Idea

I've been churning out the idea of using my dreams, or nightmares, when I was a child since this first project deals with self. Sketching a concept that will probably be digitally painted...as of now. This idea can change.

Previous Works

Created with flickr slideshow.

After Thoughts

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The "Sugar Run" movie followed the blueprint of the final proposal from the race between the gingerbread man and I to the advertising scene with the product placement at the end. It was good in that the original plan was actually carried out.

Using After Effects was much smoother for me this time around than during the animation project. Using the computer mac towers instead of the mac sandwiches also helped in the rendering processes. Compiling of the compositions and using the zoom and panning features was not as stressful this time around.

I also used and experimented with Adobe Flash, for the first time, for the animation. After exporting images from Photoshop to Flash I experimented with the bone tool. Fortunately, the bone tool was actually useful in creating the waddling movement and the running hands movement, much more efficiently than using just Photoshop. However I could not find a solution to importing the animation files into After Effects without a translucent background and instead resorted to using After Effects' key color masking option.

Using sound from Logic Pro also became ideal with the tremendous amount of loop sounds available for the user. When it came to recording the voices for the characters, it seemed ok when just played by itself, but when I placed pitch and amplitude modifications, the sound quality somewhat became too muddled and static-like. It was modified in Soundtrack Pro.

If more time was placed in this project, the simple animation of the gingerbread man would have been more refined with added textures. I would also fix the pixelation when the gingerbread man zooms into the camera. The music transitions should be smoother along with the video clips of me running. The sound during the talking scenes would be refined as well. Overall, I liked how it came out and how it makes the audience laugh/smile, to me that was a success.

Creating a DVD menu was also new to me and very glad to be exposed to it. All my links worked fine using a simple interface. Definitely will use that program again for future projects.

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From not knowing a thing of Soundtrack Pro, After Effects, and Flash, to making a movie using these programs unfamiliar to me was a good improvement. Like all things new learned I just need refinement through more practice and projects. The ideas from my fellow students also spurred good ideas and possible future collaborations. I made mistakes but I'm also glad I did because I learn best from those mistakes. It may take some time but I do learn to be better.

Sugar Run

Proposal for Final

This project will delve into the theme of compressed time and advertising utilizing a short action film. This will be a story of two characters, one will be the author while the other will be an animated gingerbread man. The story will slowly unfold to the viewer about a race to the kitchen table. The author will be running in an action sequence with perspective action shots, while the gingerbread man will slowly waddle it's way across background pictures of a suburb street. The ending will focus on a kitchen table with the author panting near it and then the gingerbread man will come into the scene with its back turned and say, "Where are the cookies!?" Then there will be an advertising product placement placed on the table.

Critic-tique...ing...myself - Vessel

This was really my first time melding animation with a video. This was also my first time delving into Adobe After Effects, where the bulk of my sluggishness in the project came from. The learning process always take a longer time with me because mastering the details in a program is where my speed usually comes from, so I take my time learning these small nuances. With this animation project, the figuring out/thinking part of my brain overshadowed the creativity in this project. Just trying to adhere the entire project together using the programs became the main goal.

Critique of the Video
I was able to do what I intended to do in my blueprint for the project, which was to make a fish with a video of an eye, create a zooming out scene from the eye to the environment, make the fish jump from water to land, create a panning sequence of the animated plant, and end it with the blinking eye. I think the whole piece can be taken lightheartedly from the oddity of the piece. I was thinking of adding music to the end, but I felt the sound of the waves and the video of the wave behind the eye added a right atmosphere to the project.

Now that the positive is out of the way, time to tear into myself
-The pacing, especially in the introduction with the zoomed-in eye, needed to longer scene and the viewer should be introduced slowly into the watery environment.
-The animation, is below my intended capabilities. If I could get my technical difficulties out of the way and have more time for this, that fish would be of something almost surrealistic. Same goes for the plant animation, the plant would be a vine that slowly twirls as it grows from the ground, not a bunch of slashes.
-The sounds of the plant growing cut off with the last orange branch being made and should have another sound for creation of the head, or eye of the plant.
-I also enjoyed the part where I walk onto the scene on the beach looking like a human lego figure with my especially square bulbous head that day.

