Bleatings from the Sheep

And so, another chapter closes....

Well folks, odds are this’ll be my last blog post for Intro to DMA. Three things are pretty much going through my head right now: (1) my thoughts on the blogs, (2) my thoughts about DMA class, and (3) my thoughts about what my future in the DMA program might hold.

1) I’m really going to miss the blogs. Yeah, I know, I’m probably the only one. But be honest...blogging is at least more fun than writing papers, isn’t it? And this is coming from a girl who sometimes has trouble staying below the maximum number of pages when she writes a paper. But back to my point -- I really am going to miss the DMA blogs. Think about how I am in person, and maybe you’ll understand why. I don’t talk much. What’s strange about this is that usually there’s so much that I want to say, but I just can’t do it in person. Blogging (and even writing in general, to a certain degree) gives me a part of my voice back. And I love some of the conversations I’ve had with people through the blogs, even the ones that revolved around some sort of conflict. It’s been great, and if there’s any real downside in my mind, it’s simply that I couldn’t have some of these conversations/debates/whatever in person.

2) Overall, Intro to DMA class has been...interesting. I think Prof Leeper made some comment to the effect of how he hopes we all walk out of this class confused and wondering. (A huge paraphrase, I’m sure...) Well, let me say, Intro to DMA has had almost dizzying effects on my poor lil’ mind. A lot of issues and questions have been brought up over the course of the semester, and I’ve certainly had a lot to wonder about. As a result, my opinion of the class varies depending on my mood. I usually don’t mind having to explore an issue, but whether due to the weight of the questions or the amount, I found myself getting rather worn at times. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that I need to be challenged from time to time in order to grow. But just because something is good for me doesn’t mean I have to always enjoy it. Sometimes I love being challenged, but other times, I just get tired and weary...I must say, I’ve experienced quite a few moments of being weary from DMA class. And while I didn’t always enjoy it at the time, I’m glad to have experienced it.

3) Since I don’t have psychic abilities, I don’t know what my future at Huntington University or in the DMA program really holds for me. But it’s interesting to speculate sometimes, and I think I have a better feel for where I’m heading now after this first semester than I did prior to it. Granted, some of the ideas and goals I hope to accomplish have stayed the same, as has much of the confusion over conflicting paths I wish to travel. I think what I have a greater understanding of, though, is the passion fueling me. I’m beginning to understand, little by little, why I feel so driven to tell stories. Understanding this passion is a process, but I know that I’ve made some progress, and as a result I feel more confident in walking this path. I had (quite) a few moments of wondering why I was a DMA major, but I’ve come out of them feeling slightly more secure in the decision, even if I still have doubts from time to time. So all I really know about my future in the DMA program is that I’m excited for it.

At any rate, that’s all I really wanted to say I suppose. Somehow, thinking about this class and this blog coming to an end feels a little bittersweet to me. I’m happy to move on, but I’m going to miss it at the same time. But, such is the way of life. So, in conclusion...here’s to treasured memories of the past, meaningful actions of the present, and hopeful dreams of the future.

....And sorry if that sounded cheesy. ;)

posted by Caitlynn @ 6:28 PM 4 comments

Vague and Practically Incoherent Thoughts on Video Art

Well, seeing as how it’s been quite some time since I’ve blogged, I figured I should write something. That and I need another excuse to procrastinate on my other homework...hehe.

So, Tuesday’s class was about video art I think. To be honest, I still think it’s a little weird. I can appreciate it for what it is, or at least try to, but I am by no means crazy about it. Which makes some sense I suppose, considering I’m more interested in using DMA for the purposes of storytelling rather than those of purely art. I’d actually rather be called a storyteller than an artist; for some reason, I’ve always hesitated to use the term “artist.” Somewhere along the way the word developed some weird negative connotation in my mind and I can’t figure out why...But I digress. As usual.



I did think that the piece by Bill Viola was interesting, though. It creeped me out a little at first, because there was just that body underwater...but then when it started rising out of the water, the creepiness wore off. Initially it just left me with confusion afterwards and a sense of wanting to know what that was supposed to all be about...but as it was discussed in class, I started to appreciate it more. Is it a bad sign that I have to have art explained to me? Probably. But oh well. At any rate, my impression of it now is higher than it was at first, so I guess it all works out.

Unfortunately, my opinion of the others doesn’t go much past “weird.” The first one we watched—with the open water, the foot (which later turned out to be the woman in the dress), the oil slick, and the creepy voice—that one made me feel a little uneasy. I think that was the point of it to some extent though, so, I don’t know...does that make it a success? I doubt it’ll be on my mind much, and the temporary sense of uneasiness that I got from it doesn’t seem altogether significant in itself. Yet seeing as how I’m not quite sure I understand what video art is meant to accomplish in the first place, I’m in no place to judge whether or not it was good or not.

The second one we watched, about the bird constantly slipping off the rail, was a little...well...boring, for me. I guess that maybe it just didn’t appeal to me though. Some art will reach some people more effectively than others, right? So maybe this “style” just didn’t appeal to me? Also, the piece by William Kentridge was...decent. I definitely appreciate it more now at the end of the semester than I did at the beginning, so there’s been some change there. And the last piece, the really long one...it was an interesting concept, but after a little while, I just started to daze out and not really pay attention to what was going on with it. It actually had more of a hypnotic effect for me than anything else. I was half-expecting someone to whisper in my ear, “You are getting sleepy...VERY sleepy...”

So yeah. For this being a topic I really had no interest in, I still ended up writing over 500 words on it. How does that happen? Hmm.

posted by Caitlynn @ 5:49 PM 3 comments

Professor Bryan Ballinger...."An Artistic Journey: From Child to Adult, and Back Again"

I have a to-do list about a mile long, and what do I choose to do right now? Blog. Hmm.

I just wanted to share a few thoughts that I had concerning Professor Ballinger’s lecture. At first I wasn’t entirely sure about going, but since it was in the library conference room and I had already been in the library an hour and a half prior to its start—doing research for my next paper and getting distracted by books about Catholicism (no joking)—I figured I might as well go and listen in. And I’m very glad that I did, because it was exactly what I needed to hear.

Something that I found really interesting was that a lot of his inspiration and many of his favorite artists had a much more detailed, realistic style to them. He even mentioned that he would love to draw like them, but he can’t…but that he found it even more fulfilling to draw how he draws, because it’s his own style and it's using the talents that God gave to him. We all have our own wonderful, God-given styles that may not be what we expect them to be, or even want them to be at times. But instead of getting bogged down by what we can’t do and what our individual styles lack, we should be focusing on what we can do and the great elements found in our own styles. I think that’s important for us all to remember as we go about learning the techniques and everything involved with art and animation. I certainly know that I need to remember it.

It’s hard, because I am by no means an “amazing” artist. There are some things that I would absolutely love to be able to do, but that I highly doubt I ever will be able to. Sometimes this gets discouraging, and I find myself drifting away from my sketchbook for extended periods of time out of a lack of confidence. Then all the doubts and fears creep in, and I wonder if I’ll ever really be able to do anything dealing with animation. But when I allow those fears to take over, I’m ignoring not only the fact that I’m still in the process of developing my artistic abilities, but also the fact that I’m developing my own artistic style/identity. There are a few things that are distinct about the way I draw, and I think that I need to learn how to embrace and develop those, rather than get distracted by the things that my style lacks and will probably always lack.

Also, I thought it was interesting how he tied in Mark 10:15, which states, “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” (NKJV) He related it to being an artist, and creating art with the mindset of a child. There were five things to keep in mind that children do: 1) create fearlessly, 2) take joy in your own creations, 3) draw with authority, 4) have confidence, and 5) have few boundaries between imagination and creation. Personally, these are all things I know I need to really focus on remembering. These are all things that I know I did as a little girl, but that I know I stopped doing somewhere along the way. And I think I need to go back to doing them. When I’m meek about approaching a new project, or when I overly-criticize what I do, I put restrictions on myself that usually end up hindering what I accomplish and contribute to the amount of crinkled-up balls of paper in my trash can. The things that always turn out best are the things that I don’t stress about. I also like the idea of having few boundaries between imagination and creation…hmm.

Anywho, I should probably wrap things up now. I just wanted to share my thoughts about this before I lost too much enthusiasm.

posted by Caitlynn @ 10:54 PM 0 comments

CGI Films

Now, onto something that actually relates to class a little more: the CGI films we watched in class a couple weeks ago.

