Final Shoot:

My group (group C) worked towards a round table discussion about health on Shepherd's campus. We narrowed the topic to include three basic sections; what is being taught in the health classes on this campus, what healthy eating choices are available at Shepherd, and finally what can be done to improve.

This did not, on it's face, sound like a controversial topic.

We were greeted, however, with much difficulty as we selected and approached guests.

I first approached the instructor who runs the human performance lab. He seemed enthusiastic and was on board with the project. Unfortunately due to scheduling conflicts he informed me that he would not be able to attend the shoot. I contacted several other GSPE instructors; many did not respond, many were hesitant. In the final hour I was able to lock down a guest, a GSPE instructor who was very generous and trusting of this project.

As much difficulty as I faced finding a faculty member able and willing to come into the studio, my fellow group members faced even more hardship. In short, Shepherd's dining services found our topic to be confrontational (despite eager assurances that we did not mean to host a debate, just a simple discussion) and declined our invitation into the studio.

Additionally group members had trouble finding students willing to get in front of the camera.

We all worked tirelessly, putting on our very best and convincing faces.

Today, in the studio, we will have one student guest and the GSPE instructor that I rallied to the cause. We have a clear cut time schedule, our discussion topics prepared and printed. We are hoping for less hardship in the actual studio than we faced in preparing for this shoot.

I plan to either direct or technical direct in the studio today.

Revision Process:

After the midway checkpoint with my advisor and additional department directors I was determined to be on track, with few revisions to be made. The principal of which was to pen all hand-drawn pencil panels, rescan them and replace them into the final pages. The goal being to thicken the lines and create a less washed out appearance. Initially I had thought I wanted my panels to be light, sketchy, erratic. In practice this looked poorly put together and did not reflect the hours of tedious work I had put into the project. In this revision process the lines were given more density, giving the over page a more professional and cohesive feel:

Where previously pages included scans of this quality:

The former makes for a much crisper image. I decided, instead, to convey the frantic-ness, the slips of sanity by my protagonist, through my font. Initially I had elected to use Comic Life's default font, something very thin which resembled Arial. The finished product using something more sketchy, a thicker lined font. The final feel then is a sort of disconnect between what is being seen (through image) and what is being said (through text). This may seem to be paradoxical, a sort of breach of the fourth wall, but it is absolutely intentional. The tone of a postmodernist text (which I take inspiration from in this project) is one of distrust; I intend for my audience to feel uneasy, wary of my authorial voice, to be cognisant of the work as a fiction, as unreal. 

I am able to achieve this through careful planning. I can use a sharper image and simultaneously make my readership feel Simon's anxiety pulsing from the page. 

Things for free:

When looking for free editing software for the scans of my sketches I came across Pixlr. Pixlr, like other free online photo editing software (Picnik, FotoFlexer, LunaPic) allows you to upload a photograph from your computer (some sites let you import photos from Facebook or Flickr, etc) and edit them. I decided to use this software because it was the most user friendly that I tested and allowed me to add color to my photos. For the sections of my graphic novel which are fantasy I've decided to add color (muted, but color nonetheless) to contrast with the grayscale of Simon's world.

These photos come from the 17th page of my graphic novel. I'll include one of Simon, which has no color, and two of Ruby (one with the original color, and another with the final muted effect). I used Pixlr to edit all of these photos and will continue to use Pixlr, perhaps adding photoshop effects at a later date:

 This is the first panel of page 17.

Here is the second panel. Originally I just added the colors that I thought were most fitting. However, after fiddling around with some of Pixlr's effects I found one I rather liked called "Old Photo":

I liked the way that this effect added color to the panel but didn't overpower it. I want there to be differentiation between reality and fiction in my piece but I don't want those lines to be so distinct. After all, Simon himself is struggling with those boundaries so that reader should feel them blurring ever so slightly as well.

Shoot participation; Rolling with the punches:

(Photo Credit: snow0810)

Over the course of our two day commercial shoot for Shepherd's writing center I took on several different jobs. Initially (during day one) I stayed in the booth and observed. I have had trouble wrapping my mind around the audio booth; figuring out what all of the switches on the board do has proven as difficult for me as simplifying my understanding of sound as a concept (which is qualitative) to sound as physical waves. I watched peers direct, technical direct, and operate the sound board. I did a lot of listening the first day, to both our client/director (the writing center) and to students and our instructor. It was interesting to see how ideas for the commercial clashed, how separate concepts became melded together.

