Project 03- End of a Journey

I have successfully recovered the files off of the previously corrupted hard drive! My high res video, web res video, and website are all completed and turned in.  Now I've learned what never to do with an external hard drive.

In all the excitement on actual turn in day, I forgot to wrap up my project.  My video ended up being 6.30 minutes long.  While this is a good bit over the criteria, I believe it was necessary and keeps the experience fluid and cohesive.  I tried to keep it under 5 minutes and was finding the narrative to be awkwardly short with too quick of an ended.  I was told that a couple minutes over the limit was acceptable as long as the reason was justified, and I believe that in this case it made the most sense.

As always, my website was possibly the most difficult aspect for me.  It was especially tough in this case because of the abstract nature of the concept.  How do you graphically display the effects of divorce?  But after some serious feedback and critique from the professor, I ended on a visual representation that effectively translated the mood of the video.  I still have a lot of work to do learning web design, but I've come a long way since the beginning of the semester.  Most of my learning has been based on HTML and CSS tutorials online, but a few studio friends have helped me out as well.

I set out to make a documentary examining the effects of divorce on children and ended up with something way more personal than I could have expected.  Originally I had intended a section devoted to facts and statistics, but the interview material was so engaging and enlightening in and of itself that I didn't want to break that connection with the viewer by switching focus.  I was extremely satisfied with the final product.  

Project 03 Setback

Upon completion of my video and conversion to web res, I headed back home to finish up there.  When I plugged in my hard drive, however, it was corrupted and all the files in my project inaccessible.  Fortunately, because the web res version auto opened in iTunes when it finished exporting, a copy of my final movie was saved to the iTunes library.  The bad news is I can't get to anything else, including the full res video and all my website files.

Today is hand in and I will putting the web version on the HandIns drive along with a very early draft of my website (it will be changed drastically).  By Friday I hope to have recovered some lost filed and maybe my website.  If not, I'll remake my website and just have my lower res video to submit.

Project 03 Screening

I held a screening of my documentary in my hostel last night.  The idea was to get some feedback from all kinds of students, not just design focused, in order to see some things that my I missed being too close to the project.  It was very helpful and I'll be going back into studio on Tuesday to make my final edits.

For some reason my titles aren't rendering properly when I export the final video.  I had them working really well before, so I just need to figure out what changed along the way.  Besides that, I just need to do a few spots of color correcting and website shifts (although I'm still waiting on feedback for that) and then I will be fully done.  I mentioned this in a previous post, but this is really my most successful project.  I feel very good about and am extremely proud of the final product that will be.

Documentary Update

I presented roughly three and a half minutes of my documentary in class on Friday and received some very useful feedback.  I think I'm on a solid course with the direction I'm taking and now I just need to finish.  I plan I'm being completely done with the video by this afternoon.  I have the whole video segments edited, just need to add in some B roll and fix a few audio issues.  

Some color correction also needs to be done to bring a cohesive feel to the whole piece.  This is probably my most successful project, at least on a personal level, and I'm really excited about the final product.  I'll be checking in later.

Project 03 Updates

I finished the website portion of my project yesterday and also completed going through all of my interviews and marking which portions I'm going to use.  Now I just need to get back to my Avid project and throw in those last bits of interviews, touch up the soundtrack, and just generally make sure everything is looking clean.  I should be finished well in time to get some good sleep tonight, which is an exciting prospect.

Documentary Concept

I've have finished writing up my concept for project 03, which is basically a refined version of my last post.  I'm going ahead with the divorce effects idea and already have completed most of the interviews.  Besides the interviews, I am also going to need statistics and animation from after effects to display them,  plus some ambient shots that compliment what is being said in the interviews and shown with the data.  Even though (as of right now) the documentary is based on the effects of divorce in the States, I don't think filming ambient scenery around Wellington will be a problem, as long as what I get is universal with know key Wellington or NZ landmarks being shown.  

