Saturday Shoot - Long Take

The long take shoot was probably the most fun I'd ever had on a shoot.  We literally showed up with the most random assortment of items:  a skateboard, hats, Freakers, guitar, masks, butt pants, etc. and we just let our imaginations go wild.
The best part was having everyone involved with each other's shoots.  There was never a dull moment and we eventually left before we ran over the allotted time set out for us.  I'm proud of my team and the work we did.  The footage looks great and we worked for it too.

The Bolex created a spiritual environment.  We worshipped it and knew it was a precious gift from on high.  The one chance we had was like the life we lead.  If we were to screw it up we had no second chances.

Animation

The "Notes on a Theory of Animation" reading is not working on the SilvaCine website, but I'll give a few of my opinions anyways.

Animation is on the rise.  It's cheap to do, the boundaries of settings are limitless, and it can be done using one or one hundred animators.  The possibilities are endless.

Norman McLaren said, "Animation is not the art of drawings that move but the art of movements that are drawn."

 The limitations on movement is what brings a live-action film (on a limited budget) down.  Stunts and gore go right out the window along with craft-services.  With Animation these limitations don't exist.  The potential is endless.  If I had more physical knowledge of making animations I would do it in a heartbeat.

Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing is the latest craze in the ability to get the viewer involved and getting a project's popularity on the rise.  There are significant Pros and Cons to crowdsourcing, but the cons are few.

In my opinion crowdsourcing is best utilized for crowdfunding.  Folks can donate money, time, or even goods and services in order to receive a credit and potential reward for their contribution.  This allows projects to get done quicker and with ease in the fundraising department.  The cons come into play when the fundraising is organized poorly.  This happens more than it should.

My 495 begins in the fall and Crowdfunding is definitely the way I'll go for some of the funding.

Sound/All Systems Go!

    Acoustic Ecology is defined as the system that "looks at the relationships that creatures develop through sound."  For example, if I created a test that placed participants in a dark room with a screen and then showed a series of projected images of items like a blender, washing machine, blow dryer, and other household items and asked them to make the sound accordingly they shouldn't have too much trouble.  This hypothesis has been proved in tests like the Sound-Letter Relationship tests.  Free association is another phrase that describes how we associate items with sounds.

    What this has to do with film is poignant in animation.  Animation is a film that the creator controls literally ALL of the aspects of the mise-en-scene.  Background, action, sound, lighting it is ALL artificial for an ALL-consuming image.  ALL!  There, I just wanted to say ALL again.  And so it's important to match up sound with image to create an appropriate response.  Or vise versa the filmmaker could do opposite association with sound and image to create an inverse test.  This has been done in films before as a way to tease the viewer and break down our initial belief of what an object should sound like.  

    A good example of sound and image coming together as one is found in Tim Burton's first stop motion film "Vincent."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD8uQzu0IL0

    Take a look and maybe you'll get an idea on what should and shouldn't sound like it does!

Mind Blowing Art

I feel a bit stifled.  It's hard coming up with an angle to attack topics like Synesthesia in art or Cymatics.  Two very difficult topics that until this past week I had never even heard of.  With that illustrious and uninformative introduction here are my reactions as thus:

Cymatics.  Holy sh*t.  The fact that something like this exists blows my mind.  Its sound creating an object!  I found another couple of videos linking Cymatics and I thought I'd share them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtiSCBXbHAg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob7aXIoySvo

Cymatics is a huge jump for the sensual arts.  Not sensual as in "Oooo.  Look at that girl.  She's so sensual."  I mean a tantalizing look at the world around us and how beautiful it's becoming through advancing technologies.  Many artists are afraid of technological changes and to that I say OPEN YOUR EYES.  If people could see what technology is doing for the arts it'd blow their minds.

In terms of synesthesia as arts these two go hand in hand, because two senses are combining for a singular reaction in cymatics.  Using sound to create a visual image is what cymatics is about.  Crazy stuff.

Swift Change and Jazz

Begone Dull Care by: Norman McClaren


    Controlled chaos makes the film appear like a jumbled mess and a refined symphony all at once.  The free form jazz movement is interesting because t is a section of music that upon its instillation came off to many as chaotic and unlistenable.  However, attuned to the right ear it's a gorgeous melody of complicated rhythms and notes.  The same can be said for McClaren's film.

    If you watch close enough their are patterns and motifs that give the film a theme.  I found it hard to look away simply due to there being very few repeated frames.  Everything was new and everything was different.  Besides the last 1/4th of the film the set images changes every 10-15 seconds.  With that in mind, this piece works almost as an installation than a stand alone film.  The consistent stimulation calls for the viewer's 100% visual commitment, because a blink will make you miss so much.  Kind of like life, right?  Nah.  Can't be.