{"id":1181,"date":"2010-01-18T12:03:24","date_gmt":"2010-01-18T17:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/2010\/01\/18\/ways-to-shoot-starlings\/"},"modified":"2010-01-18T12:03:24","modified_gmt":"2010-01-18T17:03:24","slug":"ways-to-shoot-starlings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/2010\/01\/18\/ways-to-shoot-starlings\/","title":{"rendered":"ways to shoot starlings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Shoot&#8221; as in film, photograph, capture and display, but also fly with them, shoot the rapids of their movement, accompany them, become starling. These mesmerizing videos of moving masses of starlings, &#8220;murmurations&#8221; as they&#8217;re called, like other YouTube animal videos, tell us as much about the phenomenon being watched as about those watching it.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XH-groCeKbE?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>It all gets going here at around the 3&#8217;20&#8221; mark. But it would be nice if we were given some alternative soundtrack options. Like this one, with no commentary, just a few intertitles, set to the music of Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard Ensemble:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8vhE8ScWe7w?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>I like the interplay between still shots and motion sequences, and even the traffic moving beneath them, and the sound of the traffic, adds a nice touch.<\/p>\n<p>Bill Oddie&#8217;s video is as much about the starlings as about its quietly awestruck observer, with his whispered play-by-play, Qigong-like imitative acrobatics, and the way he holds his hands up for warming to the blue TV-screen light of the starling-filled sky:<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><br \/>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MuY9hJ6gKeI?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>As the starlings are allowed to get going (&#8220;cascading down&#8230; the waterfall&#8221;, as he says), we&#8217;re again given piano accompaniment, though it&#8217;s less intrusive than in the first one above or than the music in this next one, where a brash, distorted (and far too loud) radio soundtrack is allowed to transmogrify into Ave Maria accompanied by a turn signal, the starling watchers going on a little chase, like the tornado hunters that sprang up all around the Midwest US in the wake of the movie &#8220;Twister&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tpWEBALUbAk?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>In California, starlings are, as North American ornithologists like to remind us, exotic &#8220;nuisance birds&#8221; (harumph). There&#8217;s a lot that a complex-systems theorist could tell us about their movement. And, of course, this kind of thing is replicated in phenomena all across the natural world &#8212; in schools of fish (as shown in David Attenborough&#8217;s ocean documentaries), ants, etc.<\/p>\n<p>But what&#8217;s at the heart of our fascination, I think, is that it&#8217;s such a good example of what Deleuze or Bergson would call an encounter of different speeds, different sheets of time &#8212; ours and the starlings&#8217;. Their speed is much quicker than anything we are capable of, and they disappear into the collective movement of it. We also get absorbed in motion, while skiing, for instance, or in the midst of competitive sports, improvised music (when it works), or sex (ditto), but even then our collectively integrated speed is nothing like this.<\/p>\n<p>There are dozens, maybe hundreds, of these videos on YouTube, most of them shot poorly, probably using a cell phone or digital camera video. Their poor quality sometimes combines with atmospheric conditions &#8212; here it seems to be raindrops or perhaps condensation &#8212; to create a nearly abstract landscape moving-image:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EZURdyz7JHs?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Thanks to Natasha (whose <a href=\"http:\/\/adanceaday.wordpress.com\/\">year of dancing<\/a> completed itself at the solstice) for sharing the first of these.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Shoot&#8221; as in film, photograph, capture and display, but also fly with them, shoot the rapids of their movement, accompany them, become starling. These mesmerizing videos of moving masses of starlings, &#8220;murmurations&#8221; as they&#8217;re called, like other YouTube animal videos, tell us as much about the phenomenon being watched as about those watching it.<\/p>\n<p>http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XH-groCeKbE&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;<\/p>\n<p>It all gets going here at around the 3&#8217;20&#8221; mark. But it would be nice if we were given some alternative soundtrack options. Like this one, with no commentary, just a few intertitles, set to the music of Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard Ensemble:<\/p>\n<p>[. . .]