I did learn critical details from making this project.
-To create a transparent background from PS to AE. Hide the background and when done with the animation, render the video and save it as an animation compression, not H.264 for this will create a black background when transferred; this was a lot of frustration figuring it out.
-Compositions and Nesting is a great way to organize scenes in AE. You also have to finish rendering a composition before you add it with another composition, under a composition.
-Rendering can take a long time so shortening a composition length helps in making it go faster. Having a strong and capable computer with processing power also helps. I'm going to make a new computer build specifically for rendering and 3d animation this summer.
-You can pan and zoom in your video using the camera layer and null object by linking them together and making your layers 3d.
-Always save...to your own hard drive.
-Make animation in Flash in the future, compile video in After Effects, Finishing touches with sound in Final Cut Pro.

This project laid the rough foundations for future projects for me.

Vessel

Bendito Machine

Jossie Malis, Spain, 2007


Animation portrayed like this tend to draw me into its story. It uses a variation of close ups at certain parts and then lets the viewer visualize a wider view of the story. Simple use of colors, black and orange silhouettes, but the sounds and music are well synced along with the story. This video encapsulates numerous themes from wars, god worship, money, greed, and the fragility of people. The fragility part being shown through the collapsible buildings and deities was a nice touch from the author. I like watching some flash animations from Newgrounds.com and this reminds me of some of the better ones.

After thoughts on project 2

I decided to add music into this piece as a way of engaging the audience and making a queue for a beginning and ending of the project. Syncing the pictures to the sound was one of the most labor intensive process in the project, especially during the hitting of the punching bag. I mostly used repetition of pictures on purpose during the action scenes and tried to vary it by changing around some of the pictures. I actually took a lot of pictures when it came to the bag interaction, around 30 or so pictures for that part, but I decided to use certain pictures to convey that part of the story. I also differentiated my voice as the narrator as was advised by my peers. I think it was a successful project in that it didn't become boring and was also funny, so my intentions were met.

Bag Of Reminisce

Bag of Reminisce: Reminiscing on the Creation

Time, positioning, and try try again.

Creating this project, sound and visual project definitely consumes time that needed to be planned to reach completion.

I had to remake the sound piece so I that I can have a stable foundation to work from. As I stitched the sounds together I had to keep a visualization of the visual half of the project as to not stray from the whole narration. There were parts where I had to re-record, and added extra recordings just to make sure I have back up, sounds for certain scenes. I also had to time the sound recordings where the environmental ambiance didn't overpower the main sound pieces since my project was created outdoors. I had a combination of a full action sound recording and mini sound clips for some sound effects. A bit of some voice acting was used to bring some emotion to the piece from the narration to the breathing.

The visual part was the most time intensive. Positioning of the camera was one of the main obstacles especially since I was photographing myself while performing actions. Timing the shots with my 10 second timer camera, rechecking the picture, and then adjusting the shot again was done numerous times. Angles of the pictures and the time of day was also prevalent with this outdoor project. Always thinking of how my pictures would fit with the sound was always in my mind when I was creating the project.

Anthony, Ryan, Kyle, Kara

Anthony
Good use on differentiation of your voice as a narrator against the ambient background sounds. The footsteps and opening of doors pushes the story forward after each narration of an area; indoors to outdoors. A nonchalant memory retracing of your camera aside from the excited voices during the intro and when you, as the narrator, finally found it at the end.

Ryan
Quite layered with a recording of a song in the background along with your own guitar playing alternating in the increase of volumes; the guitar playing goes from slow to loud along with the other recording of the song. Some of the voices are muffled within the middle of the piece. The guitar playing ties the entire piece together. Good use on some reverberations of your voice such as when you counted, "one, two, three, four..." Memories and songs discussion.

Kyle
Multiple sound samplings from video games, songs, tv, and probably your own recording. Intermittent sounds from a harmonica and drum beat sound clips to quieter ambient background sounds of miscellaneous tv/movie dialogue. I think your piece is about trying to get a report done, through the keyboard typing sounds, but are hindered by various procrastinating obstacles like tv, movie, video games, and playing music, or maybe these are the sounds in your head when you are focused on your work (my take on it).

Kara
I thought there were two voices until I talked to you, good use of differentiation on voices. Eerie. The distorted sound effects of the supposed psychiatrist is disturbing. The unnatural "remembering back to the incident" part with the harsh breathing adds more to the anxious atmosphere. Sudden abrupt ending cuts off the fast paced anxious feel that I think maybe would have escalated further.

Between You and Me by Patryk Rebisz, 2005

"Between You and Me" garnered prestigious awards from numerous international film festivals for its great use of still photography using burst mode in a camera. The story itself is structured to come full circle. The random meeting of the man and woman in the beginning and the intended meeting at the end of the film wraps up the film nicely. The story involves photography, with the woman shooting pictures with her camera, while the short film is also grafted together using photography stills.

