Article Response: "How Virtual Reality Could Change the Way We Watch Movies"

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    Have you ever watched a movie that was so amazing, you wished you could be part of the action? If you're like me, then you'd immediately say YES !!!! Imagine watching a Marvel movie and being soo close to the intense, action-packed fight scenes, or watching a brand new Pixar movie and feeling as if the animated characters in front of you are actually real. With new virtual reality technology that has recently been created, your wish can come true. The article, written by Beyza Boyacioglu, gives a bit more information on how this virtual reality mixed with movies is supposed to work.

    Beyza attended the Sundance Film Festival which included a virtual reality display. She was able to try it out, and wrote of her experience with it. The video that was given for the display was influenced by observational documentary tradition and ethnographic film, called Herders. She describes what she had seen in the film and how real it almost felt, how she could move her head and look around her at different parts of the environment. 

     However, making films such as this are not easy. It requires advanced technology, such as multiple cameras and sensors in order to accomplish creating a 360 degree 3D video. Plus, there would be no room for the production crew, if it were to be a 360 degree environment. The audio and background noises/sound effects would also need to follow the viewer's head as they move. These specific conditions could pose a problem in creating these films, which could take much time to figure out the solutions to these issues and improve on them.

    This article was very interesting. It's amazing to think of how far we've come regarding technology and film productions, even in just a few years. In 2001, no one had ever dreamed that we could create animations as realistic as they are today, and it'll only get better from here. Maybe in just 10 to 20 years, we'll have ourselves our very own virtual reality sets placed in our living rooms! That would be pretty sweet.

Video Response: "Chuck Jones - The Evolution of an Artist"

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    A well-known animation director, Charles M. Jones (or, more commonly known as Chuck Jones), is considered by most people to be one of the all-time masters of visual comedy. (I, personally, would have to agree.) He worked for Warner Bros., creating over 200 cartoons between 1938 and 1962. But what is it that made his cartoons so memorable?

    For starters, I had never thought about the "assumption and reality" trope, as it is a reoccurring theme in almost all of his cartoons. It's very simple, but smart, and can effortlessly make a situation funny. Like how Wile E. Coyote will set up traps to capture the Road Runner, but something will always go wrong with his plans; it'll backfire and he'll end up hurting himself.

    Also, the amount of time and work put into each character's personality is what makes them so interesting. Each character has their own unique thing about them that makes them so lovable. For instance, Daffy Duck usually starts fights with other characters on impluse, while on the other hand, Bugs Bunny never starts fights, and will only fight back if he needs to. Daffy wants money and fame, the Coyote wants to catch the Road Runner, and Pepe Le Pew wants somebody to love. "The more simpler the desire, the more vivid the character."

    At the very end of the video, Chuck gave some very helpful advice for people also wanting to get into the film business. It's not enough to just watch movies and cartoons in order to be inspired, it's about reading as well. If you want to draw, you need to have some kind of idea in your head. He also encourages that you go out and study real life, famous works of art, and applying it to your animation. It's about studying real life, and making something new.

Weekly Comments #2: Catalopes, Strawbunnies, & Tigermelons OH MY

    Welcome back to another episode of Elaine's Weekly Comment! This week went by pretty smoothly, I can't complain. I really liked working on the Worth 1000 Photoshop edits near the end of the week. I tried my best to create a lil Catalope (cat + deer antlers), a Tigermelon (tiger + watermelon) and a Strawbunny (bunny + strawberry) for the animal crossover and plantimal tasks. (Coolest names ever, right?) They turned out alright, I guess. I'm really not the best at editing pictures with Photoshop just yet though, so, I dunno. But I had a lot of fun working on them and seeing what other people were making! :)

    Also, I was so excited when I found out we had to write a video response about Chuck Jones !!! He's one of my absolute favorite animators, and I especially love his Tom & Jerry shows! It was so great to learn a bit more about what he does, even though I'm not planning on working on any sort of animation in the future. (I believe I may be a bit too impatient for that!)

