After watching Exit Through the Gift Shop, I was interested in looking at some other artwork by a few of the main artists. I've come to conclude that graffiti is much more interesting than any Picasso or other old painter.
Here are a few:
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Documentary Review - Exit Through the Gift Shop
Documentary Review – Exit Through the Gift Shop
Exit Through the Gift Shop is a documentary about the life and ideas of street artists around the world from a firsthand point of view. It starts with a man, Thierry Guetta, being introduced to street art by his cousin. He films everything. He eventually claims he’s going to make a documentary on street art and starts to make some connections. He meets popular artists around the world and helps them with their adventures. He’s grown to be a friend of many. He has hundreds of tapes filled with everything he’s ever filmed, but he still lacks meeting or having any footage of Banksy, one of the most famous street artists from Britain. By complete luck, Banksy ends up staying with Thierry in Los Angeles. Banksy allows Thierry to follow him around anywhere he goes and invites him back to Britain with him. This starts Thierry’s new life. He starts working on the documentary, but it ends up being awful. Banksy tells him to try some of his own art. Thierry Guetta creates his own styling and goes by the name of Mister Brainwash. He eventually produces one of the largest, most advertised showcases ever before he’s developed a name for himself with help of a large staff. He loses some respect due to this (including mine). He makes millions and attracts the attention of thousands.
Exit Through the Gift Shop is a strange and unique documentary. It has all the normal aspects of film: literary, dramatic, and cinematic, but not in the usual way.
Literary: Exit Through the Gift Shop was not a scripted documentary. The characters were themselves. It was shot by Thierry Guetta, and artist himself. It was set wherever the artists went (mostly California). The movie had the intentions to inform viewers about street art and its motives. However, these motives weren’t exactly conveyed by the main character himself. The main mood of the film is curious.
Dramatic: The actors in this documentary were nothing out of the norm. They wore normal street wear and didn’t have any make-up on other than unintentional paint. The actors were the artists, so they were mostly a bit secretive, but layed-back. This film was shot mostly in Los Angelees with footage in a few other countries as well as some archival footage.
Cinematic: Nearly the entire documentary was shot handheld with a normal video camera, not some $50,000 cinema camera that shoots at 4k. It was shot by just an average man from Los Angeles. Most angles are from below or behind due to the artists wanting to remain mostly anonymous or the art being on a roof. There wasn’t much in the ways of editing: not much color correction, etc. The lighting was pretty much what was provided throughout the shot. The music and sound effects are mostly what’s given in the background of the shot. It was a pretty basic film that wanted to communicate an idea, not be a work of art (get it?).
I enjoyed this documentary somewhat. I’m interested in street art and graffiti: I like the way it expresses yourself, but forces you to express yourself in a risky way. It shows that they truly care about what they’re communicating. I think most of the people were doing it for this reason and not do be some rebel and anarchist, or a looked-down-upon figure of society. I actually respect them for what they do now. However, the main character, Thierry or Mr. Brainwash, started to bother me in the second half of the film. He became to full of himself. I would recommend this documentary to anyone. I feel it expresses the perspective of these frowned-upon figures, and I think most people would probably even be able to relate to them. Many people are quick to judge, and this documentary makes you pause and think. This film is powerful for viewers. It’s one of the few films about the subject of street art and really tells the viewer what these artists truly mean.
Exit Through the Gift Shop, 87 minutes, Rated R, 8.1/10 (IMDB)
Exit Through the Gift Shop is a documentary about the life and ideas of street artists around the world from a firsthand point of view. It starts with a man, Thierry Guetta, being introduced to street art by his cousin. He films everything. He eventually claims he’s going to make a documentary on street art and starts to make some connections. He meets popular artists around the world and helps them with their adventures. He’s grown to be a friend of many. He has hundreds of tapes filled with everything he’s ever filmed, but he still lacks meeting or having any footage of Banksy, one of the most famous street artists from Britain. By complete luck, Banksy ends up staying with Thierry in Los Angeles. Banksy allows Thierry to follow him around anywhere he goes and invites him back to Britain with him. This starts Thierry’s new life. He starts working on the documentary, but it ends up being awful. Banksy tells him to try some of his own art. Thierry Guetta creates his own styling and goes by the name of Mister Brainwash. He eventually produces one of the largest, most advertised showcases ever before he’s developed a name for himself with help of a large staff. He loses some respect due to this (including mine). He makes millions and attracts the attention of thousands.
Exit Through the Gift Shop is a strange and unique documentary. It has all the normal aspects of film: literary, dramatic, and cinematic, but not in the usual way.
Literary: Exit Through the Gift Shop was not a scripted documentary. The characters were themselves. It was shot by Thierry Guetta, and artist himself. It was set wherever the artists went (mostly California). The movie had the intentions to inform viewers about street art and its motives. However, these motives weren’t exactly conveyed by the main character himself. The main mood of the film is curious.
Dramatic: The actors in this documentary were nothing out of the norm. They wore normal street wear and didn’t have any make-up on other than unintentional paint. The actors were the artists, so they were mostly a bit secretive, but layed-back. This film was shot mostly in Los Angelees with footage in a few other countries as well as some archival footage.
Cinematic: Nearly the entire documentary was shot handheld with a normal video camera, not some $50,000 cinema camera that shoots at 4k. It was shot by just an average man from Los Angeles. Most angles are from below or behind due to the artists wanting to remain mostly anonymous or the art being on a roof. There wasn’t much in the ways of editing: not much color correction, etc. The lighting was pretty much what was provided throughout the shot. The music and sound effects are mostly what’s given in the background of the shot. It was a pretty basic film that wanted to communicate an idea, not be a work of art (get it?).
I enjoyed this documentary somewhat. I’m interested in street art and graffiti: I like the way it expresses yourself, but forces you to express yourself in a risky way. It shows that they truly care about what they’re communicating. I think most of the people were doing it for this reason and not do be some rebel and anarchist, or a looked-down-upon figure of society. I actually respect them for what they do now. However, the main character, Thierry or Mr. Brainwash, started to bother me in the second half of the film. He became to full of himself. I would recommend this documentary to anyone. I feel it expresses the perspective of these frowned-upon figures, and I think most people would probably even be able to relate to them. Many people are quick to judge, and this documentary makes you pause and think. This film is powerful for viewers. It’s one of the few films about the subject of street art and really tells the viewer what these artists truly mean.
Exit Through the Gift Shop, 87 minutes, Rated R, 8.1/10 (IMDB)
*As you can see, this wasn't really written for the sake of being well written. I don't entirely feel a review is the most effective way to learn about media. Experiencing it, I'd say, is simpler, and likely achieves the objective. I watched this documentary, formed my own opinions, learned about street art, and paid attention to how the film was made. So basically, I think I learned what I needed to. I also think I have a general knowledge of how to make a video at this point, as well. Often times, video-making can be quite formulaic, especially a documentary. The ones that aren't, I've found, are usually some of the most interesting, however.
