Dealer's Choice- Rehearsal Notes and Pre-Production Package

One thing that I noticed in the rehearsal was the time really changed the shots, as it gets dark a lot earlier now, and the film was originally going to be shot at dusk, but with the limited time of that, night shots would work just as well for the plot. I also wonder how the lighting will work in the final production compared to the filming now which just used the camera.

The rehearsal itself brought in some interesting challenges with the close up shots of the bread, as the use of the tripod sometimes could work and other times didn't.

One major issue I ran into is that one of the tripod's legs is loose even with the lock, and I needed a few high angle shots, especially in the toaster area where I couldn't get too close. I wasn't sure if it's the lock wasn't working or if the leg is just loose.

My talent worked well with the shots, and I've been questioning the panning movements, and if they're creating the atmosphere I want of the bread being harmed while still retaining the man's "regular and everyday" type of shots.

The sound, despite not having the mic, sounded about right, all except for the sound of the heat coming from the toaster, which I couldn't get. I might just have to find an already made sound, since its a sound that doesn't need to match the movement of the shot as much. I really did enjoy the shot I got of the toast being scraped, as a lot of the bread crumbs are noticably falling off in the camera and the sound is loud and painful.

One thing that I noticed is that it would be helpful to buy an extra loaf of bread, as using the same toast wasn't working for some of the destruction shots, since after scraping it a bit, it was very broken and barely toast anymore. I do think making the toasts' viewpoint shots to be very exagerrated will add more character to their death scenes, and not having the same continuity exactly from the man's shots would also add more humor.

Overall the rehearsal went well; I do wonder how the sounds will work, as I have another actor who will make the screaming noise at the end.

Here is the Pre-Production package; some parts are from older posts that may or may not have been edited, but I wanted to collect it all in 1 post.

1. Script
Act 1
-The sliced bread is first viewed in the kitchen in its wrapper; it's freshly baked and the bread appears cozy in its place among other objects in the center of the kitchen.
-The man, "Roger," is introduced through a short shot of him yawning, taking off his coat, and walking into the kitchen.
-His introductory scene merges with the bread's, as he is seen walking into the kitchen from the bread's viewpoint. He walks around and walks offscreen for a moment. His hand suddenly reaches in the bag, as the camera is the bread for a moment.

Act 2
-A shot of him is seen as he quietly takes two slices over to the toaster.
-The bread's viewpoint returns, as he slowly moves them toward their torture chamber. They're placed in, and he is viewed to be waiting somewhat impatiently. The bread's viewpoint is at the same view, and heat can be seen radiating on their bodies in the toaster.
-A panning shot is seen of the man walking to the fridge, and he somewhat quickly pulls out ham, cheese, lettuce, and mayonnaise and walks back to the toaster in another pan to pick the toast up.
-Seen from the bread, it falls on a cold plate, a knife moves in the background, there's a moment of silence, until the knife comes down scraping the bread. The scrape is loud and painful. A quick cut is seen of the man calmly applying the mayo, and then it returns back to the cut of the bread's crumb skin slowly falling off.
-Another view is seen of the man as he applies the sandwich ingredients to the breads. A quick shot is seen of the breads all being smashed on the cold plate; they break a bit.
-The man is seen cleaning the mayo knife a little. The bread is seen silently sitting on the plate. It is only temporary, as the knife comes down and stabs the end. The knife cuts through the sandwich in half diagonals, and as it runs up towards the camera, the mayo spills.

Act 3
-The man is seen fiddling with something below (the sandwich) for a moment, until he picks up half the sandwich and pulls it toward his face.
-A close up is seen of his mouth biting the sandwich; it begins making a scream, and the scene returns to the cut of the man, hearing a faint scream. He pauses and looks up. He chews a bit more slowly, and he hears strange loud crunching with a small wimper. He raises his eyebrow at the sandwich, but then decides to assume it's due to his tiredness and continues eating and walks offscreen.
-The same shot is seen of the bread wrapper from the beginning, only the bread is slowly inching offscreen away from the deadly kitchen.

