Pre-Digital Erotica
INTRODUCTION
Julia and Daniel tacked the topic of Pre-Digital Erotica. Here are some of our notes on the project:
Production Choices
We chose to produce our video in VideoScribe because Daniel had had experience in the software. It was Julia’s first endeavour in the program. Overall, it was a straightforward means through which to tell a chronologically linear story in a visual way.
Erotic texts are written and visual, with an emphasis on visual storytelling. This means selecting imagery across a range of time periods. Presenting those with an audio narration meant we could talk about the highlights of history and supplement that with relevant illustrations. We put a lot of consideration into different documentary styles of film making, including time lengths, segments, and layout.
Style
The title slide text is set against an abstraction of an ancient erotic sketch from Israel. It seemed natural to use a black-and-white illustration as illustration lends itself well to any era. The presentation is also a whiteboard-style video. The deep red colour theme (in classic fonts) is set throughout the presentation as it is the colour of sex. We divided the history into eras and used the slides as a thread to link them all.
The images represented in the text vary according to the era. There is also some use of illustration in the presentation to lighten up what is otherwise a heavy or uncomfortable topic for some people. Taking the viewer through a historical timeline that is not necessarily linear is represented though the different directions the presentations takes as it progress.
Challenges
Initially, we were concerned about the length of the video, but there is an entire world history of sexual depictions, so that concern quickly faded away. In fact, when scripting, as with all editing, it became a matter of which words to cut and leave out to shorten, not lengthen, the script. Likewise, imagery was everywhere. Keeping track of the citations was difficult; the use of a citation manager only came to light at the end. As this was a very broad topic it is hard not to include visuals to assist in telling a story.
Script, References, and Image Credits: Script-Final-ETEC540
Very interesting documentary! Who would have thought that erotica goes back so far.
What a brave topic to tackle – good for you! I am fascinated by your production. I had never considered the vast history of erotica. I have always thought of erotica a modern day concept. You have created a media production on a controversial subject with tact. Thank you for sharing your work.