Week Two

As the last day of my second week at Motion Masters comes to a close, I want to reflect on the projects that I have been working on so far.

Monday was mostly office work. I worked on writing up the distances of possible shooting locations from each other so that I could map out which locations were closest together. This will make it easier to map out shooting days based on how close everything is. 

Tuesday was very busy. Motion Masters is working on an educational video about communication “”do’s and don’ts.” One of the segments involves what to do in a professional video chat. The location we traveled and filmed at was our talent’s house.

My coworkers, my fellow intern and I set up in the kitchen and filmed for several hours. On this shot, I got a chance to work primarily with the lighting equipment, which is something I don’t have as much experience with, so it was really a very rewarding feeling to feel that I knew what I was doing. 

On Wednesday, I pitched my idea for a company promo to promote Motion Masters. My idea takes a quote from the company’s website front page as inspiration. The website is very clear on the importance of story-telling to get your idea across. I connected the idea of clients telling stories to fairytale characters (stories of their own) coming in to “tell their stories” by pitching ideas to Diana Walko, our CEO. 

I sketched out several little storyboards the day before so that my coworkers could see what I meant when I described certain shots. While I wrote up a script, I know that visualization is very important and I like to draw out what I am thinking. Getting all of the ideas on paper in a sketched out form is just as important to me as writing it all down in script-form. 

Today’s shoot was at the Capitol Market in Charleston. I got a chance to work with the company’s Red camera today. This camera produces footage with a cinematic quality to it. We are shooting for a documentary about the state and some of the most beautiful places to visit here. The Capitol Market sells all sorts of flowers, trees and other greenery you could want as well as fruits and vegetables.

My coworkers and I set up the camera on the dolly and did quite a few tracking shots of the long rows of flowers and food. My fellow intern, Jillian, and I got to take turns pushing the dolly and focusing the camera. At one point, Jillian even climbed onto the dolly (which is not very large) and was focusing while our coworker pushed it.

I also handed out release forms to the people that were on camera, put away the camera and tripod, and helped set up the van.

This has been a very busy week at Motion Masters and I look forward to the projects that I will be working on in the coming weeks. 

A link to the Capitol City Market website: http://www.capitolmarket.net/

Motion Masters: Back Again!

“MotionMasters is your creative partner in telling tales in print and on film, video, the web, CD-ROM or DVD, and you’re in good company when you work with us. Hospitals, advertising agencies, tourism, higher education, financial institutions, government agencies and manufacturers…we’ve been showcasing our clients’ stories since our founding on Groundhog Day in 1987. See more at: http://motionmasters.com/#sthash.siB2WPWi.dpuf” 

On Monday I began my second summer of interning with Motion Masters, a video production firm in my home town of Charleston, WV. Because last summer was such a fun and educational experience, I was happy to return to work with them!

Motion Masters specializes in conceptualizing, creating and filming advertisments, documentaries, educational films and much more. I really enjoyed interacting with my coworkers and the assignments that I was given to work on.

I was taken on many shoots to film. Motion Masters creates commercials for the local theme park, Camden Park, and I was taken along to help in the production of a new commercial. The crew and I drove to the park and filmed our hired “family” to run around the park. We needed footage of the new attraction, “The Rattler,” and I was happy to take our new GoPro camera onto the ride and get POV shots of people riding the ride. I ended up in the final edit of the commercial, as well as on their facebook page with my fellow intern, Bennet: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152147442449022&set=vb.56846824021&type=2&theater

I also was on camera a few other times, when an extra was needed in an educational film. I was filmed typing and in other scene I was being “interviewed.” When I wasn’t on camera, I was behind the scenes, sitting in on editing, picking music tracks and sound effects for videos and helping out on more video shoots.

My favorite thing about working with Motion Masters last summer was that I was given my own big project and a lot of creative freedom! I was assigned to create a promo video for the firm. I spent weeks storyboarding, looking up props and costumes and auditioning dogs. Seriously! Here is the final product: http://motionmasters.com/unleash-your-creativity/

I was also director, writer, location scout for that project, as well sitting in on the editing process. It was such an exciting experience to work as a director. Working with the actors (human AND canine) was my favorite part and something I hope to do again.  

I am really looking forward to the projectst that I will be a part of this summer and I will write about my experiences this first week in my next blog post.

Check out the Motion Masters website here: http://motionmasters.com/

Motion Masters Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/MotionMasters/56846824021

The Sound of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones

The documentary on the sound design of "Star Wars: Episode II" was really very interesting. As a film maker, I love watching behind the scenes featurettes. Seeing what it took to make the final product (and what a laborious process it is), only teaches me and makes me appreciate the film even more. 

I think the most interesting part for me was seeing the objects used to make sound effects. I love the use of objects that you would never suspect to be used, like an antique air raid siren that was used to make sound effects for the speeders in a chase sequence near the beginning of the film or the squishing up of a grapefruit to make the effects of the centipede creatures that crawl along the floor. I've seen documentaries on the original Star Wars trilogy and I think it's fascinating seeing how the sound designers utilize everyday items and stock effects to create iconic sounds like Chewy's growls, the lightsabers or the lasers coming from the X-wings and TIE fighters.

I also am a huge fan of Frank Oz and to see him do Yoda's voiceover was a real treat for me. He's such a talented actor, puppeteer and director, that just even getting to watch him perform was exciting and interesting for me. 

I learned a ton about the process and work that these sound designers put into creating the sounds for just one scene. The work that is put into just even little details in a sequence, like the movement of a machine or footsteps or background noise is astounding and, again, makes me appreciate the hard work that the creative team does.

As far as critiquing the documentary, I don't have much in the way of constructive criticism. I think perhaps it could have been shortened a little in places (some of the interviews were a little long I felt), but overall, I think that this documentary is well made, informative and interesting, especially for a Star Wars fan like myself.