“Bunny”

It was pretty interesting, and nice to watch. The animation was very well done, and since the main character was an old bunny with human characteristics, there was nothing too uncanny-valley-ish about it. The story was simple enough to follow along with as well. If I were the bunny, I would've been frustrated at that stupid bug as well. Very understandable. The ending was...intriguing, I suppose. I liked the part where there were wings on the two bunnies in the wedding picture. That was nice.

“Work in Progress”

I enjoyed this one a lot, actually. It was a great little twist that the most important person involved in creating the creatures turned out to be a little girl. It was also funny that the least necessary person was the one who was completely full of himself. I’m not really sure how much deeper I should analyze this one, but overall it seemed rather lighthearted. And even though the characters were all fairly realistic I didn’t find it creepy, so that’s good. Then again, maybe I have a higher tolerance for the uncanny valley stuff than others. For example, I think “The Polar Express” was given as an example somewhere by someone as an example of something that looks almost a little too realistic. I could be mistaken, but I’m pretty sure that contributed to the fact that my dad absolutely refused to see it. In fact, I’m fairly certain that was his only reason for wanting to avoid the movie. I never actually saw it either, but I don’t recall that being my reasoning, at least not on a conscious level. So while the creepy factor of the uncanny valley definitely does exist, I’m thinking that maybe some people have a higher tolerance for it than others.

“Pfffirate”

This one made me laugh. It was very cartoon-ish, which made it seem really lighthearted and bright. When you actually think about everything that happens, it’s by no means a happy story. The captain is constantly trying to protect his ship from being popped, but in the end, this fails and the mechanical bird punctures it. This is still fairly funny, but then at the end, it’s implied that the captain himself is punctured…which, to a balloon or other inflatable object, I would imagine means death. So yeah, that’s not exactly happy, but because the colors were so bright and everything looked like a cartoon, we can shrug it off and say it was lighthearted.

“The Dog Who Was a Cat Inside”

This one was cute. Somewhat. Okay, so I admit, it wasn’t the most interesting thing ever, but what can I say? The situation somewhat resolved itself--after all, the dog who was a cat inside was befriended by the cat who was a dog inside, so all was well. And I’m a sucker for a happy ending. I wasn’t really sure if there was supposed to be a deeper message or point to it, but does there need to be?

“Le Processus”

This one was weird. And dark. And creepy. And while using only black-and-white made it look pretty cool, it was still too creepy for me to really enjoy that much. Then again, I suppose the plain black-and-white approach added to the creepiness and aided the story along, emphasizing that this was a very bleak and rigid society. Still...just...the creepiness....

“Parenthesis”

This one really isn’t sticking in my mind much. To be honest, all I can remember is that I was fairly bored through it. It wasn’t too awful, though. Just a little dull for me.

posted by Caitlynn @ 11:27 PM 1 comments

Hmm...Interesting........

I'm finding that the more time I spend away from this blog, the harder it is to want to come back to it. And this is coming from me, mind you. No wonder some people never got past their introductory posts....

Then again, I've been in a fairly awkward mood lately. One of those, I-really-don't-think-I-know-anything-anymore kind of moods. It must be difficult for people to distinguish since, well, no one has yet. But it's really no big deal I suppose. So why am I bringing it up, you ask? Am I just stalling? Wasting time? Rambling? Perhaps. Or, perhaps this relates to something I wish to blog about.

To put it bluntly, I've been wondering about why I'm a DMA major. Not so much that I would do anything crazy like switch majors or anything...I've just been...wondering. And actually, this is just a part of larger trend for me. I've been wondering about many, many things lately, and this has most likely been the source of my "awkward" mood, which would also explain why it's not an obviously awkward mood (since it's dealing with inner reflection nonsense, there's no need to show any outward signs of it). But I digress. While it may not make for the most interesting of blog posts, I figure that since it relates to DMA, I can technically get away with writing about it.




Now on to why exactly I'm wondering. Well, see, I'm DMA Animation. Which seems to fit, because I love animation. I probably enjoy watching animation more than I enjoy watching things with real people in it. Generally speaking at least, though not always. Yet, recently I've been wondering about this for a few reasons. The first of which is simply that I have very little artistic talent. Granted, I'm not awful, but I wouldn't exactly call myself good either. I can doodle pretty well (sheep are my specialty) but that's about as much as I can boast about. Now I'm fully aware of the fact that there are other forms of animation other than the hand-drawn stuff, but still. My lack of artistic skill is not solely limited to pencil and paper either. And I know that there's still plenty of time for me to improve, but sometimes I wonder if I'll ever improve enough to make a significant enough difference.

Which brings me to my second reason for wondering...I feel like I'm somehow behind or misplaced or something when I compare myself to some of the other DMA majors. There are people who are great with the equipment and the technical parts. There are people who have some great artistic ability and are moving forward with that. There are people who have no experience and no idea what they're doing, but are courageous enough to just jump in without a moment's hesitation and figure things out. I, on the other hand, have no interest in the equipment and am sometimes intimidated by it, have little artistic talent, and am a very timid, meek person who is constantly afraid of messing something up beyond repair. So something doesn't seem quite right there.

And lastly, my final reason for wondering is one that I had even before coming to college, but just put on the back-burner until now. More than anything, I'm interested in the story-telling aspect of this all. Do I love animation? Yes. Do I love telling stories more? Honestly, yeah, I do. Before I came to college, I somewhat wondered if this was the right medium for me to tell stories through, but the excitement of it all allowed me to pursue it in spite of any doubts. And honestly, I do think it would be a really cool way to tell stories. But lately I've even been wondering about my storytelling side. All this talk about what makes a good story and analyzing how to tell stories has been weighing in my mind, and now I find that I don't even know how to come up with a story anymore! I used to find joy out of writing short little stories which, for all I know, might've been bad or not told properly or whatever, but at least they existed! Yet as often as I've sat down and tried to come up with something since I started college, ideas evade me...in other words, I've had a serious case of writer's block that's been lasting for months. It's like death, only worse, because death is an end and this is just ongoing torture. (That last sentence is supposed to sound a lot more lighthearted than it probably does....) That may seem doubtful, since this post in itself is already way too long. Nonetheless, it's true. I don't know how to write or even come up with a good story anymore, and that once little voice in my head that says I'm no good at coming up with anything has now become a very LOUD voice saying that I have no idea what I'm doing, that I'm not coming up with stories in the proper or "educated" way, and that in order to do so I'd have to forget everything I thought I already knew about storytelling and pursue a completely different path--which I either cannot or will not do.

So there you have it. That's why I've been wondering. Like I said before, it's still not weighing in enough for me to even consider switching majors or anything like that. It does, however, zap much of the joy and excitement out of the experience, not to mention cause plenty of confusion for life in general, which is already plenty confusing for plenty of other reasons. I don't know...am I completely alone in this? Has anybody else ever experienced any wondering over this, even if only for a brief moment?

Hmm.

Or maybe I'm just nuts. That's possible too.

Anyway, sorry for rambling so much about this. (This post is over 1,000 words! Wow!) If anyone actually has the patience to read all the way through this, I'll be amazed. It's really not necessary though, since my only real purpose in writing this huge post was simply to vent and get it out of my system so that I could write about something more valid for class in my next post.

posted by Caitlynn @ 9:52 PM 1 comments

The drawbacks of CG (Keith Lango)

....Oh. Ahem. Sorry about that, folks. I had a friend in high school who used to frequently quote that line with me. It must've just slipped out, somehow. ^_^

Alrighty. Anyway, I was supposed to be blogging about something important, right? Right. The readings from Keith Lango.

I was amazed at what I was reading. It made so much sense, and I found that I completely agreed with it. For me, one of the most striking things he wrote about was the lack of connectedness. Here, I'll give you a quote:

"...one of the things that big budget CG imagery lacks is a sense of connectedness. For years called 'stiffness' or 'coldness' by reviewers, CG has had a difficult time warming the eyes of it’s viewers." (http://www.keithlango.com/wordpress/?p=376)

Ever since I started becoming interested in animation as a possible career option, this is something that I've noticed. I would always explain to people how, yes, the CG stuff is cool and all, but something about it struck me as...cold. I could never quite figure out why exactly that was, though. So I found it really interesting to read about how, in a way, the same complexity that makes the CG stuff so amazing also comes with the drawback of making it harder to successfully get emotion and "warmth" across to the audience. It makes sense, though; have you ever actually tried to create a 3D character? It ain't that easy. The structure of the character can get pretty complex and difficult to manage. I have a very, very small amount of experience with it, and as rewarding as it was to see my poorly created characters perform simple tasks after weeks and months of trying to figure out what I was doing....it was definitely challenging. Granted, all I had to work with was 40 minutes a day, 5 days out of the week, without formal instruction. I dare say I did rather well with what I had. But my point is merely that the medium of CG is not as easy as it seems, and it has definitely has its drawbacks, including the complexity of the characters.