2. Breakdown the Script -- Determine the following
a. The number and types of actors required
3 Actors- 1 is the man wanting food, the other is the slices of toast.
-There will also be an actor for the screaming noises; The man is played by Roger Gibson and the noises will be done by Luke Gibson.

b. How many scenes each actor will be in and the total length of their performances.
The man and the sandwich will both be in 1 scene with multiple cuts; the cuts are usually split between the two, with the sandwiches' doubling often to expose more of a slow pain. The voice actor will only be heard for a few seconds of the final cut.

c. The requirements, number, and types of locations.
1 Location: the kitchen at the talent's home with a bit of a shot of the entrance and hall leading into the kitchen

d. The number and types of stunts and special effects.
There will be 4 separate recordings for some of the scenes: 1 of the heat from the toaster, 1 of bread being scraped off, 1 of a loud crunching noise, and 1 recording of the screaming of the toast

e. What special costumes and makeup will be required?
None

f. What props are required?
-The toaster
-Butter knife
-Mayo, lettuce, ham, cheese, tomato

3. Location Scout




4. Confirm Locations


5. Block each scene by creating a series of thumbnails for each scene.


6.Determine the number of days you will shoot
2 Days

7. Create a spreadsheet schedule

Artist Lecture- Bill Plympton

The animator from Portland, Oregon, Bill Plympton visited MCA this past Tuesday for a lecture. As a major in Illustration with a mixed emphasis on Animation, it was really an interesting lecture learning more about his process and seeing some of his work.

Bill Plympton grew up loving Disney and Warner Brothers animations, and he also began his work as an illustrator first before becoming an animator. Being an illustrator brought out the style he wanted to focus on in his future animations. The first animation created independently was Your Face, which was also what brought success in his career when he submitted it into an art festival. It was interesting how he pointed out the importance of entering work into film festivals first, as it really will help expand more into the animation career.

He showed a few of his animations, with the first being called Hot Dog, which featured a dog character he frequently uses in his work. The animation was very funny, and he also demonstrated afterward how the dog was drawn. He mentioned character evolution, and it stood out to me that he also mentioned that doing the animations can eventually bring out more of the character's identity.

Other animations that he showed were The Fan and the Flower, The Cow who Wanted to be a Hamburger, Horn Dog, Cheatin', and Santa the Fascist Years. They all retained his style and it was interesting to learn he focuses more on traditional methods of animation. He mentioned he often got his ideas from the New York streets, and how he keeps a notebook to write story ideas.

His lecture overall was inspiring and useful as an animator, as learning more about his methods of creation and his career brought out some ideas for myself for my future animations as well as seeing where my career path goes.

Dealer's Choice- Synopsis, Materials, and Visuals

Genre: Comedy

Logline: Innocent slices of bread learn about the deadly cost of a man's hunger.

Synopsis: Slices of bread are going about their daily lives in their wrapper, as they are suddenly attacked by a hungry man. In his own world, the man is simply tired from work and wishes to relax with a meal. Little does he know the meal will be a torturous murder to the innocent slices.

Materials: Kitchen, bread slices, toaster, refrigerator, sandwich ingredients, work outfit and jacket

Visuals: Bread Slices:

Toaster Shots:

Kitchen shots:




Bread Slice Torture shot:


Lighting:

Thumbnails:

Dealer's Choice- The Structure

I feel I can work with the 3 Act Structure in my piece:
Act 1
-The sliced bread is first viewed in the kitchen in its wrapper; it's freshly baked and the bread appears cozy in its place among other objects in the center of the kitchen.
-The man, "Roger," is introduced through a short shot of him yawning, taking off his coat, and walking into the kitchen.
-His introductory scene merges with the bread's, as he is seen walking into the kitchen from the bread's viewpoint. He walks around and walks offscreen for a moment. His face is then suddenly right behind the bread wrapper. His hand fumbles around in it.

Act 2
-A shot of him is seen as he quietly takes two slices over to the toaster.
-The bread's viewpoint returns, as he slowly moves them toward their torture chamber. They're placed in, and he is viewed to be waiting somewhat impatiently. The bread's viewpoint is at the same view, and heat can be seen radiating on their bodies in the toaster.
-A panning shot is seen of the man walking to the fridge, and he somewhat quickly pulls out ham, cheese, lettuce, and mayonnaise and walks back to the toaster in another pan to pick the toast up.
-Seen from the bread, it falls on a cold plate, a knife moves in the background, there's a moment of silence, until the knife comes down scraping the bread. The scrape is loud and painful. A quick cut is seen of the man calmly applying the mayo, and then it returns back to the cut of the bread's crumb skin slowly falling off.
-Another view is seen of the man as he applies the sandwich ingredients to the breads. A quick shot is seen of the breads all being smashed on the cold plate; they break a bit.
-The man is seen cleaning the mayo knife a little. The bread is seen silently sitting on the plate. It is only temporary, as the knife comes down and stabs the end. The knife cuts through the sandwich in half diagonals, and as it runs up towards the camera, the mayo spills.

