So fall semester is coming to a close, which means the work load is a little lighter until January rolls around. I have sincerely enjoyed my first semester in Visions. I endured some struggles, and learned a few things, and even made a few friends, daww. I am pleased with some of my improvement with adobe programs - still have a lot to learn though, especially with illustrator (that's for you Michelle). But now that I have them on my computer, I can mess around with them over break - if the size of the programs do not kill my computer first. I actually am helping my sister design a poster that she needs up at her school (JMU). It's to advertise some college courses to high schools in the area - I told her I'd help her out with it no problem.
Most importantly over the course of this semester, I've discovered that I really like graphic design. Some days I'm more creative than others, and put under time constraints I basically absolve all creativity, but when allotted the right amount of time, and a good subject, I really really like the freedom to create a new design, logo, title, whatever it may be. With the chance of sounding dumb, I really think I'm going to look into some graphic design work outside of university. I may be forever torn between two majors, but this is the first I can see myself working on something outside of school, rather than just studying it. So yea, I guess Im signing out for fall. Peace.
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Monday, November 30, 2015
Random-ish blog
First order of business:
Cucalorus screenings: A Light Beneath Their Feet, The Invitation, Dough, Serrano Shorts
Second Order: The geofilters are coming along very nicely. I've put together 3 tentative designs and there are more to come - these require some drawing and scanning which takes more time than incorporating designs that are already completed. I've been looking at a lot of examples, the link below has some good ones to refer to.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/daniellek450af4e5c/63-awesome-snapchat-geofilters-11x0r
I'm thinking that we use a couple of them - since they're not hard to make, and if there happens to be several designs everyone likes, because then people using these geofilters have options. It's just more advertisement for Visions (and it doesn't cost anything) so we might as well.
The other thing I'm noticing about example filters, is that many tend to be very simple, just the name of the town in a pretty font or something. We can do this, then make a more elaborate one. I think the most important thing to consider is the coloring. I know we should stick with our color pallet to maintain our theme but the colors must be bright enough to stand out from the photo that will be behind it.
Cucalorus screenings: A Light Beneath Their Feet, The Invitation, Dough, Serrano Shorts
Second Order: The geofilters are coming along very nicely. I've put together 3 tentative designs and there are more to come - these require some drawing and scanning which takes more time than incorporating designs that are already completed. I've been looking at a lot of examples, the link below has some good ones to refer to.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/daniellek450af4e5c/63-awesome-snapchat-geofilters-11x0r
I'm thinking that we use a couple of them - since they're not hard to make, and if there happens to be several designs everyone likes, because then people using these geofilters have options. It's just more advertisement for Visions (and it doesn't cost anything) so we might as well.
The other thing I'm noticing about example filters, is that many tend to be very simple, just the name of the town in a pretty font or something. We can do this, then make a more elaborate one. I think the most important thing to consider is the coloring. I know we should stick with our color pallet to maintain our theme but the colors must be bright enough to stand out from the photo that will be behind it.
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Indiegogo Video
Last friday at 2:00 we started set up for the Visions6 Indiegogo Campaign Video. Then at 3:00 we started filming. The shoot lasted about 7 hours, which seems long, but everything went pretty smoothly.
We discovered several things during our time on set:
1. Devin is a terrible actor
2. Michelle is also not a good actor (she will agree with me here)
3. Big Rob casts a big shadow
4. Papa John's uses food dollars
5. And always check all the switches on the lights before assuming they don't work
Everyone was prepared for their roles, mine on set consisted of sound and assistance to shot set ups. I had a large part in the original concept for the video, despite the script being altered several times, so I was able to help visualize the layout of specific shots. However, it was Michelle who really killed the directorial game. She set up every shot, and knew exactly how each person had to act in each. Zoë killed the producing game, keeping everyone on schedule, knowing exactly which shot was to be filmed next, and on top of that, serving as probably the best actor on set. Props to Zoë and Michelle, without whom the video would not be completed.
