a part of his film. His new approach to sound and vision is a part of being an artist, to see what works and what doesn't.
This week’s article “Brian Eno: Discreet Vision” by Jonathan Dale breaks the conventional boundaries between motion picture and music that were popularly held in early 1900s. The creation of Berlin Horse piece were the emphasis were not on the content of the piece but the dimensions of medium is a unique testament to those who underplay the capabilities of the video and audio mediums. Initially, when I witnessed a few pieces of audio-video disorientation in this class, I could not appreciate the idea behind those pieces and I strongly held to the conventional notions of visual audio presentations. Through this article, I have sensed that the pieces created by Eno were not artistic but technical in respect to exploring the capabilities of music mediums through loop printings and rephotography. This piece highlights the technical viewpoint of repetition with variation and opens so many perspective windows in interpretation. I believe that I can relate to this article from the perspective of an engineer better than an artist. After all, engineering a working model is an art in itself.
Brian Eno is one of the most important musicians of the modern age. He developed ambient music, and has contributed much to modern music and cinema through his abstract work. Brian Eno: Discreet Vision speaks about this to some extent. Eno practices both traditional and abstract works of musical art, and composes much music for film. He used to be in glam rock band Roxy, which I particularly enjoy. However, Eno is known for diverting from classical forms of musical narrative. Instead of telling a story or part of a story in a given interval of a song, Eno develops an atmosphere. This atmosphere may conjure images of a world or scenery, but is not done explicitly, rather abstractly and emotionally. This makes Eno’s work well suited for installations and soundtracks, both of which he does. Berlin Horse shows some of Eno’s earliest work, by which patterns of his strategies already appear. Prominent among these is the theme of loops. Like the Berlin Horse footage, Eno’s tracks contain many self-contained loops. To me, this seems a now common method of developing abstract music and film. Most of the examples we have seen in class use this strategy.
In Jonathan Dale’s article Brian Eno: Discreet Vision, it talks about Eno’s creation of ambient music in the mid-1970s and how he influenced the film industry with his unique style of music. Instead of music just for a film, Eno creates music as though it can stand on its own, however when it is combined with film, the piece becomes more elegant and beautiful. It is interesting how Eno’s experimental music pieces became such a huge hit in the film industry since many experimental pieces nowadays are not generally known or liked by the public. Another interesting point is that his music is slow and builds up slowly which many composers and sound designers use today in films. Eno also creates music more as an environment and not as a narrative. Again I am amazed at how artistic music making is and how important it is when it comes to the creation of a film.
In this article about Brian Eno, it shows Eno’s ties into the visual art world. In the film “Berlin Horse” by Legrice, he creates a soundtrack that is parallel is structure and design, but not necessarily together in time. In the film, there are continuous loops and repetition, and Eno is able to mimic that structure, but not necessarily copy the entire design from the film. The two pieces are in sync in a special way. In the 1970’s and 80’s, Eno then breaks down and dissolves the fundamental song structure as a force and shifts the temporal discernment. Eno moved away from the materialist style of music and towards a vertical harmonic style. Eno’s visual works has broken harsh, corporate scenery down into its fundamentals, the architecture. Many of his audiovisual work contrast the fast pacing movement of pop music videos. He breaks the continuous sense of force, and creates something slow and enthralling.
"Brian Eno: Discreet Vision" is an article that describes the productions of Eno as a composer for certain audiovisual pieces of artwork. The videos that incorporate Eno's music tend to have many loops and repeating portions, which actually allows the video and the audio to combine very nicely. However, the audio is not synchronized with the visuals at all. Rather, the concepts of loop and repetition within the two media are so remarkably similar that it allows this blend to break the precedent structure set by earlier films. I feel that this technique can create statements that the normal method of matching shots with the music cannot.
I liked reading that LeGrice’s work was rather ”film-as-medium” than ”film-as-narrative”- content and that Eno’s structure of Berlin Horse was “attention to the materiality of the medium”. Since we discussed in last Lab/Studio with professor Trigilio how sound/music can help or sometimes destroy the film it was interesting to read about Eno’s and others use sound and composition. “Eno is moving beyond typical music making processes and addressing …the ‘vertical’ elements of music”.
In the article by Jonathan Dale, “Brian Eno: Discreet Vision”, he explains the aesthetics and complimentary effects of ambient music within abstract video art. In a portion of his essay he describes the “cumulative power of loops and repetition” (483) within both film and music. I think this technique of layering two similar types of medium can immerse the viewer into a meditative state therefore placing the audience into a deeper state of thought. He also goes into the aesthetics of ambient music and how it requires a great deal of time and “sprawl” (485) in order for his loops to create a full “360”. This aspect of ambient music truly reflects on abstract video. Long stationary shots of a certain object of landscape allows the film to build a foundation of place, time or atmosphere. Similarly to ambient music, it engulfs the viewer and allows them to truly understand the atmosphere and “mood” of the scene.
This article discusses how Brian Eno created ambience, through utilizing sound and music in film to complement and parallel what was being seen on screen, adding to the visual effect rather than taking away from it or ruining it altogether. For example, in one of Eno's earliest sound works, "Berlin Horse," it is explained that even though the soundtrack is not exactly created to be contiguous and at the same pace as the film, it still complements LeGrice's film in structure/design and makes it a much more stronger and meaningful piece. Eno uses more "vertical" elements of music, or slightly audible sounds that are "stacked vertically on the primary note itself," rather than the horizontal narrative of typical music (chords, lyrics, pop, rock, etc.). I really liked the analogy in the article of how Eno's work is a perfume, his ambience is used to give the film a bit of an extra oomph, but nothing too strong or overpowering that it affects the overall film in a bad way. In conclusion, I completely agree with the article, a perfect amount of ambience and sound can go a long way in aiding the overall visual and audio aspects of film, but if misused it can completely take away from the film's meaning and impact.
