-20.4-

I will blog about many things, including our Waiting for Godot trip, but for now I'll show this:

My Mom originally showed me this and explained some of the context of the authors, especially how Joyce loves to play with words (She also said that Joyce was a quiet man, and wouldn't act like this at all.)
Today, after STAC when we were watching the clips of Beckett plays, I now get that the close-up of Beckett's lips is referencing his play "Not I!

-19.4-

On channel 13 they are showing a program, "Broadway Shows: A Jewish Legacy."

At one point, the people on the show were talking about how the making of "Fiddler on the Roof." The writers were having trouble making the show more relatable. They asked a director for help, and he kept asking the writers, "What is the show about?" The writers kept describing the plot, until one guy said "Tradition!" The director approved.
From this snippet, I was reminded of our discussion in STAC regarding what a piece "is," and what a piece is "about." It's funny how sometimes it's hard to see what an art piece is "about," even in the professional world.

-18.4-

Over the weekend, I took a tour of Denison (a small, liberal arts college in Ohio), and I must say...if you want to convince me to go to your college, just introduce me to the cinema house (And have a good bio program, small classes, band, and low cost that also helps!)
I've never visited the film building on a college tour (sadly, most of the college tours opted to show the football field instead of the art buldings) and the first thing I saw was a huge (about my chest height), old-fashioned, camera from the early movies. It got me excited, because I've only seen those in "The Artist," and "Hugo."

It looked something like this

Although the camera was only for display, a film major showed me some old technology that still was in use.
Like the photography class in Herricks, the Denison film class starts with the basics before going digital: they shoot and develop film with traditional techniques.
I haven't paid much attention to traditional film making, but seeing all of the different machines people had to use gave me a new appreciation for how quickly we are able to shoot and edit film today! For example, the film major took me to a room where an old film editor was. She gave a brief overview of the process, and mentioned how hard adding sound was to the movies (Most graduates used the machine for silent films, because adding sound was that hard!)
Although I'll probably stick with digital, it was fascinating to see how people had to film in the older days.

http://denison.edu/get-to-know-denison/cinema-house

-17.4-

A few weeks ago I attended the Gold Cost Film Festival's "Great Shorts 1."
I attended "Great Shorts 2" last year, and was looking forward to another great viewing of short films, and I was disappointed.

...Ok, I was only a little disappointed, but that was because there weren't any animated shorts (last year I remember seeing a few really creative ones.)

The shorts had extremely interesting concepts, many of them addressing modern issues. All of the films were realistic, and in a modern setting. I'll do a one-sentence summary and small, three-sentence review since there were a lot of shorts:

THE COME UP: A screen writer's quirky scam in order to get the funds to execute his film.
I wasn't terribly impressed with the plot until the end. The short was a chase scene, which cutely utilized film sets and movie props as weapons, but it didn't seem too original. At the end there was a clever plot twist (the chaser turned out to be the real thief), and this slightly redeemed the short.

THE EXCHANGE: In a world where people trade shares of themselves, an ex-girlfriend takes revenge.
The concept of this film was interesting, but the characters annoyed me; both main characters seemed not to have any redeeming features (the guy only cared about himself, and the ex was very nasty). The end, however, was amusing when the ex bought her boyfriend. I like how she flipped his break-up line "it's not personal, it's business" into "it's not business, it's personal."

DRONE: A military drone operator's morning routine.
The acting and tone of the film was excellent. The film seemed so surreal with the setting of a drone operator working alone in an office  contrasted with the setting of his target in a desert thousands of miles away. The acting of the operator was at its peak the moment the drone dropped the bomb; it seemed like a video game, but when the operator started crying you realized the gravity of the situation.

FIRST THE WORST: Two young children debate who has the worst life.
This short was too short. The concept was cute, and the acting from the two kids was amazing. I loved the electricity between them when they were arguing over who had the worst life.

POSTMODERN TIMES: A humorous look at the modern lifestyle of increasingly-omnipresent technology.
I haven't seen the Charlie Chaplin film this short was based off of, and I'd like to. A well-done satire on modern technology...I loved the scene where the woman goes to work in her home office, and has to deal with multiple video chats and telephone calls. The scene where the power goes out, and the woman and her neighbor meet each other in real life was hilarious, yet painful (both were only dressed from the hips-up, since that's the only part visible in webcams.)

THE AUDITION: A short satire about how cut-throat the auditioning process is.
Exaggeration really makes this movie. I really like how the movie comes in a circle, beginning with the woman auditioning as "clipboard woman," progressing into the woman vomiting on command, then ending with the woman introducing herself as "clipboard woman" before leaving. It was hard to watch, but the message was clear.

SEPARATE WE COME, SEPARATE WE GO: A short about a girl and a friendly grown-up bonding.
One of the darker films in the short, the acting in this movie was very good. One of my favorite lines from the whole day was something along the lines of, "A boy in my class wanted to sail to France in a frying pan so he'd be kept warm."The transition from growing up fast, to momentarily regaining innocence was done well.

TIME FREAK: An inventor becomes caught up in the minutiae of daily life...and time traveling.
This short gave time travel a fresh light, which I respect, and I loved the inclusion of humor (the seriousness of the situation becomes insidious with the movie being mainly humorous). The acting was great, the actor of time traveller character really got across the transition from a slightly nerdy guy, to an OCD mad scientist. The ending came up a little short, however, because the character of the friend is now stuck in the past since he convinces his friend to not build a time machine (but I suppose it's believable, since he did make a snap judgement.)

