my first '10 thing'

1) 'REDRUM' - above a urinal, English building, but the R's were the wrong way so it wouldn't read right in a mirror
2) While filming on the Quad, amidst the choas and scramble, in the cold, stood a young guy playing hacky sack by himself. It calmed and soothed me b/c I really needed a break right then with 7 hrs of class to go.
3)4th and Healey - @ least 12 pumpkins smashed in a block span before it was even Halloween
4)4th and Green - Big Brown wig amongst a bed of dying flowers
5)Group of three people, walking in unison, all holding hands... i dont get it
6)An email -> You Vote, Free Starbucks... sooo progressive
7)Two squirrels mating... pause as we walk by... return to the deed when I'm @ a distance
8)Halloween - 3 Dads walk down green street, all decked out in 'Hater's Ball' full-out pimp suits
9)Construction site - 1 digging, 6(!) watching... classic
10)A car w/ a 'I have a son in the Marines' and 'Obama '08' bumper stickers (i love it)

From Aaron:

1. Do you think it's more important to collaborate or to compete in the realm of the arts?

This question is loaded. Both are extremely important. The readings today discuss that collaboration is actually competition, that we compete while collaborating to make our works progress, to make them as good and creative as possible. It is through this competition that we push each other, essentially trying to better the last one's work, not to defeat them but to progress the work towards an ultimate goal. The realm of arts is always in play, in pure competition or collaboration. Both are of equal importance and each works together to accomplish a greater good with the goal of the work.

Questions on Collaboration

1)  What have been some successes and failures of co-authorship in the past for you?  What difficulties/successes have you had with the video project so far in this aspect?

2) Imagine you sit in front of a board of authors, all of whom worked on the same piece you mean to inquire upon.  Do you feel that when you ask a question whoever answers is the most knowledgeable on that topic?  Or would you expect to hear a response from all the authors, since they all comprised this work?  Basically, would you expect a clear line between what each is versed at or what each studied, or do you think they all would have comprehensive knowledge?

3) Interview question:  Where in your life have you found that a collaboration was necessary to complete a task?  How did you accomplish this goal with others, and what skill sets did you call upon to do so?

From Aaron...

2. When interviewing a subject, when do you think it's better to have previously crafted questions? What about asking questions when 'shooting from the hip?'

I feel that interviewing is essential to any documentary, and you must have previously crafted questions to ask pretty much everyone,. so long as they apply to them. This is necessary to be able to build your video around certain topic(s), and have a foundation from where your video is pointed, essentially a purpose. After such questions it is necessary to have follow-ups, the questions from the hip, in order to further each person you interview and build character around them, so that you can edit them correctly into your narration or the storyline of your video. So the question of when it is better is hard to say, depending on the style of documentary. If it is of a protest or anything of that sense, from the hip may help, so that you can play along with the situation and gage each question depending on whats happening around you.

Hampe reading (s?)

Hampe Questions:

1) Hampe says 'editing is at the heart of documentary.' Since editing is obvious done post-shooting, how does this separation take away from a actual depiction of reality? Or could this editing enhance it?

2) How does one find the confidence in a documentarian to trust what they are showing as a tru documentary? What can one do to instill this trust into his audience, or is this purely a gut feeling or something based on reputation, as popular documentarians are today?

3) What difficulties do you feel you will encounter with the video project between what you intend to shoot, and what you actually shoot and can use to edit? How does this differ from the audio project

This is Hollywood playing in on the current election. As much as I would like to think that they shouldn't they have influence, so it is up to them if they want to use it or not. I know I would, so I can't get to upset about it. This video has been viewed over 6,000,000 times, which shows how far about 45 minutes can go, so long as it is put together well. I think this is a testiment to an old proverb, 'Hot blond plus funny script = youtube gold' OK, I guess its not a proverb, but the Paris Hilton video was the same kinda thing and she had 175 million in week. It's really amazing how different YouTube has made our world (well, at least mine)

See more Hayden Panettiere videos at Funny or Die

And a funny play on everything by Hollywood again....

(I think they have to much time on their hands)

See more Natalie Portman videos at Funny or Die

Of all of the projects that we have done or will be doing in this class, this audio project is what worried me the most. Simply put, I had no idea what I was doing going into this project, nor had I ever played around with audio before. But thanks to a Mac at home and some extra free time, I was able to play around with GarageBand prior to starting my project. I found that this ‘playing’ process was essential to my later progress with the assignment, since I was able to incorporate what I had heard earlier and write my script around it. The whole idea of a time warp came from the discovery of those sound effects, and I simply incorporated it with the weather. This was the greatest difficulty was finding which way I wanted the project to go, especially because I combined with Eric. This made the project a lot more fun, but also more frustrating since we were forced to negotiate and compromise with what to put in rather than just doing as we choose. However, this made the project feel more like an actual news story, since a production team would have to take a similar path and process to create this piece.

As Eric and I progressed through the assignment, we really started with only one minute planned. After recording this we realized we could really go anywhere, so we began to brainstorm different ways we could take it. We went through helicopter crashes, outdoor skyscraper forecasts, and finally time travel. Once this was decided the writing process began. This is where the real negotiation began. As we scripted different characters we were forced to demonstrate each in order to prove the worth and hilarity of this newly developed voice. This is where I feel the ‘writing’ process took place. We had to go with our guts on a lot of this, and ad libbing played a big part, which also led to it being funnier than a straight script since it would come out more natural. But this became difficult when we both wanted certain characters that would send it a certain way. In the end, we both did what we didn't originally want to do, but what we soon found out was the best way to take the project. It was this compromise, fluid-ness, and adaptability of the project that really made the entire process very worthwhile. To be honest, I feel that other students may have missed out on this opportunity. I feel that any industry involving audio or video is a team effort, even if it ends up with just one person on screen or in the sound booth, there is still someone holding the camera or pushing record. If Eric and I had not worked together, I feel that both of our projects would have been less effective (and a lot less funny). Overall, I am very pleased I was able to share this process with Vern and the entire class, because unedited and real reactions are hard to come by, but having the class there gives you a real feel for how well you completed your work. All in all, this has been one of the more enjoyable projects of my college education.