final projects

Kelsey Olson- starts out too dark. but then explodes with light and fire. then babydoll with weird feathers and Indian clothing. song loop gotten from archive and edited in audacity. seems like ritual created baby and woman is the guardian. woman seems otherworldly because of filters and effects but baby is not filtered at all. inspired by legend. of eternal one that cannot die.

Nicole- monitors used for distancing because imagry is painful. tied up to draw parrallel to used of technology. dont want to leave it because u love it even though it makes u mad. music is sad and ties into it

joel- collection of pop videos. played together without much time to get into video to show the pointlessness. no real meaning so played to fast to notice

olga- added creepyness because of child and imagery. little girl sees herself in mirror different than woman would

william- shot as if was his life. actually happening. snap shots to show monotiny? sexuality added

leslie- video piece- left friends alone in front of mirror. made faces and such

mpeg 2 with 90 mins and an aiff converter

DVD STUDIO PRO

dvd studio pro- mode-advanced mode. ntsc mode. sd dvd not hd.

assets bottom left. visual top left.

drag and drop into folder or use import. new folder- "dvd thing" move all video to folder. import. click and drag wav. files.

open menue. control click. drag video to tracks. add new tracks and put in video.

if is in wrong format- use compressor. search for mpeg 2 format, click and drag up to video. hit submit

put audio on. put image on back drop. bring in still image. 720 x 480 then import and lay ontop of track

menu- double click. go to shapes. simple button, drag button onto menu and makes little screen. uncheck motion. drag video to box. in shapes can use text. NAME, TIME BASED MEDIA, TERM.

make links. click track, endjump, menu. links to menue. click track, endjump, menu connects track to menu. needs double sided arrow menu connects track and track connects menu.

colors, selected-lights where choice is

when done. hit build, select project folder. when compressed hit burn

drag and drop image to make background on menu

joel presentation

Joel- Dan Graham- performer/audience/mirror- describes in detail what he is doing. then when is turned facing mirror begins to only describe the audience's movements. deals with people's self consciousness. go to performance and dont expect to be watched or part of a piece. people put on different fronts . Floor insists movement and fidgeting . their movement is incorporated into piece. long enough so attention is still held but they are still restless. eye contact! shot in black and white to keep focus on concept. only uses natural sounds.

presentations. Olga/Gabby

Olga- Francis Alys- when faith moves mountains- took place in Lima. took over two years to put together. filmed as documentary. whole town moved sand dune several meters by working together.video is art but what shot is. so doesnt alter or edit footage. meaning of group of people moving mountain. uses shots of the slums and poor areas. poor because civil war refugees. helicopter scene made whole thing seem pointless. like machine can do what man can do but better. pity isnt the point.

Gabby- Francis Alys- work similar to fluxus. paradox in practice- pushes ice through streets of mexico city. slowly melts away. making something leads to nothing. attitude change to noncaring. Pointless task. cuts into 5 min. diagetic sound. Existentialism?? most of works are humorous. no one seemed to notice him or care. trail of moisture evaporates so wats the point?

download youtube video

Firefox- download, FULL HD. NO FLV, MP4 is ok. right hand under screen. 1 click youtube download (program)

whitebalance- registers what white is on camera

Reading

There are many ways to express a narative. you can use multiple images to create a sequence and a scene. storytelling is very important because they supply information . Beats, scenes and sequences are the same things that moviemakers use in their films. who the story belongs too is also very important. Style can affect the communication of ideas. Cause and effect is also a key tool in narratives. commercials can use cause and effect or multiple images to communicate ideas, using either straight info, comedy, realism, rationality or emotional appeals.

What was most interesting to me were the devices used to express a story. The multiple images and the cause and effect were seemed like the most important aspects of the chapter. I really want to know more about those aspects, how they are used effectively and techniques, and even more storytelling devices that weren't mentioned. it also talked about close ups and balancing the opening and ending with the citizen kane example and i would like to know more about those techniques. Most of the chapter seemed like filler, but Kane and the commercial examples were interesting. Why didnt they just have more of that?

final project

need data dvd of all files. and playable dvd with menue

ritual and transfigured time. 5-6 minutes, must deal with time and ritual

begining to think about waiting in line as a ritual. set up where camera is held by someone waiting in the line so viewer is brought into the piece.

