Progress
We completed the narration section of the documentary today. The only problem is that at the moment, the film lasts for over 5 minutes. Everything that is said throughout the narration is quite important, so now it will be a tough decision on what to take out.
Sound Quality
Another problem we have encountered, is that the sound level drops dramatically at the end of Nathan's opening statement. To fix this we used the audio mixer feature of Premier Pro. This allows us to adjust volume levels within a single track, which is ideal when you only want one part of an audio track louder or quieter. Also, because we have cut up many of the long answers, we have some other minor jumps in volume and a jerky feeling throughout the statements. This we will try to sort out as we go along, but are trying not to get stuck on small things so that we can get everything done and do the final tweeks at the end. (See Screenshot)
Issue
As of yet, we still have not corrected the problem mentioned with the introduction. The transition of the two shots now doesn't work at all. Instead of the shot freezing and slowly fading out while the image slowly fades in, the first shot now goes black as soon as they begin to overlap. We decided to leave the technical tweeks until the end however, due to the very limited amount of time we have left to finish our documentary.
Screenshot
Thursday, 11 December 2008
Monday, 8 December 2008
Editing VI: Progress (8.12.08)
We are finally fully caught up and beyond. Roughly half of our film is now complete. We found a song, which suits the atmosphere we hope to invoke, and are very happy with the effect it has:
The Specials - "Ghost Town"
This song is sort of dark, yet also comforting and soulful. We always wanted something a bit gloomy to emphasize the urban aspect graffiti, but we also wanted something that wasn't too overpowering or dull.
Summary
We still have not sorted out the problem mentioned from yesterday, but have made a lot of headway with the interview. Since the introduction has been finished, we have not been worrying about the visuals. Instead, the focus has been on creating the narration of the documentary. After this, we will put all of the necessary visuals in place and make adjustments.
The Specials - "Ghost Town"
This song is sort of dark, yet also comforting and soulful. We always wanted something a bit gloomy to emphasize the urban aspect graffiti, but we also wanted something that wasn't too overpowering or dull.
Summary
We still have not sorted out the problem mentioned from yesterday, but have made a lot of headway with the interview. Since the introduction has been finished, we have not been worrying about the visuals. Instead, the focus has been on creating the narration of the documentary. After this, we will put all of the necessary visuals in place and make adjustments.
Editing V: Catching Up (5.12.08)
Preparation
At the start of the day, we captured the second tape and wrote down the timecodes for the rest of the footage from Nathan's studio, the Russel Youth Center, and at the art shop. We did not, however, write down the timecodes for the interview due to time contraints. We then moved onto catching up.
Intro/Beginning Repeat
We set up the introduction and beginning of the film exactly the same, except for adding a video which I recorded at one of the nights hosted by Detonate, a company that hosts Drum&Bass nights and other various music events, for which Nathan designed flyers for many years. We added this video because in the interview, Nathan speaks about growing up in the rave scene, and also because he later mentions his experience designing flyers for Detonate.
Issue
The main problem we were having is a technical one. Basically, we want to have a shot of Nathan turning around and looking at the camera freeze at the end of the titles and an image of a piece that says "Oxygen Thievez" in large letters on the side of a building slowly fade in and overlap it while the frozen shot slowly fades out. In short, we just couldn't make it look right and will need to ask for some advice.
Result
Anyways, we finally got close to being caught up and on track by the end of the day, and now have 45 seconds of progress.
At the start of the day, we captured the second tape and wrote down the timecodes for the rest of the footage from Nathan's studio, the Russel Youth Center, and at the art shop. We did not, however, write down the timecodes for the interview due to time contraints. We then moved onto catching up.
Intro/Beginning Repeat
We set up the introduction and beginning of the film exactly the same, except for adding a video which I recorded at one of the nights hosted by Detonate, a company that hosts Drum&Bass nights and other various music events, for which Nathan designed flyers for many years. We added this video because in the interview, Nathan speaks about growing up in the rave scene, and also because he later mentions his experience designing flyers for Detonate.
Issue
The main problem we were having is a technical one. Basically, we want to have a shot of Nathan turning around and looking at the camera freeze at the end of the titles and an image of a piece that says "Oxygen Thievez" in large letters on the side of a building slowly fade in and overlap it while the frozen shot slowly fades out. In short, we just couldn't make it look right and will need to ask for some advice.
Result
Anyways, we finally got close to being caught up and on track by the end of the day, and now have 45 seconds of progress.
Editing IV: Total Meltdown (4.12.08)
(Long Sigh)
The Last Crash
We edited for a few hours, got up to a whole minute and 30 seconds. The same problem kept occuring, but we were managing to build momentum. Unfortunately, the last time the program crashed.. it took everything with it. We were no longer able to open our project, and so we began recapturing..
Back to Capture
We only had time to capture one tape. This time though, we wrote the timecodes*, which we forgot to do the first time we captured it. It is simply writing down the time of the beginning and end of the shots you want to use. This makes it much easier to edit since you already know the location of the shots you want to use. If there is any bright side to the situation, this would be it.
Conclusion
We came to the decision that it might be the song we were using for the introduction, quite appropropriately named "Hell on Earth." It was a downloaded song sent by one of Joe's friends and as soon as it was put onto Chris's hard drive, his computer detected a trojan, and the hard drive didn't work properly after that. So, due to this song, all of our files were corrupted. In response to this, we will use a different song and only use my hard drive to store all of the files. Oh yea, and the song we are going to use will definitely not be downloaded.
*see "Timecodes" post
The Last Crash
We edited for a few hours, got up to a whole minute and 30 seconds. The same problem kept occuring, but we were managing to build momentum. Unfortunately, the last time the program crashed.. it took everything with it. We were no longer able to open our project, and so we began recapturing..
Back to Capture
We only had time to capture one tape. This time though, we wrote the timecodes*, which we forgot to do the first time we captured it. It is simply writing down the time of the beginning and end of the shots you want to use. This makes it much easier to edit since you already know the location of the shots you want to use. If there is any bright side to the situation, this would be it.
Conclusion
We came to the decision that it might be the song we were using for the introduction, quite appropropriately named "Hell on Earth." It was a downloaded song sent by one of Joe's friends and as soon as it was put onto Chris's hard drive, his computer detected a trojan, and the hard drive didn't work properly after that. So, due to this song, all of our files were corrupted. In response to this, we will use a different song and only use my hard drive to store all of the files. Oh yea, and the song we are going to use will definitely not be downloaded.
*see "Timecodes" post
Editing III: Slug Speed & Feedback (3.12.08)
Today, we edited for a total of 4 hours. Also, today, we only managed to finish another 15 seconds of our film. The same error messages keep disrupting and deleting our work. We have tried 3 different things various lecturers advised us to do to sort out the problem and none of them have worked. Although, we didn't make much progress again, we did get some feedback from some peers and a lecturer.
Feedback
- Should be more to look at (not just Nathan painting)
- Good opening shot
- Titles need to come later
- Bad transition from introduction to first image (bad timing)
- First image needs to be brighter
- Colorful
- Bad graphic design (image of flyers)
Reflection
To be honest, there weren't many positive comments about specific parts of the film. However, we did get the impression that people liked the idea and found it visually interesting. Generally, we agreed with and appreciated all of the comments made, and implemented them into our edit.
