Projection Artist Statement

I wanted to make an animation of a character wearing a hi-top that serve as homage to the early 90s.  I gave the character a hi-top because it speaks of the early 90s, and it is also a way of paying homage to Juice (1992) an iconic movie that was known for showing the many hi-tops and other early 90s styles. My character’s hi-top is based off of Bishop’s hi-top from Juice. Bishop was one the main characters in the movie played by Tupac. It is one of my favorite movies from that time period.  

The character starts off with a simple head nod. As the animation progresses, his nods become more intense until his hi-top grows and carries him about the screen. The music coming from the headphones is the drive behind his movement and hair growth. I wanted to the intro, progression, climax of music through the movement of the character’s hair and his reactions to what he’s listening to. The figure eventually lands and his hi-top retracts signaling that the music and animation is drawing near an end. Suddenly, a splash of color bursts out of his head filling the screen. This is my way of letting the viewer experience what the experienced with the headphones on.  The inclusion of this scene is inspired by moments when I’ve listened to songs that extended for a few seconds, switched melodies, or added something to the existing sounds half way or near the end of the song.  I arranged the video clip as a loop because the character-like-myself-is stuck in the early 90s era. The cardboard speaks of the early 90s’s styles and music that are outdated and rare. In the video clip and the surface, the cardboard is new because the character never gets tired of listening to the music.  The overall look is simplistic because I did not want to have aesthetics that was overbearing with the color splash scene. Also, I wanted the viewer to focus on the contours of the character, the forms of his hair, and his movement.

 

Projection_ideas:

FIRST IDEA:

My first idea is to make a video collage of different faces. It will be projected onto a sculpted/crafted surface( plastic cups) and covered with a skin (alluminum foil) adding volume and depth to the projection. 

The video begins with a variety of masked video clips being arranged on the screen. Some of them will be still while others move. They eventually arranged to form a head (not perfectly shaped).

Afterwards, pieces(video clips/stills) of the head will be removed. revealing drawings underneath them. Like the video clips some will move while others are still. The current video clips will be overlapped as the process repeats itself. Each new figure will be from different angles and range, as well as the various images of the subject inside of the panels.

SECOND IDEA: 

My second idea is to project an animation onto blue plastic cups. The animation will be a loop of a man being propelled through 4 columns of vertically stacked plastic cups. the first column will be suspended in the air using string. The character will fall through the first column and propel upward through the second column (implying that he traveled underneath the floor/interacting w/ the floor), plummeting down into the third column, upward again into the fourth column, and falling back into the first suspended column.

goal for thursday:

I will complete the 2nd page of my storyboards by thursday.

GOAL FOR NEXT CLASS:

I will reach the 5th column of page 2 of my storyboard.

next goal:

I will get to the second column of page 2 of my storyboard.

Progress for Next Tuesday, 9/23/2010:

For next class I will have no less than page 1 of my storyboard completed.

Project Concept

My piece is about the consequence of drinking too much soda. Using stop-motion drawings, my piece will show soda traveling through the digestive system to the small intestines and cause the bones of the body to deteriorate.

The soda travels through the mouth and is then swallowed traveling through the esophagus, stomach, and to the small intestine. When the soda reaches the small intestine, the phosphoric acid dressed in HazMat suits and armed with flame throwers, descend upon the villus and raid them (reflective of celiac disease). After the villus are raided, they then set off a bomb on the outermost wall of the small intestine, creating a path to the bloodstream. The HazMat phosphoric acid morphs into bubbles, (phizz in soft drinks. phosphoric acid is what gives soda its phizzy quality) and then a pattern that spreads and covers the entire screen. (pattern is reflective of bloodstream: veins, breakage/cracks in a hard surface, disease spreading throughout the body). After the pattern spreads it crumbles piece by piece into a pile of debris which is then swept away by a broom, illustrating the weakening of bones due to calcium depletion such as in osteoporosis.

SODA: phosphoric acid is prominent ingredient in soda and is very acidic (pH is 2.5). Too much intake of this can make ones body too acidic making one prone to disease (disease thrives in acidic environment vs alkline environment in which diseases cannot survive in). It also depletes bones of calcium.

diseases linked to acidity: cancer, diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, gall, kidney stones etc.

BUBBLES: phosphoric acid morphs between HazMat suits (for eradication) and bubbles (most efficient means of transporting themselves). Phosphoric acid gives soda its phiz quality.

