joshgolden4dwatkins

[joshgolden4dwatkins]

Post Critique/End of Class Post

Final project is over. I'm still reeling from post screenings/finals week.

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Ok.

Organization.

This project was probably the most stimulating. Getting to collaborate on this short documentary was great. With more time I think we could have really gotten at something at this church, but even though we barely scratched the surface with this, I still think we got something worth talking about.

I would just like to say that it has been a pleasure taking this class with everyone. Remember to keep drawing!

[joshgolden4dwatkins]

Some quick thoughts on our project.

[joshgolden4dwatkins]

Our group is doing a documentary on Mega Churches, in particular Cornerstone Church here in Nashville.

It took a while for us to focus on a particular subject. Originally we were thinking of examining consumerism in the mega church, a religious institution with its own coffee shop  and bookstore, that brings in over 8 million dollars a year.

Then we found out that the pastor killed someone. And that sidetracked us for a while.

But then we finally settled on looking at intimacy in this environment. How do you connect to each other and your spirituality in all of this theatricality?

[joshgolden4dwatkins]

Last 30 Minutes

Decent turnout tonight, nothing huge though. Was disappointed that no one from class swung by. If anyone is around, we're listening to Panda Bear's Tomboy right now. Good stuff.

[joshgolden4dwatkins]

What's Happening

Ok. So there is a Directing Workshop scene being shot in the cafe, and an adult writing workshop in the classroom above it. So the listening session is happening in 803, which is the conference room beside the cafe, by the pool table.

Free coffee! Come and join in the music.

[joshgolden4dwatkins]

Accidentally posted this on my real Tumblr. Ooops.

Music connects us all. My social project seeks to examine a variety of genres and artists and how they can affects a group of people sharing a listening. How it can conjure similar and yet wholly different memories, thoughts, and feelings. 

On Wednesday night, I’m hosting a record listening session from 6pm-10:30pm. Come, drink some coffee, listen to some great music. I will be getting documentation throughout the night in the form of audio clips, written comments, photos, and maybe some videos. Bring some great vinyl!

[joshgolden4dwatkins]

Partner Critique

Jill's piece was surprising. Upon watching others go through this bizarre public ritual of hair combing and pulse taking, I couldn't help but feel that it would be intensely awkward to be seated in that fuzzy chair.

I was wrong.

There was a sense of being watched at first, but it quickly went away. I sank into my own head, into a daze of thoughts not at all connected to that little corner of our little art school. The piece succeeded greatly in showing how far a little care goes into putting someone at ease. Jill created a space that, while not separated with walls or divisions of any sort, had a kind of otherness from the room it was encompassed by.

It was surreal waking up to realize that I was still sitting in that fuzzy chair. That the wind was still shifting the water just outside. That 10-20 people had just watched me get my hair combed. It felt completely normal that she should ask for my hair after, not sure why.

Great job.

[joshgolden4dwatkins]

Pre-Critique; Post-Performance

I feel like the piece went over well in class. With some kind of budget, it would have been nice to have a bit of a set or a trunk of props or something.

It kind of weird at parts, and I was beginning to become a bit nervous about where the train of commands was going to lead, but everybody seemed to enjoy themselves for the most part. Working on cleaning up the video a bit and adding subtitles since the audio gets a bit muddy at times, but I'll post it here as soon as it is done.

[joshgolden4dwatkins]

A Change in Plans

So I've changed my project. I didn't have the full costume I needed on Sunday morning, and I feel like that was my last chance before Halloween to pull off the Robin thing and not just get taken for a trick or treater or something.

My new idea is based off of the piece we saw in class...I can never remember her name. But she did the piece where she stood naked in front of the crowd and invited them to interact with her as she passively stood there.

While my idea is based of this, it has changed a lot.

I'm interested in humans controlling other humans. People puppets, so to speak. My piece will be centered around me following commands shouted from the audience. It will be interesting to see what people ask me to do. Will I just stand on stage for 6 minutes? Will people make me do ridiculous and embarrassing things?

The way I dress myself and perform these actions will carry a lot of the weight of what I hope people will discuss in critique. I still have a few things to prepare though, so hopefully I will get to go on Thursday.

[joshgolden4dwatkins]

Costume Crisis

Costume fell through. Pieces of it were missing. Currently attempting to pull something else together. Will keep Tumblr updated.

[joshgolden4dwatkins]

Time and Places

Going to bars over in Hillsboro Village tonight as Robin. And tomorrow morning I'm hitting up Michael's over in Bellevue to do some shopping as Robin. And then Publix.

Hoping to get some good reactions.

[joshgolden4dwatkins]

What do superheroes do on their free time? Or, to be more exact, how do they get their shopping done? Yes, they could go around as their alter-egos and pick up some milk, but what about a quick stop at Publix or the Farmer's Market to grab some tomatoes on the way to the bat cave?

I want to play with this idea. Do some grocery shopping as a superhero. Get some reactions, but interact in character. I won't be a guy dressed as a superhero, I will be that superhero.

[joshgolden4dwatkins]

Post Critique Thoughts

Very happy with the responses I got in class.

I spent so much time working with this character, between story-boarding, animating, and editing, that I hated it. HATED.

I felt like the whole thing was awful. So I expected it to be terribly received. But it wasn’t, so I guess that goes to show that you can’t accurately judge your own work after spending so much time with it.

After having a few days away from it, I watched it again. Hated it less.

Maybe I’ll like it in a week or so.

[joshgolden4dwatkins]

Final edit.

[joshgolden4dwatkins]

Finalizing

Finished editing. The video is finalizing now and then I'll have it posted here. Pretty happy overall with it. Really sick of kneeling in front of a chalkboard though.

It's not perfect, technique-wise, but it was a good learning experience. Definitely more prepared if I ever decide to tackle this medium again.

Here is a transcript of my project statement, which goes into some of the ideas behind the video.

Transformation and Creation

A hand draws a simplistic character. The character, by the simple act of being transformed from nothing, seeks more transformation. It craves change. The hand seeks to change the character to fufill this need. When this fails, the hand begins to transform the world the character inhabits, but the character rebels, seeking to drive its own creative needs. Its need to transform itself and the world. The world the character inhabits suddenly begins to change on its own accord, without prompting from the creator. Seeking to restore its own importance in the act of creation, the hand ends the character.

My short explores the relationship between creator and creation, especially what happens when the creation is sentient, has a life and needs and wants all its own. Can transformation come from oneself, or does change have to be triggered by external forces. And what happens when a creation begins to evolve beyond the original intentions of the creator? How should the creator respond?

I also attempted to use my limited animation skills to bring up a mild critique of creators in general. What if they are limited in their imagination, their skill? If a simplistic “hand” creates a simplistic, even childish, world, is that world any less meaningful than the world created by the truly skilled. If the same care is given, should the impact of the final product be any less is drawn by a child, or the artistic equivalent of one?

[joshgolden4dwatkins]

Last Leg

After a difficult and busy weekend, I finally have the ending storyboarded! Now to animate it, do the titles, throw it together and do the audio edit. And the project statement. All by Thursday.

#nevergoingtosleepagain