Cool beans

final project

I completed my final project with very few changes from my original idea. Everyone suggested I lose the mushroom forms so it would not have any drug connotations. I also cut out the video expression of my eye looking around. It was originally ment to be on the mushroom forms and didn't really work on anything else. I also did not use the puppet tool because it was causing destructive things to happen to my drawings that I could not get around. Overall I tihnk the passing and look/feel turned out close to how I wanted.




Revision:
I didn't change much on this version, I tightened up some of the movements and tweaked some of the timing. I opened the time graph in after effects and changed the movment to Bezaire (or however you spell it) to smoothe out the movements. Aside from a complete character redesign on the shadow mans part.

mock-up

storyboards.

Here is the first shot of my story. It's from the perspective of an astreal mind wandering through some really funky reality. The reality starts off in a city, moving down a street. There are floating creatures in the sky, which does not look like how the sky should look, and giant mushrooms with eye balls grew to gigantic sizes right before your eyes. but you press on.


Here you've gone around the corner and are in a tighter back alley. Objects seem to have a life of their own and more mushrrom budlings appear when an ominous face comes into the window. AS you start to walk to the ned of the alley you are almost stopped by a beaked crab creature behind the wall.


You have the end of the city in sight and are headed for the country side. there are beasts here too, but you wait until they all walk past to start to go, but a giant mushroom eye monster appears in your path. it has wiggling tentacles and tenetalces come from off screen , completely blocking out your vision.

Hell-Vetica

I appreciate the history of things as much as the next guy. Especially something that has had such lasting effects in art and design, but this movie got a little long winded. Maybe it's because I'm a young American in a got to have it, got to have it now culture, but I got SO bored. That is why I'm calling this movie, HELL-VETICA!!!

In contemporary times, there are type faces everywhere. We are completely saturated with product pitches and bombarded with information. We either notice something or we don't based on how effective the pitch. Since what they want you to know is in text form, they have to choose a type face, and Helvetica is it. It's the big dog, the everywhere versatile font that is locked down tight. Many have tried to improve on it, but, supposedly it can't be done.

Massimo Vengelli said that Design fights against ugliness of visual disease, and that in Helvetica, it's the space between that really matters. In the 1950's when helvetica was first appearing, it had ALOT of ugliness to fight. It was after the war and people needed something differnt, less wordy, more streamline. Designers wanted a font that Loudly and clearly states modernism. There was a sense of social responsibility to, fix the kinks, smooth out the wrinkles, and the forefront of this idealist movement, were the uber-efficent Swiss. What kind of type would the Swiss come up with? A neutral one, naturally. Designers of the time felt a good type face should be neutral, there should be no meaning in the type face, it should be in the context of the text.

At Haas type foundry, Edward Hoffman was looking for a modern version of another kind of type, Neuo Haas Grotesque. Max Miedinger, who was a salesman at the time, was one of the key roles of the development of Helvetica. They needed a new name for the font, something to compliment its streamlined nature, and to elude to its origins. Helvetia is the latin name for Switzerland. Add a (ICA) and, wham-o, a legend is born.

This pretty much wiped all the old bad typography habits of the 1950's off the bored. The zanny hand lettered swatch typography, with muttled contrive concepts were re[placed by a Cleaner, strait forward approach, that worked.
It worked, it worked so well, infact, that corporations and government offices could not wait to adopt it. Helvetica diluted the authoritarian look of them and made them seem more acessable and open. Tax forms use it. The EPA uses it. Even Nasa uses it! American Airlines adopted it in the 50's and is the only major airline who hasn't altered their logo. Jeep, BMW, Toyota, Kawasaki, Nestle, Verizon, Target, JCPenny, ORAL B GEL FOR GODS SAKE! E-v-e-r-y-o-n-e uses it. It could work for them, and everyone else, because it invites open interpretation. All you have to do is alter the size, color, and spacing to say your unique message.

So of course it became Industry standard. It became convoluted in the eyes of the next design generation. It became the Default with no rythem or contrast in a world who needed more of those things. After is started to save the image of the big Corporations and Government it started to be represenetaive of them. Associated with Capitalism? You betcha. Like anything, the more it's used and played out the more predictable and dull it becomes. Routine.