When you take video of anything and everything, this happens.
My sister and I made a video together yesterday because we can. I just got my Glidecam and am working on learning how to use it for the best results, so I've been taking it everywhere and taking random clips, hence this video. This is a video of our times getting a Christmas tree out near Olney (Jordan's territory. It's pretty blank there.) and checking out a farm of sorts that was hosting some art gallery that we avoided to mess around.
Shot on my trusty T2i and kit lens. Oh, and the new Glidecam...but I've since balanced it much better, so I'll make another video soon. Color correction's a bit over the top, but I like it. A bit bright, but I think that's appropriate for the mood. Check it out (in 720p).
Shot on my trusty T2i and kit lens. Oh, and the new Glidecam...but I've since balanced it much better, so I'll make another video soon. Color correction's a bit over the top, but I like it. A bit bright, but I think that's appropriate for the mood. Check it out (in 720p).
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Being a Freerunner.
One of the worlld's most renouned team, Team Farang, just posted this video. I watched it, and I found I totally agree with everything they say. Some say they do it for creativity, self-expression, discovering themselves, and loving to move. Always looking for an adventure. They look at the world a different way. I feel I can relate to most of these statements.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
A Philosophy on Fear - TEDTalk
I'm interested in philosophy a bit myself. And when I found out one of the original practitioners of parkour and freerunning did a TED talk (just now), of course, I watched it. Not only was it by a traceur, but it was on an interesting topic: fear. I have plenty of fears. Fears that are worthy and fears that aren't. Facing fears is something, that we all can generally agree, nearly impossible. It's one of the hardest things to do. I'm always struggling with fear. We all face fears everyday. Sometimes, fear is too controlling. We want to face them change, but it's difficult. Sometimes it's the only choice. It's only possible with motivation, time, and perseverance. Facing your fears helps you grow. It helps you be more confident. It helps you live your life and face the challenges life poses. I generally agree with most everything Foucan said. I, and many others, can directly relate to what he's saying.
The Deteriorating Relation
From Old to Older...
I just stumbled upon this article on Petapixel about how a photographer found old photos of a school and then took photos from the same angle of the same things in the same school. The difference is, now, the school is abandoned. It's really interesting to see all the similarities and differences. How it changed over time or didn't change is interesting. I never think of how some things in my life now probably won't be there in 20-30 years.
This project could also be considered urbex. Urbex stands for urban exploration: a usually illegal form of exploring old, abandoned places, often for photos. There are communities for it all around. Many of the buildings are old tuberculosis hospitals or mental/insane asylums. I've been interested in this type of photography (great for HDR). I like the abandoned nature. How it's been untouched for years. How it's essentially be non-existent to the world for a time. For most people, these places don't exist, and never will. Unfortunately, they're mostly a good 30-60 minutes away from the city and, well, illegal. It's hard to get people to drive you places to trespass and risk getting caught. There's also frequently asbestos, which isn't good for your health.
Here are some other Urbex photos:
I just stumbled upon this article on Petapixel about how a photographer found old photos of a school and then took photos from the same angle of the same things in the same school. The difference is, now, the school is abandoned. It's really interesting to see all the similarities and differences. How it changed over time or didn't change is interesting. I never think of how some things in my life now probably won't be there in 20-30 years.
This project could also be considered urbex. Urbex stands for urban exploration: a usually illegal form of exploring old, abandoned places, often for photos. There are communities for it all around. Many of the buildings are old tuberculosis hospitals or mental/insane asylums. I've been interested in this type of photography (great for HDR). I like the abandoned nature. How it's been untouched for years. How it's essentially be non-existent to the world for a time. For most people, these places don't exist, and never will. Unfortunately, they're mostly a good 30-60 minutes away from the city and, well, illegal. It's hard to get people to drive you places to trespass and risk getting caught. There's also frequently asbestos, which isn't good for your health.
Here are some sample pictures from the set:
Here are some other Urbex photos:
Monday, December 10, 2012
Red Giant Short Film
Just found this short film from a company that makes After Effects plug-ins that I use. Really interesting plot/concept. It's about a device that can slow or speed up an object in time, but not all of time. The graffic effects in this video are really awesome too. Check it out!
Tempo from Red Giant on Vimeo.
Tempo from Red Giant on Vimeo.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
What is this world?
Note: This will be totally disorganized. Most likely, will barely make any sense.
Tonight, I decided a few things. I can't really express them through a simple blog, especially one that was shaped for what I decided I almost completely oppose: education and our society's reliance on it. It's a waste. I believe that there are only a few necessary thing for children to be taught through a formal education. I think math should be taught, but only basics, maybe up to a 9th grade level. English should be taught throughout an education, but it will be learned just from living in a society that speaks that language. Lastly, a course or two on history or governement. Everything else should be left up to the child. The child's life is lived after his or her education, not during it. Most lives are centered around one or two paths. Usually a career, maybe family. A career is something that the person should be interested in and should enjoy, not simply for the money and being able to survive. Many doors are not opened throughout a person's formal education. There are plenty of students I know that have no clue what they want to do with their live. Possibly because they don't have the opportunities. School is so curriculim based and formatted. Kids have to do this, do that, and rarely have the freedom to do what they want. And when tehy do have the freedom, they don't know where to go. I know, that I personally, am utterly lost and confused when a teacher assigns a project with near to none or no guidelines. I think this is because we're used to living everything to structured. I don't like structure. Let life be lived day by day. Nowdays, I feel society has shaped the world to revolve around money and education. Kids must go to school everyday by law in the United States, they must take certain courses to graduate. They must take and do well on certain tests to proceed further in their education. To get a decent job, students must go to the increasingly expensive college to get a degree, that by the time one is 30, probably means almost nothing. By the time I'm ready to go to college, it'll probably cost me upwards or $30,000 a year, unless I'm to choose to go to a small rural college or a college in my state. During the four plus years of college I'll end up writing dozens of essays, reading dozens of books, and sitting in a chair watching to a few teachers talk for dozens of hours. For $30,000 a year. What kind of education is this anyway? You'll learn plenty of thing you'll most likely never need, or things that are totally specified towards one field. If you choose to stray from that field it looks like more sitting, writing, and reading. Students should be offered more courses that open more doors so that they can find something or some things that they want to do. Or at least show them opportunities to find something that interests them. And this whole reliance on a piece of paper? A diploma. A degree. I don't care. But that's all anyone else cares about it seems. I could probably drop out of high school with two weeks left, and those nearly four years would count for nothing. Don't have the diploma or degree, don't have a job. Don't have a job, don't have money. Don't have money, well then, you don't have a life. You can't live, right? What is this? Live life how you want. Why should it be so formatted and enforced by society. People who don't follow these steps are looked down upon. I want to live my life differently. I want to live through experiences. I want to meet people. I want to remember something important, not the day Christopher Columbus was born or sailed the ocean blue. What all does his discovery of America, the land of the free, matter if you're just to live ensalved by society? There are pelnty of ways to learn, that are equally, if not better than from writing, reading, and sitting. Sure, you can learn how people of today in Africa or South America get by without electronics, or without water. But why not simply experience it for yourself? Go to Africa or South America. Help them. Meet the people. Experience. Experience. Experience. I'd much rather experience something than just be someone feeling pitiful for these people just knowing of their suffering and not doing anything. I somewhat know what I want to do with my life. A rough sketch. But there's something in the way. Society. I can't be an individual. I have to go to school for 13 years, and pretty much an extra four for college. I have to "study" certain subjects without any true knowledge of them. I don't have time to do what I really want to. I have to be focused on my education, or otherwise I won't be successful in life, right? Because I won't have money, right? And I won't have fun because I can't afford it? Life like this isn't worth the time. I don't want to put up with this. I want to experience the world. I want to meet new people. I want to understand new cultures. I want to travel. I want to show people. The world isn't just all about being society's "successful". Do something with your life.