As far as what shots I will need, this I won't know until I finish sifting throw all the interviews and decide on a definitive structure for the video; what to focus on, how many interviews to use, what is actually being said, when to smoothly transition into statistics.  I have sent off a storyboard and sample footage to my friend and composer Joe Kennerly and he has already begun work on a score for the film.  Once I have the final (or close to the final) video, we'll be able to really refine the score to fit the mood, transitions, etc.  It's all coming together nicely and I don't foresee too many issues as of right now.  Knock on wood.

Project 03 Concept

For my documentary I originally wanted to study the Wellington wind turbine, the effects if had on Wellington, and how wind turbine is being used in general to shape the future of energy.  After doing some research into this and brainstorming some more, I decided that I would rather do something more unique, something more personal to me.  I came up with doing a study on divorce and how it can effect the children of a divorce differently, depending on their age.  Divorce is something my siblings have had to deal with on more than one occasion, and many of my friends are also children of divorced parents, so it is something that interests me.  I'm going to interview three or four people with different stories and mix in some facts on divorce and separation. 

 As of right now I don't know if I want to focus on world statistics, New Zealand and U.S., or just the U.S.  The U.S. is obviously the most relevant to me and will make it the easiest for gathering interviews from the people I know.  I'd also like to bring in NZ, since I'm here now.  However NZ and the U.S. are  not actually related when it comes to divorce issues, so it might be a bit of a stretch to try to tie the two together.  On the other hand, it may be interesting in that regard, to see its effects in two totally different parts of the world.  Maybe not culturally, but at least geographically.

At any rate, I still have a lot to work out, but the ball is rolling and I've already begun interviewing and collecting data.

Project 02 Final Night- Part 3 OR: Project 02 Final Morning

So I've learned my lesson in regards to trying to access servers from abroad.  I'm not entirely sure what the lesson is, but I now know at least to try from not-Vic networks, because there seems to be some firewall blocking my connections.  As with project 01, I ended up having to FTP my files to a friend, who then assisted me in uploading them to my webpage.  I've been able to reach my domain from coffee houses and hostels in NZ, but the Vic network is a no-go.  But the project is finished.  While not as flashy as my previous website in terms of interaction, I think the layout and design of this site is much better.  Plus I wrote it all myself in HTML!  Learning learning learning.  Spent a good couple hours reading HTML tutorials online, but I actually really enjoyed that.  Here is the URL:

http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~coliveria3/proj2web/siteNonsiteWebpage.html

I'm excited to present this in a few hours!  I hope honesty ranks higher than procrastination in terms of marks... but I really have enjoyed the crazy ride this project has been mentally.  After changing my mind many times I finally settled on a final product that I am proud of.  Now time for project 3, which is way more my kind of work!  I'm looking forward to it!

Oh, and one more thing.  We weren't able to access my individual server due to me being abroad and the registrar changing my password and what not (totally unrelated from me not being able to access the school's server), so the website is temporarily being hosted on my friend Ryan Oliveria's page.  The link on the website does still link to my portfolio, however, and the project will eventually join all my others there  Maybe after I give my portfolio site a much needed face lift. :)

Project 02 Final Night- Part 2

As was to be expected, my website creation is going slower than I'd like.  I need more experience in this area, but this is definitely making me appreciate web design.  I'm also having issues accessing my server at home.  I've done it before, but sometimes the Vic network interferes with the connection.  I should be able to get a solid connection for FTP if I move down to the wireless room in my building.  Other than that I'm finished.

Project 02 Final Night

I have concluded the editing of my videos as of a few hours ago and am now taking a break from finishing the web design to post an update.  I am happy with the final video product.  I think it effectively captures the perspective I was going for, while still maintaining the focus on the location, not the unicycling.  The video will be posted as one video for the sake of keeping it synched together, but it is actually two side-by-side videos.  Total combined running time is around 3 1/2 minutes.  I had it longer, but felt that there was no need to drag on.  I think for a location video the shorter the better.  We're posting this to a website, and there's only a small window of time that the casual web surfer will give an online video, especially a non-narrative piece about a static location.  

The website is coming along.  While not as involved as my last site, I  think the simplicity is a nice contrast with the action in the video.  This video also is much more self-explanatory than the three-perspective idea of my remix project, so it doesn't need the separate 'about' and 'credits' pages.  On another note, though, since I'm an exchange student, the website will not be linking to any Vic homepage of mine, since I don't have one.  I have linked it to my portfolio home page back at my school in the States.  This is the closest thing I have to a home page like Digital Media students here would have.

