So we are done with class and projects and this will probably be my final blog for a while. I have enjoyed this calss and what it has allowed me to see. I hope to use these skills in a future as hopefully a career in marketing. They will be a valuable tool in the growing world of visual communication. Its been fun and here is my final project.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Thursday, December 6, 2007
The End of the End
I feel my final project went well and I enjoyed making the film. We gave presentations this week and I enjoyed seeing everyone's projects and all the different approches they had for each thing they did. I feel mine was a little below most of them but that doesn't bother me. I will post a link to the film when it gets uploaded but I am having problems with my USB port right now.
here is my fianl write up for my project read if you want:
What Are Friends For?
My project was a series of scenes with small visual changes in each one. The scenes were closely related to the previous scene and carried the same message of friendship. I shot each scene with my own camcorder in a fixed position except for one of the scenes where I moved the camera around. I wanted to start off with someone in the room and having one of them already in there reading was the only solution because a TV show wasn’t going to remain constant in each scene.
Scene 1(Base):
This was the base scene for the rest of the movie. I had the camera in the fixed position and the actors were wearing normal clothes to reflected an everyday mood. The fixed position was a strong visual tie between the scenes.
Scene 2(Clothes):
This scene was the same as the last except for the shirts they are wearing. They have colors on that reflect the mood they are in, dark blue for gloomy and tie-died for cheerful. I was hoping that the color change would help promote the mood the actor was in during the scene. The camera remained in the fixed position to tie back into the last scene.
Scene 3(Camera):
In this scene the actors went back to what they were wearing in the first scene and the camera is removed from its fixed position. I tried not to focus on one person too long and put them in the center of the camera. I did this because I think it helps you feel more a part of the scene. You aren’t going to focus on both of them in real life so the camera moves back and forth in the scene.
Scene 4(Locations):
In the final scene I removed them from the base location and they remained wearing the same clothes from the base scene. There were no other major changes in this scene except that you view the actors from behind. It makes you feel as if you are in the car but the camera remains in a fixed position. I left in the long walk to the car to make it seem like the actor is taking his time because of his mood.
Credits:
I did a very small montage of “bloopers” from the film to give a sense of the mood that was around when we were shooting. The song I chose was “We are not going to make it” by The Presidents of The United States of America. Whenever I listen to this song I get this feeling of friendship, meaning that no matter what happens we are together and we are having fun. The text remained in the same position and the same through out the film to have the constant visual aspect I was going for to help tie into the movie. The block lettering gives this informative mood that stands out but I feel it adds a bit of necessary contrast to the joking nature of the script.
I wanted to do a movie because I have never taken on a film project. Also, I thought of this comedy routine I had seen before that did the same thing. Over a series of the same scene they did the same thing but at a faster pace each time ending with them running around and screaming. I wanted to do something along these lines but try to only focus on visual changes. I feel I did this well and still keep some comedy in the present in the scene. The script is reminiscent of some conversations I have had with friends in the ending humor of the scene.
The first major problem I had was writing the script. I felt like I couldn’t write anything that would make sense and avoided it for a while. I would write a few lines then not think they were able to do what I wanted for the scene. I finally pulled myself together and wrote the whole script. I had my roommate who is in the movie proof read it and point out a few things that didn’t make sense. The second problem was planning the shoot date and time. I had projects or regattas or one of the people was out of town. We finally shot most of it before Thanksgiving Break and finished soon after we came back. The final problem that was the most stressing was computer (and user) error when I accidentally deleted the whole project off my computer. Luckily there wasn’t an over bearing amount of editing to be done because the scenes were all done in one take.
In conclusion I feel the message of friendship is strong and if this had been a larger scale project I would have been able to make stronger visual changes. I also feel its hard to visually change the message of friendship. Maybe if I had actual actors the mood would have been conveyed stronger but I feel their slip ups add to the mood and feeling of a cheap, short independent film. I had fun and now know much more work goes into making even a short film than I had previously thought.
here is my fianl write up for my project read if you want:
What Are Friends For?
My project was a series of scenes with small visual changes in each one. The scenes were closely related to the previous scene and carried the same message of friendship. I shot each scene with my own camcorder in a fixed position except for one of the scenes where I moved the camera around. I wanted to start off with someone in the room and having one of them already in there reading was the only solution because a TV show wasn’t going to remain constant in each scene.
Scene 1(Base):
This was the base scene for the rest of the movie. I had the camera in the fixed position and the actors were wearing normal clothes to reflected an everyday mood. The fixed position was a strong visual tie between the scenes.
