Class Evaluation 2016-2017

well.... It is the end of the year... oh boy. Time for the class evaluation.
 
 1.) Why did I take this class?:
   I took this class because it was the second year course really. I mean I did take it because I feel like it would help set me on a path towards a future career but I wanted to stay with everyone I met the year before.

2.) In General what did you like most about this class?:
  What I liked a lot about this class was the connection I have had with my fellow classmates. It's unavoidable but in a positive aspect.
 
   3.)In general what do you like least about this class?:
   What I didn't like most about this class was the Blogs. I can't really explain it, I guess it was the requirements for what we had to write but it wasn't as bad as last year and its me talking so I can't really complain.

4.)what was your most favorite project and why?:
  Mine would probably have to be the montage we created in Photoshop or the final project because I actually enjoyed making them instead of just making it for a grade.

5.)what was your least favorite project and why?:
 My least favorite project would have to be the PSA. I understand that it was optional but I feel like it'd be better if we didn't have it as an option.

6.) Discuss the overall effectiveness of the instructor:
  My teacher seemed really involved, helping, strict (in a good way, and no I'm not brown nosing haha). Ms. Licata expected us to act like college level students and rightly so. I have no complaints.


7.)what are the most valuable things you learned in the class?:
I actually have no clue, this year has blended in with last year so I feel I haven't learned more in methods/character than I have last year.

8.) Do you feel this class will help you achieve your future academic or career goals? How or why (or why not)?:
 I believe it has due to the fact of the subject matter I have learned. The only thing is that I do not know what I want to do so how can I say this will help my future academic life or career?

9.) How could this class be improved?:
 I have no input except for the fact about blogs. I believe what we have learned is important to the field we may invest our future lives into.

10.) What would you tell incoming students to help them be more prepared for the class?:
Manage your work, get sleep, and never be absent unless need be. I learned that the hard way.

I Feel Like I Have Parkinson When I Hold A Camera

    Have you ever tried getting that perfect shot whether it being a photo or video footage? well i have, and it is nearly impossible when creation has cursed me with these god awful shaky hands. that is why camera stabilization is very important for any footage being taken. There are many ways with the expensive kind, a still shot, in post production, or just maybe, just maybe your hands...
    Excuse the over dramatics but its a big deal especially if you do not have the money for professional equipment. Such a finding like this is not hard but does however require professional advice in order to perfect the "craft".  There is a man who goes by the name... PETER MCKINNON!!!!!!!! Ok so not that extreme but he makes very well structured videos on YouTube. He focus on the whole Camera/video production genre. His video this week goes into the idea of camera stabilization. He covers 3 ways but dives into detail for 2 of them.
   The first one being the 3 point system. That being that when you hold a camera it is not just with one hand, there is supposed to be another hand holding it. well what about the other point you may be asking? Well that is up to you for personal preference. What Peter says can be used is for instance you can use your eye. another option could be up against your chess, which will limit the wobble/shake a lot. Another 3rd point can be a strap. just put it behind your neck, stretch out the camera and voila, a 3rd point. As before it is really just personal preference when coming to that. This is my favorite method just for the fact since a lot of people are not made out of money, this is the most useful advice.
   The second one is through post production. There is an option in post production where you can get rid of a lot of the shaking in the already taken footage. There is an effect option in Premiere Pro called "warp". This effect will analyze the footage that you are wanting to fix and will do the work on its own. Just as simple as that.
   These are what examples he; Peter McKinnon, gave to help people like me and you if we are ever not able to have such professional equipment.
   

Weekly Comments (The Last One):

     This week has been going very well. Things in life are falling into place that help make it enjoyable though there has been a few hiccups. There isn't much to really say, I finished my Final Project and turned it in for a grade. I hope that does well because its worth about 25% of my whole grade. Then there are individual things that go on in my life which are odd but nothing uncommon. As I have said, there isn't much to talk about, its the end of the year so not a whole lot goes on in school. I don't really have plans of what i'll do after I graduate so there goes that topic ha. I don't know what to really say... crap.  