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[688745,196,689701,689354],"tags":[406,228,9,639],"class_list":["post-1181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cinema_zone","category-ecoculture","category-media_ecology","category-image_nation","tag-animals","tag-deleuze","tag-visuality","tag-youtube"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4IC4a-j3","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1275,"url":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/2010\/05\/28\/offshore-toxic-event\/","url_meta":{"origin":1181,"position":0},"title":"offshore toxic event","author":"Adrian J Ivakhiv","date":"May 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The OTE keeps unfolding... http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ULLHYmz98P0&hl=en_US&fs=1& Does that thing (between 0:11 and 0:27) know what it is swimming through?? Here's a good collection of some of the most memorable images (but what's that awful music?): http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DRkPzUx0pSQ&hl=en_US&fs=1& Does Sarah McLaughlin improve things a little? http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Ik43Hgax4Kw&hl=en_US&fs=1& Or a little light Bach? http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=rip7kbZRv18&hl=en_US&fs=1& It's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/category\/politics_postpolitics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/ULLHYmz98P0\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1225,"url":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/2010\/03\/29\/like-a-ufo\/","url_meta":{"origin":1181,"position":1},"title":"like a ufo&#8230;","author":"Adrian J Ivakhiv","date":"March 29, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"And while we're on a Christian thematic... here are a few beautiful videos set to songs by Sufjan Stevens. Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland: And two more... John Wayne Gacy, Jr.: http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=otx49Ko3fxw&hl=en_US&fs=1& and Romulus: http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=O7oTRJU2120&hl=en_US&fs=1&","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music &amp; soundscape&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Music &amp; soundscape","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/category\/music-soundscape\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/otx49Ko3fxw\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1253,"url":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/2010\/04\/29\/pictures-of-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":1181,"position":2},"title":"pictures of light","author":"Adrian J Ivakhiv","date":"April 29, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"There are some beautiful photographs of Eyjafjallajokull accompanied by the Northern Lights here. (Thanks to Politics Theory Photography for posting on it.) They remind me of one of my favorite films about nature, seeing, and light, Peter Mettler's Picture of Light (with music by Jim O'Rourke). http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ND1buD9ccfk&hl=en_US&fs=1& http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=scUUJWWE34o&hl=en_US&fs=1&","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cinema&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cinema","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/category\/cinema_zone\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"article-1268225-094368A3000005DC-346_964x641.jpg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/files\/2010\/04\/article-1268225-094368A3000005DC-346_964x641.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1220,"url":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/2010\/03\/22\/more-great-scenes\/","url_meta":{"origin":1181,"position":3},"title":"more great scenes","author":"Adrian J Ivakhiv","date":"March 22, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=I6pOXjQLh7Y&hl=en_US&fs=1& From Bande a Part. (Thanks to Annette for suggesting it.) Or these two from Blow Up: http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_zeza1xeWKM&hl=en_US&fs=1& But I distinctly remember someone else coming along and kicking what was left of Jeff Beck's guitar neck right after this. Am I misremembering? Did I see something that was never there\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cinema&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cinema","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/category\/cinema_zone\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/I6pOXjQLh7Y\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1210,"url":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/2010\/03\/04\/spiritualizing-science\/","url_meta":{"origin":1181,"position":4},"title":"spiritualizing science","author":"Adrian J Ivakhiv","date":"March 4, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"or, Carl Sagan rides again, and again... http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XGK84Poeynk&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1 Prometheus Unbound raises questions about the atheist spirituality of Symphony of Science's star-scientist-studded videos (pun only slightly intended -- they are mostly men, yes, but drumming on djembes (!), and it's well worth waiting to see Jane Goodall tell us about the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Science &amp; society&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Science &amp; society","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/category\/science\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/XGK84Poeynk\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1279,"url":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/2010\/05\/29\/its-the-unknown-thats-killing-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":1181,"position":5},"title":"&#8220;It&#8217;s the unknown that&#8217;s killing us&#8221;","author":"Adrian J Ivakhiv","date":"May 29, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The Associated Press is reporting that the \"oil spill cam\" has become an Internet sensation. On Thursday, apparently, \"more than a million people watched it. Many found it hypnotic.\" Also, apparently, watching the video can \"offer clues to who is winning in the battle \u2014 BP or the oil,\" according\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Media ecology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Media ecology","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/category\/media_ecology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/HxZoKuyOTG0\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1181\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}