Two other quick comments about the readings (quick because it's already past my bedtime and I'm getting rather sleepy....). I also found it interesting to read about how difficult it is to maintain consistency because the animation is put on a sort of "assembly line." (http://www.keithlango.com/wordpress/?p=295) I suppose I already knew about the assembly line part, but I just had previously kept that in the back of my head. The truth is, that definitely seems like it would make it harder to maintain a smooth flow to the animation. And, speaking of smoothness...Lango also made some intriguing comments about how sometimes things in CG are too smooth, too polished for their own good. (http://www.keithlango.com/wordpress/?p=211) One of the definite advantages of CG is that it does provide the creator with a great opportunity to create a more "polished" look. The drawback is when this tool is overused, and then you get stuff that all looks the same and is too polished to have any "life" in it.

Don't get me wrong, I do like the CG stuff. It's fun too look at, and it's fun to play around with making. I must admit that sometimes I have more of a fondness for some of the traditional methods of animation (at least, as an audience member); then again, I tend to be a pretty traditional sort of gal in most areas of my life, so why should that be any different? I do think that CG is a wonderful advancement/addition in animation, but it, like anything else, needs to have its flaws pointed out when they're discovered.

Oh, also...I'm feeling nice tonight. (Must be the sleep deprivation!) So here's a little taste of what I made with what little 3D experience I've had. This is good ol' Baa-Baa the Sheep, my trusted companion in all things mildly artistic. This was the first 3D computer graphic I ever got the chance to model. It took...oh...I don't know...months? In the animation itself, he does a little walk and a baa. Nothing fantastic, but still. This is just a screenshot of him:

posted by Caitlynn @ 12:45 AM 0 comments

"The Nightmare Before Christmas"

Seeing as how I watched “The Nightmare Before Christmas” on Friday night, I figure I should blog about it. People might grow suspicious if I don’t. And that wouldn’t be good, now would it? I have my reputation to maintain, after all…

I really do love this movie, and I am very thankful that we watched it instead of “The Shining.” I know there are others who disagree with me…but oh well. Scary movies freak me out and keep me awake at night. I’m not ashamed to admit that. You could search far and wide, and odds are, you would not be able to find someone more allergic to scary movies than me. But I digress.

I really don’t think I’m all too great at analyzing what makes a movie work. That’s probably part of the reason that I haven’t been as eager to blog lately as I usually am; there have been no great controversies as of late to blog about, and I find this much easier when I anticipate a possible debate or when I can be passionate about what I’m writing. Also, when I watch a movie, I generally don’t pay attention to what makes it work—I just know that it either does or doesn’t. I should really probably start paying more attention though, especially if I ever plan on making a career out of this.

posted by Caitlynn @ 6:14 PM 1 comments

Public Service Announcements

I haven’t felt much like blogging recently. Go figure. Something must be wrong with me…haha...

Anywho. My blogger’s instincts tell me that I should be aiming to write something profound that relates back to something we talked about in class. The only problem is that I don’t really have any profound thoughts about anything right now. So instead, I’m just going to try winging this and seeing what comes out of it. Seems like I’ve been doing that a lot, recently…

Right. So. Public Service Announcements. I honestly can’t say that they’ve had a grand impact on my life, at least not one that I can easily identify. I’ve never lived near a forest and fire has always freaked me out, so Smokey the Bear really didn’t need to tell me to prevent forest fires. And by the time I knew what drugs even were, my parents had pretty much instilled in me that they were also bad and that I should always stay away from them. But I suppose that just because I’m unable to see an impact doesn’t mean that it’s not there. And, even if my life hasn’t been drastically changed due to the affect of a PSA, I suppose that doesn’t mean that they don’t have their impact in society. They serve a purpose, and I’m sure they accomplish some good. So while they don’t strike me as particularly captivating, I guess there really is no need to complain about them, either.

That being said, I’m really excited about this project. First of all, it’s an animation project, so that right there has my attention. Secondly, my group chose a concept that’s very…um…interesting, and it definitely seems like we’ll be able to have some fun with it. I was so afraid that the other two group members would want to do something all serious and doom-and-gloom like, and I think—no, I know—that I would’ve gone crazy if I was stuck with something like that. Thankfully, however, it appears as though I will be able to avoid a trip to the mental asylum for at least a little while longer, which makes me very happy. Very happy indeed.

Well, this seems like a rather pointless post, doesn’t it? Oh well. I suppose even an obsessive blogger can’t have blogging masterpieces every time, can they? ;)

posted by Caitlynn @ 6:58 PM 0 comments

"Strictly Ballroom" (Friday Movie Night)

This past Friday was the first time I went to one of the Movie Nights. I knew I’d make it to one of ‘em eventually, and as it turns out, I chose a pretty good one to go to. It’s strange but I really enjoyed “Strictly Ballroom”…it was such a fun movie!

First of all, let’s start with the basic premise: Young man is considered to be a ballroom legend. Said young man then decides to add his “own moves” into his dance routine, which causes an uproar among the…uh…ballroom dancing elite? His dancing partner, who is only concerned with winning titles and trophies, decides to quit, leaving him with only several weeks to find a new partner before the big competition. He finds said needed partner in a frumpy-ish beginning dancer, who almost miraculously goes from being fairly awkward to an amazing dancer in just that short amount of time. This in itself causes even more of an uproar, and some more conflict occurs, but in the end, it all works out. Oh, and of course, the two main characters fall in love. Because the movie wasn’t already cheesy enough.

But that’s what made it all so wonderful! At points, it was a very cheesy movie…but I think it meant to be cheesy at those points. In some respects, it was mocking itself, or at least the topic at hand. But surprisingly enough it was still an interesting story. I genuinely wanted to see how it all turned out in the end. Deep down, I knew that things would be fine, that everyone would be happy in the end, and that love and dancing would conquer all (and I seriously can’t believe I just typed that last line with a straight face…). But there was still that vague inkling of, “Wow, I wonder how this is gonna work out…” that kept me focused.

Plus, like I said, it was just really fun to watch.

I don’t think I could analyze this any deeper, because I don’t think there’s really any way to do so to begin with. Honestly, even if there were a deeper meaning to it all, I wouldn’t want to know it. It would spoil the movie a great deal. The fact is that I found it very entertaining (imagine that…entertainment that was actually entertaining…) and watching it made me happy; so much so that I’d really just like to leave it at that. After all, sometimes I think that should be enough.

posted by Caitlynn @ 10:00 PM 1 comments

"Ryan"

To be truthful, I’m not exactly sure what I plan on writing about “Ryan.” My plan here is to just start typing and hope that something mildly intelligent comes out of it all at the end.

I suppose that I’ll start by saying that it left me feeling a little depressed. It was an interesting concept--how all the traumas and difficulties the characters had been through in life physically took pieces out of them--but it made it all the more evident that they were broken people. I realize that we all must live with a certain level of brokenness in our lives, but that doesn’t make it anymore easier to witness. If anything, it makes it harder, because things like this then play into our own doubts and fears that hide in the dark corners of our minds, without shedding any light of hope into the scene.

Then again, maybe I’m just over-thinking all of this. I’ve become rather good at over-thinking things; it’s a skill I accidentally seem to have developed over time. I’m also far more sensitive than I would like to admit to being, so it’s possible that part of my brain is just kicking in here. So maybe for the time being I’ll set that all aside and talk about the other aspects to the film at work here.

The animation itself was well done. Sometimes with computer animation I walk away feeling that it was somehow cold or devoid of emotion or something. But for whatever reason, I didn’t get that feeling with this one. Probably because it’s hard to seem devoid of emotion when your film deals heavily in emotion suffering…But I digress; I said that I wasn’t going to talk about that anymore, didn’t I?

I’m trying to search my brain for remaining thoughts about “Ryan,” but I’ve got nothing. So to sum things up, let me just say that I thought it was a very well done and intriguing piece, even if it did seem to be a little on the depressing side.

posted by Caitlynn @ 3:38 PM 1 comments

"When Life Departs"

So here I was at my computer, when suddenly I thought that I should blog on the remaining two animated films we saw in class last Thursday. I really do think it’s important that I throw my two cents in here…and I am not just using this as an excuse to further procrastinate on my paper for Computer Concepts class. Nope. Not me.

