I heart artists.

New York City Artist Movie... Phase 1! THanks so much to Mike Foreman, Monica Fields, Michael Howard, Erin Cadigan, and David Fry!: Artist Movie

Project 3: A movie about artists

For this project, I am making a movie about artists. However, I am interested in interviewing artists not only in the US, but also in Iran in the coming summer.

This is going to be an exciting project. I am an artist, and I am always interested in learning about what inspires/motivates and moves an artist to create. Through this exploration, other aspects of society, culture, and tradition will be revealed.

To find the artists that are interested, i have placed an add on Craigslist that has the format of the above image. To see what it says, please click on the image.

So far, in only one day, the responses have been incredible! This is very exciting.

Project 2: Celebrating the Persian New Year

It just so happened that this project coincided with the persian new year... so it seemed like a great opportunity to tell people who who have never heard about it about what norooz is... The way I chose to do this was by describing a bit about the Hafsin, or the "seven 's'"

here it is: Norooz Movie

a super cool film i watched and studied today

The following is my analysis and observation for the editing style in relationship to the content of:

Fast, Cheap and Out of Control
a film by Errol Morris

I asked around for what films I should watch from some of the ITP film experts. One of the recommendations for documentary style (since I am interested in this genre) was "Fast, Cheap and out of Control". I was interested in learning how an author would combine several stories together into a cohesive whole. I was pleased with what I saw!

In the beginning of the film, there are
Images from old movies being shown of:
Robots. Clowns. Circus. Gardens. Fighting with a lion.

conversations about a city behind the mountains. From old style film we switch to a more contemporary style...

Then we see someone being interviewed, and he says, "When I was a kid, I wanted to be a wild animal trainer."

Here, for example, the author connects the stories by theme:

the author introduces all of the characters by describing how each person first became interested in or was inspired regarding robots/mole-rats/topiary gardening/training wild animals...(the four characters)

the author also connects the story through style:

images are used from magazines, old clippings, contemporary filming of events they are talking about, cartoons, but these images are used in all of the different peoples stories, and they are used consistently... therefore, even with all of the variety, they all flow together into a cohesive whole.

the author connects the story also by things as simple as camera angle:

When the 4 main people are introduced, after a new person is introduced (in the beginning) there is an extreme close up shot on only their eyes, not even the mouth. you start to see a distinction between the characters.

Slowly, as it becomes clear that there are 4 characters, Morris begins to link the stories in other ways in addition to the ones noted above. He also connects the characters using things such as movement (robot moves, elephant moves, etc) or subject (elephant in a circus, elephant shaped plant in the garden, to switch from one thing to the next).

He also links what is being said to the whole. When the mole-rat specialist starts talking about the incredible feats of the mole-rat, you see not only the mole-rat, but the scene ends with a visual of the incredible feats of humans, such as the acrobatic dance in the circus, women spinning elegantly along.

Again, the camera goes from black and white to color, to comic, to cartoon, to different angles. there are really no limits, and they all come together like a scarf that is woven with multiple colors.

Topics covered include:

Removal.
Speaking about the removal of the mole-rat's home to put them on display, or the removal of leaves and branches in the gardeners case.

Challenges.
Challenges faced in dealing with lions. Challenges for mole-rats to live. how one will die for the sake of all. the whole documentary was also extremely informative.
Challenges for the robot... it is really only just a set of processes... again this is linked to the simplicity of human beings, showing us again the man in the circus, fighting with the lion....

Problems they have faced.
Power failure in the circus (with lions in a cage with you!!!)
if one mole-rat will die, it will sacrifice itself.
Snow-storm or bad weather may hurt or damage the "green animal" garden.

Building your own baby.
Understand life by building what is life-like. People understand themselves by understanding what is bigger than themselves. The other is not something to be feared, but to be looked at, and explored

Random thoughts.
"Consciousness is put there by God, as an interface to what we're thinking" --robot maker
"Never roast peanuts during a wild animal act"
"They are all different though, like people."--animal trainer
"It's just cut and wait. Cut and wait."

Parallels are constantly being drawn between insects to humans, humans to mole-rats, making gardens to making robots, gardens to mole-rats, animal training to robot training, and so on; however, not through the use of direct comparison,,, but by using the narrative of one thing while showing visually, something else. This allows the viewer to create new relationships, and to grasp the parallel as intended by Morris.