Hipster Looking Videos Aren't That Bad

    Though Michel Gondry isn't actually a hipster in any way, his alternatives to filming begins to make one wonder if he fits that category.
     The video Dissects Gondry's work with such examples being from White Stripes videos. Such Videos being "Dead Leaves and The Dirty Ground", "Fell in Love with A Girl", and " The Denial Twist". All great examples that the video uses to help explain the narrative.
     First there is the video "Dead Leaves and The Dirty Ground". The Song's video is about Memories, Ghosts of ones past and how life is. A Motif that Jack White (The singer) loves. What they did is originally take footage of the room from within showing some action/party going on and then use a projector;in the same spot as the other camera was,  to then show the footage of the room while Jack is singing making it look like overlaying memories or ghosts. To see what was once a vibrant place with so much energy now being lonely and dead gives the feelings of loneliness and sorrow.
    Next example being "Fell in Love with A Girl". Most likely a very Iconic music video using something we all know and maybe love being Legos. Using Stop Motions isn't new, Peter Gabriel was the first back in the 80's with "Sledge Hammer" which was all in stop motion except for some spots. The thing that makes this video different from Peters is how it was done. With Peters it was on site excessive photos to make it stop motion. Now how the White Stripes video was done was by taking footage of the people first. All being in regular realistic motion. Then in editing transfer the footage to independent photos for each frame by most likely adding a mosaic effect to give off that Lego look. The once the photos are produced the animation team will use them for reference for the actual stop motion with the lego bricks. Something that even I have never heard of.
   Now the last video being "The Denial Twist". This video has its own quirks compared to the others which is mainly do to in part of the editing process in post production. The technique that was used for the video was scaling in effects. The only thing is that when scaling in effects there is an equal lock where the footage stays even in scale. They had to get rid of that lock. In my personal opinion I didnt care for how it turned out but I respect the idea for it because it did work for a lot of people.  

No body move.... except you camera guy!

Camera movement does have its impacts in cinema. It can definitely have a punch if it is directed the right way, with the help of a keen eye of course. Great films that are well received are not just praised for the acting, story or editing but also for its cinematography. The elements that are used/ implemented to help show the scene are just as important. Camera movements are just such an example to talk about.
       Camera Movements can be a huge asset when deciding how to film that "one" scene. these scenes can include all types such as Panning, zoom, tracking, that such. In the video such examples as Marnie (1964), Reservoir Dogs (1992), and Children of Men (2006)  were stated, and wonderful examples at that.
     Lets begin with Marnie. Marnie is a Hitchcock film where a female employee is caught stealing from the bank but is black mailed to marry a man named Mark Ruttland. They go on the honeymoon cruise and all is decent but Mark begins to get suggestive sexually, Marnie isn't comfortable with men and it goes all ok for a couple of days till he has had enough and forces himself on her. How the scene is shot is what makes it so great. Marnie begins to lye down with no emotion and the camera follows her while doing so. It then cuts to marks yes slowly zooming in with the music intensifying, but then going back to Marnie showing the same distance as before showing no change. Then, a pan off to the window. That shot can give off a feel as if we weren't supposed to see it, as if it was too traumatic and wishing for it to end almost a what Marnie was most likely thinking at that moment. It leaves us in a moment of fear, resigning, coping, anger, violence but as stated in the video if the scene was shot differently we wouldn't feel those same emotions anymore.
   The next example is Reservoir Dogs. A 1992 Quentin Tarantino classic about random men being hired, trained and then sent out to rob a bank. All goes wrong meaning "shit hits the fan" and Micheal Madsen; which I admire for his work such movies as this and his voice acting in Dishonored, is one of the surviving members who is trying to find answers. There is a scene where Micheal's character is interrogating a "suspect"; its really just a guard from the bank, and during this scene he does something that takes direct inspiration from "Marnie". The scene consists of his character wielding a knife while the guard is bloody, gagged, and tied up to a chair. Micheal's character then proceeds to hum "Stuck in the middle with you" by Stealers Wheel and then has the audacity to cut the guys ear off. Here is the thing though, the camera veers off just as he is beginning to do so, the only thing we are left with is the guards muffled screams. All we are left with is almost exactly what we are left with in Marnie.
    Such great examples which these movies are leaves on to wonder if they too can make great things happen in a scene or if it is just for the "Greats". I am sure it is possible for everyone to fit that category but you never know.      