Okay now, let’s see. The next animation to blog about would be “When Life Departs.” I liked this one a lot, and I thought the way the subject matter was handled was very appropriate. What better way to “explain” death to children then by sharing the ideas of other children with them? Granted, I use the term “explain” loosely here, because there was no definite answer or resolution given to anything. There was, however, a sense of peacefulness to it. It could’ve just been me, but it did seem almost comforting as a result of how it was talked about matter-of-factly and honestly. Death is a difficult thing to deal with at any age. Sometimes people close up and choose not to talk about it when they lose someone dear to them. But children are usually more open and honest with what they think and feel, and so I think that this film would be good for most children simply because it presents some ideas and emotions about death in a very innocent and honest light that most children could probably understand.



Granted, I know that not all of the ideas presented were Christian. There was just a lot of stuff thrown out there, and perhaps that does hold the potential to confuse kids. Then again, there was no set answer given, nobody came in and said that any set idea or belief was the one truth or not. It just puts it all out there. This might actually be a good thing, because it gives kids a chance to think about and reason with themselves about it some, and it presents some basic groundwork that the parents can later come in and build upon.

Overall, I thought it was a heartfelt piece, sad at many points simply because of the subject, yet very well done.

posted by Caitlynn @ 3:01 PM 0 comments

"Hedgehog in the Fog"

“Hedgehog in the Fog” was a pretty enjoyable film. I’m not sure what made it so great…maybe it was the unique style of animation, or the simple storyline, or the fact that wandering around in a dizzying fog while scary things pop out at you kind of reminds me of college and DMA class…but whatever it was, it made the animation work.

The style of animation was interesting in itself. It wasn’t overly complicated but it definitely looks like a lot of effort went behind it. Plus, it seemed to help set the mood for the story. It wasn’t flashy but it definitely wasn’t stick-figure-esque, either. It seems simple at first but it does have something more to it than just that first-glance simplicity. Plus it looks like it would be a fun medium to try out. If by “fun” you mean painstakingly tedious…which oddly enough I do actually mean…go figure.

The storyline was appealing as well. It was actually fairly simple. It was just about a hedgehog, going to visit his friend, who gets sidetracked when he stops to explore the mystery of the horse standing in the fog. He doesn’t find any answers, nor did that seem to matter. It was more about the mysteries, and seeking to understand those mysteries, than anything else. It’s a fairly simple story, and the idea behind it, pushing it along, is almost so simple that it’s almost hard to understand. (If that makes any sense.) Overall, it was fairly intriguing.

And as for it reminding me of college and DMA class, well, that’s partially a joke. But in a way it fits. So much of college seems to be questions, and exploring those questions, even though there’s not always a clear or definite answer at the end. Sometimes the questions seem to lead to more questions…So in some way, the story seems vaguely familiar. Vaguely. DMA class can be especially confusing and foggy, and sometimes some rather odd or scary stuff jumps out at us there, so it fits with that as well. ;)

That’s all I can really think of to say about it, at this point. Wow. Two shorter blog posts in a row…amazing.

posted by Caitlynn @ 1:04 AM 0 comments

"Feather Tale"

Fall Break is over. This saddens me.

Anywho. I suppose I should blog some about what we saw in class Thursday. I’ll begin with the animation that I really really really don’t want to blog about at all, but that Prof Leeper said he’d like to read what the girls in the class had to say about it: “Feather Tale.”



To be honest, I don’t want to have to think about this one at all. It made me feel...uncomfortable. Which, granted, it was probably meant to do that. To be 100% truthful, I don’t really know what to make of it. All I know is that afterwards I felt like I wanted to cover myself up in about a hundred layers of clothes and hide in my room. And I also know that I didn’t, nor do I currently, want to think about the deeper meaning behind it all. I’d much rather forget it and move on.

Though maybe this is the kind of effect it was supposed to have, at least to some extent. The animation was probably meant to make the audience feel uncomfortable. After all, the poor woman’s feathers are getting plucked off, leaving her…um…open…but not in a good way, in fact, it was more…unprotected…but even more than that, still. I don’t know how to describe it. I don’t want to know how to describe it.

Gah, this is really starting to mess with my head. Okay. Alrighty. I’m fine now. My point here is simply that even without spending time thinking about it, most viewers will probably be able to sense that what’s going on doesn’t seem right. It was definitely unpleasant to watch. The way in which it was executed was fine and well enough, but the subject matter just makes it rough. From my perspective, anyway. It could just be me, or the fact that I’m a girl, or…something. I don’t know. Alright, that’s it, I’m done now.

posted by Caitlynn @ 12:29 AM 0 comments

Children's Media (and a few other random thoughts)

**Note: This is all in reference to Tuesday's class.

First of all, let me say that it has to be one of the most intimidating things ever to be specifically addressed in class. Especially when the professor is as...opinionated...as Professor Leeper can be. Yet somehow I still love it when it happens. Go figure; just another thing about DMA class that makes me scratch my head I suppose.

Also, as one final (?) note concerning the whole capitalism debate...I think I’m going to go ahead and disagree that the whole concept of capitalism is to succeed even if it means stabbing someone else in the back. Capitalism is simply the concept of placing economic issues into the hands of the individual; socialism, in contrast, is the concept of placing economic issues into the hands of the government. The human condition states that most people will try to screw someone over regardless of what system they live under, it’s only more obvious in capitalism because we have more freedom and opportunity to do so. People who try to live virtuously will do so no matter what system they live in; people who only want to take advantage of others will attempt to do so no matter what as well.

Anywho. Onto the subject at hand: children’s media!


Of the two films we watched in class today, I think that for once I preferred the live action piece, “Rocks and Chocolate” (by Teddy Sharkova) over the animated piece, “Little Dog Turpie” (by Ben Mars). Simply because...well...the animated piece was creepy as none other. I’m not entirely certain of how I would have reacted to either one as a little kid, but I do know how I reacted to them now. I enjoyed “Rocks and Chocolate” because it was a cute story about a little girl’s love for her father. I have absolutely no idea how I would’ve reacted to it when I was younger; I might have lost interest in it entirely, or I might have been able to relate, or...I don’t know. But I do know that I liked it at the stage of life I’m currently at, so that counts for something. As for “Little Dog Turpie” I’m fairly certain that I would’ve cried. I loved animals. Especially dogs. And even though the doggie was okay in the end, I still would’ve been too upset as his limbs were getting chopped off during the course of the movie to really care. Knowing myself at a young age, I probably would’ve wanted the man to be eaten at the end. Well...alright, I confess, I still DID want the man to get eaten at the end, and I probably wanted that more at this age then I would have at a younger age. Shame on me for being so vengeful.


I can’t really comment about what makes children’s media good. I guess that in my mind, it either is or it isn’t...I never really thought about why before. To be honest, kids freak me out; it's just the concept of being partially responsible for shaping a mind that’s still so impressionable that terrifies me. Even more so that being spoken to in class…haha. Yet, I am not so removed from my childhood that I can’t remember how I would’ve reacted to certain things. I have grown, yes...but as C. S. Lewis said, growth is an addition to one’s personality, not merely a change in one’s mindset. I can act the part of the “adult” when I need to, because that part of my personality has developed as a factor of growing up...but I have still retained some of that childlike fascination from being younger. When I view children’s media, my mind automatically clicks into that place, or at least attempts to do so. It’s not that I abandon what I’ve learned as I’ve grown, it’s merely that the lessons I’ve retained from my earliest days are those that are usually most useful to me. At least, that’s the best way I can think to describe it right now.

posted by Caitlynn @ 1:19 AM 2 comments

Groups #1, #4, #5, #6, & #7

posted by Caitlynn @ 1:00 AM 0 comments

Catholicism, Part One...My Perspective

I was really trying to convince myself to not blog about this. But dang it, I can’t help myself…

My gut reaction to what Prof Leeper was saying on Thursday about Catholicism is actually quite similar to what my reaction is to it now that I’ve had a significant enough amount of time to think about it. What, you ask, was my reaction exactly? Pure and incandescent joy.

