November 29, 2004
532 - Mapping an LA Cityscape
When I sat down to try to figure out what to do for this assignment, I felt pressure to create an intact seamless panorama, partially I think because I had committed myself to using the 14 screen format. So I had some internal rebellion because I wanted to explore more of downtown then just a pretty view of a street or the skyline. My original idea, to photograph in the flower market, ultimately failed because I didn't have enough knowledge of the place beforehand and I had equipment troubles. So Sunday morning I was looking at a map of downtown LA, trying to figure out where to go and I decided on the Music Center because A) I love it there and 2)It was around Sunday Matinee time and I knew there'd be a lot of people around.
Once I got there however, I didn't feel any inspiration and ended up taking about 60 pictures, primarily panoramic views of DCP, Taper or Ahmanson. Then Dashed back home and set to work on creating a panorama. I didn't know about Photomerge, and I don't have Photoshop CS anyway, and the Stitcher trial wasn't working, so I ended up stitching it together and doing color correction by hand. Which is not the most efficient way. In the end, about 4 hours later I had a boring, too small, glitchful panorama of half of the Music Center. I was very disappointed in what I had created. I discovered that just having a visual representation of a place is never going to equal experiencing it.
What is the value in having an Aspen-movie-mapped world? Will it just encourage people to get out less? Do less? Experience less? Had I had a high-quality, well stitched panorama of the Music Center available at my fingertips, would I have really spent 3 hours on my Sunday afternoon Dashing downtown, just to walk from 5th and fig to 1st and Grand up a very steep hill, spend 4.50 on a bottle of Italian water, bum a light from an actor in "The School for Scandal" out for a smoke break, and watch workers construct the christmas tree? I doubt it, and look what I would have missed.
Luckily, assignment-wise inspiration did finally strike, and as it usually is, in the form of advertising. Whenever I find myself stuck creatively I can always solve the problem by looking at ways to sell "it." I'm beginning to think my true creativity comes only from selling something. But a promotion or marketing tool is one way that a pretty panorama can get someone experiencing places, things, life. So go marketing! Yay for promotion!