     Although, something that kinda frustrated me this week, when we had our notebook checks, no one told me ahead of time what the names of our tabs were supposed to be, or that there even were certain names for them. I probably should've asked someone instead of just guessing, because now I have to redo everything ! *Sighs loudly* But it's alright, I still got a pretty good grade on the evaluation sheet ! :)

    Annnnd last, my link of interest this week: Top 10 Horror Movies of All Time! Some of the movies on this list I've watched before and didn't really find them that interesting, but movies like The Shining and The Exorcist, I LOVE !! I kinda wish they put Carrie (1976) on this list. :C But anyways, I've always loved the horror movie genre, however some of them can be pretty cheesy, I'd really love to create something scary like that in the future !

    That's all for this week, folks! Oh, and feel free to add me on Skype ( its_elaine_ ) or Facebook if you ever wanna chat! Have a nice day, y'all !

Article Response: "6 Ways You Can Use Simple Props to Make Your Films More Interesting"

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    One of the most important factors that goes into making any kind of film or video are the props. They help to set the mood of the environment in a certain scene - to make a small room seem larger (or vice versa), to turn the inside of a building into a forest of fake foliage, to make a fantasy world look realistic, to make a scene look more creepy, calming, depressing, humorous, etc. This article, written by V Renee, goes more in-depth with how props are absolutely necessary in order to make a film more interesting.

    After watching the video Renee shows us at the beginning of the article (made by Noah Yan), I had learned that a specific prop can be used for many different things, not just to make a scene look more realistic. They can be used for foreshadowing, metaphors, a symbol for something, a cutting point (aka, having a smooth transition from one scene to another by putting a prop in front of the camera), or it can take us back to a previous part in the movie to make it more sentimental and memorable. That's really interesting to me, because I had never really thought about it before. It's certainly something to write down for future reference !!

    Props can also be used to show a character's inner feelings, for example, the plastic bag in American Beauty. It shows how that character was feeling at the time, empty, possibly lonely and aimless. Another example would be if a character were to be playing with, let's say, a spinning top. This could represent their feeling of happiness or excitement, or that they're dazed over what's going on in their life, like the world is spinning around them. In addition, props can be used to describe someone's personality. If the script called for a scene in a teenage girl's bedroom, there would most likely be posters on the walls of the things they like, pictures of family and friends, their room could be messy or neat, depending on who they are.

    I really found this article interesting, because I love when movie directors use props and things to their advantage to convey a certain feeling or to show something. It makes the movie more engaging and original compared to other popular films.

Article Response: "5 Psychological Mistakes that Beginning Filmmakers Make, & How to Avoid Them"

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    It's very easy to make a mistake while filming a video (I would know...), and some of the biggest mistakes filmmakers make are the psychological ones. This article explains just that, and how to avoid them. Written by Robert Hardy, he explains how his friend, Simon Cade, had noticed five mistakes that he had been making while working on filming educational videos and wanted to share them with other ameteur filmmakers. 

    The list of mistakes includes working too much on the computer, instead of getting up and actually working with more hands-on activities to jumpstart your creative process. Being on the computer for too long can become distracting, and getting up and working with your hands can help you come up with bigger & better ideas. Another is worrying too much about what's popular in the film industry, when instead you should focus on what you think is creative or interesting and work from there. Originality is what made well-known films popular in the first place. The third mistake on his list is not making enough narrative content, which means people are more interested in following a story with characters with fascinating lives or things they can relate to. People need a story to follow, so it should be your top priority when making a film. 

    One of the most important mistakes on this list is stressing out about failure. The fear of failure is bound to keep you from being creative, and it's important to keep in mind that it's very difficult to make something perfect, and you should only worry about doing your best, even if you doubt yourself. In the end, you'll be happy that you at least did your best work. The very last piece of advice that Simon gives us is a quote from Ze Frank, the vice president of video at BuzzFeed, which basically says to practice humility, to be humble with what you can or can't do. 