Mr. Rebisz uses very quick collections of stills to show settings and help progress the story, such as in the fast introduction involving the blinds being open, the water from the shower head, tea in the glass, and so on. There are no dialogue, rather, moans and groans reminiscent of the game, Sim City, where there are hints of a language through indiscernible mumblings. The music coincides with the frames and events of the story line, and when the story became intense so did the music, such as in the attack on the protagonist woman, the acoustic guitar went from ominously slow to a fast rhythm pace. The sound effects, from footsteps to human moans, groans, and whistling added great atmosphere to the entire piece and was also very well in-sync with the photography frames.

A wonderful short film that takes the audience from lighthearted to frenzy and back to comfort through the use of well synced photography stills, human sounds, sound effects, and musical atmosphere.

http://www.patrykrebisz.com/films_between.html

BAG of Reminisce

sampling

America Is Waiting by Byrne/Eno, 1986

VS

Get Down, get down by Emergency Broadcast Network, 1995

"America Is Waiting" (AIW) has more of a electronic rock sound to it in its background sound track while "Get down, get down" (GDGD) has more of a hip hop vibe with its beats in its background. AIW has more of a continuous flow of the music soundtrack in the background with the commentator adding spice to the track, while GDGD on the other hand, the commentaries and sound clips from music artists like Mariah Carey and movies and shows actually are the beats themselves and almost overpower the background sound track. Both pieces deal with commentaries on politics; AIW has a radio commentator sometimes blurting out words such as "America is waiting" while GDGD has repeat sounds clips of Maria Carey in sync with video news, movie, and show clips from Harrison Ford shouting "Get down, get down!" to a news reel of someone with a gun saying "this will hurt someone." GDGD seems more interesting especially when there is video syncing well with the music.

ubuweb: SoUnD

Scream(Recorded Live, Rolle, Switzerland 6/83) - Sonic Youth

http://www.ubu.com/sound/sonicyouth.html

This audio clip is about the screams, or more specifically screams from Sonic Youth. The screams are arranged by the group in alternating tone and pitch at specific times. The string of screams is reminiscent to a melody or a song, just in a different form. Listening to this audio with headphones on is ideal in that you can hear the alternating screams from your left ear to your right and then centered - it makes for a more saturating piece. The piece itself has a primeval and savage quality to it due to the screams. Scream is a form of acapella, except with a lot of shouting.

Back to Roulette on Ubuweb Film - Digits 2005 by Neil Rolnick (BMI) - performed by Kathleen Supove

http://www.ubu.com/film/roulette_supove.html

Watch this video! Amazing performances and awesome composed pieces. There are three performances in this video with an added interview at the end of this video. Out of the three musical pieces, "Digits" performed by Kathleen Supove brings out the ridiculous rigors of human skill amplified by a computer digital processing of sound from the piano. This is the only performance in the video that she actually needs aid in turning the pages of the musical notes because the piece needs all her focus.

"Digits" refers to the fingers that we use to operate the piano and computers. This piece was composed specifically for Kathleen Supove in mind, which "exploits her incredible technique to play a bit more than is humanly possible." This piece is a great conceptual example of digital art through performance and music.

Video is supposedly used during this performance but is not shown in the video, in a way that her fingers are displayed on a "screen inside or above the piano" and enhances the effect of the piece in which it seems like the piano itself is "bent out of shape, amplified, and multiplied." Supove's fingers are shown directly to the audience in some of these performances and are "manipulated to complement the music."

During her interview, Supove stated that she has had interest with piano and electronics, or computers, for about 10 years. She reflected on when one hears a piano playing, it brings one back into 19th century context, and by her mixing piano with electronics, it's a way of her bringing that context from the 19th century into this century.

Reflections: Audio Links

Notes on Camp, WBEZ: (contributors) Adam Davidson, Julie Snyder 1998

This is a series of stories about different summer camps and it's "going ons" with autobiographical perspectives told by camp members or by an observer. The harmonica music and occasional guitar chords that are heard in the background and sometimes the foreground of the story, reverberate the feeling of a summer camp. The personal stories and memories that follow the narration really pulls the listener into the story, from the silly fun games of a boy trying to kiss a girl, to a tone of seriousness, tension, and danger brought by a camp lesson that tests the camp members' faith involving machine guns. The stories are different but very memorable and definitely played a big part in the lives of those interviewed.

