Detail View: Deaf Studies, Culture, and History Archives: Line/shot/montages cinematic techniques in ASL poetry

Filename: 
ds_0049_baumancinematic_cap_01.mp4
Identifier: 
ds_0049_baumancinematic_cap_01.mp4
Title: 
Line/shot/montages cinematic techniques in ASL poetry
Creator: 
Bauman, Dirksen
Subject: 
American Sign Language literature
Subject: 
American Sign Language Research
Subject: 
Semiotics
Subject: 
Deaf, Writings of the, American
Subject: 
ASL poetry
Summary: 
Dr. Bauman presents on how he discovered his identity as a 'hearing' person and how he discovered ASL poetry when he was a dorm supervisor at Colorado School for the Deaf. He recognizes the impact that Dr. Stokoe made by developing a framework to recognize ASL as a language which was like an 'earthquake', shifting our perspective on ASL. Dr. Bauman discusses traditional analysis of spoken and written poetry, and uses Tyger, Tyger as an example of the rhythm structure and rhymes. Dr. Valli researched ASL poetry and discovered many types of rhymes by applying the traditional analysis of spoken and written poetry to ASL poetry. The Snowflake poem by Valli is analyzed by Dr. Bauman and he points out the rhyme patterns of the handshape, movement path, location, palm orientation, and non-manual signals. Dr. Bauman believes that the analysis for spoken and written poetry does not work for ASL poetry, a there are no 'lines' as there are in spoken and written poetry. He suggests using film language, similar to sign language, (Stokoe noted this in 1979) as a way to analyze ASL poetry. Sign language plays with space and employs many film techniques such as close-up, medium and long shots, having a frame, using the camera angle, and using slo-mo or fast motion signs. The Lone, Study Tree (by Valli), and Missing Children (by Rennie) ASL poems are analyzed using this cinema language framework. The poet-performer is in a unique position of simultaneously being the film-maker, screenwriter, text editor, camera operator and actor when performing an ASL poem. New technologies, such as morphing might influence future ASL poetry creative expression. He ends the presentation by stating we need to recognize the cinematic properties of ASL poetry which would lead to a richer analysis of such works.
Publisher: 
National Technical Institute for the Deaf
Digital Publisher: 
Rochester Institute of Technology - RIT Libraries - RIT Archive Collections
Date of Original: 
2000
Date of Digitization: 
2018
Broad Type: 
moving image
Digital File Format: 
mp4
Physical Format: 
VHS
Dimensions of Original: 
53 minutes
Language: 
American Sign Language
Language: 
English
Original Item Location: 
RITDSA.0049
Library Collection: 
Sculptures in the Air: An Accessible Online Video Repository of the American Sign Language (ASL) Poetry and Literature Collections
Library Collection: 
ASL Lecture Series DVDs
Digital Project: 
2018-2019 CLIR Grant-ASL Poetry and Literature
Catalog Record: 
https://albert.rit.edu/record=b3955313
Catalog Record: 
https://archivesspace.rit.edu/repositories/2/resources/837
Place: 
New York - Rochester
RIT Spaces and Places: 
Henrietta Campus
Rights: 
RIT Libraries makes materials from its collections available for educational and research purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. It is your responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright holder to publish or reproduce images in print or electronic form.
Transcript: 
HELLO, EVERYONE. THANK YOU, PETER. TODAY IS OUR FINAL PRESENTATION OF THE ASL LECTURE SERIES, AND WE HAVE AN ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL PERSON, WHO USED TO WORK HERE AT NTID, TEACHING ENGLISH. HE LEFT HERE IN 1997. CURRENTLY, HE'S TEACHING AT GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY. I KNOW THIS PERSON, AND I KNOW HIS PRESENTATION. I SAW HIS PRESENTATION THAT HE'S GONNA BE GIVING TODAY IN CALIFORNIA, AND I THOUGHT IT WAS AN ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL PRESENTATION AND INVITED HIM TO COME HERE, SO-- TO COME HERE AND SHARE HIS WORK WITH NTID, AND THE TOPIC IS-- AS YOU CAN SEE-- "LINE, SHOT, AND MONTAGE." SO PLEASE WELCOME DIRKSEN BAUMAN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. CAN EVERYBODY SEE ME OK? GOOD. GREAT. FIRST, I JUST WANT TO SAY WHAT AN HONOR IT IS TO BE HERE. I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS HERE IN 1992-1996. IT FELT LONGER. IT FELT LONGER THAT JUST THOSE FEW YEARS. I KNOW THAT I WANT TO THE ASL LECTURE SERIES OFTEN. I REMEMBER THAT WELL. THERE WERE A LOT OF PRESENTATIONS THAT WERE REALLY, REALLY WONDERFUL. I REMEMBER MARIE PHILIP WAS HERE. OH, MY GOODNESS. SHE WAS JUST WONDERFUL. LEN KURTZE WAS HERE. MADE ME FEEL LIKE "WOW!" NOW THAT I'M ONSTAGE, I FEEL LIKE I'M IN THE SAME GROUP--SAME CLASS AS THOSE PEOPLE, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF I FIT IN THAT, BUT ANYWAY, I'M HONORED TO BE HERE. FIRST, BEFORE I GET TO MY PRESENTATION OR BEFORE I GET TO MY TOPIC, I WANT TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF MY BACKGROUND. I'LL TRY TO MAKE IT SHORT. I WAS BORN IN COLORADO. I WAS BORN HEARING. HA HA HA! UM, I GREW UP HEARING. I DIDN'T FEEL HEARING. I WASN'T BORN HEARING JUST TO LET YOU KNOW. I WAS HEARING, BUT I WASN'T HEARING. OK. SO WHAT THIS MEANS-- NO, I'M NOT HARD OF HEARING. I AM FULLY HEARING, I'M PROFOUNDLY HEARING, OK? PROFOUNDLY HEARING, BUT I DIDN'T BECOME HEARING UNTIL I WAS 21. I WENT TO A DEAF SCHOOL THEN. MY IDENTITY WAS VERY CONFUSED. I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND MY IDENTITY WAS HEARING. IT MEANT NOTHING TO ME, THAT WORD. I GREW UP WITH HEARING PEOPLE. I GREW UP IN THE HEARING WORLD. I NEVER MET ANY DEAF PEOPLE UNTIL I WENT INTO THE DEAF SCHOOL. THAT WAS SOMETHING. I WAS THE ONLY HEARING PERSON. I DIDN'T KNOW-- I WASN'T WARE OF THAT, THAT I WAS HEARING UNTIL THEN, AND THEN I BECAME HEARING. I UNDERSTOOD MY IDENTITY AS A HEARING PERSON. OOH. THAT WAS PROFOUNDLY-- THAT WAS A PROFOUND EXPERIENCE, AND IT REALLY AFFECTED MY LIFE SINCE THEN. SO NOW I IDENTIFY MYSELF AS A HEARING PERSON. I BORDER THE LAND OF THE HEARING AND THE DEAF WORLD EVERY DAY. MY JOB NOW IS IN THE DEAF STUDIES DEPARTMENT AT GALLAUDET. BEFORE, I WAS IN THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FOR SEVERAL YEARS. I TAUGHT FOR 3 YEARS, AND THEN I MOVED TO THE DEAF STUDIES. I AM THE ONLY HEARING PERSON IN THAT DEPARTMENT, AND THAT'S AN HONOR, TOO. MY ROLE IN ASL POETRY IS HOW I GOT INTO THAT. WHEN I WENT INTO THE DEAF SCHOOL, THE SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF, I HAD JUST GRADUATED WITH A BACHELOR'S IN ENGLISH. I FELT LIKE I HAD A BACHELOR'S, I HAD A B.A., I KNEW EVERYTHING. I KNEW EVERYTHING ABOUT LITERATURE. I WAS A VERY LITERATE PERSON. I KNEW POETRY. I KNEW EVERYTHING. I KNEW IT ALL. I HAD A DEGREE. I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO GET A JOB, BUT I KNEW EVERYTHING ELSE, SO FINALLY, I FOUND A JOB AT A SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF AS THE DORM SUPERVISOR, AND THAT WAS VERY STRANGE. ONE NIGHT, WE WERE IN THE CAFETERIA, AND I NOTICED A TABLE, GROUP OF PEOPLE SITTING AROUND A TABLE, AND THEN I NOTICED THERE WAS ANOTHER GROUP OF PEOPLE AROUND A TABLE. THEY WERE THROWING FOOD AT EACH OTHER, AND THEY WERE TALKING, AND THEY WERE TAKING TURNS. THE FIRST TABLE WAS DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHERS, AND THEY EXPLAINED TO ME THAT THEY WERE DOING ASL LITERATURE, THAT ASL HAS LITERATURE. THEY WERE DOING A-B-C STORIES, NUMBER STORIES, SO ASL HAS ALL THIS LITERARY STUFF, ALL THIS I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT. SO THE BACHELOR'S DEGREE WAS FROM A HEARING COLLEGE. THEY NEVER TAUGHT ME THAT. THEY DIDN'T TEACH ME ABOUT DEAF LITERATURE. THAT WAS A NEW WORLD FOR ME. I FELT LIKE I HAD TO GET INTO THAT. I HAD TO INVESTIGATE THAT TO SEE WHAT WAS THERE. THAT WAS IN 1985 OR SOMETHING, I THINK, AND I'VE BEEN INTO IT EVER SINCE. SO NOW LET ME GET ON WITH MY PRESENTATION. OH. BEFORE I START, THERE'S TWO THINGS. FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW I AM NOT A LINGUIST. MY TRAINING-- IN ALL MY TRAINING, IN ALL MY YEARS, I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN INTO LINGUISTICS. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT PHONEME AND A MONEME OR WHATEVER OF THAT. I DON'T KNOW LINGUISTICS. I AM A LITERARY SCHOLAR. THAT'S MY FIELD. THAT'S WHAT I DO, AND I'M NOT A FILM SCHOLAR. I'M NOT A MOVIE MAKER. I ENJOY WATCHING, BUT FORMALLY TRAINED IN MOVIES, NO, I HAVE NONE OF THAT, BUT I LIKE THE CINEMATIC ASPECTS AND THE LANGUAGE ASPECTS. I LIKE TO GET INTO THE IDEAS AND ANALYZE THEM MORE. THAT'S MY SKILL. THAT'S MY AREA. OK. WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT LINE, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT SHOT, AS IN CAMERA SHOT, AND WE'RE TALK ABOUT MONTAGE. ANY OF YOU HAVE--I GUESS I'LL HAVE TO SPELL THAT. SO WE'LL SEE HOW THAT GOES. I'D LIKE TO DEDICATE THIS LECTURE REALLY TO DR. WILLIAM STOKOE, WHO HAS RECENTLY PASSED AWAY. I MEAN, IT WAS SUCH A WONDERFUL THING TO MEET HIM AND HAVE OCCASIONAL ACCESS TO HIS WONDERFUL SKILL. WE ALSO WENT OUT FOR A COUPLE OF BEERS ONCE IN A WHILE, TOO, BUT--HEH HEH-- UM, HE WAS JUST SUCH AN INSPIRATION AND JUST SUCH A WONDERFUL MAN. SO THE EPICENTER-- I'M GONNA USE THIS SIGN FOR EPICENTER BECAUSE EPICENTER IS THE CENTER OF WHERE THINGS HAPPEN, OK? AND I'M GONNA USE THIS SIGN FOR EARTHQUAKE, OK? SO WE KNOW WHAT AN EARTHQUAKE IS, WHEN THE LAND PLATES SHIFT. SO WHAT HAPPENS BEFORE LANGUAGE HAPPENS? BEFORE LINGUAL? BEFORE YOU TALKED, BEFORE WHEN PEOPLE TALKED, YOU HAD TO USE YOUR TONGUE TO SPEAK. OK. AND THEY CONSIDERED SIGN LANGUAGE TO BE A MONKEY LANGUAGE UNTIL DR. STOKOE. DR. STOKOE REALLY PAVED THE WAY FOR THE RESPECT OF ASL, SAYING THAT IT WAS A HUMAN LANGUAGE. SO FOR ABOUT 2,000 YEARS, IT WAS A MONKEY LANGUAGE, A NONLANGUAGE, UNTIL STOKOE PAVED THE WAY FOR THAT PARADIGM SHIFT. HE CAUSED THAT PARADIGM SHIFT. SO THERE WAS A TOTALLY NEW WAY