LIlac Sunday

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Lilac Sunday

Big Kick '09

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The Big Kick is back!

Assignment for June 2

1. Export your video into a compressed format based on the discussion in class.

2. Upload video to the web (blip.tv, Youtube, etc.)

3. Cross-post or link to your video from our class blog.

4. Bring all of your working materials to class (storyboards, script, etc) -- please collect loose sheets in some sort of folder/binder/envelope.

5. Bring optional snacks for yourself for the big screening of next week. (sign of the recession -- I can't bring snacks anymore!)

May 26th class info

My hope for today is that you will get a lot of lab time in class! I will try to limit my free associations, but I do have to show a bit about compression and uploading.

Next week (June 2), I look forward to screening all of your video projects in class.

assignment 2_ transition

more artists books

These are very cool. Check em out!

http://wemadethis.typepad.com/we_made_this/2009/05/thomas-allen.html

I am going to create a little story about corn. More precisely, popcorn.

I am planing to incorporate extreme close ups, wide shots, weather shots, cutaways and cut-ins. I intend to combine live action and still photography.

DM town meeting

This is very important!! On Monday 18 at 270F West Village Time: 7:30 our program is having a very important meeting. The program is going to move to a new location and this is your only chance to voice your concerns! PLEASE r.s.v.p. by sending an email to Cynthia. Try to tell everyone!

memento

I just finished watching Memento. Great movie. Rent it. I liked the use of the polaroids as a focus and the switching from color to blackand white.

Public Domain! Tons of Free Stuff!

Using copyrighted media can be bad. If you don't know what "public domain" is reffering to, it's media with expired copyrights. This is the general link to the site, archive.org. In it you can find music, moving images of all kinds and even books. There are hundreds of thousands of pieces of media to download on this site. Check out the Prelinger Archives--a great (if not the best) source of old newsreels and Ephemeral Films (stuff like "Duck and Cover" and "Are You Popular?") And they're all free. There are even features like "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" and "Night of the Living Dead." You don't need to sign up, there's no password.

5:30 Treatment -Jeremy

For my simple task, I will make a smoothie. I will use fresh fruit, and the shots will involve gathering items/ removing items from the fridge, peeling, chopping, scooping, adding liquids from unique views... blending, pouring. Maybe drinking and smiling. Mostly from a kind of "over the shoulder" type shot of things next to the object (like a shot from within the fridge, grabbing a glass out from the shelf, grabbing a knife fom the rack). Most will be actual closeups, but since the content is so small, I will try to frame it so that it frames them like a larger character.

Simple Task Treatment - Ke

My simple task is preparing for the gym.

start at a view of a man's back, he is in a kitchen, arranging some bottles. A shot for window will let the viewer know the time is early morning. cut to those bottles, they are container of different kind of supplements. The man carefully pours some pills from each bottle, and eat them. then he grab a shaker bottle, put some powder in it, shake and drink. He grabs a banana, eats it. He put his ipod armband on, headphone on, and change his watch to a sports watch. he walks to the door, change his shoe to sports shoe, and walks out. Many CU will be used for a very close view of each object, such as supplements bottles, watch, banana. and many CU will give to the man's mouth, throat (when he eat and drink), arm and feet.

Story Treatment

My idea is a day in the life of a student. Just a regular normal day where a student gets up, goes to college, hangs out with friends and comes home. A simple story, no fancy scripts or exotic locations. When you think about it, a student's normal day has so many emotions like anxiety (getting to class on time, pop quizzes!!!), laughter (hanging out with friends), boredom (studying and homework, we've ALL been there). Basically, there's a lot that goes on in an average student's day. I haven't thought a lot of shots, but I'm leaning towards close ups, OSS and medium shots. I'd like the story to just be more of a simple biography and not necessarily have a message.