Melissa- Gary Hill- around and about. text and repetiton to emphasis. consistency in words. allows audience to put themselves into piece because actual space is never shown. uses images that were around him at the time. everyday images.

audacity

project, import audio. arrow down to change set rate. split tracks, hit arrow down and split stereo track. gain is volume and change one to left and one to right( adjust pan) . keypoint (looks like hour glass) can use for suble adjustments.

effects- fade in fade out. echo (good delay is .5 sec)

change speed

high pass and low pass filter- makes sound old timey

compressor

when sound changes it becomes a moment. seperate instances is what seperates this from western music. randomness in limits. i moment is the informal unit without direction and they tend to be the longest. structure of western music and notes represent sound but stockhuasen uses like language and composes. he makes his own notes.

3/24/10

leslie- william wegman- treat bottle. uses suspense to draw in audience. setting is bare. starts out with jar in center, it is most important. puts in jar so we know he's standing there watching the dog. passage of time is in real time, there is no editing. shot in studio, goes back to painting degree.

kirsten- joe wright- pride and prejudice. uses all natural sunlight and sounds, no editing.

The Stockhausen reading was all about moments in music. when a note is played and then stoped that is a moment. or when two things are plaed at the same time that makes 2 moments. i'm not too clear on that one though cause it seems like it would be only one moment. but there are different kinds of moment, k moment I momenrs m moments and d moments. d moments are long because they are durations, its the whole momen. m is melody and it mentioned heterophony which is many sounds. k is everything, I is directionless.
i couold understand the aspects of varied and overlapping sound because we had done that in the fragmentted sound project but most of what the reading was about went over my head. m and k moments are ok but duration i dont really get, is it just how long one moment lasts? or is it all moments until its done? i moments seem to make sense too, just static and random sounds.. i think. but anyway the m and k i liked reading about because of the heterophony. for the fragment project we used all those sounds and i really liked it. i wanna know more about those aspects. i think i and d go with it all too but d seems more metaphorical than actual sound where as m, k, and i are actual sounds

Emily sneeden- sped up voice in right musical moments. very rythmic and musical but not as if its boring. stays fresh even though its repeating. 2nd piece has building up. slow loudness like approaching doom. mix of classical and urban.

Ryan- very phantom of the opera, 2nd is very musical without having music. repeats and placement is good. it gets shorter and shorter and so sounds create pace.

Joel- used music almost exsclusively. one phrase from celine deion song. twilight zone. start out with recognizable piece. pushes chaos and annoyance.

kelsey olsen- old fashioned radio commercial is nice touch. languages add another level. very humorous.

leslie- very humorous catch line but could do more with it. world ending could have been played into it. 2nd mostly sound affects to imagine beach. waves crashing. but is rainstorm in car.

nicole- seems like satire on society. twitter. 2nd sounds like book on tape but with building chaos chorus. could had more tweeting, that was good idea. different kinds and sounds of tweets.

Kristen- music for the first one but looped in a way that u wouldnt notice. the song chosen is the kind of song that repeats alot. 2nd. HAWAII music and dripping water. ucalaylee.

katie- looped opera. 2nd was great. german recording of full opera. 2nd beats only larinx and throat go play on idea of utilitarionism.

Gabby- betty boop song was fantastic. 2nd was very solemn and ominous.

sarah- use of music and spanish. 2nd, very techno-y and futuristic, almost like chase music. 1st play on her dreams about home. heart beat added to be calming and upsetting.

wav is for mac. open folder for downloads. save as source, import to audacity. Project, import audio. high light with curser then hit command c and then command v and paste to new track. generate silence, 30 sec then wont default to left. project remove track and first track is deleted. file and save to folder as wav. 44100 hrtz. press shift and move up to select multiple tracks

FRagmented sound project

sound art. reconstructing found sound. 2 loops between 1 and 2 mins long. create desktop folder where can store sounds, import into audacity and work with them. stereo sound- hear it around and not just on one side. mono- one side.

