Lots of good news...I am back in the MFA program. I had a huge epiphany, and finally came up with my thesis idea. The idea was so right on, that my previous committee chair agreed to stay on as my chair. That was huge! And the EDF fishery film for Sea Studios came in on time and under budget.
It is going to be one hell of a semester. I have to work full time (for most of the semester), finish my film, my thesis, my defense, and my comps by the middle of December. I have scheduled out my time to the T. There will be no time for procrastination. But, the good part of that is that I will have this master monkey off my back sooner than I thought.
This weekend I am auditioning voice over actors and composers. Then I will have a couple weeks to turn in my fine cut. Then I move on to my thesis paper. I am proposing a new mode of documentary called Audience Interactivity. This mode won't be perfected until interactive media technology can catch up (ie. video games, interactive tv, etc). But I am going to write about what is being tried. I am also going to use the zebra film as an experiment at interactivity for school kids. I will probably film the kids acting out scenes or moving the toys around to make their own film. Then edit something together for them to be able to download and show their parents how they interacted with a Zebra documentary.
I will be taking a little over 6 weeks off total from work. My bosses are pretty supportive. I will take one week of in Sept and one in October to get most of my thesis ideas flushed out. I will be working on it nights and weekends as well. Then, come the middle of Nov, I will take a month off to finish the paper and to dive in to intensive study for my comps. I bought about $500 worth of books last night off of Amazon. The book list is huge! Luckily, I already had about half the books. If I fail the comps once, I get one more chance. If I were to fail twice, then all of my work would have been in vane. They don't let you graduate if you fail more than twice. The same criteria goes for the Defense. So I need to study my ass off!
But, you wouldn't believe how wanky and verbose these books are. They are one of the only things that can cure insomnia.
But anyway, I will have to use close pins to keep my eyes open and make sure I have several solid weeks to write mock essays. Won't that be a hoot!
I will fly to Montana early December to take my Comps and sit for my defense. By then my film and thesis will have to completely done and approved.
Wish me luck!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Blog entry about my Sitka trip
I wrote this a few weeks ago for the Sea Studios blog:
We just returned from a week shoot in Alaska. We went up there to tell a success story about the halibut fishery. It was quite an amazing trip. The landscape and people were wonderful. 
I went up a few days early before our director and camera/sound crew arrived to do some scouting and to meet the fishermen/women and fish processors in person.
Prior to our arrival, we had a hard time getting fishermen and fisherwomen to commit to interviews and fishing trips over the phone. So I hit the ground running. My job was to find as many halibut fishers as possible. But I also needed to find someone to take us out on a boat so we could film halibut fishing. This was not so easy. It was salmon season, and the majority of boats were focusing on salmon. Plus the weather looked like it was going to get really bad by the time the crew arrived. So I lucked out and found a boat called the Kathleen Jo heading out for a two-day halibut trip. I did some fast-talking, and within an hour I was on board heading out to sea with two kind fishermen.
I had brought my HDV video camera and a tripod. I am not sure why I bothered to bring the tripod. It was completely useless on a boat. I ended up getting some nice footage of the fishermen setting three sets of long-line gear. I got a little nauseous, but managed to keep all my cookies to myself. It’s hard to keep your balance, look through a viewfinder, and not get seasick. By the second day I had my sea legs and filmed the fishermen catching halibut without feeling like I might need to find the leeward side of the boat. They only caught about 30 halibut, but that was plenty for me to film. They said it was the worst catch they had ever had. But 30 halibut ended up being over 600 pounds. They caught twice the pounds of yelloweye. It’s a kind of orange rockfish. The fishermen said yelloweye is actually tastier than halibut.
By the middle of the second day, the weather report was calling for gale force winds, so we headed back to Sitka. The director, Rob Whittlesey and the cameraman, Harry Dawson, met me at the dock. Later we met up with our sound mixer, Phillip Powell and went out for the first of many fabulous seafood meals.
The next day we went to a fish processor and filmed several boats offloading their halibut catches.
Since the weather turned bad, it had chased all the fishing boats back to port. So we had lots to film. And what’s more, the weather was going to stay bad, which meant we were able to interview the fishermen/women of Sitka. If the sun had come out, we would have been out of luck.
All in all, the shoot went very smooth and we got the footage we hoped for! Click HERE to see all the photos from the shoot.
We just returned from a week shoot in Alaska. We went up there to tell a success story about the halibut fishery. It was quite an amazing trip. The landscape and people were wonderful. I went up a few days early before our director and camera/sound crew arrived to do some scouting and to meet the fishermen/women and fish processors in person.Prior to our arrival, we had a hard time getting fishermen and fisherwomen to commit to interviews and fishing trips over the phone. So I hit the ground running. My job was to find as many halibut fishers as possible. But I also needed to find someone to take us out on a boat so we could film halibut fishing. This was not so easy. It was salmon season, and the majority of boats were focusing on salmon. Plus the weather looked like it was going to get really bad by the time the crew arrived. So I lucked out and found a boat called the Kathleen Jo heading out for a two-day halibut trip. I did some fast-talking, and within an hour I was on board heading out to sea with two kind fishermen.
