Music Video

I am the cinematographer for our group in the music video assignment. Music videos are my passion so I am hoping that our group can collaborate well enough to produce something good since we all have different musical likings. For the track we have selected I picture a good amount of black and white with abstract camera angles and as with most music videos good-ole rapping scenes. I've never shot in Super 8 so as the cinematographer this will be exciting and educational at the same time for me. I just hope our group can pull through, but can't wait for the final product!

Self Portrait Ideas

This will be my first individual project that I get to work on, and its actually about myself! The only ideas I can come up with is taking a little bit of everything I am, everything I love to do, and everything I will do and crush it all into 3 minutes. Which at first seems short, but second thoughts make it seem long. This is something I've waited awhile to finally work on but feel stressed with ongoing projects for this and 2 other classes that require just as much production time. I can't wait to work on it but hope that my schedule doesn't interfer with my productivity.

Sound and Light Project Plan

When I work most of the time I like to freestyle and see where it goes from my quick imagination. Planning isn't one of my top qualities but pre-thought ideas moments before production is my way of flying. I have a little bit of experience with After Effects and probably about the same skill in FCP being that I never touched a Mac until last year. Our soundtrack seems narrative and slow paced with mostly natural sounds so only a forest, natural look could be produced from us.

Assn. #1b

I wish I would have known what our sound effect creations would have been used for so that I could have created more samples that could be used musically. I'm sure everybody wishes they would have known that but I suppose that is half the fun, right? To take random entities of sound and create a sound scape from simple one track sounds. I learned that 1b was my 2nd favorite step out of the 3 step procudure to create our animations. Creating musical pieces from simple sound samples is a hip-hop producers job and I feel that I failed at it compared to Morgans beautiful sound piece. But I learn from failure and realize what it is that I need to do better next time and what to concentrate on.

Light Observation 2

The same goes with my car that goes with my bedroom, I like it dark. I'm not sure if I am nocturnal or what but the darkness comforts me. Every morning when I awake, if the air conditioning vents havent blown my covers from my windows, then it is almost in complete darkness. A slight bit of light shines in under my bathroom door from its only window and the light from the rest of the house finds its way underneath my bedroom door. But as usually the AC has moved my window covers making the sun shine through undeniably bright waking me up before my alarm has the chance too. With all of this light combined I can basically make my way through room, which is not what I strive for. The window light is a sharp bright light that spreads across the whole room while the bathroom and house light that sneak underneath my doors has less intensity and is more feathered around the edges. As much as I love light for illumination our world, I dislike it with the same amount of emotion.

Light Observation 1

I have had my windows illegally tinted ever since I was 16 and have enjoyed driving in my dark cavern of a vehicle. Recently, due to new state inspection laws I have had to peel off my tint and proceed to ride around in a fishtank of a jeep. I don't understand how anybody could ride in a car with 0 tint on all windows when mine is only missing the 2 front windows. Light and heat constanly beat through my windshield and front seat windows cuasing for a world of glares coming from every direction. In the early morning heading to class with no sunglasses and eyes that aren't used to the harsh sunlight almost makes it impossible to drive without a headache. My dvd screen reflects the light so harshly also that I can barely even make out what song is playing and in order to choose a song its like going in blind. The factory blue-ish tint on the windshield causes for a blue-ish glare from my eye line since I sit so high up also.

Assn. #1 A.... WHAT DID I LEARN?

I've learned that sound production is a lot more fun than I thought it was. Shannon always stress's the importance of sound which I had never thought of until her class. When a sound has no picture accompanying it, the mind creates its own visual. This gives each sound its own identity to be whatever the mind can comprehend. As much fun as I had around my home making these sound effects, I've realized that sound production will not be my main focus in my career. As easy as it is though to look through sound library's online, it is almost just as easy to google ideas and create your own sounds. I learned that background sound and the levels are the most important aspect of sound design, not only the sound. My dryer was running in the background of some of the recordings and even though it was a good 45 feet away a constant tumbling sound was noticeable with headphones on.

MY MEMORY!

As this is my first blog site I have ever produced, I apologize to my lateness on all of my posts. Shannon's reminder in class helped jog my memory so here I am ready to unload my thoughts!

Sound Observations

1. Living Room with no roommates around 6 pm
- The first and most distinct noise is that of the buzz that the kitchen light bulbs make. Also the chirping of birds intermittently with the very distant sound of a neighbor mowing the lawn. Some type of locus or grasshopper's are making their chirping sounds outside along with the birds. The A/C came on one time and sounds like a jet taking off but at a very low volume. It also sucks all the slightly ajar doors close which all bang simultaneously. I heard a light creek coming from the room above the garage about twice during the twenty minutes I sat. The ice machine in the freezer dropped a couple ice cubes too which you could hear as they fell down the into the bin.
2. Wrightsville Beach at 10 am
- Obviously the most abundant sound is that of the waves crashing. The seagulls were making their cawing sound, not really sure what to call it. The beach grass could be heard rustling with the help of the calm wind that could barely be heard when I turned my head to the side. The voices of people was heard randomly whenever some would walk by or a child would scream in the distance. Still could heard the occasionally loud vehicle drive by on the street. Since I could not sit entirely still during my 20 minute observation, I could heard the slight sound of my feet and the sand rubbing together and the creak of the bench I was sitting on when I would move. After this, I realized that the beach is a very solitary place and caught at the right time is even quieter than my own living room.

Reading Response

Introduction to Avant-Garde
-With this being my third or so class that has touched on avant-garde and experimental film making, this is my second or so time reading this article. However, the reading provides insightful information towards avant-garde film making. Avant-garde is the artistic/stylistic approach to Hollywood film making without the need for an actual plot. I believe that avant-garde got the name slapped on it becuase people were unsure what to call it, which possibly gave it a bad rap from that time on. An avant-garde film is one that is much deeper than a plot, where anything the artist wants can portray anything its needed to be. I agree with the fact that being a new viewer to the experimental realm of film making is strange and unclear at first. I like to reference them to optical illusions where one can perceive and image from another. They are challenging at first, but the more you look at, the easier they become to understand.

The Film as an Original Art form
- I could barely read this due to my horrible eyes and lenscrafters tardiness on my glasses, but what I pulled from it was interesting. I agree with the fact that the artsy portrayal of film lies within documentary and experimental film making. Hollywood seems to subdue the deep cinematic shots where the artist's views are shown. But then I do disagree with with the same statement. The narrative stories that come out of Hollywood, for the most part, are their own types of art forms for they have adapted their ideas from literature. Richter does make valid points in which I can both agree and disagree with, I'm sure most people feel this away about his writing.

Manifest Destiny

Growing up on the Outer Banks of North Carolina groomed me for an interesting childhood and a noticeable difference from "others". I enjoy narritive films but feel as if Hollywood has taken too much of a control over the production, taking away from the uniquness from each artist. Experimental and avant-garde allow artist to portray whatever he or she desires and then allows the viewer to perceive it however they wish. In order for one to have a true production of their own, I feel that they must prevail in all steps from storyboards to shooting to editing to promotion. Hollywood has too many people taking care of all these steps and the artists meaning can be lost in all of this. I do understand however, that this is the style that is needed in order to produce narritive movies at a fast pace and with large. I enjoy skimboarding and snowboarding more than anything else in the world, well almost anything esle, and being able to travel, film, edit, and publish these movies would be a future goal in life. Experimental filmmaking is the closest genre that UNCW could provide for me, so I plan on having fun and enjoying it to the fullest.