Life continues to be good, I honestly don't have many complaints about the week. Other than the fact that I blew my paycheck this week on Destiny. My computer back home has been out of commission for a couple of weeks now, and I don't want to buy a new one before I get my car on the road. So I bought Destiny to tide me over. Im still looking forward to editing, that remains my favorite part about last year. I have been a bit frustrated at work though, all I can say is, don't ask for your bags to be light if all you bought was f**king canned foods... Also the blood moon was very cool.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eozgKGRFr70
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Evolution of an artist
Evolution of an artist was an excellent time waster. Although I do mean that in the nicest possible way. I could spend days sitting and laughing at the old cartoons. I remember watching some of those characters develop, but I never gave it much thought as to how.
The video mentioned several aspects of character development that all artists either metaphorically, hit a wall or fly with. It is relatively easy to make a character, the hard part is giving it character, or as some prefer "life".
I love that one of the more driven points in the video was the difference between human expectation and reality. That paradime will always preserve the hilarity of the classics simply because you never know for sure whats going to happen. spontaneous but predictable, the perfect balance to keep an audience hooked and coming back for more. the same characters they love in an unpredictable situation.
I think the best thing to take away from this though is how the characters grow over time. In actuality they grow with the artist but even with some of the characters I have personally designed I have noticed some personality. For instance I could give a lot more life to a character I designed 8 years ago than one I did in class last year.
Things take time, you have to learn and grow before your character ever can. But maybe thats just me.
The video mentioned several aspects of character development that all artists either metaphorically, hit a wall or fly with. It is relatively easy to make a character, the hard part is giving it character, or as some prefer "life".
I love that one of the more driven points in the video was the difference between human expectation and reality. That paradime will always preserve the hilarity of the classics simply because you never know for sure whats going to happen. spontaneous but predictable, the perfect balance to keep an audience hooked and coming back for more. the same characters they love in an unpredictable situation.
I think the best thing to take away from this though is how the characters grow over time. In actuality they grow with the artist but even with some of the characters I have personally designed I have noticed some personality. For instance I could give a lot more life to a character I designed 8 years ago than one I did in class last year.
Things take time, you have to learn and grow before your character ever can. But maybe thats just me.
Props for better and worse
If a film is made right, it should be memorable. But what is it that most seem to find memorable about films? Usually its whatever had the biggest influence on the story. For instance where would Indiana Jones be without his crystal skull? That being said, it should be noted that props leave a huge impression on the audience and also as a general rule play a huge part in story development.
A prop can be anything a young filmmaker's heart desires. However as stated by
A prop can be anything a young filmmaker's heart desires. However as stated by
Noah Yan, it is usually the strangest objects that are left with the audience afterword. For instance, I recently watched a horror film called Babadook. In the film a terrifying childrens book was used to announce the presence of an evil spirit personified from the main characters depression. Her anxiety and sadness over loosing her husband manifested into a terrifying demon, whose rules and regulations came with the book. The book stuck with me because of its strong contrast between the usual joy and lightheartedness of a childrens book and the horror of a demon.
-This is one of the pages from the book-
One of the ways Yan mentions the usage of props to pass time. This is a great way to progress a scene or film in general, but beware of clichés. This task is not easy but it may help you to give a little more depth to your characters. For example, instead of an alarm clock every morning to let the audience know its morning, why not have the character begin a unique morning ritual. Turn on some tunes, use their favorite hair brush, etc.
Though a prop can control everything from the tone, scene itself, it shouldn't be the only redeeming factor about a movie. In other words, a film shouldn't focus all of its time and energy on its props. An example of this would be the "rubber shields" from 300. This movie lost most of its audience in the pure testosterone fueled battles filled with blood and violence, but to anyone that cared enough to look, the production crew cheeped out on the props that the audience fell in love with. The best example of which being the elastic like qualities to Leonidas's spear when he threw it and deemed the god king Xerxes mortal.
I think a prop can control audiences and the film itself, but maybe thats just me.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Weekly Comment #1
Hot damn, back to doing blogs at 11:44 p.m.
I have been rather happy the last two weeks, school hasn't thrown me offbeat one bit. Since I started actually working, school doesn't seem to bad in general anymore. Not that what I do is difficult in any capacity but I don't hate school as much as I used to.
The better part of my week was this passed Sunday, when I got out of work I went with my mother to Barns & Nobel and pre-ordered a new book. After that i went out to Panera for linner (Lunch/ dinner). I have only eaten at Panera one other time, and the food was just as good.
I also managed to find my Halloween costume at PartyCity afterword. So Sunday turned out to be a pretty good day.
I haven't had a particularly bad day since school started, I suppose the closest I have come to that would be a couple of a-hole customers at Tops. But what else is new.