Jonathon Dale's essay "Brian Eno: Discreet Vision," tell about Brian Eno, the great music composer and his attempt in experimental music. I agree how Eno think film and music as two separate lives that collaborate with each other but not made to match each other. His concept is well expressed in Malcolm Legrice's film "Berlin Horse" as if the soundtrack is telling a narrative at the same time that has the similar structure of the film. The visual and music are rather parallel to one another. As what Dale says, "whereas painters often limit themselves to the one format or context, Eno is a habitual dabbler in the best art forms and in the process uncovering new theories and new hybrids."
In the article, Brian Eno: Discreet Vision, by Jonathon Dale talks about how Eno's music interacts and collaborates with LeGrice's visual art. This article goes along with yesterday's lecture on abstraction. LeGrice's film is less narrative and more of pure phenomenon, which could be interpreted as abstraction. He treats the film as the medium rather than in a narrative concept. LeGrice explains how he wants to explore then opposite of what is dominant in the tv culture today. The significance in the Berlin Horse by LeGrice is in the structure. There is no significant story behind it as much, yet the loop structure and the vivid colors used is what brings forth the uniqueness and beauty in the material quality. With this, Eno creates sound and music in the background that goes along with the film's level of structure and design than the "rigidified temporality" . This is abstract in how the beauty of the film is within the form and structure rather than the idea or story told in the film. I never explored the concept of abstraction, yet I find it very interesting from this article that there is different types of method to illustrate an idea or expression.
Eno's background in structural filmmaking and mainstream pop and rock music developed his craft as audiovisual artist. Eno's work with LeGrice and other artists in film and video demands the spectator to perceive the medium past the narrative; to understand it for its profundity as a canvas for manipulating the spectator's perception of the medium through temporal, visual and emotional means. His approach is Brechtian in a way that he desires for his spectators to step out of the conventional (Hollywood) perception of passively consuming the medium. He demands his audience to question what is on the screen through the "phenomena" (technical strategies) of structural film, such as fixed frame, loop printing and rephotography. Eno's work in structural filmmaking aims to criticize the conventions of Hollywood cinema. Similar is his work in music, and it is interesting to note that Eno cultivated his heterodox musical discipline through collaborations with mainstream rock and pop bands like U2. Like in structural film, Eno's work in music also the medium as a canvas: to stage a mise en scene for the listener. However, unlike his Brechtian approach to filmmaking, Eno lets his audience consume his ambient works passively. He wants his audience to envelop themselves in a realistic environment, i.e. a bustling city scene or by the river banks. His work challenges the conventional, compressed 3-4min standard song structures created by mainstream bands like U2. His music distorts the listener’s perception of “real time” by immersing their auditory perception to commonplace sounds heard in cityscapes or landscapes. Eno’s work continues to inspire artists and their art forms today, as understood in the article author Jonathan Dale’s work in painting. His work engages artists to challenge conventions and remain critical of how they project their work to audiences.
In Jonathon Dale’s “Brian Eno: Discreet Vision,” he discusses Eno’s contribution to sound design by creating ambient music. He first introduces Berlin Horse, a film for which he created a soundtrack. The music is structured to correlate with the “loop structure of the film” (483). Eno experimented with making music that is “vertical” (485) and has no narrative. I was quite intrigued and I decided to listen to some of his ambient music, including “Music for Airports.” It was interesting to listen to the first pieces of this genre. Although Dale discusses the mechanics of the music, much of the essay is focused more on the intention of Eno’s work. Ambient music was and is intended to simply occupy a space, “shading” (489) it rather than “distracting passers-by” (489). I enjoyed the idea that Eno is a painter who parallels the work of someone like Robert Rauschenberg who used a bed rather than canvas. Eno is a painter who simply uses a different object, or in this case, space, to “[paint]” (490).
If you look at Berlin House, the film explores much in the color and form, rather than the narrative. In the same way, Eno explored much in the field of sound to experiment how sound can be used in abstraction. He went against the norm of the sound that just synced with the subject on film. Instead he went on to experiment using different looping and ambient sounds. Although the sound was abstract, the sound did not play against the images on film. He carefully created the sound so that the combination of the abstraction of images of LeGrice and the abstraction of sounds by Eno really created a new art form that captivated the audience.
The article allowed me to see that music in film isn't always created in a simple manner or even to merely accentuate the visualizations. Eno seems to put a lot of effort and emotion into his pieces, and channels a lot of personal energy into the music. For example, his choice of using tape loops arise from his fascination of tape recorders. I had thought before that the soundtrack of a film was created pragmatically, to fit the overall mood and theme. However, I can see now that the music is in fact an art. In addition, the fact that the music is created prior to filmmakers is interesting. I think this allows the musician, Eno in this case, to create a piece with much more creativity and less boundaries than if he had to create it specifically for a film and within its boundaries.