I can feel the camaraderie that the camp members felt as they told their stories through the tone and excitation in their voices, from the camp competitions to the hilarious story of "Steve White and the Seven Dwarves." I can also empathize with their mixed emotions mostly of sadness of a good thing that is about to end as their camp days are closing to an end...the feeling of leaving such a warm comfort zone into another world of school with different alien rules. The flow of the narration was smooth, linked together by the narrators voice and harmonica music, and it ended with a nice lighthearted tone of, "It's very funny that is all, it's not for anything it's just for the funny." How camp should be :D

Her Long Black Hair, Janet Cardiff 2004

This is to be listened to as one walks through Central Park and the woman talking into your ears through your headphones relay information and a story that tethers between fact and fiction. The woman talks to you as if you are there with her as she explains the sights, sound, and other sensory perceptions during the 19th century. Good headphones are ideal when hearing these recordings as sensory sounds can be heard in the background, enhancing the sensory submersion, from footsteps that cascade from your right ear to your left ear to the numerous background voices of people. The woman mostly talks but sometimes there are firsthand accounts told by other individuals, whisking the listener more into the environment.

When listening to the recordings, my mind focuses me into Central Park...I've been there, I've walked it's paths, so I have somewhat of a blueprint or imagination of where I am walking as I'm hearing the recordings in my room, my eyes closed, next to my desktop and computer. I wonder also that if I am really in Central Park hearing these sound clips, what I see may not be there or may be very different. I wonder If I walk down a path and stop to focus myself as I tune into the voices, the animals, the people, the city...that is encapsulated within my headphones that I'd probably look really odd walking and stopping for a few moments by the passersby and joggers of the Central Park, but eh, I think I'll fit in just fine, it is New York. Her use of stream of consciousness narration with the sensory sounds really draws the listener in, and listening to this in Central Park could be a good time.

Dreams - Telephone Series 2008-10, Cardiff and Miller

This one has no sound clips to listen to but I can imagine how the vintage telephones with Cardiff's voice recounting a dream can go. I imagine the same voice from "Her Long Black Hair" narration with the same flow of thought as she talks to you. Unlike the previous recording that uses headphones, this one only lets the individual listen through one ear. It is somewhat eerie to pick up a phone and just hear a woman immediately tell a story of a dream. If someone did that to you at your home...if someone called and you pick up the phone and you hear someone just talking about a dream that you did not ask to be told, would you stay on the line? Something I ponder about when thinking about this series of works Cardiff did with the telephone.

She was a visitor, Robert Ashley 1930

I think it's about a woman who was a visitor. In seriousness, it's a repeated audio clip of "she was a visitor" but the background noise and sound is what changes. The repeated sound clip already gives a scary, goosebump-inducing vibe and when paired with the eerie sound that is used in most horror movies, it takes the sound clip to another level of scary. It makes me wonder if my mind is programmed inherently to think that the sound I'm hearing is eerie or if I have gotten that feeling from watching horror movies with almost the same scary sounds that foretell a frightening scene. I really don't want to push the replay button but I will and I did. The starting background hum into an almost ghastly chorus slowly takes the listener into an excited state of sound sensory awareness. I'm pretty sure different images will pop out in any listeners' mind as they listen to this.

Excerpt from Silence, John Cage 1969

John Cage - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cage

This recording I had to replay at least three times to encapsulate what John Cage hopefully is stating. He talks about Americans being of the avarice sort, portrayed as a parasite on the world and its resources as he remarked about deep drilling at a slight angle underneath someone else's property, possibly referring to America siphoning or stealing oil from other countries. I wonder if he is reading this from a planned document he created or if he is talking in a stream of consciousness like Cardiff. He talks in a lot of symbolism that begs to be deciphered by the listener...it really feels like each sentence was carefully planned and cryptic.

War of the Worlds -Mercury Theatre Original Radio Broadcast, Orson Welles October 30, 1938

I'm quite delighted that Morgan Freeman is narrating the introduction of War of the Worlds. The introduction has background sound of chilling and suspenseful music that make the listener get ready for a movie. The introduction is quite different with the original recording, in that the original has more of a raw storytelling that frightened people when it was broadcasted in the radio, tricking many into thinking that aliens are actually attacking the earth. The combination of "normal sounding" radio broadcasting voices at that time with intervals of supposedly regularly scheduled music and then with the sudden news reports, I can imagine how this broadcast has caused that funny commotion among its listeners. Wonderful voice acting, well timed sound effects, perfect intervals of silence, and great storytelling.