Act 3
-The man is seen fiddling with something below (the sandwich) for a moment, until he picks up half the sandwich and pulls it toward his face.
-A close up is seen of his mouth biting the sandwich; it begins making a scream, and the scene returns to the cut of the man, hearing a faint scream. He pauses and looks up. He chews a bit more slowly, and he hears strange loud crunching with a small wimper. He raises his eyebrow at the sandwich, but then decides to assume it's due to his tiredness and continues eating and walks offscreen.
-The same shot is seen of the bread wrapper from the beginning, only the bread seems slightly more shriveled up from its fear.


I am also working with titles, trying to figure out if something like "The Crime Scene" might give away too much, but it would emphasize the humor. The text of the title and possibly something at the end could emphasize the "political" aspect, but I want to see if the visuals do that alone.
I do want the shots of the bread to vary slightly from the shots of the man, as I want them to appear more gruesome as the viewpoint of the man as a suburban man and the man as a murderer varies.

Dealer's Choice- Characters

Characters- The Twin Slices: "First" and "Second"
1. How does your character think?
The slices both think as identical twins, and they both want simple lives, to merely live in their home and examine those passing by.
2. How does your character think he/she thinks?
Both slices have dreamt of one day seeing the world, but they accept that reality constricts them.
3. What does your character want?
They both want to take an afternoon nap in their home.
4. What does your character think he/she wants?
They both wonder if the wrapper sometimes just contains them.
5. What does your character believe?
They have simple beliefs, and prefer not to think too much about the heavy details in life.
6. What does your character think he/she believes?
They do sometimes each question if their life really has meaning.
7. What is your character’s truth? Mythology?
The slices firmly think they are meant to watch over their siblings and the outside world as well.
8. What is your character’s real truth? Real Mythology?
They somewhat know from their past mother's death that humans aren't as trustworthy.
9. What does your character need?
They both need to understand what humans feel their purpose is.
10. What does your character think he/she needs?
They both think they only need watch humans.
11. What actions does your character undertake?
The first slice is the only one who is alive enough towards the end to utter a yell that transcends physics and reality.
12. Why does your character think he/she does what he/she does?
The first slice is in pain, and it feels that it can only attempt to warn the others as well as attempt at a typical human expression of pain.

What the audience needs:
• Understanding: What events past, present and future push your
character into action
The two slices in the past were born in a bakery, as their mother sacrificed herself to create their birth slices. They feel somewhat more protective of their siblings in the present, and their future deaths are meant to be a warning to the other slices.
• Emotion: How your character feels
The slices feel at peace at first, but once they are harmed, they feel pain and fear.
• Urgency: How important this is for your character
They strongly want to live their lives and protect their siblings.
• Sympathy: Why your character does what he/she does
The first slice yells to warn the others, and both slices have always watched over their siblings due to a sense of responsibility for their mother's sacrifice.
• Specificity: Detail making your character’s motivation clear
They stay in their wrapper, never attempting to leave, because they value the protection and bond with their siblings.
• Originality: Something we’ve either not seen before or have seen
before but is being presented in a different way.
The bread slices are characters on their own, and they are also the main characters.
• Mystery: Building the puzzle about what your character will learn
about him/herself one piece at a time
The second slice realizes he can't survive for his family, but the first slice realizes with enough willpower he can transcend physics, and they both learn that humans can't be trusted.
• Flaw: A problem to help humanize your character in our eyes.
They both give up on living throughout most of their torture scenes.

