DS106 has been an overall interesting experience. When I signed up for the class I was really unsure as to what the class entailed. I just figured it be some form of storytelling in a digital way. Never did I think that the class would encompass so many forms of media forcing us to dive into using them. The lessons that we learned in this class will be really useful in the future as our reliance on technology increases. The amount of work that was involved with the class was a bit much at times but to helped me to really familiarize with the material.
I guess I expected to learn more about storytelling that we actually did but perhaps in an indirect way we did. My view of storytelling was always what I imaged a creative writing course to be like and this was nothing like that. We were asked to view the world through this different mediums – film, video and sound in a way that portrayed a story. I have labeled some of my material into a “best” category that I feel portray a story at least represent one. Storytelling is what you make of it and like any other form of expression technology is excellent base from which to start from.
My best worked seemed to focus around the work of others. I dont consider myself a necessarily creative person but I am really inspired by the work of others. In two of my assignments I represent Kill Bill because I feel like it is an insanely creative film that demands respect. I doubt I could ever recreate something on the level of Tarintino – so creating the design assignments just was a reflection of something greater. That is what I think I took away most from the class is that creativity is so multi dimensional that its found in so many different places. You dont have to be looking to find inspiration for your own creativity.
For my final project I created a series of photos that represent young me and now me. There are 12 total photos taken of me from 8 hours old to around 6 years old. There are taken from all different occasions including: the day of my birth, strawberry picking, a tball game and my 5th and 6th birthday party. I matched them up with photos I had taken of myself now recreating the poses of the original photos.
During the photos the hardest part to recapture was my facial expressions. I guess you don’t realize how enthusiastic or just plain emotional a child’s face is. I could be doing a common activity and would have the most ridiculous expression on. In each new picture I seem to be fighting off a laugh because I cant imagine why on earth I had this expression. Another difficulty was getting the pose right in each picture. Every picture is very spur of the moment so it was difficult to get into the exact position. Along with that the cloths I wore at 5 and 6 simply to don’t resemble anything I currently own. Especially since the fashion would be over 18 years old so I did the best with what I had.
What was easy about the project was that it was laid out as to what I had to do. I didn’t have to make up some pose because there were already ready for me. It was a unique opportunity to recreate these photos because even though Im in all of them I have no recollection of any of it. They are poses that a normal adult would ever think about doing because they are so care free and fun. I think what is so cool about this project is that Im the same person, in the same pose and almost same cloths but the cloths are distinctly different from one another. You cant help but to stare and examine the differences between the two of them – in an almost wheres Waldo haze.
I thought it would be a cool effect to have a short video clip at the beginning of the segment. The video clip would be of me around 2 years old taking up all of the camera and my mom talking to me in the background. When the pictures wrapped up then I would have included another video clip of me reenacting the original scene. I felt like it would have been a cool element to add to the total project but alas when I went to view the original tape my VCR broke – probably from not being used in 20 years. Visually this would have been a great element to add – bringing a life like quality to the project.
However, the pictures in the addition to the audio of the home video I think portray I sense of childhood that still lingers within everyone. Seems now that I have lived two lives one which was far more care free and spontaneous than the other and recreating that shows how juxtaposed these lives are from one another. Its interesting to look at life from where you came from to where you are now and how different the two are. The moments in which these photos were taken had a certain purpose and I hope in the end to emphasize that life should always looked through an optimistic and youthful lens.
I met with Annie to discuss our final projects in tonight’s class. Her idea for the project is based on the Little Red Riding Hood remix story that we watched in class last week. The premise for her project will utilize the graphics and animation to accompany a video. She provided the example of Stranger Than Fiction as the kind of model for what she wants her final product to look like. However, she is unsure of what exactly her story will be at the moment. I suggested something simple, a daily overlooked routine, like in the movie and in the use of a common fairy tale, Red Riding Hood. The graphics themselves are a really cool idea and would make any video look awesome. By filming a basic scene such as tying a tie would work well with the graphics because it would not compete for visual attention. I think her idea is really good and unique and if executed well will result in a visually pleasing final project.
When I talked about my final project I explained the whole Young Me Now Me premise to Annie. She thought that using basic childhood pictures would set a good frame for a story line. She raised the question of wether I would be able to replicate the settings of the old pictures, which made me think of what pictures Ill ultimately be able to use.
Using the word play assignment with the cheese it up remix. I used obnoxious font and blew it up so its in your face. I tried to use vibrant colors while still maintaing the look of an egg.
This is my Dr Seuss remix of the still frame comic strip assignment. Instead of inserting a random Dr Suess character into the scene, I decided to make one the focus of the strip. Using shots from both the Lorax and Ax men, I wanted to portray the Ax men as being the real enemy of the truffula trees. The scenes work well together and so do the names making this assignment as easy to conceptualize.
What I am thinking about for my final project is similar to the young me now me project. Here is the link to the projects home page of young me now me and what I wish to do is tell a story through a series of my baby pictures being mirrored by me today. I originally wanted to tackle doing this but with film but my mom has hundreds of hours of home movies mostly of my sister with me being a comatose baby in the background. So pictures seem like the more plausible route for the material that I have. Although an interesting feature would be to incorporate the audio recording of one home video and overlay it on the pictures as they scroll through. However, the only glitch to this maybe the fact that all the film is on vhs tapes and I am unsure of how to extract that. Hopefully in the end the project will be a funny take on growing up as seen through family photos.