I had brought my HDV video camera and a tripod. I am not sure why I bothered to bring the tripod. It was completely useless on a boat. I ended up getting some nice footage of the fishermen setting three sets of long-line gear. I got a little nauseous, but managed to keep all my cookies to myself. It’s hard to keep your balance, look through a viewfinder, and not get seasick. By the second day I had my sea legs and filmed the fishermen catching halibut without feeling like I might need to find the leeward side of the boat. They only caught about 30 halibut, but that was plenty for me to film. They said it was the worst catch they had ever had. But 30 halibut ended up being over 600 pounds. They caught twice the pounds of yelloweye. It’s a kind of orange rockfish. The fishermen said yelloweye is actually tastier than halibut.
By the middle of the second day, the weather report was calling for gale force winds, so we headed back to Sitka. The director, Rob Whittlesey and the cameraman, Harry Dawson, met me at the dock. Later we met up with our sound mixer, Phillip Powell and went out for the first of many fabulous seafood meals.The next day we went to a fish processor and filmed several boats offloading their halibut catches.
Since the weather turned bad, it had chased all the fishing boats back to port. So we had lots to film. And what’s more, the weather was going to stay bad, which meant we were able to interview the fishermen/women of Sitka. If the sun had come out, we would have been out of luck.All in all, the shoot went very smooth and we got the footage we hoped for! Click HERE to see all the photos from the shoot.
Great Animated Song about Galapagos
A friend of Mark's sent me this the other day. This is exactly the kind of stuff I think works great for very young kids. It's fun, short, and repetitive.
Here's the website for the company that made this: http://www.biggreenrabbit.com/bgrvideos.html
Here's the website for the company that made this: http://www.biggreenrabbit.com/bgrvideos.html
Pebble Beach Car Shot Shoot
Well, I didn't get any of the greenscreening done this weekend. You see, a friend of mine made me an offer I couldn't refuse. He asked me to AC and do sound for him at a car show. He had a client that needed a crew last minute, so needless to say...the day rate was very good. Oh, and a quick disclaimer...I didn't have my real camera with me, so all these pictures are were taken with my iPhone. 
I am not much for car shows or cars in general. I usually only think of cars as tools to get you from A to B. But these people loved their cars probably more than anything else on the planet. They were selling anywhere from $100,000 to $8 million. Most were very old, extremely rare, and expertly restored. This was not a car show for the average Jo. Only people who could afford the $250 ticket could get in. Plus you had to be a bidder to be invited to the auctions. 
We were hired by a man named Simon Kidston. He is an antique car collector/dealer/expert/auctioneer. He owns a company in Switzerland that helps the elite make wise choices when it comes to buying fine collectible cars. He bid 4 million dollars for one of his clients our first night. But someone ended up outbidding his client. I can't imagine what Simon's commission would have been. 
Most of the show took place at Pebble Beach, so it was quite a site to see so many beautiful cars lined up all over the green. There were a few stars there as well...Jay Leno, Jerry Sienfeld, Stirling Moss (famous race car driver from the 40's and 50's), and Leslie Keno (one of the furniture expert twins from Antique Roadshow). There was one more star that I recognized, but couldn't figure out who he was. It was driving me crazy. But I just looked him up...his name is Edward Herrmann. He's been in lots of shows and movies. He's usually a co-star. I remember him best as the drunk, rich husband in "Overboard". 
(I didn't take the picture of Edward Hermann and Jay Leno is in the photo with the blue car)
On the second day, I came down with a bad cold with fever, but I had to suck it up. The shoot itself wasn't that difficult, but the shoot days were very long (14 hour days). Fortunately, the client was nice so that made it easier. I am still not entirely sure what he is using the video for. I think it's for marketing and maybe for his company's website. I found one video he did on his website. Go to: http://www.kidston.com/kidston-movies/kidston-sa-video-presentation
Here's the winner of 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
I am not much for car shows or cars in general. I usually only think of cars as tools to get you from A to B. But these people loved their cars probably more than anything else on the planet. They were selling anywhere from $100,000 to $8 million. Most were very old, extremely rare, and expertly restored. This was not a car show for the average Jo. Only people who could afford the $250 ticket could get in. Plus you had to be a bidder to be invited to the auctions. We were hired by a man named Simon Kidston. He is an antique car collector/dealer/expert/auctioneer. He owns a company in Switzerland that helps the elite make wise choices when it comes to buying fine collectible cars. He bid 4 million dollars for one of his clients our first night. But someone ended up outbidding his client. I can't imagine what Simon's commission would have been. Most of the show took place at Pebble Beach, so it was quite a site to see so many beautiful cars lined up all over the green. There were a few stars there as well...Jay Leno, Jerry Sienfeld, Stirling Moss (famous race car driver from the 40's and 50's), and Leslie Keno (one of the furniture expert twins from Antique Roadshow). There was one more star that I recognized, but couldn't figure out who he was. It was driving me crazy. But I just looked him up...his name is Edward Herrmann. He's been in lots of shows and movies. He's usually a co-star. I remember him best as the drunk, rich husband in "Overboard". 
