Projects

04.28.2014
Group Project

Group Members:

Janelle Ligrani, Ryan P., Kat Williams, Arielle Baker, Ziona Wright. 

Roster:
Arielle Baker: Creative Development, Writer

Janelle Ligrani: Creative Development, Writer, Actor

Kat Williams: Creative Development, Camera Woman, Editor

Ryan Petrucceli: Creative Development, Actor
Ziona Wright: Creative Development, Writer, Editor, Camera Woman

Process:
The process of putting this piece together took more time than one would think. Since our creative strengths all go in different directions, it was difficult to reach one theme, one idea or one message. We spent multiple class periods weighing the options and the possibilities. Once we agreed on this theme of life and death and dealing with suicide everything really fell into place. The song Summertime Sadness played a huge role in the inspiration of our piece. We then created similar piece, but adding own elements making this project our own.

Synopsis:

We created a short film about a couple whose favorite location is a quiet spot by the river, where the go everyday to watch the trains. The couple has recently been arguing and it has become too much pressure on the male actor portraying the boyfriend. He attempts to commit suicide, in their favorite spot, by walking the tracks while the train is coming head on.  He then has vision of his girlfriend walking the tracks instead of himself and time rewinds to when all things were quiet and suicide was not a thought. 

Catalogue:

Point of View/Perspective - The perspective of this piece is incredibly important. By seeing and hearing the world in the eyes of the main character, you immediately get a snippet of the difficulty and the struggles that he feels. You also have a sense as to why he doesn’t end his life directly. The thought of his girlfriend is something that only he would see and understand and thus reveals why he chooses not to end his life.

 Metaphor- The eyes in our video stand as a metaphor on their own. They are meant to teach our audience to open your eyes to the beauty around you. Life is too short and too beautiful to shut out all of the wonders of the world. Keeping your eyes open is the only way you can see the reason to live.

Multi- Frames -Our project consists of multiple frames that move the story forward. The sequence of each frame completes the story. The evolution of this piece lies within the thought process of the main character. Originally his plan is to commit suicide on the train tracks, but as he continues to move forward, and opens his eyes he sees the beauty of his girlfriend, his dream girl moving with the same intent. His thoughts and the train then reverse ultimately concluding that he still has something to live for.

Framing of the Image - The way each shot is framed is very important. The eyes for example are purposely cropped to instill emotion in the audience. While sadness could also be signified with a sad face, sadness is truly seen within the eyes. This close up intensifies the emotions of the main character and the audience.

Life and Death - The theme of life and death is strong and unsubtle in this piece. It is implied that both the girl and the guy are going to commit suicide on the train tracks due to constant fighting. While he is about to meet the train he sees her on the tracks instead of himself and then everything backs up. A close encounter with death causes the man to rethink is actions on the track and rewinds his decisions.

The Art of Seeing - There are many lines within this composition that direct your eye from one place to the next. From the beginning there are many lines leading your eye from the right of the composition to the left, where the train is heading along the train tracks, as well as many lines doing up and down around the other parts of the bridge, to the skyscrapers in the background. Many harsh lines and squares create more of a sense of distress as opposed to having many curved and organic lines throughout. Not much nature is seen in the composition, instead due to being filmed in an urban setting the bridge, its graffiti and the loud noises can often make one more stressed out than if the setting was in quiet rural country. A lot of the movement in the composition is from left to right, except when we see the girl, the moment of epiphany. There are no especially bringing colors used, except for the girl walking away from us as well. When the girl walks away everything seems to be de-saturated, as if a dream. We use empty space in a lot of the composition to draw focus towards what’s going on. If we had things going on in the empty space such as the sky, the water or areas of the bridge where there’s only graffiti, then it would take the viewers’ attention away from what we are trying to show here. All these elements work together in a way that they don’t make you too comfortable. Our goal was for the viewer to feel the sense of distress and anguish that the characters feel and it was executed well within the elements used.

Sound - From the beginning we only hear the sounds of the train coming from the other side of the bridge. When we focus on the guys eyes for the first time we hear fighting in the background, as if he can hear the echoes of his memories haunting him. The scene changes and we see the boy walking along the tracks. Suspenseful music plays and we see him approaching the train. White noise creates a sense of discomfort and distress for the viewer. The white noise sound is played when we see the girl on the tracks and everything rewinds, once again playing the suspenseful music. The soundtrack of this piece was made to provide more insecurity for the viewer as he or she watches a distressful time between two lovers.

Reduction Form/Symbols - Birds fly away from the tracks at opening as if to disperse at a moment of distress at the train approaching. There is no danger yet but they offer a clue as to how this story will go. The time this was filmed, sunset, offers a sense of ending and conclusion to the characters story. The end of the day can symbolize and reflect the ending of a relationship; this time of day also offered many shadows and harder lines that helped with the final product. The train being yellow offers a color of warning and distress, much like our main character feels as he approaches the train. As he dreams about the girl her purple hair seems to add to the idea that she is a dream, as well as the application of de-saturated colors. The urban setting provides a place of constant movement and stress on not only the characters but on the viewers as well.

YouTube Video Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbCJtTYo7LU

04.09.2014
Transcending (27)

Smells Like Teen Spirit

The number I have chosen is 27. I am a lyricist and I have also preferred to die young. Growing up I was obsessed with the 27 club, a group of popular musicians who died at age 27. I wanted to be a part of it. 

