Haikus are designed to convey a brief idea of a subject through the senses.
emotions.
With this definition in mind, Hélène Blanpain asked her first-year students to create a haiku in video format during the period of confinement…
Hélène Blanpain, editing teacher, asked her 1st year students to make a short film during the period of confinement, with the following constraints:
- maximum 30-second video
- 6 shots maximum
- using royalty-free image, video and music banks
Once the entries had been completed, each student was given the opportunity to view and evaluate the other students’ haikus.
Here are the names of the short films and their respective directors:
- “Dévore” by Thomas BONNIN
- “Folie en quarantaine” by Maxime VEIGNEAU
- “Lonely Souls” by Paul TOUBOULIC
- “Sentimental dissidence” by Charlotte DAVY
- “Confinement” by Quentin VINCENTE
- “Ère grise” by Léonore MALENFANT
- “Le crépuscule du soir” by Aurélien COSTES
- “Le départ by Jean-Marie BOUIN
- “L’envol” by Claire MAZELLE
Making a haiku in video format
Exercise brief
Haiku are designed to convey a brief idea of a subject through the senses, emphasising emotions.
The question to which the students had to provide a visual response was: “How do you translate a feeling into a plastic production?”
Instructions and constraints of the exercise
The students had to complete this exercise within the following constraints:
- to create a visual haiku, a visual representation of a sensation, a feeling or an emotion
- several options for the images: shoot with their own equipment, taking into account all the usual technical and aesthetic elements, and/or collect good-quality shots, free of charge and available on royalty-free image, video and music banks
- the possibility of using synthesizers (titling) or a voice-over to reinforce the message
- use royalty-free music and sound effects (credits)
- give the visual poem a title to clarify the director’s intentions
What is a Haiku?
Haiku (俳句 aï-kou) is a short poem. This form of poetry was developed by Japanese poets. They are often inspired by nature, a moment of beauty or a poignant experience.
Haiku express a sensation, a kind of snapshot that translates an emotion, a fleeting feeling: they are designed to convey a brief idea of a subject through the senses, emphasising emotions.
“A haiku is simply what is happening in this place, at this moment. Bashô (1644-1694)
“In haiku there is a writing of the moment” Roland Barthes