Note: Other countries with entirely different education systems have higher ranked education systems that us here in great old 'Murica. Because we're just the best and always right. #upcomingdocumentaryproject
I went to El Salvador this past summer. And it was one of the best experiences of my life. No, I cannot call it my second home, or my second family, or anything of the sort. I was there for nine days. But those nine days were more real than a year of school. I met the most incredible people with the best perspectives on life. I'm sad to say I can't be more like them. These people are so much happier with so much less. They live life, they're not concerned with all sine functions or greek mythology or how C4H8+O2 reacts to form CO2 and H2O. They don't care. They care about what matters. The experience was so unique and so much different than I had expected. Something so unreal seeming at first. Many people are totally unaware of other people and places despite their great education received through the education we are forced to have by the laws we have here. And no, my experience there was not directly affected by knowing some of them withstood a civil war in their country that I may have learned about in a world history class. Either way, they were happy. These five-year-old kids likely have no clue of what the war was like or what the outside world is like. But they know how to live. They're not completely influenced by how their society looks. We would see their tin-sheet houses and be amazed at how they live. That's what they're used to. And they're fine. Without this entire fiasco run by our government and society. They can manage without a top notch education, diploma and degree and $50,000 a year salary. Not only can they manage without it, but they're happier, too. I wish people could all experience this. And live like this. I wish our society was more open. Life for us here oesn't need to be how it is, and may easily be better if it were shaped entirely different.
I simply do not agree with the education and ideas surrounding it here in the United States. I don't believe they offer enough freedom to truly do what you love. I don't think they allow people to live how life should be lived. It's only right for some people, not all, yet all people are forced to conform. This is only one student's perspective, but I strongly believe it.
Tonight, I decided a few things. I can't really express them through a simple blog, especially one that was shaped for what I decided I almost completely oppose: education and our society's reliance on it. It's a waste. I believe that there are only a few necessary thing for children to be taught through a formal education. I think math should be taught, but only basics, maybe up to a 9th grade level. English should be taught throughout an education, but it will be learned just from living in a society that speaks that language. Lastly, a course or two on history or governement. Everything else should be left up to the child. The child's life is lived after his or her education, not during it. Most lives are centered around one or two paths. Usually a career, maybe family. A career is something that the person should be interested in and should enjoy, not simply for the money and being able to survive. Many doors are not opened throughout a person's formal education. There are plenty of students I know that have no clue what they want to do with their live. Possibly because they don't have the opportunities. School is so curriculim based and formatted. Kids have to do this, do that, and rarely have the freedom to do what they want. And when tehy do have the freedom, they don't know where to go. I know, that I personally, am utterly lost and confused when a teacher assigns a project with near to none or no guidelines. I think this is because we're used to living everything to structured. I don't like structure. Let life be lived day by day. Nowdays, I feel society has shaped the world to revolve around money and education. Kids must go to school everyday by law in the United States, they must take certain courses to graduate. They must take and do well on certain tests to proceed further in their education. To get a decent job, students must go to the increasingly expensive college to get a degree, that by the time one is 30, probably means almost nothing. By the time I'm ready to go to college, it'll probably cost me upwards or $30,000 a year, unless I'm to choose to go to a small rural college or a college in my state. During the four plus years of college I'll end up writing dozens of essays, reading dozens of books, and sitting in a chair watching to a few teachers talk for dozens of hours. For $30,000 a year. What kind of education is this anyway? You'll learn plenty of thing you'll most likely never need, or things that are totally specified towards one field. If you choose to stray from that field it looks like more sitting, writing, and reading. Students should be offered more courses that open more doors so that they can find something or some things that they want to do. Or at least show them opportunities to find something that interests them. And this whole reliance on a piece of paper? A diploma. A degree. I don't care. But that's all anyone else cares about it seems. I could probably drop out of high school with two weeks left, and those nearly four years would count for nothing. Don't have the diploma or degree, don't have a job. Don't have a job, don't have money. Don't have money, well then, you don't have a life. You can't live, right? What is this? Live life how you want. Why should it be so formatted and enforced by society. People who don't follow these steps are looked down upon. I want to live my life differently. I want to live through experiences. I want to meet people. I want to remember something important, not the day Christopher Columbus was born or sailed the ocean blue. What all does his discovery of America, the land of the free, matter if you're just to live ensalved by society? There are pelnty of ways to learn, that are equally, if not better than from writing, reading, and sitting. Sure, you can learn how people of today in Africa or South America get by without electronics, or without water. But why not simply experience it for yourself? Go to Africa or South America. Help them. Meet the people. Experience. Experience. Experience. I'd much rather experience something than just be someone feeling pitiful for these people just knowing of their suffering and not doing anything. I somewhat know what I want to do with my life. A rough sketch. But there's something in the way. Society. I can't be an individual. I have to go to school for 13 years, and pretty much an extra four for college. I have to "study" certain subjects without any true knowledge of them. I don't have time to do what I really want to. I have to be focused on my education, or otherwise I won't be successful in life, right? Because I won't have money, right? And I won't have fun because I can't afford it? Life like this isn't worth the time. I don't want to put up with this. I want to experience the world. I want to meet new people. I want to understand new cultures. I want to travel. I want to show people. The world isn't just all about being society's "successful". Do something with your life.