We discovered several things during our time on set:
1. Devin is a terrible actor
2. Michelle is also not a good actor (she will agree with me here)
3. Big Rob casts a big shadow
4. Papa John's uses food dollars
5. And always check all the switches on the lights before assuming they don't work
Everyone was prepared for their roles, mine on set consisted of sound and assistance to shot set ups. I had a large part in the original concept for the video, despite the script being altered several times, so I was able to help visualize the layout of specific shots. However, it was Michelle who really killed the directorial game. She set up every shot, and knew exactly how each person had to act in each. Zoë killed the producing game, keeping everyone on schedule, knowing exactly which shot was to be filmed next, and on top of that, serving as probably the best actor on set. Props to Zoë and Michelle, without whom the video would not be completed.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Thanksgiving and Space
Two very different things, a difficult task to combine both. Tyler is currently working on the Thanksgiving animation for Visions. He has remained consistent to the space background, layering images and text over top. However, the animation right now is only portraying the space elements, which is good for Visions, but not for the holiday. The animation does not distinguish itself from the others without verifying the time period in which it is created.
Before talking thanksgiving, a few things about the animations in general - and I find I have some authority to talk about this given I have worked on visuals for Visions myself, and also having experience with animation. The font needs to be changed, it does not match the fonts previously used for Visions designs, and it does not really follow the space theme anyway, and then movements need to be more fluid for Cosmo.
So, how to make Thanksgiving spacey, or Cosmo in a Thanksgiving setting?...whichever.
Tyler mentioned he was channeling a bit of Charlie Brown when making the design, if this is a piece of the inspiration we should just run with it. Have Cosmo kicking a football, or have him making the squiggly mouth of Charlie. Give Cosmo a fricken turkey leg. The class did vote on laser turkeys as the favorite design to use for the animation. I'm not exactly sure how this will turn out. Perhaps the laser turkey and Cosmo encounter one another and the turkey eradicates Cosmo with his laser eyes (if his eyes are lasers and that's how we're doing this)...but I think Zoë might have a problem with this since Cosmo represents Visions and we do not want Visions dying. The turkey could be cooking other foods with his laser eyes, rather than killing Cosmo, or other space beings. There could be a type of collaboration between Cosmo and the Turkey. If the turkey is more like a gun than an animal, Cosmo could find this laser turkey gun and be shooting space objects (rock looking things) that explode and become some type of text about Visions, or the logo, or the hashtag. I think there are several options for this laser turkey idea, we just need to start trying them out and see.
Before talking thanksgiving, a few things about the animations in general - and I find I have some authority to talk about this given I have worked on visuals for Visions myself, and also having experience with animation. The font needs to be changed, it does not match the fonts previously used for Visions designs, and it does not really follow the space theme anyway, and then movements need to be more fluid for Cosmo.
So, how to make Thanksgiving spacey, or Cosmo in a Thanksgiving setting?...whichever.
Tyler mentioned he was channeling a bit of Charlie Brown when making the design, if this is a piece of the inspiration we should just run with it. Have Cosmo kicking a football, or have him making the squiggly mouth of Charlie. Give Cosmo a fricken turkey leg. The class did vote on laser turkeys as the favorite design to use for the animation. I'm not exactly sure how this will turn out. Perhaps the laser turkey and Cosmo encounter one another and the turkey eradicates Cosmo with his laser eyes (if his eyes are lasers and that's how we're doing this)...but I think Zoë might have a problem with this since Cosmo represents Visions and we do not want Visions dying. The turkey could be cooking other foods with his laser eyes, rather than killing Cosmo, or other space beings. There could be a type of collaboration between Cosmo and the Turkey. If the turkey is more like a gun than an animal, Cosmo could find this laser turkey gun and be shooting space objects (rock looking things) that explode and become some type of text about Visions, or the logo, or the hashtag. I think there are several options for this laser turkey idea, we just need to start trying them out and see.
