Last One

This class has given me a better perspective of experimental filmmaking.  In the beginning, I did not seem to care for it too much but after taking this class I have a better liking and appreciation for experimental film.  The projects for the class were extremely fun and unique.  I especially feel that the sound projects helped me learn a lot.  I find myself paying more attention to the different little sounds that I hear everyday.  With my self-portrait, I was glad that I was able to share a part of myself with the class that not many get to see unless they know me very well.  I would also love to get my hands on a Super 8 now.  I absolutely love the special way things look on film. 

Film Festivals

I was really glad that we took the time to learn the best way to enter our films into film festivals.  Learning the common faq that you may have to answer once your film is shown at a festival was extremely helpful.  I never would have even thought about being prepared for stuff like that, I would've completely overlooked it.  Even though I hate math I thought it was a good thing that we went over how to budget entering for film festivals.  I feel like after last class, I would be a lot more comfortable entering a film into a festival since I am now more aware of what to expect.  Getting information from a total of 16 film festivals was also really convenient.  How cool is it that we can look into at least 16 different festivals very conveniently provided for us?

Good Stuff

Attending Cucalorus was a lot of fun!  I am really glad that I got a few opportunites to go even though I did not get to see as many screenings as I wanted to.  Dolphin Glide was such a pretty documentary.  I loved how the guy made his own boat and equipment to get some really neat shots underwater.   I attended more of the workshops than anything.  My favorite workshop was Cameras and Cranes.  Since I love cinematography it was really cool to get a feel for what it's like to use a real crane.  I also loved being able to start networking.  I got to talk to two camera crew members of TNT's Leverage which is my favorite show.  I was glad to get some good advice from the both of them about how to get started with a film career.

Cucalorus

Now this is something that I look forward to.  Access to free passes to a sweet well known film festival? Yes I think so.  I have been unable to attend Cucalorus until this year so I'm pretty excited.  It's also awesome to know that some people in my classes have their own films starring in the festival.  Congrats guys that's awesome! 
Since I love camera work, I will be going to two camera workshops, the cameras and cranes workshop and the underwater camera workshop. 
I plan to attend the screenings for Dolphin Glide and Food Not Bombs.  I will also be attending Irrational Reactions.

Installation

This project sounds like it will be pretty cool and interesting.  I don't think I've ever done a project like this before.  Cass is the director and plans to project bodies on bodies.  A live person will reinact the same moves of the same body that will be projected onto a blank screen with broken mirror class on it.  Sound pretty good to me.

Music Video Shoot

Our Music video consists of a song by the Rosewood Thieves.  The song is called "Flat Tire".  We had some trouble finding a couple of actors for our shoot but fortunately Cass and I were able to find them.  It just so happened that a very close friend of mine, who wants to be an actor, was visiting from Missouri and she had just graduated from UNCW as a theatre major last year. We seemed to be able to get some pretty good shots for our film.  Overall, this shoot was an interesting experience and I am hoping that all of the shots will nicely come together in the editing process.

Microcinema Reading

The Microcinema reading was pretty neat.  It is nice to know that some people still appreciate the art part of film and that it is still recognized.  However, it does still remain a bit unclear to me about how these filmmakers raise enough money for these works of art they make.  I guess it might also still be that when making these films just for the arts, money is not a concern.  They just do it for what unique features can be brought out on film.  I, sadly, have never been to one of these Independent art house theaters, but if I ever get the chance to go, I'm sure it would be a pretty sweet experience.  Just knowing that I am surrounded by the unique personality of the theater alone would be fun in itself.

Music Video

I will be the Gaffer/Grip/Foley Artist and Sound recordists for the music video.  I am hoping to be able to stay on top of the video's sounds, voices, etc.  I look forward to collaborating with Cassandra, our DP to make sure that the lighting for our video looks awesome as well.  I'll make sure that everything sounds in sync during the editing process.  I've never shot with actual film before so I look forward to working with an actual film camera.  I don't feel like a real student yet without using a real film camera.

Self Portrait Idea

This should be an interesting experience because I've never worked on a film project by myself before.  I have kind of an artsy side and a sports side.  I have been playing sports all of my life but I've also had a lot of interest in the arts but it hasn' really been until last year that I have explored these interests in detail.  I'd like to be able show both of these sides of me...or combine both worlds if you will.

Experimental & Reality Pictures

Chalk Paint against concrete

A giant mansion in Bermuda.  I thought it was one of the prettiest setting when my family and I went there.

Project 1B

For this assignment, it was cool figuring out how to put all the different sounds together. We had completely different thoughts going into the project than what it came out to be. This was a very different filming assignment than what I have been used to and it was interesting exploring and playing with an assignment with just sound.

Light Observations

The room is bright and filled with light from the ceiling light, the medusa lamp, and the TV. Tiny shadows bounce off the mirror and the objects hung on the walls. Sunlight reflects off of my laptop and gives a bit of a glare. The sunlight can barely come through the thick chartreuse curtains. With the curtains completely closed and the lights off, the sun coming in gives the room a greenish glow. The room is the only thing that is bright and the hallway is filled with darker shadows. Half of the door out of the room is in shadow and the other half is brighter.