Wanting Story

My story will begin with a cell phone. A man come to US for 2 years, most of his friens have girl friend or married. He is so upset. One night, he find a new cell phone(CU to the phone) in his desk and there is a note paper said : You will have this magic phone and the next 3 days you will meet 3 women. (MS to him) He feel so excited(CU to his face)
Fisrst day，A girl call him，she is a super hot girl, they will meet outside the pub. When he see his back, he feel so scared. And then he run away.
Second day, A girl call from internet, they will meet ouside his house. She has a sweet voice and good-looking body. But when she turn back to him, she has a 50 years old face.
Last day, A nice girl with a pair of glasses and wear siut. Looks so nice. But she only want to promote their food. Because she is a seller.
Back to the cell phone. He never wants it to ring again. He will continue his real life and he knows that life is not a game,love is not game too.

315, "dating with a foot"

My story will be about a date that happen between a female foot and a male foot. Basically I will document it by making shoots of how they prepare for the date, for example they go to the spa for a pedicure, they go to shopping for the special night, some shoots will be happening under the table having dinner and how they rub themselves and so. I am thinking in use photography to document it.

New Face Treatment

Women all over are intimidated by the process of applying makeup. It is a simple task for those who are professionally trained but it could take more than an hour for women that have no clue. I will take the viewer to the process of an application and what items are needed for the same. I would start with closeups of the items involved and before applications pictures of my subject. Makeup application is an art and can transform a women! Before and after pictures of celebrities will make my point because most are not that beautiful without their beauty color. Another way to make this interesting is going to be by adding price tags to every item applyed giving the viewer the grand total price of a Red Carpet ready look!

Story Treatment - Jerry

This simple movie will document the process of how to record an electric guitar in Stereo with a computer. This will be an informational video that shows the user how to connect two microphones to a computer, position the microphones in relation to the amplifier (and each other), and record to hard disc using Apple’s Garageband application. I will look at the three main components necessary to record to a computer: Microphones, Audio Interface, and a Recording Application (in this case Garageband).

I will speak briefly about recording using multiple tracks and using the stereo space to ‘place’ your instrument using these multiple tracks. I will also speak briefly about how best to get a clean, loud, and noise-free recording using the audio interface and careful microphone placement.

Most of this video will be shot ‘talking-head’ style with several cut-aways to show details of the individual components. In addition there will be some voice-over audio for the cut-away images and there will be intro and exit music overdubs from the recorded guitar. This video will be shot in one interior location.

Treatment: The Epic Saga of the Downloading and Installing of Adobe Flash CS4 and the Woman Who Attempted to Do It.

The idea I have for a film is a woman trying to install Flash CS4. She will find it can't install on one computer that lacks the juice to run it, she will try another computer where the download can't start and on the third it finally works. Thing is, downloading and installing Flash on a shaky connection can take hours. The story will be told through POV shots and cut away shots indicating the passage of time and showing how she is attempting to spend it. (For example: time passes and she's playing a DS, time passes and she's watching TV, time passes and she's sleeping at the desk.) While working on the second computer she gets fed up and walks out the door, down the street, buys a coffee, and comes back. This story is based on actual events.

Goodwyfe Connors

My simple task will be "baking a cake." Inspired by instructional films of the 1950's, this will likely be a series of highly unnatural, theatrically posed images. I will first show my roommate standing by our kitchen table with ingredients in front of her (mid shot), then move to a POV shot of the mixing bowl, and then return to a mid shot of her mixing the ingredients. Next, I'll use a cut-in to show her pouring the batter into a pan, a wide shot to show her putting the pan into the oven, and a cut-in to show her setting the timer. To convey the elapse of time, I'll probably use a cut-away shot of a clock, a medium close up of her applying lipstick, and a cut-in of her filing her nails. To return to the action, there will be a medium close-up of her reacting to the "ding" of the timer. A mid shot will show her removing the pans from the oven, placing them on the countertop, and cooling the cake by waving a pot holder like a fan. Next, I'll use a cut in to show her removing the cake from the pan with a spatula, and the switch to a mid shot of her frosting the cake. To close, there will be another medium close-up of her reacting to the sound of the door opening, then a noddy of the husband's delighted reaction to the cake, and then a two-shot of them with the cake.