So there was a big rebellion of Helvetica (and this is where I start to wish the movie was edited more, Though I of course understand the importance of showing both sides of the point). Blah blah blah, new generation of designs want to depart from it, nothing works quite as well as it, everyone realizes Helvetica isn't a choice, that it just IS and should have a place in design.

Design is a system. The written word is a system. Like any system it thrives on being efficent. It seems like the peek was already reached in the 1950's and theres no where to go from here but down.

Text anim

I chose to do a monolauge from The long good night. I wanted to create a maurice Binder bond feel.

Final Project

I was also kind if inspied by wesely's wondering around piece and thought we could follow the guy when he has the out of body experince instead of staying in the room, but when he sees the shadow man going to his room he has to rush back. Lets say he floats out into the sky, and seeks a bizarre world, a dream landscape. He floats around a bit, but spots the shdow figure heading toward his house, at this point he rushes back in and returns to his paralyzed body, which makes him able to move again and the hallucinations go away.

Maurice Binder

Maurice Binder was born August 25, 1925 In New York City, U.S.A. Worked mostly in England 1950’s on. He continued working up until he passed away from Illness on April 4, 1991.

Binder’s early works included designing advertisements and catalogs for Macy's department store. Also during the Second World War, he worked at Universal Studios. Later he became West Coast art director for Columbia Pictures. There was a film director named Stanely Donen who hired Binder to create main titles for Indiscreet and they worked together after that on almost all his films. One of them, The Grass is Greener, got Binder noticed by James Bond producers Hary Saltzman and 'Albert Broccoli', who hired Binder for the first Bond picture, Dr. NO. The shot of James Bond through that gun barrel tells you everything you need to know about what kind of movie it was going to be. The gun barrel that frames Bond firing at the camera was a real gun barrel. Binder photographed one using a pinhole camera and subsequently, used the technique in every Bond film. The reason for the swirling design is to spin the bullet, which gives it a truer trajectory. Binder’s style was in the lighthearted adventure venue, and bond openings were pretty tongue and cheek. I think he knew what the audience was looking for. He combined the violent atmosphere with the gun barrel and the extremely sexual nature of the women silhouettes, jumping on trampolines, very subtle.

Binder helped re-define what an opening title sequence could or should be, and used many techniques to accomplish his look, live-action shots, animation, abstract shapes for example were usually integrated into all of his Bond openings. This eclectic approach to title making is relevant to our class because we are learning different techniques that could in theory build a title on their own, but could be much stronger if we learn to combine them in the right ways. It’s interesting that his Opening titles are as cherished and revered as the movies themselves. Regardless of the context (being shot at, political strife, averting wars) The bond movies were characteristically light hearted and fun, and I think Maurice Binder did really well setting us up for that journey every time. Oh and Sean Connery is the only true Bond!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8880568601259240090&q=Maurice+Binder&total=31&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7118054430299870049&q=Maurice+Binder&total=31&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6762294875432787401&q=Maurice+Binder&total=31&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=4

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1412128487776572766&q=Dr.+No+intro&total=426&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

I thought this was interesting also, it's the intro to a spy video game that is obviously modeled after Binders James Bond style.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1412128487776572766&q=Dr.+No+intro&total=426&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

Final Pro

* I was thinking about taking the raw material I had from my currrent project and just completely reworking it using all the new techniques we've been learning, but thats pretty close to what I've been doing anyway, aside from the expression project.

*I was also kind if inspied by wesely's wondering around piece and thought we could follow the guy when he has the out of body experince instead of staying in the room, but when he sees the shadow man going to his room he has to rush back.

Revised story board

Goal

My story board was a little too fixed in position, and the stage was not well enough considered. To make it more like a fictional narrative that conveys the feelings I want I am going to include shots from the person on the beds perspective. I will be shooting all my own material and either using the strait photograph or manipulating it some how, cutting it up, drawing on top of it, etc. The key to remember is that the pixels must be 720 x 480 or larger, which wont be an issue with all my own footage. With careful consideration of what I keep in my shot and more personal feelings conveyed through 1st person perspective I believe I will achieve the desired result with a layered composition.

storyboard

It will start with a short shot of someone laying there, then switch to ropes and chains creeping up the bed to simulate the restriction of sleep paralysis.There will be a guy (me) laying in the bed, looking awake, but unable to really move. He will have an out of body experience, which accompanies sleep paralysis. His astral self will walk off. Then a hallucination in the form of a shadow man will come and plauge me. and eventually he will leave. After he is gone my astral mind will return

