Rating those projects

1: Multiplane shoot and pixelation. This was my favorite project because it was a lot of fun to shoot. My group was great for this shoot and we had a lot of fun just playing around. Our video was incredibly random but I really think it worked out well.
2: Long-Take Shoot. While I was originally opposed to a long Friday class, when I got there that day it went well. The class worked well together to get all the assignments done on time. Our group shot second so it was cool to see what the other groups were working on.
3: Anaglyph shoot. This was a fun project to tackle. I really enjoyed learning how to add 3D effects to a short film. The shoot was also interesting. My group really came together and created an interesting piece based on the genres we received.
4: Rhythmic edit: This project was fun to shoot and edit. It was hard at first to create the segments but I really think my final edit turned out well.
5: Viral Video Shoot. I feel like this project was fun. I just didn't spend enough time on it because my idea came so late. I also didn't like how it was a solo project compared to all the other class projects. Still a fun assignments and here hoping my video goes viral.
6: Camera-less Filmmaking. This was a fun project but it pales in comparison to the rest of the class projects. It was cool to see how playing around with film strip could lead to awesome results. I just feel these make better art pieces than projected images.

Blogging from the backseat (Ted Talks)

Both of the Ted Talks videos have helped me put the final project in prospective. At first I was terrified about what exactly I was going to do for this project. After watching these videos I now know what I need to do. The video on tribes was particularly enlightening. My goal over he next few days is to decide what I have passion on and think needs a change. With this knowledge I will be able to construct an idea for a video thy can hopefully go viral. I enjoyed Seth Godwin's discussion of how trends have changed for getting ones point across. The Internet is truly a great tool for connecting people. You can find any type of group on the web. With this ability to be connected finding equal minded people is now easier than ever. All one needs is a leader with an idea. I'm now stoked to get to work on this project. I have a few ideas about what I can do my video on. Over the next few days I am going to finalize my plans and figure out what to do.

My 3D glasses

are a moustache with a feather...

yeah.

Long take review

When first hearing about the long take assignment being held on a Friday, I was initially upset. This meant that my trip home for the weekend would start and end later than anticipated. That being said, I enjoyed this assignment. I was a pleasure getting to work with a great group that was willing to accept and build on the ideas presented. During the planning stages we were able to get an idea and then use the objects found in the location (the cannon on Hoggard Lawn) to create an interesting shot. The day of the soot was also rather entertaining. Without having the authority of a teacher present the class was very talkative while still getting work done. It was refreshing to interact with the class in this manner. As the task manager for group one I also enjoyed getting to watch both of the first groups work on their shoots. I enjoyed getting to watch others being creative. When it came time for my group to shoot I feel we were prepared. We got out camera and blocked our action rehearsed a few times then shot. Afterwards we only had to wait a few minutes until we could develop and even ended up being able to leave early.

This will make sense later.

My only qualm with this project was the schedule. The first two groups having to develop and capture their film while we were shooting. Due to this, we had barely enough people and had to change some of our original plans. Other than that, I really enjoyed this project.

Life in the Theatre

As a dual film studies/technical theatre major, I found this article to be particularly intriguing. I think that there has to be some form of planning in the theatre (and film worlds). However, I also know the importance of spontaneity and experimentation in designing. My focus in the theatre is costume design and crafting, as such, I have had plenty of experience using the creative side of my brain. When doing designs I like to find inspirations from other designers or objects I see. These help me create the best designs. If I did not use these inspirations, I feel that my designs much like the synthetic music would come off as cold and inhuman. This article is helpful going into the anaglyph set making. This is a time for experimenting. I feel like this will be one of my favorite project from the class. I have dreams to work art department so this assignment interests me. I feel like the groups will need the mindset described in this article in order to create the best possibly anaglyph project.

Also here is a puppet I made:

Thoughts on Camera-less Filmmaking

I really enjoyed the camera-less filmmaking project. It was interesting to discover all the various ways to distress the film and paint on it. I liked to practice the various techniques and experiment with the film strip to create new looks. One thing that I enjoyed the most was the dye. It allowed for the most experimentation. It was fun to add oils, blow the dye, and use cotton balls to make my final product. Overall, I was really happy with how most of the project turned out. I regret that my animation did not look better. I thought it would look cool but watching it as the transfer to video happened it was barely noticeable. That is how I feel about a majority of this project. I feel like it sometimes looks cooler as a wall decoration than when projected. Still, I really enjoyed this project.