IMPORTANT: Room change

Due to the mysterious dirt (which apparently is coming from the ceiling), we are being moved to room 324 in Ryder for today's class. I do have the doorcode, but please wait outside if it's locked (I don't want to post it here).

Lili- Assignment _Treatment

'Love at First Brush'

The 'simple task' I want to film is 'the brushing of the teeth.' I am obsessed with dental hygiene, and I actually find this task quite relaxing. I want to take it further and basically make it into something sensual, a wild- love story happening between the toothbrush and the mouth. I am going to start with the P.O.V. of the toothbrush, how a hand reaches out for it. Then the P.O.V. of the toothpaste. The next shot would be a CU taken from the mirror of the person brushing his teeth. The idea is just to keep tight shots, so the viewer never sees the person's full face, just the mouth. Then a wild game begins between the teeth, the tongue, the toothbrush, the toothpaste mixed with the saliva. I am going to make fast cuts in between, CU, ECU and Dutch angles, so the viewers see the 'fantastic' consistency and quality of the toothpaste and listen to that relaxing sound of the brushing of the teeth. Then at the end, it's all going to be a P.O.V. of the person brushing his teeth, a High- Angle shot and a OSS of the cleansing of the toothbrush and then at the back to a P.O.V. of the toothbrush as it 'sees' the person leaving the bathroom, and a closing Medium Shot of the bathroom's sink and the toothbrush just there, lonely again. Then, I want to show the passage of time with a simple title : 'After One Month'. OSS , guy at the supermarket picking up a new toothbrush, ECU of this new toothbrush inside its package. Cut to bathroom again, P.O.V. hand grabbing the old toothbrush, P.O.V. toothbrush "falling" into the garbage, CU-toothbrush inside the garbage can. CU hand opening new toothbrush, P.O.V. of this new toothbrush " looking" at the guy's mouth.  (FYI- It's important to change your toothbrush every month. ) The soundtrack will be something romantic and wild at the same time, mixed with the sound of the brushing...

Treatment

I would like to make a short movie. My plot is about a little girl and her brother. They are having dinner with their family, and then two customers that sit next to their table leave. The little girl sees a wallet which one of the costumer left. So, she tells her brother about it, after that they open the wallet and see a lot of money in side the wallet. They have some discussion if they should keep the money or return the wallet back to the owner. If they keep it, they can buy a lot of things but it is a bad behavior and they think if they lost their own wallet, they would need it back because it is not only money but there are also cards and some other important things inside it. So, lets see what decision they will make. I'm thinking about making it with photography.

Self Potrait Treatment

My story will be about a process of creating a self-portrait using photography. It will have a person’s reflection on a broken mirror with various shots in different moods. The video will show how the person gets inspired, what is the though process and what is the work flow to get the end result. It will have still shots, some screen capture of post processing and split screen shots to convey the message.

Treatment

I will be making a hort animated movie using Flash, Photoshop and Final Cut Pro. The plot is simple: two friends walking with balloons--one of the balloons flies away and on the friends flies after it, grabs it, and returns to his waiting friend. The short is on extra long shot, with the camera never moving along the z-axis. The style will be a mix of rotoscoping and Photoshopped pictures.

Movie (optional)

So since we are moving into a new chapter in class which discusses video styles and structures. Memento seems a good movie to point out which challenges the traditional way we see movies. It's directed by Christopher Nolan whol also directed the new Batman films. This is purely optional and its a very interesting movie to watch on your on time. Just thought it would compliment the subject in class.

Assignment_ Treatment

There are plenty of simple tasks around but I would like to tell about one of those tasks which are "simple" but hard to do. And some do not happen till a particular situation occurs. For eg. Couple days a go I ended up locking myself out of the house I live in. Task was simple really, after I had prepared dinner I wanted to go smoke a cigarette outside. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to take my keys out of my jacket pockets. So there I was; out in a cloudy (the sky was just asking for a reason break) , locked out of my house with my neighbors run paranoid with me standing out in the sidewalk.

