Shirley+Blog


 * Student Log**

January 14 January 21 January 27 January 28
 * Entry Dates**

February 10 February 11 February 27

March 4 March 8 March 25

April 6


 * J****anuary 14, 2010/** back to top

Since we have 2 weeks to work on this exercise, I started by brainstorming possible ways of exploring each of the topics instead of focusing on one to give myself more options. The ideas that I have chosen to explore are illustrated below.

These are some rough exploration videos taken in a low quality camera.

media type="youtube" key="nLkWf31VJNM" height="344" width="425" The exploration of air was done with feathers and a blow dryer. The feathers are very light and blew away faster than expected, there is not much to see.

media type="youtube" key="huAXzdTPF-s" height="344" width="425" This exploration is similar to the last one except it is done with rice instead of feathers. Since the weight of the rice is much heavier, it can withstand more pressure. The separate grains of rice give it a nice effect as its being blown away as well.

media type="youtube" key="5JCVpDHzLzg" height="344" width="425" Here I experimented with burning the word //fire// on layout bond. //(Music supplied from [|youtube])//

media type="youtube" key="Kr8fA2DDK1s" height="344" width="425" Another simple exploration with me writing the word //water// on condensation formed on a bathroom mirror.


 * January 21, 2010**/ back to top

//Exercise 1//

Based on my explorations, I decided to carry on with my fire concept, I re-did 2 videos of it using a different camera, but surprisingly, the quality didn't turn out as good as I thought it would because of the smoke and lighting recorded from a different camera. Here they are:

media type="youtube" key="_19sTyNnKoo" height="274" width="339"media type="youtube" key="a4LaEPrOc3I" height="274" width="339" The fire didn't burn the whole sheet after multiple attempts, so I decided to edit out the later ones. I had to adjust the time in the videos because it took amazingly long for the flame to finish burning the sheet. Version 2 would be my final.

//Exercise 2//

Here is an exploration for the //X-Effect//.

media type="youtube" key="fpIsrCdcPyI" height="344" width="425" I experimented with blur, opacity, hairCC, and linear wipe for this quick essemble. It's a bit trippy, but I think it's neat how the effect makes the text look science fiction, especially when it flashes during the effect.


 * January 27, 2010**/ back to top

I have begun to look for some possible conversations that I can use for exercise 3. I have narrowed them to the following three with one being Disney's, //The Little Mermaid// and two being Tim Burton's, //The Nightmare Before Christmas//.

1) The Little Mermaid code Les poissons Les poissons How I love les poissons Love to chop And to serve little fish First I cut off their heads Then I pull out the bones Ah mais oui Ca c'est toujours delish Les poissons Les poissons Hee hee hee Hah hah hah With the cleaver I hack them in two I pull out what's inside And I serve it up fried God, I love little fishes Don't you? Here's something for tempting the palate Prepared in the classic technique First you pound the fish flat with a mallet Then you slash through the skin Give the belly a slice Then you rub some salt in 'Cause that makes it taste nice Zut alors, I have missed one! Sacre bleu What is this? How on earth could I miss Such a sweet little succulent crab? Quel dommage What a loss Here we go in the sauce Now some flour, I think Just a dab Now I stuff you with bread It don't hurt 'cause you're dead And you're certainly lucky you are 'Cause it's gonna be hot In my big silver pot Toodle loo mon poisson

Au revoir! code

2) The Nightmare Before Christmas code What's this? What's this? There's color everywhere What's this? There's white things in the air What's this? I can't believe my eyes I must be dreaming Wake up, Jack, this isn't fair What's this? What's this? What's this? There's something very wrong What's this? There's people singing songs

What's this? The streets are lined with Little creatures laughing Everybody seems so happy Have I possibly gone daffy? What is this? What's this?

code

3) The Nightmare before Christmas code Everyone, please now, not so fast There's something here that you don't quite grasp Well, I may as well give them what they want And the best, I must confess, I have saved for the last For the ruler of this Christmas land Is a fearsome king with a deep mighty voice Least that's what I've come to understand

And I've also heard it told That he's something to behold Like a lobster, huge and red When he sets out to slay with his rain gear on Carting bulging sacks with his big great arms That is, so I've heard it said

And on a dark, cold night Under full moonlight He flies into a fog Like a vulture in the sky And they call him Sandy Claws March 8February 27 February 10 code


 * January 28, 2010**/ back to top

Here are some more explorations for exercise 2 along with the final:

media type="youtube" key="bE-6T6Pct0E" height="274" width="339"media type="youtube" key="UPtBdYZb4_c" height="274" width="339" I have referred to Videocopilot's videos for inspiration. The effects used here are stroke, scribble, ripple, and opacity. I have also played around with position and added music to the final video:

media type="youtube" key="PSSdZ7DwPU0" height="344" width="425"