Note: Other countries with entirely different education systems have higher ranked education systems that us here in great old 'Murica. Because we're just the best and always right. #upcomingdocumentaryproject
I went to El Salvador this past summer. And it was one of the best experiences of my life. No, I cannot call it my second home, or my second family, or anything of the sort. I was there for nine days. But those nine days were more real than a year of school. I met the most incredible people with the best perspectives on life. I'm sad to say I can't be more like them. These people are so much happier with so much less. They live life, they're not concerned with all sine functions or greek mythology or how C4H8+O2 reacts to form CO2 and H2O. They don't care. They care about what matters. The experience was so unique and so much different than I had expected. Something so unreal seeming at first. Many people are totally unaware of other people and places despite their great education received through the education we are forced to have by the laws we have here. And no, my experience there was not directly affected by knowing some of them withstood a civil war in their country that I may have learned about in a world history class. Either way, they were happy. These five-year-old kids likely have no clue of what the war was like or what the outside world is like. But they know how to live. They're not completely influenced by how their society looks. We would see their tin-sheet houses and be amazed at how they live. That's what they're used to. And they're fine. Without this entire fiasco run by our government and society. They can manage without a top notch education, diploma and degree and $50,000 a year salary. Not only can they manage without it, but they're happier, too. I wish people could all experience this. And live like this. I wish our society was more open. Life for us here oesn't need to be how it is, and may easily be better if it were shaped entirely different.
I simply do not agree with the education and ideas surrounding it here in the United States. I don't believe they offer enough freedom to truly do what you love. I don't think they allow people to live how life should be lived. It's only right for some people, not all, yet all people are forced to conform. This is only one student's perspective, but I strongly believe it.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
New Equipment - Glidecam Stabilizer
So, today I bought a Glidecam 2000 Pro. This is one of their previous models that was replaced with the slightly different Glidecam HD2000. I've been wanting one for a while. Steady footage is just too perfect. I'll be putting up a test in two weeks or so when it's arrived and I have it moderately balanced. Some people complain about the difficulty of balancing them. But I think it's definitely worth it.
Glidecams...well, make your camera glide. With practice, a user can full on run with the camera looking absolutely steady. It makes the camera look like it's floating, flying, etc. They stabilize your camera's footage by counter balancing it. They have a 3-way gimbal that you hold that reduces the shake from the holder's hand and arm. The main pole can be extended to also help counter balance the camera. And on the bottom are weight plates to create the balanced weight.
Some Glidecam 2000 Pro videos:
(This one also happens to use half the equipment I want...Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, Samyang 8mm f/3.5, and Canon 50mm f/1.4)
Glidecams...well, make your camera glide. With practice, a user can full on run with the camera looking absolutely steady. It makes the camera look like it's floating, flying, etc. They stabilize your camera's footage by counter balancing it. They have a 3-way gimbal that you hold that reduces the shake from the holder's hand and arm. The main pole can be extended to also help counter balance the camera. And on the bottom are weight plates to create the balanced weight.
Some Glidecam 2000 Pro videos:
(This one also happens to use half the equipment I want...Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, Samyang 8mm f/3.5, and Canon 50mm f/1.4)
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Cinema 4D First Legit Use
So...Graphics and animation are pretty cool, too. So why not give them a try? I used a program called Cinema 4D to make this one. It's an audio reactor (as usual). I'll try and do something different next. But there are so many different possibilities when it comes to this, and it's easier becacuse you'll end up with the same goal, rather than a completely open project.
This thing took a while considering I haven't really used this program much before. Tutorials are the best things ever in terms of anything video. Sometimes the tutorials length are one of the main factors of time. This tutorial was about 45 minutes, so it took a while. I used a tutorial from Greyscale Gorilla. I'll definitely do more stuff from their tutorials. They have the coolest stuff.
Steps (simplified):
- New project
-Create sphere
-Create texture for sphere (reflection, etc.)
-Add cloner, make about 50 spheres
-Add music effector
-Set music effector to track
-Customize settings for effector for LONG time
-Choose colors
-Add delay effector to cause spheres to remain reacted for a few extra moments
-Duplicate spheres and cloner to create background particles
-Eliminate reactors for background particles
-Customize settings of background particles to make them resist falling
-Add vignetted background
-Add lighting
-Export as .mov from Cinema 4D(oh my was this annoying)
-Move into After Effects
-Re-add audio track
-Export as .mov from After Effects
-Upload to YouTube
So this is how it turned out. Alright, I suppose. Definitely gonna learn more of this program and upload more videos of it soon.
Also: hopefully before holiday break, a few friends and I will finish a parkour video. Finally. The first. You shall see.
This thing took a while considering I haven't really used this program much before. Tutorials are the best things ever in terms of anything video. Sometimes the tutorials length are one of the main factors of time. This tutorial was about 45 minutes, so it took a while. I used a tutorial from Greyscale Gorilla. I'll definitely do more stuff from their tutorials. They have the coolest stuff.
Steps (simplified):
- New project
-Create sphere
-Create texture for sphere (reflection, etc.)
-Add cloner, make about 50 spheres
-Add music effector
-Set music effector to track
-Customize settings for effector for LONG time
-Choose colors
-Add delay effector to cause spheres to remain reacted for a few extra moments
-Duplicate spheres and cloner to create background particles
-Eliminate reactors for background particles
-Customize settings of background particles to make them resist falling
-Add vignetted background
-Add lighting
-Export as .mov from Cinema 4D(oh my was this annoying)
-Move into After Effects
-Re-add audio track
-Export as .mov from After Effects
-Upload to YouTube
So this is how it turned out. Alright, I suppose. Definitely gonna learn more of this program and upload more videos of it soon.
Also: hopefully before holiday break, a few friends and I will finish a parkour video. Finally. The first. You shall see.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Documentary Ideas
For my documentary I plan on working with Max. We both have recently become really fascinated with all aspects of video. We plan on doing the C-SPAN documentary contest that requests a response to the question: "What’s the most important issue the president should consider in 2013?" The $5,000 prize was quite attracting. That's a new camera and a few lenses for each of us. After watching some of the past winners, runner-ups, first prizes, etc., we think that getting some level of recognition is quite feasible. Two kids at our school received honorable mentions last year.
Our main idea was the declining level of education in the United States and to elaborate on some of the causes. It's an issue that's extremely relative to us as students and leaves us many resources, such as our teachers, principals, other students, and school board members that may hopefully be willing to speak with us.
While briefly discussing this topic with one of our teachers, who comes from another country. She said that the standards for education are much higher in her former country. She's spoken with friends who still live there and teach there who are amazed by some of the things that are part of or provided in our education. We have increasing class sizes. She said that just about a decade ago kindergarten class sizes were limited to 12 students maximum if there was a teacher's aid present. Her son's class in 2012 is 28 children, over two times what the limit was just a few years ago. There's no doubt that the number of students affects the quality of education being provided. One small thing her friends were amazed by was the fact the teacher provides notes here in the United States, while in that country, students had to simply pay attention and take their own. This obviously seems like a way to keep students' attention and ensure that they're learning, because if not, it's easily seen in their scores on assignments. Even the small stuff counts when it comes to a child's education. We, the children of today, are the future leaders, business-people, etc. Our education is what will help us make wise, educated choices on important issues as to help the world progress.
Our main idea was the declining level of education in the United States and to elaborate on some of the causes. It's an issue that's extremely relative to us as students and leaves us many resources, such as our teachers, principals, other students, and school board members that may hopefully be willing to speak with us.
