Interview Reflection Media Piece #2

1.What is the essential story behind the piece you created?

The story I wanted to convey was what power film has on society.  The art of filmmaking has been one that people have enjoyed since the early 1900’s, but recently this medium has become more and more accessible to the everyman as a storytelling tool.  I wanted to explore the idea that, not only does film impact society, but how we watch and create films is impacted by a collective idea or experience. 

2.What was your purpose in creating this piece of new media narrative? Do you feel you were successful in communicating your purpose?

Originally my purpose was to interview several people in the industry, both professionals and independents who have experiences filmmaking from different aspects.  I also wanted to explore how social media can assist in the process, but this proved to be harder than I expected.  I found a couple of things out with this approach. 

1.)  I received a lot of positive feedback on those wanting to participate

2.)  I found that relying on people across the country is not always a great option. There were two interviews I wanted from colleagues out in LA who are experienced in the world of New Media Filmmaking.

The reason for the latter is because the footage I was expecting to receive via social media never came through, but this was because of timing and circumstances beyond anyones control.  This portion of the documentary had to be scrapped, but I still hope to add it in one day soon.  On this section I would say I was not successful, but have learned what to do and that I can think quickly on my feet if needed. 

I also took advantage of a trip I took out to California and was able to do one face-to-face interview with a filmmaker in Hollywood.  Going into the trip I decided I should make the most of where I am going and try to get as much footage as I can, regardless of if I use it or not.  See images and video below of Warner Brother’s, The Los Angeles Film School, and Sunset Boulevard. 

Warner Brothers

Amoeba Music - Sunset Blvd

Warner Brothers Water Tower

The Los Angeles Film School

My other purpose for using this particular medium was to create a small film, because I was talking about film.  I wanted to use the medium I was presenting. 

3.Who was your audience? Do you feel you were successful in reaching your audience?

My audience was anyone interested in the art of filmmaking.  I wanted to target those who not only enjoy creating films, but also those who enjoy watching them.  As we discuss in the piece, filmmaking is very much a collaborative process and how we experience film has become this as well.  How we experience a film at home is very different than how we experience a film in the theater, and I wanted to reach the audience who appreciates film and storytelling. 

I do feel I was successful because the piece is long enough to provide information, but short enough that they might want more.  Where I think I lose the audience is with the length of the interviews on screen.  I want to go back and add in footage or still shots to break up the monotony of the talking heads.   

4.Why did you use your particular approach to media production and media selection? Were you successful?

What did you learn during the process of crafting your media piece that you can use in creating future new media narrative?

Documentary films are something I have always loved.  I think when done right, they are a great tool to provide information to an audience interested in a particular subject.  I am not an on camera personality, nor do I enjoy being on camera, so I wanted to use an approach that would let me pull information, while still being behind the camera.  See image below. 

B-Roll from Gabe interview

I learned what to expect from those wanting to help, and how to utilize my time more efficiently for the success of the project. Because I was traveling to the home of film, I wanted to try and capture some of what I was experiencing for the audience.  Sadly, I ended up not using the material in the piece itself, but I am including some of it here.  For my future project I will plan, plan, plan each location and interview down to the smallest detail.  I know sometimes things don’t go as planned, but if I at least have a plan, it will be easier to deviate if necessary.  Other than a few sound glitches I am very pleased with the outcome of this film. 

Media Project #2

Hello everyone,

Below is my 2nd media project for 767B Digital Storytelling. This was a fun and frustrating project to work on, as I learned an important lesson to not rely on others for specific material.  I will address more of this and my thoughts on this project in my post-interview.  I hope you all enjoy and I welcome any all feedback.

Thank you.

Or the Youtube Link:

http://youtu.be/rc_YM62E9c0

Media Project 1 Post-Interview

1.             What is the essential story behind the piece you created?

The piece I created essentially tells the story of where I find inspiration.  I looked back at my childhood and at two significant moments from my past.  The first comes from where I get my creative nature.  My family raised me to be creative and encouraged the use of imagination and storytelling in any work I would do.  My Grandfather was a writer and published a book and several articles, so I aspired to follow in his footsteps.  He, along with my mother, taught me to love and appreciate words and the power they can hold.  I found that you could string letters together to form words, and words together to form phrases, and phrases together to form sentences and the message can be positive or negative.  The writer had control over their audience.