SMALL INTESTINE: lining of small intestine (villi) secretes secretin (hormone). secretin stimulates pancreas so it can make digestive enzymes.

digestive enzymes: break down food body needs to function properly.

VILLI: line wall of small intestine, and absorb nutrients of food into bloodstream. nutrients are then transported to cells of body. without them your body cant extract nutrients from food.

TEETH: at pH below 5.5 acid begins to dissolve protective enamel off of teeth leaving them prone to decay.

CELIAC DISEASE: caused by eating foods containing gluten. immune reaction occurs in small intestine, causing damage to surface of small intestine & inability to absorb certain nutrients.

BONES: depletes bones of calcium making them prone to fracture/ osteoporosis

OSTEOPOROSIS: bones become brittle and weak due to loss of calcium.

MATERIALS: card board or brown paper, acrylic paint black & white, conte/charcoal, water, paint brushes, eraser, palette knife

INSPIRATION: I'm trying to break a bad habit of drinking too much soda. I was inspired to make a piece about it. So far, so good. I haven't had soda in a couple weeks, and I've been drinking more water.

Cancerous Soda: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi5dE93LSKg

Coca Cola Warning Egg Test: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kpJwnRMu_M

Saul Bass The Man With The Golden Arm: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS76whmt5Yc

STORYBOARDS:

potential idea:

When I'm asleep I don't dream, or at least I never remember my dreams. All I remember seeing is pitch black darkness. Whenever I'm awake or not in my bedroom (my comfort zone for sleeping environment) I'm more prone to dream. I think of all kinds of crazy things that I wish I dreamed about more often or when I'm awake.

My idea is to show this by animating w/ paint on the surface what I wish I dreamed about-fictional subjects that are not real, giant robots, action cartoon fight scenes etc. and having them dissappear (drawings being buffed out/ painted over by dark color). whenever I fall asleep. Will be shown by animating myself in stop motion falling asleep. I will be laying head on pillow/laying under blanket etc. (being buffed out/ painted over by dark color). I want to show how these fictional subjects are more possible for me in the real world than i when i'm dreamning-which would be the best place for these events to take place.

3 potential ideas:

1) taking objects and stacking them together constantly building, restructuring, and destroying the stack.

2) traveling hand drawn animation

using a large surface-ex: cardboard-as the drawing to move inside of, the surface itself moves around its environment with the drawing. I could add multiple surfaces so the drawings move within them.

3) stop motion animation of myself changing clothes.

i will not move in the animation except for occassional poses/gestures, however, the clothes themselves will act as living objects as they dress me in different outfits.

Self Critique:

The title of my piece is Going Off. My idea was to recreate the social experience of being inside a video game arcade to spark enthusiasm and captivate the viewer. The idea came from childhood and recent memories of going to "Fun Arcade" with family and close friends before it was torn down. It was the last arcade in New Orleans. 

The exposition begins with a bird's eye view of New Orleans followed by flashing images of a hot sausage po-boy and snowballs-food symbolizing my home and childhood. Next is the conflict. A caution sign appears followed by a sequence of young men wearing hi-tops. I wanted to use them to represent nostalgia and the 90s because most of my memories of visiting arcades take place during that time period. After the hi-top shots, the images build up into a rapid succession of movement making up the conflict. At this point, I want the viewer to feel as though they have been taken into the loud and busy atmosphere of the arcade. The flashing images come to another brief halt showing a b-boy upside down on his head, creating the climax. The shots following the halt form the resolution. The timing in the climax and resolution mimic the way that arcade matches intensify as players are near victory/defeat, and the way that arcades become busier and louder during late hours. 

After finishing this project, I see that it has a lot of breakdancing images. I see connections between b-boying and arcade gaming. Both spark public/social gathering, and competition between familiars and strangers. Also, both cultures seemed to have died out. As I mentioned before, there aren't anymore arcades in New Orleans, and breakdancing isn't popular there either-it also seems to be underground on a national level as well. 

Some strengths of the project are how most of the images connect and create movement, and the placement of the text juxtaposed with images ex: "aight", "kick it" followed by the succession of kicks. The concept is not obscure. Other strengths of this project are organization, and brainstorming. The Brainstorming/freewriting process helped me relax and generate grounds for exploration without over thinking and being too complex. I see the freewriting process as a potential tool for future projects.