Feedback
- Should be more to look at (not just Nathan painting)
- Good opening shot
- Titles need to come later
- Bad transition from introduction to first image (bad timing)
- First image needs to be brighter
- Colorful
- Bad graphic design (image of flyers)
Reflection
To be honest, there weren't many positive comments about specific parts of the film. However, we did get the impression that people liked the idea and found it visually interesting. Generally, we agreed with and appreciated all of the comments made, and implemented them into our edit.
Editing II: Loss (2.12.08)
So, we got up to the first 30 seconds of our character study within the first hour or so of working today. We put some music to the film, finished the introduction, I mean we got the story in motion and things were looking up until we saw, "Write Disc Error".. and wouldn't you know it, everything lost. This kept happening pretty much every time we got to the 30 second mark. We kept saving after every little thing we did and sometimes it would let us reopen it alright, but then it would do the same thing again, delete the damn auto-save files all on its own, and leave us back to where we had began..
We got some advice from a lecturer towards the end which seemed to help for a while, until right when we were about to leave, and the stupid program did it again.
...today, we finished the first 30 seconds of our documentary.
We got some advice from a lecturer towards the end which seemed to help for a while, until right when we were about to leave, and the stupid program did it again.
...today, we finished the first 30 seconds of our documentary.
Editing I: Intro and Audio (28.11.08)
Today we spent about 4 hours editing the intro and the start of the documentary. 2 hours of this work was lost when the editing software crashed.
Update
I forgot to mention in the last post that we could not use any of the audio that was recorded on the R-09 recorder. This is because the volume was too low and the sound quality wasn't good at all.
Summary
Basically, we spent most of the time editing the audio part of the interview. This involved cutting out small bits of long answers, where the answer trails off the subject. Although the technique is simple, it is difficult to cut up what someone is saying, and have it play back sounding exactly like it would be said in real life. This has to do mostly with the rhythm of what is being said and where the accents in the sentence are. Another problem with us using this technique, is that because we could not use the audio from the R-09, we had to use the audio from the camcorder. This in turn, means that when we cut out bits from what is being said, the video of the interview jumps and jerks because he is in different positions when he is speaking, and obviously we can't use this. In the end, we set up about 15 seconds of audio for the introduction and beginning of the documentary. Then, we decided on the graphics we wanted to use and made the opening titles and put in place the shot for the introduction. Also, we added a few pictures fading in and out plus a shot of nathan smoking a ciggarette.
Update
I forgot to mention in the last post that we could not use any of the audio that was recorded on the R-09 recorder. This is because the volume was too low and the sound quality wasn't good at all.
Summary
Basically, we spent most of the time editing the audio part of the interview. This involved cutting out small bits of long answers, where the answer trails off the subject. Although the technique is simple, it is difficult to cut up what someone is saying, and have it play back sounding exactly like it would be said in real life. This has to do mostly with the rhythm of what is being said and where the accents in the sentence are. Another problem with us using this technique, is that because we could not use the audio from the R-09, we had to use the audio from the camcorder. This in turn, means that when we cut out bits from what is being said, the video of the interview jumps and jerks because he is in different positions when he is speaking, and obviously we can't use this. In the end, we set up about 15 seconds of audio for the introduction and beginning of the documentary. Then, we decided on the graphics we wanted to use and made the opening titles and put in place the shot for the introduction. Also, we added a few pictures fading in and out plus a shot of nathan smoking a ciggarette.
Pre-edit: Cut it up! (27.11.08)
Part One
We began the first stages of editing today. We got some advice from one of our lecturers: to cut up the bits of the interview to make your story before you start with the visual side. So first, we started cutting up the interview, bit by bit, removing the parts we definitely don't want to use. Most of what we cut out was film that was taken in between questions, answers that trailed off, and long "umms" and other sounds (you'd be surprised how much time goes to into saying "umm" a lot) It took about two hours to clean it up and have only the best answers and to put it in a rough order to tell a story.
Part Two
The next step was to do the same as above, but with the footage from the first and second day of shooting. This took another two hours and we didn't get all the way through it. We found the hardest part was actually deciding what to keep and what to leave out. We figured that we took quite a bit more footage than we needed, but going through all of it shot by shot gave us a much better idea of how we wanted to use it. This was a bit easier though because we didn't have to worry about audio.
Result
In the end, we got almost 2 hours of footage down to roughly 10 minutes.
We began the first stages of editing today. We got some advice from one of our lecturers: to cut up the bits of the interview to make your story before you start with the visual side. So first, we started cutting up the interview, bit by bit, removing the parts we definitely don't want to use. Most of what we cut out was film that was taken in between questions, answers that trailed off, and long "umms" and other sounds (you'd be surprised how much time goes to into saying "umm" a lot) It took about two hours to clean it up and have only the best answers and to put it in a rough order to tell a story.
Part Two
The next step was to do the same as above, but with the footage from the first and second day of shooting. This took another two hours and we didn't get all the way through it. We found the hardest part was actually deciding what to keep and what to leave out. We figured that we took quite a bit more footage than we needed, but going through all of it shot by shot gave us a much better idea of how we wanted to use it. This was a bit easier though because we didn't have to worry about audio.
Result
In the end, we got almost 2 hours of footage down to roughly 10 minutes.
Capture (26.11.08)
Capturing the footage is simply taking footage from a tape and putting it on the computer so you can edit it. Just press play then record. Although very simple, you have to wait for it to capture in realtime.. longgg. Anyways, thats what we did today.
Shoot Day III: The Interview (24.11.08)
The Change
So, we changed our plan over the weekend after we got some feedback during one of our seminars. The one thing we were worried about, was indeed the biggest problem. Basically, the input was that the audience needed something else to look at if we didn't want it to be boring. Previously, Joe, the director, mentioned that he wanted to record at least part of the interview to show in the film, even if it was only Nathan's mouth, not his entire face; we were told to applaud this decision and to go with it.
The Shoot
Today, we filmed the interview section of our documentary. (see "Script post) We needed the same set as the first day of filming plus a boom mic to record sound for the camcorder. (see "The Filming of.." post) Everything went to plan, we set up both the camcorder and the R-09 recorder while we had a chat about some of the questions we would be asking. Nathan went a bit nervous when we actually started recording, but quickly seemed to get comfotable. He gave a great account of his experiences and the progression of his artwork; he also told some great stories.
Evaluation
Again, it took a bit longer than expected and didn't get to some of the extra things we wanted to do like filming some of the models and other things around his house. We got about an hour of footage and have not yet reviewed the footage.
So, we changed our plan over the weekend after we got some feedback during one of our seminars. The one thing we were worried about, was indeed the biggest problem. Basically, the input was that the audience needed something else to look at if we didn't want it to be boring. Previously, Joe, the director, mentioned that he wanted to record at least part of the interview to show in the film, even if it was only Nathan's mouth, not his entire face; we were told to applaud this decision and to go with it.
The Shoot
Today, we filmed the interview section of our documentary. (see "Script post) We needed the same set as the first day of filming plus a boom mic to record sound for the camcorder. (see "The Filming of.." post) Everything went to plan, we set up both the camcorder and the R-09 recorder while we had a chat about some of the questions we would be asking. Nathan went a bit nervous when we actually started recording, but quickly seemed to get comfotable. He gave a great account of his experiences and the progression of his artwork; he also told some great stories.
Evaluation
Again, it took a bit longer than expected and didn't get to some of the extra things we wanted to do like filming some of the models and other things around his house. We got about an hour of footage and have not yet reviewed the footage.