In the article "Brian Eno: Discreet Vision," by Jonathan Dale, it discusses Eno’s use of music in film in the mid-1970s and how his soundtracks influenced films in the following decades. Eno was the creator of ambient music, a genre still listend to to this day. Eno integrated this idea of ambient music to video in order to create a more fulfilling multi-sensory experience. Musically, Eno's work could be enjoyed, but its integration with film media is what was really remarkable. Eno related his music, full of loops and repitition, to film, which features the same sort of structure. With this mindset, Eno was able to make soundtracks that worked seamlessly with visuals. In the LaGrice film, "Berlin Horse," it is clear that Eno's soundtrack added to the experience of the film, which lacked narrative. In the last lecture, Michael spoke about how music can either add or take away from the overall effectiveness or experience of a film. Referring back to last week's article, George Lucas stated that the visuals is only half of the film experience, with music making up the second half. Eno seems to think of the movie experience in a similar light.
In the article "Brian Eno", Jonathon Dale introduces to us a talented music composer Brian Eno. Jonathon uses some films and soundtrack processing examples to analyze Brian Eno. He focus on Eno's engagement with visual midis and discussing the parallels between Eno's thinking and his visual ''counterpoint'. Eno likes to think different kinds of possibilities between soundtrack and films. The film "Berlin Horse" which he worked with has shown in several forms. It is in tandem with the loop structure of film. Moreover, Eno's soundtrack always connects with the film because he concers about the cumulative power of loops and repetition. The soundtrack draws from minimal means, accessing a simple approach to composition. His use of loops and phase patterns are paralleled. Eno working through a complex set of ideas and music and cultures, inventing new genres of music and refining an approach to music's formal and qualities. He perferring his music to be environment instead of the immersion. I think Eno is a creative artist and music man. He tries to start new ways to do art and music. That's is what we need to learn as an artist.
This week's reading "Brian Eno:Discreet Vision" by Jonathan Dale engages with Brian Eno, the English musician who is known as one of the principal innovator of ambient music.The article explains the theoretical concerns regarding to both visual and audio audiovisual media from Eno's perspective and shows the relationship between his creation in music and art.Music is playing an important role as a construction in films and installations .In the example of Malcolm Legrice's film "Berlin Horse" ,Eno convey the authenticity through his soundtrack and shows the loop structure match with the film.It is interesting that he is not using the music as a narrative form, but combining the sound and vision for creating an environment that make the audience feel alive.
Reading about Brian Eno's work showed me a new way of looking at the intersection of audio and video. I generally am more interested in the visual aspect of media, but now I see that sight and sound can carry much of the same significance.
To a large extent, Eno takes an ambient, naturalistic approach to sound production. In my mind, I relate this to outdoor photography and ambient light. As a photographer, I would find it absurd to capture all of my images in a studio environment. There is simply so much more to capture outside. Why should it be any different with sound? Eno gladly takes advantage of the world of sound so many others overlook, and what he creates is refreshingly new.
Other aspects of Eno's genius lie with his interdisciplinary approach to media. Rather than relying on set formulas, he expands what is possible not only with sound, but with media as a whole. One instance mentioned in the text is his audiovisual installations that he showed in a variety of public spaces. In these works, he seeks to make immersive, yet not overpowering ambient environments of sound. I find it quite tasteful that such an experimental artist would cater to the needs of harried travelers...
Clearly, Brian Eno has had a successful career, not only with his work for popular music groups like U2, but also in the avant-garde. Instead of relying exclusively on a set of musical instruments and pop stars, Eno is able to capture his audience with pure ambiance. He may well be the modern "Renaissance Man" of multimedia.
In Jonathan Dale article, "Brian Eno: Discreet Vision", he introduces Brian Eno new genre of "ambient music", that proves to be a manifestation of his interest in the audience engagement and his creative temperament. Brian sucessfully introduced a new perception of visual installation and sound. Some of Eno's instrumental albums such as the Music For Airports and Discreet Music, and his soundtrack for films such as Berlin Horse exemplified his creativity and thinking of the "importance of context and multi-inter-disciplinarity; [and] the need for engagment with creative expression on many different levels". (481) Berlin Horse soundtrack was a prime example of Eno's work that included "repetive sound work and avant garde or experimental cinema" (482) that led him to his audio-video installations. Eno's motivation for his ambient music was to allow his audience to engage and imagine themselves in the realistic environment in which he attempts to portray.
In the Dale article, what I found to be the most interesting was the polarization between the intent of Eno's work in "Berlin Horse," and that of LeGrice (and most other materialist, avant garde styled filmmakers). Dale touches upon the the shared usage of looping in "Berlin Horse," as well as in Eno's piece for the film, but reveals the differentiation of the pacing and speed of looping in the film and soundtrack. The differentiation continues as Dale states that the intent for materialist filmmakers was to engage with the audience and lead them to question the authority of the purpose of the visual. In contrast to these filmmakers, Eno's intent in his ambient works was to create a passive listener through looping, manipulating the sounds to become repetitive and habitual, as though they are a part of everyday sounds. I found it interesting that Eno's worked with many materialist filmmakers because the intent for their pieces (film and soundtrack separately) do not share the same principle, but when the works are paired together, another message and affect is present.
Jonathon Dale’s essay “Brian Eno: Discreet Vision” examines Brian Eno’s works to draw attention to his engagement with visual media and sound. The Berlin Horse, an abstract film by LeGrice that explores colors and form rather than narrative, is among the earliest work that showcases Eno’s soundtrack. Like the film, Eno’s music calls forth the power of loops and repetition. Eno’s music loops in tandem with the film, but the loops are not entirely contiguous to the loops within the film. The soundtrack plays at a different pace, but parallels the film in terms of structure and design. Eno’s interests in “non-narrative, repetitive sound work and avant-garde or experimental cinema” eventually lead to his innovated audio-visual installations.
