How can something so bad, feel sooo good? part 2

Basically the same video, with some adjustments made after getting some feedback during a tutorial. I have changed some of the fonts to make them more visible.

How can something so bad, feel sooo good?

...or as formerly known `But Everybody`s Doin` it!` is one happy finished project, nestling in its comfy Youtube space now.

Voila!

After the first rough cut, it took me a few days to figure out what was missing...I still don`t know if I`ve really found that elusive something (but then again...we never find THAT elusive something, do we?), but I am quite pleased with the freeze-frames stylised to look like 50s advertising posters. I hope I captured the spirit, I tried to use as a guide Robert Opie`s 1950s Scrapbook.

I know this has turned out rather ambiguous and cheeky, having a laugh at the overly dramatic seriousness of classic digital piracy ads by using the cartoonish chase seen music and the posters are only re-enforcing the irreverent atmosphere of the whole piece...but then again, it`s supposed to inform, not judge. And observe and inform it does...the vast majority of people have this ambivalent `let`s not and say we did` attitude towards the subject, hypocrisy is oozing out of everyone`s pores and we are, willy-nilly, surfing treacherous waters in our search for our favourite online commodities.

Technical details:

Compressed file has some colour loss but there doesn`t seem to be any major issue with the uncompressed video (have tried it on three different players) altough I`ve initially had some issues with subtitles not showing up on the screen for the introduction sequence.

Also, not entirely sure about the final Hyde-Jekyll transition, the morphing might be a bit...well, a bit spooky for the overall tone of the work (or maybe it`s just me seeing it like that). Might think about having different sequences for the morphing, some that are more similar so that it doesn`t look like something out of a sci-fi film.

But Everybod`s Doin` it! part 3

Busy day today...just finished capturing some of the laptop screen images (download progress bars, illegal download searches bla bla bla) and thought I will have a go at the simulated 50s style. Slightly desaturated colours, with the exception of reds and magentas, a bit of grain, a double yellow filter and a vignette effect.

Here`s what it looks like:

I think it does the job pretty well, so I`ll probably stick with these settings for the final edit.

I wanted to include my storyboard as well, but realised I am not yet ready to be the butt of all jokes because of my sloppy drawing. They are working documents and I won`t let them see the light, no sir!

But Everybody`s Doin` it! part 2

Day 1...it appears there will be a Day 2 as well, since the weather has been rather capricious today.

But first things first...

I`ve got my hands on a Nikon D80 camera, have been delighted to try it out and now at least I know that watching all those photography tutorials throughout these years has not been a waste of time. After I got the camera yesterday, I managed to learn how to handle it pretty decently in a few hours, so, a big thank you to YouTube and all the nice people who make tutorials and share the knowledge.

Problems: sunny...cloudy...sunny...cloudy...I know what you`re saying: `But Diana, that`s what those settings on the camera are there for!`  Yes, indeed...but even when you know what to do (change aperture, shutter speed, fiddle with the EV)...it is still frustrating when you have to do it every 2 minutes, while also trying to direct your subject, trying to keep continuity notes and change focus because of the movement.

So, I`ll probably have to play around with a few individual frames in Photoshop, adjusting lightness and gamma. But hey! who cares when I had so much fun.

 

Almost feels like a pity tampering with the colours...I`ll give it a try though, that`s the fun fun fun of experimentation, isn`t it?

 

Now, for some of the close-ups...I love depth of field!

 

 

And now...la piece de resistance! The macro shots:

 

There has been a slight change of location as well. Although, it is still within the University Park campus (where we got the permission to film), it is around the Lakeside Cafe, instead of the Student Union one. Some wonderful vanishing points and quite the view really, on and off camera as well. Thanks to Roxana for the scouting...



But Everybody`s Doin` it! part 1

Tadaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Here is my Simulated Client Project proposal (yes, I could crack a few jokes about "simulation" in Romanian, but I won`t).

BUT EVERYBODY`S DOIN` IT


(Working title)


CONTEXT AND MOTIVATION

`But Everybody`s Doin` it` is a short stop-motion animation about young peoples` attitude towards the subject of digital piracy, and most importantly, to the censure it instigates in public debates. Its aim is to show how for young people, the possibilities the internet opens up for seeking, sharing, acquiring data of all kind, proves to be as irresistible as a candy store with no limit on how much you can take. Most importantly, it instigates a Jekyll-and-Hyde bi-polarity within an individual, as students contemplate (briefly) the moral conundrum of digital theft and self-gratification, only to then fall into temptation and continue downloading and sharing content. However there is always a justification for this, in each individual`s mind: `Everybody`s doin` it! `.