Editing the Digital Signal

                 One of the main points in chapter one is that, while sound acts on physical principles, it has psychological effects on humans as well. The point that Alten is making is that we, as humans, perceive sound in a way that we understand on an emotional level. In my MIDI project, the beginning of my project is supposed to sound dark and confused, full of static, with bits of sound clips and special effects playing as if a radio is being tuned. In particular there is a brief sound clip with a violin playing. I liked the ominous effect of the sound and kept it in to contribute to the confusion of the opening.
               In chapter seventeen, a main point is: "an effective interactive-sound design creates an immersive environment through which a user can travel and explore." As I was designing my MIDI project, I wanted to create an environment for the listener of my song. I had a concept that the beginning would sound like a space ship taking off, with the pilot turning the radio on. This would lead into the song as if the station had been tuned to it. With the sound effects that I selected, I attempted to create an environment for the listener of my project. 

               In chapter twenty-four, Alten points out the importance of production values. Production values: "relate to the material's style, interest, color and inventiveness."  Good production value draws you into the project and move you. With my MIDI project, I attempted to create a sound that came across as a professionally made product with decent production value. Because I was working with free resources, I felt a lot of creative freedom to create something that was creative, stylish, interesting and inventive.

Kiersey Temperment Sorter

I took the Kiersey Temperment Sorter Test and was interested with the results that I got. My grandfather has been studying the Kiersey testing for years and has always told me that my type is "INFP." After taking the Kiersey test online, my type was "ENFP."

The Kiersey Temperment Sorter is a very widely used personality test. It first appeared in "Please Understand Me." It categorizes people into four different personality types: Artisan, Guardian, Rational, and Idealist. Other technical terms you will be put into are: Introvert or Extrovert, Sensing or Intuiting, Thinking or Feeling, and Judging or Perceiving.

The type that the online test gave me the was "Idealist Champion" and that I was an ENFP. I belive that this type is accurate to what sort of person I am. The Idealist type is all about emotion, building personal relationships, communication and being gentle and kind-hearted. Idealists live in a world a filled with possibilities and see room for change. We are harsh on ourselves when we think that we are being false or insincere. I think that this type is very much the way that I am.

The Champion part of my result said that I am a energetic person, are just and love to live life to the fullest. I think that these results are accurate to my personality. 

I am a little bit unsure of whether or not I am an extrovert or an introvert. The only difference in the results of the types that I have gotten is the extrovert and introvert aspect. When I was younger, I was was very shy and much more introverted than I am now. I think that both results seem to be accurate to the type of person I perceive myself to be. 
 

Observing Gender in Advertising and Media

In class, we took a look at several different films exploring gender roles in media and advertising. After watching these movies, I've noticed I'm looking at gender roles in advertising and media with a keener and more informed eye.
Later that day when I was Facebook, I took a look at some of my photo albums. I realized just how many photos I had taken where I was in many of the classic poses that we observed in the last film. Head tilted, leg canted, twisted into a position that threw me off balance or contorted me in some way. In positions that are considered to be classically feminine poses. I had never realized before how many of my photos were like this. Very few that I had taken could have fit into the category of "masculine" stances.
A few weeks ago, my friend's little cousin, Gabriel, came to visit. We took him out shopping with us. In one store, we came across some coloring books. My friend suggested to him some Batman or Thomas the Train Engine coloring books, but Gabriel was very insistent upon getting a bright pink and yellow Hello Kitty coloring book. My friend was attempting to discourage him from picking the girly item and even made a few comments to me about Gabriel potentially being gay. Gabriel is four years old and already being mocked for not being "masculine" enough.
Just experiencing this situation really brought to mind just how much importance we place on fitting into your gender role and how early on we are pressured to meet society's expectations of those roles. Before you are even born, sometimes as soon as your sex is determined, your family may give you a pink or blue nursery.
These films brought to light the enormous divide in the world of the feminine and the masculine and have made it easier to observe it.

Blog Four: Favorite Genre Film?

A genre is a used to understand the signs and content of a story for the purpose of building an audience. It is a type or category in which television, film, literature, etc. can be grouped into.

The question posed to me was “What is my favorite genre film?” I would say that my answer to this question is “Edward Scissorhands” as a favorite of the modern fantasy film genre.  

The concept alone is a fantasy. An inventor dies before his creation, a young man with scissors for hands, is finished, leaving him to live alone in a castle in the suburbs. The creation, Edward, is brought to live in the suburbs by the local Avon lady and Edward attempts to adapt to normal life. However, Edward’s inability to do so leads to disaster and his eventually having to return to the castle to live alone.

The film is original and different, while incorporating many of the common tropes we find in the fantasy film. We have familiar characters with the young hero, Edward, the old mentor/Father figure to the hero, The Inventor (played by the late, great Vincent Price) and Kim, the beautiful girl that he falls in love with.

Fantasy films often involve a quest of some sort. The hero has a goal and that goal tends to become the focus of the movie. Edward may not look to be a not heroic knight on a quest, but his goal is to win the love of Kim. In the end he takes on this role, winning the love of the fair maiden and saving her life.

Of course, with this being a Tim Burton film (and one of the first to showcase his unique and distinct style) the settings and characters of this film are over the top and fantastical. I adore the juxtaposition of the dark, lonely expressionistic castle on the hill against the cookie cutter, pastel-colored Floridian suburbs. The sets featured in the “real world” are so fantastically exaggerated that they are as fantastic as the castle where Edward was created in.

“Edward Scissorhands” is one of my all-time favorite films and my favorite film of the fantasy genre. It plays with tired conventions and modernizes them, makes them fresh. I love this film and it inspires me to learn more about fantasy as a genre.