Exercise+Three+-+The+Conversation

 
 * Exercise #3: The Conversation** [[image:http://c1.wikicdn.com/i/c.gif width="22" height="22" caption="Insert Images and Files"]]

02/16/10 Final Video:

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02/16/10

Project Updates, including some documentation of the process.

Hand type was scanned and then vectorized. Individual Adobe Illustrator files were saved according to the break-down of words/phrases/sounds, and then imported to Adobe After Effects for manipulation.



This exercise is centered around the idea of intonation - using typography to animate a conversation between two or more people.

Picking an audio 'conversation' took a while, even though the content only needed to be arbitrary in order to generate the visual exercise.

__Concept #1__

My original concept involved creating field recordings of the people around me without them knowing it, in hopes of catching an awkward, unique and interesting moment in conversation. The idea is incredibly voyeuristic, slightly invasive, but I felt that I would be able to capture something genuine, if not particularly expressive. It wouldn't include people I knew - I would record conversations that people had on the bus, in a waiting room, in a restaurant.

There are two issues that I had with this concept, that led to it being dumped. First of all, I needed something to record semi-quality digital audio of people who may not even be close to the device that is recording them. (For example, I can't be standing around someone with a tape recorder and have them not notice). I do not own this something. Secondly, I needed a conversation that was expressive enough to produce an interesting visual result, and I wanted something more exaggerated to work with. Rarely do bus conversations get loud or enthusiastic enough to really animate in an interesting way.

__Concept #2__

Alright, so now I'm scanning Youtube for video clips. I wanted to use clips of Buckminster Fuller, and exaggerate his often disjointed and mumbled voice through typography. But this doesn't really fulfill the concept of 'conversation' - in most of the videos he is usually lecturing or talking on his own, rather than interacting back and forth with someone.

My second choice was to use a clip from Bill Cosby's Kids Say The Darndest Things, and use hand drawn typography to support the child-dynamic. The hand drawn forms would have a goofy, tactile feel to them. I enjoyed working and manipulating something in the real world (Exercise #1) a lot more than using digital typography (Exercise #2), so it was decided that this would be my course of action. The hand-type could be scanned and animated, or arranged on a wall/in an environment and filmed/photographed. I had a clear visual of how the final product would turn out, but finding content was rough.

The internet has everything, it seems, except for many Youtube clips of this show. I couldn't find anything I was happy with, it was all too slow or including JoJo (the singer) as a child, impersonating Cher. My fallback was to use something comfortable, a conversation that I knew well and could feel confident working with. I decided to use a clip from the movie Superbad, one of my favourite movies, and one of the most relatable and hilarious at one point in my life. Youtube had my back, and I felt like I could still use the hand drawn aesthetic as effectively, if not more, with this clip. Super quick paced, and with a range of emotions, this three-way conversation was something I felt like I could work with.

__Status__

Writing this, I am still not finished drawing the 'conversation'. Although I'm not looking to perfect the words I'm drawing (i like the rough and uneven quality of this technique, plus each word has a short screen-time), it is still a slow process.

At the moment the breakdown is pretty simple:

Each of the 3 characters has a unique but not completely different 'font-style'. Expression is indicated by size and in some cases 'boldness', and I'm hoping that once I start animating, I can find some interesting ways to really follow the intonation and pacing of each voice.

The words or phrases that I find most interesting are drawing in a completely separate font-style to express that particular idea or emotion. For example, "pussy" is done in a swirly cartoony-script way, "stupid" is drawn with my left hand, "fuck" is going to be drawn in some fancy way that I haven't figured out yet. (to highlight the obscenities, each swear word is going to be animated).

In some cases, I want the type to take up the whole screen, at other points it will be quite timid and small. The concept is there and will be drawn soon, but I think the pacing and rhythm is going to be the hardest part.

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 * THE Conversation

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Seth: Let me see it! Did you pussy out or what?

Fogel: No no man I got it, its flawless Check it

Evan: Hawaii. Ok. Alright thats good its hard to trace I guess....Wait you changed your name to ...McLovin?

Fogel (quietly): yeahh

Evan: MCLOVIN? What kind of stupid name is that Fogel, what are you trying to be? an irish r&b singer?

Fogel: Naw, they let you choose any name you want when you get down there

Seth: And you landed on McLovin?!!

Fogel (defensively): Yeah, it was between that an mohammed?

Seth (so pissed): WHY THE FUCK WOULD IT BE BETWEEN THAT AND MOHAMMED? Why dont you just pick a common name like a normal person?

Fogel: Mohammed is the most commonly used name on earth, read a fucking book for once!

Evan: Fogel, have you actually ever met anyone named Mohammed?

Fogel: Have you actually met anyone named McLovin?

Seth:NO, thats why you picked a dumb fucking name!