Last week was a bit insane. I drove to Seattle, picked up super 8 rolls, dropped more off and came back. I had plans to transfer my film on Friday, but all the super 8 projectors at school have issues. So I think I’ll have videoland transfer my super 8 reversal. Has anyone had any experience with videoland??

Also, I’ve been spending roughly 5 hours each day in front of my computer rotoscoping–I’m happy with the aesthetic but still have so so much to accomplish in the next upcoming days. Tasha was kind enough to switch fine cut days with me, so I’ll be going on Friday…Thank you Tasha so much!

Last week I also had the opportunity to assist Sally and Chandra with Ready Camera One auditions. The whole experience was very fun and left me with a desire to take some improve classes.

Here is a very little taste of my rotoscopes.Click here to view the embedded video.

Alright, back to work!

I went to Alpha Cine today and transferred my 16mm film. Some of the images are breathtaking. Overall, I’m very happy with the results. Pretty much, I’m done with the third vignette of my film. The first and second ones require more work and animation. So yeah…things are looking fine. My main concern is completing the music score before the fine cut….

I called Alpha Cine today, they said they processed my film and everything looks fine. I scheduled a digital transfer for Monday, so hopefully things go swimmingly from now on…

Fingers Crossed!

Myself, Curtis and Aris drove to Eastern Washington over the weekend. We shot three rolls of film– two negative, one reversal. I’m a bit worried about some of the exposures, but I turned in my rolls to alpha cine today so I’ll find out soon enough if I have to re shoot. The overall trip was amazing, the barren landscapes and the never-ending deserts felt very peaceful. The shots I got specifically cater to my narrative and my theory of cultural amnesia. We also stayed in a small town called “Ritzville”— population was 1200, very barren, yet beautiful and creepy. I think after I finish Alo! 86th Street, I’ll go to Ritzville and make a mockumentary about the post apocalyptic world

More images and animations to come….

Jan also brought up a very important point; by having the same person narrate both segments, I’m losing the reliability of my narrator. She suggested that I do the narration and change the story to first person and add a more contemporary voice to accompany the reminiscent voice. I really appreciate this advice as the first person narration would make the piece much shorter and allow for more experimental imagery. The thing is, I’m kind of attached to the John Robbins narration as it is hilarious and creates a “Hey Arnold” sort of feel..so I suppose I will try it both ways.

Last week was incredibly inspirational. I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to meet and work with Jan, her feedback was very valuable and wonderful.

Thanks for all your support.

I spent my spring break in front of Larry (my beloved computer) just Rotoscoping and listening to endless This American Life shows. After spending roughly 40 hours in front of Larry, I developed a sort of digital animism that I now have to live with for the rest of the quarter. On a positive note, I did finish all my Brooklyn rotoscoping. I do still have Russia and Israel, but those will go much smoother as I have the process mastered by now and much less frames to do. I’ve attached a vimeo file for you guys to look at a mini rotoscope teaser. This is not what the final aesthetic will be. The opacity of pixilated layers and the rotoscoped layers will fade over time. I will not be posting more rotoscoping examples because I need to move on to animation.

On a sad note, however, I will no longer be participating in Jaden’s film. Jaden, if you are reading this silly little blog, I want you to know that I still very much believe in your story and subject matter. And that you do have a support group..even if it’s just a niche.

So yeah, more to come.