She'll be comin' 'round the mountains when she comes...

Earlier today I concluded the filming for Project 2.  Tomorrow I will add in the new footage and polish the video into a final product.  I want to do two side-by-side videos; one from the unicycle perspective, and one showing the location of the Civic Centre Square.  I can also used the combine double screen to be a kind of super widescreen for an establishing shot.  

The website needs a bit more thought than the video, especially since I am relatively untrained in the area.  But I'm confident I'll put out a solid product.  I am much happier with this route than the one I took before, with footage from the wilderness whilst on the road.  While I felt a bit anxious about a week ago, a now feel very at peace with the project, and I think that means this take on the unicycling perspective is going to come across better to the viewer and to myself.

The life and times of Tahi the unicycle

I've had another change of heart for my project 2 concept... this is probably the most undecided I've ever been for a project.  I usually over think most things.  But let's go back a bit.

I just returned yesterday from a two week road trip across the South Island.  Those of you who are keeping up will remember that I was planning on taking my newly acquired unicycle (aptly named after the one-legged kiwi at the Wellington Zoo) on the road with me and finding nice stretch of wilderness to ride around in for my video.  This I have done.  I probably acquired about thirty minutes of good footage riding on Stewart Island and Abel Tasman National Park.

However, I wasn't satisfied.  While mountain riding is probably my favorite style of unicycling, it isn't the most exciting and unique to watch.  Seeing a unicyclist fly down a mountain is cool, but it really palls in comparison to watching some guy on one wheel climb up onto a picnic table, jump off the top onto a wall, and then ride the wall for awhile before hopping off in a spin and riding away backwards.

I wanted to capture a location through the view of a unicyclist, and a mountain trail just doesn't offer much material.  Usually it ended up being the same thing of riding down a path or climbing up a hill, making sure I didn't fall down.  With trials unicyling I'm able to take public locations with many objects that are used for specific and well-known purposes (picnic table, bench, walls, trash can) and then turn them into something that people would have never envisioned them for.  That surprise factor has a much longer impact than mountain unicycling.

So I'm scraping my footage and starting over.  This is kind of sad, and it only leaves me a week and a half to refilm and edit everything, but I've been much worse off before when it comes to making movies under deadlines.  And at least this case I'm choosing to start over, and I have a plan.  I'm going to go down to the harbour where there are endless possibilities for trials lines and film it truly (hopefully) through the eyes of a unicyclist.

The upside of having already shot footage is that I've perfected ways to film from the unicycle, whether it be holding the camera myself or strapping it underneath the seat.  So, with the linguistics already worked out, I shouldn't have to spend too much time out in the field shooting.  Tahi and I will just get straight to work.  I really think this is going to be a better end result because people will be able to relate better to the objects in the material, even if it isn't as pretty to look at as the jungles of Abel Tasman.

I'll be updating again soon.

Project 2 Update

So it's Good Friday and I'm getting ready to go on my trip for the break.  Being an exchange student I have limited time to see New Zealand while I'm here, so this is a perfect opportunity.  Also, it gives me the chance to film at a location not local to Wellington for my project.  As mentioned before, I wanted to do a perspective video on trials unicyling, interpreting a space through that particular point of view.  Well I have since acquired a unicycle from Unicycle.com NZ and assembled it a few days ago.  

Because I've only had it for a couple days (I haven't even been able to pump up the tyre yet) and I was busy finishing up other class projects before the break, I have not started filming yet.  But this is ok since I'm planning on filming on the South Island anyways.  I haven't totally decided on a place yet.  Before I was talking about the harbour here or something along those lines, but I think I want to go with some more natural.  

I like to try to tie things back to their context, and, for me, it's all about being here, in New Zealand, experiencing a new country and culture.  And it's important for me to try to show people at home what I've been doing, what I've been experiencing.  So, since NZ is more famous for it's rugged nature than it's cities and buildings, I think I would get more out of this project by trying to show that aspect of New Zealand.  To really capture the wilderness of the forests or the mountains or the bush through the unicyclist's eye.  And I also think this will be much more enriching for people back home to get an idea of New Zealand.