Scene 2(Clothes):
This scene was the same as the last except for the shirts they are wearing. They have colors on that reflect the mood they are in, dark blue for gloomy and tie-died for cheerful. I was hoping that the color change would help promote the mood the actor was in during the scene. The camera remained in the fixed position to tie back into the last scene.
Scene 3(Camera):
In this scene the actors went back to what they were wearing in the first scene and the camera is removed from its fixed position. I tried not to focus on one person too long and put them in the center of the camera. I did this because I think it helps you feel more a part of the scene. You aren’t going to focus on both of them in real life so the camera moves back and forth in the scene.
Scene 4(Locations):
In the final scene I removed them from the base location and they remained wearing the same clothes from the base scene. There were no other major changes in this scene except that you view the actors from behind. It makes you feel as if you are in the car but the camera remains in a fixed position. I left in the long walk to the car to make it seem like the actor is taking his time because of his mood.
Credits:
I did a very small montage of “bloopers” from the film to give a sense of the mood that was around when we were shooting. The song I chose was “We are not going to make it” by The Presidents of The United States of America. Whenever I listen to this song I get this feeling of friendship, meaning that no matter what happens we are together and we are having fun. The text remained in the same position and the same through out the film to have the constant visual aspect I was going for to help tie into the movie. The block lettering gives this informative mood that stands out but I feel it adds a bit of necessary contrast to the joking nature of the script.
I wanted to do a movie because I have never taken on a film project. Also, I thought of this comedy routine I had seen before that did the same thing. Over a series of the same scene they did the same thing but at a faster pace each time ending with them running around and screaming. I wanted to do something along these lines but try to only focus on visual changes. I feel I did this well and still keep some comedy in the present in the scene. The script is reminiscent of some conversations I have had with friends in the ending humor of the scene.
The first major problem I had was writing the script. I felt like I couldn’t write anything that would make sense and avoided it for a while. I would write a few lines then not think they were able to do what I wanted for the scene. I finally pulled myself together and wrote the whole script. I had my roommate who is in the movie proof read it and point out a few things that didn’t make sense. The second problem was planning the shoot date and time. I had projects or regattas or one of the people was out of town. We finally shot most of it before Thanksgiving Break and finished soon after we came back. The final problem that was the most stressing was computer (and user) error when I accidentally deleted the whole project off my computer. Luckily there wasn’t an over bearing amount of editing to be done because the scenes were all done in one take.
In conclusion I feel the message of friendship is strong and if this had been a larger scale project I would have been able to make stronger visual changes. I also feel its hard to visually change the message of friendship. Maybe if I had actual actors the mood would have been conveyed stronger but I feel their slip ups add to the mood and feeling of a cheap, short independent film. I had fun and now know much more work goes into making even a short film than I had previously thought.
Whats in the Remix?
Digital remix is about picture manipulation and is seen in almost every image you see now. They use it in movies, tv shows, magazines, and thing with photography to enhance the image or make it what the creator wants it to be. It can be used for fun or serious things and is becoming more and more popular. It can be as simple as putting to photos together or be elaborated and extensive that requires more than just MS paint.
Are assignment ins class was to get back in the groups we were in for the cartoon and come up with three pictures on non-local issues. We were sadly only able to come up with one photo.
The photo we made was to make fun of an anti gay-speaker whos name currently alludes me. We photoshoped his head onto the body of a male dancer on a gay pride parade float. I feel our message was made. Its amussing and kind of disturbing to what extent someone could go with digital remix. The topics that could be addressed or the things that have been already changed.
Are assignment ins class was to get back in the groups we were in for the cartoon and come up with three pictures on non-local issues. We were sadly only able to come up with one photo.
The photo we made was to make fun of an anti gay-speaker whos name currently alludes me. We photoshoped his head onto the body of a male dancer on a gay pride parade float. I feel our message was made. Its amussing and kind of disturbing to what extent someone could go with digital remix. The topics that could be addressed or the things that have been already changed.
The Simple Cartoon
So we were talking about cartoons in class. The history and use of them. Its funny that the main use of them is satire and that was the origianl use of them as well. We had to make one in our class as a group. We had writers, story boarders, graphic artists and manager/editor. Its interesting to see that there is that many people that go into the creation of just on cartoon like a three cell comic.
Our cartoon was making fun of the standings Clemson was trying to receive in football and acedemics. We felt there were many different stand points on this topic and which is more important.
I think we accomplished the quesitoning of which rank is more important to you. The biggest of topics are sometimes addressed in the simplest manner which is a good reason for using cartoons.
