Cucalorus

I attended the final shorts screening of the Cucalorus festival, The Strange Beauty Challenge.  Going into the screening I was unaware that all of the shorts were shot and edited over the course of the weekend.  After seeing the shorts and then learning that they were all shot and edited that weekend, I was much more impressed with what each of the groups had accomplished.

The intro to the screening was a bit humorous, although at this time many of the people were drunk and restless, just waiting for the screening to start.  Each of the shorts I enjoyed although there were definitly a couple that stood out to me.  Probably the most popular short was about a larger Native American, (Im assuming this) who was digging holes in his yard and talking to the camera.  The whole digging part of the video was slowed down and shot beautifully.  Shots from on the shovel or in the ground were great but the best were of the large man waving his long hair as if he was some sort of super model.  The whole voice over interview of the video was hilarious to begin with but the randomness of this man digging a hole in his yard set me over the edge.  I was laughing for basically the entirety of the video.

The other short I liked was about a kid who wakes up in the morning, takes a tab of acid and then journeys into the woods.  The simplicity of the video is what drew me to it.  The visual of the electronic after effects in the middle of a forest looked amazing and very surreal.  It was funny and beautiful, but at the same time strangely frightening.   

Another one that stood out was the one about a kids dream he had.  He narrated his dream to his friends while images and sounds of what he dreamed appeared on screen.  Im not sure if I only liked the piece becuase of the catchy tune that played underneath the narration or because of the playfulness  of the video.  After hearing the directors talk about their films I learned that the eleven year old kid explaining the dream actually played a big part in filming the video.  It was pretty interesting to see a collaboration of a father and son who's motives and philophies are probably completely different.

Heres the song that has been stuck in my head ever since I saw the video.

This video always makes me happy

Self Portrait

When I first thought about doing the self portrait I thought I would incorporate skateboarding and snowboarding somehow.  Maybe slow motion shots of skateboarding and me dressed up in various ski and skate outfits posing with my boards.  I thought this would be a good representation of me but its really not.  Sure I love skateboarding and snowboarding and would love to become a snowboard bum but thats not who I am right now. 

Right now I am enjoying my time with friends and strangers as I try to make it through each week of school.  Sure I party and drink probably more than most of the UNCW campus but its not because I have to.  Most of my off time when I'm not working on films or in class is spent with friends as we try to amuse ourselves.  I wanted to really just get a portrait of the everyday life of me.  It really is a self portrait of one of my weekends.  The look i was going for had to do with the way that alcohol and drugs affect our own perception.  Everything looks all glamorous and sparkly while in reality it could look completely different. 

I decided to use the fish eye lens because it also lead to the feeling of drunkenness or altered perception.  Depending on close you are to an object with it, it can totally change the image of it.  Objects seem to move and morph as you move the camera similarly to how someone really drunk might see objects moving.  The constant in and out and spinning movements of the camera also were meant to get across the feeling of inebriation.   I would have liked to experiment with the fisheye lens a bit more but it was definitely a learning process as I was not able to see exactly what I was shooting.

Music Video Idea

After hearing Zac's idea about his vision for the music video, I was really excited.  I thought not only did the idea or contrasting our animalistic nature to the club/dance scene was good but I thought it would work wonderfully on Super 8.  It would be a sort of mix between the old and the new, the primitive and the modern.  The contrast of the look of the old film with the fresh sound of electronic music would add even more to the video. 

Our original idea was to have a bunch of people in animal mask and animal prints dancing in the forest behind UNCW.  We realized that this would be very hard to do, not only because its in the forest, but because its hard to get a bunch of people who don't know each other to dance with each other in the middle of the day.  After that didn't work out, we wanted to get a lot of shots of people actually dancing at parties.  I thought of doing it at my house it also hard to get people to dance when you have spotlights shining on them.  Overall I really like how the video turned out and although some of the footage we thought we had didn't turn out, the final product managed to get the exact message we were looking for.      

Assn 1B Response

I really enjoyed doing all of the sound recording for the first assignment.  Besides going through all of my things throughout my house to find objects that might sound cool, it was really interesting to hear the sounds after and while they were recorded.  It really made me think about all of the sounds that I hear on a daily basis such as the creak of my door, the hum of my car, or a bottle crashing into the recycling bin.  You never really seem to notice these sounds and their level of depth until you really focus on listening to them. 

Listening to all of the other groups sounds was also really fun.  Trying to figure out what object was actually making a sound was sometimes difficult.  The project definitely taught me a lot about how to go about recording sound and the difficulties associated with it.  I never been a big sound person although I have always loved music and think I am good at finding good songs to go with video.  I believe sound is a huge part of the film making process and can really make or break a great video.  After seeing some of the equipment that feature films use to record sound I can see why it is needed.  There are so many different things that can go wrong while recording sound that you might not notice at first, but could come back to haunt you later.  I will definitely give a lot more attention to sound recording and design as I continue to make films.    

Sound Design

As I thought about the sound design for our interactive media, I thought it needed to be more of an ambiance than anything else.  The main idea behind our presentation is light and how it reflects and refracts so I want to play off this idea of reflecting with the sound design too.  The same way that light reflects, you can have sound reflect, or echo.  The first thing that comes to mind for ambiance noises are sounds or rumbles that will echo in the form of a sine wave.  The constant up and downs of the sound will give a sense of reflection in the small area as light is also reflected throughout the space.
  We have referred to the center of our piece as a sort of black hole.  I want to create a sort of space atmosphere with low rumbles and sounds that reverberate and fade out.  The deep bass rumble would be like that of a space ship hurtling through space or like something you would hear if someone was in a space suit.  The faint sound of air rushing through a small space could also give the sense that you are moving inside the space.  I want the sound to not only be a part of the presentation but to enhance it.  I think making the sounds feel as if you are not in a familiar place will help to bring a sense of uneasiness or wonder to the project.

Light Response - My Room

Throughout most of the day me and my roommates tend to keep our blinds closed.  When I do crack the blinds in my room though, it is filled with shadows.  My room is filled with a grid like wall as the shadows of the blinds are cast throughout the room.  My multiple computer screens cast a small glow from my desk while my computer creates a blinking light from under the desk.  The small bathroom in the corner looks much darker and the light from my room seems to invade the space.  The shadows in the room create a weird ambiance in the room when the blinds are cracked that almost makes me feel trapped.  Maybe this is why I never open them. 

Sound Response and Matt

The presentation by Matt Hulse was very interesting.  It really help put into perspective how important sound is to a films production.  Each different recording told its own story in a different way.  Some were more musical while others were simply voices or monologues.  To me it was like reading a book where there are no images except the ones in your head.  It let you concentrate more on what was playing and allowed you to hear the highs and lows of the audio.  You could hear the curiosity in the blind girls voice and the pain behind the woman's monologue.  The whole project has given me a new respect to sound artists in general.  They have to create the "other half" of the movie and have many ways of going about it.  Even just recording in a house had its complications, I cant even imagine what its like in a crowded area or exterior shot.

Absolute Film Response

I don't know why the author starts off by saying how its sad that one of the alternative names to "absolute films" is experimental film.  After stating this, he goes on to talk about all of the ways in which early film makers experimented in order to make new films.  That is really what it was during the beginning, people experimenting with film to see what they could create.  They experimented with film almost the same way that writers make multiple drafts and revisions.  Except these filmmaker experimented with different techniques and methods to develop and manipulate film.  These were the pioneers of modern day animation.   Today, they may not be experimenting as much but they are still using alternative ways to make and view a film.

Sound Observation Numero Uno

Mi Casa

When my house doesn't have loud party music blaring or multiple friends arguing over what fast food restaurant they should go to, I consider it to be a pretty quiet place.  As I take off my headphones and listen, I notice that it's not so serine after all.  My computer fans roar from underneath my desk like a small airplane while outside the deep rumble of the air conditioning can be heard.  Farther away, I can hear the pounding bass of a car sound system driving by.  Across the hall I hear the murmur of sports center hosts talking to an empty room.  A dog barks across the street, possibly at a passerby but hopefully at the possum residing in my attic.  All these sounds remind me why I always work with music playing.         

Picture

I'm not going to put a picture of me up, but instead here is a picture of my friends talking to a homeless man in Myrtle Beach.

My introduction

Intro

I am Jack Desmond, a twenty year old film student.  For as long as I remember I have been very interested in movies but it wasn't until I actually started using my parents video camera to make my own films.  They were very childish and crude at first, but I began experimenting with other types of film such as claymation and machinima.  I always found myself coming back to live actor films though and that's what I would like to continue doing.  Some of my favorite directors are Danny Boyle, Christopher Nolan, and Wes Anderson.  I like independent movies and anything that breaks away from the Hollywood norm.  I also enjoy editing as I have had lots of practice as a kid and feel that it is one of the most creative aspects in a films production.

Intro to Avant Garde

 Today, many people watch avant garde and experimental films and have no idea what they are watching.  They don't immediately find a story to follow and then find it hard to follow the rapid succession of images usually displayed.  We are so used to the Hollywood model of film making today that anything other than it looks primitive.  They don't take it for what it is as a group of images used to portray a message or meaning, which is really what all film is.  Avant Garde films just go about it in a different manner, with similar images, shapes and colors.  The original film makers were bound by this model of film making and many people who hadnt seen many narrative films found them fascinating.

Jonas Mekas

Jonas Mekas speaks similarly about avant garde films.  They are art pieces meant to be shared and appreciated by those who are interested.  There is no inner desire to become rich and famous with avant garde films like there is with narrative films.  Personally I would rather follow the devil and take the popularity and money.  But those who make avant garde films are like underground film makers.  To me it is the same as the music industry.  The radio only plays what it wants you to hear but dig a little a deeper into youtube or itunes and you will find a huge array of songs that you will love.