Cucalorus Response
Fortunately this year I was able to attend part of Cucalorus Film Festival. Walking around downtown it felt like a private event that only people cool enough were attending - which I guess is a good and bad thing. The theaters I found myself in, Jengo's playhouse, Thalian Hall, and the CFCC Union Station, were sizable enough to hold an audience, (Thalian and CFCC more so than Jengo's), yet all maintained a sense of intimacy that made the audience feel special, feel closer to the films they watched. Thalian Hall was my favorite. I realize it probably always looks historic but this design for the theater takes you back in time, to the days when films were rare gems, a spectacle to go see. This theme works for a film festival that is premiering new films, works of art. We use Lumina theater for Visions, but we should somehow design the theater to feel like space, like our audience is in another world while attending a Visions screening.
There were large projections of the Cucalorus logo displayed on buildings downtown - a very nice addition to the posters and signs already advertising the festival; (also adding to the feeling of a secret society, a simple logo displayed where all can see, some know exactly what it is, while others are intrigued). A large projection of the Visions logo is absolutely something we could do in Lumina, or perhaps along walkways on campus, (buildings might be harder to get permission for).
Cucalorus remained true to their theme of monsters. They also remained true to a single style of bumper that revealed the donors of the festival. To open a film, 2D animated monsters in muted oranges and reds quickly moved across the screen pulling a white banner that contained the logos and/names of sponsors and donors. The entire animation lasted approximately thirty seconds, not long at all. An old-school marching band-esque music played in the background, which concluded in an applause while an enlarged monster "swallowed" the screen, leaving it black. It was all very simple, yet beautifully composed. It followed the rule I know I have tried to live by this semester when it comes to designs, that less is more. Simple designs work well, and they especially work well following a time period's style, which is what Cucalorus did, as Visions is trying to do by channeling the 1940s space theme. Rather than place Cucalorus into a specific time period, its 2D designs and muted colors simply portray a time period in the past, serving as a reminiscence of older, simpler days.
In between films, a red screen with the Cucalorus logo pasted in the left corner would flip between the logos and names of sponsors and donors, names were revealed in a simple font, nothing flashy, and business/program logos were left to their original designs, revealed on a square, white backdrop.
I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Cucalorus, the films, the visuals, the setting, and the people. Yet, as a result of seeing another's design for a film festival, I know that we have an extremely creative group of individuals in Visions that can make the designs of our festival even more appealing.
There were large projections of the Cucalorus logo displayed on buildings downtown - a very nice addition to the posters and signs already advertising the festival; (also adding to the feeling of a secret society, a simple logo displayed where all can see, some know exactly what it is, while others are intrigued). A large projection of the Visions logo is absolutely something we could do in Lumina, or perhaps along walkways on campus, (buildings might be harder to get permission for).
Cucalorus remained true to their theme of monsters. They also remained true to a single style of bumper that revealed the donors of the festival. To open a film, 2D animated monsters in muted oranges and reds quickly moved across the screen pulling a white banner that contained the logos and/names of sponsors and donors. The entire animation lasted approximately thirty seconds, not long at all. An old-school marching band-esque music played in the background, which concluded in an applause while an enlarged monster "swallowed" the screen, leaving it black. It was all very simple, yet beautifully composed. It followed the rule I know I have tried to live by this semester when it comes to designs, that less is more. Simple designs work well, and they especially work well following a time period's style, which is what Cucalorus did, as Visions is trying to do by channeling the 1940s space theme. Rather than place Cucalorus into a specific time period, its 2D designs and muted colors simply portray a time period in the past, serving as a reminiscence of older, simpler days.
In between films, a red screen with the Cucalorus logo pasted in the left corner would flip between the logos and names of sponsors and donors, names were revealed in a simple font, nothing flashy, and business/program logos were left to their original designs, revealed on a square, white backdrop.
I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Cucalorus, the films, the visuals, the setting, and the people. Yet, as a result of seeing another's design for a film festival, I know that we have an extremely creative group of individuals in Visions that can make the designs of our festival even more appealing.
Recent Work
The indiegogo campaign video has been revised - Zoë and Michelle are now on board with the direction the video will take. The script has been reworked a bit (just an additional few lines and such).