Characters- The Hungry Man: "Roger"
1. How does your character think?
The man usually thinks about his family and work often, but at this moment, food is consuming his thoughts on this Sunday afternoon.
2. How does your character think he/she thinks?
Even so, at the back of his mind he worries about how his job isn't going as well.
3. What does your character want?
He wants to make a sandwich for lunch.
4. What does your character think he/she wants?
He actually is worried about work, and he feels like the food will calm him down.
5. What does your character believe?
He believes in family values, and he is traditional in many senses.
6. What does your character think he/she believes?
He sometimes thinks about escaping from the typical suburban life, but he knows there are simple ways of dealing with issues.
7. What is your character’s truth? Mythology?
He knows that relaxing and eating lunch will help him get through the rest of the Sunday and prepare for Monday.
8. What is your character’s real truth? Real Mythology?
He also knows that lunch can't cure everything, and he will still stew about some of the issues at work.
9. What does your character need?
He needs to take a moment to realize that food isn't everything.
10. What does your character think he/she needs?
He thinks right now all he needs is the perfect sandwich.
11. What actions does your character undertake?
He slowly takes bread slices and ingredients out, he toasts the bread, spreads mayo on it, adds the ingredients, slices it, and he eventually eats the sandwich. He is also murdering the twin slices in the process.
12. Why does your character think he/she does what he/she does?
He is doing it to create a perfect sandwich in hopes of relaxing.

What the audience needs:
• Understanding: What events past, present and future push your
character into action
The man was assigned a job a while back he assumed he would enjoy, but it feels mediocre to him presently. This leads to his events of slowly making a sandwich to relax.
• Emotion: How your character feels
He feels hungry and stressed until he makes his sandwich.
• Urgency: How important this is for your character
He feels making the sandwich will really help him relax, and the urgency to make it perfect is high.
• Sympathy: Why your character does what he/she does
He murders the bread simply because he is unaware his relaxation technique is killing what seems to him to be a lifeless object.
• Specificity: Detail making your character’s motivation clear
He wants to make a perfect sandwich because he knows the taste will relax him and help his thoughts of worry drift away.
• Originality: Something we’ve either not seen before or have seen
before but is being presented in a different way.
He is strangely very determined at the sandwich being perfect, and he is also completely unaware he's committing a murder.
• Mystery: Building the puzzle about what your character will learn
about him/herself one piece at a time
He learns for a moment that maybe making the sandwich wasn't good when he hears a yell, but he changes his mind feeling that maybe his hunger and stress made him imagine it.
• Flaw: A problem to help humanize your character in our eyes.
He is drowning his worries through food.

Dealer's Choice- Plot

The plot involves the narrative of the bread made for the sandwich. The man simply is making lunch, while the bread is brutally taken away from its home and murdered. Both worlds are seen, and they eventually combine at the end.

The bread in the kitchen had been there a few days untouched. A man comes home stressed from work. Slices of bread sit peacefully among their brother and sister slices, and they all nest in the wrapper in a warm environment. The moment suddenly changes as a man comes in the kitchen for lunch. His day has been average, and he can't wait to just make a simple sandwich to satisfy his hunger. He pulls the two brother slices from their home. He walks over to the toaster. His hand slowly moves them into it, and he is seen waiting. The slices feel the heat and burning pain from the toaster. The man pulls ham, cheese, lettuce, and mayonnaise from the fridge to add to his recipe. He picks the toast up, and scrapes the mayo on, and the toast's skin drops bits of itself. The man moves over, and places the ingredients of the sandwich on the two toasts, and they are all crushed slowly. The man pulls an item from the utensil drawer. From the toasts' viewpoints, it appears to be a knife, as it stabs the bread, slowly cutting down the center and its own applied mayo guts spill everywhere. The man is silent a moment, then picks up half the sandwich. The bread feels the bite from his teeth, and in its last moment, it utters a faint cry. The moment clashes with the man's world, as he looks up, raises his eyebrow, pauses, and then continues to chew. The bread wrapper is seen zooming slowly away, as the other slices fear their fate.

Dealer's Choice- Theme

I want this film to overall focus on a different viewpoint- it's a viewpoint other than a regular human's of an everyday life of an object without actual life. I want to see how an inanimate object would feel if it actually had feelings through the use of the camera viewpoints, sounds, and cuts. There is also definitely a running theme of humor, as the object chosen alone is often considered humorous, and the drama surrounding the object, or the murder of a sandwich, is also meant to be humorous. I also want to be somewhat preachy with "don't kill sandwiches" to make a bit of a statement about political extremists.

Dealer's Choice

For this project, I wanted to work with my last focus on more humor in my films. This one would be unique in that the main character would be toast/a sandwich. I thought about how much my family makes sandwiches, and I thought it would be interesting from the sandwich's point of view.