Christian Marclay- uses sounds people dont like to hear

steve reich- its gonna rain- phrase "its gonna rain" over and over

carlheinz stockhausen- helicopter string quartet. hymnem (chaos and order)

henry chopin- throat power

Presentations. 3/15/10

Anthony- Errol Morris- Documentary series called first person. one analyzed is about Antonio Mendez master of disguise called The Little Gray Man. used technique where put camera right in subjects face so it looks like he's talking to the viewer. created devise that let subject and filmer see each other during interview called inter-atron. Going with title, background is completely gray and he is wearing all black to make nothing stand out, he is little gray man because nothing is very noticeable. supposed to be in first person but there are many shots that contradict that. side shots, off center shots, pulled out shots. dates are kept ambiguous except for laos 1971. so nothing to nail this man down with because is all ambiguous and open. (more gray man). Mendez is constant source of information, like spies he is the source.

Kelsey- Pierre Huyghe- No Moment- video where nothing happens. Room and music do not go together. Lights are indicator of time, gets slowly darker. rule of 3rds, lamp chair and let other lamp. banister seperates viewer from room. curtains move. action on tv moves very fast. moment occurres when viewer realizes there is no moment. allegory for irony and how americans watch tv. everything in room is old but music is new.

first group- emily sneeden, kt stemper, kirsten anderson- all very humorous. mouth olympics very funny. took same subject but all used very different stylistic takes on it. mouth olympics was good but 3rd sequence not as strong. play on peoples fascination with olympics. parody of winter games. speak easy to satirize the people outside turlington. when drunk u cant even communicate so how is it a social lubricant? people not talking to each other but at each other. if only see someones lips moving could they say whatever they wanted? all only girls lips to show how men never hear what girls are saying, they only see their lips. works in how video is loud and then quiets down only to get very loud again at the end.

group 2- melissa, kelsey, anthony- music change didnt signify a change in action. questions of where we sleep. what is shelter? gueinne pig dreams thing confusing. shelter one works bc of trying different locations and none work. work loses a lot with the beer pong. more about what leads to sleep. kelsey recorded what was happening while it was going on. sounds could be guinnie pig or sleeping person. repeated a lot. going for mindset of 10 year old who doesnt want to sleep in his bed. ending in bed would have added more closure.

group 4- gabby, olga, joel-lighting was main issue for all 3 videos. clock was issue and so was the time span. olga's was amazing.

group5- ryan, sara, william- very hard to follow, needed titles or the event scores to clarify. all seem to be about nothing. very hard to watch but in a good way. watching sara watch nothing was very cool. great concept. nothing can be nothing cause you're actually doing something.

Dvd studio pro. simple button (right hand corner) put video files in box on lower left. dvd with menu and dvd track. add menu. right click it and hit first play. click video in box and drag to track in upper left. go to shapes and drag over simple button onto menu. unclick motion and set video. center is the button, click on center. go to colors to adjust the menu. set target for button. see on box that menu connects to the track. choose Track, endjump, menu. remote control, make menu button go back to menu. double click on menu and can write in name

in imovie. drag thumbnails and then hit share, export movie. h.264

feb 24 20010

Katie Stemper- Pipilotti Rist- ever is over all- got started using pop culture frame so videos use pop culture style. uses symbolism on left to make interesting character. blue dress and red shoes like dorothy in wizard of oz. uses flower to break cars. comforting music paired with shattering glass. police officer looks like man from far away but is woman . contrast between femininity and feminism. pop culture full of feminine ideals. flowers represent femininity. ever is over all helps avoid labeling the piece and creates contrast. ups color contrast to bring life in.

Ryan- Martha Rosler- semiotics of the kitchen- emphasis on womans perspective. camera stays in same place to emphasize action. says alphabet with different objects in the kitchen. later on is threatening and way stares at the viewer is creepy. movements and actions get violent. shows typical world of a woman at the time. stops at y (why is this ....?) word play. objects were very outdated. when got aggressive focused on objects then the viewer while performing the violent actions

final cut video editing

720 x 480 is standard video size SD.

file, log and capture to import. capture now brings to other window and puts into final cut.

final cut, system settings, new file, save to folder and set the 3 things to the folder

log. setting in and out points. hit i during play. hit o during play. then hit log clip, name it and hit play. creates short clips and can add together. shift select all the clips to be captured. batch capture. drag clip onto timeline. SD same as first but captures until press escape (capture now)

wire frame. hit mountain, get pen tool to fade. razorblade to cut video

export, audio and video

sequence, settings- can see resolution

modify, hit link to unlink sound and video. audio comes in 2 channals

presentations

Sara- Bill Viola- water as motif, uses camera to show whole frame, zoom out, influenced by buddha. uses dualism in his work (life death, loud quiet).