Sound and Images

I found the book chapter "Projectionist of Sound on Image" fascinating. As someone who is interested in sound design for films, I know the importance of the soundtrack in a film. This reading opened my mind up to many more possibilites. I knew that sound could make or break a scene. What I did not know, was that sound had the ability to give a series of still frames a sense of movement. I read the part about the opening doors in Star Wars and had to look it up. I liked how Chion phrased the abilities of sound and image. Sound has the ability to give a sequence temporal qualities while image helps to adjust the viewer to the space of the film. I also like the segment on playing video in reverse. Without sound it is possible to show anything in reverse, even if it defies the laws of gravity. However, once sound is in place this can no longer be done because the sounds make the video have a timecode. This book chapter opened my eyes to many interesting ideas to play with in the near future.

The second article also provided some useful information on creating a soundtrack for a film. It gave me insight in how to create the proper sound scape. The article urges readers to just close their eyes and listen for sounds. By doing this in an area needed for a film set, one can surely discover what sounds they need and how frequently they need to be played. This article would have been helpful to me a few semesters ago. I had to work on a soundscape project for a sound design class. I found it hard to get some of the spaces down. If I had just listened it would have been much easier.

Animation

When I read the title of this article, I was extremely interested in the subject matter. Animation is one of my favorite parts of the film industry. I had hopes that this article would hold many fascinating facts about this film style. After reading the first few paragraphs I realized that most of the information covered was about animation properties and the history. I did like how the author recognized Disney for his animation of Alice in a hand drawn background as opposed to a real life setting. Then I hit the page break and the article became more interesting with its discussion on experiment/abstract animation style. This is an area of animation that I have yet to explore. One of the more interesting pieces of information for me was the quote by Leopold Survage. I really enjoyed his take on art and animation. I like that it is about giving life to objects that normally seem lifeless. I enjoyed reading about the different ideas on experimental animation. The section on sound was beautiful. I agree with the article that sound is incredibly important for any animation. A good soundtrack can make the audience feel whatever the filmaker desires. Experimental animation has an interesting ability to use a variety of sounds and in some cases silence to create moods. Overall, this was an interesting and quick read. While I already had knowledge of some of these ideas and concepts, I still discovered new ideas.

Found this and laughed

“…and I was so surprised that I could turn a yellow letter into an orange letter just by adding a line."

When I first heard about synesthesia, it was only mentioned once in a book I was reading. After more research on the subject I find that I am ever more interested in this ability. It sounds like an incredible condition to experience. It was interesting to read up on the different types of synesthesia. I think the types that turn sound or images into colored visions are the most fascinating. I also found it intriguing that in some cases multiple senses are linked together. Honestly, I think this would be a condition that would be pleasurable to experience. The article talked about how synesthetes use this talent to help with regular tasks such as memorization but how it can also lead into more creative worlds like theatre and film. As a person interested in design I feel like this would lead to interesting artistic creations and is definitely something I will consider in all future endevors.

The article on Synesthesia art was fascinating. It was intriguing to read about the history of art and its connections to synesthesia. The section on the artists who had had this condition and used it as a source of inspiration. The color paintings definitely looked like something one would expect to find in an experimental video. I also found the bit about the color organ interesting. It was refreshing to see that artists have been interested in this concept for a long time now. Looking at the artwork created it can be easy to see how this associates with film and also gives me some examples for inspiration.

The video on cymatics was something I had never heard of. It does bring up some interesting ideas on the connection between sound and visuals in film. One of these cymatic machines could lead to an interesting experimental film. It is smart to always think of the connection between soundtrack and what is on the screen. It makes me think of keeping tempo and rhythm coherent with images.

Overall, all these articles have opened up some interesting ideas and I am excited to get creative.

First post!

The film was interesting and well made. It was painstakingly synched (images and audio). The creator spent a great deal of time on this process. Something that interested me greatly is that this film was made entirely by hand and without any computer animation. I am interested in learning the techniques and skills required to make a film such as this one. I am incredibly interested in discerning how some of the images were created and also how the filmaker kept them lined up frame to frame. One scene that sticks out in my head is when the frame went black and the tempo slowed. The white lines formed intricate patterns. I loved this use of negative space and it was a pleasurable shift from the rest of the film. With this segment, I am interested in how these ghostly lights were created. I want to know how the filmaker kept the shape and location similar with each other. Another part of this film that interested me were the moving characters/creatures. There walking cycles were well animated and there shapes stayed the same throughout each frame. The final thing of note to me was the use of color. I liked that there was a mix-up of many colors that drew my eyes to every part of the frame. Very interesting film and a great way to start this class.