-The first scene would introduce the toast and the man who is in the kitchen to make a sandwich. The bread is viewed at its own viewpoint, as the man pulls it out of the bread wrapper.
-The bread would first be toasted. There will be a close up of the toaster, emphasizing the burning and heat.
-The next scene will have the man getting the ingredients, and he applies mayonnaise to the side of the toast. The camera focuses in again, and the scrape noises are emphasized.
-The next scene, the man places the layers of meat on the toast, crushing the elements against each other
-The man pulls out a knife, and the close up shot is seen of the sandwich being stabbed and sliced in half, and the mayonnaise spills out
-The man is seen in full view, and he slowly pulls half the sandwich up, a close up is seen of him biting down; the full view is seen again, and there's a faint yell. The man raises his eyebrow.

I mainly want to work with views and cuts from the view of the man to the closeups. The ending might need more tweaking, but I felt it added to the humor.

Julia Walker- Artist Lecture

Julia Walker came to Memphis College of Art and gave a lecture on environmental-friendly and modernist architecture, primarily located in the American Southwest. She began the speech describing the International Exhibition of Modern Architecture that took place in the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1932. She described how this really emphasized modern architecture’s design, but this was its shining point up until the destruction of the Pruitt-Igoe housing among other circumstances.

She described how the southwest brought an opportunity to bring back the simpler designs and mix with the environment due to the area’s constant battle with sun, sand, and heat. Many modern structures there were a part of the land in their construction and design. She described an example such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ocatitto Camp, which were cabins that used an agreeable diffusion of light. She also described Al Beadle’s White Gates House which created an oasis in the desert, as well as she described Chafee’s Ramada House which resembled old Pueblo structures.

She described Rick Joy’s Desert Nomad House as well as his Tuscan Mountain House. They both were very simple and conceptual, and they brought about what Julia Walker described of important elements of good design; some being it needs to be innovative, unobtrusive, honest, durable, among others. She mentioned these weren’t all required, but they did apply to several modernist architectural designs. The quote she left with approached a new idea towards the idea of the modern among the desert land; “It is no desert.”

Point A to Point B Production Package Part 2

Number of Days I'll shoot: at the very least 1, but 2 would work the best due to weather issues

When working with the actor and the test shots and scenes, the weather is definitely an issue, as there was rain this past weekend. The weather issue occurred with my last piece, and the best option would really be if I had a camera for at least 2 days. There were also scenes involving traffic, where I wasn't sure if the sound would work well. The crew and I are also working on various props, trying to find appropriate toys. The robot will be built. There will also be a scene involving a dog, and there are still a few kinks to work with in safety issues along with the dog behaving appropriately. He's friendly and obedient, but in new scenery this might not work as well for him. I'm also wondering how the camera equipment will work in the car with its movements, especially in the scene where the car breaks down.
The weather overall is the biggest issue for a film shot mostly outdoors, and I'll check it the night before to make sure of it and hope for the best; it always seems to be the most unpredictable factor.

Here also are some of my thumbnails as well as lighting sketches of the house and the hardware store:

Point A to Point B Production Package Part 1

Analysis of Script
Characters' Life goals/objectives
-The Inventor: He is young and ambitious and determined to finish his greatest work.
-The Driver: She's the side character who drives across the intersection blocking the Inventor from crossing. Her goal is to enjoy the scenery while driving to her home to cook dinner for her family.

Character Obstacles
-The Inventor: He can't finish his goal due to a final screw missing from his greatest work, and he also happens to be out of them. He runs into obstacles of this obstacle getting a screw.
-The Driver: She has issues getting home before dark, but she can't help watching the sun set.

Actions to Overcome Obstacles
-The Inventor: He runs into several particular obstacles getting his screw:
--First, a stray dog is in front of his car.
---He overcomes this by shooing the dog, and for a minute, dogs.
--Second, the Driver at a three way stop drives very slowly to cross
---He overcomes this by being forced to be patient.
--Third, his car breaks down.
---He overcomes this by trying to work on it, but he eventually gives up and runs.
-The Driver doesn't overcome her obstacle due to becoming easily distracted.

The Ways and Methods Used
-The Inventor: He must shoo the dogs with his arms waving and voice, be patient for at least a moment, and he attempts to fix his car, but he isn't as mechanical with cars and decides running is the best option to get to the hardware store for his screw.
-The Driver doesn't overcome this and keeps driving in a slow manner.