The second moment comes from being bullied as a kid.  I lost confidence in myself and in the ability to trust others.  I started to hate school and hate that I might be gay. I thought that by admitting that my bullies were right, I was letting them win, while not realizing hiding who I truly was they were already winning. My bullies caused me to hate words, which went against what I grew up knowing.  Words, which I once loved, were now used against me as a weapon.  It didn't matter if what was said was true or not, those within earshot laughed and believed what was said.  I eventually had enough of the taunting, teasing, and "kids being kids" mentality and found solace in creative works. 

This eventually led me to writing and filmmaking.  I found that I could not only convey my thoughts on paper, but I could use video and film production to make the words on the page come to life. Because of this, I often pull from my own experiences in the works I create. 

2.             What was your purpose in creating this piece of new media narrative? Do you feel you were successful in communicating your purpose?

I wanted to try something new with this piece.  I don't have many pictures from my past, nor did I want to do the conventional photo slide show with music, not that there is anything wrong with that, I just wanted to create something that was timely and unconventional for this type of story. 

I feel as though I was half successful with this piece.  Because I had never done a claymation, or any type of stop motion piece, I was unprepared for what it would take to get enough footage.   There are holes in the story and moments that fly by too quickly that I would like to fill in with additional footage.  For instance when the bullied kid is walking across the page, I should have focused in on the words more to showcase what he was feeling and the trail he was leaving behind.  This moment moves too quickly and is hard to read.

Overall though, I am pleased with the outcome of this video because I accomplished something new, and if a conversation could take place about bullying, even if they don't like my piece, I have done my job as an artist.  I can only captivate my audience for however long I have asked for their attention.  In this case it is 1 minute and 22 seconds.   Whether they like it or not, is out of my control. 

3.             Who was your audience? Do you feel you were successful in reaching your audience?

The original intent for this piece was directed at anyone who has been bullied, being bullied, or feeling different.  I wanted to show that it does get better and that we, as human beings, are unfinished. Our stories do not end until we end, so we have the capability of writing and rewriting aspects of our own narrative.  I cannot change what happened to me as a kid, but I can use it to help others and pull from in my own creative works.  I use the voice I have now, because I did not or could not use it back then. 

I do think I was successful in the research of my audience. As I mentioned above, I can only expect their attention for however long I have asked for it, but at the very least I would hope any piece could spark a conversation.  In this case I want to show that life does get better and instead of hiding from the past, we should embrace and it and pull from it to come out better in the end.

Did the final piece come out exactly as I wanted it? No, but I think at it's core the message still comes across. 

4.             Why did you use your particular approach to media production and media selection? Were you successful?

This is an interesting question.  I have utilized various forms of media in filmmaking over the years, but stopmotion is something I have always been drawn to and intrigued by.  I also hate being on camera, so I wanted to create a character that the audience could relate to and give it my voice.  This particular medium has been used in several viral Internet videos recently and I wanted to use the popularity of it to pull in my audience. 

I think with a little more planning and testing I could have been more successful.  Looking at it now, I would take out the narration and let the action and music drive the piece.  This would require more time to shoot and more material to create, which is not impossible but it does take time.  For this particular piece, time was something I just ran out of, so I added the narration to help move the story along. 

5. What did you learn during the process of crafting your media piece that you can use in creating future new media narrative?

I learned that I will need lots of thoughtful planning and to scale back the creative ambition.  I got caught in a creative haze with this piece and tried to take on more than I could chew, which led the final piece to be less strong than originally intended.  This was fun and I enjoyed creating every aspect of it, but building the character's, sets, cutting out the paper figures, finding the right materials for the motion, and learning the overall process took more time than I allowed myself.

For future projects if I did something this complex again, I would plan out each section meticulously so that I can capture all the frames I need and tell the story I want.  I would also, with such a quick turn around, not take on something I have never tried to ensure I put forth the best possible work I can. 

I like to try new things, but perhaps this medium would have been better left to another project.  

Media Project 1

This project was an undertaking.  I started this process off thinking about how I can tell a brief story about myself in a creative and unique way.  I decided to try something different.

This was the first time I have attempted any sort of animation, let alone, stop motion.  What I found was a need for patience, planning, and understanding of the medium I was working in.  I shot nearly 1000 frames of footage, spent nearly two weeks (with my partner) creating the claymation character's and sets, only to find out I was still short in the amount of footage needed for a 2 minute piece.  The process was fun, creative, and frustrating, but I would work in this medium again.  Now that I have a better understanding of the time it takes to create, I am looking forward to creating more projects like this in the future.

I will post some photos and notes on the process later, but for now I hope you enjoy my final project entitled "Unfinished."  I look forward to any feedback.

"Unfinished" - video

Youtube link - "Unfinished"

http://youtu.be/zr9BzFUaZGw

Story Map