I did enjoy learning and using Photoshop this past week. I wish we had a little more time for it, but I also can't wait to start editing. That was one of my favorite parts last year, when I strung together my terrible 3d short.
There is certainly a lot left to learn but this year is looking pretty good so far. It just scares me a bit how quickly adulthood is going to be forced onto us in the next year. I don't suppose Marines can just sit around playing video games and animating, but maybe I'll get lucky.
I think things are happening very fast indeed, but maybe thats just me..Before you go.
I have been rather happy the last two weeks, school hasn't thrown me offbeat one bit. Since I started actually working, school doesn't seem to bad in general anymore. Not that what I do is difficult in any capacity but I don't hate school as much as I used to.
The better part of my week was this passed Sunday, when I got out of work I went with my mother to Barns & Nobel and pre-ordered a new book. After that i went out to Panera for linner (Lunch/ dinner). I have only eaten at Panera one other time, and the food was just as good.
I also managed to find my Halloween costume at PartyCity afterword. So Sunday turned out to be a pretty good day.
I haven't had a particularly bad day since school started, I suppose the closest I have come to that would be a couple of a-hole customers at Tops. But what else is new.
I did enjoy learning and using Photoshop this past week. I wish we had a little more time for it, but I also can't wait to start editing. That was one of my favorite parts last year, when I strung together my terrible 3d short.
There is certainly a lot left to learn but this year is looking pretty good so far. It just scares me a bit how quickly adulthood is going to be forced onto us in the next year. I don't suppose Marines can just sit around playing video games and animating, but maybe I'll get lucky.
I think things are happening very fast indeed, but maybe thats just me..Before you go.
All in Your Head
While normally at the sight of a video for a blog I would metaphorically jump for joy, this time around I was a little disappointed. My disdain for the video wasn't for its information, which was useful in itself, but how it was presented. Simon Cade managed to quickly loose my attention in regards to his lesson to focus on little irritants he performed throughout the video. A slightly shorter "Shatner pause" on top of the constant jump cuts and a very monotone voice only succeeded in making me think he was having a conversation with multiples of himself.
Setting my irritants aside, the information he gave his viewers seemed to be on more of a personal level. I assume he has been making videos and possibly films for a pretty good lenght of time based on his popularity and comfort in being a male Kristen Stewart alone.
Anyhow Simon seemed especially interested in creating something you think is good rather than what is popular. I can certainly agree with him, its really easy to go with the flow but its not very rewarding.
The next big thing has to come from somewhere, and if all artists simply recreated what already exists we wouldn't get very far culturally.
However the mistake mentioned that resonates with me the most is probably the whole "you are your own worst enemy" notion.
For the longest time I was very uncomfortable in new positions, I didn't like change or trying new things. Not that I wouldn't, I would just be incredibly nervous or scared. That's part of the reason I quit the youth organization I was with, and it even contributed to my fear of crowds.
It wasn't until halfway through my junior year of high school that I realized how to control that. The problem was at its center, me. Simply I was a judgmental d!ck. My father always picked people out of a crowd and mocked them in comparison to himself, and I realized that I had been doing the same thing.
I guess I just thought "Well if I'm doing it, than other people must be too." I felt like people were judging me as much as I judged them. but I have to give the masses more credit than that. Not all people (contrary to popular belief ) are @$$holes. Still, even if they are? Who cares?
Now I know, that person is probably just making themselves miserable doing exactly what I did.
The other points mentioned in the article were simply, get out more, learn to live with failure, and put more effort into your work.
I would go farther in depth with each of these, but I'm pretty sure I would end up having something around the length of a novel.
I would like to note that my skipping of those last points is not because they are any less important than the others, they just don't seem to resonate with me as well.
but maybe that's just me...
Setting my irritants aside, the information he gave his viewers seemed to be on more of a personal level. I assume he has been making videos and possibly films for a pretty good lenght of time based on his popularity and comfort in being a male Kristen Stewart alone.
Anyhow Simon seemed especially interested in creating something you think is good rather than what is popular. I can certainly agree with him, its really easy to go with the flow but its not very rewarding.
The next big thing has to come from somewhere, and if all artists simply recreated what already exists we wouldn't get very far culturally.
However the mistake mentioned that resonates with me the most is probably the whole "you are your own worst enemy" notion.
For the longest time I was very uncomfortable in new positions, I didn't like change or trying new things. Not that I wouldn't, I would just be incredibly nervous or scared. That's part of the reason I quit the youth organization I was with, and it even contributed to my fear of crowds.
It wasn't until halfway through my junior year of high school that I realized how to control that. The problem was at its center, me. Simply I was a judgmental d!ck. My father always picked people out of a crowd and mocked them in comparison to himself, and I realized that I had been doing the same thing.