Technical review

The Kid Stays In The Picture:
I need to figure out how to achieve the fade in look.
The screen splits and opens like curtains at times.
Juxtaposition of party audio to visuals of an empty home.
Uses a constant combo of Fades and Zooms, always moving, always flowing.
Isolation of color on one figure in old photo to create depth, and emphasis- makes a still frame more interesting.
Uses simple animation of stationary objects in background-water rippling, leaves blowing.
Seperating the figure from the enviroment and moving them sepreatly is very important.
Newspaper clippings floating around screen at different trasparencies and paths.
Still figures are overlayed onto film clips.
Work with what you have.
Their goal is to create a discourse (what IS non-fiction)
Distortion of images make is subjective.
Every element in a scene on a different plane- creates depth.
background skewed let or right, foreground stable.
blur effect to create atmosphere.
Always collecting material for film.
Use of drop shadow can be effective.
Work with saturation and mono-chromatic.
Sunflare to create movement.
direct still images like they were actors.
Few hard cuts, cuts affect flow and feeling
no narration at times, for a break.

In the Realms Of The Unreal.
Use of old film clips
film archives useful
Overly often.
Uses more still images than in " The Kid Stays In The Picture"
Depicting drawings in progress could be a nice effect
animated still images.
Stock footage used to achieve atmosphere
Decolorize everything.
Ridiculous amount of movement by seperating figure from background. and animating them.
Panning in still image used often, zooms as well.
Animation loops, in the explosions for example are used often.
Cuts are mostly fades. or sharp cuts.

Ken Burns Civil War:
Shakes old still images only slightly to make them look as if they are being shot from a hand held video camera, cool technique.
Lots of fade-ins and fade-outs
obligatory panning on still images, and zooming in and out of still images. Audio plays a stronger role with Burns, carries more weight.
use of archive film clips breaks up monotony of panning still pictures.
Also uses talking heads to break up still imagery.
and of course the good ole' Ken Burns effect, where he pans across a still image, resting in places of note byythe narrator.

ANimation in photoshop

My animation depicts scrawled sketchy drawing of what it can be like to experience Sleep Paralysis. It includes the binding feelings and an out of body experience.

Proposal

Sleep Paralysis is in the Parasomnia family of sleep disorders. It is characterized by waking up, and not being able to move or speak. There can be hallucinations in this state, and it can last from 30 seconds to in some cases, hours. Most people suffer from Sleep Paralysis at least once in their life.

By exploring the topic of Sleep Paralysis in a personal, social, and fictional format I hope to increase my understanding of the disorder, and in an interesting way, bring the true cause of the Sleep Paralysis symptoms to people who might not know what it is.

Free writing

So now I need to start my free writing assignment on sleep paralysis, I have had sleep paralysis about 10 times. starting a little over a year ago. The first time it was horrifying beacuse I had no idea what was going on. Later after some research I figured out it was a thing called sleep paraylisis that is in the parasomnia family of sleep disorders. Other disorders in this family are called sleep walking and night terrors. Sleep paralysis is often linked with narcolepsy as well. When you have sleep paralysis it is when you awake suddenly from a state of REM ( rapid eye movement) sleep and your motor functions are inactive. This is because in REM your body disables these functions to keep you from acting out your dreams physically in bed. The result of waking up in this state is being paralyzed for anywhere from 30 seconds to in some cases, hours. You can open your eyes and look around but that is about it. It is usually accompanied by a pressure on your chest a feeling of dread, feeling a presence in the room, and hallucinations. There are two types of sleep realted hallucinations, Hypnogogic and hypnopompic. The prior takes place before you go to sleep the later after you wake up. The hallucinations might manifest as the cause of your inability to move, and the pressure on your chest. There were many reports of creatures, demons, imps, even aliens, holding people down or sitting on their chests. THis is usually very frightening to most people the first and even following times. Sleep Paralysis is usually brought on by sleep deprivation, a strange sleep schedule, muscle atrophe, stress and possibly other reasons i'm not aware of.