Adjustments Made when Characters don't Succeed
When the Inventor can't fix his car, he decides running will suit his obsession to finish his greatest work quickly.

Realistic Doings Actors are Engaged in
-The actor for the Inventor will actually run for a bit in one scene, he will actually drive, and he will also be screwing the screw for his final work.
-The actress for the Driver will actually be driving.


Breakdown the Script
Number and Types of Actors- 3; a young adult male, a female driver, and a worker at the hardware store register

Number of Scenes each actor will be in and the length of the performances- the actor for the inventor will be in about 8 or 9 scenes, and being the main character, he will be in all the scenes throughout the film; the actress for the driver will be in 1 scene, with the duration only being about 10-15 seconds; the worker at the hardware store will be in 1 scene with a short duration of only 3-5 seconds.

Requirements, number, and types of locations
-5 locations, 3 are outdoor locations along the road, 1 is the Inventor's home, and particular props are required, and 1 of the locations is the Hardware store

Number and types of stunts and special effects
- 1: smoke will be used for the car breaking down

Special Costumes and Make-up
-The Inventor has somewhat of a grungy look, but overall average

Props
-The robot (aka greatest work)
-Various toys/stuffed animals that are (or appear) handmade
-Car
-Animals/Dogs
-Tools
-The screw

Locations
1. The House
Sound Quality: quiet; Available Light: 1 overhead light and two small windows; Power: 4 outlets



2. The Street with the Dogs
Sound Quality: outdoor natural noises; Available Light: sunlight; Power: none


3. Three Way Stop
Sound Quality: outdoor natural noises; Available Light: sunlight; Power: none


4. Car Breakdown Street
Sound Quality: outdoor noises along with traffic noises; Available Light: sunlight; Power: none


5. Hardware Store
Sound Quality: quiet with customers talking; Available Light: fluorescent lights above; Power: an outlet




Here is my spreadsheet mentioning estimated times and schedules of the scenes:


The actor for the Inventor will be Lee Yager, and I have his contact information along with the Driver's who will be Susan Gibson. The locations take place at the actor's actual house and the area around there, and both of the talents know the area well. The Hardware store were completely fine with the filming, and they have the date and know of the arrangements.

Point A to Point B Project Idea

So I have an idea that I want to work with for this assignment- it’s a simple narrative, but it answers to the assignment. I also am hoping to make this movie without dialogue.
The narrative begins with a man who is working on his invention. He is working for a bit and digging through a few boxes of supplies until he freezes. He drops his wrench. His eyes widen. He quickly puts on a jacket and rushes to his car. He speeds out of his driveway in a worried rush. Speeding down the road, a stray dog jumps in front of the car and he halts. The dog looks and runs around in place, and the man waves his arms attempting to shoo it. The dog eventually runs off. The man continues speeding off.
The man drives for a bit until he hits a three way stop. A car drives across as slow as possible, and he taps his fingers on the steering wheel. The tapping seems to get louder to him as he waits for the car to cross. He finally is freed from the stop and continues driving off.
Still speeding, he looks anxiously at the road and speed limit, wishing he could speed up. He speeds up a bit, until he notices the car stopping and slowing down with strange noises and pops. Seen from the outside, he throws up his arms and yells in anger, and then he turns on the emergency lights and gets out to check under the hood. He works with it for a bit, banging a few things and attempting to start the car, but he eventually gives up. He runs off into the distance, determined to go to where he wants to go to.
Cars pass on the road, and he continues to pass the opposing ones, stopping a bit to catch his breath and then continue. A small hardware store is seen, as he wearily approaches it. He rushes through the store. He digs through supplies until he finds the box he wants. He rips it open and pulls out a single screw. He smiles weakly, checks out, and a scene is seen where he places what seems to be the final screw to his invention.

Edit- His invention was determined to be a toy robot, as the end of the film reveals he builds toys.

Critique 1 Response

The first critique overall was very useful for preparing for the next project. Things I noted that were mentioned in others' critiques were often about lighting and pacing. I noticed that not enough light can create dominating darkness or very flat shots. Pacing also stood out among a lot of pieces, as cutting up shots and trying different angles could be beneficial for my next piece. Another note that stood out to me that I've run into before as a problem is to remember what the viewer sees of my work; I sometimes have something in my mind that isn't shown enough, but it's also important to not go overboard as well and be screaming a message or a narrative I'm trying to get across.