While briefly discussing this topic with one of our teachers, who comes from another country. She said that the standards for education are much higher in her former country. She's spoken with friends who still live there and teach there who are amazed by some of the things that are part of or provided in our education. We have increasing class sizes. She said that just about a decade ago kindergarten class sizes were limited to 12 students maximum if there was a teacher's aid present. Her son's class in 2012 is 28 children, over two times what the limit was just a few years ago. There's no doubt that the number of students affects the quality of education being provided. One small thing her friends were amazed by was the fact the teacher provides notes here in the United States, while in that country, students had to simply pay attention and take their own. This obviously seems like a way to keep students' attention and ensure that they're learning, because if not, it's easily seen in their scores on assignments. Even the small stuff counts when it comes to a child's education. We, the children of today, are the future leaders, business-people, etc. Our education is what will help us make wise, educated choices on important issues as to help the world progress.
Other than this, we don't really know what we want to make it about. There's always the possibility of making the documentary about global warming and the environment or maybe disease, poverty, etc. both around the world, and in the streets surrounding the President's home. These issues will always be important and relevant to our nation.
Reuter's 95 Best photos of the Year
Best photos of the year according to Reuters. Some of these photos are simply amazing photos capturing the wildest occurrences, some photojournalism incredible photos, and some emotional photos. As you scroll through you'll be shocked. I know I was. Just a short post about this. Definitely worth sharing.
Note: Petapixel went through the photos analyzing the EXIF data provided and compiled graphs showing the most popular settings, cameras, lenses, etc. Seen here. Canon had the majority of photos. Just saying.
Note: Petapixel went through the photos analyzing the EXIF data provided and compiled graphs showing the most popular settings, cameras, lenses, etc. Seen here. Canon had the majority of photos. Just saying.
Photography. An Unique Perspective.
I recently found this article on Petapixel. Petapixel is a popular photo website that shares links to interesting photography things, such as rumors about new cameras, techniques, photographer's projects, random comparisons or statistics, etc. Check it out here. This article is about a photographer, Ian Ruhter, who thinks the digital age destroyed photography, so he made his own camera, which is now the world's largest camera, in the back of his van. Each photo costs him 500 dollars using a process called the collodian process.
The collodian process or "wet plate photography" is one of the oldest photographic techniques invented by Frederic Scott Archer and Gustave Le Gray in the mid 1800s that involves coating, sensitizing, and exposing a photographic material (I believe he mentioned himself using silver plates?) within about a 15 minute time frame. It forces the photographer to have a portable darkroom (where photographers edit/finish photos that aren't digital). One more popular form of this process was the tintype that continued into the 1930s. The process was replaced by the dry gelatin plate. One plus for this type of photography is the amount of detail it can capture, as seen through the photos by Ian Ruhter. It also always provides black and white photos (which in my opinion have something special about them, they're always interesting to me).
His photos: http://ianruhter.tumblr.com
He made a documentary about his work:
The collodian process or "wet plate photography" is one of the oldest photographic techniques invented by Frederic Scott Archer and Gustave Le Gray in the mid 1800s that involves coating, sensitizing, and exposing a photographic material (I believe he mentioned himself using silver plates?) within about a 15 minute time frame. It forces the photographer to have a portable darkroom (where photographers edit/finish photos that aren't digital). One more popular form of this process was the tintype that continued into the 1930s. The process was replaced by the dry gelatin plate. One plus for this type of photography is the amount of detail it can capture, as seen through the photos by Ian Ruhter. It also always provides black and white photos (which in my opinion have something special about them, they're always interesting to me).
His photos: http://ianruhter.tumblr.com
He made a documentary about his work:
Sunday, November 25, 2012
More tests. Yeah they're cool, I guess.
Did another thing on Trapcode Particular. Woah. Super duper cool. I'd say this is probably the most complex thing I did so far with this set of plug-ins in the Trapcode Suite. I did some stuff I haven't done before. Liked the look of it., but it's somewhat difficult to tell it's an audio reactor until later...I'll learn eventually.
Well alright. The list on this one might take a while. After all, the tutorial in itself was 40 minutes so...
(Simplified)
-Make a new comp
-Choose background color, add a ramp effect (the darkening color from top to bottom)
-Add a vignette
-Make a new comp
-Add soundtrack/song
-Duplicate twice, add High-Low Pass effect (seperates track into the high and frequencies)
-Add Trapcode Particular effect to High Pass or Low Pass (can't remember)
-Adjust settings so there are more particles so it looks like a line
-Change colors of particles
-Adjust velocity of particles with expresssions
-Adjust x and y rotation of particles with expressions-Duplicate entire Trapcode Particular
-Adjust duplicate so it's opposite of first one.
-Add lights to cause shadows on the particles
-Export
-Upload
and yeah. That's about it. Satisfied with the result. It'd be cool to actually use this for something, not just a test. I have a friend that's learning to make dubstep that might be able to use this for his songs he says. Other than that, I don't know where to go with all these...oh well.
Well alright. The list on this one might take a while. After all, the tutorial in itself was 40 minutes so...
(Simplified)
-Make a new comp
-Choose background color, add a ramp effect (the darkening color from top to bottom)
-Add a vignette
-Make a new comp
-Add soundtrack/song
-Duplicate twice, add High-Low Pass effect (seperates track into the high and frequencies)
-Add Trapcode Particular effect to High Pass or Low Pass (can't remember)
-Adjust settings so there are more particles so it looks like a line
-Change colors of particles
-Adjust velocity of particles with expresssions
-Adjust x and y rotation of particles with expressions-Duplicate entire Trapcode Particular
-Adjust duplicate so it's opposite of first one.
-Add lights to cause shadows on the particles
-Export
-Upload
and yeah. That's about it. Satisfied with the result. It'd be cool to actually use this for something, not just a test. I have a friend that's learning to make dubstep that might be able to use this for his songs he says. Other than that, I don't know where to go with all these...oh well.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Meh. Music.
Found this song recently. It's not often you find rap songs that spread positive messages, or at least according to the stereotype. This song seems to be one of the few that straight up address issues and say they're bad. I'm not strictly against a lot of issues brought up my rap and hip hop music. But sometimes it's good to see someone change it up a bit. An occasional reminder is necessary.
It's shows and speaks about the consequences of drugs, gangs, etc.
The music video shows what happens to a boy named Jake who, with a friends, tries to get some weed, but then there's an initiation that forces him to beat up his friend.
It uses a lot of good figurative language (yes, I did just make this post dull and educational). Lots of metaphors, diction,etc.
It also uses propaganda like the snowball effect.
Alright, basically, I just felt like posting something. I'll make something more interesting over Thanksgiving break I suppose. Apologies. Check out the song anyway. Has Tim Shieff in it, so can't hate really.