In the article Brian Eno: Discreet Vision. Jonathan Dale discusses the great composer Brian Eno’s experimentation with different styles of sound to create ambient music. Eno’s ability to distinguish sound from movies was groundbreaking. In the film Berlin Horse, one of his earlier works, Eno strategically designed the soundtrack to associate with the loop structure of the film. The parallel correlation of sound and images brought a completely different perspective on how we view media in general. I especially found this article very interesting because I always understood the significance of sound and visual coordination in films. This article puts in perspective the technical aspect of ingemination. Eno’s unconventional approach to sound design expanded the many possibilities on both sound and images in film.
In his article, "Brian Eno: Discreet Vision," Jonathan Dale discusses musician Brian Eno's works as they pertain to visual media. Dale contends Eno's musical installations are more than just music applied to film, but rather "...one intervention in an ongoing debate..." For example, Dale attributes the efficacy of Eno's music in the film Berlin Horse to the synchrony between Eno's looped score and the loop structure of the film itself. Dale asserts, "Brian Eno's music, particularly his ambient music of the 1970s and 1980s, relies on chromatics and timbre in order to dissolve fundamental/classicis song structure as narratice force and dictatorial discourse." Next Dale briefly discusses some of Eno's song-works from the 1970s, to which he attributes "This decade saw Eno working through a complex set of ideas about music and culture, inventing new genres of music and refining an approach to music's formal and sensual qualities that was equal parts serious and ludic."
Initially, in reading this article, I found it difficult to fully conceptualize Dale's descriptions of Eno's works, due to my very limited understanding of music as it is applied to film and Eno's works. However, I felt inspired enough by this article to do some research on ambient music and on Brian Eno, which definitely helped clarify Dale's essay. In fact, I'm listening to Eno's work Thursday Afternoon, as I'm writing this--and I really am enjoying it. Generally it's very difficult for me to listen to any form of music and maintain concentration (I normally work in quiet), however I am pleasantly surprised by how peaceful and unobtrusive Eno's work, Thursday Afternoon, is.
Brian Eno’s music focuses on the subtle submergence of the listener in to an altered state of perception. Eno’s music does not plunge the listener into its narrative but instead it allows the listener to willingly fall into it. Eno states that he “deliberately create slow-stimulus atmospheres” that as Ross describes are “designed to “tint” the environment rather than dominate it.” To this point having listened to his music I agree. The composition of the tracks he has created work to illuminate the subject of a piece rather than to become the subject themselves. The sounds don’t envelope the space that they are presented in instead they alter the space and help to alter ones mood subliminally. This is accomplished by the music’s low tonal values, monochromatic melodies and the repetitive long stretches of recordings which mirror the palpations of a heartbeat of foot step creating a slow yet barely perceivable forward momentum to his pieces.
Jonathan Dale's essay "Brian Eno" is essentially about the musician Brian Eno who creates performances and recordings for visual media and how the connection between his creation of the music and the actual visual counterpart is created and analyzed. I found it interesting how the music for a visual piece is actually carefully found to fit. In many films I have seen, preassembled music is taken and used as just "filler", however for Eno, the music he made matched the film in specific ways. One example is the loop structure of the film "Berlin Horse" which is reciprocated in Eno's music. Today this sort of matching can be seen very often. Other ways Eno's music is used is in conveying mood. For example his ambient music is put to the background as a "part of the hum of the everyday". Although the music isn't eye-opening, it gives that ambient feel to create authenticity in the film.
ReplyDeleteBrian Eno’s ambient music created in the 1970s and 1980s demonstrates the narrative effect that song structure can provide in film. Slow moving loops were composed with a focus on time rather than music. At the same time, filmmakers were also experimenting with the temporal quality of film. Eno created slow moving loops using barely audible elements stacked vertically on the main notes. This contrasted with the horizontal development of music.
ReplyDeleteEno’s audiovisual installations beginning in 1979 create a total environment that shades rather than dominates the experience of those that pass by. In the same ambient form as his music for film, he narratives an experience that quietly engages the viewer. His avoidance of classical genres generates new ideas in combining audio and visual elements.
This article discusses Brian Eno’s thinking and approach to his music in regards to visual media. Jonathon Dale uses the example of Berlin’s Horse to draw a parallel to Eno’s musical score and Malcolm LeGrice’s “structural/materialist filmic style. It seems the most obvious connection is in the looping; LeGrice using ‘loop printing’ and Eno use of “loops and phase patterns” (482). I found the following quote very interesting, “The loops within Eno’s soundtrack are not entirely contiguous to the loops within LeGrice’s film; running at a different pace, the soundtrack parallels the film on the level of structure or design as opposed to rigidified temporality” (483). This quote underscores the connection between Eno’s music and structural film according to my understanding of it from this article. Meaning, structural film itself is temporal, but not in a rigid way. It it meant to step away from the illusionism of Hollywood film and engage the viewer actively. It does this by drawing attention to the film work itself, not the narrative, making for a temporal experience. As Dale states, “structural/materialist film aims to involve the spectator within the process of the film’s construction/interpretation instead of forcing a pre-determined meaning upon them. It seems to me that Eno’s work in music is very similar to this idea. By the addition of repetition and verticality and the removal formulaic pop music narrative, Eno’s music forces the listener to become active in listening, not being able to rely on their preconceived notion of what a song is.