Join me in my struggle to find help from a strange old lady that seems never likely to return and I also make a new friend in... A Bad Day... (copies available at some ficticious shop).


Ps: I hope that wasn't too wierd. I figure I could make it like a commercial (like on the cover of certain books) and grab people with the cheesy title and style.

3:15 story treatment

My story will be driving to school. I want to put a camera in front of my car to capture everything on the road, and an other camera in the car to capture what I am doing. I want to do this several times and cut them into one. 

the mystery

I figured it out! they replacing the roof in ryder! that is why we were hearing ghosts and also it explains the dirt. I am in the lab now and everything is covered in plastic covered in dirt. Everyone can rest now. Its going to be okay!

story treatmen

My story will be celebrating a special spring day which is Lilac Sunday. This happens every year the second Sunday of May at the Arboretum in Jamaica Plain. I want to film the wonder of the day. The arboretum has 180 varieties of lilacs. It is a day many people come out to enjoy and picnic in this beautiful space.
I will film the entrance to Te park and the walk to the lilac path. A wide view of all the lilac trees and some closeups. I want to capture the people enjoying them selves picnicking and smelling the lilacs.I am considering asking people what the experience is.I will have a variety of shots of lots of people and shots of just one person. I hope to be able to film all different ages.
I want to capture the wonder and the smell of lilacs so will have lots of footage from all different angles of the lilac trees. i would like the final scenes to totally fill the screen with lilacs so the viewer can almost smell them.
I would like to accompany the film with the music from Sleeping Beauty called " The Lilac Fairy:

Story Treatment

Alright, changed my mind. For my movie I will be documenting a hike in New Hampshire. I will show us driving in the car and hiking up the mountain. I plan on keeping the camera on my back back while I hike to give it a realistic look. I want it to be shot from my perspective. Then, I will pan back and forth when we get to the top to show the view. After hiking I will show is hanging out and eating/drinking. It will really be a document of the whole weekend, but the main focus will be the hike.

Assignment for May 12

1. Think of a story that demonstrates a "simple task".

2. Write a short story treatment and post on the class blog (no more than one page). No images, just text. Tag your post with "assignment_treatment".

3. In anticipation of next week's class, where you will storyboard your treatment, view these shot types.

4. If you have any kind of equipment that can capture video, bring it in (video camera, small digital camera, phone).

Dirt in the classroom

Dirt in the classroom
Originally uploaded by ravijain

I'll try to find out what this is all about.

Lili- Art instead of a Bedtime Story

Going to the McMullen museum was a great trip on a lovely spring day. BC's campus is so beautiful. I very much liked the whole exhibition as all the books there are very impressive and we are able to see another side of  what is called "high art" besides the "usual" paintings or sculptures...as a matter of fact some books actually make use of these two medium to create such rich content. However, there are three artist's books that really impressed me.

1. "On the Line" by Linda Johnson and Kristy Lewis Andrew 

Consists of twelve rumors silkscreened on cotton muslin panels, twelve miniature clothespins, and a clothesline. The viewers connect with the piece in the way that it's symbolically about hanging out the dirty laundry.

I thought the piece was fantastic and yet so simple. It's fun to look at and put a smile on my face after reading some crazy gossip about famous artists having weird fixations with their art work. For example, one rumor on the piece is about how painter Jackson Pollock would drink vodka and then piss on his canvas underneath his feet. That is how he came up with his signature artwork/ motif. I have heard this from an art teacher some years ago, and I never thought it could potentially be true.

2. "Dinner with Mr.  Dewey " by M.L. Van Nice

This book installation was VERY impressive, not only because of its originality, but because of all de details and the fact that you could actually walk up to the table, go around it, and instantly recognize all the "food" that was being presented through books. The piece is a take on the seventeenth-century essayist Francis Bacon, who said "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested." I think Bacon's intellect has been presented brilliantly and in a very exquisite (no pun intended) way by the artist Van Nice. Afterall it is true that " order is in the eye of the orderer."