For my own critique, it really helped to learn that the panning was creating an effect for the viewers that I didn't notice. I also feel like I should have been more specific on the clothing I needed for my talent, as it came across that there was more than one character. I also learn I need to tighten more of my shots, and I need to focus more on edited shots and less extensive pans mixed with these unless I need a different effect.

My biggest issue I feel was my sound being too low after the edit, and I feel I can maybe work on this in general with both the filming and editing process.

Final Cut Pro

When first working with Final Cut Pro, it really is a precise program when it comes to each shot, and it was simple in the cutting aspects. I did wonder how adding more visual scenes or sounds on top of each other would function, as I am still not too confident on how to use transitions.

When I was working with my sound in particular, I was playing around with the volume, and I couldn't find out a way to transition from no volume to some volume as well as just transitioning the volume throughout the sound clip.

The program itself is very useful overall, and it really was a fun experience editing and putting everything together.

Lecture- Janet Koplos: Art Critic and Editor

Janet Koplos discussed many artists in her lecture that focused on the use of labor and manual skills in their work. Describing each one gave a good understanding of what particular skill and focus each artist had.

She began first with a video introduction of art that was designed to be demolished. She also mentioned Pollock to begin with describing how each of his lines were intentional and created depth for the eye. She described the definition of "process art" being the physicalness of what the art is doing. Adolf Wolffi was mentioned as an artist that focused on emotions through his own world creations, Gary Lang was mentioned as an artist that focused on a meditative aspect with the labor being euphoric, and Yoshihiro Suda's work emphasized craftsmanship through his flower wood carvings.

Tara Donovan was one of the artists that emphasized the philosophy of material through the use of creating her cloud banks with cups. Others such as Anne Wilson were mentioned as an artist who dealt with time and history through her work chronicling days with cloth. Janet Koplos also mentioned artists such as Liza Lou, Nina Katchadourian, Rona Pondick, Tom Friedman, and Aeneas Wilder, who was the featured artist at the beginning and the conclusion.

Janet Koplos's lecture overall truly emphasized the focus of the labor in art, and how the labor alone can be the art. This has made me think about my work in animation, and how I can move forward as an animator and illustrator, as well as question a few things as a digital artist in that medium.

Memory Shoot- Experiences

When shooting for this video, one of the issues I ran into that really affected the shots was that the sky was overcast for a recording that was entirely outdoors. I had checked the weather beforehand, and I had expected it to be partly sunny. The weather was the biggest issue, as it really affected the lighting. Another issue I ran into was there being no outlets for the lights at the parks. I drove around a few trying to find one that might have one, but I couldn't find any. I improvised a bit with battery-powered lights, and this could've been solved with a generator, but I wasn't sure about the price and time was running out at that point.

It was definitely an experience that was helpful overall though, and I discovered a few things I hadn't considered before. I worked with a child for the shooting, and she was a good actress for the shots, but directing her a few times made us both a little uneasy, and some moments came out a bit awkward. It was fun bringing the scenes to life, though, and I really feel like working with her and my crew member bonded us a bit as a group.