ReplyDeleteanywherei90 = Amy M
ReplyDeleteI do not suppose I will be able to get used to the idea of "audio painting" any time soon, since I have generally been immersed in the more visual side of it, but Johnathon Dale's Brian Eno: Discreet Vision made me understand the concept, if only a little more. It is peculiar to think that even ambient music had to be "experimented" on before becoming labeled and recognized as such, but everything must have a beginning.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of the music is really such a structural part in film and other visual media, because it is generally the thing that sets the overall tone of a piece. Eno's specific focus on short musical pieces designed for theoretical short films really exemplifies how dedicated he is to the science of audio and music.
As with what seems to be most artists of the avant-garde generation, I am certain Eno has done some rather strange experimenting on music and developed peculiar pieces not at all similar to what we are used to nowadays....
In this article, Jonathon Dale explains Brian Eno's formulated genre "ambient music" by using the works he created for visual media.In Malcolm Legrice's film "Berlin Horse," Eno uses creates a soundtrack that mimics the structure of the film. The visual aspect of the film has "'found' footage of a horse in training, trotting in a circle on a leash (46)." this loop structure works well with the soundtrack that Eno created; He made a soundtrack that loops to copy the idea of repetition in the film.
ReplyDeleteHe creates ambient music; He creates the music to provide a space to think for urban dwellers (49).
Jonathan Dale's essay on Brian Eno focuses on Eno's creativity and the importance of context and the need for engagement with creative expression on many different levels(45). I found it interesting that Eno was looking to attract attention not by using the plot, or story line, but by going beyond the surface and paying close attention to the soundtrack and its construction, such as in "Berlin Horse." Dale suggests that the composition of a film has more to do with time than with music. and mentions the "vertical harmonic spectrum" which determines the color of sound and how the audience interprets it(47). Eno's audio-visual combinations within his work create an environment that attracts attention. Instead of music being a narrative form, Eno uses it to have the audience become a part of his film. His new approach to sound and vision is a part of being an artist, to see what works and what doesn't.
ReplyDeleteThis week’s article “Brian Eno: Discreet Vision” by Jonathan Dale breaks the conventional boundaries between motion picture and music that were popularly held in early 1900s. The creation of Berlin Horse piece were the emphasis were not on the content of the piece but the dimensions of medium is a unique testament to those who underplay the capabilities of the video and audio mediums. Initially, when I witnessed a few pieces of audio-video disorientation in this class, I could not appreciate the idea behind those pieces and I strongly held to the conventional notions of visual audio presentations. Through this article, I have sensed that the pieces created by Eno were not artistic but technical in respect to exploring the capabilities of music mediums through loop printings and rephotography. This piece highlights the technical viewpoint of repetition with variation and opens so many perspective windows in interpretation. I believe that I can relate to this article from the perspective of an engineer better than an artist. After all, engineering a working model is an art in itself.
ReplyDeleteBrian Eno is one of the most important musicians of the modern age. He developed ambient music, and has contributed much to modern music and cinema through his abstract work. Brian Eno: Discreet Vision speaks about this to some extent. Eno practices both traditional and abstract works of musical art, and composes much music for film. He used to be in glam rock band Roxy, which I particularly enjoy. However, Eno is known for diverting from classical forms of musical narrative. Instead of telling a story or part of a story in a given interval of a song, Eno develops an atmosphere. This atmosphere may conjure images of a world or scenery, but is not done explicitly, rather abstractly and emotionally. This makes Eno’s work well suited for installations and soundtracks, both of which he does. Berlin Horse shows some of Eno’s earliest work, by which patterns of his strategies already appear. Prominent among these is the theme of loops. Like the Berlin Horse footage, Eno’s tracks contain many self-contained loops. To me, this seems a now common method of developing abstract music and film. Most of the examples we have seen in class use this strategy.
ReplyDeleteIn Jonathan Dale’s article Brian Eno: Discreet Vision, it talks about Eno’s creation of ambient music in the mid-1970s and how he influenced the film industry with his unique style of music. Instead of music just for a film, Eno creates music as though it can stand on its own, however when it is combined with film, the piece becomes more elegant and beautiful. It is interesting how Eno’s experimental music pieces became such a huge hit in the film industry since many experimental pieces nowadays are not generally known or liked by the public. Another interesting point is that his music is slow and builds up slowly which many composers and sound designers use today in films. Eno also creates music more as an environment and not as a narrative. Again I am amazed at how artistic music making is and how important it is when it comes to the creation of a film.
ReplyDeleteIn this article about Brian Eno, it shows Eno’s ties into the visual art world. In the film “Berlin Horse” by Legrice, he creates a soundtrack that is parallel is structure and design, but not necessarily together in time. In the film, there are continuous loops and repetition, and Eno is able to mimic that structure, but not necessarily copy the entire design from the film. The two pieces are in sync in a special way. In the 1970’s and 80’s, Eno then breaks down and dissolves the fundamental song structure as a force and shifts the temporal discernment. Eno moved away from the materialist style of music and towards a vertical harmonic style. Eno’s visual works has broken harsh, corporate scenery down into its fundamentals, the architecture. Many of his audiovisual work contrast the fast pacing movement of pop music videos. He breaks the continuous sense of force, and creates something slow and enthralling.