First of all, I, unlike Prof Leeper, am indeed a Catholic. Well...half Catholic, at least. I know, that doesn’t make much sense, does it? Essentially it means that I was raised Catholic the earlier half of my life, strayed away from the Roman Catholic church, but then came back to it recently. I am by no means “hard core” Catholic, but generally it’s where I feel most comfortable. I’ve made my Sacraments--sadly, I haven’t been through Confirmation--but I never really prayed to the Saints or to Mary, and there are a lot of other little traditions that I never got wrapped up into, and that I’m honestly only vaguely familiar with. And in all honesty, I’ve wondered about whether or not I should call myself Catholic, because I always end up feeling like I’m too Catholic to be Protestant, but too Protestant to be Catholic. It gets rather confusing, honestly. My parents raised me as Christian, and I was always a Christian before I was a Catholic. The confusion comes in when it’s time to put a clearer label on things and prance off to church. But no matter what I define myself as in the end, I think that there will always be a place in my heart for Catholicism.

I had originally planned on giving you a full history of my Catholic background, including what brought me back to the Catholic Church recently and the (few) conclusions I’ve drawn about my faith and about Catholicism as a result. But that’ll take too long, and besides, that might get a bit too personal for Blogger. If you’re really curious about any of that, ask me; more than likely I’ll be willing to oblige and give you an answer. I do speak. Honest. Maybe not very well and not very often, but I do speak...

Anywho. So instead of revealing the entire depths of my soul to the Blogger community, I’ll just write about the newest revelation I had as a result of what Prof Leeper said and the images we saw in class Thursday. I’ve been finding certain aspects of my personality in conflict with other aspects. The “artistic” side of me tends to run up against a lot of walls, and sometimes I wonder how it fits in at all with the rest of me. But then when we saw those images in class on Thursday, I felt that side spark up, and it hit me: I had found my connection. Catholicism brings a lot of things with it...all the images, all the mystery, and all the depth involved in every action...the awe that all of those things inspire in me is often that same driving force that allows me, even demands of me, to be creative. Turns out that the connection I thought didn’t exist simply existed where I didn’t think to look! This is a pretty fortunate place for it to be, actually, because I can tie my Catholic roots into other aspects of my personality as well. And while I still have a long way to go in figuring certain things out, I think that this is a definite ray of hope.

posted by Caitlynn @ 12:52 AM 2 comments

"The Man Who Planted Trees" & other fun commentary from your friendly neighborhood capitalist....

I really should be working on other homework. I have a vast plethora of projects due for other classes, and the deadlines are all fast approaching. Or at the very least, I should finish up posting about the other groups' class films. But I’m not. Instead, I’m blogging about what we saw and discussed in class today.

I suppose that first I should write about the film we saw...“The Man Who Planted Trees.”




I definitely thought it was interesting, and I enjoyed it a lot. First of all, the style of animation was really nice. The “sketchy” kind of look to it was something that I found very appealing. The plot was also pretty amazing, and inspiring, and hopeful even. To think that one person could accomplish so much good simply by following his purpose is an amazing concept, and one I find to be particularly stirring. He wasn’t doing anything that stood out, and he wasn’t aiming for fame and fortune. He just wanted to bring life to a region where only death and fear existed, and by persevering in his work and his mission, he was successful. That is an incredibly hopeful story.

The thing that scares me the most is that process of discovering purpose. Actually, change that “scares” to “terrifies” and it would be a more truthful statement. I don’t know, I guess I just wonder...What questions do I ask? What happens if I can’t find an answer, or what happens if the answer conflicts with something I thought I already knew? There’s just so much involved. But I should stop there, lest I accidentally bear too much of my soul. After all, blog or no blog, I’ve still only known you all for a relatively short period of time. ;)

Now for the part of this post I’ve been dreading the most -- the part where I single myself out as just another “brainwashed” Republican who believes in the (gasp) American Dream.

Before you make any assumptions, let me say this: No, I did not grow up in an ultra-conservative neighborhood. In fact, I pretty much grew up in Liberalsville, but that’s beside the point. I’m used to daggers and cheap shots that hold no real merit to them other than causing pain, and I’m not used to the civil and reasonable discussion that, thankfully, I’ve been witness to here. I promise to put forward my best efforts to keep myself in check here, and I hope that you’ll correct and forgive me if I get carried away at some point.

So where was I? Ah, yes, capitalism versus socialism. Now I don’t know what Professor Leeper’s political views are, nor do I particularly want to know right now, nor is it vital to this post. I just wanted to express my absolute love of the system of capitalism. Yeah, I know, it’s flawed. But it’s a creation of humanity, so it’s pretty much guaranteed to be. I still think it’s the best system we have out there, though. I doubt that there’s any other system that encourages people to work as hard as capitalism does. Does this climate discourage artists to make works based on truth and importance, as was hinted in class? Maybe. I don’t really know. Even if it does, I’d rather take a dull entertainment industry then, oh, say, having to wait three months for an “emergency” procedure at a public hospital...But I digress. Even if it does tempt the artist into submission for the sake of the almighty dollar, we all have to face temptation. That’s just a sad fact of life. If an artist’s message is truly worth saying, then he can grow a backbone and say it, regardless of how it might go over. What’s that saying? “Stand for something or else you’ll fall for anything.” The only person I want telling me a message is someone who will be willing to fight for that message with their life. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: The only battles worth fighting are those you’ll fight even in the face of defeat. And it the artist doesn’t view his battle as something worth fighting for at all costs, then I don’t entirely trust that the artist has something valid to fight for in the first place.

Alrighty, that’s my rant for this evening. Yikes, how do these always end up being so long?

posted by Caitlynn @ 10:27 PM 0 comments

Co Hoedeman (WARNING: Prepare for the longest post ever.)

I love animation.

So tonight I went and watched the animated films by Co Hoedeman. The first half were geared more towards children, while the second were aimed most likely towards a more mature audience. They were all pretty great, though. So let’s begin with the heart of this blog entry, shall we?

“Odd Ball”
I don’t have too much to say about this film, other than the fact that I enjoyed watching it and I enjoyed the part with all the fun colors. ^_^ Also, if nothing else, this pretty much confirmed in my mind that the “odd balls” of the world are the greatest...heh.



“Thcou-tchou”
I think that I got into this film a little more than I did with the first. The animation with the blocks was wonderful. And the story was cute, too. It’s hard for me to remember what it was like being a little kid, but it was during this film that I started remembering how I would’ve reacted to what happened. What’s funny is that I know I probably would’ve cried when the blocks all got knocked down and the girl got crushed. When I was little I felt no shame in showing my true emotions...haha. But anyway, back to present day. I was delighted with the way they defeated the dragon-creature. That kind of creativity only works in the world of youth; you’d never see a “mature” film end where the protagonists physically change the nature of the antagonist to work towards their benefit, at least, not in such a simplistic way. I thought that was fantastic, though.




“Ludovic: The Snow Gift”
This has to have been one of the cutest films I’ve seen in a very long time. I just loved it. So much so that if I knew where to buy it, I probably would. I think that of all the children’s films, it succeeded the most in drawing me back into the world of my childhood. I felt a tiny bit of awe spark within me when the doll came to life, and I remembered how often I used to pretend that all my dolls (well...stuffed animals...I never had many dolls) were alive; each of them had detailed stories and histories behind them. And when I say each of them, I mean each and every one of them...and I had MANY stuffed animals. And by watching how Ludovic reacted to different events that took place during the story, I felt that I could relate some. Well, the child in me could relate, anyway. Plus, the character of Ludovic was just so cuddly to begin with, and that helped. Overall, I thought it did an excellent job appealing to its audience: children, both the real child (as was evident in the audience tonight) and the “inner child.”



“Sand Castle”
I liked this one a lot, too, though not quite as much as the others. I was interested, but it was less on the level of my inner-child and more on the level of an animator. Actually, I was a little sad at the end, because the wind came and messed everything up...Maybe that’s just me though. I get too attached to inanimate objects, anyway.



“The Box”
I thought this one was also very good. The style of animation was interesting, and fun to watch. And I was charmed with how it showed the creator’s love for his creation. The entire time, the creator watched over the creation and cared for it, loved it. As Christians, that kinda sounds familiar, doesn’t it? ;)



That marked the end of the children’s films. After a short break, we resumed, picking up with films aimed towards a slightly older audience. This is when my head began to hurt.

sand animation...(I forgot the title, as well as who made it. Anyone care to clue me in?)
The first film of the second half wasn’t actually made by Co Hoedeman. I don’t remember the name of the woman who did make it, or the title of the film...but I do remember the style. I thought it was a very interesting style of animation, and one day I would like to try it. I know I won’t be that good at it, but I’d still like to give it a shot. :P Anywho, about the storyline; it made me sad. I mean, come on…the poor thing drowned at the end! I suppose it had a deeper significance, and I suppose that I should have been focusing on that instead. So let’s try it, shall we? The one bird was in love with a different kind of bird, and so he pursued it, and it turned out not-so-well for him. If I’m not mistaken, I think Prof Leeper made some comment afterwards about not yolking with unbelievers, so I guess I’m going to try to look at it from that perspective. Even if he didn’t make that comment, that’s the most meaning I could find in it. Still, I found it depressing. And yes, I know that real life isn’t always happy, that often times things go badly, and blah blah blah. But that still doesn’t change the fact that I thought it was sad.



