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Class 12, our final class, was quite interesting. I must say, the start of Peter’s presentation seemed a little silly, but as his story started to unfold and he turned the story around I was quite impressed, given both his preparation and ability to think so quickly on his feet. (I wish I had given him a bit more of my attention, but I was dealing with some ongoing YouTube issues and needed my video up there… for obvious reasons).

The other projects were quite good, the egg video and 3D (I mean… stereoscopic) image was hilarious.  I liked the leaps people took in delving into mediums they weren’t typically comfortable in such as Alrick’s photo-montage-thingy. I was quite impressed with the level design as well – granted I think the thing that will probably stick with me the most was that big ol’ red button. Seems it is that which makes you think the most, that stays with you the longest.

I feel that my presentation went well… of which I was delighted. My biggest concern was that of clarity, which seemingly was a non-issue given people’s responses. (I think the biggest complaint was due to my old, old, dirty bathroom.) Granted,  there are of course a number of improvements I wish I could make, but lack the skills. (if I had some 3d graphic work under my belt we would be in business).

Notwithstanding, class #12 will remain one I will not soon forget.

I’ve long picked and finished my project (currently compressing) but forgot to post my 5 favorite what if’s, thus without further ado, here they are:

What if tomorrow is depicted through video?

What if I over analyze everything I do?

What if this could send an even bigger message?

What if all of this could be pieces of the video?

What if tomorrow this file is erased and gone, all I would have is a memory?

These questions are from Chris Mckee’s blog instead of the person directly below me due to some misconceptions of “plenty of time.” (ie I got that e-mail at 11:24pm last night). I’m not one to be bitter, or throw things back in people’s faces, but SERIOUSLY! This is exactly why I thought the trade and use thing was going to be a bad idea. Granted I suppose I could take some of the blame, for I didn’t pester said person to get those questions to me in a timely manner (like a middle school teacher), yet I’ve digressed….

I particularly liked Chris’s questions for they are very open-ended and thought provoking. I directly identify with the idea of over analyzing everything, and the other four questions got me thinking, thinking about a lot of things. Regardless, I came to some conclusions, picked one (though a couple may be intertwined) and have my final piece produced.

I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, now we will just see what kind of uploading troubles I will invariably run in to.

See everyone in class!

Class #9 was pretty thought provoking. I liked that we dove back into the idea of contrast and attempted to come out with something a little more than “kinda sorta different… but not necessarily opposite.” I particularly liked Beth’s monologue about Japanese culture and her epiphony. Those are my favorite kind of stories… if only more people were aware of their own. Regardless, the presentations, particular the animation, was wonderful. I chose not to show my project because, well, I’m not particularly fond of it. I feel that it was moderately successful in conveying the ultimate message, I just feel like the ultimate product was kinda bland, and cheeky. Its funny how one can spend an hour behind one project and a year behind another, but sometimes feel like the project they just started has so much more life. I felt like my last project had very little life – which probably has to do with the fact that I really wasn’t too fond of the idea from the start. I had some other ideas in mind but actors and time were a bit scarce.

Ultimately, the project felt rushed to me – and I think it looks rushed in retrospect of the final video. I suppose some feedback would’ve could’ve nice, but I find people telling me how something should be better, when I don’t necessarily feel it to be good from the start, seems kind of pointless. It’s like someone telling me how to fix the perfect steak… even though I already have my steak… and it’s already cooked… and burnt.

The laughs were very welcome. I had already watched Beth’s videos on her Facebook profile, but found the laughs no less genuine the 2nd time around. I was deathly afraid she was going to assign us a make-a-humorous-video project, which she did not (thank goodness). I had actually watched a couple pretty funny YouTube videos today. I particularly like Julian Smith’s unusual concepts of humor.

As seems to be the case for a number of others, my favorite project thus far was Todd’s egg video, which can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OclCKL7e9Hw

I particularly, liked his video for he was able to convey an effective message through very simplistic means. Given I hope to eventually be a filmmaker, this is an ability I will continually strive towards.