It's shows and speaks about the consequences of drugs, gangs, etc.
The music video shows what happens to a boy named Jake who, with a friends, tries to get some weed, but then there's an initiation that forces him to beat up his friend.
It uses a lot of good figurative language (yes, I did just make this post dull and educational). Lots of metaphors, diction,etc.
It also uses propaganda like the snowball effect.
Alright, basically, I just felt like posting something. I'll make something more interesting over Thanksgiving break I suppose. Apologies. Check out the song anyway. Has Tim Shieff in it, so can't hate really.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Trapcode Form Audio React
A test of another After Effects plug-in, Trapcode Form. People must be getting bored by now. wow. But they're fun. So put up with it.
I chose a track I liked to make an audio reactor to, and boom. Made this with the influence of a tutorial.
- Choose a track: "Take A Walk" by Passion Pit (The M Machine Remix)
- Make a background, add a bit of clouds, lower they're opacity.
- Make a sphere, customize it.
- Set sphere's audio reactors (disperse, sphere size, etc.).
- Duplicate layer, shrink it a bit.
- Add an effect to make the particles in the sphere look a bit liquidy.
- Add Trapcode Shine effect to make spheres have a blue-ish aura thing. To, well...make them shine.
- Make particles using Trapcode Particular that go up.
- Make particles that go sideways that are different color.
And that's it I believe. Cool story, right? Totally.
Oh, watch in HD, otherwise, it's dumb.
I chose a track I liked to make an audio reactor to, and boom. Made this with the influence of a tutorial.
- Choose a track: "Take A Walk" by Passion Pit (The M Machine Remix)
- Make a background, add a bit of clouds, lower they're opacity.
- Make a sphere, customize it.
- Set sphere's audio reactors (disperse, sphere size, etc.).
- Duplicate layer, shrink it a bit.
- Add an effect to make the particles in the sphere look a bit liquidy.
- Add Trapcode Shine effect to make spheres have a blue-ish aura thing. To, well...make them shine.
- Make particles using Trapcode Particular that go up.
- Make particles that go sideways that are different color.
And that's it I believe. Cool story, right? Totally.
Oh, watch in HD, otherwise, it's dumb.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Logo Animation Test
So, as usual, I was messing around on After Effects recently (today) and decided to do something new. I made a title sequence after going through a huge list of tutorials. I found an interesting one, and attempted to create something similar. I added the logo of a great company (that's run by people i know in real life) and here's how it turned out! I sent it to the head of the company, and he said he'd use it in the intro of their videos.
I made this all in After Effects and used the plug-in Trapcode Form (a great set of plug-ins the Trapcode Suite is). I had to make about 10 layers:
I made this all in After Effects and used the plug-in Trapcode Form (a great set of plug-ins the Trapcode Suite is). I had to make about 10 layers:
- vignette layer for background
- particle layer
- layer with text "Amiercan"
- layer with text "Parkour"
- layer with logo "APK" with string dissolve
- layer with logo "APK" with particle dissolve
- solid white layer with a wipe
- another layer with a wipe
- and a few more that I forgot
Check out that channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/AmericanParkour
- layer with logo "APK" with string dissolve
- layer with logo "APK" with particle dissolve
- solid white layer with a wipe
- another layer with a wipe
- and a few more that I forgot
Check out that channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/AmericanParkour
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Plexus Test
Oh yeah. I did another test of a plug-in for After Effects. It's called Plexus.
It connects dots and lines. "Wow. Stupid." you might say.
FALSE. It's so cool. Just look at it. Look.
So basically. i made a circle shape. Added a fractal reaction. Messed with that to make it look cool. Duplicated it, made it smaller. And then made it spin along the x-axis for the whole video. Woah.
Then, I added two audio reactors. Made them into circle point things. (Didn't know I could do that.)
Lastly, I made some small thing on Trapcode Mir (last week's test) and used Trapcode Shine to make it shiny and bright. I think that spins too. Maybe. Not sure. Did it a few days ago.
Here it is.
It connects dots and lines. "Wow. Stupid." you might say.
FALSE. It's so cool. Just look at it. Look.
So basically. i made a circle shape. Added a fractal reaction. Messed with that to make it look cool. Duplicated it, made it smaller. And then made it spin along the x-axis for the whole video. Woah.
Then, I added two audio reactors. Made them into circle point things. (Didn't know I could do that.)
Lastly, I made some small thing on Trapcode Mir (last week's test) and used Trapcode Shine to make it shiny and bright. I think that spins too. Maybe. Not sure. Did it a few days ago.
Here it is.
Capture the Fall - Autumn Leaves
Let me start with exporting takes forever. And you have to do it nearly a dozen times before you figure out the right settings so you're video doesn't look like five pixels. Oh HD, how dearly I need you. Yeah, so. I've been trying to export this for about an hour now. Still working on finding the right format. Then comes uploading. And because I don't have FiOS Quantum, it'll be awhile. Because any video less than 100 mb is gonna look terrible. And upload speeds are extremely slow.
Finally, It's done. Free at last. Free of the terrors of all these dumb formats! Oh why can't it just be simple. .avi or .mov formats that aren't over 5 gigabytes, impossible.
Here it is. I did this one day with a friend and a neighbor (remember him from Senseless?)
Just some shots of us raking the yard, creatively.
Put in a awesomely pointless time-lapse. and voila.
(Yay for free intervalometers in hacked firmware that broke sister's $1000 camera. Woop woop. But it's all good. We got that insurance. #magiclantern)
Put on some color correction. Boom. Wonderful.
Next: Add a tilt-shift effect cause I felt like it, and who spends $2000 on a single-purpose lens anyway. Fools.
Next: Add some of that good music and titles. Yeah, they're cool. I guess.
Export. Reference first paragraph. and Upload. Oh, THE TERROR!
Finally, It's done. Free at last. Free of the terrors of all these dumb formats! Oh why can't it just be simple. .avi or .mov formats that aren't over 5 gigabytes, impossible.
Here it is. I did this one day with a friend and a neighbor (remember him from Senseless?)
Just some shots of us raking the yard, creatively.
Put in a awesomely pointless time-lapse. and voila.
(Yay for free intervalometers in hacked firmware that broke sister's $1000 camera. Woop woop. But it's all good. We got that insurance. #magiclantern)
Put on some color correction. Boom. Wonderful.
Next: Add a tilt-shift effect cause I felt like it, and who spends $2000 on a single-purpose lens anyway. Fools.
Next: Add some of that good music and titles. Yeah, they're cool. I guess.
Export. Reference first paragraph. and Upload. Oh, THE TERROR!
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Official Dystopian Trailer - Senseless
This is my group's dystopian trailer, Senseless. It was a long and tedious process to release, but a new, fun experience. In the end, I'd say I'm satisfied with the outcome. I know certain parts could've been better, but for the first real project of the year, it's decent.