“Charles and Francois”
I liked this one a lot. There were some parts I didn’t quite understand (quite a few, actually) like how the age difference got warped at some point. Most of the times, when something confuses me, I tend not to like it very much. But this one was different. I actually would like to watch it again, so that I could pick up on things that I missed before, because I know there’s a lot that I missed. I liked the overall feel to it, though, and even though I didn’t “get” it 100%, it did make me think. I think what made it special to me, though, is that it reminded me of my grandpa. He passed away recently, but...I don’t know...it just reminded me of him, I can’t explain it. So while I’m sure that meaning wasn’t put in there on purpose, that’s what I found in it that was most significant to me personally. Though even outside of that meaning, it was still a good film.



“The Sniffing Bear”
This one was interesting. I’m not sure what to say about it, though. The bear was addicted to whatever it was that was in that container. It was definitely bad, though. His “friends” recognized it, tried to take it away, but it didn’t work and he came back to it. He would rather have the substance than his friends. Then when he got into trouble, his friends came to his aid, regardless of how they had been treated earlier. It was then that he was finally able to walk away from the thing he had been addicted to. It was an interesting plot, and it was interesting to see how for once the good influence rubbed off on the bad influence, instead of vice versa like you usually see. It was a pretty good film.



“Marianne’s Theatre”
I’m almost done. I promise. This film was pretty great, though I felt a little dense afterwards. It was wonderful and delightful to watch, but if there was a deeper meaning behind it, I certainly couldn’t find it. If anyone has any insight on this (and actually made it to this point in my massive post) please let me know. When I try to analyze it, I get confused, and it doesn’t make sense to me, and I lose interest. But when I look at it and enjoy it for what I physically saw on the screen, I loved it. It was definitely visually appealing, and wonderful to watch. So overall I suppose that for now I’ll just leave it at having enjoyed it, and move on.



Okay, that’s all, I’m done now. Sorry for such a humongous post...I guess I got a little carried away. Would you believe that this is over two pages long in a single-spaced Word document? And well over 1,000 words. Right. So, maybe you would believe it. Um...sorry again.

posted by Caitlynn @ 11:35 PM 0 comments

*Just a note....

I do plan on blogging about all the different films. However, I'm running short on time at the moment, and so for now, I'm afraid what I have down will have to suffice. I have started writing on the other ones, though; I have a word file on my computer right now that's proof of that. The two that I blogged about prior to this post were just the ones that I had the most complete thoughts on, and so I figured I might as well post them now.

Until next time..........

posted by Caitlynn @ 9:05 PM 0 comments

Group #3 – “Poetic Justice”

I thought this was a pretty interesting film. I thought the idea behind it was pretty creative; that the person who starts off as appearing to be the “least” actually turns out to be a greater human being than the man who appears successful at the beginning. Also, the concept of poetic justice is great in itself. I think there’s something inside of all of us that enjoys seeing when somebody gets what’s coming to them. This pretty much happens when the “great” man is reduced to the level of the “least” man. What’s also interesting is the concept that the man who was truly greater on the inside shines at the end when he gives his “day’s wages” to the man who had been so rude and unkind to him so often before.

At the risk of being unpopular here, I’m going to go ahead and say that I don’t think it was necessary to have the homeless guy flip the rich guy off earlier on in the movie. Is it because that sort of thing greatly offends me? Ha. Please, I went to a public high school. It’ll take a lot more than that to offend me. Granted, I’m still not crazy about it under any context, but if it was absolutely needed and intricate to the plot itself, I’d be able to deal with it. My main issue here was simply that it created a conflict of character to me. If I am correct in assuming the main idea behind the film was to show that the “least” guy (the homeless man) was in fact greater than the “great” man, then to show a lapse in the homeless man’s character somewhat throws a kink into the works. I mean, generally, the kind of person who flips another person off because his drink got spilled is not the same kind of person who would be so generous as to give his “wages” to the same man later on. To me, it created a conflict in the character, and so it was slightly less believable at the end when he proved to be a good guy after all. Just my opinion, though.

One part that I did like, that I know people seemed to not be quite so crazy about in class, was how the passing of time was portrayed as the rich man’s life began going downhill. I like how it showed him pacing back and forth, growing more and more anxious each time, until finally you see him walking down the street for real with a box of office supplies in his hands. I know I could feel the passing of time, and I could see things slipping and going downhill for him. So I actually thought that was pretty good.

Overall, I did enjoy it.

posted by Caitlynn @ 8:44 PM 0 comments

Group #2 – “The Door”

This one had to be my absolute favorite of the films we saw in class Tuesday. Might some consider it a little cheesy? Perhaps. But I don’t care. It was funny, it made me chuckle, it gave me a good message, and I was left with a contented feeling afterwards. I like movies that make me happy. We wouldn’t call it entertainment if we didn’t enjoy being entertained…

I thought the message here was pretty good. To me, it fit the idea of least, because it showed how the least will enter into the Kingdom of God, while those weighed down my material items will have difficultly. It had a clear and definite message, and it didn’t seem too preached or forced. It was a lighthearted film, maybe even a little goofy, and that’s great because we can’t always afford to take ourselves too seriously. We can still pull off giving the audience a good message to take home while simultaneously entertaining them; apparently, if this group’s finished project is any sign, we can do so even at the amateur stage we’re all at.

As far as complaints go, I didn’t have many. I have to admit, I did get a little confused with the guy who kept stealing the protagonist’s stuff…What Prof Leeper said about being careful when using people as props must be true. It does seem like a rather risky move. I don’t think they did too bad a job with it, though; all I had to do was think about it for a little while. The more I did, the more he just seemed to fall into the background, and the more he seemed to become a character that was there as a “guide” and not so much as an added character on the same level as the protagonist. I think what helped this is that it was the same guy at different locations, yet it’s not as though he’s carrying the stuff with him from scene to scene. In that way, he was presented to us as a more abstract concept rather than an added character that we needed to worry about, and so it made it less confusing as to what his fate would be, since the idea is presented that we don’t need to be wondering about him at all.

So yes, I definitely enjoyed this one.

posted by Caitlynn @ 8:41 PM 0 comments

Catching up on lost time.......

Unfortunately, I've fallen a bit behind on my blogging this past week. I've felt like I've been so busy that I kept not making the time for it. Worse still is that I still feel like there's a lot to do! My To-Do List (a.k.a. the sticky notes stuck onto my mirror) looks a little overwhelming right now. So, as much as it pains me to do this, I'm gonna have to combine all my thoughts on everything into one post.



So let's begin, shall we? The first short film we watched in class was "The Climactic Death of Dark Ninja"...and I must say, it was pretty doggone awesome. I mean, I'm sure that almost everyone in class can relate to the kids in the film on some level after the past couple of weeks, because I'm sure every group had something go wrong at some point or another. And if you're reading this thinking, "Hey, everything in our group went smoothly, not a single thing went wrong"....then please, whatever you do, don't tell me. My only comfort right now is knowing that misery loves company, and that surely, surely things had to have gone wrong with everybody's project at some point or another. Take that away from me and I just might break....haha, I'm only kidding of course. But still. I'd much rather be comforted by the thought that my group wasn't the only one that had troubles along the way, whether that thought is accurate or not doesn't really matter so much to me at this point.

Speaking of our short films, Tuesday is the big day, isn't it? I must admit, I really am curious to see how they all turned out. I'm also quite nervous, considering that my group still has some stuff to finish up...in one day...that's sure to be a long and stressful and painful day......but I'm sure we'll get it done. I hate cutting it so close to the last minute like this, but at this point, there's nothing else to be done about it.