OF THINKING ABOUT ASL. A TOTALLY NEW PERSPECTIVE ON ASL, SIGNING ITSELF, ON THE LANGUAGE ITSELF. BEFORE THAT, HOW WE DEFINED LANGUAGE WAS-- WAS WHAT LANGUAGE WAS, AND SIGN LANGUAGE WAS NOT INVOLVED. SIGN LANGUAGE WAS NOT INCLUDED, AND THEN AFTER STOKOE, SIGN LANGUAGE WAS INCLUDED IN ALL LANGUAGES. OK. SO YOU HAVE FIRST THE EARTHQUAKE, AND YOU HAVE THE EPICENTER SHOCK, AND THEN YOU HAVE AFTERSHOCKS. OK. WE'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED WHAT LANGUAGE IS AND WHAT LANGUAGE INCLUDES. SO THAT'S THE EPICENTER, THAT'S THE MAIN SHOCK. SO IF WE HAVE A LANGUAGE, A DEFINITION FOR THAT, IT HAD TO BE EXPANDED. IT HAD TO-- SO THERE WERE AFTERSHOCKS ABOUT THAT. IT HAD TO INCLUDE LITERATURE. HAD TO INCLUDE SIGN. THERE ARE STILL MANY UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES THAT DON'T RECOGNIZE SIGN LANGUAGE. THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT ASL HAS LITERATURE, SIGN LANGUAGE HAS LITERARY POETRY. SO THAT'S ONE OF THE AFTERSHOCKS, AND ANOTHER AFTERSHOCK IS POETRY. SO MANY OF YOU KNOW SIGN, CORRECT, AND MANY OF YOU KNOW THIS SIGN FOR POETRY. IT'S BASED ON THE SIGN FOR MUSIC, WHICH IS BASED ON SOUND, OK? SO THAT'S HOW WE GOT THIS SIGN FOR POETRY, BUT THAT'S NOT ASL, IS IT? SO THERE'S DIFFERENT SIGNS. HOW DO DEAF PEOPLE SIGN? I THINK IF I HAVE MY HISTORY RIGHT-- YOU CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT I THINK THE DEAF WAY BACK IN 1970-- BACK IN 1989, THEY HAD A LOT OF DEAF POETS COME, AND THEY DISCUSSED ABOUT GETTING A NEW SIGN FOR POETRY. THEY NEEDED A NEW SIGN, SO THEY DECIDED ON THIS SIGN FOR POETRY. OK. EXPRESSING SOMETHING. SO THAT BECAME THE NEW SIGN FOR POETRY. EVERYONE--THEY REACHED CONSENSUS ON THAT SIGN AND THEN WENT ON, AND THAT WAS ASL. THAT WAS THE DEAF SIGN FOR POETRY. SO I'M GONNA MAKE THAT DELINEATION, THE "P" SIGN AND THE SIGN FOR MUSIC, THE POETRY, THAT'S A HEARING SIGN, AND THE SIGN FOR EXPRESSION, THAT'S THE DEAF SIGN FOR POETRY, OK? SO I'M GONNA USE THOSE TWO SIGNS AND MEAN THAT. SO THAT WAS ANOTHER AFTERSHOCK. SO LET ME STEP BACK JUST A LITTLE BIT, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT LITERATURE FROM A LINGUAL-- LITERATURE FROM A-- FROM THE LATIN. IT MEANS "LITTERE." IT MEANS TO WRITE. L-I-T-T-E-R-E. IT MEANS WRITING, AND THE ROOT OF THAT IS "POEMA," WHICH MEANS TO CREATE, OK? SO THAT'S THE LATIN FOR LITERATURE. SO HOW YOU MAKE A WORD AND HOW THE ROOT OF THE WORD INFLUENCES THE WORD IS VERY INTERESTING TO ME. SO THE OBJECTIVES FOR LITERATURE IS WE WANT TO EXPAND HOW WE LOOK AT AND ANALYZE POETRY. SO THERE'S TWO. WE HAVE FILM LANGUAGE, OK, AND SIGN LANGUAGE, AND THEY'RE PARALLEL, AND THEY HAVE MANY SIMILARITIES. ANY DISCUSSION OF ANALYTICAL POETRY MUST HAVE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS, WHICH ARE "HOW?" HEH HEH. HOW DO WE START? HOW DO WE--WITHOUT WORDS. I MEAN, HEARING POETRY HAS MANY, MANY, MANY POEMS AND MANY, MANY YEARS, A LONG HISTORY. YOU CAN FIND A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THAT, BUT ASL DOESN'T USE WORDS. HEARING POETRY IS BASED ON SOUND, SO HOW WE DO START TO ANALYZE ASL POETRY? I MEAN, THERE ARE SOME GESTURES, THERE ARE SOME MOUTH MOVEMENTS AND THAT KIND OF THING, BUT THEY'RE NOT STRONG SOUNDS, SO WHERE DO WE BEGIN? SO THERE'S ALSO VOCABULARY TO DESCRIBE HEARING POETRY, AND THERE IS NO VOCABULARY TO DESCRIBE DEAF POETRY. SO THROUGH OUR ANALYSIS, WE FOUND THAT HEARING POETRY HAS RULES, AND THOSE RULES ARE MANY, AND WE FOUND THOSE SAME RULES-- A LOT OF THE SAME RULES IN SIGN LANGUAGE POETRY. IT HAS STRUCTURE. AND THAT'S BEEN THE TRADITIONAL APPROACH TO ANALYZING POETRY. SO FROM ORDINARY, EVERYDAY ASL CONVERSATIONS AND ANALYZING POETRY AT THE SAME TIME, WE NOTICE THE DIFFERENCES. THERE'S AN EMPHASIS ON PATTERNS. SO "WHAT KIND OF PATTERNS?" IS THE NEXT QUESTION. OK. I NOTICED THIS RHYTHM, OK? "TYGER TYGER, BURNING BRIGHT, IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT." OK. IT'S 1, 2, 1, 2. 1, 2, 2, 3, RIGHT? OK. 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 3. SO IT'S A RHYTHM. 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 3. OK? SO OBVIOUSLY, HAS A RHYTHM. ALSO, "BRIGHT" AND "NIGHT" SOUND THE SAME, OK? SO THERE'S A RHYME. AND THAT POEM HAS MANY STANZAS, BUT THE RHYTHM IN THE SAME. 