Blog 10: Animation Project

This week marks the halfway point of the semester. Time sure does fly when you're learning about different mediums of experimental film. This week we are experimenting with one of my favorite forms of film, which is animation. As a kid, I always loved watching cartoons or shows that weren't live action. They had a more relaxed feeling and had their own stories and morals. One of my all-time favorite cartoons has to be the original Teen Titans. I have re-watched the series many times over the years. The use of a complex and sometimes dark story, mixed with some anime humor makes the cartoon stand out from others

Today's work was not as in depth animated as those shows, but still created similar feelings when watching them. My favorite of the three techniques had to be sand hands down! The sand could be easily shaped and molded as the artist pleased. The sand was also easily erased, and could remove mistakes more easily than that of charcoal or paint.

My second favorite technique was drawing with the charcoal. The charcoal pencils were similar to regular pencils, allowing for more control than drawing with crayons, markers, or brushes. I was able to make more distinct shapes than that of the paint or the sand. However the charcoal was harder to remove for new work. The eraser didn't do much erasing, rather it just created smudges here and there.

My group is doing a combination of sand, charcoal, and paint, so it will be interesting how the elements interact in the final project.

Blog 8: Readings

After reading Caroline Leaf's interview, one word specifically comes to my mind: "wow". Leaf is a very passionate animator and has many unique experiences in the field. Understanding the story of how "The owl who married a goose" was made creates a clearer perspective on the nine minute film. It was interesting how the people reacted to her story, especially how the goose's eggs hatched much earlier than they should have. Leaf is inspiring to young filmmakers including myself who are starting out with animation. I also liked her technique of filming while she worked so that a one of a kind image is made. It will be something worth trying for this project if there is time, or later down the road.

The paint-on-glass animation article was also inspiring because it provided some good information to know when going into this project. Beforehand I was worried about transitions and how to make one distinct frame go on to the next. Now I know that the two images merge together, and thus create a smooth transition from frame to frame. On-glass animation is also a "no going back" form of art. One must have an idea going into the project and what comes after the previous frame, or the project as a whole may be compromised. Being a person who likes control and where everything must be made as it is envisioned, I must put that concept aside and just let the animation flow regardless of mistakes.

This will be a fun project.

Blog 7: Sound Journal 2

So many sounds, so little time to describe them all. However, one sound that also specifically stood out was the sound of a stick being scraped over a sewer grate. Adding reverb and treble to it as well as slowing the track down created a sound like a rock hitting a wall in a large cave. The sound could also represent icicles falling from the ceiling and breaking on the ground. There are many other interpretations that I will leave to the listener to determine.

As I write this entry, my ears continue to ring loudly. The shows at Ziggy's downtown are always fun, with lots of great sounds.

Blog 7: Sound Journal 1

Another day has come to an end. Today has been pretty up and down between missing a job interview from a miscommunication and a funk/ska concert. Today's assignment was pretty straightforward as my partner and I looked for ways to create an icy feeling soundscape. One sound that contributed to the soundscape was a sound effect of someone snorting. After decreasing the speed of the track and adding some reverb, the snort now sounds like a snarl from a monster. More specifically, the abominable snowman in a big dark cold cave. I look forward to the reaction of my peers at this newly created sound.

Blog 6.2 Sound Journal

While the echoing whisper was one of my favorite sound effects my group found, there was another that stood out. This sound was slurping from a water fountain. The slurping produces a funny low-pitched effect that can either be a bright sound, or one that is darker. The sound can also be rhythmic or change its tempo because of how the person slurps. Increasing the pitch of the sound effect, as well as adding some filters from pro tools should produce a cold sound. It will be cool to see what other sounds the other groups collected. There will be many sounds that can take a cold turn.

Blog 6.1 Sound Journal

Yesterday's assignment was very interesting and fun like a scavenger hunt. Throughout the class, my group recorded different sound effects, including a power saw, cicada chirps, slurping from a water fountain, and whispering near an echoing hallway.

One of my favorite sounds from the day was the whispering in the hallway. It was done near a staircase in Kenan hall. One of our group members went up a couple flights of steps and softly spoke some words. The environment muffled her speaking where her words were barely recognizable. Listening to the recording several times, it sounded almost ghostly. With my group's assignment being icy, I think that this sound has potential to send a chill down your spine.

Blog 5: Listening? Are You Listening?

Before today, I did not know much about sound and listening, only that our ears pick up frequencies and our brains determines what is causing the sound. After reading about the three types of listening modes: casual, semantic, and reduced listening, it is shocking that many of us use these types and don't even know it! 

One of the most common is causal listening. Whether you're listening to an announcer over the radio, cars driving down a busy highway, or even at a concert listening to your favorite band, all those sounds are processed into information.

Semantic listening is a way to break down a message from a sound and give it a perspective. After reading, I counted how many times I semantically listened to "code" this past weekend, and it was much more than I thought!

