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Week Five of the Mediawrkx program at the EvRgrEEN StAte Kollg went well. I further refined my “big DVD of small weird videos” idea to focus mainly on content for the installation that Margaritte and I have planned for the end of the quarter. Come to “think” of it, I’ve been remiss in mentioning that event on this space so here:

—-A VIDYO INSTALLATION IN THE COM BUILDING 

///////FEAT. YR FRIENDS, ME AND MARGARITTE

]]]]]]]]]]]TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY OF EVAL WEEK

^^^^^^ROOM 209 (USUALLY USED 4 DANCING)

I’ll post more information about this as it transcends the blurry realms of hopes and dreams and enters the reality sphere, a process which, even now, as we communicate beyond the boundaries of space and time, within and without the all connected over-bond, is happening in the scheduling offices of the Com Building. Margaritte and I booked the spot and the needed projectors last week (the aforementioned week five), so it should be all mario in the barrio. The room is real nice and located conveniently upstairs from the Mediaworks screening, so before you see all the real movies you can enjoy some fake movies passed off as fake art.

Like I said before, I plan on spending the next for few weeks mainly focusing on getting some new videos ready to use in my half of the installation. They will mostly all have the same structural organization (short clips, extreme repetition) and visual elements (sampled imagery, digital grain, geometric patterns, backwards/forwards styles, etc.). Big fans of my original Coolin’ idea, don’t fret, what footage I did manage to get will be cut together and presented to the world. I will post more vids as I make them. 

Speaking of structural elements, there is a lot to say about Structuralist film in general. The way it links film to a larger pantheon of theory, the way it’s boring, all that. I’d love to say it to you someday, blog, maybe after a few more chapters in Expanded Cinema (as with any useful book, worth looking at just for the pictures/cover). For now, bi.

So after a long week of tryna shoot I’ve come to the conclusion that big-budget studio epics aren’t really my style. Putting together a cast a crew for my movie that would be available for the amount of time I need was pretty much crazy and un-doable. That’s cool though, I think it’s better to learn this lesson sooner than later and I’m glad for the education.

SO with that in mind I’ve decided to change the scope of my project a little bit. Instead of shooting and cutting a ten minute version of Coolin’ Video Treatment, I am gonna cut a shorter version and compile it on a DVD with a bunch of other video work I have in the pipe. I plan on doing a full “release” with original art and maybe even a cassette of music and a zine if I feel real kool about things. By doing my thing thing like this it saves me from having to put all my eggs in one proverbial basket that might not even work out anyway, plus I can get all this video stuff I have lying around straight out to the people and fuck the bullshit (scuz my fr3nch). AND at the end of the day I’ll have 50 nice DVD’s with rad art that I can slang for ca$h money on the table instead of a ten minute DVD to do I don’t even know what with, submit to festivals? I think in the back of yr minds you all know how boring that sounds, just sayn.

Next stop, blockbust dumpster. In the mean time here are some test vids to get you started, there’s many more where that came from.

Have mostly been consumed by shooting. Things are going well and hopefully I’ve successfully captured the same image [soul] twice in two different mediums, we’ll see. Ian, Evan and Zack have all graciously offered to crew up. I’m hoping to have something to post on here next week and take to my Thursday infinity group meeting.

Besides that, I have been watching some VHS tapes Beatriz recommended to me in the liberry and expanding knowledge at every turn. The Surveying The First Decade series has some interesting archival documentation of early video experiments. Many of the works were created using modular processing of analog video signals, not unlike Jitter or PureData. The enthusiasm with which I saw a grown man in a wizard costume describe the functions of rack of video modulators is also mirrored in the present day by Evergreen’s own highly knowledgeable and capable teaching staff. PureData, unlike the equipment used in Surveying the First Decade, is available for free to anyone with a computer. The works I watched were mostly connected with colleges or other large institutions that could afford to experiment with new technology. Nowadays that kind of access to powerful media tools is much more democratized and sometimes ends up looking like this…

So here is what I got done in the school realm last week:

