nicco miranda

When considering the whistle with a built it flashlight, I kept reverting back to the concept of "disruption". The title Spectre Symphony was meant to reflect how 'ghosts' and other paranormal phenomena create disruptions in photographs, videos and other forms of electrical equipment. This was further emphasized by the static noises found scattered in the audio. The ghostly lights and how they create compositions of their own represent the 'symphony', which is reflected by calmer sections of audio.  

Each sequence of frames experiments with different methods of achieving long exposures of light. Variables included the light source itself, whether the light was blinking, the number or color of lights, the movement of the camera, and the focus of the lens. I attempted to separate sections of the video by adjusting the frequency of the light sources in accordance with the pacing of the audio. 

Being familiar with just how long stop motion animation can take, makes this video incredibly admirable, as it is a stop motion video within a stop motion video. What immediately comes to mind is the amount of planning that this must have taken, and how many "test runs" might have occurred in order to ensure success. 

This video takes advantage of a variety of three dimensional planes, and is quite clever in how it does this. For example, the scene where the boy is swimming, and the photographs are being displayed in the sink showcases a high level of detail and wit. It is evident that this video was created with lots of patience and love. 

The end credits for the horror anthology V/H/S was particularly interesting to me because of how it juxtaposes audio and video. The video makes use of the aesthetic of old VHS tapes, and while normally associated with low quality video, there is a certain charm about how it is combined with the audio. The video quality is very raw which compliments the violent nature of the footage itself. This in combination with the upbeat dance punk elements of the song work to create a beautiful mashup of old and new or gritty and refined.  

The details of the video are sacrificed in favour of creating an overall feeling and emotion of chaos and anarchy. The use of repetition to match the audio was also particularly well done.

Renderings

15 Words

Red, Loud, Light, Security, Outstanding, York, R@pe, Unsafe, GoSafe, 
Sanitary, Branding, Keychain, Whistle, Contact, Disposable

Mind Map

Creative Brief

01 Title – possible name, working title
Disrupt.

02 Overview – description of concept
- Highlighting the theme of disruption for the sake of attention
- Things that stand out amongst a crowd
- Having something to say

03 Key Message – what specifically do you want your audience to learn from your work?
- If you create enough of a disruption, people will notice. (Perhaps creating too much noise all the time will cause people to ignore you)

04 Research – background, relevant information about topic
- "The whistle is an ancient instrument, apparently originating in ancient China around 5000 years ago, and making its way to Europe in about the 11th century. In Ireland there is evidence of whistle players in early literature and on the medieval High Crosses. Bird-bone whistles were played in the 12th century in Viking Dublin."

- "Although a flashlight is a relatively simple device, its invention did not occur until the late 19th century because it depended upon the earlier invention of the electric battery and electric light. Conrad Hubert received a US patent in 1903 , number 737,107 issued August 26, for a flashlight with an on/off switch in the now familiar cylindrical casing containing lamp and batteries."

05 Visual/Conceptual References – images and ideas that inspire your concept
- Stop motion + Light painting
- Tablet + Photoshop + Rotoscoping

06 Audience – who is the intended audience and how this will be considered in project?
- Ages 16-25; Those with a particular interest in design, animation and fine arts

07 Content Planning – what content will you include and how will it will be structured?
- I'm thinking of an anthology of scenes + styles of animation that deal with things that are both red and disruptive in some way (red whistle, stop signs, dynamite stick)

08 Technologies /Materials-  technologies/materials used for any level of production and the strategy to learn/research them
- Using the whistle itself as a light source (or other light sources, such as an iPhone)
- Photo cameras and Video cameras, for a combination of standard video and stop motion.
- Tablet + Photoshop

09 Bibliography – any sources used in work
- http://www.thewhistleshop.com/beginners/history/history.htm
- http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/flashlight.htm

 Storyboards

The Johhny Cash Project is a mass collaborative rotoscope music video that caught my eye a few years ago. I had previously never seen such a project undertaken before, and since I had experimented with digital rotoscoping, I was fairly curious as to what the capabilities were with regards to video and animation. I found it to be an interesting showcase of perception, as each frame was painted by a different artist. There is an overall story being told in the film as a whole, and even more individual stories that are told in each individual frame. 

 I also think there is an interesting relationship with how much time one might have spent painting a frame in comparison to how much time it is actually on screen for. A frame almost loses its identity to the video as a whole, but yet gives the video an infinite potential for interpretation.

This sound essay attempts to communicate the words Space, Elevate, & Escape in order to convey a sense of escapism into one one's imagination through isolating one's surroundings. The first segment of the sound essay is compiled with various found sounds and soft subtle voices. This portion of the essay is meant to signify all of the ambient noise that is found while traversing reality. The essay then builds and elevates in tempo to represent the desire to separate one's self from the surrounding space. The last segment is void of all the found sounds and noises and concentrates on the music's slower tempo. This final stage signifies the point in which one escapes from reality and is free to explore the limitless possibilities of their own imagination.

1. I noticed a wide variety of voices, and even more variety in terms of the enthusiasm at which people were expressing themselves. There was a wide range of male and female voices, some of the more distinct voices were those at each polar end of the 'spectrum'. In other words, those with really deep voices were distinct as well as those with very high voices. 

Other sounds that I heard included the footsteps of passerby's, a skateboard, people laughing, keys, typing on a laptop, and the rustling of chip bags. 

An interesting pattern I noticed was with regards to the overall volume of the conversations. I was sitting in the hallway of Central Square, and it seemed as if the overall volume of conversations would rise and fall at the same time. So it was as if everyone in the hall collectively spoke louder at the same time, and would be quieter in the same way. 

2. In the two to three separate conversations, there was usually one louder more extraverted person leading the conversations. This person seemed to be the most confident within the group, as even if they may not have necessarily been loudest, their voices were the most distinct. 

What helped me to hear what people were saying was to really focus on listening to that persons particular voice. If the conversation was happening from further away, looking at the people would help, as I could correlate what they were saying to how their mouths were moving. The focus was very directional, and helped to filter out all the noise from elsewhere.

3. While trying to listen to all the conversations at once, the sounds of voices seemed to blend together. I was still evident that people were speaking, but it was very hard to determine what anyone was actually saying. 

I'm not sure if these would be considered to be adjoining sounds, but during laughter, people would usually laugh together. Some people would also be speaking while fiddling with their keys, or making some other noise. 

The space was a long hallway, so sounds could be faintly heard from far away, as they would be carried through the corridor. Sounds were condensed in a way, whereas attempting to listen to people outside or in large spaces like Vari Hall proved to be more difficult.

4. I was sitting in a hallway in Central Square around lunch time. Due to the nature of the setting, there were a lot of people walking by and thus a lot of snippets of conversations that would increase in volume as people walked closer, and decreased as they walked away.

Overall I learned that it is quite difficult to focus in on a conversation when in a fairly busy public space, especially when many people are talking. An active initiative is needed in order to be able to actually listen intently to particular conversations. Also some of these conversations made me uncomfortable, not because of the content, but rather in how callus some people spoke. Some people can be really obnoxious which made me want to distance myself from them. 

w/ Shayna Lauer & Leopold Lenzgeiger

Individual reflection:
The project proved to be significantly more challenging than expected. Even with the idea worked out, the camera in place, and files ready to print, the actual printer proved to be the biggest problem. Firstly, the prints would come out of the printer face down, so the images wouldn't be visible. To solve this problem we pre-printed the images, and fed them through tray 1 face down in order to have the pre printed images face up upon exit. This was compounded by the constant jamming and errors that were being picked up by the printer.