Shoot Day II: Russell Youth Center/Art Shop (21.11.08)
Today, we filmed at the art shop, the Russel Youth Center, and also some walls around Nottingham while we were driving around. Everything went well and everyone was happy with the result. Overall, it was a fairly uneventful day. We simply went from one location to the next and took footage of just about everything we saw that was relevant. To review the footage we needed the camera, but we had to return the equipment by 4.30pm, so haven't been able to look over it. Also today, we booked and confirmed the booking for our equipment to be taken out on Monday, the 24th.
Sunday, 7 December 2008
Random Oxygen Thieves Tag and Other
Chris and I walked around town the other day looking for places where we could take photographs of graffiti.
Graffiti Pictures
Graffiti Pictures
The Shooting of "Urban Art: Kid30" (19.11.08)
At 4:00pm today we picked up the equipment from the University. We needed the following:
1. Sony HVR-Z7U Camcorder
2. Edirol R-09 Recorder
3. Tripod
4. Light & Stand
5. Gloves (prevents burns from lights)
6. Reflector (reflects light to get rid of shadows etc.)
Also, I took my Sony miniDV camcorder to use in the "Extras" section of our final DVD.
Summary
The shoot went really well, however took much longer than we had expected. We were there from 6.00pm to about 9.00pm. The piece he created was indeed representative; it conveys an angry side of him, the paint-roller in the character's hand displays his passion for art, the skull and bones symbolize death, and the buildings emphasize the urban nature of his artwork. (see below) In the end, we got about 45 minutes of footage. The lighting was sufficient and everyone worked well together. We didn't have to worry about sound much because the sound will be comprised of the interview voiceover and music. We just recorded some sounds with the R-09 recorder such as the spraypaint can being sprayed and general atmosphereic sounds.
The Next Step
Due to the change in schedule, we were not able to take all of the footage we need for this documentary. We will now do the interview on Monday at Nathan's house. Also, Nathan told us of a few places where the Oxygen Thievez have done pieces so that we could go and film there. The places he mentioned were a gallery/art shop above a record store where he and other members of the group exhibit and sell their commercial work, and also the Russel Youth Center, a youth center where there is work by the Oxygen Thieves and many other artists. We will shoot there most likely on friday, after we get the necessary forms filled out.
Review
After the shoot, we viewed the footage we had taken from both cameras. We were pleased with the outcome of the main tape but found what we might be lacking is shot variety. This is due to the layout of the room and the fact that there's only so many angles you can get of someone painting on a flat wall. Despite this, we noted many shots that we definitely want to use. Also, we found this footage interesting to watch , even though it was in realtime and had no sound. The footage I took from the other camera did have sound and was generally used to record "The Making Of" our movie. Also, I played around with some of the effects on the camera to provide us an opportunity to create our own experimental edit.
The Making Of
1. Sony HVR-Z7U Camcorder
2. Edirol R-09 Recorder
3. Tripod
4. Light & Stand
5. Gloves (prevents burns from lights)
6. Reflector (reflects light to get rid of shadows etc.)
Also, I took my Sony miniDV camcorder to use in the "Extras" section of our final DVD.
Summary
The shoot went really well, however took much longer than we had expected. We were there from 6.00pm to about 9.00pm. The piece he created was indeed representative; it conveys an angry side of him, the paint-roller in the character's hand displays his passion for art, the skull and bones symbolize death, and the buildings emphasize the urban nature of his artwork. (see below) In the end, we got about 45 minutes of footage. The lighting was sufficient and everyone worked well together. We didn't have to worry about sound much because the sound will be comprised of the interview voiceover and music. We just recorded some sounds with the R-09 recorder such as the spraypaint can being sprayed and general atmosphereic sounds.
The Next Step
Due to the change in schedule, we were not able to take all of the footage we need for this documentary. We will now do the interview on Monday at Nathan's house. Also, Nathan told us of a few places where the Oxygen Thievez have done pieces so that we could go and film there. The places he mentioned were a gallery/art shop above a record store where he and other members of the group exhibit and sell their commercial work, and also the Russel Youth Center, a youth center where there is work by the Oxygen Thieves and many other artists. We will shoot there most likely on friday, after we get the necessary forms filled out.
Review
After the shoot, we viewed the footage we had taken from both cameras. We were pleased with the outcome of the main tape but found what we might be lacking is shot variety. This is due to the layout of the room and the fact that there's only so many angles you can get of someone painting on a flat wall. Despite this, we noted many shots that we definitely want to use. Also, we found this footage interesting to watch , even though it was in realtime and had no sound. The footage I took from the other camera did have sound and was generally used to record "The Making Of" our movie. Also, I played around with some of the effects on the camera to provide us an opportunity to create our own experimental edit.
The Making Of
Confirmation (18.11.08)
After all of the setbacks and unforseen circumstances, Chris and I decided to stop by the equipment office to confirm that we will be able to take out the camera tomorrow. We got the go ahead and everybody feels motivated. Hopefully, the worst has come and gone and we can start having fun..
Unsuccessful Shoot Day (17.11.08)
Remember those risk assessment forms? Well, come this morning when we needed to get the forms signed with approval and take out the camera and equipment, we couldn't find any lecturers and when we did there were, of course, problems, and things needed to be added to them. So, today, all we were able to do is call Nathan to apologize and send an email to the equipment staff to book the cameras out for a different date. Now, we will be filming this Wednesday, the 19th. On the bright side, we did, successfully hand in our storyboard.
Fallbacks (14.11.08)
So, we tried to hand in our completed risk assessment forms to be signed for approval, not sure who we were meant to have sign the "Supervisor" section. Without this signature we couldn't get the seal of approval you see. It turns out that the supervisor is Nathan, so we had to track him down which wasn't so hard because Rosie, another member of our group, saw him in the pub where she works earlier this evening and got him to sign it.
Another problem we faced was that the copy our of storyboard sketch was still not good enough. Fortunately, we were given the weekend to come up with an even better version.
Another problem we faced was that the copy our of storyboard sketch was still not good enough. Fortunately, we were given the weekend to come up with an even better version.
Risk Assessment Forms/Storyboard Continued..(13.11.08)
Today, we filled out the risk assessment forms and continued working on the storyboard sketches...
Proposal Presentation & New Storyboard (12.11.08)
Today, in our seminar, we presented our proposal. It went smoothly and we were happy with the result. There weren't any questions regarding our ideas and what we aimed to do, which we took as a good sign.
The one problem we encountered was that the photocopy of our storyboard sketch we needed to hand in wasn't dark enough to see. So, today we began the new sketches.
Also, during the seminar today we found out that we need to have risk assessment forms* completed before the cameras can be taken out from the University.
**R.A. forms coming soon**
The one problem we encountered was that the photocopy of our storyboard sketch we needed to hand in wasn't dark enough to see. So, today we began the new sketches.
Also, during the seminar today we found out that we need to have risk assessment forms* completed before the cameras can be taken out from the University.
**R.A. forms coming soon**
Finished Proposal & Powerpoint Presentation* (11.11.08)
After visiting Nathan's studio, we had a group meeting and finalised our proposal and created a Powerpoint slideshow to present our ideas.
The Proposal
Warm'N'Easy Productions Presents:
"Urban Art: Kid30"
Overview:
“Urban Art” is a documentary about Nathan Bainbridge, aka Kid33, from the graffiti group Oxygen Thievez. In this film, we will be trying to find out how he began his role as a graffiti artist and his perception on the culture. The length of this character study will be approximately four minutes.”