ReplyDelete"Brian Eno: Discreet Vision" is an article that describes the productions of Eno as a composer for certain audiovisual pieces of artwork. The videos that incorporate Eno's music tend to have many loops and repeating portions, which actually allows the video and the audio to combine very nicely. However, the audio is not synchronized with the visuals at all. Rather, the concepts of loop and repetition within the two media are so remarkably similar that it allows this blend to break the precedent structure set by earlier films. I feel that this technique can create statements that the normal method of matching shots with the music cannot.
ReplyDeleteI liked reading that LeGrice’s work was rather ”film-as-medium” than ”film-as-narrative”- content and that Eno’s structure of Berlin Horse was “attention to the materiality of the medium”. Since we discussed in last Lab/Studio with professor Trigilio how sound/music can help or sometimes destroy the film it was interesting to read about Eno’s and others use sound and composition. “Eno is moving beyond typical music making processes and addressing …the ‘vertical’ elements of music”.
ReplyDeleteIn the article by Jonathan Dale, “Brian Eno: Discreet Vision”, he explains the aesthetics and complimentary effects of ambient music within abstract video art. In a portion of his essay he describes the “cumulative power of loops and repetition” (483) within both film and music. I think this technique of layering two similar types of medium can immerse the viewer into a meditative state therefore placing the audience into a deeper state of thought. He also goes into the aesthetics of ambient music and how it requires a great deal of time and “sprawl” (485) in order for his loops to create a full “360”. This aspect of ambient music truly reflects on abstract video. Long stationary shots of a certain object of landscape allows the film to build a foundation of place, time or atmosphere. Similarly to ambient music, it engulfs the viewer and allows them to truly understand the atmosphere and “mood” of the scene.
ReplyDeleteThis article discusses how Brian Eno created ambience, through utilizing sound and music in film to complement and parallel what was being seen on screen, adding to the visual effect rather than taking away from it or ruining it altogether. For example, in one of Eno's earliest sound works, "Berlin Horse," it is explained that even though the soundtrack is not exactly created to be contiguous and at the same pace as the film, it still complements LeGrice's film in structure/design and makes it a much more stronger and meaningful piece. Eno uses more "vertical" elements of music, or slightly audible sounds that are "stacked vertically on the primary note itself," rather than the horizontal narrative of typical music (chords, lyrics, pop, rock, etc.). I really liked the analogy in the article of how Eno's work is a perfume, his ambience is used to give the film a bit of an extra oomph, but nothing too strong or overpowering that it affects the overall film in a bad way. In conclusion, I completely agree with the article, a perfect amount of ambience and sound can go a long way in aiding the overall visual and audio aspects of film, but if misused it can completely take away from the film's meaning and impact.
ReplyDeleteJonathon Dale's essay "Brian Eno: Discreet Vision," tell about Brian Eno, the great music composer and his attempt in experimental music. I agree how Eno think film and music as two separate lives that collaborate with each other but not made to match each other. His concept is well expressed in Malcolm Legrice's film "Berlin Horse" as if the soundtrack is telling a narrative at the same time that has the similar structure of the film. The visual and music are rather parallel to one another. As what Dale says, "whereas painters often limit themselves to the one format or context, Eno is a habitual dabbler in the best art forms and in the process uncovering new theories and new hybrids."
ReplyDeleteIn the article, Brian Eno: Discreet Vision, by Jonathon Dale talks about how Eno's music interacts and collaborates with LeGrice's visual art. This article goes along with yesterday's lecture on abstraction. LeGrice's film is less narrative and more of pure phenomenon, which could be interpreted as abstraction. He treats the film as the medium rather than in a narrative concept. LeGrice explains how he wants to explore then opposite of what is dominant in the tv culture today. The significance in the Berlin Horse by LeGrice is in the structure. There is no significant story behind it as much, yet the loop structure and the vivid colors used is what brings forth the uniqueness and beauty in the material quality. With this, Eno creates sound and music in the background that goes along with the film's level of structure and design than the "rigidified temporality" . This is abstract in how the beauty of the film is within the form and structure rather than the idea or story told in the film. I never explored the concept of abstraction, yet I find it very interesting from this article that there is different types of method to illustrate an idea or expression.
ReplyDeleteEno's background in structural filmmaking and mainstream pop and rock music developed his craft as audiovisual artist. Eno's work with LeGrice and other artists in film and video demands the spectator to perceive the medium past the narrative; to understand it for its profundity as a canvas for manipulating the spectator's perception of the medium through temporal, visual and emotional means. His approach is Brechtian in a way that he desires for his spectators to step out of the conventional (Hollywood) perception of passively consuming the medium. He demands his audience to question what is on the screen through the "phenomena" (technical strategies) of structural film, such as fixed frame, loop printing and rephotography. Eno's work in structural filmmaking aims to criticize the conventions of Hollywood cinema. Similar is his work in music, and it is interesting to note that Eno cultivated his heterodox musical discipline through collaborations with mainstream rock and pop bands like U2. Like in structural film, Eno's work in music also the medium as a canvas: to stage a mise en scene for the listener. However, unlike his Brechtian approach to filmmaking, Eno lets his audience consume his ambient works passively. He wants his audience to envelop themselves in a realistic environment, i.e. a bustling city scene or by the river banks. His work challenges the conventional, compressed 3-4min standard song structures created by mainstream bands like U2. His music distorts the listener’s perception of “real time” by immersing their auditory perception to commonplace sounds heard in cityscapes or landscapes. Eno’s work continues to inspire artists and their art forms today, as understood in the article author Jonathan Dale’s work in painting. His work engages artists to challenge conventions and remain critical of how they project their work to audiences.
