Final Project

For my final project Scott Fleisher and I made a silent film about the idea of someone not being able to find their pen and we made it into a silly adventure of the person searching for it in ridiculous places. We originally planned to make the focus be on the pen rather than the person itself. However, due to time constraints we had to scrap the idea and make the focus be about the person. Since we filmed it in the library it was a bit of an adjustment since we had to be relatively quiet and take shots where people weren’t looking directly at the camera. It ruins the illusion of the film and we had to have several retakes as a result. Once we finished filming the editing part was also a bit challenging. In order to make the silent film look we had to use a lot of effects and get a basic silent film overlay to give it that old crackly look. We also took the audio out and replaced it with upbeat ragtime music to make it seem appropriate for the tone and era we were trying to portray. Exporting it was also a bit of a challenge as the video produced wasn’t the same as the preview, but with minor adjustments that was easily remedied. Besides that, I hope you enjoy our short film. Thank You!

Blog #4

Going to the Museum of Modern Image, I had the opportunity to see the different aspects of the film-making process such as costume design, makeup work, and the equipment that was used during certain eras. It was really interesting to see how film functioned as a business, particularly with how merchandise is created and sold. Establishing a following to a new franchise is considered a gold mine in the movie industry as they can spawn products in other industries such as books and toys. One such industry film franchises usually work closely in conjunction with is the video game industry. Film franchises such as Star Wars grew and made innovations in the video game industry that expanded beyond the story presented in the movies. These expansions grew the overall universe of these franchises so seeing their roots in such areas such as the arcades was a great sight. Looking at all the Star Wars and Star Trek figurines and other related products was a nerdy pleasure of mine in general so it was a fun throwback to my childhood. It really puts into perspective on how much of a legacy a film can make culturally and personally in our lives.

Seeing how technology evolved with moving images was another interesting part of the exhibit. Playing around with the zoetrope and the flip-book machine where you look inside and spin the rotor to see an animation seemed very archaic compared to what we can do today. Especially since right afterwards, using computer technology, my group was able to make a flip-book in a matter of seconds and see the results in real-time right afterwards. This kind of advancement must make it much easier to focus on the creativity of making imaginative animations rather than be limited by archaic devices and being only able to make simple designs. I can only imagine a century from now where people would laugh at our eventual, archaic methods of creating animation.