Who/What/Our Viewpoint:
We see Nathan as an artist expressing his individuality through a taboo art-form. The story will focus on the progression of his artwork and his views surrounding the area. This documentary will be presented through a voice recorded interview and various shots of Nathan painting a piece of which he sees himself artistically. Pictures of other “tags” and sketches by Kid33 will be shown throughout the film. “Urban Art” will use constant moving imagery from beginning to end to invoke the flowing feeling of an aerosol can painting a piece of graffiti.
(Here we had the storyboard; see "Storyboard" post)
How:
To keep the viewer’s interest we are going to show the images and film with a variety of different effects on some shots we will have video noise and changing the saturation, brightness and contrast to give it a 9mm film look. This is to give it an urban feel. In contrast to show graffiti is still an art form we will intensify the brightness. We also are going to dissolve images of Kid33’s artwork into one another.
Why:
As a group, we share a common interest in art, specifically urban and underground art. Much of this style of art is not properly recognised. In particular, we believe that graffiti is looked upon with a negative view. This is due to its criminal associations and a misunderstanding of the culture. Therefore, we wish to present a character which will show the audience the artistic end of the graffiti spectrum and leave them feeling inspired. Through this character study of Nathan Bainbridge, we aim to answer underlying questions surrounding the controversy surrounding urban art and to give a voice to the underground art culture of graffiti.
Locations:
1. His studio
2. Locations where Kid33 and the Oxygen Thievez work is on display
3. His house
4. Skatepark
Script:
(See "Script" post)
**Powerpoint slides coming soon**
The Proposal
Warm'N'Easy Productions Presents:
"Urban Art: Kid30"
Overview:
“Urban Art” is a documentary about Nathan Bainbridge, aka Kid33, from the graffiti group Oxygen Thievez. In this film, we will be trying to find out how he began his role as a graffiti artist and his perception on the culture. The length of this character study will be approximately four minutes.”
Who/What/Our Viewpoint:
We see Nathan as an artist expressing his individuality through a taboo art-form. The story will focus on the progression of his artwork and his views surrounding the area. This documentary will be presented through a voice recorded interview and various shots of Nathan painting a piece of which he sees himself artistically. Pictures of other “tags” and sketches by Kid33 will be shown throughout the film. “Urban Art” will use constant moving imagery from beginning to end to invoke the flowing feeling of an aerosol can painting a piece of graffiti.
(Here we had the storyboard; see "Storyboard" post)
How:
To keep the viewer’s interest we are going to show the images and film with a variety of different effects on some shots we will have video noise and changing the saturation, brightness and contrast to give it a 9mm film look. This is to give it an urban feel. In contrast to show graffiti is still an art form we will intensify the brightness. We also are going to dissolve images of Kid33’s artwork into one another.
Why:
As a group, we share a common interest in art, specifically urban and underground art. Much of this style of art is not properly recognised. In particular, we believe that graffiti is looked upon with a negative view. This is due to its criminal associations and a misunderstanding of the culture. Therefore, we wish to present a character which will show the audience the artistic end of the graffiti spectrum and leave them feeling inspired. Through this character study of Nathan Bainbridge, we aim to answer underlying questions surrounding the controversy surrounding urban art and to give a voice to the underground art culture of graffiti.
Locations:
1. His studio
2. Locations where Kid33 and the Oxygen Thievez work is on display
3. His house
4. Skatepark
Script:
(See "Script" post)
**Powerpoint slides coming soon**
Kid30's Studio (11.11.08)
Today we went to Nathan's studio to take pictures and do the necessary paperwork. First, we filled out the recce forms*, which takes into account the floor plan and our set up, number of electrical outlets, etc. Then we moved on to the risk assessment form*, which is used to highlight the dangers involved, the most dangerous thing being the lighting due to the consequence if some gets electricuted.
We spoke to Nathan further about the shoot date and decided to shoot on Monday, the 17th. The plan is to shoot outside around town during the day and in his studio during the evening. Additionally, we spoke to him about our ideas, specifically if he could create a symbolic charater, and he seemed very enthusiastic. Also, he said he could do some drawing onto a board and show us other types of work he has around his house, such as models, both of which we are considering incorporating.
Pictures of Kid30's Studio
*I will post the recce form when we get them scanned
*I will post the risk assessment form when we get them scanned
We spoke to Nathan further about the shoot date and decided to shoot on Monday, the 17th. The plan is to shoot outside around town during the day and in his studio during the evening. Additionally, we spoke to him about our ideas, specifically if he could create a symbolic charater, and he seemed very enthusiastic. Also, he said he could do some drawing onto a board and show us other types of work he has around his house, such as models, both of which we are considering incorporating.
Pictures of Kid30's Studio
*I will post the recce form when we get them scanned
*I will post the risk assessment form when we get them scanned
Script (10.11.08)
Here are the questions we have decided to ask in our interview:
The Script
1. What was your life like growing up and how has it made who you are?
2. Have you always been artistic?
3. When and why did you first get serious about art?
4. How did you start getting recognised and how did it make you feel?
5. What do your family and friends think about your work?
6. How do you feel about the whole image that graffiti brings? E.g. gangs, being socially unacceptable and it being a criminal activity?
7. Is the graffiti you create illegal?
8. How do you feel about the laws regarding graffiti?
9. How do you use your art to help the community and who are you trying to help?
10. How did you get involved with graffiti and what is your influence?
11. What’s your message in your graffiti and who are you sending it to?
12. What is your role in the Oxygen Thievez?
13. What opportunity’s has being in the Oxygen Thievez given you?
14. What does art mean to you?
15. Is your art an escape for you?
16. If you could tag anything in the world, what would it be and why?
The Script
1. What was your life like growing up and how has it made who you are?
2. Have you always been artistic?
3. When and why did you first get serious about art?
4. How did you start getting recognised and how did it make you feel?
5. What do your family and friends think about your work?
6. How do you feel about the whole image that graffiti brings? E.g. gangs, being socially unacceptable and it being a criminal activity?
7. Is the graffiti you create illegal?
8. How do you feel about the laws regarding graffiti?
9. How do you use your art to help the community and who are you trying to help?
10. How did you get involved with graffiti and what is your influence?
11. What’s your message in your graffiti and who are you sending it to?
12. What is your role in the Oxygen Thievez?
13. What opportunity’s has being in the Oxygen Thievez given you?
14. What does art mean to you?
15. Is your art an escape for you?
16. If you could tag anything in the world, what would it be and why?
Group Meeting: Contact/Script*/Storyboard Drawings* (10.11.08)
Today we contacted Nathan for the first time since he agreed to participate in our documentary. I spoke to him on the phone briefly to find out if he had an idea of where we could film him creating a piece, and also to set up a shoot date. He informed us that he had a studio where he does work, and also that we would be able to shoot at his house if necessary. We didn't come to a definite decision about the shoot date, but the tentative plan is to shoot some day between Monday and Wednesday of next week. Nathan sounded excited about our idea and gave us directions to his studio, so that tomorrow we can go have a chat and fill out the neccessary risk assessment forms.
Also, we wrote the script and made the sketches to go along with the storyboard.
**See "Script" Post**
*I will post the storyboard sketches as soon as we get them scanned
Also, we wrote the script and made the sketches to go along with the storyboard.