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 3. AND THE RHYME SCHEME IS THE SAME. SO EVERYDAY LANGUAGE, EVERYDAY SPEAKING DOESN'T HAVE THAT KIND OF RHYTHM AND RHYME. WE DON'T TALK IN THAT KIND OF RHYTHM, AND EVERYDAY POETRY EMPHASIZES THAT. OK. SO POETRY HAS ALL THESE RULES. SIGN LANGUAGE--THE QUESTION WAS DOES SIGN LANGUAGE HAVE PATTERNS? AND THE ANSWER IS YES. SO THE IDEA OF RHYMING IS BASED ON SOUND, BUT DOES SIGN LANGUAGE HAVE RHYME IN ITS POETRY? YES. WHO FIRST CAME UP WITH THIS RESEARCH AND DID THE BEGINNING RESEARCH ON THIS INTO RHYME WAS CLAYTON VALLI. HIS RESEARCH FOUND AND WAS ESTABLISHED, AND THAT SET THE TONE FOR THE DAY. IT BECAME THE STRUCTURE FOR ANALYSIS EVER SINCE. SO I GAVE YOU A BRIEF SNIPPET FROM THAT POEM "TYGER TYGER," OK? SO LET'S SEE WHAT KIND OF RHYME SCHEME WE'VE GOT. LIKE A SNOWFLAKE. SO WE START WITH THIS. JUST WATCH. OK. SO THAT'S A SNIPPET. THERE'S 5 HAND SHAPES THAT WE USE, ALL 5. TREES. FLUFFY TREES. LEAVES FALLING DOWN TO THE GROUND. SO WE HAVE A COMMON MOVEMENT PATH, WHERE THE SIGN GOES, WHERE IT TRAVELS, UP, DOWN, OR SIDEWAYS. TREE, FLUFFY TREE, LEAVES FALLING DOWN AND HITTING THE GROUND. OK. SO IT HAS THE SAME. IT HAS HAND SHAPE PATTERNS AND MOVEMENT PATHS. THERE'S A MOVEMENT RHYME. ALSO, LOCATION, WHERE THE SIGN IS PLACED, WHERE WE ESTABLISH THE TREE, WHERE WE PUT THE PUFFY TREE, WHERE THE LEAVES FALL. OK. I CAN'T PUT THEM IN DIFFERENT PLACES. I HAVE TO LEAVE THE TREE IN THE SAME PLACE. SO THAT'S ANOTHER TYPE OF RHYME. AND THEN WE HAVE PALM ORIENTATION. IF MY PALM IS FACING TO MY RIGHT OR TO MY LEFT, DOWN OR UP. OK. MY 5 HAND SHAPES. THE PALMS ARE FACING DOWN OR TO THE SIDE, AND THAT IS IN ASL RHYME, TOO. AND THEN OF COURSE, WE HAVE THE NONMANUAL MARKERS. WHEN I SAY THIS-- WHEN I SAY, "PUT THE TREE UP," YOU CAN SEE THE SCENE. I'M SETTING THE SCENE, SO MY EYEBROWS ARE UP, ALL MY NONMANUALS ON MY FACE ARE SHOWING YOU THAT I'M SETTING THE SCENE. I'M PREPARING YOU, AND WHEN MY EYEBROWS COME DOWN, I'M EXPLAINING TO YOU, AND THAT'S ALTOGETHER HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME. HAND SHAPE, MOVEMENT PATH, LOCATION, PALM ORIENTATION, AND NONMANUAL SIGNALS, AND THAT ALL-- ALL THESE PARAMETERS MAKE A LINE DIVISION LIKE YOU JUST HAD WITH "TYGER TYGER." "BRIGHT," "FOREST IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT." ON THE LAST LINE AND THE FIRST LINE, "NIGHT" AND "BRIGHT," THOSE RHYME. THAT'S THE SAME WITH ASL POETRY. IT ALL ENDS-- EACH LINE ENDS WITH A LINE DIVISION. SO THERE ARE DEFINITE PAUSES, DEFINITE PLACES WHERE THE RHYME STOPS. THE PAUSES ARE WHERE THE LINE STOPS. SO IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A TRADITIONAL APPROACH, THERE'S A LOT OF BENEFITS FOR THAT. THERE'S OTHER WAYS TO DISCUSS METER AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES THAT WE CAN DISCUSS, BUT YOU GET THE IDEA. SO THIS APPROACH HAS MANY BENEFITS TO IT. SO WE HAVE-- THE SIGN HAS MEANING SO THAT THERE IS POETRY, SO THE BENEFITS OF ANALYZING THIS MEANS THAT IT'S VALIDATED. THERE'S DIFFERENT KINDS OF RHYME, MORE THAN JUST SPOKEN LANGUAGE POEMS. SO WHAT HAS BEEN FOUND HAS VALIDATED SIGNED POETRY. IT ESTABLISHES A COMMON VOCABULARY. WE CAN ALL AGREE ON HOW TO DISCUSS POETRY. SO STUDENTS FROM A DEAF SCHOOL NOW WHO ARE STUDYING FROM CALIFORNIA AND FROM NEW YORK. TWO DIFFERENT GROUPS OF STUDENTS MEET IN OHIO, AND THEY DISCUSS POETRY. THEY HAVE THE SAME VOCABULARY, THE COMMON VOCABULARY AND THE SAME MEANINGS TO DISCUSS IT WITH. IT PROVIDES TOOLS FOR ANALYZATION. BUT IT HAS SOME LIMITATIONS, TOO, THIS APPROACH. WHEN I FIRST STARTED READING ABOUT LINE, I WAS VERY CONFUSED BECAUSE POETRY HAS LINES, AND I DIDN'T SEE THAT IN ASL. I CAN SEE IT IN WRITTEN. YOU CAN SEE THAT "TYGER TYGER IN THE NIGHT," "FOREST IN THE NIGHT" AND "BRIGHT," YOU CAN SEE THAT, BUT IN ASL, I COULDN'T FIND WHERE THE LINE DELINEATIONS WERE. SO HERE YOU CAN SEE FOR YOURSELF. SO CLAYTON VALLI SAID IT VERY WELL, OK? SO SPOKEN LANGUAGE, SPOKEN POETRY. YOU CAN HEAR IT, YOU CAN SEE--AND WRITTEN, YOU CAN SEE IT, BUT IN ASL, IT DIDN'T SEEM TO FIT BECAUSE THE STRUCTURE'S SO DIFFERENT. IT'S VERY VISUAL, SO WHERE THE LINE DELINEATIONS ARE, IT'S VERY HARD TO SEE BECAUSE THE STRUCTURE'S VERY DIFFERENT. SO I WONDERED IF I COULD FIND ANOTHER APPROACH TO VIEW THE MOVEMENT BECAUSE THE STRUCTURE DIDN'T-- I COULDN'T APPLY THE SAME STRUCTURE TO ASL AND WRITTEN POETRY. SO WE HAVE TO BUILD ON THE STRUCTURE. WE HAVE THE STRUCTURE, AND THEN WE HAVE TO BUILD ON THE STRUCTURE. AND WE HAVE TO SHIFT OUR PARADIGM OF COURSE. SO WE DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TO LOOK AT SPOKEN AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE AND ALL THEIR RULES AND APPLY THAT TO ASL. WE DON'T HAVE TO. IT'S ALREADY THERE. ASL ITSELF IS A LANGUAGE, AND IT HAS LITERATURE. WE ALREADY KNOW THAT. WE DON'T NEED TO DISCUSS IT ANYMORE. SO NOW A NEW LANGUAGE. LET'S TALK ABOUT MOVIES, MOVIE LANGUAGE. MANY OF YOU MIGHT SAY, "MOVIE LANGUAGE? IT HAS A LANGUAGE?" I SAY YES. IT HAS PARTS. FROM ALL THOSE PARTS, YOU CAN MAKE ANY NUMBER. THERE'S NO LIMIT OF THE KIND OF STORIES THAT YOU CAN TELL THROUGH FILM, OK? ALSO, YOU CAN MAKE GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN FILM. YOU CAN SHOOT A DIFFERENT SHOT IN A WRONG PLACE AND HAVE SEQUENCE ERRORS. YOU CAN ALSO HAVE CONTINUITY ERRORS, WHERE IN ONE SHOT THE GUY'S SMOKING WITH HIS RIGHT HAND, AND THE NEXT SHOT HE HAS THE CIGARETTE IN HIS LEFT HAND. WELL, IT'S A CONTINUITY ERROR. IT'S A SEQUENCING ERROR. THIS IS NOT A NEW IDEA THAT PARALLELS FILM LANGUAGE AND ASL POETRY LANGUAGE. THIS IS NOT A NEW IDEA. I JUST KIND OF PICKED THIS UP OUT OF THE DIRT AND DUSTED IT OFF AND BROUGHT IT BACK. OK. NOW THIS IS VERY OLD. THIS IS FROM 1979, OK? DR. STOKOE WAS LOOKING AT THE