TREATMENT

The piece starts off with our main character, a respectable looking young woman who the viewer can assume is either a student or a junior staff member, casually strolling out of a café with a cup in her hand. She is having a break and after finding a nice spot, sits down, takes out her laptop and begins typing. The camera closes in over her shoulder to reveal the pages she is surfing. All of them seem so tempting: a song she really likes on YouTube, that DVD on Amazon. Sure enough, after a few seconds of pondering, she looks around with a guilty look on her face, to make sure nobody is watching. As this happens, an IM window pops-up on her monitor with the message `come on, everybody`s doin` it`, as if to say `don`t be silly, we all know what you`re about to do, we all did it`. Relieved, she starts clicking away on the download buttons that appear on her screen. Progress bars run to completion like mad, and as all of this happens on her laptop, we can see short glimpses of the young woman, slowly undergoing a metamorphosis, turning into a Hyde-like character, with a mad grin on her face, dishevelled hair, make-up stains and more rugged clothes. Her gestures also become spasmodic. The animation stops as there is a fault in the internet connection and everything reverts back to normal, as if in a dream.

STYLE AND RHYTHM

The reference to R.L. Stevenson`s work would normally bring to mind a Victorian setting. Yet, what I have in mind is another era of split-personality with regards morals and desires: the 1950s. Thus, the animation will have pale, delicate colours (baby blue, light yellow, candy floss pink, etc), with the exception of the intense red (see sample picture).

As the metamorphosis happens, the colours will be even more desaturated, until almost black and white.

The rhythm will be even and rather slow until the character`s transformation, after which it will increase to suggest the frantic nature of the search for `booty`, reverting back to the initial tempo right at the end.

LENGTH

The estimated length of this piece is 2-3 minutes.



LOCATION

The location of choice is University of Nottingham`s park campus, outside the café (see sample pictures).

MUSIC

The sound will reflect the somewhat carefree, happy-go-lucky feel of 1950s commercials. Prospective songs to be used from FreePlay.com are:

Summer Night Party

Duration: 2 minutes, 17 seconds

Composed by: Pierre Langer, SESAC (50%), Scott P. Schreer, BMI (50%)

Published by: Dynamedion Publishing, SESAC (50%), Freeplaymusic, BMI (50%)


Lucky Sun

Duration: 2 minutes, 1 second

Composed by:Pierre Langer, SESAC (50%), Scott P. Schreer, BMI (50%)

Published by: Dynamedion Publishing, SESAC (50%), Freeplaymusic, BMI (50%)



EQUIPMENT

SONY Powershot Camera

ARI Lighting set

Reflective shield

Tripod

R-09 Edirol (for sound effects recording)



COSTS

Travelling costs from Peel Street-Nottingham University Campus: 20 ₤

Food and refreshments for crew and actor: 20 ₤

Make-up: 15 ₤



That`s a rap! (I think so...)

Aaaah! That`s a rap! My first pixilation project to date...completed!!! (imagine me saying all that in a Dexter voice)

So, I guess now we can do what every superstar with a retired muse can do...pop out the best of... or making of... behind the scenes stuff.

The basic idea behind the whole project was a memory of a Discovery Channel documentary about magicians I saw a few years ago. At one point, one of them told a story about an Indian god (don`t remember which one though, so I don`t want to jinx it) who was playing with the golden thread of time/destiny/matter over a burning candle. And even though the thread snapped when it got in contact with the flame, it regenerated in the end. Sooooooo...connections, connections (James Burke, the nerds of the world salute you!)...I thought this sounds a tad like one of the laws of thermodynamics (Energy can neither be created, nor destroyed; it can only change forms) and I started working on the idea. Luckily, I had one of my friends model for me and she was just the right thing for the image I was going for (the benefits of social networking...yey!)

I came up with different edited versions. Here they are

This is the so-called psychedelic version....

Now, this one is supposed to feel a bit like those dear ol` cutscenes from DOS or just plain old adventure games (think Gabriel Knight).



Finally, the version that made it to the end...a sort of romantic occult/mysticism sort of feeling is what I was going for...





And now, the moment you all have, presumably, been waiting for...the final cut!