Final Blog

1. Rhythmic Editing – This project was my favorite because I love editing so I had the most fun putting this together. I thought it was really fun but also challenging to use the formula (5-15-5-10-5) for the frames since it’s such a short amount of time.

2.  Cameraless – I really enjoyed this project because it was such a fun way to start off this semester! I liked actually using the film and getting to draw on it and learn different methods like rayograms and magazine transfers. It was so cool to learn these things and see how they actually looked when they were projected.

3. Crowdsourcing – I liked this project because I enjoyed the arts and crafts element of it. It was also really awesome to see the final product and how all our different frames came together.

4. Animation – I didn’t particularly love this assignment just because it took so much time to do. The final product looked really cool but it took so long to take each picture and I got bored of it really quickly.

5. Bolex Long Take – I wasn’t thrilled about coming to class on a Saturday but I actually sort of had fun with this shoot. I really enjoyed the feeling of camaraderie we all had and got to know people I hadn’t spoken to before. I didn’t really know what I was doing with the Bolex so I wasn’t thrilled that I ended up being the one who had to film but it was nice that there were people around who were eager to help me out and explain.

6. Bridgman Packer – I absolutely did not enjoy that class at all. Although I think how they combine film and dance is really cool I didn’t want to be a part of it. I was really uncomfortable the whole time and left that class feeling awful so that’s why it’s my least favorite of this semester.

Theory of Animation

I really enjoyed reading “The Theory of Animation,” because I’ve always been fascinated by how animated movies are made. My only experiences with animated films are the Disney movies I’ve seen, so reading about experimental animation was both exciting and illuminating.

I never really knew before how much thought and how many details are considered in animations. Obviously, I knew it must have to be a tedious and time-consuming project but it was really cool to learn more specifics about exactly how animations are created. The paragraph about configuration and keeping the cartoon figures based in reality was specifically interesting to me since when I think of cartoons I tend to think of it as almost otherworldly and magical. I would definitely love to see some experimental animations because I think they sound really cool and interesting.

Bolex Long Take

When I first heard about having to go to school on a Saturday I was not happy at all, but I was surprised by how much fun I actually had at the shoot. It was a little bit difficult in the beginning since no one in our group had ever used a Bolex camera before. We spent a good chunk of time stumbling around trying to figure out how to load it correctly, and making sure that everything was in the correct position so that our footage would come out properly.

I also felt like everyone really came together as a class and worked well and I know I personally got to know some people in the class that I had never spoken to before. Having the freedom to shoot whatever we wanted to was really fun but also kind of scary because if we messed up we didn’t have a teacher there to ask for help. However, I think the fact that there wasn’t a teacher there forced us all to step up and take more responsibility and take this assignment very seriously.

Overall, I had a really good time working with the camera and developing the film on our own and I think it was a really great learning experience and a really great bonding experience for the class.

Bridgman Packer

The workshop our class did with Bridgman Packer was a very unforgettable experience. I was originally interested in what exactly they did and looked forward to learning about but I wasn’t exactly thrilled when I discovered we’d have to be dancing. I personally felt really uncomfortable and embarrassed the whole time and I definitely would have enjoyed the workshop more if I could’ve just watched and not had to dance in front of everyone. I think that all the things that they’re capable of doing by incorporating video into their live performances is really cool but the traumatic experience of dancing in front of so many people kind of ruined the workshop for me.

However, the performance on Friday night was really exciting. I particularly loved the first piece “Under the Skin.” My favorite part would have to be when they were using the dresses and putting one half of themselves onto the other. I thought that was really awesome and I really enjoyed it. Some of the backgrounds gave me a headache, especially when they were words or letters moving really quickly and the music was kind of repetitive and also gave me a headache. Overall, what they’re capable of doing by fusing live video, pre-recorded video, and live performance is really fascinating, inspiring and fun to watch.

St. Louise Response

I was really surprised with how rough the film was. I feel like it had a very rock n’ roll vibe between the song and the images, whereas the first film we saw on the first day of class was more classical and delicate appearing. Another thing I noticed was that the music didn’t match up with the visuals, instead sometimes showing seemingly random clips of video or colorful patterns. Something that really popped out to me was the part where something that looks like an enlarged green hair follicle was shown. I’m really curious as to what kind of method they used to get that pattern and effect.

I definitely saw a few placed where they used hole punching, scratching, and inks/sharpies. I also really liked the animation, especially in the middle with the arrows moving around because it looked so continuous. Another thing I really enjoyed was the incorporation of brighter colors towards the end of the video. I personally really enjoy really bright and vibrant colors so I particularly enjoyed that. Overall, I thought this was a really cool and well-done video.

Crowdsourcing

I think crowdsourcing is a really good way to harness different creative styles to create one final product. It’s always great to have more than one person to do the work, especially in films because it allows for different thoughts to intermingle, which can create really great end products. Film is a collaborative business. Websites such as Kickstarter that use crowdfunding have always been fascinating to me because it’s such a surprising way to have a movie be funded. It’s also a great resource for smaller start-ups that cant afford big budgets but still have great ideas.

The fact that Wikipedia started as just a small group of volunteers is so interesting especially because of what it’s become. However, I think there are also downsides to it because sometimes the information is unreliable because anyone can go onto Wikipedia and edit the content. Even though Wikipedia is an amazingly useful source of information, it still comes with cons.