It is the editing style that makes this story extremely powerful and cohesive. Everything is carefully planned so that you never feel that any moment is out of place. The whole thing is a thrill to watch, while being intimate, personal, as well as informative. I truly loved this film, and I appreciate the thoughtfulness put into it!!!

Pomegranate movie: Phase 1

go to this page then click the pomegranate link!!

Project 2 Ideas

Something I have been thinking about doing lately has been to make a documentary that promotes peace and positive dialogue between the people of the world, namely trying to bridge the gap between Iran and the US.

As an Iranian-American, born in neither one of these countries, I really do feel like a citizen of the world. As time goes on and as I go through my experiences here I feel as though I have pride for both countries and I feel that i truly am a citizen of them both (as both passports indicate)...

For now, in Methods of Motion, I am exploring with animation and the topic of Iran for this week. I wouls also like to pursue this during the summer and I am planning on making a trip out to Iran to work on this.

For Project #2 in Video for New Media I have been thinking about how I would like to collaborate with some other people in the class and come up with some topic that would be interesting to all of us while challenging us to learn the basics of documentary film making. We could all decide together what that topic would be...

Here are some ideas:

1. Interview someone or some people that we know and think are very cool, and are interested in learning more about...

2. Ask some of the ITP students to talk about and share the development of their thesis projects (again, we would have to ask the 2nd years to submit their ideas and we would have to choose between them)

3. Interview some professors we would like to get to know better (preferably in other departments) regarding some specific topic?

OR

3. Get to know some aspect of Manhattan; a person, a place, or a thing... and explore that.

I truly believe in the synergy of the group dynamic... my intention is to create something positive and enlightening... I would like to work in a group with people that are interested in just following thier interests. As each individual makes up the group dynamic, i believe in remaining open to any possibility.

I have also been given some music by a friend... if the group wants to do something simple and just work on some kind of a music video, I am fine with that too.

In conclusion, I would like to work in a group on this project, and I would like learn as much as can, while enjoying the whole experience.

Thank You :)

Film Directing: Shot by Shot...Ch. 6 thoughts.

Reaction to Steven d. Katz: Film Directing Shot by Shot
Ch. 6: Composing Shots: Spatial Connections

As an undergraduate student in architecture, I had a teacher that constantly compared architecture to film. Essentially, I think he was telling us about how in architecture, and in film,(and music), there is a very important thing to consider...which is the sequence of events...the timing of things... and essentially, the experience that you give the person/viewer/listener/audience. It is essentially the experience that we are designing, there is an experience.

How do we keep the experience meaningful and understandable to the viewer? How do we not confuse them? To do this, we must look at our own work with the eyes of a beginner; though sometimes difficult, it is indispensible.

Some things to consider... Full shot, Medium shot, extreme-close up, and everything in between. "In film the eyes have it" and so it is. Eyes are extremely powerful, and as some say the windows to the soul. In methods of motion, we have been talking about the importance of the level in which you are shooting. If you have characters that are too low (and the camera too high) you give a sense of being above the characters that you are shooting, and not on the same level as them.

The close up is not only a great way to bring a sense of intimacy to the viewer, but it is also a great way to change/add to a sequence of events, to give the viewer a better feel for what is going on, what someone is feeling, etc.

I think I like all the different kinds of shots that can be done, and i would like to play around with all of them. I think if two people are talking and you want to emphasize the body language, or the happenings of an event (some particular incident in particular, that is very clear, per se), it is a great idea to use the full shot.

The Line fo Action is very important so that you can give the audience a sense of place, so they don't feel confused. Its also adds variety and change (and differentiation between characters) to show different shots from different characters. For example, girl approaches from left. boy approaches from right. both meet, full shot, both show up in the middle.

The 180 degree rule makes a lot of sense, however I will add that experimentation is great, however I am happy to learn about specific techniques that are used in shooting, etc. Perhaps if enough people were to break away from the rules we will have to comprehend things on a different level, as in we will have to train our minds to understand things: since as people we seek experiences that we can find to be meaningful.