50 What ifs

1. What if these was no sound?

2. What if there was no color?

3. What if the video was inverted?

4. What if this video was stop motion?

5. What if the lighting was from behind creating a silhouette?

6. What if this story was told with a static image?

7. What if there was more camera movement?

8. What if there was no video?

9. What if the entire video were told in only 5 seconds?

10. What if this video was an animation?

11. What if glass instead was used?

12. What if everything where shot in a single sequence without edits?

13. What if the egg exploded?

14. What if Todd had watched Finding Nemo instead of Schindler’s List?

15.  What if Todd had watched Memento instead of Schindler’s List?

16. What if this was in slow motion?

17. What if this were shot underwater?

18. What if there was no gravity?

19. What if the egg was impermeable to bullets?

20. What if everything were overexposed?

21. What if time was out of order?

22. What if this video was expressed through song?

23. What if there was a documentary off the life, leading up to the death, of the egg?

24. What if this video was a metaphor for the apartheid?

25. What if the essence of this video were captured in dance?

26. What if this video was not made?

27. What if Beth gave us walnuts instead?

28. What if tension was created, but we were not given the resolution?

29. What if this were a horror film?

30. What if there was a voice over narration?

31. What if it was raining?

32. What if the sound effects didn’t match?

33. What if the egg was not innocent?

34. What if a monkey was involved?

35. What if this video was a commercial?

36. What if this video was a psa?

37. What if this video was constructed from a montage of others’ videos?

38. What if everything was blurry?

39. What if this was shot in the woods?

40. What if background was orange?

41. What if this video was a western?

42. What if this video was more immersive?

43. What if this video was inside another video?

44. What if this video used many more camera angles?

45. What if the camera zoomed out and showed us an unexpected familiarity?

46. What if this video was a metaphor to a popular children’s story.

47. What if this video was instead drawn and animated… with only straight lines.

48. What if video symbolized a great societal disaster – famine, plague, etc.

49. What if this were shot upside down?

50. What if Todd didn’t want us to do a project based on “what if” questions over his video, but instead wanted us to do whatever the hell we wanted?

Class #7 was well.. probably the most peculiar class I’ve attended to date. Sitting in the dark for an hour was quite relaxing, granted the random noises were a bit annoying and distracting. The discussion was nice, granted I didn’t feel like anything that was said was particularly as enlightening as the situation itself. After our talk we went outside into the middle of Michigan St (in the tube) and sat in solitude for a few minutes. It would have bee much nicer if it wasn’t like 98 degrees in there, but alas, this is what my senses noted during the time:

touch

warmth of the sunlight

metal bar jabbing into my back

vibrations from movement within the tunnel

my cold water bottle

sight

the sun peaking out from behind a cloud

Beth walking like a chicken

the dirty grimy walls of the tube

seemingly very relaxed classmates

an awkward passing by some random student

dust floating through the air in the beams of light

the shadows of classmates dancing on the floor

the ridiculously slow crawl of a bus down Michigan street

Beth laying in the middle of the tunnel

the awful, worn carpet of the tunnel

taste

the stale warm air

my very cold, refreshing water

the salty taste of my sweat (it was quite hot in there)

smell

a musty metal

my own sweat

I thought I smelled something kind of sweet (like a perfume/body spray/etc)

hear

echoes of the tube

stompings of a “chicken”

slow breaths inward and outward

hum of some kind of vent (presumably in the school and definitely not in the tube)

passing of traffic

metal popping presumably from the heat

On my way back to my car, the first thing I of course noticed was this biker that couldn’t decide if he was going to bike on the sidewalk or road – he almost hit me. After that I noted some birds singing, the the warm sun on my back, a slight breeze, and the very green grass. I kind of snickered… it was like the ideal perfect day – something I had definitely not realized on my way into class – I really wish I had biked. As per usual I also heard the hum of passing cars and the clamor of a couple of people talking in front of me. My steps were almost methodical as I approached my car. Actually, I was thinking so much about everything else, that I forgot where my car was momentarily. I mean,I knew where I had parked, was walking where I parked, but then for some reason walked right past it. Yes, sensory overload can be distracting at times.