**See "Script" Post**
*I will post the storyboard sketches as soon as we get them scanned
Storyboard (9.11.08)
Overview
We will ask Kid33 to paint a picture of how he sees himself. It will not necessarily be a the conventional way in which someone might portray themselves, but his own abstract interpretation of what represents him as a person i.e. personality, experiences etc.
Scene 1
We are going to have shots of Kid33’s work fading from one to another with the title and production name showing. We will use a hip- hop song named “Hell on Earth” for the duration of the introduction as it will set the film off with the urban feel that we intend to portray. The total duration of the introduction will be roughly 15 seconds.
Scene 2
This scene will contain rough background of Kid33s life and how he began his life as a graffiti artist. The creation of the body of the character will be shown during this scene. Other shots of his artwork will be edited into the scene. The duration of this scene will be roughly 45 seconds.
Scene 3
The second scene will flow into the third carrying on the theme of graffiti being often known as a criminal offence. We will be focusing on the legal issues regarding graffiti, his opinions on graffiti as a whole and if he has had any previous encounters with the police regarding his artwork. This camera will be focusing on the mouth of the painting that he creates and other images of work he has done that relates to this topic. This scene should last for roughly 45 seconds.
Scene 4
The fourth scene will focus on areas in which he may have helped the community such as workshops, etc. Keeping the theme of focusing on a specific part of the painting he created, we will edit in shots of the representation of his hands. Shots of his artwork that he may have produced in projects to help the community will be edited in through out the scene. This scene will last for roughly 45 seconds.
Scene 5
Scene five will be our overview in which we will show still images of Kid33 and his graffiti group Oxygen Thievez’s artwork in public areas. The camera will also cut to the image of his eyes in his artistic interpretation of himself. This section of the film will last for roughly 20 seconds.
Scene 6
This will be our final shot of his finished art work where his portrait is revealed to the viewer. We will attach a piece of cellophane to the camera lens for Kid33 to sign as the credit roll across the screen. This section will take roughly 15 seconds.
We will ask Kid33 to paint a picture of how he sees himself. It will not necessarily be a the conventional way in which someone might portray themselves, but his own abstract interpretation of what represents him as a person i.e. personality, experiences etc.
Scene 1
We are going to have shots of Kid33’s work fading from one to another with the title and production name showing. We will use a hip- hop song named “Hell on Earth” for the duration of the introduction as it will set the film off with the urban feel that we intend to portray. The total duration of the introduction will be roughly 15 seconds.
Scene 2
This scene will contain rough background of Kid33s life and how he began his life as a graffiti artist. The creation of the body of the character will be shown during this scene. Other shots of his artwork will be edited into the scene. The duration of this scene will be roughly 45 seconds.
Scene 3
The second scene will flow into the third carrying on the theme of graffiti being often known as a criminal offence. We will be focusing on the legal issues regarding graffiti, his opinions on graffiti as a whole and if he has had any previous encounters with the police regarding his artwork. This camera will be focusing on the mouth of the painting that he creates and other images of work he has done that relates to this topic. This scene should last for roughly 45 seconds.
Scene 4
The fourth scene will focus on areas in which he may have helped the community such as workshops, etc. Keeping the theme of focusing on a specific part of the painting he created, we will edit in shots of the representation of his hands. Shots of his artwork that he may have produced in projects to help the community will be edited in through out the scene. This scene will last for roughly 45 seconds.
Scene 5
Scene five will be our overview in which we will show still images of Kid33 and his graffiti group Oxygen Thievez’s artwork in public areas. The camera will also cut to the image of his eyes in his artistic interpretation of himself. This section of the film will last for roughly 20 seconds.
Scene 6
This will be our final shot of his finished art work where his portrait is revealed to the viewer. We will attach a piece of cellophane to the camera lens for Kid33 to sign as the credit roll across the screen. This section will take roughly 15 seconds.
"Urban Art: Kid30" (6.11.08)
The working title we came up for our character study is "Urban Art: Kid30". We all share a common interest in underground art and culture and in this documentary we hope to give the world of underground art a voice while highlighting the artistic side of graffiti. Although we want to create an entertaining film that is visually and audibly interesting for everyone, the main audiences we are trying to connect with are the younger generation (13-30) and other artists. From our discussion we decided on some things we wanted to include:
Aspects
- Intro: sequence of close-ups of various people speaking about their opinion of a piece of graffiti then fade the "tag" in with the title.
- Nathan creating a "tag" on canvas/board (sped up)
- Shots and pictures of other works fading in and out.
- Theme: "Is graffiti art or crime?"
- Music: Urban/Dance (grime/hip-hop/dubstep/drum and bass)
The Story
- What his life was like growing up.
- How he began creating graffiti.
- In what ways has he been recognised.
- Experiences/stories relating to graffiti.
- The message he is sending.
- What his life is like at the moment.
Aspects
- Intro: sequence of close-ups of various people speaking about their opinion of a piece of graffiti then fade the "tag" in with the title.
- Nathan creating a "tag" on canvas/board (sped up)
- Shots and pictures of other works fading in and out.
- Theme: "Is graffiti art or crime?"
- Music: Urban/Dance (grime/hip-hop/dubstep/drum and bass)
The Story
- What his life was like growing up.
- How he began creating graffiti.
- In what ways has he been recognised.
- Experiences/stories relating to graffiti.
- The message he is sending.
- What his life is like at the moment.
Group Meeting: Storyboard* & Proposal (9.11.08)
Today we discussed a how we want to approach the documentary in preparation for the upcoming presentation of our proposal:
Feedback
We no longer want to use the close-ups of people expressing their opinion about a piece of graffiti. We made this decision after some feedback from one of our lecturers when Chris (the editor) and I told him about our new idea. Basically, what was said is that if we want to play around with the idea of whether graffiti is an artform or a crime, the people's opinions at the start would already reveal what we were after, and the audience would make up their mind straight away. If we did go with that, we would have to continue with the reveal technique and try to reveal something else which will move the story on. However, we do not know what we will be revealing yet since we have not done the interview, and so will instead try to bring out our theme discreetly by asking questions that will receive replies that convey this theme.
Conclusion
What we want to do is have Nathan creating a graffiti piece which represents himself. Our main idea is that we will not fully show Nathan's face throughout the documentary, but rather incorporate cut-away shots which show only islolated parts of his face and hands, as he is painting the piece. We want to use close ups of the various body parts of the piece to symbolize what is being said. For instance, the eyes will symbolize his perception of the subject, the mouth will represent his expression, and the hands of the character symbolize the physical side of creating art and his hard work. The narration will be a voice recorded interview with Nathan, as opposed to recording a sit-down interview.
Additionally, we watched a few documentaries on the internet to gain inspiration and to compare and contrast our intentions for each one. Here are a couple relevant ones:
"Atlas Graffiti"
This one really stuck out. It had a similar technique and vibe we want to achieve. However, we want ours to be a bit more colorful and want to use different music to better emphasize the urban aspect of graffiti.
FOX News - "LA Taggers"
We found this one interesting because it shows the other end of the spectrum as far as tagging is concerned. This is an example of exactly what we don't want to do.
**See "Storyboard" Post**
Feedback
We no longer want to use the close-ups of people expressing their opinion about a piece of graffiti. We made this decision after some feedback from one of our lecturers when Chris (the editor) and I told him about our new idea. Basically, what was said is that if we want to play around with the idea of whether graffiti is an artform or a crime, the people's opinions at the start would already reveal what we were after, and the audience would make up their mind straight away. If we did go with that, we would have to continue with the reveal technique and try to reveal something else which will move the story on. However, we do not know what we will be revealing yet since we have not done the interview, and so will instead try to bring out our theme discreetly by asking questions that will receive replies that convey this theme.