Last but not least, there is reduced listening. Reduced listening focuses on the actual sound being created, rather than the meaning that it holds. In a semi-embarrassing moment, I noticed yesterday the sound of my voice when I was talking to my friend. It was a casual conversation when suddenly my voice cracked. Hearing that unique sound was interesting and awkward!

The three types of listening are unique in their own way. Knowing and understanding these types of listening will really help with the next assignment of collection sound effects.

I am most excited to take the sound effects into post-production. I took the FST sound design class not too long ago and like building unique soundscapes!

Note: The title of my blog post comes from Australian punk-rock band Tonight Alive's song "Listening

Blog 4: Film 1 & 2 and end of week one

"And cut! That's a wrap. Strike the set, and see y'all next week." This first week has been a great start to the semester. I've learned many different techniques to alter film stock and produce unique results. Now it is time to apply these techniques to the first film project. 

It was a lot of work on Thursday. A few of us stayed several hours after class ended to continue work on the project. During that time, a magazine transfer, a scratched film stock, and a bleached and painted strip came to life. My partner and I decided to take on two elements each. He is doing fire and air, and I am doing water and earth. The magazine transfer was my favorite part of the assignment. I have not done this technique before and it was cool seeing the ink stick to the tape after soaking. In the magazines I found several designs that would work well with earth and water. All that is left to do is the one-hundred frames of animation, which I am still debating on what I should make. Perhaps something with waves and boulders, or maybe an island. It has been a relaxing weekend. Once this project is done and  my family and I have tacos for dinner tonight ( my favorite food ), I will be ready for week two of class, and another interesting project!

Looking forward. I can't wait to see how everyone's first film came out, as well as begin work on the next assignment!

Blog 3: A Collage of Magazines

Today's assignment was definitely an arts and crafts throwback. The last time I cut out pictures from magazines for a collage was for a solar system in my high school astronomy class. However, this was my first time attaching magazine clippings to a piece of film for viewing.

When going through the magazines, I found some that had different recipes for food such as pizzas and sandwiches, and even a full crab dinner. Since I enjoy food (who doesn't?), I decided to use that in my collage. Another part of my idea was to create a string of words including "FILM 2016" and "Cape Fear". After cutting out most of my magazine pieces, I decided not to use them in my collage because I wanted to cover more space on my piece of tape. One issue I had was my collage strips not sticking to the film strip. After soaking the strips for ten to fifteen minutes the strips refused to stick to the film. I re-soaked many of my strips and hopefully after letting them dry overnight they will finally cooperate. I am ready to do some more splicing tomorrow and begin the first project of the semester! Thinking of a project involving the four elements reminds me about the show Avatar the Last Air Bender that I watched as a kid on Nickelodeon. If you have not watched it you need to see it! It is a very memorable and unique cartoon series. However, before I get too off topic I will say that I am excited to see the magazine transfers look on the big screen tomorrow!

Blog 2: Destroy Build Destory (Not Really!)

Today was the start of a new perspective of film, and it began with creating and destroying film. 

Today's work was indeed like "arts and crafts done in Kindergarten". It was a lot of fun inking/painting and scraping the film strips. One thing that I particularly liked about my group's film strip was how the punched out stars moved across the strip when in the projector. It was like they were alive! I also liked how the inks and sharpie pens had their own unique patterns when the film was run through the projector. I also used nail polish to represent blood on the strip with the two men. Dabbing the polish with a cotton swab created a unique splatter effect. With my partner cutting off the heads of one of the men, it looked like a scene out of a deranged horror movie! One thing that I would have liked to do differently was to write words along the width of the strip instead of the length. The words I wrote on the film strips looked more like curvy lines than actual letters going through the projector because they were on the length. 

My favorite part of the work today was splicing together the film. The device was relatively easy to use. Quick and painless! The projector on the other hand looks a little frightening when the gears snap together.

Moving forward I am very optimistic about this new approach to film. After doing much creating with film today, I hope to do some destroying tomorrow. I look forward to what is next to come!

Blog 1: Deren and Brakhage readings

 Maya Deren’s writing is very awe inspiring. She sees the amateur film-maker as having many strengths instead of weaknesses. I learned that it is okay to be an amateur in film. Being an amateur gives you more creative freedoms that may not be as available to professionals. It also appeals to me as a confidence booster with being an amateur.  I always viewed being an amateur as one who produces sloppy results that must be improved upon. I am very timid about what I create fearing it will not be as good compared to what others make. However, after reading Deren’s work I have a different understanding of the word “amateur” and will use my creative and physical freedom to make the best work I can.

Stan Brakhage's writing was interesting to say the least. After reading the first two pages a few times, I came to the understanding that He was explaining what an mm (millimeter) film strip was and ways to alter it to create a story. This aspect of film is new to me, as I am so used to filming with high tech cameras and editing using computers. If there is one thing learned from Brakhage’s work, it’s that I have a lot to learn about using film strips.

Overall I learned today that experimental film making will reject most things I have learned so far about film-making. However, I must embrace them head on to have a more diverse perspective of telling a story in the form of a moving picture.