I was much more hands on during the second day of shooting. I operated a camera; this mostly consisted of setting up the shot (listening to the director, taking his direction) and then holding the camera in place. I assisted with audio, placing mics on talent, and was floor manager (relayed messages from the booth to the set) for one go-round.

While my second day of shooting was much more active I feel that I was actively learning both days. My second day I expanded my "techie" knowledge. I became more comfortable doning a headset, more willing to raise my own voice and give direction. I started to become comfortable with the camera. I learned that talent do not want you to touch them which makes placing a mic a more complicated task than it seems it would be.  My first day of shooting found me adjusting to the whole process. I have always envisioned filming being more set in stone, harder to change. Nothing, I discovered, is fixed. The entire process is this really cool fluid thing that requires more input than any other creative medium I have encountered. Sitting down to write a short story isn't like this. I found it both jarring and fascinating to be a part of. Additionally the ability to just keep going despite mistake was something I hadn't considered. We were working with non-actors, genuine writing center employees and affiliates, and had the unique challenge of shooting them. We set up a white board with the script written on it, ideally so that they could read a few lines then turn to the camera and recite them. The process was meant to repeat in that fashion, leaving us the room to edit and fit together a commercial that would appear to be rehearsed. Naturally the board became a crutch and we noticed more and more our talent's eyes drifting toward it rendering the footage virtually un-editable. So on the second day of shooting we removed the board entirely. We had someone feed the talent their lines from a position beside the camera. We were put in a positon where we had to problem solve without going out and buying some "magic fix-it"or taking weeks to brainstorm a new strategy.

What I took away from the experience was, above all, the need to be flexible in the study. Studio production puts you in a collaborative environment where you are never (regardless of the job that you hold) totally in control. You have to learn to roll with the punches.

Modules, modules, modules:

For my Drupal website I will be making a basic resume site, including my portfolio, my contact information, and my capstone research and final project. 

I've been having difficulty going through Drupal's list of modules. I'm just not sure what I need. I don't need anything fancy; a shopping chart, Facebook likes or links. I've compiled a list of options, below, to consider during the development process:

• Shadowbox : This feature highlights photos, bringing them into the foreground much like Facebook's "Image Viewer". This could be a nice way to show the pages of my capstone project. 
• Guestbook : I'm not sure if this would be a stretch (or maybe even unreasonable or inappropriate) but I could have a guestbook for "references" of previous employers, instructors in this area. This would give people who knew me a place to brag a little, if they felt it deserved, and if they didn't have anything nice to say I would have the power to delete it. 
• Bibliography Module : This would be the perfect format for my capstone research. 

Progress:

Progress is slow but steady.

I have completely finished storyboarding the project but actual sketching of panels is proving consistently baffling. The option of stylizing my own sketches in Photoshop has been shown to me - a neat little trick where I can create more depth, add color, or alter my sketches in Photoshop. I look forward to exploring this venue further as more of my sketches are completed.

I have, however, found a sonnet of which I'm fond that I think I will use (properly cited, of course) for the last page of my novel. It's a sonnet by John Keats which explores his fears (and more universally, any artist's fears) of dying before reaching his own artistic potential. While I have always harbored a crush for Keats and his work I never really until I re-stumbled upon his sonnet "When I Have Fears that I May Cease to Be" that I realized I had, in part, modeled my protagonist after him.

(Photo Credit: Phil Sellens)

Simon, my protagonist, has a driving need to finish his novel before the end of the world, more personally his own world. Keats lived a life sprinkled by tragedy and by the time this sonnet was written knew that his own short life was coming to its end. Keats died at the age of 25 of the very disease that ravaged his mother and his brother. What has always fascinated me about Keats (and this hinges and is limited to, I understand, of my own interpretation of his poetry) was his hope, his sentimentality, his grounded-ness. I am moved throughout his poetry by the tenderness of his spirit, by the wonder through which he approaches life. Keats loved living, despite his fears and perhaps because of them. Keats cherished, revled in simple everyday beauty. 

Simon, my novel's main character, is not yet able to appreciate the world as it is. By the end of the story we find Simon transformed, still afraid but hopeful. We find a little bit of Keats in him. 