EVERYDAY LANGUAGE AND NOTICING THE PARALLELS BETWEEN ASL POETRY AND FILM, OR MAYBE HE WAS JUST INTERNALIZING THAT AND IT HADN'T BEEN ANALYZED YET, BUT ANY STORY-- AFTER THIS LECTURE, FROM NOW ON WHEN YOU NOTICE PEOPLE SIGNING, YOU'RE GONNA NOTICE THAT THESE TECHNIQUES ARE INVOLVED. ANY STORY. LIFE HISTORY STORIES OR... LIKE, WHEN I WAS 10 YEARS OLD AND RIDING MY BICYCLE IN COLORADO-- MY BROTHER AND I DID FOR 4 DAYS. WE RODE BICYCLES UP THE MOUNTAINS FOR 4 DAYS, AND ONE MORNING, I WAS REALLY TIRED, AND WE GOT DOWN THE MOUNTAIN, AND IT WAS A-- WE GOT TO A FLAT SPOT, AND IT WAS REALLY NICE, BUT I FELT LIKE I WAS GONNA PASS OUT. I WAS SO EXHAUSTED. MY LEGS WERE STILL GOING, BUT I WAS SO EXHAUSTED. I FELL ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL OF MY BIKE AND HIT A ROCK AND FELL OFF MY BICYCLE, FELL OFF MY RIDE. OH, BOY! MY BROTHER WENT AND LEFT ME. HE SPED ON AHEAD. I'M NOT A NATIVE SIGNER OBVIOUSLY, BUT THE IDEA OF THAT STORY SHOWS YOU THE DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES. I HAD CLOSEUP SHOTS AND A NORMAL VIEW AND A DISTANT SHOT. HERE'S A CLOSEUP SHOT, OK? SO YOU ZOOM IN FOR THAT. HERE'S A FAR SHOT WHEN THE BIKE HITS THE ROCK AND THEN YOU COME BACK UP CLOSE FOR A ZOOM SHOT INTO MY FACE WHEN I THE GROUND, OK? SO GOOD SIGNING GOES BACK AND FORTH FROM MEDIUM TO LONG TO CLOSEUP SHOTS JUST LIKE ANY FILM, AND STOKOE RECOGNIZED THAT. SO WHO GAVE STOKOE THAT IDEA? IT WAS ANOTHER DEAF PERFORMER. MANY YEARS AGO IN DEAF PERFORMANCE, BERNARD BRAGG-- THIS WAS HIS THING. HE TALKED ABOUT THE VISUAL VERNACULAR. STRONG MOVIE TECHNOLOGY INVOLVED, WORDS FROM THE CINEMA INVOLVED, A LITTLE BIT OF MIME, THAT KIND OF THING, BUT TO EXPLAIN EXACTLY WHAT VISUAL VERNACULAR IS, LET ME TELL YOU IT LOOKS A LITTLE BIT LIKE THIS. A MAN WITH AN AX, AND THEN YOU BECOME THE TREE AND YOU NOTICE THAT THIS MAN WITH AN AX IS HITTING YOU IN THE LEG, AND NOW WE HAVE A FAR SHOT WITH THE TREE GOING DOWN, GOING DOWN INTO THE GROUND, AND THEN WE HAVE A ZOOM SHOT WITH THE MAN HITTING THE TREE WITH THE AX. SO HAVE A SERIOUS OF CUTS. IT'S LIKE A MOVIE. IT'S LIKE YOU'RE WATCHING A FILM, OK? THAT'S WHAT A VISUAL VERNACULAR IS. SO YOU GET THE IDEA OF THAT. SO WHAT STOKOE ALREADY REALIZED LINGUISTS ARE STARTING TO ANALYZE AND PERFORMERS ALREADY KNEW BECAUSE THAT WAS THEIR WORK. THEY TOOK THE LANGUAGE AND APPLIED IT TO CINEMATIC TECHNIQUES AND THEN ANALYZED IT. WHY NOT? WHAT'S STOPPING US FROM DOING THAT? WE HAVEN'T PUT THE CINEMATIC-- WE CAN PUT POETIC TECHNIQUES OR POETIC VERNACULAR AND APPLY THAT TO ASL POETRY, AND WHY HAVEN'T WE? WE HAVE OTHER PARALLELS, SO WHY NOT USE THEM? OK. ALSO EDITING. SO I WANT TO GIVE YOU SOME VOCABULARY. THIS IS ALSO SOMETHING WE HAVE FROM VALLI. OK. NOW HOLD THAT IN YOUR MIND, AND LET'S GET SOME VOCABULARY, AND WE'RE GONNA PUT THIS TOGETHER. OK. NOW THE SHOT. LIKE THE WORDS ARE SYMBOLS OR SIGNS. OK. THAT'S ONE PART. IN THE MOVIES, THE CINEMATIC PARTS ARE THE SHOT. OK. LIKE THE FRAME. THE FRAME SPACE. SO NOW YOU HAVE YOUR SHOTS. YOU HAVE YOUR LONG SHOT, YOUR MEDIUM SHOT, AND YOUR CLOSEUP. OK. AND YOU HAVE CAMERA ANGLE. LOOKING UP AT SOMETHING, LOOKING DOWN AT SOMETHING, WHERE YOUR CAMERA ANGLE IS. NOW YOUR SHOT IN SPACE. NOW YOU HAVE SHOT IN FRAME TIME, WHICH MEANS DURATION. HOW LONG IS THE SHOT? HOW LONG DO YOU STAY ON THAT ONE SUBJECT, OR IS IT A QUICK-- LIKE MTV, YOU KNOW? YOU GET BOMBARDED WITH ALL THESE EDITING-- ALL THESE DIFFERENT SHOTS, AND IT COMES AT YOU FAST, SO IT DOESN'T STAY LONG, OK? OK. SO MOVEMENT IN THE FRAME. CAN HAVE CHARACTERS OR PEOPLE WALKING BACK AND FORTH IN THE FRAME, OR YOU CAN HAVE SPEED CONTROL. YOU CAN HAVE SLOW MOTION. I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS A KID I ALWAYS USED TO LOVE WATCHING TELEVISION. I LOVED FOOTBALL, AND I LOVED WHEN THEY DID THOSE SLOW MOTION SHOTS. IT WAS JUST GREAT TO WATCH THAT BALL BE SNAPPED AND WATCH IT SPINNING VERY SLOWLY IN A CLOSEUP SHOT. THE CROWD WOULD WATCH THE RECEIVER RUNNING DOWN THE FIELD IN SLOW MOTION. THEN THE CATCH WHEN IT JUST HIT THAT SWEET SPOT AND HE WENT OVER THE GOAL LINE. OK. WHEN I WATCHED FINALLY A REAL GAME IN PERSON, I WAS SO DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE IT DIDN'T HAVE ALL THAT SLOW MOTION, AND IT WAS SO FAR AWAY. I WAS SITTING WAY UP IN THOSE CHEAP SEATS, AND I COULDN'T SEE THE PLAYERS. IT WAS AWFUL. I LOVED MUCH BETTER WATCHING IT ON TELEVISION. I COULD SEE-- I HAD THE MUSIC, AND I HAD THE MOVEMENT, AND IT WAS WONDERFUL. SOME OF IT WAS FAST, AND SOME OF IT WAS SLOW. SO ASL POETRY HAS THAT. OK. SO YOU'VE GOT YOUR FRAME, RIGHT? THE FRAME IS STABLE, BUT THE CAMERA MOVES, OK? SO YOUR CAMERA CAN PAN. YOUR CAMERA CAN PAN ALL THE WAY ACROSS A LARGE FIELD. TRACKING MEANS THE CAMERA CAN FOLLOW A CHARACTER. LIKE "ER" IF ANY OF YOU WATCH "ER." THEY'RE FAMOUS FOR THAT. THEY'RE ALWAYS TRACKING THEIR PEOPLE ALL OVER THE PLACE. YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE IN THE CAMERA, MOVING AROUND THE HOSPITAL, OK? SO THAT'S THE POINT OF VIEW. THE CAMERA IS