6 Nominees...Who Will Win Best Project?

Is it over? Really? It feels like we just started! Gosh, we learned a lot in such a SHORT period of time! I loved all of the projects, but I think the one that I enjoyed the most was the video race. I did not like having to come up with footage from an ‘un-camera’ named tool, but I really liked piecing together all of the parts in final cut. It was pretty stressful though, what with the 3D and the animation due and the editing project for 331 and then on top of that, put a new project that has to be completed in 48 hours. This was like a ‘lord of the flies’ day times 3. But I will say that Gabby's lecture on sound really helped me out! We had to come up with an idea, shoot it, import it and then make something presentable out of it. It was hard finding footage, but I luckily already had footage on my phone from when it snowed last and I just recorded some other random things from around. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but once I got into final cut and found some audio that I recorded, it just seemed to all fit into place. That was nice. I was going for the general theme of apartment life- the dogs barking, the babies crying, and the general lack of peace. I also enjoyed the final screening of both of the classes’ final projects. A great way to incorporate us and to show each other our hard work. It was a really nice ending to a fast-paced semester.  Bravo Silvas, thank you for a very instructive and well-rounded 4 weeks.

‘See you in another life Brother'

-Desmond Hume LOST

3D anaglyph

The 3D anaglyph shoot was a bit tougher then I had anticipated. Not only were the cardboard sets troublesome to mold into what we needed, but the story-line itself had to be changed a few times. We had drawn ‘slapstick comedy’ with ‘foreign’ and ‘crime drama’ as our sub genres. We went with our initial idea, and I think it will work (I hope). We ended up having to shoot our video a second time because I guess I wasn’t paying attention and one of the cameras wasn’t recording. I felt so bad after all of that work and I didn’t think to check both of the cameras after we shot. (I don’t know why, that really isn’t like me at all). It worked out in the end though because during the second shoot, Ethan and Palmer joined us as extras.

 We had a relatively simple set, especially when you consider the lavish set of some of the other groups that I saw, but I we were trying to make that play into our ‘slapstick’ theme. Now that the sequence has been shot and loaded onto the computer, I feel much better. I don’t think it will be too bad adding sound, but the problematic area will be AfterEffects. I will be working with Max to composite our video, and he says he’s good in the program, so I’m hoping that we will turn out a good video. I’m pretty excited to see how everything turns out, I am just ready for the end of the semester-SO MUCH STUFF TO DO! Film Boot Camp is wearing me down!

Theatre in the Rough

In my Intro to Editing class this semester, one of our assignments is to create a found footage video that carries with it a certain message or meaning. This is almost exactly what was being said in the article. We are taking someone else’s work and manipulating it in a way to create new meaning and depth. Isn’t that what editing is anyways? I’ve always found videos like Aaron Valdez’s (an experimental filmmaker that was shown to us in editing class) to be intellectual and meaningful. He pokes fun at celebrities or brings up certain global issues in a humorous manner. No matter what he does, he does it in a way that makes the audience sit back and really think about the meanings behind his films. For this assignment, in my editing class, may partner and I are tentatively going to manipulate found footage and images to convey the evolution of vampires and how widely accepted they are in today’s society…even found appealing… I think we are going to use some things like Nosferatu, Buffy, and maybe even Twighlight (much to my avoidance).

After reading this article, I feel like I am better prepared because I understand what goes on in the mind of someone who’s attempting to spread a message through found footage. It think it will be a good learning experience for us to say something profound with something we found. This is just another addition to the drills and assignments that will lead all of us towards a brighter path in filmmaking. It’s Film Boot Camp (Summer Session 2011).

PS. That’s what I am now referring to this semester as…

The 'Long Take'

I will have to admit that I was very skeptical that my group and I could produce a 1 minute film from a Bolex camera in one day. When this assignment was presented in class and it was said that it was going to be like a ‘lord of the flies’ type day where we would be asked to fend for ourselves and block, shoot, develop and transfer a film in 4 hours, I was nervous. Once the day of the so titled Long Take came, I was even more nervous then before because I showed up to class and we all immediately began working. I was in group 4, so we ended up having to go out first and help group 2 with their blocking and shooting.  

They ended up using Ethan as an extra and after about 20 minutes of blocking and planning, they had it timed perfectly. Once they shot, we were able to go with them to the dark room and watch them develop their film. That was cool for two reasons, first was because we got to watch to see exactly how to do it before we did it (in case they screwed up, we wouldn’t) and second because it was awesome to see their film images appear onto the strip. Now, I’ve take photography class before in high school and I’ve gotten to see photos hand-processed before, but this was cooler because the images actually came out! In my photography class, I always over exposed the paper, or something happened (user error) in the aperture or shutter speed settings.