Process:
Pre-Production
- Create a dystopain premise and start to develop a plot
- Start writing a scipt for the movie
- Make a storyboard to visualize the shots
- Make production schedule, scout locations, find actors
Production
- Get to locations, set up shots
- Film shots
- Review shots to see if they need to be reshot
- Redo shots if need be
Post-Production
- Import shots into computer
- Edit shots into composition, in right order, not too long, etc.
- Color correct shots
- Add Effects
- Add titles and credits
- Export video
- Upload to YouTube
Process:
Pre-Production
- Create a dystopain premise and start to develop a plot
- Start writing a scipt for the movie
- Make a storyboard to visualize the shots
- Make production schedule, scout locations, find actors
Production
- Get to locations, set up shots
- Film shots
- Review shots to see if they need to be reshot
- Redo shots if need be
Post-Production
- Import shots into computer
- Edit shots into composition, in right order, not too long, etc.
- Color correct shots
- Add Effects
- Add titles and credits
- Export video
- Upload to YouTube
Monday, November 5, 2012
Video Graphics Test
I've recently discovered many plug-ins for the editing program Adobe After Effects. A lot of them are really interesting, but also complex. Today, I decided to mess around with a plug-in called Trapcode Mir. It generates these 3D geometric designs that you can animate in many ways. You can color/texturize it with a random picture or video. It's pretty insane. Here's a video of what I came up with in an hour or two after the first time I forgot to save it even once and the program crashed. Editing is quite RAM and computer memory intensive, and at timse can slow your computer to the speed of a sloth.
To do this entire thing I had to:
- Install plug-in to After Effects
- Make a new project
- Make a new composition
- Add different layers
- Find a color gradient/texture
- Find a song
- Apply the effect
- Mess around with settings for a while to learn what they do
- Keyframe settings to animate the design
- Export from After Effects
- Upload to Youtube
- Find out the audio is too low and HD is amazing
so...yeah. I'll test a few more plug-ins when I have the time. Which means the end of the school year because CAP is a load of work at times.
Here it is:
To do this entire thing I had to:
- Install plug-in to After Effects
- Make a new project
- Make a new composition
- Add different layers
- Find a color gradient/texture
- Find a song
- Apply the effect
- Mess around with settings for a while to learn what they do
- Keyframe settings to animate the design
- Export from After Effects
- Upload to Youtube
- Find out the audio is too low and HD is amazing
so...yeah. I'll test a few more plug-ins when I have the time. Which means the end of the school year because CAP is a load of work at times.
Here it is:
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Expression through more unique means.
ASOS Puma 'Os Pixadores' from Pulse Films on Vimeo.
As of recent, I've been more interested in abstract art and graffiti, and when I saw this video, I was in awe. However, this video is about 'pixadores'. Pixadores are gang members in Sao Paulo who express themselves and tag their gang through art and graffiti, often times illegally. Now, is this right? No. Is it legal? No. Why would a company like Asos or Puma essentially sponsor this? This has been the question many people are asking. I, too, am confused, however, I don't really mind. It's definitely a better way of expressing themselves than killing people or committing much worse crimes as some gangs do, but it's still illegal. It's hard for me to side against these guys though because of my interest in their art and all. I don't mind small crimes like trespassing or whatever these artists are doing. As long as you're not disrupting anything or damaging anything, I don't see anything wrong with trespassing. Psh. Why not be communist? Let's all share our property. Sounds good to me. And their graffiti can always be removed if need be.
The process itself interests me. I love scaling walls and buildings. It's not hurting anyone, but the fact it's sometimes illegal is exhilarating. On top of that, most people haven't been on these roofs, etc. which, to me, is entertaining because it's almost like the most basic form of exploration. Sometimes you can see everything from a different view, or see new things you've never noticed.
And about the video, it's good. Really well done. Color correction on spot. Angles and speed of film perfect. Interesting story because I don't think many people know of these pixadores, or at least in the United States. Music and sound effects fit well.
Monday, October 15, 2012
A Look At Our Law Enforcers
Saw this shocking video today. I've heard similar stories before on the radio station NPR. Every time, it's so angering. It just gives people even more reason to hate the police, which I slowly find myself doing. I respect the police when I see them, but slowly, through media, I feel I'm being slightly brainwashed. There's a feeling inside my head that wants to hate the police, and there's reason for it, as shown through this video. I want to believe the police and law enforcement systems are doing their job correctly, but it's difficult with evidence like this. When someone hasn't even done anything illegal, and the police officers try to find something to charge them for, and the way they disrespect the "criminals" is simply bothersome. Especially because it has to do with race and other things, irrelevant to the crime "committed".
Now, I myself, as most people have committed minor crimes if they're even worthy of that title. J-walking, trespassing, blocking pedestrian traffic, just to name a few. Knowing things like this are being used to arrest people is enraging. Many of these simple laws are for our own safety, and definitely, for first time offense, are not as punishable as some police departments make them.
Just saw this video and felt the need to write a reaction.
*Warning* Lots of explicit language
Now, I myself, as most people have committed minor crimes if they're even worthy of that title. J-walking, trespassing, blocking pedestrian traffic, just to name a few. Knowing things like this are being used to arrest people is enraging. Many of these simple laws are for our own safety, and definitely, for first time offense, are not as punishable as some police departments make them.
Just saw this video and felt the need to write a reaction.
*Warning* Lots of explicit language
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Life in a Handstand: Homeless (Ep 4)
This video series is an interesting concept, and is incredibly well done. The filming and color correction look cinematic. It uses sliders, timelapses, film grain, and lots of other great stuff. Some really interesting camera angles that definitely help get the point across, like the close ups of the cigarette scene. Visive Productions is the best filming group I know that's not some major Hollywood group. They only use DSLRs (Two Canon 7D's) and a GoPro, I think.
Considering it's not a real actor, decently emotional, and the fact he's totally not homeless cause he drives an Audi.
Oh...and the skills required to balance on his hands...not easy as well. Props to Livewire.
Considering it's not a real actor, decently emotional, and the fact he's totally not homeless cause he drives an Audi.
Oh...and the skills required to balance on his hands...not easy as well. Props to Livewire.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Russians
Psh. Russians. They must not have backbones or something. Parkour and freerunning at its finest.
So explanatory. Nothing explains it better.
But basically, this video has some of the craziest moves I've seen. Russians always seem to be the first to do the new trick and seem to be able to morph themselves like nobody else. Who else does gainer precisions? Anyone else wanna try running forward, doing a backflip and landing on something else? Doubt it. Or jump, do half a gainer, and catch a 3 foot high bar in your legs and not hit your head, and then land on your feet. Impossible.
Parkour analysis makes me sound like some crazy person. like that guy ^
*excuse explicit content. once again*
So explanatory. Nothing explains it better.