So anyways, that's where I am at the moment.  I'm taking my own film gear on the road with my for the next two week's all over the South Island and, after gathering plenty of footage from multiple locations, I will decide where will be the best place to show to my video.  A thought: using Highway 1 down the east coast or Highway 6 up the west coast as a location.  I'll be blogging from the road with updates.  

Response to "Kuo Hsi’s 'Clearing Autumn Skies'"

I love the detail in these scrolls- they really seem to pull me into the place in the picture.  I have actually collected a few mimic scrolls of this kind to hang in my apartment and room and, while they are not 900 years old, they still hold the same wonder and capture of this orginal "motion pictures."  I found the author of the article to go a little overboard in his writing.  I appreciate his enthusiasm, but spending multiple paragraphs describing every little detail of the scroll took a little bit of the fun out of exploring the location for myself.  But the scroll is a beautiful representation of a location and the author did a good job describing the importance of the medium, as it was back and then and today.

Response to Robert Pleshar's Recording of "A Dip in the Lake"

I'll start off by saying that I wouldn't buy a CD with this music on it, nor do I even think I would listen to much of it for any lengthy stretch of time.  However, the recording process I found very interesting and unique.  I would love to record this piece myself, just to have an excuse to travel around, to see and hear things that I never have before.  I don't know if John Cage intended this to be more of an experience for the audience or for the musician (in this case, recorder and mixer), but I know that personally it would all be about the experience of making the project, not so much listening to the final product.

Project 2 Concept Speculation

The idea of project 2 is to represent a certain landscape, a certain area, through some particular point-of-view.  Instead of simply showing an area, I want to really capitalize on the point-of-view aspect of the project by sharing a particular space through the interpretation of one activity; in this case, unicycling.  To be more specific, trials and freestyle unicycling.  

I have been unicyling for six years, so it has become a major part of me.  When I walk through a park, I don't just see parks benches, picnic tables, stone walls, and open squares.  I see obstacles to climb up, jump over, ride on, and so tricks in.  The world of trials unicycling is a unique one, where any place can become a playground, and I want to try and capture that for the audience of my work.  I've been scouting out a few locations that might be suitable, somewhere that is open and out of the way enough not to get in anyone's way, but also public enough that it is recognizable and relatable.  My top choices so far are the Botanic Gardens, Kelburn Campus, and, probably my favorite, the harbour area.

This idea also leaves a lot of space for unique framing and editing, trying to show the same exact space from two totally different sets of eyes.  Some I do see a few issues that I will need to overcome: 1) acquiring a unicycle.  I'm an exchange student and didn't have baggage space to bring a trials unicycle on the plane.  While this seems like a major setback, I've already found a couple places that sell them for a good price, and I've been wanting to get one anyways while I'm here.  2) since i'll be riding on camera i'll probably need someone who knows how to operate a camera to help me out.  Not a big problem. 3) trying to stay focused on the actual space and not the activity.  While it is the unicyclist perspective I'm going for, I need to make sure to stay focused on the project and displaying the site itself.

So, while there are certainly some kinks to work out, I think the idea is a solid one and a unique take on the project requirements.

Project 1 Wrap-Up and Review

I turned in my final videos and websites today for our remix video project.  This is my first post on this project because I was not aware of the requirement for blogging throughout, tracking my progress and ideas as I go.  I'm an exchange student this semester and am still trying to learn all the little things that most students here already know and have been doing for 3 years.  With that said, I will definitely track my projects' progress in the future and keep a steady blog of my ideas and issues.