I realize that that is the story I wanted to tell all along. I thought I wanted to write something about the basic goodness in life, but really I just wanted to write about one man's struggle to see that. About my own struggle to see that. 

Writing Center Shoot:

This week we are shooting a commercial for the University Writing Center, a group of students working out of the library's basement who edit papers for their peers and try to instill better writing in our campuses students. 


We plan to shoot the commercial against a black curtain, the subjects facing away from the camera to recite their lines. These shots will be interspersed with shots of a "title card" which will ask a "student" question about the Writing Center.


The biggest hurdle in dealing with a shoot like this is that we won't be dealing with actors, we'll be working with people. Everyday people who aren't practiced in making what is fake (a scripted conversation) look like what is real (an actual conversation). The pros of this type of commercial (the black background with our subjects looking off camera) are that it masks the awkwardness of non-actors, it is also simple and not difficult to edit.


But I'm not quite sure it conveys the tone of our message properly. 

What's great about the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" commercials is that they convey information lightly and simply but clearly. The feel of the commercial is upbeat. This commercial doesn't talk down to it's viewers but it does help viewers understand the key differences between these products. 


And, to top it all off, it's a studio shoot - which means it's doable for our class. Pedagogically it offers us the same reward as the other shoot would; simply, we'll learn the same stuff. I think the darkness of the shoot that we are doing is inappropriate for the subject matter - it almost takes itself too seriously. Though it would be difficult for our non-actor actors to appear as relaxed and natural as the actors in this commercial I think that this type of set up would be the most fitting way to have a discussion about the writing center. The writing center wants to get their basic information out - this would be the perfect way to do that.


Or there is this route:

This commercial is very similar in that it shows two people just talking. This video however uses stylizied cuts to keep the viewer from being bored by sitting and watching two people just standing and talking. It gets the message across - that eHarmony works - but the viewer isn't subjected to the drone of some non-actor (which supposedly these two people are) sitting in a too serious setting,looking too serious.


My biggest reservation about the shoot we are scheduled to shoot is how uncomfortable we will be making the very people we should be putting at ease. Their script recitations should sound natural and sincere and instead of letting them be expressive we are sitting them in a chair, facing them to the wall, and lighting them against a dreary black curtain. 


If it were me I'd freak and I suspect the people who walk into our studio on Thursday will as well. It may be a harsh judgement but I think our proposed shoot goes against everything that the writing center would want to represent. 

The merits of using photography vs. hand drawn comics:

As the deadline for the project review rapidly approaches I am beginning to rethink my game-plan. I've been practicing sketching and not gaining as much headway as I'd like. It is in this instance that my perfectionism is a detriment. I don't want "Clumsy" I want "All Star Superman".

(Photo Credit: PopCultureGeek.com)

(Frank Quitely's work is just so lovely.) 

I've been mulling over the merits of using photography for my "realistic" sections of my graphic novel and then using sketches for my more fantastic sections. On the one hand it would help the reader differentiate between what is "real" and what is "fiction". On the other hand that makes the difference less subtle than I'd like for it to be. 

While I understand that the art should be a reflection of theme at the same time I don't want the art to lift up my sleeves and bare all of my tricks. For now I will continue to sketch and only use photography as a last resort. 

Though, of course, it remains a viable option.

Adapting to the Studio:

After spending some time sampling the available studio positions - ranging from teleprompter assistant, to host, to camera operator, to director - I'm shocked to admit that directing was my favorite responsibility.

I'm an admitted control freak but also a shy one who is not accustomed to voicing her opinons. I suspected that my favorite positions would include those which would allow me invisibility - I assumed I would be most comfortable assisting, or technical directing. I thought I was better at taking direction than giving it.

I was blown away by how exhilarating it was to be the only voice coming through on my headset. "Calling shots" was the ultimate high - it was thrilling to be, for once, in charge.

I donned the headset, initially unsure. After the first moments of hesitance and staring fixedly into the monitors I started to loosen up - which, I can assure, is a minor miracle in itself. I watched the monitor's closely, calling the shots I found most appealing to my camera people, anticipating the flow of conversation and letting my technical director know when to take the shots I had set up.