I increased the timing of the images. What I presented for critique was too literal. The repetitive button images took away from the aesthetic moving images making the piece less about the social experience and more about the individual and machine/arcade. Some images were irrelevant such as the old man smoking and the young man with the string in his mouth. The pictures of time square, placement of the concert,/crowd  were also irrelevant. Overall the editing needed to be tightened and more specific to the social aspect of the arcade experience. I increased the timing and focused on creating movement because it is the strong point of the piece. 

I used a different method of converting my images to 720x480: File-Scripts-image processor

At image processing window: choose source folder and location to save processed images-type 720X480 in width/height box, and check resize to fit images-click Run. 

Photoshop will then create a new folder with your resized images.

Open resized images: File-Scripts-load files into stack 

 

DUE 9/7: Response to How Google Algorithm Rules the Web

Google does control the web with its smart algorithm, and its ability to compute the context and relationships between different words and phrases thus providing us the most variety of results.  At all times people are using Google, and this works to the developers advantage. What I found interesting was the comment "just about every time you search Google you're a lab rat." I've been asking myself that question for a while, and this article confirmed it. Obviously Google's tests depend highly on the people using it and knowing what is being searched. For me this raises a question of privacy, however, it seems they would have to know what our searches say to make the system work better for us, but it still feels awkward knowing that your searches are constantly being monitored to an extent. There's also that whole google earth thing where you can see various locations in the world. (neighborhoods etc.) Of course there are boundaries Google established to prevent the abuse of such abilities, but the fact that its possible remains somewhat alarming. 

Is Google Making Us Stupid?: Response

I've been thinking about this issue recently. Cell phone and internet usage has effected my grammar in text messages. I get impatient when trying to find information on the internet only because I expect speed and efficiency from it, but I'm more patient with books and other traditional material. When writing notes, I sometimes use the @ symbol instead of spelling out at when brainstorming or text messaging, but that's as far as it goes. I can still read traditionally without getting impatient. I prefer reading, writing, and drawing etc. outside of the computer. I've tried typing my thoughts directly onto the computer for class assignments, but, I develop ideas better by writing them first. I'm prefer the imperfection and repetition of scratching out thoughts and re writing them, and I like writing my thoughts in graffiti.

I try to avoid giving into such potential habits from convenient internet usage by using correct grammar and punctuation in text messages, internet searches, and blogs etc. Ironically enough I still participate in various online activities.

As technology advances and traditional habits and tools become obsolete, we become more connected to and dependent on technology, and because of that, I maintain cautious about its advancements in terms of who's making it and why its advancing so rapidly. (new cell phone every month kind of thing) Will internet searches become more tightly regulated, or used in some subtle elitist fashion to manifest hidden agendas? What if everything we do outside of the internet becomes accessible only via internet, and we get taxed by the government for using it? (can only pay bills via internet etc.) Some of the following statements in the article forced me to weigh the potential pros and cons of our relationship with technology, and the intentions of people in charge of making it.

"Google is really trying to build artificial intelligence and do it on a large scale."

"Certainly if you had all the world's information directly attached to your brain, or an artificial brain that was smarter than your brain, you'd be better off."

"In the past man has been first, in the future the system must be first."

Recently, I watched a documentary about Transhumanism, and I think it fits well with this discussion. One speaker made a powerful comment. He spoke of the study in a religious context. "In a way, our heaven is the future, and in a way technology is our god." After reading the article and watching the documentary I can't help but question where does it end?

Pt 1 Technocalyps Transhumanism: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnQMHl8P5jA

Pt 2 Technocalyps Preparing for the Singularity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqBiGPzFYgM

Pt 3 Technocalyps The Digital Messiah: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV0kbtLTYVg

Freewriting pg 7

Freewriting pg2-6

Freewriting pg1

DIstilled Words & Phrases 7:

wrong thing

black mailed

that ain't cool

sound effects

nothing useful

i should play some tekken

challenge

beat me

fighting games

matter

mad noise

cool world

irrelevant

circumstances

nachos

snowball/some ice cream

hotsausage

cheese burgers

tator tots

healthy

today

I gotta take a shit

I'm tired of taking shits

accomplish

handle your business

comfortable

Distilled Words & Phrases 6:

I want to be an animator

misspelled

coldest

content

people would hate it

follow

first

skills

kick

brush

get my mind right

shive

lesean thomas

skill level

who I am

sweatin'

normal

no one really cares/about

opposed

musician

mainstream

a better artist

clean off

possible

extra

methods

expounding

techniques

getting cold

drawing

animating

realized

repeat

repetition

helps

tune

bam!

airplanes

runrays

take off

lift off

sea

ocean

junk

somebody

Distilled Words & Phrases 5:

quality

fineness

daily

basis

funny

certain

qualities

judged

attractive

extent

end

target/audience

reflect

agenda

they

project

weird

looking at tv

listening

wonder

looked up

sound effects

futurist

highways

bird's eye view

dark blue

variety

blues and blacks

mars black

all kinds/of

glowy

flickering lights

stars

colors

thinking

how much homework

have to

stay focused

knock everything out

motivated

fact

I

animated

megaman 8

intro

inspired

world/out

i'm not a biter

rare

Distilled Words & Phrases 4:

sound

new head phones

cool pattern

them

roman historians

satirists

write

research

illuminati

new world order

be a sucker

juice

poppedin my head

haircuts

hightops

in style

diagonal

fade up

90s

money

entertained

feel like you're doing something

snuck

barely

popping

locking

harder better faster stronger

tyra banks show

monique show

wendy williams show

"chick shows"

fine

mug

camera

focused

host

3 quarter view

beaucoup

majority

people/behind the scenes

screen

Distilled Words & Phrases 3:

machine guns

machine guns are cool

uzi

speaking of stereotypes

my white friend about cheese

the boondocks

cheese/being favored by whites

fried chicken for white people

chicken thing

everybody likes chicken

white and black

anybody

people love meat

calling her out/about

she didn't call anyone nigger

media

overshadow

channel

nigger

everyone will feel like they've done something

the media

nothing changes

serious

in your face

get/pissed off

brainwashed

out of proportion

images

bombing subway trains

railways

streetcars

smell

rails

gears

grinding

against

Distilled Words & Phrases 2:

lounge/loiter spot

walked around

loitering

arcade

talking shit

strangers

other people

the people who kicked ass

play games

side note: i'm realizing how fast my thoughts are compared to writing & trying to keep up with them. damn! this shit can be be hard if you make it.

virtual-on ontario tangram

power stone 2

street fighter 3rd strike

remember

names

lazy

describe

dark and loud

the people

adults

fanboys

subculture

regular

social gathering

area

facebook

real life

not gay

bitch ass motherfuckers

PLAY THAT SHIT!

fuck a facebook

roll out

aiight

arcade culture

dying out

only thing

go to work

worked to death

other shit

videogame tournaments

comic book conventions

breakdance tournaments

BOTY tournaments

french quarters=slave quarters

Distilled Words & Phrases 1:

tekken 4 ost- authentic sky (building stage theme)

off the wall

kill a nigga shit

pissed off

stereotype

you know you're day is going to be cool when you haven't considered jacking off

flying arenas

video game music

nostalgia and shit

guts

taggin'

city

graffiti ninja dude

arcades

mainstream level

authenticity

mass

audience

redundant/stuff

ex:

...

whatever

new orleans

closed down

the other

last arcade

Fun Arcade

torn down

bastards

no bullshit

times

discovered

experience

Free writing Response:

This is an interesting way of developing ideas. I was discouraged at first because I was not sure if anything interesting would come out of my writing. After focusing on getting comfortable and being honest about what I was thinking, I got results. I tried to write consistently because if I stopped, I would end up thinking too hard and writing down used ideas. I wanted fresh thoughts. Some old thoughts and subject matter came out as a result of daily influences and past experiences. I got started by writing something simple such as my actions at that moment, and I expounded from that to potential topics and ideas. Some of them I "subconsciously" thought of before and got the chance to unpack in this process. I got on a few rants. One was nostalgic, and some others are in danger of being cheesy, but oh well. What I found both interesting and difficult was trying to write fast enough to keep up with my thoughts. My thoughts jumped ahead several thoughts as I was writing the old one down. As a result of that, I misspelled words and altered some phrases. Also, in the distilling process, the context of key words in a favored statement changed once they were singled out. I also began thinking about how the search engines interpret words like "redundant", "regular", and "authentic". What does a computer or code consider authentic?