ReplyDeleteIn Jonathon Dale’s “Brian Eno: Discreet Vision,” he discusses Eno’s contribution to sound design by creating ambient music. He first introduces Berlin Horse, a film for which he created a soundtrack. The music is structured to correlate with the “loop structure of the film” (483). Eno experimented with making music that is “vertical” (485) and has no narrative. I was quite intrigued and I decided to listen to some of his ambient music, including “Music for Airports.” It was interesting to listen to the first pieces of this genre. Although Dale discusses the mechanics of the music, much of the essay is focused more on the intention of Eno’s work. Ambient music was and is intended to simply occupy a space, “shading” (489) it rather than “distracting passers-by” (489). I enjoyed the idea that Eno is a painter who parallels the work of someone like Robert Rauschenberg who used a bed rather than canvas. Eno is a painter who simply uses a different object, or in this case, space, to “[paint]” (490).
ReplyDeleteIf you look at Berlin House, the film explores much in the color and form, rather than the narrative. In the same way, Eno explored much in the field of sound to experiment how sound can be used in abstraction. He went against the norm of the sound that just synced with the subject on film. Instead he went on to experiment using different looping and ambient sounds. Although the sound was abstract, the sound did not play against the images on film. He carefully created the sound so that the combination of the abstraction of images of LeGrice and the abstraction of sounds by Eno really created a new art form that captivated the audience.
ReplyDeleteThe article allowed me to see that music in film isn't always created in a simple manner or even to merely accentuate the visualizations. Eno seems to put a lot of effort and emotion into his pieces, and channels a lot of personal energy into the music. For example, his choice of using tape loops arise from his fascination of tape recorders. I had thought before that the soundtrack of a film was created pragmatically, to fit the overall mood and theme. However, I can see now that the music is in fact an art. In addition, the fact that the music is created prior to filmmakers is interesting. I think this allows the musician, Eno in this case, to create a piece with much more creativity and less boundaries than if he had to create it specifically for a film and within its boundaries.
ReplyDeleteIn the article "Brian Eno: Discreet Vision," by Jonathan Dale, it discusses Eno’s use of music in film in the mid-1970s and how his soundtracks influenced films in the following decades. Eno was the creator of ambient music, a genre still listend to to this day. Eno integrated this idea of ambient music to video in order to create a more fulfilling multi-sensory experience. Musically, Eno's work could be enjoyed, but its integration with film media is what was really remarkable. Eno related his music, full of loops and repitition, to film, which features the same sort of structure. With this mindset, Eno was able to make soundtracks that worked seamlessly with visuals. In the LaGrice film, "Berlin Horse," it is clear that Eno's soundtrack added to the experience of the film, which lacked narrative. In the last lecture, Michael spoke about how music can either add or take away from the overall effectiveness or experience of a film. Referring back to last week's article, George Lucas stated that the visuals is only half of the film experience, with music making up the second half. Eno seems to think of the movie experience in a similar light.
ReplyDeleteIn the article "Brian Eno", Jonathon Dale introduces to us a talented music composer Brian Eno. Jonathon uses some films and soundtrack processing examples to analyze Brian Eno. He focus on Eno's engagement with visual midis and discussing the parallels between Eno's thinking and his visual ''counterpoint'. Eno likes to think different kinds of possibilities between soundtrack and films. The film "Berlin Horse" which he worked with has shown in several forms. It is in tandem with the loop structure of film. Moreover, Eno's soundtrack always connects with the film because he concers about the cumulative power of loops and repetition. The soundtrack draws from minimal means, accessing a simple approach to composition. His use of loops and phase patterns are paralleled. Eno working through a complex set of ideas and music and cultures, inventing new genres of music and refining an approach to music's formal and qualities. He perferring his music to be environment instead of the immersion. I think Eno is a creative artist and music man. He tries to start new ways to do art and music. That's is what we need to learn as an artist.
ReplyDeleteThis week's reading "Brian Eno:Discreet Vision" by Jonathan Dale engages with Brian Eno, the English musician who is known as one of the principal innovator of ambient music.The article explains the theoretical concerns regarding to both visual and audio audiovisual media from Eno's perspective and shows the relationship between his creation in music and art.Music is playing an important role as a construction in films and installations .In the example of Malcolm Legrice's film "Berlin Horse" ,Eno convey the authenticity through his soundtrack and shows the loop structure match with the film.It is interesting that he is not using the music as a narrative form, but combining the sound and vision for creating an environment that make the audience feel alive.
ReplyDeleteReading about Brian Eno's work showed me a new way of looking at the intersection of audio and video. I generally am more interested in the visual aspect of media, but now I see that sight and sound can carry much of the same significance.
ReplyDeleteTo a large extent, Eno takes an ambient, naturalistic approach to sound production. In my mind, I relate this to outdoor photography and ambient light. As a photographer, I would find it absurd to capture all of my images in a studio environment. There is simply so much more to capture outside.
Why should it be any different with sound? Eno gladly takes advantage of the world of sound so many others overlook, and what he creates is refreshingly new.
Other aspects of Eno's genius lie with his interdisciplinary approach to media. Rather than relying on set formulas, he expands what is possible not only with sound, but with media as a whole. One instance mentioned in the text is his audiovisual installations that he showed in a variety of public spaces. In these works, he seeks to make immersive, yet not overpowering ambient environments of sound. I find it quite tasteful that such an experimental artist would cater to the needs of harried travelers...