3. "B-11226: Fifty Years of Silence" by Tatana Kellner.

This piece transmits a strong message to anyone who gets near its glass container at the museum, especially the hole the arm has left literally cutting through 

the family pictures. Just by looking at the arm and the number on it, the viewer knows what the story behind it is about. There isn't even a need to read the artist's statement to feel connected to the pain and suffering that this book provokes. I am jewish and I have met Holocaust survivors, and so it's very interesting how I was able to relate to this particular book more so than with any other in the exhibition; as I felt it tells part of my ancestor's life  and therefore, where I come from. 

I think that it would had been great to have a HUGE log book at the entrance of the museum, so each visitor would be part of the exhibition by leaving their name on a book presented as art as well. 

The Book as Art exhibit at Boston College

I went to the 'The book as art' exhibition on the 4th of May. I may be a person who can't see beyond conventional ways to portray art or books, but a lot of what I saw, to me at least, didn't really qualify as a 'book as art' or even as 'art'. A bunch of spectacle frames broken and put in a frame is not a book, and I don't see how it qualifies as art either. Art has a purpose. I don't see how being vague in conveying a message qualifies as a purpose. However there were some pieces of work that did reach out and grab me. One on particular was by a russian artist, Vera Khlebnikova who told the story of post communism Russia. After the fall of the communist government, censorship was done away with and the press began to print stories that wouldn't have passed the censor board of the old guard. Amongst the things that were printed were personal ads. These ranged from ads for services to sexual ads. Amonst the ads what stood out was this ad: 'I am dying. I have a 4 year old daughter. Need loving foster parents to care for her'. The ad was cut and pasted from a newspaper along with a photograph of the girl in question. With just the pages of a book, a simple ad and a photograph, the woman had created a moving piece of art.

class.3:15. assignment 2

Images Homework 2

Book Art

I surprisingly enjoyed the exhibition, and the unique approach the simple things of life some of this artist had.
My favorite piece was Tatana kellner, Fifty Years of Silence 1992.


What I liked about this piece was how effective it was; I didn't have to even read the description to know what it was about and get emotional.
My favorite ones were all the Pop Up books, this were my favorites growing up and even today they are as effective getting my attention. This is very impresive if we take in consideration how old this book form is. "Other early examples of movable books were the Paper Doll Books produced by London publisher S. & J. Fuller beginning in 1810; the "toilet book," and an early example of a lift-the-flap book, first illustrated and published by the artist William Grimaldi in the 1820s; and peep-show books. Little or nothing is known of the origin of the peep-shows but they appear to have evolved from the traveling exhibits that showmen featured at fairs and festivals. They were often quite elaborate constructions depicting scenes from famous stories or topical events and were viewed through a small hole in the cover.
The first true movable books published in any large quantity were those produced by Dean & Son, a publishing firm founded in London before 1800. By the 1860s the company claimed to be the originator of childrens' movable books in which characters can be made to move and act in accordance with the incidents described in each story." From the mid-19th century Dean turned its attention to the production of movable books and between the 1860s and 1900 they produced about fifty titles"
Some of the ones I like the best were:

Lois Morrison, Endangered Species 1999




Carol Barton, Five Luminous Towers 2001

But the biggest question I had was: Can we read them?
They were all beautiful but I saw many intricate folds, prints, cuts and fabrics and I could not imagine seating to read one of this books!

McMullen

After one week of going to the museum I finally going to write my opinion:
I really enjoy it, It was fantastic and also very inspiriting. The one that I liked the most was the one named "my 9 migraine cures", and " on the line" by Linda Johnson. I liked them because in one way I feel some identity , for example I had migraine constantly and was very comfortable see someone expressing maybe his pain into art, how they transform anger, love, hungry and so into beautiful, unique and originals pieces of valuable art.