I guess I just thought "Well if I'm doing it, than other people must be too." I felt like people were judging me as much as I judged them. but I have to give the masses more credit than that. Not all people (contrary to popular belief ) are @$$holes. Still, even if they are? Who cares?
Now I know, that person is probably just making themselves miserable doing exactly what I did.
The other points mentioned in the article were simply, get out more, learn to live with failure, and put more effort into your work.
I would go farther in depth with each of these, but I'm pretty sure I would end up having something around the length of a novel.
I would like to note that my skipping of those last points is not because they are any less important than the others, they just don't seem to resonate with me as well.
but maybe that's just me...
Every Student's Worst Nightmare
As a frequent procrastinator myself, I was immediately intrigued by the title of the provided reading I got this week. "6 Steps to Beat Procrastination" was a good short reminder of how important prioritizing work can be.
The first thing to jump out at me was the first mentioning of a list...well that's not true, the first thing I saw was the absurd tattoo. But after I gave myself a moment to question that persons moral decisions I pressed on to find the actual information.
A list is one of the most basic means of keeping track of what is going on for most people, or in this case what to do. Though it is a good idea to have a list, my mind drifted to the godawful organizers I was forced to keep in middle school. For me personally it wasn't very effective.
On the other hand I do have a whiteboard mounted on the wall next to my desk at home, which happens to be probably the most convenient thing I have ever screwed into my wall for no other reason that to look good.
As a quick side note, I really like the idea of keeping a minimized window with "to do's" on it.
Another thing I happened to notice in tangent with the reading was that I seem to only write down the most important information on my white board, as opposed to everything. Prioritizing in the moment almost. In the text Paul Allan mentions that you should do what you deem the most difficult of the tasks first. I guess I simply hoped i would remember the simpler tasks.
I almost want to disagree with 15min breaks every so often to wade through Facebook posts or watch a quick video, but it is a required part of Digital Media. The only reason I want to resent those 15min is because once I get into the right mindset and focus on my work, it is quite difficult to just turn it off for a quick breather.
The only other important points that were covered in the reading were in regards to pre-planning and breaking down performing the action itself. Pre-planning can be a good thing, and I only use "can" because in reference to everyday tasks pre-planning should be used in moderation. Its easy for me to say on Monday "Im going to do my blog posts on Wednesday!" but when Wednesday rolls around I find out my bus was delayed, I have a test at Boces, I have a test in every other class, I put my shirt on backwards, and somebody at work quit so I have to pick up the hours after school... By the time I finally get home its 11:30 and I just want to go to bed.
So giving yourself time is always a good thing but if I personally don't start on it at my earliest convenience, chances are it either won't get done or it will be done last minuet. Then again, maybe thats just me...
The first thing to jump out at me was the first mentioning of a list...well that's not true, the first thing I saw was the absurd tattoo. But after I gave myself a moment to question that persons moral decisions I pressed on to find the actual information.
A list is one of the most basic means of keeping track of what is going on for most people, or in this case what to do. Though it is a good idea to have a list, my mind drifted to the godawful organizers I was forced to keep in middle school. For me personally it wasn't very effective.
On the other hand I do have a whiteboard mounted on the wall next to my desk at home, which happens to be probably the most convenient thing I have ever screwed into my wall for no other reason that to look good.
As a quick side note, I really like the idea of keeping a minimized window with "to do's" on it.
Another thing I happened to notice in tangent with the reading was that I seem to only write down the most important information on my white board, as opposed to everything. Prioritizing in the moment almost. In the text Paul Allan mentions that you should do what you deem the most difficult of the tasks first. I guess I simply hoped i would remember the simpler tasks.
I almost want to disagree with 15min breaks every so often to wade through Facebook posts or watch a quick video, but it is a required part of Digital Media. The only reason I want to resent those 15min is because once I get into the right mindset and focus on my work, it is quite difficult to just turn it off for a quick breather.
The only other important points that were covered in the reading were in regards to pre-planning and breaking down performing the action itself. Pre-planning can be a good thing, and I only use "can" because in reference to everyday tasks pre-planning should be used in moderation. Its easy for me to say on Monday "Im going to do my blog posts on Wednesday!" but when Wednesday rolls around I find out my bus was delayed, I have a test at Boces, I have a test in every other class, I put my shirt on backwards, and somebody at work quit so I have to pick up the hours after school... By the time I finally get home its 11:30 and I just want to go to bed.
So giving yourself time is always a good thing but if I personally don't start on it at my earliest convenience, chances are it either won't get done or it will be done last minuet. Then again, maybe thats just me...
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
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