Memory Essay

I’ve broken my arm three times in my life- the one that was the most shocking for me at the time was when I was five and dislocated it.
I was a very quiet child when I was five, and I only really talked to my one friend in kindergarten. We were on a class field trip to the playground. When we first got there, I smelled the dirt and grass brush by in the wind, and the sun’s light glared on the playground’s shiny metal. I got excited and kicked up the dirt as I ran toward the slide. I smelled metal and squinted my eyes often from the sunlight. I went down the burning slide a few times, ignoring the heat.
My friend wanted me to play with her, and so I followed her, and we swung on the yellow plastic rings next to the swings. We ran through the dust and dirt determined to play on everything in sight. I then saw where my friend was running, and it amazed me. This structure, or often called “monkey bars”, was towering over me, and it was covered in bright silver metal everywhere. It smelled a little like rust, and its height especially intimidated me.
My friend was a bit of an acrobat for her age, and she leaped up there and went across. I listened to her hands hit the bars, and I climbed up the thin metal steps to reach the higher metal bars; I held on inhaling and exhaling a few times. The bars were hot, but not as hot as the slide. My friend called me a couple of times, and I complained it was too high. She went back and forth rocking the skyscraper bars and making squeaking sounds, displaying that it was simple. I breathed in again, feeling the wind and watching the rest of the playground. I grabbed the first bar and moved across slowly at first, and then kept feeling the bars and rhythm, I bounced and swung to the end. I decided to try again with confidence. I flipped around on the metal steps, and I felt one bar, two, and...nothing.
The moment seemed slow and quick at the same time. I felt the air I grabbed onto rush all around me. The grass smell seemed the strongest at first, and then I smelled the dirt as I landed on it. The sun was suddenly in my eyes, and I couldn’t breathe. I thought I’d landed on my back first, since I was on it. I looked around, and the playground seemed endless and the other parents and children seemed distant from the ground. The wind came again, and I tried to breathe with it. It unlocked me from the ground’s hold, and I then saw a familiar figure approaching. I got up feeling nothing wrong until I moved my left arm, and I suddenly felt a sharp pain. I looked at it and it didn’t look bloody or anything to me, but any movement felt like it was ripping. I looked up at the skyscraper monkey bars in the sun, finally realizing my defeat, and cold tears began running down my face.
I could hear my voice starting to make wailing noises on its own, and the fear of what had happened to my arm made the tears come faster mixed with the wind. I felt arms grab me up, and despite being happy for the comfort, the movement restarted the pain, and I continued to cry. My mom’s voice began asking what was wrong, and all I could through the wailing was mumble, “my arm hurts.” My mom asked for a car ride to the hospital, as my mind blurred watching the playground fade away toward the parking lot. I suddenly was in a small blue car, and I noticed my arm wasn’t bothering me. I moved it a bit as a test and the pain came back. I cried more, as the car started and the vibrations hurt my arm. My mom and someone else’s mom’s voices murmured in the background. The playground’s image blended into the trees as I was led away from the fun day.

Character Through Lighting Notes

We had originally chosen a the yellow room at our location, but there were outlet issues, and we moved to a different room. Here are the lighting maps of each:


The location was a house on Patterson Street in an empty pink bedroom.
The props used were: a chair, a bedpost, a nightstand, and the clock on the nightstand
The talent used was Susan Gibson.
Date: September 4, 2009

Log:
- Met at 4:15pm and went to the house
- Organized in the yellow room, but the outlets didn't work for the lighting
- We moved to the empty room with the appropriate 3-prong outlets
- Set up two lights
- Key light had white umbrella at first, but it was switched with back light's silver
- Used windows and sunset for light and adjusted camera
- Practiced with talent
- Filmed
- Finished at around 6 pm

Shot List:
- 1st: Talent looks at clock; medium/establishing shot
- 2nd: Talent looks toward wall; close-up
- 3rd: Talent looks at floor then rises from chair and leaves; medium long shot

Character Through Light Inspiration and Research

Researching for ideas, I found a few useful websites:

http://www.5min.com/Video/Video-Production-Lighting-To-Create-Emotion-82991777
A quick video link that presents a few simple lighting techniques that create emotions.

http://www.eyeconvideo.com/tips/lighting_tips.asp
This link features a webpage created by a production company named Eyecon; there's a lot of useful tips about lighting and details on dealing with different types of lighting.

http://www.randallwhitehead.com/news/emotion_light.php
A small article about dealing with emotion in daily light.

http://www.barbarabrabec.com/life_lessons/Widows-2_grieving-process.htm
A woman named Barbara Brabec writes about her story of grieving when she lost her husband. I thought this might help understand more of the topic we're focusing on.

Character Through Lighting Notes

When meeting in our group, we first talked about focusing on a mental or emotional state of the character. Focusing on the character's details, we decided to focus on a character that is dealing with an immediate family death: specifically a widow who's lost her husband.

We worked with the appropriate time of day and location next. Twilight seems the best for the emotional elements, and we discussed a few locations, such as hallway to convey the empty path, an empty bedroom, a cemetery, or the top or bottom of a stairway.

We didn't want to have too many props and to remain focused on the lighting, so we decided a small room/bedroom would work the best with the twilight aspect coming in through the window.

A friend has agreed to the part, but the time is still being set. I thought that a house my mom owns on Patterson Street would be good for the scene since there isn't much furniture, yet there's enough to create a scene.