    I definitely learned a lot from watching the video and reading this article, because it made me realize that I happen to make some of these mistakes as well. It's very easy to slip into that doubt that your film/video isn't good enough or isn't as great as other things that you've seen, and you wish that you could make something just as good or even better. But sometimes it's hard to be original when you're afraid that your idea has already been used before. In truth, you just need to trust yourself and your ideas, because you never know if your idea could become something much bigger once the final project is released. This advice is very important for ameteur filmmakers who need a little reminder that not everything they make will be perfect, and you will inevitably learn from your mistakes in time. 

Article Response: "6 Steps to Beat Procrastination"

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    An article I can definitely relate to, as, of course, most professional procrastinators can. In the article, Paul Allen, a veteran mentor and pro animator from Reel FX, gives advice on how to beat procrastination, or at least how to get your mind on the right track instead of slacking off.

    Paul Allen explains that what you should first do is take a step back and organize your thoughts and what was placed in front of you, so you're not confused over what your top priorities are. Consider making a list with the most important tasks you need to complete at the top, and continue adding onto it as more things are given to you. Also, turning off your computers/phones/other distracting devices will greatly benefit you in staying focused on getting things done, but you're still able to take 15 minute breaks if you need it to clear your head. Next, you should always consider doing the most important thing on your list first before doing any of the smaller things. That way, you can carefully think things through, instead of leaving it to do last on your list and then having to rush through it.

    This all seems like really great advice for procrastinators, but I thought this was supposed to be advice mainly directed at animators? Oh right, number 5, don't stress out about pre-planning. You should always be thorough when working on animating, because it'll make working on the final project so much easier. Last, break down the bigger projects into smaller ones. Take your time and don't stress out, because once you're done you'll be really proud of the results.

    The article does give some great advice for people who like to animate, but are also huge procrastinators. However, Paul mostly just gave advice for those who procrastinate, and only wrote the last two numbers for people who animate. In my opinion, I feel like he could have written a bit more for animators, since that's who the article is aimed towards. Despite that, he did give some very helpful advice, which is very important to follow if your dream is to get into the film/animating industry. Being diligent and persevering in the industry is key for earning a successful film job!

Weekly Comments #1: Photoshop & Stuff

    Wow, my first actual blog post !! How exciting. I'm really starting to feel like part of the family -- in the class, that is. It's been kinda awkward so far trying to fit in with everyone else, since they already know each other from last year, and not to mention, I'm already somewhat shy, but everyone's been really friendly and I can't wait to see what this class has in store! :)

    I've learned quite a bit in the past two (ish) weeks. The first week we were given sheets about classroom saftey and whatnot, which I'm sure everyone from last year already knew about. Then we started transitioning into learning about how to use Photoshop, for instance, working with layers, filters, color corrections, adjustments, retouching, etc., with a cute little photo of a ducky, an image of the desert, and a creepy alien guy. (Also featuring: inverted demon raspberries, ghost articokes, and floating words.) I already know a bit about Photoshop from using it at home in my own videos, but going through these demos has helped me get more in-depth information, which is great because I love Photoshop, omg. I can't wait to learn more about it! I also can't wait for when we get into making videos, because I would really like to know more about editing with Adobe Premiere and how it compares to Sony Vegas.

    However, Photoshop can also be rather frustrating. Especially when we were given worksheets with Photoshop excercises. Some of the instructions were hard to follow, especially the Selections worksheet with the carrot part !! I had to keep redoing / rereading it because I kept messing up, and in the end, I still don't think I did it right.

    But it's not that bad. It's been great so far getting to know everyone, and I'm really happy that this class is more laid back compared to the classes back at Lockport High. It's great because everyone here has a similar interest: video making, and that's what I'm all about !! Furthermore, it seems like everyone is always willing to help, so I never hesitate to ask if I have a question about something (since I'm still a n00b). :P

    Also, I found this video about how people create rubber props for films & movies that I thought was interesting: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-07-16/hollywood-props-so-real-the-secret-service-complains I just thought it was cool how, since technology has improved over the decades, cameras literally capture everything now, so they need to make props that look realistic enough to make the film believable. However, some of the props can cause problems, as they can look too realistic. For example, fake money could be confused with real money, or fake police badges could be confused as well, both of which have been stolen in the past, and people have gotten in trouble because of it.

    Well, that's all for this week, buh byeeeee ~

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