YOUR POINT OF VIEW. SO SUPPOSE YOU HAVE HOUSE IN THE DISTANCE. YOU CAN ZOOM. YOU CAN ZOOM FAST, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU'RE RIGHT THERE AT THE DOOR OF THE HOUSE. SO YOU CAN PLAY WITH SPACE IN ASL. YOU CAN HAVE SHOTS WITH SPACE AND TIME, AND THEY EACH HAVE THEIR OWN VOCABULARY. SO LET'S GO BACK TO THE VALLI POEM. OK. SO THE FIRST SHOT IS A MEDIUM SHOT IN THE OPENING. HE SAYS, "EVERY DAY IN THE MORNING, I WOULD DRIVE," OK? IT'S LIKE A NARRATOR. IT'S A NARRATIVE, SO HE'S KIND OF A MEDIUM SHOT. "EVERY MORNING, I WOULD DRIVE," BUT WHERE'S THE CAMERA ON THAT? THE CAMERA'S, LIKE, FROM HIS WAIST TO HIS HEAD, OK? SO IT'S LIKE A MEDIUM SHOT. NOW SHOT TWO, THE CAMERA REVERSES ITSELF. IT'S GOT A REVERSE ANGLE, AND IT SHOWS THE LANDSCAPE. IT'S NOT ON CLAYTON VALLI IN A MEDIUM SHOT ANYMORE. IT'S REVERSED ITSELF AND SEES THE LANDSCAPE, AND IT'S PANNING THROUGH THE LANDSCAPE. SO THE CAMERA THEN IS TRACKING AND PANNING, AND IT STOPS AT THE TREE. IT STOPS AT THE TREE. SO THEN THE TREE IS NOT CLOSE. THE TREE IS A LONG SHOT, OK? SO THAT'S THE MEDIUM SHOT OF THE TREE, AND THERE'S NO MOVEMENT. YOU JUST SEE THE TREE STATICALLY. SO THAT'S 1, 2, 3 OPENING SHOTS IF YOU WANT TO TALK CINEMATIC LANGUAGE, OK? AND THEN HE SHOWS THE SUN BEARING DOWN ON THE TREE. HE HAS A LONG SHOT AND A MEDIUM SHOT, SO YOU CAN GO BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN CLOSEUPS, LONG SHOTS, MEDIUMS. OK. SO WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT SHOT PARTS, RIGHT? SO WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH VOCABULARY AND WORDS AND... WHAT DO WE DO WITH ALL THESE DIFFERENT SHOTS? HOW DO WE PICK THAT SHOT AND PUT THE OTHER SHOT RIGHT NEXT TO IT AFTER THE FIRST SHOT? FOR IMPACT. AND THAT'S THE GOAL OF POETRY, TO EMPHASIZE, TO IMPACT USING LANGUAGE. I MEAN, IN EVERYDAY LANGUAGE, YOU CAN HAVE IMPACT AND EMPHASIS, TOO, BUT THAT'S THE GOAL OF POETRY--IMPACT. HEH HEH HEH. EDITING-ING-ING-ING. SO NOW I WANT TO SHOW YOU JUST A BRIEF EXAMPLE OF, LIKE, A FILM, OK? IT'S A BRIEF FILM SNIPPET. GET OFF MY BACK. HEH. SO FIRST WE'RE GONNA BREAK THROUGH WITH THE FIL-- THIS WAS A FIRST. THIS WAS A BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY. THIS IS SERGEI EISENSTEIN. THIS MOVIE IS "THE BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN" FROM 1928, APPROXIMATELY 1928. IN THE TWENTIES. THIS WAS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND. SO IT'S A SILENT-- IT HAS MUSIC, BUT IT'S BASICALLY A SILENT FILM. THAT'S PANNING DOWN, TRACKING, SEE? SO YOU GET THE IDEA. HEH HEH HEH. [LAUGHTER] OK. HA HA. WE GET THE IDEA. WE DON'T NEED TO GO ON WITH THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE. SORRY, BUT OK. IMPACT. SO HOW DO YOU MAKE THAT IMPACT? YOU EDIT DIFFERENT SHOTS. YOU TRACK, YOU CLOSEUP, YOU DISTANCE, YOU GET THAT-- OH, THAT LITTLE BOY. THAT WAS A CLOSEUP OF HIS FACE SAYING, "MAMA!" OK? ZOOMED IN ON HIM, AND THE PEOPLE RUNNING DOWN THE STAIRS, OK? LOTS OF IMPACT SHOTS, LOTS OF EDITING. THE FIRST TIME-- THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT PEOPLE REALLY USED A LOT OF EDITING TECHNOLOGY. WE HAVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF EDITING NOW. I DON'T WANT TO MENTION ALL OF THEM, BUT JUST TO GIVE YOU THE IDEA, HERE'S THE FIRST KIND. DIALOGUE EDITING. OF COURSE, "THE BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN" DIDN'T REALLY HAVE EDITING FOR DIALOGUE BECAUSE IT DIDN'T REALLY HAVE DIALOGUE. ACTUALLY, I DID THAT WRONG. I DID IT ON THE WRONG SIDE ANYWAY. SO YOU'D HAVE TO DO THAT-- YOU'D HAVE TO SHOW THAT ON THE RIGHT SIDE, BUT OK. SO PARALLEL EDITING. OK. YOU HAVE A STORY HAPPENING, AND THEN YOU HAVE ANOTHER STORY HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME, AND YOU GO BACK AND FORTH TO EACH STORY. LIKE, UM--LIKE A HORROR MOVIE. YOU KNOW, "PSYCHO," THE WOMAN'S IN THE SHOWER, AND YOU HAVE THIS CREEPY MUSIC, AND THEN YOU HAVE THIS MAN COMING IN THE DOOR LIKE THIS, AND THEN YOU CUT BACK TO THE WOMAN IN THE SHOWER. SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING, AND THEN YOU CUT BACK TO THE MAN, AND HE PULLS OUT THE KNIFE, AND THEN YOU CUT BACK TO THE WOMAN IN THE SHOWER. SHE SEES HIM, SHE SCREAMS, AND THEN YOU CUT BACK TO THE MAN STABBING THE WOMAN. OK. CUT-AWAYS. OK. THE CAMERA'S ON THE PERSON WITH THEIR HANDS UP SCREAMING, AND THEN YOU CUT AWAY TO THE SHIP. OK. SO THE CHARACTER'S STORY GOES ON, AND THEN YOU CUT AWAY TO THE SHIP, OR YOU SEE TWO PEOPLE WALKING IN THE PARK, AND THEN YOU CUT AWAY TO THE MOON, AND YOU SEE THE MOON, AND THEN YOU CUT AWAY BACK TO THE PEOPLE, OK? SO YOU CAN CUT AWAY TO DIFFERENT STORIES, DIFFERENT SHOTS. MONTAGE. THAT'S WHAT WE JUST SAW, THAT REAL FAST INTERPLAY OF CUTTING BACK AND FORTH. THAT TELLS THE STORY WITH VISUAL LANGUAGE, OK? SO IT'S A VISUAL STORY, SO THAT'S WHAT WE MEAN BY MONTAGE. OK. IT ALL FITS TOGETHER, SO THESE ARE ALL THE DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES. WE ALREADY SHOWED YOU THE EXAMPLE. OK. ON THE STEPS. SO YOU SAW THAT