My Emotions Translated for People Without Synesthesia

My Emotions Translated for People Without Synesthesia from Ann Elizabeth Bailey on Vimeo.

Edit: I saw that GPU banner after I hit send on an email to a professor, so we're just gonna live with that for now until I figure out a better way to export this monster of a video.

I started this video by distorting preexisting footage (via rotating and mirroring) to project onto the wall at a party in my apartment. Shortly thereafter, I was looking for an assignment from an experimental film professor who suggested I let the video develop over time as I accumulated input.

At first, the video was about the shifting of affection. First, it was like a love letter to myself because I made it specifically for myself to enjoy at a later time (the party). Then, I thought about making it a love letter to my partner, who gathered the original footage. Then, the attention shifted back to myself again when we parted ways after my unexpected hospitalization drove us apart. I am grateful to have maintained collaborative respect with the videographer despite my personal turmoil.

I thought about dropping my grandmother's voicemails into the timeline. I decided it was going to be a love letter to my grandmother, who calls me frequently. I had gone through such an exhausting period of time that I had accumulated a number unanswered voicemails from her, and I thought I might pour that guilt and sadness into a video.

I can't pinpoint who or what this video is exactly about. I have synesthesia and might argue that I see every emotion I felt over that time period reflected into shape and color here.

I felt confident, romantic, desperate, exhausted and guilty all throughout the process of editing this video. Each emotion is reflected just a little bit. I decided on the "synesthesia" title because I am a synesthete, and some of the images are similar to the visuals that accompany music and emotion for me.

The video is heavily edited beyond recognition except for the portion at 2:32, which is not manipulated at all. It is the only part revealing the intended shots underneath my heavy edits.

I'm not sure why the quality has been vanquished to such a severe degree. I'll work on figuring out a cleaner way to export and upload.