Clearly, Brian Eno has had a successful career, not only with his work for popular music groups like U2, but also in the avant-garde. Instead of relying exclusively on a set of musical instruments and pop stars, Eno is able to capture his audience with pure ambiance. He may well be the modern "Renaissance Man" of multimedia.
In Jonathan Dale article, "Brian Eno: Discreet Vision", he introduces Brian Eno new genre of "ambient music", that proves to be a manifestation of his interest in the audience engagement and his creative temperament. Brian sucessfully introduced a new perception of visual installation and sound. Some of Eno's instrumental albums such as the Music For Airports and Discreet Music, and his soundtrack for films such as Berlin Horse exemplified his creativity and thinking of the "importance of context and multi-inter-disciplinarity; [and] the need for engagment with creative expression on many different levels". (481) Berlin Horse soundtrack was a prime example of Eno's work that included "repetive sound work and avant garde or experimental cinema" (482) that led him to his audio-video installations. Eno's motivation for his ambient music was to allow his audience to engage and imagine themselves in the realistic environment in which he attempts to portray.
ReplyDeleteIn the Dale article, what I found to be the most interesting was the polarization between the intent of Eno's work in "Berlin Horse," and that of LeGrice (and most other materialist, avant garde styled filmmakers). Dale touches upon the the shared usage of looping in "Berlin Horse," as well as in Eno's piece for the film, but reveals the differentiation of the pacing and speed of looping in the film and soundtrack. The differentiation continues as Dale states that the intent for materialist filmmakers was to engage with the audience and lead them to question the authority of the purpose of the visual. In contrast to these filmmakers, Eno's intent in his ambient works was to create a passive listener through looping, manipulating the sounds to become repetitive and habitual, as though they are a part of everyday sounds. I found it interesting that Eno's worked with many materialist filmmakers because the intent for their pieces (film and soundtrack separately) do not share the same principle, but when the works are paired together, another message and affect is present.
ReplyDeleteJonathon Dale’s essay “Brian Eno: Discreet Vision” examines Brian Eno’s works to draw attention to his engagement with visual media and sound. The Berlin Horse, an abstract film by LeGrice that explores colors and form rather than narrative, is among the earliest work that showcases Eno’s soundtrack. Like the film, Eno’s music calls forth the power of loops and repetition. Eno’s music loops in tandem with the film, but the loops are not entirely contiguous to the loops within the film. The soundtrack plays at a different pace, but parallels the film in terms of structure and design. Eno’s interests in “non-narrative, repetitive sound work and avant-garde or experimental cinema” eventually lead to his innovated audio-visual installations.
ReplyDeleteIn the article Brian Eno: Discreet Vision. Jonathan Dale discusses the great composer Brian Eno’s experimentation with different styles of sound to create ambient music. Eno’s ability to distinguish sound from movies was groundbreaking. In the film Berlin Horse, one of his earlier works, Eno strategically designed the soundtrack to associate with the loop structure of the film. The parallel correlation of sound and images brought a completely different perspective on how we view media in general. I especially found this article very interesting because I always understood the significance of sound and visual coordination in films. This article puts in perspective the technical aspect of ingemination. Eno’s unconventional approach to sound design expanded the many possibilities on both sound and images in film.
ReplyDeleteIn his article, "Brian Eno: Discreet Vision," Jonathan Dale discusses musician Brian Eno's works as they pertain to visual media. Dale contends Eno's musical installations are more than just music applied to film, but rather "...one intervention in an ongoing debate..." For example, Dale attributes the efficacy of Eno's music in the film Berlin Horse to the synchrony between Eno's looped score and the loop structure of the film itself. Dale asserts, "Brian Eno's music, particularly his ambient music of the 1970s and 1980s, relies on chromatics and timbre in order to dissolve fundamental/classicis song structure as narratice force and dictatorial discourse." Next Dale briefly discusses some of Eno's song-works from the 1970s, to which he attributes "This decade saw Eno working through a complex set of ideas about music and culture, inventing new genres of music and refining an approach to music's formal and sensual qualities that was equal parts serious and ludic."
ReplyDeleteInitially, in reading this article, I found it difficult to fully conceptualize Dale's descriptions of Eno's works, due to my very limited understanding of music as it is applied to film and Eno's works. However, I felt inspired enough by this article to do some research on ambient music and on Brian Eno, which definitely helped clarify Dale's essay. In fact, I'm listening to Eno's work Thursday Afternoon, as I'm writing this--and I really am enjoying it. Generally it's very difficult for me to listen to any form of music and maintain concentration (I normally work in quiet), however I am pleasantly surprised by how peaceful and unobtrusive Eno's work, Thursday Afternoon, is.
Brian Eno’s music focuses on the subtle submergence of the listener in to an altered state of perception. Eno’s music does not plunge the listener into its narrative but instead it allows the listener to willingly fall into it. Eno states that he “deliberately create slow-stimulus atmospheres” that as Ross describes are “designed to “tint” the environment rather than dominate it.” To this point having listened to his music I agree. The composition of the tracks he has created work to illuminate the subject of a piece rather than to become the subject themselves. The sounds don’t envelope the space that they are presented in instead they alter the space and help to alter ones mood subliminally. This is accomplished by the music’s low tonal values, monochromatic melodies and the repetitive long stretches of recordings which mirror the palpations of a heartbeat of foot step creating a slow yet barely perceivable forward momentum to his pieces.
ReplyDeleteBy Michael Boulrice