the reflecting pool- standing in front of water contemplating. repetition of 3 drops to disrupt the peace. reflections of other people. natural light is used but light through trees is softer to play with idea of reality. doesnt need to be in the water because is already immersed, goes with idea that he is already in the water and is coming out. drop from middle, right side and left side, all same person. becomes one with surroundings. made from analogue and tape, edited by hand. 1977-79. goal is to reach enlightenment through meditation

William- spike lee- the 25th hour 2003- uses themes of racism and ethics and judicial systems. uses dialogue and quick transitions to show mood. music to give sorrow. used 911 to add to emotions. love hate relationships. pace and momentum is very slow, dramatic scores. camera angles. lighting shows differences in control of situation. patriotism is a big theme

feb17.

Emily Sneeden- Michel Gandry- too many dicks on the dance floor. dramatic lighting to emphasize the narrative. diagetic sound. men in front women in back. rhythmic relationship, can see talking back and forth. colored light makes transition. makes reality that Brit is both speaker and self without time change. zoom is to mock overuse of zooms in videos. spatial relationships. repetition of colors green and red. disco ball shows where light is coming from so can make the visual connection. camera moves back as they move forward. camera changes to bird eye view to show whole scene for dramatic effect. disco ball to put attention on their crotches. scenes go so quick the mind associates them as a constant line. resolution at end where Jemiane meets a girl.

Nicole- paul mccarthy- Family tyranny and culture soup. instructional video of father of how to force feed his son. bathing son in tin cup. culture soup is instructional video of how to make soup out of mayonayse and children. external voyeristic shot to give video dreamlike quality or memory. state is reiterated by repetitive dialogue. phallic representation. heredity representation, father gives traits to son (force feed). oedipus complex. example of not coping with it, shown as memory. Introjection- inhabits the characteristics of another. instatutional abuse not physical abuse. whole video is father-son-relationship. large tin bowl is father and small bowl is son.

process? how did he get there, process to get into characters, storyboard?

prespective of viewer, how they reacted/ perspective of artist

2nd project. event score

first is action.....

2nd is time. wat kind of time does it cover?

action can occurr any time in frame. 90 mins

time and action need to be specified

Fluxus class notes

-began in early 1960s with a group of artists in NEW YORK CITY

-also developed in Europe and moved in between Europe and U.S.

-international, interdisciplinary, and broad movement with artists working in sound, text, performance, and new media.

Dick higgins. george brecht. le mont young.allison knowles. george macunius

Flux Forms

1. flux kits or multiples- could unfold over time, still object based.

2.the event. both about immediate quality ofexperience- references new media technologies

concept of object as an object (self contained in space and time) is fundamental to all thinking about aesthetics

-developed with computer, video, and other new media

-internet make us reconsider the very paradigm of aesthetics

Defining fluxus modes with new media technologies

flux kit- database structure, non-hierarchal, unordered items, collection of items with every item having same significance

the event- algorithms, simle operations to help computer complete task

fluxus view of art

- making something special by exaggerating, patterning, juxtaposing, shaping transforming. making ordinary to something significant

-making room for other considerations of others perspectives, and common respect for difference

-valuing primary or secondary experiences, value while being made

-depersonalized

flux kit- offer sensory info for empowered experience that connects individual to greater social or environmental context

-items are offered to be touched and explored by viewer

-visceral meaning, touch and exploration creates meaning

- object experienced with all senses

fluxus event- originated in john cage's 1958-59 music class

-cage's idea was to accept watever sounds occured within a specific period of time. sounds determine music

sound is acting (as with traffic sounds) music is as if someone is talking, emotion, sound effects have no talking

-no silence so there is no pure music. sounds of environment become music

george brecht's event score

-invented event score

-convert time and chance

followed action painting (pollock)

event score performance- demeanor is that of a painter than that of an actor on stage

life media-spontaneous decisions, the relationship to the environment, and the physical parameters within which the work occurs

event scores involve simple actions, and objects from everyday life recontextualized as a performance

