My Experience With the Projects

I had a wide range of experiences with each project. 

Project 1: Film painting I rate as a 5. I learned a lot from this project, but still I felt not as creative on this one. It was interesting to learn about how projectors work and that is ultimately what I pulled from this project the most. Inks on film is interesting, but not something I would want to regularly do in the future. 

Project 2: Rhythmic Edit I would rate as a 3. It was a lot of fun to see the final product and I like seeing the rhythm of the cuts over and over again. It was fun to experiment with how to tell a story in such brief cuts. 

Project 3: Animation was my least favorite. I rate it a 6. I just didn't feel that creative in this process. I loved using super 8, but I felt that our end product was 'meh.' Maybe I hadn't prepared for it the way I had wanted to, but ultimately I felt I was the least creative with this one. That's not to say that I don't enjoy animation. On the contrary, I did animation for the video race and it rocked! I'll talk about that later. 

Project 4: Long Take I would rate as a 1. This was a fun project. I learned about how exposure worked in film, and the mystical nature of film processing was revealed to me. I found it very interesting, because I had never seen what a film negative looked like. This was an excellent project and a real eye opener. 

Project 5: 48 Hour Race was my second favorite project. I had never done animation with a digital still camera before. What I pulled away from this project was not so much that we can make films without cameras, but the pressure that I was under, and how I was able to use that make a fun film. I also used the opportunity to do green screen, something I had never done before. In the future I want to do more animation with still cameras. 

Project 6: Found Footage I rate as a 4. I like it, but I wasn't in like with it. I don't think I was very creative with the project. It is hard to take concepts and use other media to show them, but only do it in a minute. I think my project suffered because of the time restriction. Had I had more time, I could have better explained the point of my film with in the film. However, taking media to make different meanings is a real eye opener. I felt like a propaganda machine, because I could bend people to think what I wanted them to think, just by using image and sounds. 

6x1 Part Deux

If I could design a second part to 6x1, it would look a little something like this...

Once a person has mastered all 6 different forms of filmmaking taught, and of course there are more than 6 that could be taught, the next class should focus on harnessing a particular favorite and using its full potential. Each student should focus on making a 10 minute thesis film using one form of filmmaking taught. Each time we would come into class, we would work to continue building the film. People could paint in the room, or do rayograms in the blackbox. Andre could then go around and see our progress. We would also project works in progress and discuss them in class. By the end of the class, we would have a 10 minute film that has been crafted and made with the highest levels of professionalism. We could then submit these films to various festivals and get the class of 6x1 out there. Perhaps other schools would begin having these classes available. 

In my opinion, this is how I would want to see a second part of 6x1 because it seems to be the next logical conclusion. Once a person has learned to use a camera, they go and make films. Now that we've learned all these amazing qualities of film, we should make longer films with them. I keep thinking of that film, with the alien attack, that was done in rayograms. Could I student make something like that in a semester? Of course, this would involve outside of class work, but any filmmaker that is serious in their art and craft knows that filmmaking goes beyond the classroom. Thoughts anyone?

Response to Yes Men

Yes Men was an okay movie. Personally I didn't see how these people were going to change the world through pranks. The act of impersonation isn't going to change anything. You'll annoy a few people, but the machine will keep on going. However, the movie itself, documenting these guys and their views is a much more affective way of mass communication to bring about change. I believe that to get any group collective thinking, you have to do it in bulk. That is because one thread over here, and another thread over here, won't tie themselves together, usually. If you can get a whole bunch of threads at once though, people begin to see the larger impacts of globalization, and will tie themselves with others they see in front of them.  

Watching the movie tied in perfectly with Assignment 5 because this assignment is about camera less filmmaking. About taking what you have in front of you, to make a film. The Yes Men, take what they have in front of them, a global market of executives, and they try to integrate themselves by impersonating them to make change. There was a certain quality of experimentation with the Yes Men. They used what was thought of as standards of practice, power points, suits, etc, and fooled people into listening to ridiculous lectures about the merits of slavery! They took a set of expectations, and turn them on their head. When you then look at it, you see its ridiculousness. 

Assignment 5 is not about the ridiculousness of filmmaking, but perhaps the ridiculous notion that you have to make a film, with a film camera. We turn that notion on its head, and show that you can make great movies by working outside the box. 