The triangle set-up seems to work really well if you want to use multiple cameras simultaneously... Angular Singles (medium shots or close-ups), master two-shots, over the shoulder shots, point of view singles, and profile shots. Very interesting.

I remember 2 things from watching soap operas as a kid. I don't know if i learned how to understand the angles of shooting in it, but I always felt that soap opera's felt different from sitcoms. Clearly, it was how it was shot...and of course the laughter in the audience... I recall from when I was three there were two kinds of shots I remember the most:

1. The over the shoulder shots. You kept seeing the back of the other guys head. What was that all about?

2. The scene with the woman's robe falling to the floor. I really didn't know what was going on, but I figured something exciting was bound to happen!

I think I like point of view close ups, because of the intimacy of the shot.

Note to self:

TO establish a new line-of-action, do one of the following:

1. Have a new player come in to the picture. 2 people sitting, new guy comes in, 2 guys establish eye contact = new line of action. However the woman would still be shot at the old line of action (this is called a re-establishing shot).
2. Establishing a new line when a player crosses the line. Once the player crosses the line and establishes eye-contact, there is a new line of action.
3. The camera can pan, dolly and cross the line of action… Easy to do as long as the camera movement is uninterrupted.

Cutaways and Bridge Shots:
Very great way to change the line of action without interrupting the geography of a scene.

"As soon as the man establishes eye-contact (keyword here, eye-contact!!) with the woman, The new line of action is established.

“Consistent sense of space is reinforced through repetition.” This reminds me of a lesson in architectural design: consistency, repetition, repeating key elements, etc.

The line of action for moving subjects and action. According to Steven D. Katz, The line of action is most useful when used to organize the photography of multiple-player dialogue sequences. More interesting and creative types of editing can be done for other scenes (kinetic or analytical editing)

“Today’s viewers are so visually sophisticated” I would have to agree with that.

To establish a new line of action/ motion:

1. A subject can cross the line establishing a new one by the direction of his new line of motion.
2. The camera can cross the line, either following the subject or merely traveling for graphic variety to a new view point.
3. a new subject can enter the frame and become the dominant line of motion in contrast to the first.

In either case, continuity is key.

New Ideas for future projects...

So I am thinking next time there is no snow on the ground and it is about to snow two feet, that i must definitely make a time lapse movie of it. I wanted to do it this week (the time lapse thing) but unfortunately I was unable to do it as I had to send my computer back to the apple store to get fixed. I was downloading iStopMotion (just to do the time lapse movie thing of me doing a drawing), and low and behold I realized my firewire cable was not functioning, and so I had to take the computer back to apple (serious hard drive problem)...

I also would like to do a time lapse video of me moving out this week (maybe, I would like to do that, but I will need to do it with a video camera instead); and I would eventually like to do a time lapse movie of me making some art.

Project 1: In Camera Editing

I spent a week on the In Camera Editing Project, and I really enjoyed it.

Except for the day when I had to go to the Emergency Room because I had an allergic reaction to some thing/ chemical on the view-finder, which was really frightening. I know I am not allergic to rubber, but certain types of dust/dirt I do have some allergic reactions to.

I feel like I would like to add some music to my video, such as Mason Jennings a wonderful artist whom I have only recently been exposed to. Mason Jennings is one of my favorite musicians right now. However I might use Azure Ray for the music just because Azure Ray is so lovely, and perhaps the music would go better with the video.

I really enjoyed the daytime video, which I did the following day, which I actually think was better than what I did the night before (and showed in class)...However I showed the one that I did because it was shorter.

I don't really think my first project was about what I showed at all, but what the experience of the whole week was for me. I was able to think about sequence, and I agree with Morgan (my instructor) that the more successful shots were the ones where I showed a particular texture or detail, rather than a bunch of things all at once. It doesn't take so much to give the feeling of something to people...

Or in other words... things are a lot more subtle than we may sometimes think.

So I am happy that I did a walk through of the city. However, I also documented my eye-emergency experience, as well as a whole day through the east village, with me doing my laundry, and bringing it back. I just felt that it was slightly anti-climactic, and I feel even more appreciative of editing and the possibilities of editing and post-production. Sometimes the idea comes together after you are done shooting, whereas sometimes, the idea is clear and becomes even more clear in the process...