Some of the changes include:
- Opening the video acknowledging that Jack and myself are showing a video, rather than starting off watching the "bad indiegogo" video and assuming the Visions video is that bad...if that makes sense.
- Each Visions member shown on screen will be playing an exaggerated version of themselves - we ultimately want to represent Visions rather than random characters
- The location of filming will now take place in King 104 (a classroom versus theater) but this is okay we still have the projector and seats in which there will be some form of an audience
- Filming will be held Friday November 20th @ 3 pm, setup at 2
There have also been updates to the Visions logo:
- a gradient was thrown behind the image to create more depth
- the stars were revised to a simpler dot form
- The brightness was amped up to distinguish the colors of the logo
Some of the changes include:
- Opening the video acknowledging that Jack and myself are showing a video, rather than starting off watching the "bad indiegogo" video and assuming the Visions video is that bad...if that makes sense.
- Each Visions member shown on screen will be playing an exaggerated version of themselves - we ultimately want to represent Visions rather than random characters
- The location of filming will now take place in King 104 (a classroom versus theater) but this is okay we still have the projector and seats in which there will be some form of an audience
- Filming will be held Friday November 20th @ 3 pm, setup at 2
There have also been updates to the Visions logo:
- a gradient was thrown behind the image to create more depth
- the stars were revised to a simpler dot form
- The brightness was amped up to distinguish the colors of the logo
Monday, November 9, 2015
Indiegogo Campaign
https://go.indiegogo.com/blog/2015/01/five-funniest-pitch-videos-2014.html
These are some of the best indiegogo campaign videos I've seen. We are trying to channel this type of self-reflexive, humorous approach. The first and last videos are the ones that really appealed to me in particular. I enjoyed the spokesman of the first video, his demeanor and subtle humor drove the video's story. Aside from this, the settings were elaborate (which might not be a resource we have access to), however, the additional characters and their brief interactions with the spokesman is definitely something we can do.
We are thinking of using a single director to act as the main spokesman for the video, then the rest of the directors will serve as the means for presenting the information about Visions in a back and forth, quick-cut conversation with the main speaker.
The last video channels the type of self-reflexivity that we'd like. There is also a main spokesman (in this case the director), which I think works very well, it helps the audience identify with that person, and form that much of a stronger relationship being that it is the sole person they are forming a relationship with on screen. This speaker is not afraid to make fun of himself - how bad his films and effects would be without necessary funding.
What we intend to do here is make a mock indiegogo video that is very noticeably bad, and this will be presented to the audience of directors who show their very obvious disappointment. From here the main spokesman comes in and also acknowledges that the video is bad, then in a very exaggerated manner says this is what we need to do to fix this...this leads into the conversation with the other directors...the purpose of our very own indiegogo campaign video.
More details to come in class, along with a script and several storyboards.
These are some of the best indiegogo campaign videos I've seen. We are trying to channel this type of self-reflexive, humorous approach. The first and last videos are the ones that really appealed to me in particular. I enjoyed the spokesman of the first video, his demeanor and subtle humor drove the video's story. Aside from this, the settings were elaborate (which might not be a resource we have access to), however, the additional characters and their brief interactions with the spokesman is definitely something we can do.
We are thinking of using a single director to act as the main spokesman for the video, then the rest of the directors will serve as the means for presenting the information about Visions in a back and forth, quick-cut conversation with the main speaker.
The last video channels the type of self-reflexivity that we'd like. There is also a main spokesman (in this case the director), which I think works very well, it helps the audience identify with that person, and form that much of a stronger relationship being that it is the sole person they are forming a relationship with on screen. This speaker is not afraid to make fun of himself - how bad his films and effects would be without necessary funding.
What we intend to do here is make a mock indiegogo video that is very noticeably bad, and this will be presented to the audience of directors who show their very obvious disappointment. From here the main spokesman comes in and also acknowledges that the video is bad, then in a very exaggerated manner says this is what we need to do to fix this...this leads into the conversation with the other directors...the purpose of our very own indiegogo campaign video.
More details to come in class, along with a script and several storyboards.
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