Conclusion
What we want to do is have Nathan creating a graffiti piece which represents himself. Our main idea is that we will not fully show Nathan's face throughout the documentary, but rather incorporate cut-away shots which show only islolated parts of his face and hands, as he is painting the piece. We want to use close ups of the various body parts of the piece to symbolize what is being said. For instance, the eyes will symbolize his perception of the subject, the mouth will represent his expression, and the hands of the character symbolize the physical side of creating art and his hard work. The narration will be a voice recorded interview with Nathan, as opposed to recording a sit-down interview.
Additionally, we watched a few documentaries on the internet to gain inspiration and to compare and contrast our intentions for each one. Here are a couple relevant ones:
"Atlas Graffiti"
This one really stuck out. It had a similar technique and vibe we want to achieve. However, we want ours to be a bit more colorful and want to use different music to better emphasize the urban aspect of graffiti.
FOX News - "LA Taggers"
We found this one interesting because it shows the other end of the spectrum as far as tagging is concerned. This is an example of exactly what we don't want to do.
**See "Storyboard" Post**
Thursday, 13 November 2008
Mise-en-Scene Task
Today in our seminar we had the following task: Study, deconstruct, and present analyisis of each shot.
We did this for 6 different shots and discussed the outcomes in a group at the end.
This is the shot that caught my eye:
This shot is dimly lit for effect. This signifies a dark subject and tells the reader that the conversation the man is having is not a pleasant one. The background is nothingness, and highlights the isolation of the character (there is nothing else in his world). In the foreground, you can see an unfocused person, but only the back of their head. Also, the shaved head and uniform that the other person seems to be wearing may symbolize power, specifically a power that the man smoking is facing. The center of the shot is the ciggarette. This ciggarette represents his last choice in life and he seems to be holding a strong posture and smoking as if to say "I may not have anything else but at least I have ciggarettes."
We did this for 6 different shots and discussed the outcomes in a group at the end.
This is the shot that caught my eye:
This shot is dimly lit for effect. This signifies a dark subject and tells the reader that the conversation the man is having is not a pleasant one. The background is nothingness, and highlights the isolation of the character (there is nothing else in his world). In the foreground, you can see an unfocused person, but only the back of their head. Also, the shaved head and uniform that the other person seems to be wearing may symbolize power, specifically a power that the man smoking is facing. The center of the shot is the ciggarette. This ciggarette represents his last choice in life and he seems to be holding a strong posture and smoking as if to say "I may not have anything else but at least I have ciggarettes."
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
A Turn of Events (5.11.08)
We still have not received a reply from our contact, so we decided to research into interviewing someone from the YMCA, an organization that helps addicts and alcoholics. However, when we went to the YMCA we were told that they would not be able to help us. Then we went to the police station and received a list of numbers for rehabilitation centers. All of these contacts were also unable to help.
After this news we decided to have an emergency group meeting to change the idea for our documentary. Some of the ideas we came up with are:
- Community Support Officer
- Big Issue Seller
- Womens' Protection House Staff
After outlining each of these ideas we received a call about a member of a graffiti group called "Oxygen Thievez." Nathan Bainbridge, or Kid30, as he is known, said he would be willing to be part of our character study. Tomorrow we will have a full group meeting and will start our new project.
After this news we decided to have an emergency group meeting to change the idea for our documentary. Some of the ideas we came up with are:
- Community Support Officer
- Big Issue Seller
- Womens' Protection House Staff
After outlining each of these ideas we received a call about a member of a graffiti group called "Oxygen Thievez." Nathan Bainbridge, or Kid30, as he is known, said he would be willing to be part of our character study. Tomorrow we will have a full group meeting and will start our new project.
Group Meeting Two: "My Mum, Heroin, and Me" (23.10.08)
Today we had our second group meeting. The main purpose of this meeting was to look at some documentaries to get some inspiration for how we want to approach our character study. Mainly, our focus was on a documentary called "My Mum, Heroin, and Me" which was shown at 9pm on Channel 4. The story is about a 20-something year old girl named Hannah. She is addicted to heroin and sleeps rough with her boyfriend by choice so as to not further disrupt her family's life. Although distraught over Hannah's choices, Hannah's mother supports her habit in many ways, including for Hannah's birthday, taking her to buy the heroin and giving her the money to get it. Here are the notes I took for the film:
Intro
- Video montage
- Voiceover: Hannah reading letter
Body
- Shots of Hannah walking during narration
- Close up interview w/ Mom
- Pictures of sister
- Shots of police
- Story from mother (thought Hannah had died)
- Boyfriend talking about criminal charges and stealing tv from Hannah's parents
- Shots of use in a staircase (night-time)
- History and problems (how things began/progression)
- Interview w/ hostel manager
- Hannah and mother meet for lunch
- other voiceover while Hannah staring blankly out of window
- Recent stories: mental breakdown (2007)
- Hope/Future plans/Strengths of Hannah's character
- *** "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley ***
- Childhood: rare disease
- trouble in school/growing up
- 21st birthday (April 2008)
- transaction scene
- camera in backseat
- Mother hands Hannah money
- Cuts to using scene
- Hannah returns and Mum gives her presents
- shot of Hannah's face through visor mirror
- Present time: June 2008 (depressing music)
- Hannah's 6th home since start of filming
- Change to daytime shots and lighter music (August 2008)
- Hannah faces charges: theft/assault and boyfriend arrested for begging
- Long shots of Hannah staring
Outro
- Court
- Hannah flys to South Africa for 5-month rehab
- Quick to credits
Intro
- Video montage
- Voiceover: Hannah reading letter
Body
- Shots of Hannah walking during narration
- Close up interview w/ Mom
- Pictures of sister
- Shots of police
- Story from mother (thought Hannah had died)
- Boyfriend talking about criminal charges and stealing tv from Hannah's parents
- Shots of use in a staircase (night-time)
- History and problems (how things began/progression)
- Interview w/ hostel manager
- Hannah and mother meet for lunch
- other voiceover while Hannah staring blankly out of window
- Recent stories: mental breakdown (2007)
- Hope/Future plans/Strengths of Hannah's character
- *** "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley ***
- Childhood: rare disease
- trouble in school/growing up
- 21st birthday (April 2008)
- transaction scene
- camera in backseat
- Mother hands Hannah money
- Cuts to using scene
- Hannah returns and Mum gives her presents
- shot of Hannah's face through visor mirror
- Present time: June 2008 (depressing music)
- Hannah's 6th home since start of filming
- Change to daytime shots and lighter music (August 2008)
- Hannah faces charges: theft/assault and boyfriend arrested for begging
- Long shots of Hannah staring
Outro
- Court
- Hannah flys to South Africa for 5-month rehab
- Quick to credits
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Creative Opportunity - SPP Journal Task 2
The second task for the SPP module is the following:
Using your own personal experience, write a few lines that describe how a personal contact has provided a creative opportunity for you.