Communication was a little rocky, not knowing the technical terms for calling and taking shots was a disadvantage. There were moments when I was unintentionally misleading and some shots I took occurred as a camera person was zooming in or out. Now that I am more aware of the proper lingo and more comfortable being "the boss" I think a second try would go more smoothly.

I learned, in summation, more about myself than I did about directing as an artform. While I did learn some helpful jargon I discovered that I am capable, and even enjoy, being in charge of a creative endeavor. What I had imagined to be so scary and unattainable had in fact been as easy as knowing what I wanted and speaking up about it.

The Postmodernist Template

(Photo Credit: theopie)

It's significant to note that I approach this Capstone project under the thrall of David Foster Wallace. Last summer I read Wallace's most notable work "Infinite Jest", a 1,079 page postmodernist masterpiece featured in the Time's 100 Best Novels. It might be trite to say that this book changed my life and unnecessary in an academic blog such as this. But it's true. Wallace changed my entire outlook on living, on what it is to be human, on how I plan to navigate my life in a way that means something. It's with these changes that I approach this Capstone, not to model after Wallace, not to use his body of work as a template for my own, but rather to emulate his tenacious dedication to postmodernists themes.

In order to do that, naturally, it's necessary for me to get a handle on postmodernism as a theory, a disciple.  This blog seeks to begin that process.

Postmodernism (which I apply here strictly to literature), like an concept or movement, encompasses a vast arrary of qualitlies which are neither deifinitive or operate in congruence with one another. The postmodernist period begins sometime after the second world war and has not yet reached it's endpoint. Several traits of the postmodernist work include (but are not limited to):

• Irony, Black Humor
• Pastiche
• Intertextuality
• Meta-Fiction
• Temporal Distortion (definited as fragmentation, or a nonlinear narrative. For example Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five" employs this tactic.)
• Technoculture and hyperrealism
• Paranoia
• Maximalism
• Minimalism
• and magical realism

(list gathered from http://postmodernblog.tumblr.com/)

In my graphic novel I will be using paranoia, magical realism, and meta fiction.

In my next post I will delve further into this "postmodernist template" and the techniques that I will use to create my capstone.



The Who, What, When, Where and Why of CMS:

A CMS or "content management system" is, most simply, a system which manages a collaborative enterprise. In an internet based medium the CMS format is often used to create websites which host a community of web developers that assist internet users in creating and customizing websites. Joomla, Drupal and Wordpress are popular examples of these types of sites, each of which are open source and cost little to nothing for users to utilize. Many of these sites, Wordpress especially, have the tendency to clothe themselves as simple blogging tools but more and more as these websites continue to improve larger business are using these CMS sites to launch their own company websites.  Sarah Gooding sums it up best when she says "There’s no need to re-invent the wheel" in her article 6 Reasons Big Companies Need WordPress. She goes further to list six reasons (of which I chose the top three) why Wordpress (or more broadly any CMS site) benefit larger companies:

• Open source means big savings; no licensing fees and oodles of  free stylish templates mean that the company is putting less money into their website development, and saving money is always a good thing.
• Usability; using a CMS to create a website is very different from creating a website from scratch. These websites are made to be user friendly, and Wordpress specifically is so simplistic that it requires absolutely no coding knowledge to be able to use.
• Massive developer community; each CMS website is comprised of a large developer community who are constantly tweaking and improving the coding know-how available to the general user. Troubleshooting with a CMS is incredibly easy, visit a forum or check a blog and answers to any problem will be available.

Kat Liendgens parallels these reasons in her article Why Wordpress Can Be a Great CMS for Business while including that the availability of plug-ins and the reduced design time provided by CMS sites is particularly useful for businesses.

It's important to have an internet presence for businesses, some would argue necessary for survival. But getting up online doesn't have to be the twelve labors. CMS sites are out there to make it easier, to make it better. Businesses can sleep more soundly at night knowing that CMS sites are awake and getting better and better every minute.

multi cam shooting, from the top!

After a series of initial introductory lectures we finally got our feet wet in Studio Production. Of course, after viewing this Hamish Hamilton video I had imagined it would be a little bit more glamorous. 

