Monday, April 29, 2013

Ranking the 6 Variations

1.  Crowdsourcing Part 2- Watching the video with the frames together was a great experience and I was really impressed with how well it turned out. Also, crowdsourcing is just a really cool concept.
2. Cameraless- This one was a lot of fun. I enjoyed working directly on the film and I was happy that my animation turned out the way I wanted.
3. Multiplane Animation- Working with Erik and Scott on this was great. When I'm rich and eccentric I'll probably make multiplaning a hobby.
4. Bolex Long Take- I was very relieved when we were able to get everything the way we planned it in one take.
5. Rhythmic Edit- The only reason this one is so low is probably because my editing PTSD is still fresh.
6. Crowdsourcing Part 1- Because media fasting caused me to gain weight from eating out of boredom.

My Rough Theater

My rough theater is improv. I'm part of a new local long-form improv troupe called 4-Prov. The members are Chelsea Deaner, Aerial Fowle, Ryan Trimble and myself. We initially were meant to do just two shows together but then we were like "This is fun, we should do this always." We never perform in a theater we usually perform at the Juggling Gypsy and at Nutt Street's long-form night. We've also found a somewhat home at Orton's Underground. So, bars, we perform in bars.

We get in front of our audience, get a one word suggestion and then create a 10 or 15 minute story off of that one word. There's nothing perfect or polished in our execution. These aren't stories we've rehearsed several times; they are brand new. We're discovering them at the same time the audience is. Sometimes it goes over well and we get a huge laugh from the audience while sometimes we get heckled by crickets. Once we had a show at Orton's at 7 and at 7:10 we did not have an audience. To remedy this we went outside and performed on the sidewalk to generate interest. We entertained a group of ghost walkers while more people arrived to see our show continue inside.

It's improv. We make stuff in front of everyone. It's my rough theater and I love it.

Reflections on Crowdsourcing

What I got from the crowdsourcing project is that the final product tends to have a greater impact because it represents the voice of several people. If a project is written/directed/produced by the same person then that product takes on the voice of its filmmaker; it becomes part of them. When I watched our crowdsourcing video I was overwhelmed with the personalities and voices of my classmates. It was really incredible. Everyone and their friends put a great deal of time into creating those frames and once they were put together I got to witness everyone's individual creativity fused together.

Participating in a crowdsourcing project is a positive experience because it requires trust. By participating in a crowdsource you are trusting that everyone else that is involved will come through on their. You're trusting that they are as involved as you. When the filmmakers behind Star Wars Uncut launched their project they were trusting that there would be enough fans who are as passionate about Star Wars as them who could complete the entire film. Their trust was correctly placed and rewarded. Crowdsourcing is an optimistic venture because it causes you to rely on others and hopefully have that trust rewarded.