Weekly Comments: Oh happy days, happy days

    This week is not so bad if I do say so myself. Though I am not entirely caught up in some classes I am doing better. I have been getting distracted but thankfully not in a bad way. I am needing to organize better like almost always because I either get carried away and "put too much on my plate" as they say or I just don't know what to do. I'll pull through like I always do it's just a matter of how.
    Link of interest? it is not really related to this class but to me, it is just like the last Weekly Comments. A link to a play along tab to a song that im getting under my belt. It is the bass tab of the Megadeth song called "Countdown to extinction". the song is about illegal poaching and how animals are going extinct at an alarming rate. The song is from 1991-'92. Over 20 years later it is still relevant. The band had ended up winning an award for bringing awareness to the issue. but here it is:

https://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/megadeth-countdown-to-extinction-tab-s12245t3

   I feel very proud for learning the song because I can almost memorize it perfectly. Hopefully one day I will be able to play along with someone for these songs instead of by myself. I think it has already been 2 years since i started playing music, over 1 for bass. Man does time fly by and how I've advanced quickly while teaching myself.

Continuity a big yes yes!!

    Continuity is a very large factor for film. well... for the most part that is. Though Continuity is important in the academic sense, hell even in the mass media but it isn't the most important. there are many movies that fail in some aspects of continuity but most people do not notice those errors. Only people who purposely look for it or if the movie isn't grabbing the audience's attention.

    Movies that show such examples are "Apocalypse Now", "Full Metal Jacket", and "Shutter Island". All I will dissect individually. 

    The first one is "Apocalypse Now" where in one scene where the marines in vietnam are landing on the river side you first see 4 hueys. then when it cuts to another angle which is supposed to be maybe a couple seconds, the hueys are gone. nowhere to be seen. It's not like they took off and got out of site in seconds. That was a continuity error that was not cared about. a legendary Editor by the name of Walter Murch was in charge of continuity in the film. His response was " An ideal cut for me is the one that satisfies the following six criteria at once" those criterias are:

1.)Emotion which should make up of about 51%

2.)Story consisting 23%

3.)Rhythm with 10%

4.)Eye-Trace being 7%

5.)2-Dimensional space 5%

6.)3-dimensional space 4%
When taking this theory of film from an academic standpoint you can see how it is true which such examples that were stated earlier.
   The second film example is "Full Metal Jacket". I have seen the film so I know the film has exceeded in the emotional range and storytelling range. the example that the video that Indy Mogul produces is the boot camp where our main character Pvt. Davis gets punched by the drill sergeant Gny. Sgt. Hartman. the only problem is that he begins to punch with one hand but when it cuts to another angle of the Gny. Sgt. punching it's with his other hand. Martin Hunter who was the head editor who was incharge of continuity either didn't notice claiming "Nobody ever pointed it out, as far as I know. But those kind of things don't really matter because if a scene is effective , you shouldn't be distracted by things like that.". That statement by Mr. Hunter has an exceedingly good point. If someone is really caught up in the emotion and the story, would they really notice something so little?
   The last example being "Shutter Island". This is different from the rest not because of its level of continuity errors but because of its intention for using such errors. I have only seen some small clips from the film so I do not have much knowledge for the film except for what critics and reviews say. What does happen in the film from what I have seen from the example given in thevideo is almost subtle Genius on the director and editors part. There is a scene where the main actor played by Mr. DiCaprio is interrogating a woman and the hand her a glass of water. the scene cuts to her drinking it but there is no glass, only her acting like there is and fake drinking. After she is done she places a glass down that is empty... The purpose of that whole scene was to make the audience begin to think that nothing is what it seems which was well played out by the director with the editors help.
   It is things like those that if take from an academic point of view for critiquing that a well made discussion can be made over methods on how to evolve filming and editing. Continuity errors don't always have to be mistakes but can be used for the better good of storytelling.