Experimental - FST 302

Our original idea was to do something horror related, but since then, it has evolved into the idea of anxiety. We plan to somehow merge the two somehow make individuals experience some form of anxiety when they get to our installation, whether it be to scare them or something of that nature. As for projection, as of right now, we would like to project on either girls in white dresses/nightgowns or some kind of white sheet set up. We are still fine tuning the installation itself, but that is our general idea. I believe live music is what we’re aiming for, so I will possibly be playing an instrument if we continue down that route. Austin has dubbed me “producer”, so I get to do that.

I still plan to keep my original idea regarding the “letter” to some people from my childhood. I plan to keep the white turning into black aspect as well, although I did like the idea of dressing up like Bowie. I plan to paint the Aladdin Sane lightning bold across my face but as for clothes, I’m not quite sure how to go about that. He wore some wonky stuff way back then and finding anything remotely close to that is a whole extra project itself! As for my soundscape, I’ve recently come across a new instrument and I may utilize it a little in such. I want to go for a creepy like soundscape but I’m not sure how well it’ll fit into the film itself. I really just plan on experimenting with a lot of sounds and clips and seeing what works best or what gets my message across best.  

I had heard of OK Go before, but I honestly thought they were just a one hit wonder like a lot of viral videos. I was really excited to see their other videos and I must say, I was completely blown away at the amount of detail and choreography that went into each one. I can only imagine how much processing it took. I know it was covered briefly in the presentation but, just to sit and think about every single aspect is mind boggling!

I will be honest and say that I completed none of my actions steps I set for myself. I wanted to just sit back and watch some films at the end of the week, and essentially, that’s exactly what I did. Overall, I would say that Cucalorus was quite the experience. The film blocks I went to were very interesting to say the least, but for the most part, I did enjoy the majority of them. I was rather surprised that not a lot of filmmakers were there for their films. I mean, I understand that you can’t attend every festival, but for all four blocks I attended, I maybe saw 2 filmmakers per block. Jackfruit Shorts This was the first block I attended ever at Cucalorus and I will say it was a wild ride. Starting off, Georg Koszulinski offered me candy from a damp brown paper bag which honestly was the highlight of the entire night. “It’s not weird.” He’s silly. The films shown were intriguing, starting with butter being spread on a couch and ending with reptilian creatures. One of the fil...

I have a slight idea as to what I may want to do for my self-portrait. I think I want to make it about where I came from as opposed to how I am now, essentially starting in white and ending in black. Growing up, religion was heavily pushed on me, as well as my “southern heritage” if you will, and I have ventured rather far away from that to become my own person. So, in some way, I want to make that into this film. Also, some aspect of David Bowie will be present in this film, for it was he who shaped me into who I am.

I would say out of all of the elements that made this project what it was, this portion was the most difficult. Sound design is harder than I anticipated. I found it rather difficult to make the photos and the soundscape blend together. I am satisfied with our final film but getting to that point was a riot. I think I listened to it a total of 10 separate times before I even looked through the photos. Overall, I would say that as a duo, Trevor and myself heard Eroto Love Poetry a total of 50 plus times when we worked on it. It’s weird to sit and listen to something multiple times as we did with this project because eventually, it stops becoming a soundscape and nothing really sticks out anymore. This is where I struggled. I listened to it too many times and lost the creative flow. But as I said, I enjoyed the experience and I truly am thrilled the way the final project came out.

What I hope to get out of Cucalorus   honestly is just the satisfaction of going. I’ve never attended a film festival before, so this is a first. I will say I am super excited for one of the blocks (Paw Paw) for John R. Dilworth (the creator of Courage the Cowardly Dog, one of my all time favorite cartoons) has a short animated film in said block. In addition, it will be interesting to see the types of films that go into film festivals, as well as how these festivals function. My plan of action is as follows: -Friday November 9 th – 7:15pm – Jackfruit Shorts -Friday November 9 th – 10:00pm – Lords of Chaos -Sunday November 11 th – 10:15am – Paw Paw Shorts (I am so ready for Dilworth’s film) -Sunday November 11 th – 4:15pm – Fiddlehead Shorts Three challenges for myself: 1.        Attempt to talk to the filmmakers. a.        This could be an excellent networking opportunity. 2.   ...

What sticks out the most with me regarding project 1C is the fact that shooting on film is kind of hard. Everything has to be EXACT for your pictures to turn out good. I also learned that I do not enjoy shooting on film. I struggled to find focus on a lot of the shots I took and frequently asked for help. I have bad eyesight, so looking through the viewfinder was a blast and a half. At the same time, it was an excellent learning experience. I didn’t completely hate it for that very reason. The experimental portion of the project is what made it all worthwhile. I had never done a long exposure before and I thought the outcome of it was pretty neat. I felt as though it was very interesting how much of a difference shooting on a 35mm camera made in regards to our photos. As weird as it may sound, it made them more authentic, if that makes sense. Lastly, light meter are very technical pieces of equipment and I am still not sure I know how to use it entirely.