Anyway, back to the films we watched on Thursday. The second one was "A Ninja Pays Half My Rent." That one, I thought, was also quite funny. Granted, unlike the first film, I was unable to relate to this one for obvious reasons. But at least whenever I start to wonder or get nervous or anything along those lines about my roommate's quirks and habits, I can stop, think back to this film, and know that it could be worse...much, much worse. And if for no other reason, that in itself is enough to make this film really grand in my mind.



Then last but not least, there was a film called "Loose Ends" (I think that's what it was called). It was the one about the two friends disagreeing about Star Wars. Honestly, I don't have much passion in the debate...I was never much of a Star Wars fan to begin with. I remember watching the originals when I was really little, and Jabba the Hutt terrified me beyond reason, so I've been scarred against Star Wars ever since. Though a little while back, I did break down and watch the original movie, and it was pretty decent. I will add that I really don't think that the newest of the Star Wars movies (the prequels...that's so funny how that works....) were all that great. The storyline seemed to suffer. Granted, out of the three recent ones, I've only really watched the third. I guess that would be...Episode 3. And after watching it, I pouted and ranted about how much I absolutely loathed it for days afterwards. So yeah, I suppose if I had to pick sides, I'd go with the people saying that the recent Star Wars movies are awful when compared with the old ones. But I really don't have much of a leg to stand on, I'm afraid.

At any rate, I suppose I should wrap things up here. I probably won't be making my way around to your other blogs tonight. I'll try to get around to doing so over the next couple days, but we'll see how that goes. In the meantime, I hope you'll all be able to find it in your hearts to forgive me. I do regret not having the time or mental awareness right now to read through entries and leave halfway intelligent remarks. Honest. So just consider this to be me, throwing myself at your feet, begging you for your pardon. ;)

posted by Caitlynn @ 11:57 PM 0 comments

"Every Child"....Sound and the Amazing Ability of the Human Voice Box

Right, so...that title is a little wordy. Hmm. Oh well.

At any rate, today in class we watched a short animation called "Every Child." Only, instead of watching it to analyze the story, we were watching it mainly for the quality and creativity behind the sounds used. And with good reason, I suppose; it was a very interesting approach to using sound. Instead of "professional"-type effects, the two guys made all the sounds themselves. I've never been very good at mimicking different sounds using only my voice, but I find it thoroughly entertaining and fascinating to be around someone who can. Just as a side note, for any of you familiar with the comic book character Nightcrawler...my dad can say "BAMF" perfectly; it's amazing, and I imagine that if it were a real sound that is exactly what it would sound like.

Anywho, I digress. I just wanted to write about how I was pretty impressed with the way the audio was done in the short. Granted, not every movie can really work with sound effects made only by the human voice. For a high-budget blockbuster, some high-budget audio would be perfectly appropriate. But for a simple little film like this one, it’s completely appropriate. And it’s fairly encouraging, as well. After all, we’re all starting out here, and I’m sure that we’ll be needing to use whatever resources we have available to us. Not just for audio, but in other aspects as well. We will need to be getting creative. And the nice thing about what we watched in class today was that it shows an example of just how well low-budget yet effective methods can work in a project. Not only was it fun to watch the animation and listen to the sound effects, but it was also inspiring to see just how much the human voice box -- and some creativity -- can actually accomplish.

posted by Caitlynn @ 3:57 PM 2 comments

A Vision and a Bus Schedule: "Bad Animals"

I loved “Bad Animals,” yet once again, I don’t know why. It wasn’t creepy like the biker-witches, so I think that I’ll have to say I enjoyed it more. I didn’t have that sort of torn feeling between wanting to like it and wanting to walk away quickly from the room. Instead, it was just kind of...pure comedy. Funny for the sake of it being funny and altogether ridiculous.

Trying to imagine myself in the guy’s place, I’d be pretty freaked out if a giant chicken, mouse, and bear started following me. It was so hilarious in the way that it was done, though! The way the different shots were set up were pretty interesting, too. I liked how it would just kind of switch from showing the mouse guy a seat away to him being suddenly right there next to the guy. And the scene where he was getting beaten up was quite funny. Had it been people beating him up, it would’ve been awful. But it was animals. So it was funny. Go figure how that works...




It seemed like it was fairly simple to set up for and make, too. Like Professor Leeper said, they pretty much just needed a bus schedule. I’m sure that a pretty decent amount of time and effort was put into it, but it was by no means “blockbuster” quality or anything. That’s part of what made it so great, though! The fact that it didn’t have any complex tricks was actually part of the charm of the short film. It was an absurd idea, and so to have too high a quality of filming wouldn’t have helped it any I think.
As for the lack of closure, since it didn’t have any grand significant plot, it didn’t bother me that much. Besides, I watch a lot of anime; I’m used to unsatisfying endings. Haha.

Overall, I have to say, I really did enjoy it. It was a funny little nonsense film that was purely made for the sake of delighting / entertaining...and I’d say it accomplished its purpose.

posted by Caitlynn @ 6:28 PM 0 comments

"Gisele Kerozene"--a.k.a. 'That weird pagan witch film...'

First of all, I'd like to say that Blogger is evil. It deleted my entire post! Oh well; good thing I had most of it saved.

This had to be one of the most bizarre, craziest, weirdest films I’ve ever seen. Yet I find that no matter how hard I try not to like it, it’s impossible; the truth is that I found it to actually be quite entertaining.




I mean, who would ever think that a short film about pagan motorcycle witch people would be entertaining? But it was. I think what made it work though was the style it was done in: frame-by-frame live action with some of the frames taken out. It was a unique style, which probably wouldn’t work with most plots; but since this was such a weird little story, an unusual style of filming was very appropriate. It had to be pretty tiring, too, for everybody involved. First of all, the poor actors had to do all that jumping to get the flying effect on the brooms. That in itself had to take a while, and so the entire crew had to be dedicated and commit time-wise. Then there was the issue of the editing that had to be done. Granted, I suppose that since I’m going into animation (or at least plan to) I should get used to working frame by frame. But still; to spend that much time and effort editing frame by frame for a live action piece shows a certain level of dedication right there.

I laughed a lot during it, too. I think it was mainly confused and slightly nervous laughter, like the kind where you have no clue why in the world you’re laughing, but you are anyway. Honestly, thinking about it, I have no idea why I was laughing. It was just so strange that I suppose I couldn’t help myself.

Was it appropriate for me to like this film? I don’t know...I don’t think that it’ll condemn me or anything, and I don’t think that it’s necessarily bad for me. It’s not like it’s tempting me into a life of a motor-broom-riding-witch, so I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it’s fairly safe. But I do wonder why I found it as entertaining as I did, especially since I thought it was fairly creepy at the same time. Okay, make that VERY creepy. Oh well...overall, I thought it was fairly entertaining I suppose.

posted by Caitlynn @ 5:11 PM 0 comments

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blogging....

I know this isn't a "real" blog entry, but I just had to share.

So last night, I had this really weird dream. Granted, I have a lot of weird dreams, but usually there’s nothing special enough about any of them to blog about. This one, however, is different. Because this one I just KNOW is my subconscious trying to deal with Intro to DMA...




I was sitting in this auditorium-type place. It wasn’t quite an auditorium, but, well, close enough. Anyway, I remember seeing a few people from class in my dream. Not everyone, and the specifics of who I did see are starting to blur, but I remember enough to know that there were people from class there. That was Clue #1 that this dream was related to DMA, but that in itself would not have been enough. So there I -- we -- were, and there was this guy on stage talking to us. It was something about God, I think, but I don’t remember what exactly it was about, I only remember that it was somewhat controversial (or at least it seemed to be). He wasn’t a speaker though, because we weren’t an audience, but it was more like we were all there to argue with him.

Then suddenly, there’s this bucket in front of him, that it took me until now in the dream to notice. And he starts mumbling something and flames and smoke start coming out of the bucket. (Yeah, weird, I know.) Everyone’s first thought is that he’s doing some kind of witchcraft or something, so we all start getting uncomfortable. But before any of us can leave, the doors SLAM shut and lock, and we’re all trapped in there.

Then, the man on stage told us all something. And this is how I know -- beyond a shadow of a doubt -- that this dream is related to Intro to DMA. He said:

“Now we will be testing your story-telling ability.”

Then we were told to organize ourselves into groups of two. And shortly after that, I woke up, realizing that I had to get ready for Intro to DMA class.

I don’t know, I just really think the two are definitely related somehow. Not sure about the part with the fire...that was just plain weird...and there are a few other things about it that I don’t quite understand either (yet when do I ever completely understand my dreams) but the line at the end seems to make sense and tie into class, if you ask me.