When my group and I went out to film, I was the camera person, so I held the Bolex (heavier than it may appear) and tried my best to follow the directions and blocking. It was difficult because we were having the camera as a POV of a stalker and I had to make sure that it looked perfectly. It’s so hard when there is only one chance to get it right and only one chance not screw it up. While we were filming, I could tell that it was going to be good because, I don’t know how (by the grace of god or whoever), but it was the best version of all the run throughs that we had—thank goodness that it was a live take.

During the developing process, I kept having flashbacks of my photography class days where my pictures would come out black, or with no image at all. Luckily, after seeing the dried negative on the projector, it was awesome… The frames flicker a little and I think that was from the camera, but I think it works with what we were doing. It is going to be awesome!

So, all in all, the day turned out to be so much better then I had anticipated. I wish that we had more days to play around with the cameras and then get the immediate gratification of seeing all of our sweat and frustration out on the film. It was a great day!

Sound

After reading the articles today, I realized that s I grew up, more times then not, I close my ears to the sounds around me. When I was younger, I used to lay in my backyard and listen to the sounds that nature provided me. I especially enjoyed listening to a storm rolling in, with the wind blowing the leaves around in the trees, the thunder growing closer and the feeling of impending rain. that was one of my favorite things, an after I read these articles, I realized that I spend the majority of my time listening to manufactured sounds through my tv or radio. I need to get back to the way it used to be, laying In the grass, listening to nature, It’s really sad, I feel, that my life has turned into the life that it has.

Wells...Theory on Animation

After reading Wells' Notes On A Theory Of Animation, I realized that I have never given a lot of thought to all of the animated movies that I have seen. I have watched Disney animation for as long as I can remember and I don't believe that I have ever taken the time to understand and fully appreciate the work and time that it takes to make a film that is as enjoyable and entertaining as the ones that I grew up watching.

Wells’ mentioned that experimental films are just as complex and as difficult to make, but I feel like even though they are just as challenging as a narrative animation, they are a lot harder to watch. It’s difficult for me to watch an experimental film, I guess because I have grown up watching linear films and have only gotten to watch experimental in my film classes- I have a lot more experience watching linear, especially animation. (On my list of top 25 movies, 10 of them are animation). It’s hard for me to interpret anything that is not linear and I feel like I’d have to watch the experimental several times over to fully get a grasp on what the director was intending for me to feel.

There are more and more different types of experimental films, and animations films that kids in today’s time watch. I think, after watching some of the animated films in today’s cinema, while I enjoy them greatly, I still love watching my old Disney movies-especially when I’m feeling a little under-the-weather with a bowl of chicken noodle soup J.

Neurological synesthesia, synesthesia in art and cymatics

Our senses are perceived as five distinctly different elements of our human condition. It’s hard to imagine when a person of average health only uses one sense at a time. When you pick up a smell or a sound, a person automatically looks around to see where the source of the smell or sound is coming from. The same goes for touch. All five of the senses work together so that we can get a complete understanding of the world around us. This idea of synesthesia is something that, to me, seems like it tries to describe the different ways that each individual person perceives their surroundings. It’s like trying to get the same exact story from five different witnesses to a crime. They all saw the same thing happen, and each have said the same general story, but in reality, they saw something that the other person didn’t. Each person’s psyche picked up on different clues and stored those clues in their minds. It’s like if the criminal was wearing a yellow shirt; the witness will remember the yellow shirt more then what was said or what happened. This coincides with a term called cymatics that is used to describe is the study of visible sound and vibration. It is putting our senses of sight and sound together which, under normal circumstances, cannot be seen. It is AMAZING! Having the sound vibrations create art is similar to a deaf Beethoven creating a symphony with just touch. The human condition is amazing to me and the way that our bodies work to connect the dots through our senses and the way we can create art through sound is just beyond super cool. It reminds me of a BlueMan Group’s performance. They use colors and sound to create art and entertainment. They are amazingly fun to watch live and it really gives you another way to enjoy your senses.

Reaction to Norman McLaren's 'Begone Dull Care'

As a student who has watched several different experimental films for class, it came as no surprise to me that it was very hard for me to understand Norman McLaren's Begone Dull Care. At first, like most experimental films, I found the film to be a bit disorienting and dizzying. After a couple of seconds of adjustment however, I was able to see that the film was just that- film. It was a developed film strip that had been distressed by coloring, scratching, and maybe bleaching. It was accompanied with a jazz score that made the piece easier to watch. Within a couple of minutes, it felt like I was watching a choreographed dance number where there were two lead dancers and about five backup dancers. The lead dancers would move about the screen and then the backups would follow. It actually turned out to be surprisingly pleasant. With the way the film looked, the distressed strip, it reminded me of another experimental film that I saw in one of my introductory film classes. I can’t remember the name of it, but the director took some found footage of a very old western film and ran it through a projector. Because it was so old and had been damaged from exposure to the elements, the film ran with color problems, hold in the film and scratches everywhere. The way that these new damages looked to the film itself allowed for the film to create a new theme. It completely changed the original tone. It’s crazy to think that just by adding some color, or distressing the emulsion to a piece of film, you can create a work of art that is totally original.