6x1 projects finale!

Looking back at the semester, I have a hard time picking my favorite project, but because I have to rank them, I will try anyway.

1-Multi plane Animation: reminded me of the films i made when i was in high school. However, using the multiple levels to add depth was new. The only thing that was to bad was not having more time to work, but that is the definition of stop motion.

2-Freestyle: I think most people would say that this is the least favorite or at least in the bottom 3, but for me, I have worked solo on a lot of projects. I don't always like restrictions, but sometimes they open the doors to a completely new way of thinking.

3-Bolex: This project was unique and something that I have never done or probably would get to do without this class. It helped me to understand the history of film and gave me a thrilling experience. The saturday shoot was also more fun than I thought. You go in thinking "yay, the weekend is going to be used up by going to class!" to "That was so much fun, I feel like I know everyone in the class better now, maybe too better eeek!"

4-Rhythmic Edit: This project was very cool, because we had to film our partner doing some action or just being kind of random. I ended up filming Mason while longboarding, which was cool, but he also tried to board over his gopro.

5-Crowdsource: This project turned out great, but the process for me wasn't a favorite. I didn't have many friends to help with the frames, so i ended up doing around 20-25 myself. It wasn't bad, i just would rather spend more time doing a few than rushing to do all.

6-Film Manipulation: This project I have put here because, not because it is truly last, but because I have to. This project was very unique and I had never done anything like it before. I enjoyed every part of it, besides carrying loads of film in my backpack, which is not that bad. I would have never thought to do anything like this and I have found that it has impacted my other work and projects as well.

Overall, I really didn't want to rank these out like this, because each one serves as a stepping stone in the stairs of the class and the experience you have while taking it. They balance each other out and are all fun in unique ways.

Class Rating: 10/10 - Would take again.

Bolex Long-take

So the entire class got together to film with bolex cameras, #awesome. I loved this project because i haven't worked with many film cameras, and definitely not the bolex. I like how the mechanisms work and how you have to wind the camera before you film. Then, you just have to jump in when filming, you have one take to get it right. I was in group 1 and filmed the scene. we practiced a few time and then we just went for it. Its very nerve-racking to just hit the record button and know that the reel in the camera is all you have. I think our project turned out as good as it could have.

Then came the developing part. It is a unique experience developing film for 6x1. You go into a room with only a red light and you can barely see. If its not dark enough, the film you just managed to capture is gone or damaged, which would be the worst. Luckily, all of the films managed to hold on and came out great.

Rough Theater

Rough theater to me is using what you have around you to try and pull off something that is bigger than what you can do. From a very young age, I would take the family camera and just start rolling when i was playing. When i wasn't filming, I was actively thinking of the movie scenario or the awesome trailer that the movie would have. It was about as rough as it gets.

I really started my filmmaking career in middle school when i started using stop motion animation. My first film was about 2 ninjas fighting, just a basic sort of thing i guess. The end result was a little choppy and the fight ended before anything really began. I had no idea how much work it would take to complete projects like this. From there, I continued working, doing things in ways that were either completely wrong or just really time consuming, but that's learning for you.

Looking back, I can see that my past work was sort of like 6x1, and I think that is what i enjoy the most about this class. You just have to let go of your preconceived notions about films and become a kid again. The shorts we have made in class have taken a life of their own and even though they are odd, they deserve attention in their own right.

Film manipulation

The manipulation process for project 1 was very awesome and fun, and something that I had never done before. I was lucky enough to have had the chance in life to use film cameras at an early age but not the type used in film production. Being in the day and age, everything that can be digital is or is in the process of becoming digitized, so not many of us get the chance to manually manipulate footage by hand. When I first started this class, I was apprehensive because this might not carry over into my future carrer goals and plans, but I am changing that outlook. It was the best to see the film projected. Digital media is so instant and not always appreciated, so being able to see my hard work in action so far off from when i worked on it is a great feeling. To anyone who is reading this that is deciding whether to take 6x1... please take it, its a great class.

Response to R3:

Crowdsourcing is something that I have known about for a long time, but not really all at the same time. Of course I have heard of wikipedia, as well as famous projects such as Star Wars Uncut, but i was not aware of the idea of crowdsourcing for a project and the term. Wikipedia is a great resouce, not for school essays or some topics where a real jerk changes the info, but for a quick look up and researching for personal projects, it is wonderful. There are pros and cons to this way of working. Pros include getting a cool and different look, having more work spread out among more people, and community between conspirators and collaborators. Cons include mistakes in information, length of time to complete project and poor time management. I look forward to completing the crowd sourcing project in class.

Response to R2:

What I enjoyed about the viewings and readings in R2 was how passionate the people were when dealing with sound. For them and us in the 6X1 class, there are so many ways to record, experience, use sound in works. George Lucas put it best, "Sound is half of the experience." Sounds are not just noise, but they have an acoustic energy that is special. psyops especially was interesting because it is an energy that is different from what I was thinking, but it makes sense. I know that sometimes when there is a lot of noise around it makes me lose concentration and I need quiet.

Response to R1 Media:

The first set of readings and viewings were very interesting to me. I have heard of some of these conditions but I hadn't really understood what they were. It is amazing that many people have a gift/condition that allows them to learn and perceive numbers, letters, colors, shapes, etc. differently from everyone else. I feel that as a creative person that I share some of this skill but not to a massive degree as Daniel Tammet from the TED talk. I am very interesting in cymatics and synethesia and will continue to research them.

Week 1 exercise transcript-

The Len Lye Shorts, Layered, Multiple shapes and colors
different styles of music accompaniment,
many forms of motion, things are floating
rotations, painted on film itself
no camera was used, somewhat like Brakhage
frame by frame animation, each shape was painted multiple times
heavy uses of red and green, blues and various scattered, present but few others.
different styles throughout, use of lines, shapes coming together
moving apart also, minimal title cards, fade in and out
different from other productions of the time period, vintage.