Sleep paralysis

Visual metaphors























http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis
1.) Symptoms of sleep paralysis can be either one of the following or a combination:

Paralysis: this occurs after waking up or shortly before falling asleep. the person cannot move any body part, cannot speak, and only has minimal control over blinking and breathing. This paralysis is the same paralysis that occurs when dreaming. The brain paralyzes the muscles to prevent possible injury during dreams, as some body parts may move during dreaming. If the person wakes up suddenly, the brain may still think that it is dreaming, and sustains the paralysis.

Hallucinations: Images or speaking that appear during the paralysis. The person may think that someone is standing beside them or they may hear strange sounds. These may be dreamlike, possible causing the person to think that they are still dreaming.

These symptoms can last from mere seconds to several minutes and can be frightening to the person

http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/paralysis.html

2.)Sleep paralysis is most often associated with narcolepsy, a neurological condition in which the person has uncontrollable naps. However, there are many people who experience sleep paralysis without having signs of narcolepsy. Sometimes it runs in families. There is no known explanation why some people experience this paralysis. It is not harmful, although most people report feeling very afraid because they do not know what is happening, and within minutes they gradually or abruptly are able to move again; the episode is often terminated by a sound or a touch on the body.


http://www.dreamsnightmares.com/sleepparalysis.html

3.)There are a number of historical and urban cultural myths, which can be, somewhat, explained by this experience. The Incubus, which appears in ancient literature, is one such example. In the book Incubus by Kiessling, It was described as half man half beast, attacking in the night. The word night "mare" has been derived from the word incubus. In Greek it was ephialtes, in Latin incubus, in German mar/mare, in Old English maire, Old Norse mara, Old Irish mar/mor, and all mean "one who leaps on, oppresses or crushes."

The demon of the night has also been called 'The Old Hag' a description and myth coming out of several cultures. The Old Hag was described in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.


http://csicop.org/si/9805/abduction.html

4.) If you believe one set of claims, nearly four million Americans have been abducted by aliens. This figure has been widely publicized and is often assumed to mean that millions of people have been visited by members of an alien species and, in some cases, physically taken from their beds, cars, or homes to an alien craft or planet.

Personal accounts of abduction by aliens have increased since the publication of Budd Hopkins's books Missing Time (1981) and Intruders (1987) and Whitley Strieber's Communion (1987). There is considerable variation among the accounts, but many fit a common pattern. Wright (1994) summarized 317 transcripts of hypnosis sessions and interviews from 95 separate cases and concluded, "Numerous entity types have been visiting our planet with some regularity" (Part 2, p. 6). However, the "gray" is clearly the most common alien and over the years a typical account has emerged (see, e.g., Mack 1994; Schnabel 1994; Thompson 1993).

The experience begins most often when the person is at home in bed (Wright 1994) and most often at night (Spanos, Cross, Dickson, and DuBreuil 1993), though sometimes abductions occur from a car or outdoors. There is an intense blue or white light, a buzzing or humming sound, anxiety or fear, and the sense of an unexplained presence. A craft with flashing lights is seen and the person is transported or "floated" into it. Once inside the craft, the person may be subjected to various medical procedures, often involving the removal of eggs or sperm and the implantation of a small object in the nose or elsewhere. Communication with the aliens is usually by telepathy. The abductee feels helpless and is often restrained, or partially or completely paralyzed.

The "gray" is about four feet high, with a slender body and neck, a large head, and huge, black, slanted, almond-shaped eyes. Grays usually have no hair and often only three fingers on each hand. Rarer aliens include green or blue types, the taller fair-haired Nordics, and human types who are sometimes seen working with the grays.

The aliens' purpose in abducting Earthlings varies from benign warnings of impending ecological catastrophe to a vast alien breeding program, necessitating the removal of eggs and sperm from humans in order to produce half-alien, half-human creatures. Some abductees claim to have seen fetuses in special jars, and some claim they were made to play with or care for the half-human children.

Occasionally, people claim to be snatched from public places, with witnesses, or even in groups. This provides the potential for independent corroboration, but physical evidence is extremely rare. A few examples of stained clothing have been brought back; and some of the implants have reportedly been removed from abductees' bodies, but they usually mysteriously disappear (Jacobs 1993).

Opposite visual metaphors

1st day of Dynamic Imaging

I just created my blog for the Dynamic Imaging class.