-texts that can be

- based on ordinary activities from daily life expressed in simple, concrete terms

written drawn event score

- box, directions to assemble parts inside

card describing what to do

two vehicle event start, stop

Fluxus reading

What i got from this is that Fluxus is like a science. but Fluxus is everything; its not only science but humor and time, and experiments, and connections between people and many other things. this was hard to understand because no main term was used to describe Fluxus and there was so much that is Fluxus that a definite meaning sort of escaped me. The reading said that Fluxus is global, a unity of art and life, intermedia, experimental, oriented to research, chance, playful, simple, implicativeness, exemplativism, and specific. that all sounds like any art though, but then it said that any art is Fluxus so i have no idea what's going on haha. i did understand several aspects though. globalism- defying boundaries of countries and culture. unity of art and life- making art relatable to the artist or the audiences experiences. intermedia- mixing separate art forms. experimentalism- trying new things and logging results, using lots of research and leaning toward that method. chance- using new things without knowing exactly what the outcome is to help along the evolution of the piece, random changes, almost experimental. playfulness- using humor or jokes in a work, like pun or irony. simplicity- minimalism that makes things concise and more effective. implicativeness- implying more works. time- seeming as though it is continuous or playing with duration. i don't know what exemplativism means though

What i really found interesting, and also don't really understand, was when it mentioned musicality as being a key aspect. i've heard that term or even thought about it before. it refers to a work being about to be realized by someone other than an artist, also it can be made several times. the ability for others to remake the work is something that throws me off. i don't really understand what it refers to but somehow, because i've never heard it before, i want to know more about it and utilize it. but interpretation of its meaning is this; its an aspect that means it can continue, utilizing time, but also it means that people either like the look and begin using it as sort of a logo or brand name (and can either wear it on t shirts or put it on signs or ect.) but they either enjoy reproducing it in different ways or its easy enough to do so. being reproduced and altered over and over really gives it a sense of time, because it continues changing or being copied. that mixture of reproduction and time actually is a specific characteristic (and stands out from the other explanations because its specific)

do u think this is what musicality means? or am i far off?

Critique

SARAH- CONSTELLATIONS- very basic and vague because theyre pushpins. so images are unclear at times. buildings and pyramids being taken down was very interesting and well animated (lots of meaning to buildings being taken down, also cause its in the stars it could be events so come?) dont know whats she trying to say with that. Fish love was very good and thy explode so dont know what that means. also the film has a very archaic feel to it like early movies. the transitions of each scene were were good. each lead to another. also, the silence made the film the only thing that was scene. no distractions which was good.

SUN-LITE ROMANCE- some parts sped up. others slowed down. could mean a lot of things. really seems like a music video than anything else. camera has set composition. cars and picnickers show passage of time

Nicole- DEAD LEAVES- Totally beautiful. the transitions between each scene are fantastic. the music is perfect because its silent at most times and has music at times where the transitions are happening. flowers were nice touch to film, very ephemeral and add to motif of death. also color is good.

Leslie- AND THEN THERE WERE TWO- bits of colored paper were very good. silence was good, but music could have been used for dance scene. type face was a good choice to me. the blankness of the figures is accented by the banal type. the jump from the hug is perfect. the timing just adds to the humor.

MELISSA- SEPARATION ANXIETY- computer as symbol for work and how it doesnt want to leave? the personality of the computer is funny. why? is that meaningful. different people flashing could mean that it happens to a lot of people. not just her. and computers tie people together. could have used more pictures of people. books as steppingstone is ironic.

Olga- Moot- cute but has another meaning. the moot monster is like some outcast but also he's good. very polite. so maybe deals with being ostrasized. also has environmental theme. human squishes him so is evil. face of humanity? should have blue splat at end to match begining

GABY- should have had milk, seen as party. very funny how they react to each other . camera shaking is awesome touch to the film. adds disorder and playfulness.

Breu and Baruk- great use of narrative and technique with the water. the music was a great. touch too. tissue paper was great and so was craft. very entertaining

william- UNDER MY SKIN- music gives it a 50's instructional video feel. music gives a casual feel for casual events. clever title.

TOWEL DRY- animation of movement is very successful. different rooms makes story move better than just one. the story can really progress when the setting changes. pants in scene is obvious flaw. arm scene was really neat.

Emily SNEEDEN- i love the play with reality. when he comes out of the computer its great. and the different world is a great thing. the characters world and then emily's world. spam and Spam is great word play

Ryan- Flash is slow. why is he? he is usually fast. is he sad? dark hallway makes it seem that he's distressed. made to be not what is expected. its good in concept but execution isnt very good.