The truth is that (through my newly acquired and incredibly limited understanding of how multi-cam studio production works) things are not quite so exhilarating when one is shooting a round table discussion show. The key differences that I noted (from this video specifically) and my experience were as follows:

• Genre controls your ability to stylize your program; to put it simply, a concert allows more freedom for the director to stylize his shots, to be innovative and creative, whereas a talk show or round table show follows a format which mandates the virtual invisibility of the director preventing him or her from making flashy cuts and using highly stylized techniques. This doesn't make one better than the other, they are simply different types of genres which have different rules. 
• Noise level; in Hamilton's control room noise is at a high level. In our control room the Director's voice is clear but not loud and the only noise heard. The environments are completely different because the subjects being filmed are at completely separate ends of the spectrum. 

Both situations require a confident leader and the ability of a team to be cohesive and quick to respond to mistakes, malfunctions, or meltdowns. The entire experience, whether a booming U2 show or a college campus round table, is exciting in it's potential for disaster.

I learned, most of all, that this high stress environment is not for me. As much as I enjoyed the simplicity in technical directing I doubt this is a career path I could follow.

preliminary sketches....

Last Thursday I met up with a fellow Capstoner (who graphic design chops) to have a serious sketching session. I practiced my main character's face to try and find one that I liked and could use as a template for further sketches.

Here is my "sad Simon" :

And this is my "less sad Simon" :

I've been working primarily on Simon this week and trying to master profiles (which are much harder than I had imagined). This week when I meet up with my sketch partner again I think I'll focus on Ruby and Ma, the other two human characters.

research, take one:

Today I read Jeffrey Brown's "Clumsy" after a meeting with my director which inspired me to steer clear of the collaboration train.

(credit: Wolf Gang)

I was apprehensive to illustrate my novel, thinking myself more of an idea woman than a talented artsy type. "Clumsy" was crudely drawn but I think it's doodle-y images made the work all the more endearing. I found myself riveted. Though the novel is autobiographical (as is "Blankets") I found the candor with which Brown dealt with uneasy subject matter to be brave and refreshing. I think it's strength was in it's simplicity. I've been constructing details story arcs and mapping out each moment from exposition to conclusion for my piece. What I so admired about "Clumsy" was how it paid little mind to chronology and displayed moments of insignificance next to very important moments. The narrative jumped around but felt genuine, it felt like life and a little like madness. I'm considering incorporating this style into my novel. 

As much as I love to be the master planner, as much as I'd like to have an extremely tight narrative I don't think it'd hurt to be a little more fluid.

I've started reading Logiccomix (philosophical metafiction, perfect research) and anticipate reading Asterios Polyp.

In other news, I've purchased a sketchbook and starting working on Simon (my protagonist) and Ruby (his muse). 

I finished Grant Morrison's "Supergods" and can't wait to compile the research I've gathered from his book as well as my EPSCOhost articles in next week's blog. As for this week, sketching will continue and I've got a lot of reading to do.

capstone! capstone! capstone!

For the culmination of my Shepherd Communications career I've decided to best showcase my abilities by creating a short graphic novel.

I've already envisioned creating something as massive as Craig Thompson's "Blankets". First on the list of things to learn is to tone down my expectations and focus on my deliverables.

(Credit: graphic novelty: 

this is a scene from blankets, a really lovely graphic novel!)

The trouble is I've never made a graphic novel from start to finish. I've never even opened Comic Life. I have a good deal of learning ahead of me in this final semester.

More than anything stylistic, I think, I need to learn how to effectively tell a story in the comic medium. I've written poetry, short fiction, even longer prose but I understand that every medium is different and the storytelling skills required are not the same for every type of fiction. In the same way that a play differs vastly from a a poem (though each may be produced using the same consonants and vowels) the graphic novel is an entirely different beast than any I have encountered. I look forward to learning to navigate the panels with my words - this is the area I most hope to gain understanding in. While I have interest in learning the technological tools that will assist me in making my own comic, it is the ability to make a compelling comic book story that most excites me.

Additionally, of course, I'll need to learn Comic Life. I may need to learn some basic sketching (if I can't find an artist to collaborate with). My writing can always be improved (and I hope to improve it through this Capstone process). I'll need to become better with time management (a phrase which makes my skin crawl but one I'll need to become comfortable with considering my full course load, part time job and extracurricular activities).

It'll be a big semester but I feel prepared. After learning about archetypes and the phenomena of language throughout my Shepherd career I look forward to sharing something really spectacular as my farewell to undergrad.