It is brighter outside now. A bench gives off its shadow on the white concrete. The light post has a diagonal shadow that hits the trees. The trees that are jumbled together have shadows that cover the surrounding pinestraw. From the given angle, one pillar of the building is more exposed to the sunlight than the other two. The two are almost completely covered in shadow while the other only has a weird curved-like triangle shadow but is mostly exposed to the light. People walk by with their shadows following closely behind them. If looked at close enough, sunrays can be seen coming through the clouds.

Sound Sound, Spin that Ish

Observation 1
As I sit in my room, I can hear the footsteps out in the hall. Some sound heavier than others. I hear the distinct closing of bathroom doors versus room doors in my on campus apartment. In the hall I can hear either hearing the door to the staircase shut, or an apartment door shut, being able to tell which is which. This time the staircase door came first. I can hear my roommate singing rap songs as she dances across the kitchen. I can hear the opening and closing of drawers in the other rooms. Periodically a skateboard clicks and clacks across the sidewalk outside. I can hear the television turn on in the living room.


Observation 2
Wandering around the house at home I observe our dog’s paws ticking quickly as he scurries across our wooden kitchen floor. The squeaking of his dog toys is shrilling. My brother drives up our street in his jeep. I can tell it’s him because of his compressed-sounding engine. My mom tries to keep the dog under control as I hear her hands flying across her laptop’s keyboard. Every so often her cell phone plays the “New York New York” song probably waiting to give an updated score of the Yankee game. Oh, that’s probably my mom calling me for a favor.

Murch:
Murch is right in saying that sound is one of the most important out of all the senses.  However, he makes it sound like sight is a bad thing and doesn't deserve to be as important as it is, and this is where I disagree.  His talk of sound owning the throne was a bit too dramatic, but despite my favor for sight I do think that sound should be more appreciated.  Their importance should be equal.  Sounds can be very beautiful and what you can do with them is unlimited but the same thing goes for sight and what you can see and observe.  When it comes to a film I would say that I think that sound and sight work off each other. At first, I'd say that sound does not make a movie more than sight, but if I think about it I do not care for silent films as much because there is no sound...at least there is no talking, but there is boring music (No offense to silent films). 

Our group's recordings of sound seemed to go rather well.  While doing the assignment, we were able to pay close attention to the sounds and thought about what else they could possibly sound like.  We did have trouble putting it back on the tape though.  That's always an issue...Aside from the issues, it was neat to see that each group had a very different variety of sounds.  No groups sets of sound sounded all that similar.

Moritz:
I really don’t have much to say about Moritz’s article, but I particularly liked the information given for Walther Ruttmann. His ideas for what to do with a film sounded beautiful. The ideas that these artists like Ruttmann or Eggeling come up with for how to make a film are phenomenal. I really like the mention of Ruttmann’s use of picture and the animation cut outs. I think it would be cool to see the type of filmmaking this article discusses. It would have been really fascinating to watch how these famous names made their films.

Bio/Manifesto

I’ve always thought of myself as a behind the camera person. I love editing and animation as well, but I’d love to be a DP for a career. I love working with a camera. The concept of film is one of the most beautiful things. It is what allows you to capture any moment in time. I think it is incredible that you can keep any memory you want and have it stored to watch whenever you want because one of life’s most precious gifts is memory. I like to hold on to any great moment or any special point in time that occurs. My favorite part about experimental is that the film moves similar to the thoughts in your head. It’s scattered and all over the place.

Reading Responses

Richtor is right about film losing originality. I feel like film is becoming too mainstream and it’s all about how much money you can get for the film. It’s almost as if art is almost being thrown out the window. Richtor is right by saying that experimental films are the only ones left with a sense of art and originality. He is right that actors are looked at more than the art of the film itself. Yes acting is very important, but it all depends on how the actor is portrayed. For example, lighting is crucial to a film and so the cinematographer is depended on to make the film a beautiful art form to the best of its potential. An actor can say a great line, but unless they are portrayed right, it is more likely to mean nothing. The camera should be at the best angle for a character and the lighting should be a correct amount for a character.

I totally agree with MacDonald about how most people do not become exposed to experimental films until way after being familiar with narratives their whole lives. I wish I could say I was not one of them. In the beginning it was hard for me to like experimental films. I have loved watching movies my whole life but the only ones I was used to were narratives. They told stories and made sense. It is still hard for me to make sense of experimental films and finding their themes that lie within but I feel as if my appreciation for these films has increased. I love how there are no limits to these types of films and they bring back the originality that I feel that today’s Hollywood narratives have lost.

Bela Balazs's article about sound gives a better realization of how significant sound really is.  I like the way she compares it to seeing something and how sound can be taken for granted unless you see what  the sound is associated with.  What I like the most is how she talked about how hearing sirens does not really seem to matter to someone unless you see a scared look on another's face.  Until I read this example, I had never really thought about how much I had taken sound for granted.  I also loved the way she talked about the different levels of sound and how something can sound like something but come to find out it is a something completely different.  I hope that after reading this article I will develop a better appreciation for sound that can even further develop with the knowledge I gain from this class.