These are some of my early attempts at making Video Poetry. I didn't buy any extra movie-making software, and I've avoided making files bigger than 4M. The poems weren't chosen for their quality, more for their filmability. Some of the videos are perfunctory translations, some are exercises in using software. I usually used existing visual material rather than shoot new stuff. The text appears in some of these videos, sometimes as a visual element.
Poetry on the page has balance problems - image vs content, sound vs meaning. Audio poems add further distractions - hearing Dylan Thomas isn't the same as reading him. Video is a step further, the images and sounds mixing in a way analogous to how sound and meaning relate in poetry - sometimes the sound reinforces the meaning, sometimes it distracts, sometimes it's independent. If the images are dazzling who's going to bother with the words? On the other hand, one doesn't want the images to slavishly follow the words, showing a picture of a tree whenever the word "tree" appears. I've tried various mixes.
I think there's hope for the genre. The images can be used to illustrate secondary meanings that might not be clear on a first reading/hearing. The default style (which I've not used) is a talking heads presentation (a default which precedes the written word, so traditionalists should be happy). And if people don't like the pictures they can turn them off.
 | Crows nest
(800K, Quicktime/H.263). From Smiths Knoll. (Apr 2005). Software: iMovie. Comments: My first attempt. Low-res. Has subtitles. |
 | Escape
(2.3M, Quicktime/H.263 (a bigger 3.5M version is online too). From Seam. (Dec 2005). Software: iMovie. Comments: Sags in the middle (even after a re-write). Some of the visuals add little |
 | Formal Dance
(1.8M, Quicktime/H.263). From Mobius. (Dec 2005). Software: iMovie. Comments: Arbitrary timing of switch (the idea was that the words should continue the dancing movement). Visuals add little |
 | Misreading the signs
(3.1M, Quicktime/H.263). From Poetry Nottingham. (Dec 2005). Software: iMovie, MorphX. Comments: Second stanza doesn't work - the coloured words are from a psychology experiment, but it needs a more effective presentation. More could be done with the bridge imagery |
 | Ursprache
(3.3M, Quicktime/H.263). From Rialto. (Dec 2005). Software: iMovie, MorphX. Comments: Gimmicky FX |
 | In the soul's darkroom
(1.9M, Quicktime/H.263). From Poetry Nottingham. (Dec 2005). Software: iMovie, MovieEdit3D, MorphX. Comments: Would have used more darkroom imagery if available. |
 | eiπ + 1 = 0
(2.2M, Quicktime/H.263). Also in MP4 (2.4M). (Dec 2005). Software: iMovie, MovieEdit3D, MorphX. Comments: Too much like an educational video. |
 | 8x8
(1.7M, Quicktime/H.264, 640x480). (Jan 2006). Software: iMovie, MovieEdit3D, MorphX. Comments: The final page is supposed to look like a page of chess commentary from a newspaper. This poem's form and content need a commentary. |
 | Still Life
(1.7M, Quicktime/H.263, 320x240). From Weyfarers. (Apr 2007). Software: iMovie, MovieEdit3D, MorphX. Comments: My first for over a year. I'm rusty. |
In general, more formats/sizes should be offered here, and the audio performance could be improved.