(I didn't take the picture of Edward Hermann and Jay Leno is in the photo with the blue car)On the second day, I came down with a bad cold with fever, but I had to suck it up. The shoot itself wasn't that difficult, but the shoot days were very long (14 hour days). Fortunately, the client was nice so that made it easier. I am still not entirely sure what he is using the video for. I think it's for marketing and maybe for his company's website. I found one video he did on his website. Go to: http://www.kidston.com/kidston-movies/kidston-sa-video-presentation
Here's the winner of 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Oregon Road Trip
Jessie and I drove 10 hours to Portland the other night to see our college friends, Nicole and Cara. We've had a lot of fun catching up. Normally we do a girl's weekend and hit the bars pretty hard, but I think we are finally growing up. We actually did a few more productive activities than usual and even let a boy tag along. Nicole's husband Rick has been great. I wish Mark could have come.
Yesterday we hiked in Mt Hood National Forest and went to Oak's Park amusement park. I can't believe how much fun we had riding rides and playing games. Then we went out to eat at the Delta Cafe. We all had great meals, but I was in absolute heaven. It was all southern food. I had an entire plate of fried okra and garlic cheese grits.
Yesterday we hiked in Mt Hood National Forest and went to Oak's Park amusement park. I can't believe how much fun we had riding rides and playing games. Then we went out to eat at the Delta Cafe. We all had great meals, but I was in absolute heaven. It was all southern food. I had an entire plate of fried okra and garlic cheese grits.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Sunday
On Friday, I borrowed a bunch of equipment from a friend from work. He set me up with green screen cloth, lights, stands, clamps, and a gobo arm. It was a bit of an overkill for my small toys. But the lighting gear should provide the even light I need to pull a good key. I was hoping to have all the green screening done this weekend...but it didn't happen.
Yesterday was a no go, but today I managed to find the motivation to move my furniture around, set up all the lights, lay out the green screen fabric, and get the camera ready. Unfortunately, I was missing one key piece of equipment...a cable release. All that effort for nothing. Just pushing the shutter button added a slight motion blur and changed each shot slightly, so the stop motion looked terrible.
I ended up calling my dad. He also has a digital Canon SLR. He loaned me his macro lens last time I came to visit, and now he is going to loan me his cable release. I will make sure he gets a big special thanks in the film! 
I am lucky to have two parents who are photographers. Even my step-mom is picking up the photo bug...especially since she has a new grand baby to photograph.
I was a little bummed that the green screen effort didn't pay off, but my cat, Lolly helped cheer me up. She let me harass her with my camera. I took a bunch of weird angle shots of her under my hammock. Some came out pretty cool. This is the longest time she has let me photograph her since I used her for my senior photography project at Evergreen about 7 years ago. Usually, I only get a few shots off before she gets annoyed and leaves. So it was nice of her to put up with me today.
Mark pretty much entertained himself today, with his new gi-normous chop saw. 
Yesterday was a no go, but today I managed to find the motivation to move my furniture around, set up all the lights, lay out the green screen fabric, and get the camera ready. Unfortunately, I was missing one key piece of equipment...a cable release. All that effort for nothing. Just pushing the shutter button added a slight motion blur and changed each shot slightly, so the stop motion looked terrible.
I ended up calling my dad. He also has a digital Canon SLR. He loaned me his macro lens last time I came to visit, and now he is going to loan me his cable release. I will make sure he gets a big special thanks in the film! I am lucky to have two parents who are photographers. Even my step-mom is picking up the photo bug...especially since she has a new grand baby to photograph. I was a little bummed that the green screen effort didn't pay off, but my cat, Lolly helped cheer me up. She let me harass her with my camera. I took a bunch of weird angle shots of her under my hammock. Some came out pretty cool. This is the longest time she has let me photograph her since I used her for my senior photography project at Evergreen about 7 years ago. Usually, I only get a few shots off before she gets annoyed and leaves. So it was nice of her to put up with me today.
Mark pretty much entertained himself today, with his new gi-normous chop saw.
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