I have always been passionate about music, however before I met my friend Frank Wild, I had always envisioned making music to be something only the rich and well connected could do. I met Frank, or Pancho as he was nicknamed, when I was in high school in Switzerland. We would go to his flat after school and during the weekends, he would DJ and we would record a bit a music and mess around with samples and just have a good time. It wasn't until that point that I realized that anyone with motivation can produce music. Not only the music was important, but I also realized that with the right equipment and the right knowledge, much more could be accomplished than I had previously thought. Pancho gave me this creative insight withought knowing it, and by doing this gave me the opportunity to pursue my own path in educating myself and making myself capable of producing my own artistic material.
Using your own personal experience, write a few lines that describe how a personal contact has provided a creative opportunity for you.
I have always been passionate about music, however before I met my friend Frank Wild, I had always envisioned making music to be something only the rich and well connected could do. I met Frank, or Pancho as he was nicknamed, when I was in high school in Switzerland. We would go to his flat after school and during the weekends, he would DJ and we would record a bit a music and mess around with samples and just have a good time. It wasn't until that point that I realized that anyone with motivation can produce music. Not only the music was important, but I also realized that with the right equipment and the right knowledge, much more could be accomplished than I had previously thought. Pancho gave me this creative insight withought knowing it, and by doing this gave me the opportunity to pursue my own path in educating myself and making myself capable of producing my own artistic material.
Wednesday, 22 October 2008
Documentary Outline
After our presentation today, our group met and came up with the following outline for our "character study:"
Introduction
- Title
- Photograph montage
- Voiceover (facts about heroin)
- Music: Hip-hop/Grime
Interview
- Location: Nottingham city center
- Picture sequences with interview voiceover (growing up and family/Nottingham)
- Hip-hop/Grime in the background (beginning and middle)
- Lighter electronic track at the end.
- Questions Draft:
- Life before he was using?
- How he started using?
- Were there any good aspects?
- What was the peak of his addiction?
- His psychological state?
- Effects on his family and friends?
- Trouble with police?
- How he was able to stop?
- What his life has been like since?
- Outlook on his experience?
Outro
- Conclusion voiceover
- Quote/Photo sequence
- Credits
We also looked at a few short documentaries to get some inspiration for the style we want to achieve and we found one on the drug culture in London, which shows how we would like the end product to look. However, unlike this film, we would like to put much more emphasis on the story of the person, rather than focusing on the drugs.
http://current.com/items/76362822_london_drug_culture
Introduction
- Title
- Photograph montage
- Voiceover (facts about heroin)
- Music: Hip-hop/Grime
Interview
- Location: Nottingham city center
- Picture sequences with interview voiceover (growing up and family/Nottingham)
- Hip-hop/Grime in the background (beginning and middle)
- Lighter electronic track at the end.
- Questions Draft:
- Life before he was using?
- How he started using?
- Were there any good aspects?
- What was the peak of his addiction?
- His psychological state?
- Effects on his family and friends?
- Trouble with police?
- How he was able to stop?
- What his life has been like since?
- Outlook on his experience?
Outro
- Conclusion voiceover
- Quote/Photo sequence
- Credits
We also looked at a few short documentaries to get some inspiration for the style we want to achieve and we found one on the drug culture in London, which shows how we would like the end product to look. However, unlike this film, we would like to put much more emphasis on the story of the person, rather than focusing on the drugs.
http://current.com/items/76362822_london_drug_culture
"Character Study" Documentary
My first project for the second year has been assigned. It entails creating a four-minute documentary style "character study." I will be filming in a group with four other multimedia students and my role in this film production will be the producer. Today we had to give a short presentation covering what we are planning to do, including what, where, who, how, and why. Here is a summary of the presentation:
The documentary will focus on one man's struggle with heroin, providing insight into the personal side of addiction.
The person we will be interviewing is a local recovered addict. The reason why we chose this person is because as a recovered addict, he has seen drugs through different viewpoints (person who has never used drugs, person who has, and a person who has been rehabilitated), and can speak about the experience from many perspectives.
The filming will take place in the city center of Nottingham. We chose this setting for a few reasons; Nottingham is where the person we are interviewing battled addiction, it is an area with high drug use, the urban setting compliments the tone of the documentary. We want it to look quite dark and grimey to accentuate the heavy mood of the subject. Urban music, specifically hip-hop and grime will comprise most of the soundtrack. This will give the documentary an energetic and slightly aggressive feel. Although we plan to highlight the dark side of the story, we would also like to achieve an uplifting feeling for the viewer at the end with lighter shots and music. Additionally, we plan to include pictures of Nottingham and possibly of the individual's life.
The reason why we chose this as our character study subject is to raise awareness about the personal aspects of addiction and to show it in a different light. Many similar documentaries do not focus on this and only focus on the drugs, rather than the person.
The documentary will focus on one man's struggle with heroin, providing insight into the personal side of addiction.
The person we will be interviewing is a local recovered addict. The reason why we chose this person is because as a recovered addict, he has seen drugs through different viewpoints (person who has never used drugs, person who has, and a person who has been rehabilitated), and can speak about the experience from many perspectives.
The filming will take place in the city center of Nottingham. We chose this setting for a few reasons; Nottingham is where the person we are interviewing battled addiction, it is an area with high drug use, the urban setting compliments the tone of the documentary. We want it to look quite dark and grimey to accentuate the heavy mood of the subject. Urban music, specifically hip-hop and grime will comprise most of the soundtrack. This will give the documentary an energetic and slightly aggressive feel. Although we plan to highlight the dark side of the story, we would also like to achieve an uplifting feeling for the viewer at the end with lighter shots and music. Additionally, we plan to include pictures of Nottingham and possibly of the individual's life.
The reason why we chose this as our character study subject is to raise awareness about the personal aspects of addiction and to show it in a different light. Many similar documentaries do not focus on this and only focus on the drugs, rather than the person.
Sunday, 22 June 2008
Real Situation
Here is the final for "Real Situation":
For this part of the identities "box" project, I decided to convey my passion for writing lyrics and poems. This audio visual piece is played when the user clicks the notebook in the suitcase. The angle and the unsteady nature of the shots in this project give the effect of being the person writing it. The parts where the writing is blurry, however is due to technical difficulties with the camera and not being able to get it focused properly.
The song I chose for this piece is by the band Sublime, called "Real Situation." This song is about war and politics and shares the same viewpoint on the subject as myself. The genre of this music is reggae, my favorite music and which represents struggle, rebellion, love, and spirituality.
The introduction to the video is from an interview with Westwood One Radio. I cut the quote out of the interview to go with the writing of the title. Brad Nowell, the bands guitarist and lead singer is speaking about his influences and mentions danehall music which is stems from reggae and is faster and more bass oriented. This is also one of my favorite genres of music and so I thought it was the most appropriate quote to play while I write the title in the video.
For this part of the identities "box" project, I decided to convey my passion for writing lyrics and poems. This audio visual piece is played when the user clicks the notebook in the suitcase. The angle and the unsteady nature of the shots in this project give the effect of being the person writing it. The parts where the writing is blurry, however is due to technical difficulties with the camera and not being able to get it focused properly.
The song I chose for this piece is by the band Sublime, called "Real Situation." This song is about war and politics and shares the same viewpoint on the subject as myself. The genre of this music is reggae, my favorite music and which represents struggle, rebellion, love, and spirituality.
The introduction to the video is from an interview with Westwood One Radio. I cut the quote out of the interview to go with the writing of the title. Brad Nowell, the bands guitarist and lead singer is speaking about his influences and mentions danehall music which is stems from reggae and is faster and more bass oriented. This is also one of my favorite genres of music and so I thought it was the most appropriate quote to play while I write the title in the video.
