Progress
The ability to produce media reflecting my conceptual visions was my goal in taking this course and program of study and I feel that I have completed the beginning phases of learning this process. Certainly this class has allowed us to take many of the first steps into the pool of progress and compared to where I was at the beginning of the semester (having edited audio using ancient techniques of splicing) I’ve made great strides into digital. It also occurred to me that I don’t believe I’ve ever blogged this regularly before.
Although I am by no means an expert yet in the world of flash and web-site design, I put in many hours of effort and this resulted in progress. Over the summer I plan on honing these skills with some self assigned projects and will stop using PowerPoint (outside of work) to craft ideas. If anyone wants to join in, let me know. I certainly improved a lot on photo editing skills and I will post a few before and after examples that I made recently going in to the final weeks. I also am more aware of what goes into design decisions and appreciate the amount of work necessary to create websites that we so often take for granted.
A major stumbling block for me was the PC vs. Mac frustration that would come up weekly. With limited time I would attempt most of these projects on my PC but only certain software would actually successfully download from the free 30 day trials from Adobe. Once in the Mac lab it would take a while reacquaint myself with the Mac (thanks cheap corporate IT budgets) – a platform I thought I knew but without daily practice on the latest OS I would sometimes get discombobulated. Regardless the extra time and effort are worth the potential results. I need to remind myself that in the past the photography, publishing and video production process would take much longer and would be much more disastrous for the environment when compared to our modern-day digital options. I also just need to force myself to finally get a current Mac for home use.
Once my finals are over next week I can’t wait to read Wabi Sabi again. That book and this class really opened me up to new ways of seeing and thinking.
Thank you Virgil.
Memorable Class Highlight – The phrase and concept presented by Virgil - “North of 14th Street”
Preferred medium before the course – Extreme PowerPoint
Preferred medium after the course –Photoshop
Theme for next project – Docu-Comedy
Something I learned to teach someone else(non-tech) – The concepts of Wabi-Sabi – I really got into this book and way of thinking.
Something I learned to teach someone else (technical) – adjusting photos with levels and hue in Photoshop. I have a million vacation photos of my own to edit during my lack of spare time, perhaps I can outsource by teaching someone else.
Something to try next semester that I have not done – I think that I may try a comedy of sort. I also might try a video installation piece of sort as I always am interested in this type of artwork.
Something I will try to do everyday – Blog, take pictures and possibly video daily and not wait for absolute perfection in opportunities.
150 Million dollar budget –
I come up ideas almost daily for this sort of thing – Top of mind today…
Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus part II – updated version of this classic with both old and current bands. Would be done in an over the top yet mysterious dreamlike Bollywood style. David Bowie would be the time traveling host and Little Steven would be the circus master. Established cinema camera crew and editors would work on the project – similar to Scorsese’s Shine a Light film.
And long term dream project…
Twin Peaks – continuation of this cult classic on film or HBO/Showtime. It “ended” on a cliffhanger and there is some time travel involved.
15 dollar budget –
Rock and Roll Circus - Ask for cutting room floor clips and access to shoot pre-show rehearsal footage (perhaps with the prospect that profits go towards charity)- somehow assemble together with stock audience footage for the Rock n’ Roll circus II idea. Could also barter for future download sales in exchange for access to musicians and in the process resurrect or jumpstart a few bands that normally are under the radar.
Twin Peaks - create an animated version or a single Video installation featuring just one of the cast members who played “Bob” – Frank Silva or a look alike, a tree, a blowing curtain and a chess set. Coffee and donuts also if budget allows.
I viewed the Marty Scorsese concert film on The Rolling Stones - "Shine a Light" a few weeks ago. I was so impressed with this film that I had to go see it again on the IMAX. It is possibly the finest filmed and edited concert film ever. It features amazing cinematography and editing that stands head and shoulders above normal concert footage. I hope that the talented team assembled to do this will consider filming other legendary musicians in concert. The concert footage required a new way of looking at the screen on the IMAX - it almost recreated the experience of actually being at the concert in the second row for the long shots as The Stones appeared to be "life size" from a certain distance with waving arms of the crowd sometimes appearing directly in front you in the foreground of the shot.
In relation to this class, the film featured some interesting juxtapositions of including vintage television interviews edited in between the current concert footage. The television images were blown up fully for the big screen and the even bigger 50 ft. high IMAX screen. The result was interesting on the movie screen and absolutely jarring and shocking on IMAX. Since the interview footage obviously was intended for television it was shot with a specific aspect ratio in mind (See Zeitl) When viewing on the IMAX screen it was actually impossible from my seat to focus on the tv footage. Only an eye, nose or mouth would be in one's field of focus, luckily for most viewers the vintage televion footage was used sparringly. Once the initial shock wore off, the TV footage enlarged on the IMAX medium was a strange and beuatiful pixelated landscape. On the regular movie screen the tv footage had an electronic ghost like appearance. I do wonder if Scorsese and his editors experimented with a smaller version of the television footage to represent and create an experience of viewing an actual TV. Something to ask Marty if I bump into him on the subway.
Here is the eagerly awaited JPEG of Advert and Box Talk...
http://webspace.newschool.edu/~haddj850/
So after many hours at the mac lab I posted a few things that I had available using Dreamweaver and Fugu to the New School Webspace. I could not get the Fetch system to work, the dog ran but would grow tired and timed out. For some reason my .jpgs would not post. I included them in my output folder and public folder but something must not have been done correctly. The text description from Dreamweaver is visible but not the actual photos.
Also my flash animation file of the baseball and any file for that matter seems to have an issue showing up on the mac.
Update I'm on my PC now and all of the files are showing up, hmmm.
file:///Work%20In%20Progress/output/index.html
