... 1 To Go

Well the Winter 2014 quarter has ended, and it appears I am getting some decent grades (2 A's and a B), but what is really exciting me is what is to come ahead.
First of all, my graduation.  I will be graduating next quarter, and as such I have to prepare.  I have ordered a cap, gown, stole, tassel, class ring (custom made by my awesome professor, Matthew Maloney) invitations, and a partridge in a pear tree.  Well... no peach tree, this is Georgia.  So if anyone is interested, the graduation will be May 31st, and will be down town Atlanta (you can find details on the SCAD website).
Other than that, I am working on my senior film, Last Light.  It is coming along nicely, but I have a long way to go.  I helped a bunch of friends on different projects last quarter, including an awesome short by Michelle Ionescue called Leaping Place, and a group project short called Nor:  A Cloud Story.  Now it's my turn.  I watched these students go from scratch to a finished film in 10 weeks, while missing almost 2 weeks of class due to unexpected snow storms.  I also watched my friend Nora take her senior film from a a project with no models, no rigs, and no animation, and complete it in the same amount of time WHILE directing Nor.  That is inspiration right there.  If these amazing folks can do it, so can I.  And I probably don't have as far to go with it either.  So I will be spending a lot of time on my film and perfecting everything I can about it.
When I'm not working on my film or my other class, I will be working on a very important project... I like to call it GETTING A JOB.  Or at least an internship or apprenticeship or something.  I have had a lot of awesome opportunities come up, and this coming quarter has a lot of them hitting me all at once.  The career fair in Savannah is soon, followed by several internship opportunities, and then Out2Launch (sort of a reverse career fair where the students set up booths and the employers go around looking at them).  I have a LOT of stuff to do for this including fixing up my portfolio, and I have to do it all as soon as possible.
So I'll be working a lot this break, although I still plan to have a little fun.  I have to meet with some of my friends to go over changes to my film, and get some feedback on my portfolio, and get my iMac fixed, and my printer, and my scanner...  There truly is no rest for the wicked.

Well I better get back to it.  Right now I'm fixing up some of my older works that I really liked, starting with my Diner.  I'm liking this 1950's feel I got going, maybe I'll do more with that theme.
Oh, and then I have to get a hair cut, and shave, and get a picture... and go to the printers... and get my images approved... and submit for my monitor.......

Beginnings of a film

Today, I want to briefly talk about what the rest of my time as SCAD is going to be dedicated toward.  While I will still take pictures in Photography, Lighting, and so forth, I have to make a senior film, a project that showcases my work.  As thus, I have started working on a story that allows me to focus on lighting and compositing.  I have been working on some updates this this as well, and hope to have some of them in a new animatic before too long.  I want to add a particle effect to the main character, as well as reworking the story a little for a better flow.
Until I have the time to get these changes in here, this is my current animatic.  As soon as I get the changes in place, I will post a new one, and will probably be posting a new blog dedicated to the film as well later on.  So for now, enjoy this short animatic.  If you have any questions or suggestion, feel free to leave them in the comments.

The Godfather

So I have been thinking about things that inspire me. I usually do a lot of research for art, and usually it helps me focus my thoughts. I find that if I can reference something, I tend to do better in my art. So I often go out and take pictures or visit locations for inspiration. On that last image I posted with the diner, I visited a Steak and Shake and looked up a bunch of pictures about Coke bottle, glasses, salt shakers, and more. It really helped, but only for the production if the art itself. My inspiration comes from a variety of places, from photographs to books, and one of those would be movies.

I have taken it upon myself to research and watch as many classic films as I can, everything from old silent films to modern day classics. I specifically try to look at how light and color play into the film, and how the characters are developed. I have recently seen films like Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Apocalypse Now, Road to Perdition, and many others. The last film I watched with my wife was a long one, and has been on film historians' and critics' top 10 lists for decades. The Godfather. And you know... It was okay, had a complex story, but I was not as impressed as I expected to be.

I don't want to go into a full-fledged review or anything, but I will say that the story was predictable. The visuals weren't usually particularly awe-inspiring, although there were some good scenes in it, and the lighting was rather natural through most of the film. Since this was the restored version, I'm not sure if the color treatment was intentional or just an artifact of the film or age of the film.

I honestly can say that while I didn't hate the movie, like my brother, I don't plan to own a copy of it either. I'm glad to have seen it, and maybe I can pull some sort of inspiration out of it, but I think other films set in the same period, such as Road to Perdition, do a much better job in cinematography, lighting, color, story, characters, and pretty much everything else.

So my last say is that it is a well made film, but overrated. If anyone can point out to me something about the movie I am missing, I will gladly take a second look ad discuss this with them in the comments.