-Got a bunch of gracious people to agree to be at a certain place at a certain time in order for me to capture their images [souls] on the film and video. No easy feat but social networking websites were involved and helpful. The only thing yet to put in place for my film shoot next week is a crew. So…
–IF YR SKILLD HELP ME OUT
—I call on yall, my classmates, to put in some mediawork w/ mii at my shoot. I am in need of a lighting person, sound person and a “continuity person”. Sound and lights pretty much involves taking light readings, holding up some big reflectors and holding a boom. The continuity person will be responsible for keeping everything in check so I can get two shots of the exact same thing, one on video and one on film. We can hammer out a system, it’s not even a thing. None are hard jobs, all are funn. Snacks provided (hella).
–THE SHOOTS WILL TAKE PLACE ON WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY OF WEEK 4 A.K.A. APRIL 22 AND 24TH ON THE WESTSIDE OF Oh eL whY.
—Please contact me if you think this might work for you, it’d be a big help. Thanks every1.
-Other than that I began writing the final draft of my script which in a perfect environment will be ready for my infinity group meeting on Thursday. I will also post a page with the script on here once it’s done.
-I had my first meeting with Beatriz, Zach, Ian, James, Evan and Matt AKA my [in]Affinity Group. I was extremely pleased with the way the meeting went and I look forward to seeing how everyone’s work progresses throughout the quarter. We went around the table and discussed each individual film proposal for about a half hour, giving some initial feedback and generally walking it out, so to speak. I got some real good ideas about my project as well as some recommendations for reading and watching material. These include:
–Performance of Video Imaging ToolsVHS
—This is probably the one I am most excited about. I’m really into the idea of using vid tools live in a performance style. The awesome, triangle based-pulsating color generating video switcher at TCTV comes to mind.
—-Also, speaking of pulsating triangles, had the idea over the weekend to make some drawings and cassette tapes centered around a character called Diamond Thug. He is a like a tit3 thug who is really in tune with his third eye triangle consciousness and rocks icey crispy gear. This isn’t really relevant except that every idea I have is kind of like a single thread in a rich tapestry where if you look at the threads up close they are like stupid ideas about weird rappers but if you pull back and look at the big picture it’s a like a really meticulously constructed stupid picture of a weird rapper that took time and thought.
–Investigation of the Phenomenal World, Space Sound and Light Vol. 1VHS
–OFFONVHS
–Uuuh, I guess they are all movies. Pretty easy degree I’m working on over here. HAHA J playn ever1. I really am. There are some actual books in the pike as well, more on my reading list in future posts. Films are also totally are the same as books anyway so don’t even trip.
-That’s pretty much it for last week, I’ll report back on those tapes as well as funn things u wan kno about. Take it sleazy.

Have been made. Already. This blog that gazed only on the future with a fresh face and glinty eyes will now reflect on the past. Expect weekly WRAP UPS of what I have ALREADY done as apposed to what I plan on doing. This makes much more sense and I can’t believe I didn’t click it in earlier. Sorry Amerika.

Things on the list for week 2:

-Contact Alpha Cine in Seatown, chat a spell, purchase 7 rolls of film from them. I’m thinking that seven rolls of film (21 minutes of moving pix) will be enough raw footage from which to glean 9-10 minutes of final product. Y’all think that’s right? Do I need more?

-Map out a preliminary proposal packet to show at my affinity group meeting on Thursday afternoon. The packet will include:

—A budget spreadsheet with such information as how many bills I am about to drop and on what.

—A detailed production schedule

—-which, now that I think about it, I should go over with my people that are gonna be in the movie and the people that live at the spot where I’m tryna shoot. Almost an entire NEW list item in itself, damn.

—A “proposal narrative” in the format of Evergreen’s Activity Grant Application form (if you are super interested in this part of the post the form is available as a PDF on the somewhat hard to navigate www.evergreen.edu. I would advise making use of the search function in the upper right hand corner of the opening page).

—An annotated bibliography. Might have to think a little on this one, can anyone recommend good books about experimental cinema? There were some works that Edward Small frequently referenced in my favorite text from last quarter, Direct Theory, that I was interested in checking out. Youngblood’s Expanded Cinema is one that jumps to mind, I’ll have to look over my notes and see what else tickled my fancy. I know Brakhage wrote some film theory, you can’t really go wrong with good old Stan dogg.

Some other things I’d like to get on top of this week are the Eastside hill on a new bike and writing an actual script for my movie.  The word script might be something of a misnomer, as I don’t anticipate very much if any dialogue to creep through the sticky [icky] myst of experimentation I like so well. Still, I think a specific plan for every set-up and general narrative flow is in order for this project, especially since I will be shooting on film. I will also be thinking about how best to shoot the same images on film and video. Right now my plan is to get a shot on video, rewind, look at the framing on the flip screen or whatever, try as best I can to set up a shot with the Bolex that is the same, shoot the film image. I’m open to suggestions though, whats good Amerika? Anyone every done something like this before?

I will be using this blog to keep the internet updated on my progress in the Mediaworks program at the Evergreen State College. Attentive readers can expect to hear about what I am working on in class, maybe some screentests or “production stills” from “the field”, links to cool stuff that is informing my brain, etc. If yr reading this chances are you know the deal already so WHATEVR. So far, we are all sitting in the liberry, logging into these blogs. I am looking at all of you as I write this….

Here are some tit3 vids, there will probably more to come and they might even have to do with “art”. Swears are actually a pretty big part of my art anyways, so there you go. It all connects. This blog is off to a great start.