"Who Am I?"
Here is the final for "Who Am I?":
This whiteboard animation is also part of the identities "box" project and comes up when the user clicks the easel in the suitcase. The easel represents my love of art and since the aim of the identities module is to show who you are, I decided to make a surreal piece surrounding the question "who am I".
I approached this by writing the question and answering it through drawing symbols which represent myself. These symbols include, the peace and yin yang symbols, the OM symbol, a tree, a mushroom, waves, the earth, musical notes, a heart, and finally a stick figure representation of myself. These sybols represent peace and balance, spirituality, nature, music, and love. All of these themes are focused around finding one's self.
The music I chose with this piece is the song "Lightning" by Skream. The genre of this music is dubstep. The tone of the music is mellow but has a psychedelic feel to it. I felt this was best suited to the surreal nature of this piece.
After I came up with the idea I looked for some surreal art containing symbols which merge into other symbols. Below is "Roots of Emotion", my inspiration for this work:
(picture from: www.freewallpapers.tk/.../roots-of-emotion.html)
This piece represents love and roots. The tree might represent nature while the emphasis on the roots combined with the heart suggest a deeper meaning.
This whiteboard animation is also part of the identities "box" project and comes up when the user clicks the easel in the suitcase. The easel represents my love of art and since the aim of the identities module is to show who you are, I decided to make a surreal piece surrounding the question "who am I".
I approached this by writing the question and answering it through drawing symbols which represent myself. These symbols include, the peace and yin yang symbols, the OM symbol, a tree, a mushroom, waves, the earth, musical notes, a heart, and finally a stick figure representation of myself. These sybols represent peace and balance, spirituality, nature, music, and love. All of these themes are focused around finding one's self.
The music I chose with this piece is the song "Lightning" by Skream. The genre of this music is dubstep. The tone of the music is mellow but has a psychedelic feel to it. I felt this was best suited to the surreal nature of this piece.
After I came up with the idea I looked for some surreal art containing symbols which merge into other symbols. Below is "Roots of Emotion", my inspiration for this work:
(picture from: www.freewallpapers.tk/.../roots-of-emotion.html)
This piece represents love and roots. The tree might represent nature while the emphasis on the roots combined with the heart suggest a deeper meaning.
"Nights Through the Window"
Here is the final for "Nights Through the Window":
This is part of the identities "box" module. This piece is played when the user clicks the camera inside the suitcase, which represents my love for photography. Throughout my life and travels, I have always had a camera to document my experiences. In particular, landscape shots have always interested me and I wanted to use the technique of pixilation to make the landscape come alive. I chose to do a night landscape with a full moon to give it a mystical atmosphere, as the full moon and night is associated with many mystical things. Additionally, the title refers to insomnia and I tried to show the frustration of insomnia through the interuption of the sequence with a black screen and red writing saying "@#$#%^% Window!". This is done right before the tone changes to a more aggressive one through the red window and the red haze in the landscape.
Here is some of the inspiration I had for this piece:
(picture from: www.irishblogs.ie/categories/italy/)
(picture from: www.flickr.com/.../discuss/72157602012887681/)
(picture from:www.flickr.com/.../discuss/72157605156999146/)
(picture from:www.flickr.com/.../discuss/72157605156999146/)
(picture from:www.flickr.com/.../discuss/72157605156999146/)
(picture from: http://www.pbase.com/b2photographs/image/73258492)
This is part of the identities "box" module. This piece is played when the user clicks the camera inside the suitcase, which represents my love for photography. Throughout my life and travels, I have always had a camera to document my experiences. In particular, landscape shots have always interested me and I wanted to use the technique of pixilation to make the landscape come alive. I chose to do a night landscape with a full moon to give it a mystical atmosphere, as the full moon and night is associated with many mystical things. Additionally, the title refers to insomnia and I tried to show the frustration of insomnia through the interuption of the sequence with a black screen and red writing saying "@#$#%^% Window!". This is done right before the tone changes to a more aggressive one through the red window and the red haze in the landscape.
Here is some of the inspiration I had for this piece:
(picture from: www.irishblogs.ie/categories/italy/)
(picture from: www.flickr.com/.../discuss/72157602012887681/)
(picture from:www.flickr.com/.../discuss/72157605156999146/)
(picture from:www.flickr.com/.../discuss/72157605156999146/)
(picture from:www.flickr.com/.../discuss/72157605156999146/)
(picture from: http://www.pbase.com/b2photographs/image/73258492)
Sunday, 15 June 2008
Identities - Box Screenshot and Render
For this project we were asked to create a "box" containing 4 items which represent ourselves and our avitar. For these items I decided to include a easel, camera, speaker, and notebook with a pen. Each of these items, when clicked, goes to an audio visual production which applies to the item.
I made the box a suitcase to represent how many places I have lived and how much I have traveled. This also helped me to decide what I would put in my box, because I simply thought of what I always need to have with me. The easel symbolizes my love of art. The camera represents my love of photography and film. The speaker represents my passion for music. Finally, the notebook and pen represents my love for writing.
Again, I am not as happy with with the final result as I had hoped. I had trouble with the textures for the items; in particular the speakers and camera.
Avitar Screenshot
Here is the screenshot and final render from my avitar:
I'm fairly happy with the result, although I would have liked to make it look a bit more realistic The main problem with the production of my avitar was navigating the software.
Monday, 2 June 2008
3D Avitar Sketch
For this assignment, as part of our identities module, we were required to create a 3D avitar in a 3D environment. Both the avitar and the environment have to represent myself. Here is the sketch of what I planned for my avitar and environment:
For the environment, I wanted to do something to do with urban life. I love to play basketball and there are many courts scattered about most cities. I decided to have it closed off and walled in to give the effect of being in a city. When you walk between high buildings, all you can see are the walls unless you look straight up; this is the concrete jungle effect I was trying to achieve.
The trash can represents the waste and pollution of the city and symbolizes the focus on industry and goods in an urban environment.
The actual avitar is a sound system, complete with cd player, headphones that plug into his heart, and speakers for others to hear. The face is a sketch of a painting I have done called "Self Portrait." (see below) This painting signifies the dual sides of my personality. To emphasize the struggle between the two sides, I broke the glass on the frame it was in and took a picture of it instead of directly scanning the picture although it is hard to see this on the final 3D production. (see final avitar render) The overall message from my avitar is that it shows an artistic mind trapped in a mechanical body and surrounded by brick walls, which is all equally symbolic.
For the environment, I wanted to do something to do with urban life. I love to play basketball and there are many courts scattered about most cities. I decided to have it closed off and walled in to give the effect of being in a city. When you walk between high buildings, all you can see are the walls unless you look straight up; this is the concrete jungle effect I was trying to achieve.
The trash can represents the waste and pollution of the city and symbolizes the focus on industry and goods in an urban environment.
The actual avitar is a sound system, complete with cd player, headphones that plug into his heart, and speakers for others to hear. The face is a sketch of a painting I have done called "Self Portrait." (see below) This painting signifies the dual sides of my personality. To emphasize the struggle between the two sides, I broke the glass on the frame it was in and took a picture of it instead of directly scanning the picture although it is hard to see this on the final 3D production. (see final avitar render) The overall message from my avitar is that it shows an artistic mind trapped in a mechanical body and surrounded by brick walls, which is all equally symbolic.
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