This is a video I took of me playing with my cat. Usually he fetches when you throw his mouse toy but maybe he was camera shy cause he wasnt putting up with it. Luckily at the end he attempts a fetch but cant complete it. Still pretty impressive for a cat!
Silent Era Film: 5 stars
Heres my return to the silent era clip. I used the trailer from the 2011 Girl with the Dragon Tattoo film and edited it down to a few key scenes that get the message across pretty quickly. I did it all in imovie and used the old grain film effect to give the clip that old time look. I added In the Hall of the Mountain King as the soundtrack because it fit the speed of the clip. It starts off fairly slowly then gradually builds until it less than 1 second clips that hit on point with the music. The text cards were easy to add as they were a simple feature within imovie. Using this clip with this music gives it an older feel but still remaining quick paced and intense like the movie’s plot.
Life Changing Scenes: 5 stars
These three scenes are taken from some of my favorite movies. In the clip I explain why each segment hows some impact on my life but Ill explain a little further here. The first taken from Kill Bill volume 1 made the list simply because how intense it is in addition to its placement in the movie. Being the first scene it really sets the stage for the plot to develop. It reels in the viewer – as the first time I ever saw it my jaw must have been hanging down from how blown away I was from the choreography and sheer wildness of the scene. The next scene taken from Fiddler on the Roof shows the dancing at Tevia’s daugthers wedding. Since it is a musical there already is alot of singing and dancing but this particular scene is so unique compared to any other dance sequence I have ever seen. The style is so folk but so exiting to watch as well. This scene changed the way I looked at musicals by expanding my view on how a musical should look like. The last clip is the one that has made the biggest film impact on me – the opening of Titanic. Although technically not the real opening because the true opening takes places in 1997 with old Rose – but this scene is where the movie gets started for me. It was probably the combination of being in a theatre for a pg-13 movie at the age of 7 plus the insanity of the graphics and the ship that has seared this scene and movie into my subconscious. Everytime I watch that scene I still feel like that little kid again super excited for whats ganna happen…even though I know haha.
Video Essay:5 stars
American History X is a very important film in understanding the possibilities that racism has even in modern day. This film is very powerful by combining a meaningful and important message with phenomenal film editing. Jumping back between black and white to color creates a barrier between where the character has been and where he is now. Making use of slow motion at climatic points of the movie instills the message with the viewer that what they are watching, as horrific as it is, is possible. Centering the plot around the main character and his struggle with identifying himself within society, the director creates brilliant juxtapositions that allow the viewer to visually interpret the meaning. The main issue in the movie is racism and by pairing whites and blacks together in the same scene helps to show the divide felt by the characters. The black and white film use furthers on this by breaking race down to a very basic level – which the main character sees it as. When the film transforms to color the plot and the characters ideas coincide by becoming more and depth and complex.
How its made: 3 stars
For this assignment I did screenshots of me creating a new image for my background. I just used iphoto to manipulate a photo of my cat, Beau, and then played the keyboard cat tune in the background. I combined the two in imovie that then produced the final product!
Redub the Sound: 4 stars
I re-dubbed this classic scene from South Pacific with Single Ladies. It seemed like a fitting modern take on the songs meaning and fits in with the scene. It shows that even 50 years after South Pacific was produced the issues and subject matter covered is still very relevant in today’s pop culture. I used imovie to overlay the sound to the video after muting the original soundtrack.
5 Second Clip: 5 Stars
This 5 second clip is a mash-up between a tampa bay hockey game in which the national anthem was played on a organ and keyboard cat. The clip plays 4 seconds of the organ playing and closes with keyboard cat raising his paws in triumph. I wanted to remove keyboard cat from his natural habitat and put him in situations that would appear to be within his set of keyboard playing skills. The process of creation was simple with imovie just combining the two edited down clips so that they seamlessly transitioned from one point to the other.
Heres my return to the silent era clip. I used the trailer from the 2011 Girl with the Dragon Tattoo film and edited it down to a few key scenes that get the message across pretty quickly. I did it all in imovie and used the old grain film effect to give the clip that old time look. I added In the Hall of the Mountain King as the soundtrack because it fit the speed of the clip. It starts off fairly slowly then gradually builds until it less than 1 second clips that hit on point with the music. The text cards were easy to add as they were a simple feature within imovie. Using this clip with this music gives it an older feel but still remaining quick paced and intense like the movie’s plot.
Making this silent film was relatively easy to do:
First: I took the original movie trailer off of youtube and downloaded it onto my computer through MPEG streamclip which allowed me to then open it into imovie.
Second: Once in imovie I had to delete certain scenes that I didn’t think were necessary in understanding the plot and that just took up too much time. In the end I edited about 2 minutes from the original 3 and half minute trailer.
Third: I added the black and white grainy effect that is offered in the effects of imovie
Fourth: Once I had the look I wanted I deleted all the sound from the clip – and through the audio feature overlaid the track – In the Hall of the Mountain King. The song was a little longer than the clip so I cut out so excess at the beginning but luckily not too much needed to be removed.
Fifth: Now that the project was complete I uploaded it to youtube which can be seen above!
I re-dubbed this classic scene from South Pacific with Single Ladies. It seemed like a fitting modern take on the songs meaning and fits in with the scene. I used imovie to overlay the sound to the video.