Anthony- FAMILIAR- movement is very good and smooth. narrative is great. only problem is with chopsticks. lens flair is funny because its so classic.

Kelsey- narrative is simple but interesting. subtitles is a problem. some holes in story but narrative is still good and coherent.

file. export. quicktime. movie only. save

jan 25/10 notes

Open final cut. left = viewer window. right = canvass window.

FIRST- go to system settings and set each folder to one u created.

duration- final cut. user preferences. editing tab

change time. control j

apple + - zooms from timeline

alter trasparency =maintain tool. use selection to drag

export quicktime movie file

sequence. settings. can adjust sequence. standard is 720 x 480

shift camdand 4

file, new, sequence.

file, new, bin, makes new folder

final cut

FINAL CUT- to save. save project as, new folder (name) when looking at folder it should say (file type"final cut pro") place images into the folder.

system settings. set desktop. folder

set the wavefront, and thumbnail to the folder

FIRST THING U DO IN FINAL CUT

user preferances - still/freeze duration 3 frames each or 1 00.00.00.01= 1 frame

browser-where all files go

viewer window and canvass window

IMPORT- file, import, files, click on files and hit choose or...............

go to folder, grab folder and click and drag into final cut

RENDER- select red portion, sequence, render selection, video

COPY AND PASTE!!!!!!!! TO CREATE LOOP

change opasity. little mountain on bottom. use pen tool. with video on top layer change opasity and can create fade

ravor blade tool. cuts for edits

export as quicktime movie file. set in and out point. hit i where u want in point and o where u want out point

command + j adjusts time

sequence= 720 by 480

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----------++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

.////////////////

jan/20/10

Frame- composition.

shots- closeup, medium, long

long shot- crops information, more intimate. draws eyes

scene- 1 action from similar perspectives

sequence- sub-portion of scene, collection of shots

relationships- graphic, spatial, temporal, rhythmic

transitions- fade, dissolve, wipe, action to action, subject to subject

duration- plot duration- within film, story duration- outside what is seen (back story)

Aspects and elements of time

This chapter was basically about story telling. It covered zoom-ins and zoom-outs and how they add thrilling elements and can change the story. also it covered how sequences can be used to make a good story and how they are interpreted by the audience. the right sequence is key because the audience could mistake whats happening if it isnt well done enough. also, fade-ins and fade-outs, swipes, cuts and others can be used to add certain elements. Also, sound can be very important.

   What was most interesting to me was using the right pictures to covey a coherent story. if the audience cant understand it then what? thats why its important to use sequences that help the story flow. the example used was by showing a woman, a hand, a knife and a door, it creates terror. but a woman, a hand a knife and a loaf of bread can create no thrills because its about a sandwich. The right sequence is whats really most important to a story. the fact than one extra picture can change everything means that it is the most difficult to get right and the most important. 

  Is sequence really more important to the story than anything else? are there other factors just as important or just important by themselves? 

Notes batch process

Batch processing in photoshop- image, image size to check the pixels and down convert to 720x405. action button in photoshop, looks like play button. hit record, perform action (redo image size. then save it) create name for action, save as max and hit save, then creates action. copy entire image folder first, have 2 files.

batch-. go to file, automate, batch. action (what its saved as) leave none as destination

Use different filters and effects

Jan/13/10

The 2 videos shown in the begining of class were great. the music video was really cool, but the one done by a past student is close to what i want to do for the assignment

Chapter 5 reading

The chapter was basically about creativity, goal setting, time management and work habits. Creativity is required to make effective goals and time management and work habits are required to achieve those goals. Its all stuff we should already know, has been instilled in our minds since elementary school, or is just common sense. Creativity was the only thing that really needed going over but the others were good cause they're reminders. (if i dont have something in print i'll probably forget) so it was a good thing to go back over goals and time management because even though i know about those i still have a problem. But creativity involves attention, interest, connections, and eagerness for complexity, which i didnt actually KNOW but could have assumed. Goal setting was helpful. strategies was good cause it was interesting to know about the post-it note thing. and characteristics of good goals was helpful. Time management was more like a lecture, but prioritizing, sequence, time use, and early start are good things to know.

