Investigation: Tic Toc as a Medium

Film is typically divided into three distinct production phases: Pre-production in which you write the script and story board, Production when you put that plan into effect getting various individual shots, and postproduction when you stich those shots together to make scenes. This production structure can be broken to a certain degree by combining the pre-production and production phases into one through improvised film. With few exceptions with style of improvised film has dominated my portfolio, in which the only preproduction was thinking of a general topic/setting or technical effect I wanted to try and allowing the specific shots and actions be chosen the day of production: 

However, within these films the improvisational nature is limited as there is still a separate editing process. Tic Toc gives the ability to edit as a thing is being shot. Instead of sitting down and choosing clips, with Tic Toc you can go from shooting to posting within seconds. It is because of this basic functionality I argue Tic Toc allows the first truly improvised film. In this post I will outline the history of artistic improvisation and then explain the implications of Tic Toc for Avant Guard film making. 

Part 1: The Tradition of Improvisation 

To a certain degree all art is improvised. A person cannot plan every aspect of a piece, as doing that would be impossible. Instead, an artist typically works within a vague plan for a piece. When improvisation occurs it is within the boundaries of the plan. Furthermore, even if a person is just making things up without any prior planning they are still working within the accepted artistic structures. If an artist ignored these conventions the art is often painfully bad, this is most apparent in acting. True improvisation requires zero plan, ignoring artistic structure, and ignoring any inner idea of what to do in a piece. It is with this definition we realize -capital I- Improvisation is impossible. However, like any term improv exists on a spectrum, with Pollock on one side and the Russo Brothers on the other. 

 

Because of this high costs associated with celluloid film, improvisation used to almost never be done. However in the rise of the digital age, improvisation can be preformed without substantial cost. When directing an improvised scene, a director will typically tell his actors the rules of a scene and allow them to preform naturally. It is common now to see improvised acting and dialogue. Improvised cinematography is less common, however it does appear when the camera is adjusting to something an actor is doing. Even in a digital age, the relative costs associated with production made truly improvised pieces impossible.   

However, now everyone has decent cameras in there pockets at all times and with YouTube as a way to distribute those films independent artists can participate in something far closer to real improvisation. Still, as mentioned in the introduction editing plays a role in limiting the improvisation possibilities of film, this is until tic toc. 

Part 2: The Potential of Tic Toc as a medium 

In my early use of the app I have only experimented with Tic Toc through music videos as demonstrated above. The app allows you to shoot the video progressively and automatically sync music to it (as long as you have uploaded your music to Spotify). Music videos and silent movies are the natural form of Tic Toc given this functionality. However, Tic Toc also gives a platform for interesting micro-narrative films. 

While the functionality of the app as a film medium is significant, the restrictions provided by it also allow for greater artistic experimentation. Because of the short length dialogue can't occur in any meaningful way. Additionally, the lack of app given effects forces the implementation of practical effects (something I already preferred). The Avant Guard has been slowly moving towards more and more effect based content, however through Tic Toc we can re-explore practical absurdist film in a truly improvisational sense. 

With all of this said, Tic Toc is also a social media platform. Like YouTube, short films have a niche audience at best. The idea of the Avant Guard will continue to be in strange movies. But, YouTube has provided a grounds for directors to release their earliest work and gain a following before they go into formal production, possibly tic toc will be the same way. After all, both Tic Tocs and advertisements are extremely short, and no medium incorporates the Avant Guard quite as fast as advertisers.    

Work Log

Monday: Wrote script

Tuesday: Continued Script

Wednesday: More script

Thursday: Story Board 

Friday: Began preparing practical film assets (plot, effects, actors, ect) and further updated blog 

Saturday: polished script