But basically, this video has some of the craziest moves I've seen. Russians always seem to be the first to do the new trick and seem to be able to morph themselves like nobody else. Who else does gainer precisions? Anyone else wanna try running forward, doing a backflip and landing on something else? Doubt it. Or jump, do half a gainer, and catch a 3 foot high bar in your legs and not hit your head, and then land on your feet. Impossible.
Parkour analysis makes me sound like some crazy person. like that guy ^
*excuse explicit content. once again*
Dystopias in Pop Culture
I recently remembered this music video I saw a while ago and thought it a great example of a dystopian world. Everything about it is fantastically done. It's interesting to see these sort of videos in pop culture.
*excuse any explicit content*
*excuse any explicit content*
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Dystopian Trailer Poster
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Dystopian Film Trailer Review/Critique
V for Vendetta . James McTeigue . R. 2005
When Great Britain becomes a totalitarian nation, a rebel, by the name of V (Hugo Weaving), starts a revolution, calling on the people of the country to help him revolt. He rescues a woman, Evey (Natalie Portman), to later find her to be a useful partner in crime.
A dystopia, by definition, is "an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one." (Google). V for Vendetta is a trailer that contains these aspects of a dystopia: a totalitarian society and a nation where many citizens were unhappy. The director conveys these ideas through the use of a speech given by the head of the government (1:16), and the use of montages displaying the government's power (i.e. 1:27). The trailer is edited with a dark, grey/blue tone to show the dreariness of the situation. The language throughout the trailer is all very powerful and emotion-provoking. There are many quick flashes to keep the viewer on the edge of his or her seat, nervous for the people of the the nation in the movie. There are also many scenes of violence and chaos showing how horrific the place the dystopia takes place truly is. The director uses these and many other techniques to provide the qualifications for a dystopian story.
In my own dystopian trailer, I plan to use many different filming techniques to communicate the dystopian theme. I hope to color correct the footage to cool colors and darken and sharpen it to give it a grungy feel. I also want to film in contrasting environments to show the difference between the high and lows of society in our dystopia. I will use dramatic voiceovers of the main character to keep the viewer's attention through listening closely, as well as watching carefully. With these different techniques and others, my group's trailer has a lot of potential.
5x5 Video Project
1. A shot from an outlook of a town/village near El Salvador's capital, San Salvador
2. A shot of a fishing pier and market at a beach on the Pacific Ocean, south of the village Zaragoza
3. A shot of a wild, starving dog at the foot of "La Puerta del Diablo" translated to be "The Gate of the Devil"
4. A shot of some performers demonstrating traditional Salvadoran dances
5. A shot of a village on the way to the capital, San Salvador
For this video, I used the Canon EOS T2i with the 18-55mm kit lens. This was edited on Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5. The edit was simply compiling the clips, no color correction or changing the audio. Everything went smoothly, without any problems.
Personally, this 5x5 is probably as good as I could get with the limitations, but there are a few things that I would've preferred. The video itself is a bit grainy, and shaky, but it's handheld, what can one expect. I also obviously, would've preferred to be able to color correct, etc.
For our next independent video project, I think it'd be interesting to have everyone make a video that displays some parts of their life, similar to a day in the life video. It could be hobbies, school life, etc.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
For our third assignment, we've been told to find an expert on a topic we're interested in relating to our class. It was required we read an article about subscribing and connecting to people through RSS Readers.
The article talks about the new methods of learning provided by the internet, called the "Collaboration Age" because it allowed students to collaborate with peers, and find experts on topics to learn from. This technology allows one to work with people from all over the world. Different websites or apps can be used to tag websites, write documents as a group, share media, and much more. These tools can prove very beneficial for students, but only if used correctly. This style of learning and teaching requires teachers to step back and rethink their role as a teacher: to be more of a connector than a knowledge provider. This new age would force kids to think about the content of what they're engaged in, whether it can be trusted. If controlled, this new teaching method could be one of the most effective ways to this day.
Annotations: http://diigo.com/0sx64
The article talks about the new methods of learning provided by the internet, called the "Collaboration Age" because it allowed students to collaborate with peers, and find experts on topics to learn from. This technology allows one to work with people from all over the world. Different websites or apps can be used to tag websites, write documents as a group, share media, and much more. These tools can prove very beneficial for students, but only if used correctly. This style of learning and teaching requires teachers to step back and rethink their role as a teacher: to be more of a connector than a knowledge provider. This new age would force kids to think about the content of what they're engaged in, whether it can be trusted. If controlled, this new teaching method could be one of the most effective ways to this day.
Annotations: http://diigo.com/0sx64
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
Today was my first day using the website/app Diigo. It lets you annotate on text and create tag lists.
The movie review was structured mainly around the plot, giving bits of information about the characters. It seemed to avoid the cinematic and dramatic aspects for the most part. The author seemed to be quite critical of the movie despite the popularity and recommendations among people. He first compared "Inception" to other movies about the mind and dreams and then gave his opinion. The review lacks recommendation.
I think for our film class's movie reviews, we could give a basic plot overview, discuss the main characters, setting, and cinematographic aspects, such as: angles, transitions, color grading, etc. Analyzing all the different aspects of a film will only better our understanding of movie-making and help improve our own videos.
See my annotations of a movie review of "Inception" by A.O. Scott of the New York Times.
"This Time the Dream's on Me"
http://diigo.com/0sswq
The movie review was structured mainly around the plot, giving bits of information about the characters. It seemed to avoid the cinematic and dramatic aspects for the most part. The author seemed to be quite critical of the movie despite the popularity and recommendations among people. He first compared "Inception" to other movies about the mind and dreams and then gave his opinion. The review lacks recommendation.
I think for our film class's movie reviews, we could give a basic plot overview, discuss the main characters, setting, and cinematographic aspects, such as: angles, transitions, color grading, etc. Analyzing all the different aspects of a film will only better our understanding of movie-making and help improve our own videos.
See my annotations of a movie review of "Inception" by A.O. Scott of the New York Times.
"This Time the Dream's on Me"
http://diigo.com/0sswq
Thursday, September 6, 2012
I'm Sam. I'm a sophomore at Blair. I do parkour and play cello. I have a sister who is a junior also in CAP. I'm really interested in cinematography and video editing. I'm a terrible actor and don't particularly like being in front of the camera. I recently bought myself a DSLR and edit using Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro, however, in this class, we're using Final Cut Pro. I'm excited to learn a new program. I like the mechanics of filmmaking, as well as the accessories, lenses, and editing programs. I did two years in middle school of a film-making class and a semester in high school. Of the video-making I've done, it would be hard for me to choose one as a favorite because I often find myself unsatisfied with my work shortly after it's completed and I've never gotten to make videos on topics that particularly interest me.
We could use these blogs this year to express our opinions on our school assignments, update each other on how a project might be going, and share media we find to be fascinating and intriguing as inspiration for others.
We could use these blogs this year to express our opinions on our school assignments, update each other on how a project might be going, and share media we find to be fascinating and intriguing as inspiration for others.
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