EDITING. OK. NOW THAT MOVIE-- THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THAT MOVIE. THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE TO MAKE A MOVIE. ASL POETRY IS JUST ONE PERSON, AND THAT ONE PERSON, THAT ONE POET IS LIKE THE MOVIEMAKER. THEY ARE A SCREENWRITER... THEY PICK WHAT-- THEY'RE A TEXT EDITOR. THEY PICK WHICH LITERATURE THEY WANT. THEY ARE A CAMERA OPERATOR. THEY DECIDE WHAT THE SHOTS ARE TO BE AND IF THEY'RE GONNA TRACK, OR IF THEY'RE GONNA PAN. THEY'RE THE ACTOR THEMSELVES. LIKE CLAYTON VALLI. HE WAS IN HIMSELF-- IN THE MOVIE, IF YOU WILL, HE WAS AN ACTOR. THE POET BECOMES AN EDITOR. THEY SWITCH THE SHOTS AROUND AND DECIDE WHAT SEQUENCE THE SHOTS ARE GOING TO BE AND ALSO ALTOGETHER THEY ARE THE DIRECTOR. LOTS OF DIFFERENT ROLES FOR ONE PERSON TO PLAY. SO YOU CAN ANALYZE THE SKILLS ON DIFFERENT LEVELS. MAYBE SOME POETS ARE BEAUTIFUL AS FAR AS WRITING, OR THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL AS FAR AS CAMERAWORK, OR MAYBE THEY'RE A WONDERFUL EDITOR. MAYBE THEIR ACTING SKILLS ARE NOT QUITE UP TO PAR. SO THEY MAY HAVE AREAS OF SKILL. WE'LL SEE IF TIME PERMITS, BUT I'D LIKE TO SHOW YOU ANOTHER POEM THAT REVEALS THESE DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES ALL IN ONE, OK? THAT POEM IS ABOUT MISSING CHILDREN, AND I CAN'T SHOW YOU ALL, BUT I'VE GOT SOME. I CAN SHOW YOU THE FIRST SECTION. OK. ANOTHER HAPPY STORY THERE. [LAUGHTER] SORRY. I DIDN'T REALIZE WHAT I WAS PICKING, I SUPPOSE. WANT TO SHOW THE AUDIENCE ALL THIS DEATH AND DESTRUCTION. MAYBE I DID A BAD EDITING JOB ON THAT. SORRY. ANYWAY, MAYBE IT WAS WINTER WHEN I PICKED THOSE. I WASN'T FEELING QUITE AS HAPPY AS NOW. IT IS SPRING, BUT ANYWAY, OK. SO OBVIOUSLY, IMPACT. OBVIOUSLY HAS IMPACT, AND DID YOU NOTICE THE DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES? YOU HAD AN OPENING SEQUENCE. OK. MORE CLOSEUP WITH THE MAN EXPLAINING WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE. OK. WHAT THE BOY LOOKED LIKE, OK? AND THE BOY WAS A COFFEE FARMER, PLANTING SEEDS, OK? AND SO THERE WAS DEFINITE--THERE WAS-- YOU COULD SEE THE LONG SHOT WITH THE BOY OFF IN THE DISTANCE, AND THEN IT ZOOMED IN, AND YOU COULD SEE WHAT WAS HAPPENING, AND THAT WAS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF WHAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN LATER ON, AND THEN WHEN THE BOY FINALLY DIED, OK, SO THERE WAS NO SLOW MOTION UNTIL THE END. THAT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT, AND THE BOY WAS HANDING THE SEED TO THE SOLDIER, BUT IT WASN'T GONNA DO HIM ANY GOOD ANYWAY, BUT AS WE GOT TO THAT POINT, IT WAS SLOW MOTION AS THE GUN WAS BEING PULLED BACK AND THE TRIGGER BEING SHOT. OK. SO YOU WANTED TO USE SLOW MOTION FOR THAT FOR EMPHASIS. OK. ALSO, SO LATER, WHEN YOU WERE CLOSEUP, THEN YOU WENT FAR OUT. SO YOU COULD PAN THE COFFEE FARM. YOU COULD SEE THE PICTURE OF THE WHOLE FIELD, AND THEN YOU COULD COME BACK IN ON THE BOY AND THE FATHER AND THEIR REACTIONS. OK. AND THEN YOU COULD PAN BACK OUT TO SEE THE PEOPLE DYING, THE SOLDIERS KILLING ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE FIELD. SO CLOSEUP, LONG SHOT. OK. I'D LIKE TO-- OUR TIME'S RUNNING OUT. OTHERWISE, I WOULD LIKE TO GO INTO DEPTH ON SOME MORE TECHNIQUES FOR YOU, BUT--NOW THIS IS FROM VALLI--CLAYTON VALLI. VALLI PICKED SOMETHING ABOUT SEQUENCING. NOW FIRST IN HIS POEM, REMEMBER, HE SHOWED YOU THE HILLS, AND THERE WAS A LONG SHOT, AND THEN YOU WENT CLOSEUP ON THE TREE, AND IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT YOU SEE THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND THE TREE FIRST. THAT'S THE REASON. IT'S SITTING. IT'S CALLED THE ESTABLISHING SHOT. GIVE ME A SECOND. OK. SO YOU PAN OVER, AND THEN YOU CLOSE IN ON THE TREE AFTER YOU'VE ESTABLISHED THE SHOT, YOU'VE ESTABLISHED THE ENVIRONMENT. OK. SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO CREATE THE ENVIRONMENT FIRST BECAUSE THEN YOU KNOW THAT THE TREE IS ALONE. IT'S A LONELY TREE, OK? THE SYMBOLISM OF THAT IS A LONE, DEAF PERSON BEING MAINSTREAMED IN A HEARING ENVIRONMENT, OK? GOING INTO A PUBLIC SCHOOL AND BEING THE ONLY DEAF KID IN THE SINGLED OUT CLASSROOM AND EVERY DAY GOING, AND THE SAME AS BEING ALONE, GOING EVERY DAY BACK TO WORK. SO CLAYTON VALLI SET THE STAGE. HE SHOWED YOU THAT HE WAS THE ONLY ONE ON THE ROAD AND THAT THERE WAS AN OBLONG TREE THERE. HE IDENTIFIED WITH THE TREE, THE STRUGGLE OF THE TREE AGAINST THE WINDS AND THE STORMS, BUT THE STRENGTH OF THE TREE. THE TREE WASN'T STANDING UP STRAIGHT. THE TREE WAS STILL STANDING BUT NOT UP STRAIGHT. TOUGH TREE, SO THERE'S A LOT OF IDENTIFICATION. CLAYTON VALLI WAS THE LONE DRIVER. THE TREE WAS THE LONE TREE. OK. NOW RENNIE'S POINT. SHE USED A SLOW DISSOLVE, OK, IN THE BEGINNING. CLAYTON VALLI GAVE YOU A LONG SHOT, YOU KNOW, A FAR SHOT TO SHOW THE ENVIRONMENT. RENNIE STARTED CLOSE AND THEN WENT LONG AFTER THAT, OK, SO IT WAS THE OPPOSITE, AND IT WAS DIFFERENT REASONS FOR THAT. YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER THE GOAL. YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER WHAT IMPACT YOU WANT, AND THEN YOU PICK YOUR SHOTS, AND YOU PICK YOUR SEQUENCING SO YOU CAN MAKE THE MOST IMPACT. NOW WE HAVE A COUPLE OF MINUTES LEFT. SO MOST DISCUSSION UP TO THE YEAR 2000--HEH HEH-- HAS BEEN ABOUT NEW TECHNOLOGY, OK? COMPUTERS HAD A GREAT INFLUENCE ON OUR LIVES, SO WHAT'S NEXT? I'M INTERESTED TO SEE WHAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT NEXT. HAVE YOU EVER SEEN "THE MATRIX"? I SAW THAT MOVIE. OH, MY GOSH! THAT MOVIE WAS WILD. AFTER THAT-- I'M A CHANGED PERSON AFTER I SAW THAT MOVIE. I MEAN, THE STORY WASN'T, YOU KNOW, LIKE, ALL GREAT, BUT, MAN, THE TECHNOLOGY WAS SOMETHING ELSE. WE HAD "MICHAEL JORDAN-- MJ TO THE MAX," THE IMAX--YOU KNOW, THE IMAX THEATERS. THEY USED THAT TECHNOLOGY. THEY USED IMAX TECHNOLOGY. I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO SIGN IT, BUT, I MEAN, IT WAS JUST THIS INCREDIBLE TECHNOLOGY. MY GOD, IT WOULD BRING YOU SLOW MOTION, AND THEN IT WOULD QUICK INTO FAST MOTION. ANYWAY, THE TECHNOLOGY'S ALREADY THERE, AND THE TECHNOLOGY IS INFLUENCING SIGN LANGUAGE. I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THAT'S ALREADY IN SIGN LANGUAGE AND THEN SHOWED UP SECOND IN THE MOVIES OR VICE VERSA. I'M NOT SURE. BUT HERE'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT--MORPHING, WHICH IS THE NEXT TECHNOLOGICAL THING. THAT'S WHEN SOMETHING IS IN THE BEGINNING SOME ONE THING, AND THEN IT TURNS INTO SOMETHING ELSE AND BECOMES, LIKE, THIS OREO COOKIE. AT FIRST, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS. THEN IT SPLITS IN HALF, SO IT HAS MOTION, AND THEN IT MORPHS INTO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. YOU KNOW ALL KNOW WHAT MORPHING IS. GIVING YOU THE ELEMENT OF UNEXPECTED. THERE'S OTHER TECHNOLOGY INVOLVED, TOO, VISUAL VERNACULAR. YOU CAN SEE THAT IN HERE, THE DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES. [LAUGHTER] OK. YOU SEE THE REVERSE SHOOTING, REVERSE SHOTS? FROM THE CANVAS TO THE PAINTER, BACK AGAIN. CUBISM MAYBE, DOING CUBISM, RIGHT? HOW DO YOU REPRESENT THAT? [LAUGHTER] THERE. THERE'S YOUR MORPHING RIGHT THERE. AGAIN THAT, MORPHING, BECAME SOMETHING ELSE. THERE. THAT WAS GOOD. THAT WAS HAPPY, RIGHT? OK. NO WAR AND DESTRUCTION, DEATH AND BLOOD. OK. THAT WAS GOOD. FINALLY. PHEW. SO YOU SEE THE MORPHING IN THAT. I THOUGHT IT WAS PAPER OR THE EARTH OR A PLANET OR SOMETHING AND THEN GOES BACK TO THE PAINT. WHAT HAPPENS IS THE PAINT SPLATTERED ON THE CANVAS THEN BECOMES A BUTTERFLY, BECOMES A BIRD, RIGHT? OK. THEN THE BUTTERFLY COMES OFF THE CANVAS AND COMES ONTO YOUR HEAD. OK. SO THE OTHER QUESTION IS WHERE THE SHOT BEGINS AND WHERE THE SHOT ENDS. OK. THE LINES ARE GRAY. THEY'RE NOT CLEAR ANYMORE, SO THAT'S KIND OF A NEW WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY, A NEW WORLD OF CINEMATIC POETRY, IF YOU WILL, SO I THINK THAT'S-- ALL THAT SHOT DISCUSSION, ALL THAT DISCUSSION WE DID ABOUT THE SHOTS AND ALL THAT STUFF I GAVE YOU MAY BE ANTIQUATED BY NEXT YEAR. OK. SO WE'RE GOING BACK TO THE ORIGINAL QUESTION. HOW? HOW DO WE DESCRIBE POETRY WITHOUT SOUND? HOW DO WE DO THAT? OK. SO ONE WAY IS TO RECOGNIZE ITS CINEMATIC NATURE. IT ALREADY USES THE CINEMATIC TECHNIQUES. IT'S A PART OF IT. SO WHEN WE--SO WHY NOT USE THE LANGUAGE FOR THAT FOR ARTISTIC CREATIVE PURPOSES? WHY NOT USE CINEMATIC LANGUAGES? OK. SO THE CONCLUSION IS... I WONDER. HEH HEH. I FEEL LIKE WE'RE JUST SCRATCHING THE SURFACE AS IT IS NOW. IT'S INTERESTING, THOUGH. SIGN LANGUAGE HAS BEEN-- HAS LIVED FOR MANY, MANY THOUSANDS OF YEARS. PHILOSOPHERS LIKE PLATO AND ARISTOTLE-- ARISTOCRANES, ALL THE GREEKS WROTE ABOUT DEAF SIGNERS. IN ATHENS, THERE WAS A GROUP-- THERE WAS A COMMUNITY IN ATHENS. THERE'S ALL THESE REFERENCES TO THE DEAF. IN THE FIFTH CENTURY B.C., THE GREEKS KNEW THAT THERE WAS SIGN LANGUAGE ALL OVER, AND THEY KNEW BACK THEN THAT SIGN LANGUAGE HAD CLOSEUP SHOTS AND LONG SHOTS, BUT I WONDER IF-- I MEAN, WE CONSIDER CINEMATIC LANGUAGE A NEW MEDIUM, BUT DEAF PEOPLE HAVE HAD IT FOR 2,000, 2,500 YEARS. HEH HEH HEH. IT'S NOT NEW IN THEIR LANGUAGE. IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF THEIR LANGUAGE. WE'RE JUST DISCOVERING IT AS A TECHNIQUE, BUT THE RECOGNITION OF IT HAS BEEN VERY RECENT. I DON'T KNOW-- WE HAVEN'T ESTABLISHED IF SIGN LANGUAGE HAS INFLUENCED CINEMATOGRAPHY AT ALL, BUT--AND NOW WE HAVE DIGITAL MEDIA, AND PEOPLE CAN MAKE THEIR OWN MOVIES, AND THAT WILL INFLUENCE FILM. I THINK WE'LL SEE-- WE DON'T KNOW-- I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S TRUE, BUT ANYWAY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I APPRECIATE IT. I WANTED TO THANK DIRKSEN FOR COMING, AND WE'LL SEE YOU ALL NEXT FALL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, DIRKSEN.
Notes: 
"This project is supported by a Digitizing Hidden Collections grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). The grant program is made possible by funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation."