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Post by Fickle81 on Mar 26, 2007 9:57:26 GMT -5
Just a quick update before I get back to work... I started the new,and hopefully last,quarter today. I'm taking 2 classes...Foley Art and Design (Mondays and Wednesdays from 9-11 AM) and Music Video (Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-3 PM). Yes I'm still working my part time job on top of this,but now that I've confirmed that the Foley Art is 2 hours instead of just 1,I have to adjust my schedual to the point where I have to stay at work till 7 PM,rather than 6 or 6:30 PM,on Mondays and Wednesdays. Now for the real reason why I'm posting this update...today I was asked by my teacher to submit both my Intermediate Narrative AND Documentary videos for the Downtown Digital Arts Festival thats coming up: www.cscc.edu/ddaf/Now I don't know this is true for sure,but I think the reason for this is because he hasn't gotten a significant number of video entries and the deadline is this Wednesday or Thursday (he say Wednesday but the site says Thursday). I'm not the only person he asked,which supports my theory. Never the less,it's still cool that I have the opportunity to get my work shown and possibly even win an award (although thats highly doubtful in my opinion).
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Post by Fickle81 on Mar 28, 2007 16:25:55 GMT -5
Not off to a very good start...at all...
First,I find out that the adaptation music video is to be done BEFORE the local band music video,which is the exact OPPOSITE of what I was told by somebody who took the class,which fucks up some of my planning.
Next,I've been told by my instructor that my intial concept for said adaptation music video isn't going to work dispite the fact that I think it's downright brillient and dispite how much I've debated that to him...so now,I gotta haul ass and rush to quickly come up with a brand new narrative concept and song to use in exactly 6 days that may not even be able to be done due to the scheduals of others,AND produce a script,storyboards,and shotlist for it...it's like the shit I went through with Dead Wrong (my second narrative) all over again,which is what contributed to it being my least favorite piece of work I've done...and on top of this,I still have to work to get some things prepared for the local band music video...<chants to self>I wanna be a film maker,I wanna be a film maker,I wanna be a film maker.</chants to self>
Third,I'm instructed at the last fucking minute to submit my audio final projects into the DDAF by tomorrow...and I didn't even want to submit those because of the sheer fact that I get tool chills just listening to them,especially my rendition of Hey Diddle,Diddle where I talk with a hillbilly twang...
Forth,I keep asking my instructor for the name of a certain song that he used in the video promotion of the DDAF so I could possibly use it for the adaptation music video,and he keeps giving me the wrong fucking songs...UGH! If he does it one more time,I might just have to slug him right in the mouth.
Finally,on top of ALL of this...I'm recieving a generous amount of pressure,from my father who refuses to comprehend that I've got way too much shit going on right now,to have the website for the city's Veteran's Memorial done by early May.
With all this shit going on all at once PLUS my job,needless to say my brain has been fried to a crisp pretty much since yesterday...I've already lost a generous amount of sleep,so much that I even forgot to bring in my flash drive today,and just my luck,we started our first Foley Art assignment today where that flash drive is needed...FUCKBALLS!
I'll tell you this right now...If I can make it through this quarter with my physical health,sanity,and without seriously injuring somebody,I'll be virtually unstoppable...
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Post by Fickle81 on Apr 3, 2007 14:35:28 GMT -5
That...was OFFICIALLY...THE MOST HELLACIOUS...pre production I've ever endured. To those that might think making music videos is easier than straight narrative films,you better wake the fuck up and smell what you're shoveling. Yea you only have 3-5 minutes to deal with as opposed to 15-20+ minutes,but there are a SHITLOAD more shots/cuts in a music video than in a narrative film...in fact,the average is a cut every 2 seconds...so that means theres a brand new shot every 2 fucking seconds,which means a fuckload more storyboards and shots on the shotlist...also add in the fact that music video storyboards have to have time labels on them...yea,it's fucking horrendous.
I stayed up well past the early morning (went to bed around 8:30 AM only to get up at noon for the 1 pm class) and worked for about 6 hours straight and got everything done (treatment,storyboards,and shotlist,totaling 20 pages of material) that the other students probably spent an entire weekend on...my storyboards kinda suck because they are hand drawn (a blind Down Syndrome ladened paraplegic pissing designs in snow would have more talent and artistic value than my drawing skills),but since they got the point of the shots across,I don't care.
Seriously though,give it up...who's the king baby? I do in mere hours what it would take days for others to do...
...And now I'm going to sleep...
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Post by Fickle81 on Apr 17, 2007 1:41:55 GMT -5
Just a quick update before I head off to bed...
-The DDAF has come and gone. My documentary was screened during the festival,but as I predicted,I didn't win anything nor was I even nominated. I'm actually surprised that I wasn't able to predict the winner because the winner was a music video that was shown on BET. Eventhough it's a bit disappointing that I wasn't nominated eventhough I knew I wouldn't be,at least a certain fellow student and wannabe director snob didn't even get nominated either for his fancy black and white shot in 24p film noir. That should take him down a notch. I appreciate the fact that he helped me out on my second narrative,but he made an effort to snub me and most of the other fellow students that were at the awards ceremony by not even approching us and just walking right by us as if we weren't worthy of existence,so fuck him. Overall though it was a fun experience. Having my work at least screened is an achievement in it of itself and there were other fun times to be had (like me and 2 of my fellow comrades going Mystery Science Theater 3000 on some of the pieces shown). I may post poctures from the awards ceremony when I get them. Keep watching this particular post.
-I start shooting my first music video tomorrow. I can see myself going at it all day after class. The plan is to shoot the outdoor stuff tomorrow and then check the camera out on Thursday and keep it over the weekend to shoot all indoor stuff and possible pickups if needed. If I get the opportunity,I may even decide to work ahead and possibly get some rehearsal area shots for my local band music video.
-First Foley Art and Design assignment is done and it was cakewalk...but next class is when the real fun begins as work on the second assignment starts which ain't so easy.
Thats all for now...
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Post by Fickle81 on May 3, 2007 19:52:36 GMT -5
Well 2 of the major projects are complete...the first music video and the foley sounds. As you can tell from my inactivity on this board,these were both really time consuming.
According to my instructor,my first music video is one of the best things I've ever produced...which is funny seeing as how it was edited in about 6-8 hours over 2 days...on the first day of editing I told one of the students in the room working on the foley project,the one who just happened to have won the best in show award at the first ever DDAF,that I hadn't done a single bit of editing on it before then and the final product was due in 4 days (this editing day was on Friday),with the only other day open to working on it being the following Monday. He was like "Dude,you've REALLY pushed it...theres no way you're gonna meet the deadline". Apparently he didn't know he was talking to a pure superhero,and within an hour,I finished the first minute of editing in a 5 minute song...and it all synced up beautifully...when the guy saw it,he was stunned...he was like "Holy shit,thats sick! That 1 minute would have taken me all day to do,let alone making it sync like that!" What can I say? I'm surgical with that bitch. I'm sure that my music backround helped me alot in syncing the video to the music and even the lyrics at times.
I've had to pratically live in the fucking lab just to complete both of these projects (the foley one was a pain in the fucking ass)...and the worst has yet to come! Theres still the second music video,which will be even more complicated than the first (I'd like to shoot in 24p AND the live footage is a one shot deal),AND recording all foley sounds AND voice acting for a 3 minute animated clip (the parts in Batman The Animated Series where Batman encounters/fights Clayface in/on the roof of the hospital). I may have successfully jumped out of a burning hot frying pan,but I've jumped right into a pot of scolding boiling water...
I actually had planned to write more,but I'm having trouble remembering all of it due to my brain being fried from all the work over the past 2 weeks (school work AND work work,which I've had to once again adjust my schedual for),so lets just call it a wrap till the next blog post...
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Post by Fickle81 on May 13, 2007 2:04:10 GMT -5
Oh lordy,what a night...
Tonight was the night where I shot all my live shots for the new music video I'm working on. However,we also decided to shoot the entire set and put it on DVD as well as the music video. Since nobody really showed up,it was decided to not have any crowd whatsoever up near the stage dancing because that would hurt the band image and make it look like they barely have any fans.
Well,there was this old butch lookin drunk biker bitch in there that was constintly dancing to every band that came on. The first problem I had with this skank was when she came over after the first band had finished their set and threatened that if I didn't move the tripod from where it was,that she and some others were gonna knock it over. I turn to the owner of the venue,whom I'm pretty good friends with,and repeated what she had said,to wit he said "tough shit" right in front of her,loud enough so she could hear. Then he went over to where her and her buddies were and straightened their drunk punk asses out.
When it was time for the band I'm working with to do their set,she wasn't there at first...but when she came back in,she went right up to the front of the stage and started dancing (barely I might add). The guy I had guarding the area so nobody could get to the stage didn't see her,so he had to physically take her off. He said something to her,but I don't know what it was...but right after this exchange,she came over and said something to me,somehow expecting that I was gonna hear her with the loud music playing (but I sure could feel her stank alcohol ladened breath on my ear). I kept telling her that I couldn't hear what she was saying,which eventually pissed her off. She started demanding that she be able to dance,to wit my friend responded "you can dance,but dance right there...not up near the stage." That wasn't good enough for her and I saw her flipping me off out of the corner of my eye. Then soon after she just decided to go near the stage and start dancing again. When my helper went to physically remove her she snapped "DON'T TOUCH ME!",which required him to go get the owner,but not before I captured footage of her dancing and flipping off the camera.
Then after the owner told her to get the fuck out of the area,she wanted to sell some wolf tickets to me and my friend who was helping me. She kept yelling at me to "SHUT THAT FUCKING CAMERA OFF AND LET ME DANCE!",to wit I simply responded to shaking my head. My friend then told her to "sit down and shut the fuck up",to wit she yelled out "FUCK YOU!" Then when the song ended and before the next one started,she kept yelling "FUCK YOU TWO MOTHERFUCKERS!" and "IT'S STUPID THAT YOU CAN'T DANCE IN A PUBLIC ESTABLISHMENT!" Thats when I turned to her and yelled "YOUR DRUNK ASS WASN'T EVEN DANCING WITH ANY COHEIRENT RHYTHM TO BEGIN WITH,SO I'M DOING EVERYBODY A FAVOUR,NOW SHUT THE FUCK UP OR YOUR ASS IS OUT OF HERE!" Thats when she decided to get all up in my face as the next song started...thankfully for her the owner was right there and had had enough of her shit and threw her out,because if he wasn't,I was about to drop the bitch right there. There were even people that came up to me after the show was over and said things like "I'm so surprised you didn't kill that bitch","You really looked like you wanted to take her out" and "I really wanted you to knock that drunk bitch out"...and I was REALLY tempted to,cause I was already under heavy stress even before I got there and she was causing me a lot more. So now thanks to this drunk ass bitch,2 songs are gonna have to be taken out from the set footage. I've got half the notion to digitise the footage of her making an ass out of herself (the "DON'T TOUCH ME"/drunk dancing and flipping off the camera sequence),convert it to a quicktime file,and put it on YouTube under the title "Why You Shouldn't Drink" along with this story in the description portion.
As for the music video footage,I'm not 100% confident that they're gonna turn out good. For one thing,this is my first time working with 24p,which goes out of focus A LOT easier than 30p does. There were also some instances where I wasn't fast enough to set up certain shots. I won't know whether they turn out good until Monday,but if they don't,I will be in a world of shit cause this live footage was a one shot deal.
Thats it for now.
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Post by Fickle81 on Jun 7, 2007 18:18:49 GMT -5
At last,the nightmare is over!! MAN was that ever a hectic quarter...I've gotten more ocular migranes over the past 2 months than I've ever gotten in roughly 2 years...at least 11,one of which was 2 in 1 day,nearly one after the other! But as usual,I survived and came out on top with A's in the classes...and this time I have something to show for it: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic9iaN-u54YNow you may be wondering "But Kefka,you claimed to have already made 5 other movies,so why are you JUST NOW uploading one?!" Many reasons: #1:This particular video is going to be used for promotional purposes,so since it's going on the band's My Space anyway,I might as well put it on YouTube as well. #2:I don't feel any of the other videos I've made are "public viewing worthy" for many reasons that I'd prefer not to get into. #3:I neglected to convert the ones I previously made into Quicktime files (see above),so I can't upload them anyway. #4:Just like with My Space,I really didn't want to get into the whole uploading videos on YouTube thing for the reason of "everybody is doing it." I tend to not like going with a trend that everybody is doing as I like to stand out from the rest as my own person thats not influenced by trends...please don't confuse me with that "bitter cause he's never gotten any pussy" whiney stupid ass motherfucker CJ_01976,because at least I don't bitch about people who follow popular trends by calling them "trendy poseurs",following the trend of hating everything trendy in the process. #5:Piss off. But at least now you imbeciles that still like to think that I have no life whatsoever (I'm ESPECIALLY looking at YOU,pathetic) can finally shut the fuck up as the proof is in the video. Anyways,I might as well describe it the same way I did for my presentation: What I'm most proud of:The fact that I was able to do a lot with only a little. I only had 2 locations to work with,so I compensated with the use of switching back and forth from black and white to color and by employing some creativity by slowly revealing the band from nothing but equipment to the ground up until the full revelation in the first pre chorus. I'm also proud of the way the vocals match the mouth movement on the screen and the guitar/bass playing also matches for the most part. What I could have done better:The drumming on screen really doesn't match up to the drums in the song track well at all. This is because the drummer didn't remember how he played it on the album,we didn't have the album on us,and even if we did we wouldn't have had the time because he had to leave for work immediatly after the filming was over...but in the big scheme,it's not that big of deal because there are PLENTY of big legite videos that are played on MTV and VH1 where the instrument playing doesn't match the track used at all. There were also instances where I had to repeat certain shots,ESPECIALLY during the live concert shots (the price you pay for only having one camera on the scene...see below),which makes parts of the video a bit repetitive. There was also a particular closeup of the singer during the live performance where it goes out of focus for a brief moment...this was due to me accidentally bumping the focal ring while shooting. What I learned:SHOOTING LIVE PERFORMANCE FOOTAGE WITH ONLY ONE CAMERA IS A FUCKING NIGHTMARE OF EPIC PROPORTIONS! There were people that shot live footage for their videos that complained about it being tough to shoot with 2 or more cameras that I was tempted to inform that they don't have the slightest clue of what tough is and that they should shut the fuck up. I fucking WISH I had access to at least 1 other camera,but the promotor of the place only wouldn't allow more than one camera on the scene,so I had to work with what I got. LOTS of panning and zooming going on in the song (which thankfully didn't really impose into the video itself)...and I only had 1 shot to do it so if it got fucked up,I would have been royally screwed. Thankfully,other than the fact that the video gets a bit repetitive in places,it turned out alright. Interesting tidbit:In the first shot of the bridge of the song (the black and white one),pay attention to the bass player,Dave,as he wipes his nose during the break in the riff. Then in the very next shot (the live shot) in the very next part of the bridge on the same break,he wipes the exact same hand on his pants. For some reason I find that cool as hell as I didn't even remotly do it on purpose or plan it...it was whats known as a "happy accident". It's like he wiped his nose during practice,then didn't wipe it on his pants until the date of the live performance...which I find highly amusing. Also,if you're paying close attention to the closeup shot of the kickdrum (and/or have good eyesight),you can make out the reflection of me sitting on the floor and pointing the camera at said kick drum. Equipment/Software used:Panasonic DVX100A Digital Video Camera set at 24p (eventhough it was edited in a bin specified for 30p,dispite that I was told a bin set to 24p is required for it to even read 24p footage) with a shotgun mic hooked up to it,tripod,Fujifilm Mini DV Cassete Tape,Avid XPress Pro,Sorenson Squeeze. Hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to post critiques either via YouTube video comment or here. As for me,I get to have another 3 months off,although I wouldn't call it a vacation. I've still gotta go to work every other day,not to mention I still have some things on my plate such as designing the site for the city's Veteran's Memorial and finalising the design for the city's official Veteran's Memorial flag. Thats right baby,I'm the go to guy and a big time power player... UPDATE:Video is now on the band's official My Space: www.myspace.com/retoric
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Post by Fickle81 on Aug 3, 2007 21:19:57 GMT -5
No,this entry isn't an update on anything I've been working on lately. I'm still on my much deserved vacation in that department. I finally,after very small rewrites,decided to upload the very first feature lengh film treatment I ever wrote (for a screenwritting class). This was written before my other treatment Trojan Horse,which you can read here and comment on as a response to this. www.freewebs.com/kefkastrojanhorsetreatment/RiverCityTreatment.htmA few things: #1:I'm really not fond of the title...in fact,one of my rewrites was changing it from something that was even worse. I'm very open to suggestions as to what to call it. Drop me a line either by email,IMs,or a response in this thread if you have a good suggestion. #2:I've actually written the first act of the screenplay for this story already. Said first act takes up 31 pages (32 including title page). It was written back in early December of 05 (the treatment written roughly a month or 2 earlier). I've been lazy so it's never been finished. The only rewrites done to the treatment were the title change and a slight reworking of the big torture scene (adding in extra detail and quotes that weren't there before) #3:The way the second act plays out in the treatment is a very brief summary of the way it actually plays out. In the screenplay it will be significantly expanded to include scenes with the main character (David) which sheds some light on why he's in his current mental state and scenes of Caleb (the villian) in situations where his ice pick is brought out with him not getting to use it to build up what he eventually does with it. I'm also considering removing the death via eaten from the inside by fire ants because I don't see it as very plauseable/possible. I welcome any comments about it,whether it's praise or criticism...don't worry if it's the latter,you won't hurt my feelings.
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Post by Fickle81 on Aug 16, 2007 7:31:15 GMT -5
Ok so,I decided to start writting short descriptions and critical reviews for all of the films/videos I've done (at least directed,although most I also shot,edited,and produced) during my college career last night. This will probably shed a little bit of perspective as to why I haven't uploaded most of them for people to view online (and to show that I'm perfectly capable of admitting mistakes I've made or faults of mine). Unlike normal reviews,most of these will be reviewed with a scale rather than a full definate rating: Candy Colored Clown:(Filmed during the summer of 05)Plot Synopsis:While on his way to class,college student Thomas (the actor's real name) gets a song stuck in his head. At first he groves to it as if he knows and likes the song,but then it becomes an annoyance,and then even debilitatingly painful as the song gets louder and louder as time passes. Inspired by the flash cartoon Banana Phone.Review:Since this was the first film I ever made,some slack has to be given. I'm not saying that to excuse myself of any fuckups I personally made that made the film suffer,but rather I'm saying this because there were other circumstances behind it besides it being my first film that also contributed...restrictions such as only being able to shoot on campus,not being allowed to use a tripod,and only having 3 hours to shoot about 9 minutes (as it turned out to be) worth of editable footage. Combine all that with the fact that I had never really handled a DV camera of that magnitude before that point (they really need to have a class on just proper camera opperation),and didn't really have a lot of time to fumble around with it to get 100% comfortable with said camera as I had to rush to get the filming done (outside footage needed to be QUICKLY shot because of a storm heading our way),and you've got a whole lot of things working against me that while I handled the best I could for the film making novice I was,it still made some of the film suffer. Overall,the cinematography really wasn't good in any real sense. There were some shots where I used the zoom button that really didn't look good at all...in particular the establishing extreme long shot followed by a zoom in to create a medium/close up shot of Thomas' back,the CU/M shot of Thomas' face with a zoom out to create an EELS,and the LS followed by a zoom in to get an ECU of Thomas' face during the finale...you really shouldn't even use the zoom button for these types of shots I'm speaking of to begin with because thats what dollys are for (to make the movement of the shots smooth),but since I didn't have any access to a dolly (and never have),I didn't have much of a choice but to use the zoom button...and since my experience with the camera was severely compromised,the movement of these shots were very stiff and rigid. Then there were some focus issues. Once again,my lack of camera experience plays into this as most of them were the shots where I used the zoom to create movement,but there was one semi still shot that was out of focus that there really isn't any excuse for whatsoever...flat out,my eyes and my perception malfunctioned for some reason during said shot...nobody's and nothing's fault but my own. I'm also less than pleased with how the progression of the editing of the song used turned out. Again,like the zoom movement shots,it was very rigid. I may have made the song a bit too loud too soon,and since I wasn't willing to take it up full blast cause you're really not supposed to,you don't really get any impression that it gets any louder from the point where Thomas is at the vending machine,and theres probably 6 or 7 minutes left in the film after that point (not to mention 20 implied minutes). Also,the song litterally loops from beginning to end at least 3 times (total in the movie) at certain points...an impression you DON'T get with the Banana Phone cartoon,as the song seems longer than what it really is due to its structure and how the cartoon itself is structured...in hindsight,the song I chose may have not been the best choice to work with editing wise,thus teaching me that using something specific that carries backbone level significance to the plot just to make a vague reference to a movie I love usually isn't the best decision. The ending also could have been better,but that was a one shot deal that I tried to frame up as best I could,yet it still fucked up (hand and the coffee container the fake blood and brain matter appeared in frame)...so I had to change it to a "Gozu style" ending where you think it's over when the screen becomes black,only for the screen to fade back in for a very brief moment before fading to black again to officially end the movie. The ending isn't bad,but it's really not what I wanted. Now dispite all that negative about the film,there is actually some positive. For one,this was very much of a guerilla shot film...no traffic (there are 2 extreme long shots of Thomas crossing a fairly busy street that we needed to wait for traffic to clear before shooting) or crowd control whatsoever,making it a rather ambitious film for a low level novice film maker to undertake (perhaps a little too ambitious). Also I thought the acting was better than I expected it to be. While the song's volume level was inconsistent,I still believed that Thomas was in extreme pain because of it (maybe not so much in the end cause he could have actually screamed louder,but overall he wasn't bad). Believe it or not,the plot/movie actually has some substance to it as well,which was another good aspect of it...specifically,the purposeful playing and sometimes even bluring of the definitions of diegetic sound (sound where the source is visible on screen or implied to be present by action in the film that the character(s) and the audience can hear,such as a character's voice) and non diegetic sound (sound where the source isn't visible on screen nor is implied to be caused by any action in the film that the character(s) CAN'T hear but the audience can,such as a film's musical score). The song acts as BOTH the film's musical score AND something that the main character hears,thereby turing a typical non diegetic sound into a diegetic one for the main character (details in a sec). There are also spots where it implies that just because the character is on screen doesn't mean that the audience will hear the song that the character hears (any shots that are inside a building where the character is outside of). This concept of bluring the difference between the 2 types of film sound comes to light and full circle close to the end with Thomas in the class listening to the teacher's lecture about the difference between diegetic and non diegetic sounds,where shortly into it Thomas' head is in so much pain from the song that he has to leave to go home,dispite the other 2 characters in frame NOT being able to hear the sound dispite the song playing loudly in the scene. For a very first attempt at a film (short or not),its ambitiousness,substance,and acting carry it to the end rather well...but the film's already touched upon flaws in execution can be very distracting. Overall,it's not really good,but it's not really a complete piece of shit either. Flawed,but watchable. 3-3.5/5Dead Wrong:(Filmed during the winter of 06)Plot Synopsis:A character whose name is never revealed (credited as "The Homeowner") comes home after work and begins to relax,but then starts dealing with an apparent prankster constintly calling his house and not saying anything and knocking on the door and not being there when the main character answers. Are these just simple pranks,or is there something more sinister afoot? Is there even somebody perpetrating these apparent pranks,or is this all in the imagination of the main character?Review:...No sir,don't like it. This is hands down the worst of all the films I've made. Even with the restrictions,discomfort with the camera,rushed shooting,and inexperience that plagued my previous short film (CCC),said previous short film is STILL significantly better than this one...it's weird that I would take that much of a step backwards when all the obsticles I had to get over while making my first film are removed (although I still had some new minor ones that I dealed with in this one). For some reason my teacher disagrees and actually likes this one better than my first,and I have not a fucking clue why. Back in one of my production blogs,I actually stated that THIS was the "flawed but watchable" piece...well,I was dead wrong (pun intended) as that label is actually more applicable to Candy Colored Clown. Yes I significantly cut back on the zooming to create camera movement (theres only 1 instance of that here as opposed to 3 or 4 in CCC) and it's done much more fluidly and steadily than in CCC,yes the framing focus is better than it was in CCC (I used 1 rack focus in this...whoopdee fucking do),and yes it's not as shakey due to being allowed to use a tripod (although there were still a lot of handheld shots),but the cinematography is still FAR from perfect. There were some shot inconsistency issues with some shots essentially being a different color from each other for no apparent reason whatsoever (some shots weren't properly white balanced...again,my fault and nobody/nothing else's). Also,there is a fucking ridiculous scene towards the end that gives the impression that the villian has to use a flashlight to walk down the street at night dispite the area being dimly lit with street signs...this was due to the LCD screen on the camera giving my eyes the impression that the enviornment in the scene was actually darker than it really was and turned out to be during editing with no time to go back and reshoot it (I dunno whether to blame the screen or my eyes for that one). And then there was the HUGE fucking pacing issue where the movie litterally stopped dead in its tracks as the audience is forced to watch the main character watch his computer boot up...when I saw that during the presentation,I litterally cringed. It came back to life and picked back up after that,but there was really no reason to do that in hindsight and took me (and probably others) right out of the movie for what seemed like an eternity…defiantly a “what the fuck was I thinking?!” moment. And another thing...it's implied that the villian is actually a professional assassin to the point where the individual is able to stealthfully infiltrate a house and kill his target using circumstancial methods that would make it appear as if nobody was actually there...but theres just one problem:the set for the filming was my house,which has some of the creakiest wooden floors imaginable...I don't care how fucking good you or your sneaking techniques are,you cannot walk on most of the upper level of the house without being heard anywhere else in the house (even the lower level bunker where the fuse box is)...you could be Solid fucking Snake or Sam goddamn Fisher,and you'll still be heard walking around. And since this is blatently established early in the film with the main character walking around the upper level of said house before going into the computer room,I REALLY have no fucking clue how the villian could have realistically pulled off walking on said wooden floors to the computer room,then walk right back out and exit through the front door (a NOISY door too I might add,as was also established) without being heard by the main character down in the bunker fixing the fuse box...ESPECIALLY seeing as how there was no fucking ambient noise due to the power being cut,eventhough said sounds don't suppress the sounds of walking on the wooden upper level of the house as what was established in the film's beginning. However,eventhough the villian realistically wouldn't have been able to do it,I did edit it in a fashion that removes all the creaky floor noise and the noise of the door opening and closing. So as far as I'm concerned,while there technically weren't as many technical issues in this than in CCC,said technical issues in this are FAR more inexcuseable than the ones in CCC,especially due to the fact that I had far less restrictions (I didn't have to shoot on campus,had about a week or 2 to shoot,and was given additional equipment that I didn't have access to for CCC),had to deal with far less problems,and actually had experience. Now we come to the real reason(s) why I don't like this. While it had its fair share of technical issues,Candy Colored Clown got by on its good writting (particularly it's conceptual substance and bad character actions being kept to an almost nonexistent minimum) and decent acting...Dead Wrong,however,doesn't have either AND has distracting technical issues to boot. Lets cover the acting first since it takes the shortest amount of time and effort to talk about. Since I was already really detached from the movie due to its pedestrian and rather stupid plot (it was a backup idea that was created at the last minute...I blame both myself for not coming up with anything else more interesting AND I blame the rushed nature of the class...you really can't rush creativity),I didn't particularly care to make an effort to show any real distinction in any of the emotions of the main character. It's HINTED through dialog that the happenings might be related or flat out induced from stress at work,but you sure as shit wouldn't know that with how calm the actor is while playing the character...and if you already didn't have any doubts,you sure as fuck would when the character would get into a discussion about his film viewing and critiquing assignment at school and asking the person he's on the phone with if he had "seen the new MGS 4 trailer yet". Basically I had the actor essentially play himself when the part required somebody that could channel different emotions and vibes on a whim...it's not his fault,but rather mine,and I take 100% of the responsibility...and as you can clearly tell,I also didn't write the best dialog to go along with the situation. Which brings me to my writting issues with the piece. First of all,the title of the film AT BEST VAGUELY fits anything in the film at all. Whats Dead Wrong exactly? The fact that these pranks aren't pranks,but actually part of a sinister plan? The fact that whats going on isn't a dilusion of the main character's apparent "stress ladened" mind (which sure as shit isn't properly executed in the film)? The fact that the villian got the wrong address? See,you can only VAGUELY apply the title of Dead Wrong to these aspects of the plot,which pretty much makes it a bad title. At least Candy Colored Clown is a direct line in the beginning of the song used in the movie AND is a reference to Blue Velvet (along with the use of said song) because thats the title Frank Booth uses to call the song. Theres barely any relevence to the title of this movie at all. Then you have the villian's actions themselves. What exactly was the point of all the middle school prankster shit? I THINK is was to build up the aspect of the main character having paranoid delusions,but since I handled that aspect of it in an extremely shoddy fashion,it just came off as padding the clock...and I'm still not entirely sure if that was the aim and if it just would have come off as moving the clock forward in a retarded manner even with that aspect of the plot removed or handled a lot better,and if I'm not sure about something that I myself fucking wrote,then how the fuck can I expect an audience to get something out it? The villian ended up making their move after the cop left the house by cutting the power with the fuse box,then spiking the main character's beer with a poisonous substance (which was just salt in reality),so logically,why didn't the villian just do that to begin with? I'll tell you why...cause then the movie would be over in about 5 minutes and wouldn't meet the 10-15 minute requirement. So yea,the villian's plan was apparently to play a bunch of middle school caliber pranks to the point where the main character calls the police,and then when the cop leaves after finding nothing or nobody,thats when the villian finally decides to make a significant move...and after all that trouble,it turns out that he got the address of his target wrong...yet,it's implied that the villian is SUPPOSED to be a professional assassin? Yep,it's scatterbrained logic at best that really makes not a lick of sense. Without any real logic and acting chops present,there is not a single bit of tension to be felt. Now is there any good to this mess? Barely. The musical score I used was awsome and some of my shots were good...like the shot of the ceiling light/fan that appears at first to be a simple focus on an inadament object,but then the lights suddenly go out when the power is cut...and as I said earlier,I used a rack focus shot for the first prank phone call. Also I was able to get a real cop to come and act (again,playing themselves,which actually worked in that case)...finally,I like that you never see the villian,but only their black gloved hand kinda like your typical Argento giallo villian...but as far as I'm concerned,all that is just sugar on shit at this point. Overall,the movie is terrible,and if it were any worse than it already is,I'd disown it...I actually want to now,but that would be me not taking responsibility for any of its crappiness,and I simply cannot allow myself to do that if I want to be a successful film maker. Dead Wrong is the result of shooting something thought up and written in about 2 days without any real fleshing out of its ideas...yet for some odd reason,it's actually been respectfully (I think) referenced twice (once in one of the 3 training videos,which I had nothing to do with,that the advanced video class I was a part of shot) and the poster for it is STILL prominently displayed in the upper left corner of the bulletin board in the back of the classroom in which the A/V classes are run out of as of early summer of 07,even when posters for far more worthy films have already been taken down. There was actually at least 1 film made during that class that was,believe it or not,actually WORSE than this...but I still don't feel like thats something to be proud of or to use as justification to defend this shitbomb of mine. 1.5-2/5I'll probably write the next 2 later tonight (posting them tomorrow morning) and finishing off the last 2 tomorrow night...or depending on how fast they go,I may just finish off the last 4 tonight and post them tomorrow morning...we'll see...stay tuned...
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Post by Fickle81 on Aug 17, 2007 7:29:12 GMT -5
These last 4 reviews probably won't be as long as my previous 2 due to having no real plot to focus on. Also keep in mind that I'm rating them as SHORT films...just because I'm giving them a high rating (which I'm gonna start doing at this point) doesn't mean I actually believe that they're better than a feature lengh film that I give a lower rating to (unless said film is absolutly fucking unwatchably terrible,like Day of the Dead 2:Contagium as a blind and deaf mime could make a better film than that atrocity).
Path of Honor: The Gahanna Veteran's Memorial:(filmed during the winter/spring transition of 06)
Synopsis:
A 17 minute documentary about the Gahanna Veteran's Memorial in Gahanna Ohio,containing information about the inception of the idea for it,creation,structure,and annual ceremonies that take place there. Includes interviews with city council/veteran's memorial commitee members,the director of Gahanna's Parks and Recreation department,the mayor of Gahanna,and 1 war veteran. Narration by former Gahanna deputy chief Larry Reinhart (now the chief of Bexley I believe).
Review:
Well,it's a documentary...so all I can really comment on other than any technical aspects or issues is how informative it is...and in that sense,it gets the job done wonderfully if you're into boring documentaries about bland subject matter. Said subject matter was really a no brainer for me to make a documentary on seeing as how I automatically had near limitless amounts of sources to talk to on camera (that didn't get fully used to my 100% satisfaction...more on that in a sec) and because I actually helped build said memorial many years ago.
With that out of the way,how was it from a technical standpoint? Surprisingly,not bad. It has a great beginning and end sequence (basically the end is the same thing as the beginning only in reverse and at night rather than the beginning being in the daytime). I like how the progression is with the shots of the memorial to make it look like it's slowly progressing from early day to night,eventhough I just went and filmed certain memorial shots at whatever random part of the day that I felt like (basically,the progression was a happy acident). This is also the first film where I make great use of other transitions (specifically the dissolve) other than fade to black (I kept transitions to a bare minimum in my narratives to make them as "less like a movie" as possible). Other than shots of the memorial and interviews,the rest of the documentary just contains still images like shots of the construction and past memorial ceremonies to name a couple,and they are all used perfectly.
Now,how were the interviews? Well,most were good...but this is where my first issue comes in. 2 out of the 5 of them (the mayor and memorial committee member Becky Kneeland) were framed up rather terribly,giving them pratically no "talking space" whatsoever. If you notice the framing of most documentary interviews,you'll notice that there is a generous amount of space in relation to the placement of the individual in the frame so that it looks like they are facing and talking in the direction of said space...well,the mayor is all the way to the right of the frame and FACING the right...same with Becky Kneeland,only the room she was in is shot from a sloped angle so it's not as bad,but still. At one point I would have contemplated arguing that that was the only way I could frame them due to the structure of the areas they were filmed in,but I would have been completely incorrect to make that argument...and even if I was correct,thats still no excuse seeing as how I could have just had them do their interview shots in a more framing friendly location. Also,I learned after it was already too late that I gave a partially incorrect label to Becky Kneeland when she is first introduced...it says on the screen that she is both a Veteran's Memorial committee member AND a city council member,when she is NOT the latter. The other 3 interviews were framed up and labeled perfectly.
One last thing about the interviews,and I'm still not completely sure if this was a flaw or not...it was my father's (also co executive producer seeing as how he knows all the people interviewed and is a veterans memorial committee member) job to schedual the interviews with people,and although he successfully got all the major people,he missed the boat on getting more veterans interviews due to his own laziness (yet he had the fucking gall and nerve to claim that I was the lazy one and that he was doing most of the work...I swear I almost snapped when he said that because of all the stress I was under to get it done that he was contributing to,which probably would have lead to me litterally murdering him and going to prison for life). As a result,there is only 1 measly fucking veteran interviewed in the film. HOWEVER,this may be a good thing because as it is right now,it's already 2 minutes too long for the time limit requirement (thankfully I didn't get docked points),and I can only imagine how much longer it would be with one or even 2 more veterans giving their thoughts about the memorial.
Now for my MAJOR problem with it. A lot of the lighting in the film,even some of the outside shots,isn't that good. It's certainly bareable when watching on a TV or computer monitor,but as I learned when I saw the screening of it at the Downtown Digital Arts Festival,you can barely fucking see any of the badly lit shots when the movie is shown on a projector. It was so hard to see that I was litterally embarrased for myself when I saw it. Before then,baring the 2 occations of bad interview framing,I was very pleased with it...now,not as much.
Technical flaws aside,everything else is just fine. It's educational structuring is picture perfect,it moves at a steady pace,has an appropriate musical score,has some great use of transitions,has some good shot compositions (exception being the 2 mal framed interviews),has great use of stills,and the narration is awsome (although,there is a very slight echo due to the audio being captured in this computer room,but I wasn't allowed access to a foley studio so I didn't have a choice...besides,it's so slight that you barely notice...one fellow student even said that it sounded like Kevin Cosner was the narrator)...if only the lighting was better the rating would be higher. All and all,I'm modestly satisfied with it.
3.5-4/5
How To Fail Intro A/V:(filmed during the summer of 06)
Synopsis:
An 11 minute instructional video about the Panasonic DVX100A Digital Video Camera,how to properly use it,what NOT to do with it,and how to annoy your fellow classmates and instructor with how you misuse it and your lack of talent with it. Uses an idiotic simpleton character Ray Daniel (played by me) who is loosely based on (via a pun on their real name,Daniel Ray) a specific idiotic student that came into the A/V program and quickly left due to not being able to hack it.
Review:
Absolutly,hands down,no question about it...this is the best piece I've ever filmed. Unlike the documentary,it's educational AND utterly hysterical. Part of why it turned out so good might be because I actually got to work with a REAL crew instead of pratically doing everything myself,and while I was the main director in the crew who called the important shots,the 3 of us kinda worked together as if we were 3 seperate directors collaborating on a project together. Eventhough I was the main director and star,this is the only film I've made in which I didn't have any hand in the inception of the idea for it nor the writting of it.
Another reason why I probably like it so much is due to the cinematography,which I barely did any of (although,I did do a couple of shots,most notably the final shot where I fall to the floor holding the camera,seeing as how I was the only one with the nads to do it...the other crew member,Jason,also did a couple of the shots). I flat out admit that when it comes to cinematography,especially in my earlier pieces,I'm not very good...although,over time and practice,I've gotten better and made significant progress in that area of film making). The main cinematographer of the group,Doug,did a fantastic job. It was so spot on that he actually managed to make great use out of poorly framed,focused,and colorised shots...but then again,the film's concept required said use of bad shot compositions,so the idea behind these shots had more to do with the writting than the cinematography.
Another aspect I'm really proud of was the editing,as it's without a doubt the flashiest of all the pieces I've done. My main editor Jason blew me away with how great of a job he did on it...I actually did do some significant amounts of editing to it (mostly graphical work,but I also did some structuring and transitions) to the point where I technically should have been given a co editor credit,but Jason in fact did such a great job and worked so diligently on it that I stepped back and let him have all the glory. Thats how much the editing impressed me. He was so on fire that he even came up with very down to the wire last minute editing decisions to make the film even funnier than what it already was (direct references to the individual we were loosely parodying). So kudos to him. The 1900s old timey piano score also fits the film like a glove and gave it an extra sense of playfulness and the pacing of the whole film is fast (but not too fast).
And then theres the acting...everybody did such a great job,ESPECIALLY me (I hate to sound full of myself,but in this case,I deserve it cause it's the truth). I turned out to be just right for the part due to my experience with dealing with complete morons. Playing the part even actually gave me some perspective as to why a lot of people are idiots...because it's easy. Lets face it,a lot of people don't like to think and just want to live the most carefree and stress free lifestyle they can,but what they don't realise is that they induce stress upon other people when their non thought out idiotic actions affect said other people. It was a very easy,smooth,and natural motion to simply put the camera lens cap in my pocket rather than in the camera bag,because in the idiot state of mind I was portraying,my character's logic dictated that since the lens cap was in my pocket,there would be no way it could get lost or stolen...nevermind the fact that my character,like the average idiot that would do such a thing,didn't take into account the possibility of forgetting all about that lens cap and simply turning the camera back in without it,which low and behold in the film,happened...as well as the tripod switchplate being left on the camera and not put back on the tripod.
Other than my character's idiotic actions,I also exagerated/hammed it up for extra comical effect. For example,the part where my character shoots directly into the sun (a BIG no no)...I make one of the funniest arm movements and facial expressions I've actually ever seen in the movie...it's like my character is ignorant of the reprocusions of shooting directly into the sun,but at the same time,has a feeling that it's common sense that it shouldn't be done,but then thinks "screw this feeling,I'm doing it!" before blatently (and in a way,comedicly defiant) does it. There was also the scene where it first shows me in the foley lab where it looks like I'm masturbating at first,but then turns out that I'm simply using scissors to make a sound effect. Then there was the look of the character...having him wear shirts from absolutly pieces of shit for films was brillient (eventhough I felt like a huge tool wearing that shit outside in public)...this is the only film I've done thats had a "wardrobe department" (a blue plastic grocery bag with different T-Shirts in them)...and my idea of having my hair purposefully messed up looking during certain spots was great as well.
Ok enough about me and my character...even the supporting cast did a bang up job...The Narrator's (played by Doug) build up from optimistic and forgiving to impatient to annoyed to flat out pissed at the main character was gold. Even small parts like Tito (played by Jason) and The Student Model But Not Model Student (yes,thats what he was litterally credited as...he was played by a different Jason,who was the lab tech at the time) added extra hilarity to the whole affair.
The only real problem I have with it is the fact that the front of the black Showgirls shirt is never shown,so it just looks like the main character is wearing a normal black t-shirt (although I do reveal exactly whats on the front of the shirt in the my version of the end credits...see next paragraph). I don't consider a lot of the humour of the film being inside jokes as a flaw because the intended audience (the A/V students at the school) would get it completely (and if they didn't get some of it,the instructor would happily explain it to them). Also,I'm sure those that saw it could point out at least 1 huge continuity error (other than the main character's sudden and unexplained change in attire in different sections of the film),but seeing as how said continuity errors were done on purpose for comedic effect (having the continuity supervisor being credited as "Ray Daniel") and an underlying showing of what not to do when making a film,you really can't call that a flaw now can you?
Also,interestingly enough,this is the second of all my films to have a director's cut form (the other being Dead Wrong,but unlike this,Dead Wrong's director's cut doesn't make it any better...in fact,it might even make it a little worse)...the director's cut has a slightly different version of the end credits that contains purposefully filmed outtakes and bloopers. The reason why this wasn't in the submitted and presented version is because we took a vote on it and I was outvoted on the grounds that "they were too inside of jokes". I would have argued that pretty much the entire piece was based on similar level inside joke humour,but it wasn't that big of a deal to me,so I let it go (besides,when it came time to burn my own copy of the film onto DVD,I simply inserted my version of the end credits back in).
Now at this point you're probably thinking "But Kefka,if you love it so much,why haven't you uploaded it on the internet for others to see?" It's because the movie has a very limited target audience and most other people probably wouldn't get the humour of it and it would take too long and too much of an effort to explain it to hem in text form. Plus,nobody outside of the students and faculty of the A/V program at Columbus State really gives a shit about how to be a good student while taking classes offered in the program (they might get something out of the camera instructions and framing pointers,but compared to the former,those 2 aspects are kinda in the backround). However,if there was one film of mine that I would possibly decide to put on YouTube in the near future,this would definatly be it. It simply kicks ass...so much so that I made the title screen my avatar on this board and I See Dead's board. All 3 of us really had fun in making this film,and it definatly shows and helps make the quality of it that much better.
4.5/5
I'm starting to get lazy,so I'll just save the writting of the final 2 reviews for later tonight...stay tuned...
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Post by Fickle81 on Aug 20, 2007 7:21:30 GMT -5
Alright here we go,the last 2 reviews. Now these 2 should DEFINATLY be the shortest. Ozzy Osborne Road To Nowhere Music Video:(filmed during the spring of 07)Synopsis:A music video for Ozzy Osborne's Road To Nowhere thats basically about me and my life up until that point.Review:I had been wanting to make something at least a little surrealistic for a long time,and I finally got to do it with this video. Basically the video is about (and stars) me and all the interests I've had since childhood all the way until the point in which I filmed it and what became of said interests. Basically I placed myself at all the schools I've been to in the city I've lived in since about 1987,only in my current form (which adds a bit to the surrealism of the piece)...that means the sets were my elementary school,my middle school,my high school,and my current college campus (as well as my current house,NOT the house I grew up in). I would have myself suddenly finding items that seem to appear out of thin air that had to do with whatever interest I had at the time. In elementary school,it was an NES control which represented my high interest in videogames at that point. I would start to diddle with the controller while animated gifs of gameplay footage from some of the old games I played as a kid would be shown. Then all the sudden I'd find myself at my middle school,where I would put the controller down and look around to observe my new surroundings,only to find a pair of drumsticks,which represented my interest in music (and the start of my school band career) sitting right where I put the controller. So then I start to diddle with the drumsticks,showing more and more technique as I'm diddling before suddenly finding myself in the bleachers at my high school's football field. After a brief moment of looking around,I take the sticks and start marching out on the field with them while playing air drum,which represents my interest in music and my band career evolving. Then I sit down at a different set of bleachers and start to lose my rythum,which also represents my interest in being a musician rapidly declining. I become so annoyed that I throw the drumsticks down and walk away. Thats when I come home and before taking one last look at the medals I won from solo and ensemble competitions,I go to sleep,tossing and turning in the middle of the night. At this point,I'm unsure with what to do with my life. It is then that I find myself going into another room and finding a computer,which up until that point,I really didn't use much or care much about. Some animated GIF images of me surfing different websites (which BD is NOT one of,so don't get your hopes up namedroppers) are cut in with me obviously growing fascinated by it. Then it shows me altering a picture of Kefka from Final Fantasy 6 (close up of his face in angel form) before cutting to me in a classroom on campus,which it's implied thats where I ended up thanks to my fascination of the internet,but then it shows me slowly becoming bored with it. At the end I'm seen exiting the class,where a flyer for the A/V portion of the program is displayed. I get a look of interest on my face before it suddenly cuts to me suddenly sitting up in my bed,implying that either everything seen in the video except the tossing and turning was a dream,which would explain in the realistic sense as to how the items I found appeared out of thin air,or perhaps just everything after the shot of me tossing and turning (the "could it be a dream?" line in the song can be interpreted both ways as well). Now besides the abstract personal commentary on my life (which I think is great and well executed),how what goes on fits the lyrics (which I think is great and well executed),and acting (which was pretty much all facial expressions and body movements...which I think is great and well executed),the only thing that can really be commented on are the technical aspects,which I think are pretty good. Out of all the films/videos I've done,this one has the most locations to work with. The elementary school stuff was hard to get because of the amount of children on the playground (even going there around dinner time didn't help)...but thankfully,I was able to control the crowd very well (probably because the kids were so interested in the camera and what I was doing...I even used some of them to frame up the shots I was doing to get an idea of how to set up the tripod for said shot) to make it look like I was all alone. I really dug the edited,not only the bits of CGI I used (the gifs),but also how I would suddenly have myself placed at a different location. Now,I do have a couple of technical issues with it...the major one being that I found that I apparently didn't shoot any close up shots of me diddling with the drumsticks on the seperate set of bleachers near the exit fence of the high school track/football field,which is where I start to lose the rhythum/interest in playing music,and when I realised this and tried to go back and film said close ups,I found that the bleachers were moved/taken somewhere else so I couldn't shoot the shots I wanted...so to compensate,I just reused the closeup shot(s) of me diddling with the sticks on the main seating bleachers,which creates a nice big continuity error...nobody to blame but myself on that. Also,it seems that some of my shots have a slight slant due to me not paying attention to the perspective balance (I don't remember the technical name for this part at the moment) of the tripod...it's nothing TOO noticeable and I might even be able to argue it as a happy accident,but since it was something I neglected to pay attention to that when I should have,I'll throw it in as a flaw for now. The only other problem I had with it was that the diddling of the sticks didn't match the drumming in the song when I very easily could have made it do so,but it's not that big of a deal...just would have been cooler if I would have done that. Other than the issues presented,I'm actually very happy with the video. In a way,this can be looked at as the antithesis of How To Fail Intro A/V where I finally proved I could make something compelling and good all on my own,as opposed to working with 2 other equally or even more talented film makers on HTFIA/V...I was LITTERALLY the lone crew AND actor of this production,WHICH INCLUDED me doing the cinematography for it (although I did have a classmate look through the running camera to make sure my adjustments were correct as I was executing the takes of the college campus footage)...yea,let that sink in. Now just like with HTFIA/V,you're probably thinking "well if you like it so much,why not let others see it?" The main reason is that it contains a song that I didn't get any permission to use...now I know that there are several music videos up on YouTube that people made without permission,but I don't want to take any chances. The other reason is because it's a pretty personal piece and I don't desire to share something that personal with people on the internet. All you need to know is that it's good,I like it,and according to my teacher it's "one of the best pieces I've ever produced" dispite the slight slant of some of my shots (points wise,it's definatly the highest graded of my work overall,with HTFIA/V coming in second...I feel it should be reversed though). 4/5Retoric Stand Music Video:(filmed during the spring of 07)Synopsis:A music video for local Ohio band Retoric's song Stand. Makes great use of black and white and color in editing. Is also filmed on location in the band's practice area and at The Billard Club in Columbus Ohio.Review:This is gonna be real short and sweet...because I've already pretty much written a review for this once already,so I'll just simply link it (eventhough you can actually find it by just scolling up): kefchat.proboards59.com/index.cgi?board=talk9&action=display&thread=1153425497&page=2#1181258329The only other thing I can really add to that is a possible slight technical issue with the editing...theres a certain shot near the end where it changes from black and white to color without a real cut...some people may not like this sudden change and deem it sloppy,and to be perfectly fair I could have made use of image flipping at an earlier point AND during this sequence to make the sudden change work,but I honestly don't have that much of a problem with it (I believe my instructor might have though,cause he took some points off for my editing of it). As you notice from the link,unlike the other pieces I've done,this is the only one I've uploaded onto the internet in some fashion (on both YouTube and the band's My Space). Overall,I like it,but its repetativeness drags it down a bit. 3.5-4/5There ya have it...a description and review for all the film/video productions I've done up to this point...I still haven't decided whether I wanna fork over the estimated $320 for the upcoming sports recording and broadcasting class coming up in the fall and I can graduate till around December due to me missing the deadline to petition to graduate in September,so that might give me extra insentive to take the class before finally leaving that school.
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Post by Fickle81 on Jan 12, 2008 20:40:18 GMT -5
Oh lord,the incompetence I have to put up with...
Lets start at the beginning backstory. I had completed the program of study that I was going to college for (Interactive Media) and was ready to graduate back in 2005. I filled out the petition paperwork,got it signed,and JUST BARELY turned it in before the deadline. However,during this time,I noticed some new A/V classes had been created,and since my interest in film had already blossomed to the point where I wanted to get my hands dirty in making some of my own,this was most intriguing. I had a decision to make...I could either forget about the classes and just graduate as planned,graduate then come back and take the classes,or cancel graduation altogether to take these new classes THEN graduate permenently. I decided on the latter because I was already enrolled,so I called one of the heads of Records and Registration to get my graduation plans cancelled,and she took care of it right there over the phone. Later on,towards the end of my A/V sequence of classes,there had apparently (based on how its worded and structured on the campus website) been a possibility opened up that the A/V classes had become their own major/degree,so it could have been possible that I could have gotten 2 degrees. That,however,was debunked by the Interactive Media coordinator/advisor because they were (and still are) technically part of the Interactive Media program. Ok,thats fine.
So I completed all the A/V classes back in Spring of 07. Now,due to me missing the dates to petition to graduate at the end of Summer AND Autumn Quarters of 2007 (part of that was the confusion over whether or not the A/V portion was its own degree),I had to put it off till Winter Quarter 2008,which just started on Monday (4 days ago). The petition is due on Friday the 18th by 4:30 P.M. Ok,no problem...all I have to do is pick up the petition form,fill it out,schedual an appointment with the program coordinator/advisor (who's a real dickbag,btw),get his signature for his portion of the petition,and turn it in to the Record and Registration department. All of this was supposed to be done by Tuesday of next week,3 days in advance of the deadline.
So I emailed the advisor/coordinator the night before the quarter started in order to schedual an appointment for the following week,so he'd have plenty of notice in order to clear his schedual and prepare my audit. He lays out the office hour times,to wit I respond the next day (Tuesday) that I can come in a week from that day at 3 P.M. That night I also go and pick up the petition,and it's mostly filled out by the time I go to sleep.
Now heres where the broken dog dick FUCKING dilemma entangled in a Chinese clusterfuck starts...2 days later,I get not one,but 2 emails from him (which I couldn't get to till that evening due to work). The first says that when he ran my audit,he found out that I was undeclared and that I would have to file a change of information form in order to declare,or I won't graduate...and ON TOP OF THIS,said form takes 7 business days from reciept to process...so that means,if I were to go in TODAY,fill out the paper work,and turn it in TODAY,it probably won't get processed till the day AFTER the due date for the petition to graduate,which pretty much means I'm fucking screwed and will have to wait YET AGAIN until NEXT quarter's deadline to be able to fucking graduate! I'm not done with this yet,I'll get back to it in a moment.
Oh,but it gets even better. Almost immediatly,he sent me a second email,telling me that after talking with my A/V teacher and advisor of the A/V side of the program,he says that I "can't graduate in the same area TWICE" and that my "MMPT courses would effectively be reproducing themselves",and reminding me that my A/V courses do not amount to another seperate degree (which,I already fucking knew BECAUSE HE WAS THE ONE THAT TOLD ME). He says this WITH THE NOTION that I've already graduated,when I even TOLD him AFTER I cancelled my first graduation plans that I had cancelled them to stick around and complete the A/V courses. So I email him back,REMINDING him that I had informed him of my plans to delay graduation so I could take the A/V courses,so I have therefore NOT graduated yet AT ALL,have recieved no degree whatsoever,and that I was trying to graduate based on the completed courses in 2005 WITH THE A/V CLASSES SIMPLY AS EXTRA.
Now,back to the the debacle of me being undeclared. Up until 2005,I was recieving financial aid benifits due to the Chapter 35 - Survivors and Dependents Educational Assistance program (due to my father being wounded in Vietnam to the point of recieving disability compensation for the rest of his life...he's blind in one eye due to his injury). One of the requirements for applying for and recieving financial aid benefits was...wait for it...to DECLARE A PROGRAM OF STUDY WITH THE REGISTRAR'S OFFICE OF THE CAMPUS! So,exactly how the FUCK am I undeclared?! Me not being declared = me no recieving any financial aid...which I DID. Having said that,my financial aid DID expire in 2005 having technically completed all the credit hours needed to complete the program of study (I paid for all the A/V courses out of my own pocket),but how EXACTLY does that CHANGE my status of declaration IF I NEVER OFFICIALLY GRADUATED FROM THE PROGRAM/COLLEGE?! Hell,all of the course numbers for the A/V classes associated themselves WITH the program of study THAT I DECLARED AND NEVER OFFICIALLY GRADUATED FROM!
So,with all this supporting the fact that I AM in fact NOT undeclared and I have in fact NOT graduated,you'd think that it was just a mistake on the program coordinator/advisor,right?
WRONG!
According to the records of the degree audit coordinator of the campus,who immediatly emailed back after I responded to the program coordinator's false notion that I graduated,I DID apparently already graduate back in 2005. Really? Then how come I don't have a FUCKING DEGREE?! How come the person I talked to over the fucking phone told me that my wishes to cancel my graduation were FUCKING TAKEN CARE OF like I fucking wanted?! Anyways,I had to call the graduation coordinator,who I'm pretty sure was the one that actually took care of the cancelling of my graduation in the first place,and explain the situation to her. After I did that and gave her my personal info,she said she'd call me back.
About 10 minutes later,she called back and EVEN HER records showed that I fucking graduated,and theres a damn good chance that she was the one that fucking cancelled that graduation plan in the first fucking place! However,she ALSO didn't have any copies of my degree in her records (unclaimed degrees that aren't mailed to the recipient go to her),and therefore would order a new one for me and have it mailed to me (to be recieved in 10-12 weeks,which is about the time of graduation for Winter Quarter).
So I guess the positive in the plane crash is that I won't have to re-petition,I'll FINALLY be getting my official degree,and I sure as shit don't have to see or deal with that assbag program coordinator/advisor ever again...but I sure didn't need to deal with the stress brought on by unorganised grabasstic pieces of bureaucratic amphibian shit,and I sure as hell didn't need to waste a fucking trip to pick up a petition to graduate form that I don't even need.
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