//Credits:// Barb Henry, '//Aged Background//', Sept 15, 2008. Retrieved Jan 27, 2010.  Twins, '//鋼琴心情101:救生圈//', May 5, 2009. Retrieved Jan 27, 2010.
 * February 10, 2010/** back to top

For project 1, I would like to explore the theme of hidden messages. I have done a little bit of research about hidden messages on google about this topic, and besides finding images that have a second layer of meaning to it, what interested me the most was hidden messages in music, particularly from backmasking. Back tracking is a technique used for many rock and roll songs where a different message is heard when the track is reversed. In the 1970s music, especially hard metal and rock and roll are accused of being the bringers of satan worship, spreading evil messages through music heard subliminally by the listener.

I find this really interesting and I would like to incorporate back tracking to my project 1 as well. The message that I want to convey to the audience is a declaration of invasion to culture by a fictional association. The group is branded by a ring/circle, which would appear subliminally in many parts of what may be interpreted by mundane everyday footage paired with atmospheric music. When reversed, the music will contain the declaration of invasion of the ubiquitous association. There is no escape!

Click [|here] for a really cool site that I found with a lot of backtracked music with hidden messages. And [|here] for a site with subliminal messages in imagery (I have to admit, they got pretty carried away with Hermione's hair...)


 * February 11, 2010/** back to top

media type="youtube" key="1KTXManOqnU" height="274" width="339" media type="youtube" key="pQHs5yd_qLQ" height="274" width="339" My first two drafts, the first with just the synchronization of the words and the second beginning to add colour and effects.

media type="youtube" key="WFwS56kU4bc" height="344" width="425" The final result.


 * February 27, 2010/** back to top

//Project 1//

I have made some revisions to my project 1 idea, please click on the link below to download my proposal. [|pro1proposal.pdf]

Here is the footage that I will use for project 1. media type="youtube" key="eEbEpI_RMsY" height="344" width="425"

//Project 2//

The link to my project 2 proposal is listed below. [|pro2proposal.pdf]

The song that I propose to make a music video of is called //Sleepy Beauty//, by 鄧紫棋 (G.E.M. Tang).

media type="youtube" key="gMjDXUf6J0Y" height="344" width="425"


 * March 4, 2010/** back to top

Focusing on the topic of hidden messages, I looked at examples of spy messages and backtracking methods as mentioned earlier in my process. This originally led to the idea of creating a double narrative, where there would be one narrative if you play the video forward, and another if you played it backwards. I eventually drifted away from this idea as it was too ambitious demanding too much time and effort. For my final movie, I created a narrative that is a combination of an invasion message and a sad 'calling out' message with the idea that many people nowadays are so busy in their fast paced technological life, that they often ignore or not notice the beauty in everyday situations and mundane objects. The movie itself is pretty straightforward, I played with the wiggle command on aftereffects to unify the type with the trippiness created by my stop motion footage, and experimented with different ways of pacing the type with the audio and the in relation to the movement in the footage.

The music is extracted from a song called '睡王子' (Sleeping Prince) by '何韻詩 ' (Denise Ho) from the album 'What Really Matters'

Here are some rough drafts of my project 1:

media type="youtube" key="_3IlgH53z3k" height="274" width="339" media type="youtube" key="PfYlPPfsyfw" height="274" width="339"

This is the 1st final version of the project, a revised one will be coming soon!

media type="youtube" key="a5m4K0CX2GY" height="344" width="425"


 * March 8, 2010/** back to top

Here is another draft of my project 1 and my revised final. I did some minor changes to make it more climatic and I changed the type on the 'stairs' sign on the door to read 'Here' (referring to the unnoticed settings) at the end of the movie to show that the girl walked right through without noticing these the message from beginning to end.

media type="youtube" key="pIN7B26YCjM" height="344" width="425" media type="youtube" key="e4t6Ufvpd9A" height="344" width="425"


 * March 25, 2010/** back to top

This is a draft of my project 2 music video to figure out the postioning of the text in relation to the music.

media type="youtube" key="vFNEROUrlRM" height="344" width="425"


 * April 6, 2010/** back to top

Here is the final of my project 2 movie. Instead of interpreting the lyrics word for word, I condensed it so that it would deliver the same message in fewer words, as the lyrics tend to repeat itself and sound a bit redundant. The movie is coloured in a sepia tone to carry the mood of the song.

media type="youtube" key="uDzniv1vMJc" height="344" width="425"