• The number 27 is shown as a page number in the top right hand corner on the right page of the notebook on the table.
• The music notes are notes of Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana, who's lead singer Kurt Cobain is part of the 27 club. 
• The writing on the left page of the notebook is meant to look like a song, lyrics, thoughts, but they are actually the signatures of members of the 27 club. 
• The pen has an aquamarine birthstone, my birthstone, to tie me into the picture.
• The face of Jimi Hendrix, a member of the 27 club, is floating in the cup of coffee.
• The image has a purple hue to it, symbolic of Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix. 

03.19.2014
Point of View, Perspective, Landscape

Ziona Wright & Hazel-Marie Sison

Arizona in the Storm

The image we have created is an uniquely framed screenshot-like image that is meant to be seen through a port hole on a ship. The setting of this scenario is Pearl Harbor, WWII. We chose to keep the framing of the port hole to make it more realistic, and preferred it off center so it seems that it was taken in a rush, through the eyes of someone who is about to experience a frantic disaster. 

Ranking

Ashley & Honda: We liked they displayed two different perspectives and there was work involved through photoshop. Also they had a really strong message.

Sophie & Dan: The different scenes made their image stronger. We also liked how the image was warped to the view of what people actually see, it wasn't just a flat image. 

Pasama & Olivia: I like they played with an idiom/expression that is well known. It was humorous and I like that they did it from the perspective of the performer. There was a small glitch with the photoshopping but otherwise it was strong. 

Taylor & Kyle: We liked how they attempted to make a minute attribution of life seem like a huge factor, to the perspective of the ant. I liked that it was in black an white. 

Jesse & Maddie: We liked that they made the perspective of something other than a human, and they actually worked to make the kaleidoscope affect of the flies perspective. The colors of the images worked nicely together, they were cohesive and they were vibrant and the image was sharp. 

Dan & Tony: We liked how they did a different take, by splitting the image and showing two different perspectives. They also put a little more effort in by taking the time to photoshop and add elements. 

Ricki & Scott:  We liked that they attempted to make the perspective from a player inside the helmet but it could have been done better. The image was also clear and crisp which is always more helpful for the viewer. 

Nick & Ryan: We liked the focal point, it was really strong within such a big crowd. We also liked the crowd and he importance of the message came through. 

Hannah & Mike: The image was very simple and the perspective was kind of lost. The image was not that unique or interesting. The message was very direct and straightforward. 

Ariel & Damien: The mood and the idea of the message was very clear but the blur was distracting and confusing to figure out whose perspective they were trying to capture. We liked how they framed the images with the crowd; it created depth.

Kat & Stephanie: We really had no idea whose perspective it was and they photoshopped blur could have been a little more subtle. It just really wasn't very clear as a whole and that was the main problem. 

03.05.2014
World Record

Fastest 1 mile piggy back ride in 12 minutes and 47 seconds.

1 mile sign - http://thisliturgicalyear.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/mile-marker-1.jpg?w=284

03.03.2014
Barcode Art

I created this image in Adobe Photoshop CS5. The barcode art design is a representation of a hot air balloon.

I created this image in Adobe Photoshop CS5. The barcode art design is a representation of a popcorn carton.

02.24.2014
Life & Death

02.19.2014

3 Frames

02.17.2014
Triangle, Circle, Square

Image courtesy of: http://caphesieusachvietnam.vn/van-hoa-ca-phe-duong-pho-paris/

Image courtesy of: http://brookevstheworld.com/warsaw-diary/

02.13.2014

Black Squares Project

Playful - Playful is the first adjective I decided to use from the first list. My image below is a "packman" themed representation. I cut squares in half diagonally to produce the triangles.

Increase - Increase is the second adjective I decided to use from the first list. My image below is a simple representation where the term "increase" is displayed in the varying heights as well as the arrows pointing upwards. I cut squares in half diagonally to produce the triangles. 

Conflicted - Conflicted is the first adjective I decided to use from the second list. My design is simple but it represents "conflicted" because the squares are hitting each other like traffic.

Productive - Productive is the second adjective I decided to use from the second list. My image below is a simple representation where the term "productive" is displayed in a building block matter.

Anatomical - My idea for this adjective was to not only display a visual representation of "anatomical" but to depict physical representations of anatomy. Below is a pair of lips and a nose which are made up of triangles (squares cut in half).

Celestial - My second adjective is celestial. When I was arranging the squares images that looked like stars kept coming up. I made a sun and a couple variations of stars but this one is my favorite.

02.05.2014
Elements of Art at Home - Describing what you see
Group Members: Hazel Sison, Jessie Mckneelen & Ziona Wright

1. Line - the folds on the camera.

2. Shape - This represents shape because of the many enclosed areas (circles) within the sink.

3. Color - I chose this picture to reference color. It's a monochromatic photo with the cool color of blue throughout, but even though that's the only color, the different hues of that single color due to the lights make it interesting.

4. Space - The three items on the dresser represent space.

5. Texture - This represents texture because you can see the detail of the lips and the tiny peach fuzz.

6. Emphasis - The flower in the front is the most focused on subject in the picture. Its contrast against the dark grass helps emphasize its light petals and, in my opinion, the transparency of the wet petals itself really make the flower stand out because of how rare it is to notice

7. Balance - The items on the shelf represent balance.

8. Harmony - There is a balance of flames in the ring of the candle, and there is a balance of straight lines and candles.

9. Variety - This is a picture of a common college night shared between suitemates. There's a variety of contrast, texture, and the amounts of oil. Variety can be easily seen in our everyday lives, even during the hardest nights.

10. Movement- running water.

11. Proportion - This represents proportion in a unique way. I made the lollipop almost look like its her head.

12. rhythm - The bottles, though different in shape, size, and color, show a repeating lined pattern. They are lined up in a single row and all lead your eye in a continuous direction.

13. Unity - All five of the Thomas Kincaid pictures represent unity.