Student Originated Studies: Media

The Unicorns drive blew up.  Literally, there was smoke coming out of it.  Luckly we had a back up of about 75% of our work and our material.  Let's see what we can do with that...

Morgan 

I have been working on unicorns for the last 4 days pretty much non stop.  We finally got to a point where we could look at the footage that we had, and to make decisions based on what was there rather then what we wanted to be there.  So we have decided to take one element and run with that.  This means that we are going to have to discard about 65 percent of the footage that we have shot, and rework the other 35 percent.  It also means that we have to do another couple of shoots.  But I think that it will all work out in the end.  I will write later about what we are actually doing, but I am too burnt now to take that on.

Morgan 

I think I have finished my resume. But I need some more eyes to gaze upon it's glory. Please tell me what you think!!!  I need to know how it sucks so as I can improve my marketability.

Thanks

Morgan

I think I'm going to stop podcasting for a while. The idea was that I would be able to better process the things that I was thinking about through talking, but it seems like I was just rambling. So I think it might be better to just write out basic sketches of my ideas in written form so that they are easier to digest.

I just got back last night from Montana. I drove to Billings with my good friend in a small truck to pick up a motorcycle for him. It was good to get away from screens and see a lot of country that I haven't seen in almost a decade. I really like driving, but Montana is brutal. Long stretches of “No Services” exits and strip malls in all the cool little towns I remember. We couldn't even find a proper downtown in most of the towns we stopped at. A shame.

There were two things related to media production that this trip taught me. They are linked somehow, but I am not quite sure what the connection is. I have been reading these articles for New Media Studies and they got me thinking a lot about technology and how we are linked to it. I brought my cell phone but had it turned off most of the time. It seems that lately my cell phone has been a source of anxiety and disconnection. I am afraid when it rings that something annoying is going to happen. But the person that I went with had his phone on all the time and was constantly text messaging people in Seattle. I don't think there is anything wrong with it, but I wonder in what ways his fixation with his phone (only an exaggeration of my own fixation) effects the way that he deals with the world? Are we loosing something important by being so technology focused? Does it matter? What role do we play in this as media artists? So I have been thinking about that in general. I don't really have anything brilliant thought out at the moment but I think they are important things to think about.

I made a remix based on the writings of Paul Miller.  You can listen to it here: 

http://www2.evergreen.edu/newmediastudies//files/newmediastudies/NewMedi...

It is music only...

Morgan 

So for the unicorns project we have started to put together an assemble edit so we can tell what we have and what we need to do to put together a coherent piece. This was never the ideal situation, but always in our mind because we knew that we had so many things against us. The thing that we really lack in continuing the project full bore and trying to complete it all is energy and lust. We seemed to have burnt all of that out in the first two quarters of our adventure. It is amazing how many resources and people it takes to do narrative and I am glad that I jumped in head first. I am glad that we have did it. I am starting to see no difference between experimental work and narrative, that divide has slowly been corroding ever since I started this project. I am starting to understand what draws me to the motion picture and where I want my work to go from here.

So the other things that I am working on are an extension and an articulation of this. My work is intended to make you feel first and think second. This is problematic, because I certainly want to make work that engages on many levels. Also, because I am so interested in the emotional qualities of my work, I sometimes ignore things in my work that are problematic. For example, I noticed as I was watching my work during the WIP screening, that both of my pieces had negative portrayals of the Jewish faith. This was not my intention and I didn't even realize that both of my works touched on this theme. This is a small example, but I need to be more focused on those issues and keep working on refining them in my own work.

Personal Syllabus and Goals Statement

In Spring quarter of SOS Media I intend to finish a number of shorts that are in an almost finished state, finish the unicorn project and have it ready for screening as well as refining the script and start to prepare a package for investors, complete a resume, reel, and other materials for future jobs and grad school, continue to produce safe harbor and continue to create a media community here in Olympia and maintain the safe harbor contacts we have made in other parts of the country. I also want to make a portfolio DVD of my best work so far.

Week 04 (04-23 to 04-29): progress begins
Begin work on the smurf short and lines. Recut these. Attend PDX and the Alliance for Community Media Northwest region conference. Continue assemble edits with unicorns. Put together Safe Harbor.

Week 05 (04-30 to 05-06):

Finish assemble edits for unicorns. Continue work on Smurf and Lines. Meet with SafeHarbor group.

Week 06 (05-07 to 05-13):

Help Anthony with his work. Continue working on Smurfs and Lines. Begin work on ? If time allows. Have John critique the edit. Take his suggestions. Meet with Jed and Brad and figure out where we can go from here. Work on portfolio DVD.

Week 07 (05-14 to 05-20):

Unicorns? Shooting? Editing? ..Finish Smurfs and Lines. Continue working on ?

Week 08 (05-21 to 05-27):

Unicorns? Shooting? Editing?  Continue working on ? Work on portfolio DVD.

Week 09 (05-28 to 06-03):

Finish everything up. Edit edit edit edit. Finish Portfolio DVD.

Individual meeting with Julia

Unicorns: I am just going to write a quick update on what we have been up to lately. And the short answer is: not much. We came to the conclusion that we can't keep production up the way things were going, we just don't have the money and the manpower, so we are working on strategies for shooting what's left with the script. So I have made a list of what we haven't shot, those familiar with the project can see exactly how much work we still have left to do. Basically we have just been kicking around some ideas in our minds in terms of other ways of communicating the ideas that we laid down. When can we use a still picture montage? When can we use computer animation? When can we use a vidster and no lighting setup? Also, I am spending the next two weeks adding another 20 pages to the script, so that it can be feature length. You will updates on that as they happen...

There are a number of new blog posts on the Trouble With Unicorns Blog, detailing the set construction and production of the factory scenes we shot at the weekend of Winter W10, and production stills, and a few video blogs. Check it out!

 ~Jed

  my blog also has some newly updated posts, on general and specific things of interest.

There is a new blog post on the Trouble With Unicorns blog, detailing some technical and informative information regarding the chroma key pixilation shoot that happened at the beginning of the month. 

Some people have expressed intrest in reading the full script for our project.  Please please please read it and tell us what you think.  Be as brutal or nice as you feel, but the reason that we are in SOS is to get feedback and that means feedback from you!!!

Thank you...

Morgan and Brad