My project is on climate change, but more specifically on the debate about climate change.  I took the requirement of 3 iterations not as 3 steps in a progression for one video, but as a chance to express 3 different points of view on the same subject, using all the same source material.  I gathered video and images from archive.org and wikipedia commons and music from my friend Joe Kennerly.  All of this material is under a creative commons or freeware license of some kind and is listed and credited on my project website.  Also, all my videos have been attached with a Creative Commons Public Domain License, as stated in the About This Page section.

http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~csumsky3/remixSite.html

I started off by gathering a wide variety of material, from nature videos to climate documentaries to debate sound clips.  I barely had any experience with Avid and so spent a good 3 hours or so playing around with it, reading some tutorials, and just getting a solid feel for the software.  After that I made my first iteration, which was sympathetic towards the theory on climate change.  This movie says people need to be aware that this is happening and mocks the idea that it is simply a natural cycle that is not affected by humans.  My second iteration went the other way, almost making fun of anyone who would believe climate change is happening.  It states that the earth systems are acting naturally and that the idea of climate change is merely a fear tactic to control.  The final iteration combined audio from both, overlaying them on top of each other much of the time.  The idea for this iteration was to be the outsider, the undecided world citizen.  To these people much of the debate seems not thought and based on speculation for both sides and much of the time discussions get nowhere with both parties thinking they are right and not willing to compromise at all.  Towards the end the video is jumbled and claustrophobic, almost asking how anyone is supposed to decipher facts from such a stalemate of a debate.

Once I taught myself some basic Avid functions I really didn't have any problem with the editing side.  I have used Final Cut Pro for years and the difference in software wasn't too much of an obstacle.  I picked up all the tools as I went along.  The real issue I ran in to was website design, as I have never had to do website design before.  I understand that it is a required class here but at my school in the states I am not required to take any sort of web design.  So I had to do a lot of reading and googling to learn a little about html and Flash.  Most of the sites are quite simple with minimalist approach, but I am pretty proud of how my home page turned out with the interactive changing squares.

But the biggest problem I had was not design, but on the technical side.  I didn't know how to embed a video properly onto a page that I had designed and ended up having to link to an isolated page that the video will play on.  While not the prettiest solution in the world, it works and doesn't look ugly.  I'll attribute it to the minimalist design again. 

So, all in all, I'm very happy with how the project turned out.  The videos do what I wanted them to do, express the appropriate point of view and mood.  The website, while maybe simple and bare, fits into a neutral stance on the climate change debate.  I learned much about Flash and html that will help me in future classes and projects, and I finally got around to really learning Avid, which is something I've been wanting to do for awhile.  While I didn't fulfill the blogging requirement throughout the project, this was mainly do to lack of communication and understand of my new surroundings.  This won't be a problem in the future and, while this doesn't really fill the place of a continuing project notebook, I hope this entry sheds some light on my original ideas, the approaches I took to get there, and the issues I hit along the way.

Remix and Remixability- Response to Lev Manovich's article

I agree with most of the author's points.  Remixing, while not an entirely new concept- almanacs, mixed martial arts, the Beatles' "Revolution 9",  and documentaries, to name a few, have been around for years- is being made increasingly easier and accessible to just about anyone with an internet connection and a freeware editing program.  Probably my favorite recent example in music is Girl Talk, a DJ who takes classic rock, contemporary pop, rap, hip hop, r&b, just about anything and everything, and mixes them all into something all its own.  YouTube is also a stronghold for amateur remixing with examples like the Obama: Never Gonna Give You Up video and countless music videos created from favorite anime shows or video games.

Some things I don't agree with, however, is that a world of complete modularity and public domain would be the best thing.  Ideas like Xanadu and Web 2.0 have been floating around almost since the internet became a practical reality, and I think these ideas are great in theory.  The issue I have is that you can't expect professionals to spends weeks or months or even years producing a work and then have it thrown automatically into a creative commons pool.  Tremendous amounts of money would be lost and the industry could turn into a completely amateur field with not a lot of money coming in, because no one is making any.  With that said, however, I do believe that public access will become the norm and even necessary in coming years and copyright laws will change, perhaps allowing works to go up for public domain after X amount of years under copyright making money.  Imagine if after 10-15 years a movie had to release it's licenses and put it in creative commons.  Most of the money a movie makes comes from ticket and initial DVD sales anyways, so this is a possibility.

Remixing is a massive part of our culture now, and will only get stronger.  I liked this article for the most part and agree that remixing needs to find its proper and permanent place in our modern digital society.