Objects At Rest

explorations in audio and moving imagery

Category: General

  • Filmaking 2.0, Content and Metadata

    In my previous post I was pondering the impact of technologies on content in film-video productions. While searching for more examples of emergent or disruptive ideas regarding film-video making I ran across the Future of Cinema Debate on YouTube.

    It’s worth a watch, specifically for the ideas offered by Arin Crumley on the idea of metadata which he explains starting at approximately 03:19. His suggestion is a perfect example of the impact of technology on content which I referred to in my previous post.

    The moderator also touches on the concept of storytelling in new media not being so much an evolution of content but instead a mutation of content. I quite like the idea of content-hybrids or content-mutation.

  • Technology, Innovation, and the Future of Animation

    I’ve recently come upon three separate quotes that, to me, speak to the need for animators to continually strive to innovate with their work in regard to contemporary creative technologies. Using a digital camera, and working from an NLE or animating in Flash or After Effects is using modern technology…but is not in itself innovative. I’m talking about innovation beyond form, style, method, or technique. What I find in these quotes that inspires me and makes me want to explore through my own work is that the content, themes, or ideas driving animation (or television or film or books for that matter) is not evolving much at all. Everyone, to me, is just recycling at this point in history.

    Quote number one comes from Eugenia’s posting on the topic of what television should be like in 2008 and beyond.

    “If I was to give an analogy for what I want, is the online massively multi-player version of a computer game rather than a single-player PC game played by just one person. I am not sure I can make it clearer than that. It just has to feel “bigger than life” by taking place in a believable new universe. Heck, why else would I watch TV? If I wanted to watch reality TV, or traditional TV series, I would just record my own life during the day and watch it at night. I would probably be less bored.”

    SOURCE: “How TV shows should be” by Eugenia Loli, Accessed 2008-10-21
    http://eugenia.gnomefiles.org/2008/10/18/how-tv-shows-should-be/

    Quote two comes from ASIFA Magazine’s article on the CGI film “Beowulf” and motion capture technology to create animated characters.

    “The Impressionists founded themselves upon the new medium of photography, using the camera as a reason to redefine painting and produce an era of work now documented in the history books. Therefore, it would not be absurd to assume that animation fueled by the onslaught of motion capture, will seek to redefine itself, producing cartoons whose main function is to convey the idea that they are cartoons. This competitive discourse is the means by which new forms of established systems are created.”

    SOURCE: “The Myth of Beowulf” by Chappell Ellison. ASIFA Magazine Vol. 21 No. 1 Summer Issue 2008 Page 47.

    Finally, quote three is from a video interview with Peter Greenaway. [Transcribed while listening to the video online so this text may not be totally accurate.]

    “In my pocket is a pencil. This is an amazing object, a tool. And in a way all the modern technologies are really doing the same such thing as this. They are a catalyst of getting me and my imagination to some form of communication. But I do sincerely believe that every artist in the last thousand years, certainly since the Renaissance, has always used the current technology of his or her time.” … “The current tools that are available to artists have always been part of the vocabulary of anybody who has anything worthwhile to say. So, I think you are obliged if you are a contemporary artist to use the tools of today otherwise you’ve immediately become a fossil.”

    SOURCE: “Peter Greenaway talks technology” Video interview regarding b.TWEEN 08
    Accessed 2008-10-21 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIIfXrEAcbo

    The almost primordial-mythic-soul that animation can convey with the interactivity, complexity, and serendipity of non-linear, online virtual environments…that is what I want my projects to be or at least “feel” like.

    If you are an animator, how are modern technologies informing your ideas, you approach, your themes, your narratives – not just the tools you are using which are most likely digital at some point, but the interaction or experience you intened to provide to your viewers/users of your animations projects?

     

  • VITRVVIVS Time Spent in Post-Production

    While backing up my VITRVVIVS files I reflected on my Sony Vegas file naming convention. The file names are listed below to illustrate the incremental numbering for each session so I can rollback if something goes wrong:

    VIT-EDIT-FINALCUT-01.veg
    VIT-EDIT-FINALCUT-02.veg
    VIT-EDIT-FINALCUT-03.veg

    What this means is, with the date modified system info as well as my file naming convention, I can tell approiximately how many “editing sessions” I did for VITRVVIVS. And the grand total is…

    42 sessions in 17 days

    That makes sense when I think about it since I would probably start a session early one day, save it with the new number, then at the end of the day save the changes with the next sequential number. The time period was from July through September 2008 spread out over evenings and weekends.

    I then checked my After Effects files which use the same convention VIT-EDIT-FX-SHOTS-##.aep

    And the result is…

    20 After Effects sessions in 13 days

    So, post-production took approximately 2 weeks of After Effects color correction, color grading, composting, and effects and about 2 weeks of final editing and sound mixing in Sony Vegas…spread out over 3 or 4 months.

  • That’s a wrap! VITRVVIVS is done.

    poster

    Festival Entry Specifications
    Title: VITRVVIVS
    Running Time: Approximately 17 min 35 sec
    Format: DVD, NTSC, LETTERBOX, COLOR, STEREO
    Language: Esperanto
    Subtitles: English
    Date Completed: September 2008

    Now that the film is completed I am burning DVDs to send to a few festivals. I have plans for a future official DVD release which will have a 16×9 presentation and Digital Audio Surround in addition to the letterbox/stereo festival version. I’m going to look through all my accumulated content for possible extras on the disc.

    Thanks to all of you that have visited this blog since I started it way back in March 2006. I appreciate all of your comments and words of encouragement. Once I get the VITRVVIVS section of my site up and running I’ll post another update.

  • View the Vitruvius video…sort of

    I captured my editor workspace tonight and this is what it looks like. That’s the whole film across the top…about 17 minutes at this point but that may change.

    I think screen caps of editing workspaces from other animators would be interesting. I may have to check flickr to see if there is a pool for that sort of thing.