Mystery Workshop Response (48 hour race)

The 48 hour video response was nothing like I've ever done before. It was a great experience. I thought I would use my laptop web camera, but after deciding to do an animation, I felt that the camera would be too cumbersome. I ended up using my girlfriend's digital still camera. I took the prop line, "My god, it's full of stars!" and concocted a storyline around it. I was also interested in using green screen for the animation. I've never done green screen work before, and after learning the basics of it in Introduction to Editing class, I thought I'd give it a try. I bought a green sheet of paper, and decided to do paper cut outs of key figures. These included: The rock mountain, skeleton, cheese sandwich, and god's face. I calculated the number of still frames I'd need to make a minute. This equaled about 600 frames if I was going to have 30 frames a second. This equation worked out nicely. The majority of my problems ran into animating the mouth of God. I didn't have a good animating station. I was doing it at my work desk, and everytime I had to move the mouth, I had to go around my desk to get to the sheet of paper. I was really having trouble with the keying about the green screen. I had never done it before, and as animation took the whole day before, and some of the second day, I was just assembling the footage and color keying about 8 hours before the animation was due. But, for what the time, I think I did very well. I wanted to go back later and fix the green, but I decided that, that wasn't in the spirit of the race. I really enjoyed this process. Having a deadline, and having to be creative like that was a real joy. I felt pride in what I was doing, because it was unique and because we were all on the same level, no one had advance word on the prop, I felt this really was an opportunity to show what type of filmmakers we were. I'd love to do this again, and it has definitely peaked my interest in animation and green screen work. 

Free Style- How This Class Helps

I really have enjoyed 6x1! I could never see it going away. This is the only class that has shown me the true qualities of film and its potential. The most important thing, is that we have broken down this 'mystical' quality of film and have revealed what it is and how it can be used. Before I took this class, I didn't know exactly how exposure worked, or how projectors worked. By being allowed to analyze the film up close, I've learned so much! I was allowed to make mistakes. I didn't have to keep the conditions perfect for a narrative shoot. Now I see the larger picture of filmmaking and its art. If this class were to leave, I feel that students would be loosing a large chunk of their education. This is NOT arts and crafts. I've already begun writing a short film for 495 class next semester, where the character uses techniques that we've learned in this class. 

Experimentation in film is going to be the thing that saves it. You can't do the things in digital formats that you can in film, its such an organic art. A filmmaker can be very expressive with film, and that's what I have learned from this class. 

This class helps because before this, I had never had the guts to 'cut' film. I've been trained in the straight narrative profession where the shot could be ruined if you touch the film with your greasy and oily fingers. How can you learn in that type of environment? I believe we will begin to see a trickling down of new films by young filmmakers that might incorporate things that we've learned in this class. I know I will in next years 495. Cool beans Andre! Thanks for the class. 

Rough Theater

Wow, what a reading! I loved this reading so much, I read it to my girlfriend, a theater major. I completely agree with this article. Art, as in theater or anything else, gains a certain something when it is presented as is, without attempting to shield the viewers from flaws. In fact, we will go with them. That has been one of my biggest complaints about digital technology, and a reason why I shoot and edit on film, is because digital is just too clean. It seems unreal. Assymetry, mistakes, all lend themselves to art. Art is about imperfection, and complexities. Our daily lives are not perfect. When we try to make everything in theater perfect, we sense a sterility to it. For theater to encompass so many forms, it is interesting that we try to imitate only one or two. Imitation is all it is. Therefore, we as an audience aren't engaged. When we see things that are rough, as in rough theater, we feel they are more real. This article coincides with me recently cutting 16mm film and projecting it on a wall in my room. I felt more alive. I suppose the roughness felt like my art was alive. The scratches and splice marks added to my film, they didn't detract. We should all learn to make art in anyway that we can, and not try to imitate just to get an "Accepted" look. 

Molotov Man

Decontextualization of art is an interesting debate. Is it a perversion of an artist's original intent? Or is art in the eye of the beholder, and there is no such thing as originality? I believe that art must be protected. Copyright, in my opinion, is still very important. However, an interesting problem arrises in this theory of decontextualization. No one can define what is art. If I take and image and add something even miniscule, isn't that still art? The point is, art is subjective. So, we can't easily say this is art and this is not art. In my opinion, we'd have to say that anything goes or nothing goes. I am a fan of decontextualization. I enjoy seeing something in a new way. I think that the photographer of the molotov man has no rights to the picture. The molotov man owns his own image. He owns the points of light that are absorbed by his skin and the excess that is refracted. The photographer, doesn't own him. So, this other woman has every right to make another form of representation of the photograph. After all, isn't a photograph, just another "representation" of real life. So, art, is just a representation of a real original thing. So, there is no "originality" in art. Is that bold to say? Still though, an artist should have some protection. I'm not sure what that is, that's for lawyer's to decide. I think though, that the Molotov man, and its many iterations, are all equally a "truth" of the man's struggle. No one artist owns it entirely. 

Ideas for 48 Hour Video Race

I've had a few ideas about the video race. The one I am particularly fond of is the idea that I will use the web-camera of my laptop. Built into the monitor is the camera, if I open the program, I can click off single pictures. With a full charged battery, I, or with the assistance of another, can walk around or do stuff, while taking single pictures of myself. Thirty pictures will equal one second. I can do interesting stuff with mirrors and also a video picture within a video picture. I like shooting through a video screen. That way, I get multiple frames within a picture. I could use a cell phone camera for that. 

I wouldn't want to use a cell phone camera for the entire race, because I'm not sure how I would get my media from the camera itself. I've never been successful at that. Also, I don't like the look of a video camera phone. Pictures on a phone are too slow to take and wouldn't be feasible for the 48 hour race. 

