Second Scratch Film Junkies Response

It was very interesting to see ow they got text to scroll, and how they could keep shapes in the same place while others moved around them. Supprized me that i felt some sort of rythym matching the picture. It wasnt as "in your face" as other films like that one guy with the matching movements of lines on the film with the sound of bass strings. This was much more complex in nature. I didn't question why this was being done--why someone had decided to make this film. Rather I entered this film with an inquisitive mind and let the images take over. I think the soundtrack may have also made this a much more enjoyable experience for my. It was actually musical in nature, making it feel like a music video (unlike the last video which was just an annoying compilation of drum banging). I found myself not being able to wait for the next frame to see what kind of techniques they used to make their film.

Response to Wells

After reading this I did a lot of research on the process of cell animation within Disney studios and other big production companies. Needless to say I was amazed at the amount of work it takes to animate a short film, much less a feature. I couldn't believe they had secret ink formulas they protected in a vault. In a way it is a shame that all this hard work is never apparent th the viewer, but that's the beauty of it. They worked so hard to created a world that sucks the audience in and makes them forget these characters are hand drawn. They put so much into each character that they become real and people actually identify and respond to a figure some guy drew on paper as if he were living life in front of everyone.
On the other hand it is also amazing to see other "unorthodox" styles of animation such as the work of PEZ. In some ways it takes more creativity to do what he does because he only works with materials that exist in the real world to create his illusion.

My experience with camera-less filmmaking so far.

Camera-less filmmaking has been much more challenging than I expected when coming into this class. At first I figured it wouldn't take much to scratch a few things on film, experiment with different methods of coloring and so on. Now I am finding it is much harder to achieve a particular effect by these means. Time is very limited and the timing aspect has been challenging for me to grasp. It is also very challenging to do animation on such a small scale. I can't understand how the hell animators did anything before there were computers. It has been eye opening to me so far. I love and hate the fact that I have no clue what something I create will look like when projected on screen. I hope I am able to create the feel of earth and wind in the first project. But we will have to wait and see how that goes.

Response to Synesthesia in art.

I am very interestd in the ability that synestheses have. I think its insane how complex our bodies are, that a tiny mixup in microscopic nerves of the brain can cause you to taste a color or see music. it pisses me off that people have theses abilities--especially in the mathematical sense. I really want to experience it moreso in the artistic sense. I remember the only time i really "got" an experimental art film was at a showing at cucalorus. I had quite a few beers in me at the time but it changed my entire experience. Being a bit frunk helped me to relax. Unlike my usual self I was a able to sit back and enjoy the show. I wasn't nticipating anything, i didn't care about the outcome or writing a paper on my experience. i was just there--letting everything pass before my eyes and coming as close to sleeping as you can get with open eyes. Only in that state was I able to actually absorb everything I was seeing to the point where it actually stimulated other senses. I don't know if the artist intended this effect the way a sound designer can play with pitch or add subsonic noise to evoke an specific emotion, but it was cool. In my free time found this really cool link that related to synesthesia in the world of audio. It is called holophonic sound. Read the description on the site (it is almost as interesting as the sample) and listen to the audio sample. You need to wear headphones to hear the effect. Just prepare yourself because the experience will blow your mind! I still can't believe someone figured this out.

Holophonic sound link
http://gethighnow.com/holophonic-sound/

Response to Scratch Film Junkies "To the Beat"

For starters I didn't really know what to think as I was watching this film. With very little background in experimental film I didn't really know what to look for. I tried focusing and looking too much into it. I also tried just letting the images pass before my eyes, but the beat began to get annoying. About midway through the film the combination of colors and crashing percussion started to agitate me. I got the feeling of chaos surrounding me. I felt like a middle school band director in a room full of bratty kids bashing on and misusing all the instruments. Just wanted to yell, "STOP! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!" I don't have a good understanding or appreciation of the techniques they were using. Hopefully I will be able to make some sense of it all to better appreciate it in the future.