Creativity was very interesting to read about. i didnt really know what made someone creative. Receptivity is sort of a given, ur not gonna reach new things without allowing outside influences in. Curiosity was also basic knowledge. if u dont ask questions nothing will influence u. Range of interests got me. ive never heard that before, but i guess it makes sense. if u know more about different things i guess u can do more with that knowledge. Attentiveness is some what obvious. Connection seeking seemed more like problem solving than creativity but i guess both go hand in hand. the more creative u are the better u are at solving novel problems not only because u can come up with alternatives but because u can perceive details better and have more of an idea of whats going on, which is where attentiveness comes in. A need for complexity makes sense. creative people constantly want to do bigger and better things and to challenge themselves. Then the different facts were interesting. like the differences between safe keepers and risk takers. And extroversion and introversion are always great, even in psychology. the fact that solitude can make such a difference is eye opening. someone could do there best work alone while others cant do anything but waste time if someone isnt there with them. All the subtexts on creativity were correct as far as i could tell. and it fit so well with goal setting content wise. the flow really worked with the chapter. creativity is needed to make worthwhile goals, and then time management is needed to achieve them. this is like step by step stuff. But all the aspects of creativity that the book went over were related to personality. isnt there more to it than just personality? and the goal section seemed a little too formulaic. the book even discouraged unattainable goals. we need a "reach for the stars" kinda goal every once in a while, it lets us keep achieving. goals can be more than just defined quick ways to improve ourselves, which the book sort of implies. but isnt it important to take on more than we're capable of sometimes?

Kentrage video and others

William Kentrage - ive actually seen this before. the best part of the video, to me, is when the man is breathing. its so subtle u really need to be looking for it in order to see it. His animations are fantastic, although i dont understand them.

the music videos for the white stripes were very cool. the lego one was my favorite (having played with many legos).

and Jan Svankmajer's video "dimensions of dialogue" was soo weird. those clay faces just creeped me out. even though it was veery cool that that animation was done in clay and using such life-like sculpture. it must have taken a long time and took lots of effort to do. very impressive.

I've seen the Quay brothers before. their films always weird me out. but they're so complex. there is so much going on in the film and they technical aspects are mind blowing. everything is so smooth and the way they use light in the film is amazing. the light is smooth when it flickers or dims. they must have increased the light so slowly when they took the shots for the film. also the strings running are very technically impressive.

First project

Stop-motion animation. Zoetrope seems like an important term. and phenakistoscope.

Melies- work relates to stop-motion. he used it to get his special effects and magic tricks. Spankmire used clay.

Stop-motion. figure or drawing is moved to make illusion of movement. 1800 frames in a minute

standard pixel dimensions are 720 x 480. HD is 1920 x 1080

class notes jan/11/10

Melissa has to go first to present her blog. I wonder if she has a hamster wheel for her hedgehog. I think going through our blogs is an attempt to do one of those "get to know each other" things teachers make us do on the first day.

La Viaje A La Luna & Global Groove

Ok. so Malies film "la Viaje a la luna" amazed me. i loved the narrative and how absurd it was. i dont really understand the artistic intent because it seemed more like an actual movie to me than an art piece. (probably why i liked it so much hahaha) anyway the absurdity of the whole story is what really kept my attention. Mushrooms and aliens on the moon and being shot there in a giant cannon is genius. But like i said, i dont really get the art of it. Maybe the sets are the art (which really made the whole movie) i dont know haha but i really liked it.

Now about Nam June Paik. alot of it was pretty funny, and the message was very clear. (one day a unified culture will exist were information is highly exposed and exchanged quicker than a blink of an eye) but wat i got out of it was that it might not be a good thing. and example was the electric Chello. that thing sounded horrible compared to the real thing. was Paik saying that something was lost in the new culture? i think so. i think it meant that with all the information and useless stuff flying around to distract your senses that the real beautiful things are either lost or irrelevant. even now with our computer culture i'm sure that chello music is now irrelevant. What he was saying would happen is the same as Aldous Huxely's "Brave New World" a society where people really no longer care about important things because they have shallow things to keep there attention.

Paik's video was really more about content rather than narrative like Melies' film. both were fantastic, but the narrative Melies uses was more effective in taking my attention and interest. You only really need to see the first part of Paik's film to get the message and after a while it gets boring

Me

My name is Jim Kirkwood. I'm a drawing major. i like illustrating. I signed up for the class because i wanna know about stop-motion and other kinds of animation. I'm not really big on computer classes but Melissa's in my class so thats good.

Um....... ok i dont really like having a lot of work to do...... and i look forward to the class