I'm not sure what my theme will be, but I'm sure I'll come up with something soon. Overall, I just want to make a crazy inventive film. I like doing animation, not of still objects, but moving ones. Like myself or other people. It gives the film an interesting quality. 

Response to Saturday Shoot

I loved the one shot! It was one of my favorite events that I've ever done at UNCW. First off, the adrenaline was great. I really enjoyed being presented the problem of: we have 28 seconds of film, one take, and only an hour and a half. Pressure like that has always kept me creative. I thought our shot was particularly complex and ultimately turned out beautifully. We used shade from the rain as our inspiration, and came up with the idea of two lost lovers looking for one another. Our exposure was right on the money, I had brought a light meter, and the image was beautiful. I didn't enjoy seeing what the film looked like after slowing it down by half, because the video image became jumpy. However, having a camera of my own that is spring wound, this really inspired me to try to do more complex long takes. Ultimately, the rain was not a great bother, in fact it made it interesting. I want to do this again, I also really want to learn more about developing films on my own time. Andre, if you ever get the time, I want to learn more about exposing film at home, what type of film you need, etc. 

Scratch Film Junkies

Wow! What a film. These Scratch Film Junkies really know what they are doing. I really liked their use of colors, and how they were able to incorporate sound with their film. If I were to do mine more like theirs, I would include images, like preshot film, and then bleach and scratch on top of them. I feel that they were really good at creating depth. The use of layers really builds the film and really shows just how hard they worked on the film. 

Projections of Sound On Image

I really liked this article. It was informative and interesting at the same time. I had never thought of sound as a bridging mechanism. Not in the sense of bridging a gap in the cut, but in the sense of being a way to suggest a connection between two shots that would be meaningless together. Sound is something I haven't given a lot of credence to, but after reading this article, I'd like to learn more. It is interesting that our minds filter sounds in a completely different way than images. That would lead me to believe that it can be manipulated to a further extent than images. That means, it can have an even greater affect, because it can be tampered with more. Sound is something that is foreign to me. Though I hear it each day, I don't understand how acoustics work, this article definitely makes me want to learn more. Sound seems to play a bigger role in a feature film than I had thought. 

Theory of Animation

Let me start off by saying I don't like theories. Theory of relativity, not a fan. But in all serious, this theory of animation article was sort of interesting, but I felt that when it comes to speaking about something, I'd rather see a person's practiced work instead of their critique of other's. This article spoke heavily on Disney and their cel animation and I couldn't help but feel like the author was somehow "drawing" the conclusion that mass made cel animation lacks art. That experimental animation with its planned non-continuitity is in someway better. I had particular qualms with the section that said it is so much easier to create life-like characters in animation than colors and rhythms. To recreate the nuance of a human character is a very hard task, I think this writer completely ignores the complexity of Disney's cel animation. Rhythms and shapes have no life. In my opinion, they are much easier to draw. Therefore, this article completely critiques cel animation and has a strong bias. I can't explain just how much I disliked this pretentious article. 

But at the same time, it had some interesting notes about music. And I do believe that experimental animation has its own place along side the visual representation to music. Imagine what MTV music videos would be like!

I am a fan of cel animation, and with digital technologies, the nuances are becoming even better. Animation can be taken seriously. If the author wants us to believe that cel animation isn't art because it recreates life and instead should represent what we don't normally see, I disagree, but that's just me. 

Stan Brackage Response

This weeks reading was fairly interesting. I felt Stan's writing is sometimes to fluffy and abstract, and it often took me away from the reading and turned me to try and interpret his thoughts. His insight is very interesting. The information here helped present me with new ways of making films. Although I am not one to be the most comfortable with experimental techniques, I am always fascinated by the processing of capture pictures on photosensitive material. Therefore, the reading was very good because Stan was able to present new ways of using old techniques. I felt some of the information was redundant. This was a beginner's guide for someone who hasn't worked with film, I've worked a lot with film, but I still read it and thought he put it eloquently. I am really excited to do this in-camera exposure of small objects. I had never thought that I could do it this way. I also want to work more with salts and getting them to crystalize on film. Film is organic, so why shouldn't organic things be placed on them. Again, I like the readings but Stan Brackhage was too airy in his writing, it seemed self conscious, but ultimately, I think his films are self-conscious so they do reflect the artist. I want to further these experiments and see what new things we can do with these techniques. 

Scratch Film Junkies Response

Verbatim: "I really liked this. I liked how the image played in tandum with the sound, and the inclusion of found footage with the painted film was great. The music was hypnotic, and because the image was working with the sound, not against, it immersed me. I most enjoyed the veritcal lines that appeared in the middle of the piece. The lines would multiply as they were introduced from the sides. That was creative. The titles, with the film perforations, is a creative approach. Finally, I liked the end that reminds the viewer, "This doesn't mean a thing."