Our cartoon was making fun of the standings Clemson was trying to receive in football and acedemics. We felt there were many different stand points on this topic and which is more important.
I think we accomplished the quesitoning of which rank is more important to you. The biggest of topics are sometimes addressed in the simplest manner which is a good reason for using cartoons.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Serious Game
In class we looked at two different games in dept, World of Warcraft(WOW) and America's Army(AA). They can both be approached differently from serious standpoints.
WOW is probably taken quite seriously by gamers with its fantasy elements of character and world design. The endless amount of customization for the character lets it become more personal allowing you to become this fantasy hero you wanted to be in your mind. The ever expanding world and wide range of quests you can embark on involve more and more involvement of the player. The fantasy element of design is perfect for this for its more cartoonish in a way of not being realistic in character design and races to choose from. This is perfect for character creation and player involvement; for the limits are almost unknown.
AA is taken serious from its game play design and realistic elements the play a strong role in the game. It is basically a recruiting tool for the US Army but allows you to see how much is expected of a person in the army. Countless training missions need to be done before you can do certain missions and realistic elements are incorporated such as stamina, limited ammunition, and a strong reliance on team play. The graphics are as realistic as possible to give you a real life feel and while keeping the game element alive. Real life people are used as in-game characters letting you see the human element in the army.
Both games are pretty unique in their design and intention but a great length of time has been involved in creating these to serious games. I guess seriousness of a game is not just determined by design and game play but also by the numerous factors of player involvement that is in mind when developed.
WOW is probably taken quite seriously by gamers with its fantasy elements of character and world design. The endless amount of customization for the character lets it become more personal allowing you to become this fantasy hero you wanted to be in your mind. The ever expanding world and wide range of quests you can embark on involve more and more involvement of the player. The fantasy element of design is perfect for this for its more cartoonish in a way of not being realistic in character design and races to choose from. This is perfect for character creation and player involvement; for the limits are almost unknown.
AA is taken serious from its game play design and realistic elements the play a strong role in the game. It is basically a recruiting tool for the US Army but allows you to see how much is expected of a person in the army. Countless training missions need to be done before you can do certain missions and realistic elements are incorporated such as stamina, limited ammunition, and a strong reliance on team play. The graphics are as realistic as possible to give you a real life feel and while keeping the game element alive. Real life people are used as in-game characters letting you see the human element in the army.
Both games are pretty unique in their design and intention but a great length of time has been involved in creating these to serious games. I guess seriousness of a game is not just determined by design and game play but also by the numerous factors of player involvement that is in mind when developed.
Progress 3
So I have not written a progress report in a while, well at least since the midway report "Thus Far..."
I have the script completed after a slight revision and shooting is just about to be wrapped up. I am re shooting on of the scene takes because I want it to open a different way. The scene is the alternate location one I didn't like how I shot how it opened so we need to basically re shoot the whole scene.
The editing won't be too difficult since most of the scene are one take with out camera changes. The one that will be most difficult will be the scene with the camera actually moving through out the shot and probably the scene with just still shots.
Hopefully it won't be as grueling a task for I have had a roommate who made movies for fun and saw how he did some of things involved in editing. We'll see if I have to say hello to an all nighter; hopefully not.
I present on Tuesday Dec 4. Wish me Luck!
I have the script completed after a slight revision and shooting is just about to be wrapped up. I am re shooting on of the scene takes because I want it to open a different way. The scene is the alternate location one I didn't like how I shot how it opened so we need to basically re shoot the whole scene.
The editing won't be too difficult since most of the scene are one take with out camera changes. The one that will be most difficult will be the scene with the camera actually moving through out the shot and probably the scene with just still shots.
Hopefully it won't be as grueling a task for I have had a roommate who made movies for fun and saw how he did some of things involved in editing. We'll see if I have to say hello to an all nighter; hopefully not.
I present on Tuesday Dec 4. Wish me Luck!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
The New Canvas
So we are currently discussing computer graphics in class. I feel that they are a new way of defining a style of art medium. Most images now photo or film get altered to the slightest degree and that will be greatly impacting in the near future. CG is also something to look forward to, its development is still growing rapidly and we see these adavence long after they happen. Its growth can help tap into the imagination and take what was a dream or fantasy and pull it into this world for all to view. Video games are a good sign of this but movie development his another. Some films had to wait for this advancement while others have been remade into a new visual masterpiece. I light the slight touches of CG and limitless imagination that can be let loose upon the world through it.
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