Anyway, I promise to write a REAL blog entry here very soon. I just absolutely had to get this down before I forgot too much of it.

posted by Caitlynn @ 1:19 PM 0 comments

Music Video #2...."Bent" by Matchbox 20

While I'm here, I might as well write another entry. And while I'm watching old music videos, I might as well right about another one of those....

The second music video I'd like to write about tonight is "Bent" by Matchbox 20. For anyone unfamiliar with it, it can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vedFJV2Jb6k

This is most definitely not a Christian band, nor is it a Christian video. I think he might use one word that's slightly impolite, so if you don't wanna hear it, skip this post and move on. Oh, and I think that one character in the video mouths a cuss word. Otherwise, that's the only warning I think I need to post really.

This is one music video that I think is actually supposed to be saying something significant. It's a weird one, granted, but most tend to be. I think that it's trying to say something about humanity and how it's not so...humane, after all. First the guy gets hit by a car. Then someone robs him as he's lying on the ground. From there he gets into an argument and a fight with a random stranger. Day switches to night, and he finds himself walking down a dark alley with a man closing in on him. He runs, but the other man catches him and throws him to the ground, kicking him. And then...then, there's that one guy who tries to help him up, but he refuses his help...that part always confused me most when this video first came out. The video is pretty much over from that point.

The video "talks" a lot about the cruelty of humanity. Though it might be an exaggerated version (or maybe it isn't?) of how cold-hearted people are towards one another, the message is clear and there is some truth to it. Many people just plain don't care about what happens to others; many, even, hold negative emotions and wish bad things upon others. But then...then, there are those others who do reach out their hand to help a fallen stranger. But is there ever a time when it becomes too late? When we just become so frustrated and paranoid that we don't dare trust the kindness? When we ourselves can become so bitter that we become just as bad as those who mistreated us to begin with? I don't quite understand the "kind" man in the video, because he doesn't seem to belong. He seems so out of place, in fact, that I've often wondered if there was a clue I missed that was supposed to reveal him as another bad person. If there is, I can't find it. Either I'm clueless here (which is possible) or I myself am so used to the tragedy of the human condition by the end of the video, that I can't understand somebody rising above it. In context of the video, mind you, not necessarily in the real world.

I think that the important thing is to not give up, though. As Christians, it's our responsibility to reach out to the fallen stranger, even though it is quite likely that he will push our hands away. Perhaps, however, if there are enough of us out there, it will make a difference. If enough of us reach out in a truly honest, genuine way, then that will cause people to stop and think, and maybe even learn to trust again.

There. That's enough deep meaning for me this evening. I bid you all farewell, now! As always, let me know if you have anything to comment on this........

posted by Caitlynn @ 7:24 PM 1 comments

"Take On Me"....Off the beaten road

I'm in the mood for blogging. Now, had I actually gone to see, "FairyTale: A True Story" tonight, I could've blogged about that. But since I didn't, I suppose I'll have to come up with something of my own. Hope this works....

So who here has ever seen the music video to the song, "Take On Me" by A-Ha? If not, you really should. It's only, like, the coolest music video ever. Hehe. If you're curious about it, you can watch it here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=WayYcrx4Gv0

Anywho. The reason I thought I'd try blogging about this video is because it combines animation with live action, and in a sense, the video is about connecting the two.

Now, granted, it is an 80's song. And a pretty cheesy one, at that. Even the music video is a little on the corny side. But, c'mon...what girl wouldn't want to be dragged into a comic where the guy of her dreams was waiting for her? Haha...all joking aside, I really do think the concept is interesting. The woman starts out reading a comic, and she's really pretty interested in it. Then suddenly, the man from the comic reaches out from the other side of the comic and beckons her to go with him. She hesitates, but then follows. In the comic world, the man continues to draw the woman further and further inside. Meanwhile, in the real world, the waitress just thinks the woman skipped out on her bill, and throws the comic away. Flash back to the comic world, where our two protagonists are threatened by the man's arch enemy. The man first ensures the woman's safety, and gets her back to her world, then it cuts back to the woman in her world sitting next to the trash can with the other people in the diner looking at her, wondering what just happens. She doesn't care though, and she grabs the comic and runs back home. Upon arriving home, she opens the comic back up to discover the man's fate. It looks as though he has been beaten, perhaps even killed. But then...he starts to get up! And he starts to break out of the comic and into the real world, there at her door! The video then ends here.

Now, is there a deeper significance to this whole video? I sure hope not. I realize that by posting this up here, I run the risk of a digital media artist coming by and completely spoiling my happy little thoughts, but I don't care. I still think it's an awesome video, if for no other reason, then how it draws together the worlds of reality with that of comics and animation. The technique is pretty amazing, if you ask me. This was somewhere around 1985, I believe, so there still weren't many spectacular animation tricks like we have today. No specialized computer generated cold images, only hand-drawn stuff here. There's something about animation to me that just...I don't know...it seems best when it's created through actual human hands and not through digital means. Maybe it's just me, but it seems to give it life. Blood and flesh and a heart. And it just makes it seem more...captivating, as a result. Not that computer animation is all bad, mind you. But I hope that's not what people start to depend on completely.

So those are just a few of my thoughts on this. Anybody else have something to share?

posted by Caitlynn @ 5:22 PM 0 comments

The Start of a New Era

Err...well...OK, I suppose today wasn't the start of a new era. But it WAS the start of our live action group projects. Today we were split into our groups and told to come up with some of the absolute basics to our project. No plots, just the absolute basics. And we were told not to get too attached to our ideas. Hehe.

I must admit, this puts me at a slight disadvantage I believe. Over the past few months, I've been a part of these "Writing Challenges" on a Christian writer's website, where every week we're assigned a topic word and we have to write a short story, between 150-750 words, based on that topic. I'm so used to coming up with an idea for a story right away and running with it, but this time, I've been told to get a general concept of the basic details before the basic plot. It should be an interesting challenge for me, though. Definitely a new way to approach it. I must confess, I'm a little nervous about it, for three reasons:
1) I'm generally not a HUGE fan of live action, and as a result, I have no experience with it. Like, what-so-ever. I'm not even sure how passionate I can be about it. But I sure am gonna try to put as much of myself into this as possible.
2) It's a group project. I'm...not so good in groups. Hehe. I don't speak up like I should. But, such is life. I'll just have to get over it.
3) So far, my group seems to be leaning more towards the abstract. I don't like abstract. A little bit here and there might be okay, but hopefully it's not too overly abstract, because otherwise people are gonna ask me what it means and I'm gonna have to reply, "Um. Well. I don't exactly know, either."

So, yes, I'm just a little concerned. But I'm also quite excited, too! This should be interesting. And, hopefully, maybe even a little fun. At any rate, I'm supposed to meet my group at dinner to iron out some stuff for Thursday. I hope that turns out well.

Just a few other comments now, slightly unrelated to all of this.

We watched a little film in class today called "Garbage Man." I thought it was actually quite clever, especially considering that I think Prof. Leeper said it was made by high school aged students. I liked the idea of the cleansing water at the end. That was nice.



It was so weird to actually have people recognize me by name in class, but not necessarily by face. ^_^ I guess that's what happens when you're an opinionated blogger, but still. It was kinda cool, though.

And one more thing about my passionate defense of the BGB video. I do realize that it's a kind of immature humor, but I still have doubts as to the seriousness of the possibility of harm it could have. I would like to make it clear, however, that I don't intend to ever make anything like that. For one thing, I've never been too grand at comedy. For another, whether you believe me or not, I'm actually too polite to put something like that out there. Politically Correct I am most definitely not (or at least, I would like to think that I'm not) but I do agree that there's a far stretch between being polite & tasteful, and being overly cautious and "PC". And so, I severely doubt that you'll ever see anything like the BGB video come from me.

However, just in case there are any further worries......

I, Caitlynn Aley Lowe, hereby vow to wield my artistic sword with honor, respect, dignity, and caution. Furthermore, if I am found to have broken my vow, I will accept any and all scorn, clicking tongues, wagging fingers, and looks of utter disgust, silently and gracefully.

There. Have I successfully managed to ease anyone's worries? Haha....Now don't expect me not to argue about things from time to time; if I disagree about something, I'm still gonna make it known. But that's the fun of debate, now isn't it? And part of the fun of blogging, after all, is debate. I definitely didn't take anything personal throughout the BGB discussions, and I hope nobody took anything I said personally either.

posted by Caitlynn @ 3:40 PM 1 comments