SUDDEN DEATH!: Two scientists must battle a disease that causes sudden singing and dancing, while dealing with their true feelings of affection.
This film was hilarious in that it was a mock musical (it vaguely reminded me of Dr. Horrible), however the plot was a little confusing. The film felt a little long at times, too. I liked at the end the cast broke off into their ordinary lives before finishing the last line of the song...the sudden jump into reality made the film even more humorous!
---
After the shorts, there was a short discussion with the lady who chose all of the films (there was going to be a Q&A with the directors, but no one showed up). Apparently, anyone can submit shorts! ...Could this be a future project for STAC?

-16.4-

I believe the Shakespeare workshop, taught by James III, was my first pure acting workshop in STAC. I enjoyed it, but felt a little shy because I'm not usually an 'acting' person.

As I discussed when writing about the Shakespeare documentaries, Shakespeare IS about debating the meaning of the work, and presenting your results on stage, but it's also about making sure the audience can see your actions (it's also about getting used to speaking in iambic pentameter.)

During this workshop, we mainly focused on making our actions big (as if people in another room had to see us present Shakespeare.)
Before the workshop, we all chose a sonnet (it couldn't be the more popular sonnets). I chose sonnet LXV (65) because I thought the rhythm of the words was calming.
After warming up and introducing ourselves, we reviewed how the iambic pentameter sounds, then read the first line of our sonnets in this way. For some, breaking down the syllables was a bit harder than others, but we all managed to say our lines smoothly.
Next, we focused on action. We chose words in the sonnet that stood out to us, then thought about actions that suited each word. When comfortable, we silently performed the actions, then added sound effects to the action.
I was used to focusing on action, rather than getting into the mind-frame, from Luke's acting advice, but yesterday was different since we had a physical "script" to act from.
Acting individual words out of context seemed a little strange to me, but when people started to present their sonnet to the group; the actions fit the meaning of the sonnet!
After the initial performance, James started to go over making movements bigger (be big because you can always pull back if needed), and adding in context. For example, Brian's sonnet was directed towards a love intrest, so James had one of the girls stand next to him, and the rest of the guys stand up, so Brian had actual people to refer to while acting. Since many people had sonnets that involved antithesis, James encouraged them to emphasize the differences in order to get the meaning across even clearer.

When I went, I was nervous, but I tried to speak clearly and with the iambic pentameter in mind (people before me had some trouble with destressing words commonly stressed. The night before I didn't have time to go over the meaning of the sonnet, so I acted blindly. It went all right, and after we discussed the meaning of the sonnet (although time erodes everything, I hope my love for you in this letter withstands time). Without meaning to, I emphasized the meaning of "rocks impregnable"by pausing before doing my action for rock (James said the pause interrupted the rhythm, showing how even the words were stopped by the strength of the metaphorical stone.)

After I went, we ran out of time, so we recapped what we went over. While recapping, I began to think about how hard acting Shakespeare is. There are many ways of approaching it, and it's easy to get caught up in your approach to acting. However, when it was my turn, almost everything went blank. I suppose in the end it's as Charlie Parker says: "Then you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail."

-15.4-

Part 2:

While staying at a family friend's house in Seattle, I watched two Shakespeare documentaries.

Henry IV/V:

I watched henry IV/V documentary in Seattle to make up for missing the airing of the actual Henry IV (pt 2), and I loved it.

The film gave great context for both plot and film techniques (the fact that Jeremy Irons narrated the film was a plus, too!). It talked about the writing behind the play, and filming behind the scenes bits of the Hollow Crown. (It amazed me to see how much background noise there was before editing.)

The film introduced some interesting creative concepts. For example, Shakespeare broke a STAC rule by having a disclaimer at the beginning of Henry V - He apologized for not being able to have many set changes, so the audience would have to use their imagination for when scenes changed to more ambitious settings!

...Conversely, Shakespeare followed a STAC rule by stealing the French Bishop's speech.

The ardour of the Shakespearian researchers and actors fascinated me. I have mixed feelings about Shakespeare, but seeing these people talk so enthusiastically about Shakespeare made me enjoy the documentary even more. I found Shakespearian acting very interesting...In a way, the actors are physical scholars - they debate the meaning of the plays academically, then put their collective interpretation on stage to the judgment of the audience. The age of the play also put into context English history with American history. The play happened hundreds of years before Shakespeare's time, and Shakespeare was hundreds of years before the Revolutionary War was even fought!

The last scene of the documentary addressed the theme of how futile war is. In Henry V, the poor fight the battles of the king, and take enormous losses; France is conquered, then in the next generation everything gained is lost. "Have we really moved on?" Mr. Irons asks, as he walks through an Arlington-like grave in France.

Although a bit off-topic from the plays, I thought this message was very powerful. It really connected Shakespeare to the world at large.

Richard II:

I went in reverse order, since Richard II, Henry IV, and Henry V are a trilogy, and I slightly regret doing that, since Richard II gave even greater context to the Henry IV/V documentary.

I was fascinated before with the contrasting appearance of the three kings, especially the pure look of Richard II, and the documentary provided me with the explanation of Richard II's, which made me even more interested in this elusive character.

The documentary portrays Richard II as a king who believed he was actually from God. The director chose to have Richard behave as if he was a saint, as if he was above humanity. From the few clips I have seen from Richard II, I must say that the Mr. Whishaw pulled the character off excellently! An added bonus is that Mr. Whishaw acted in Cloud Atlas, a STAC film from last year! His character as Richard II seems to be quite a contrast with the composer character from Cloud Atlas...

I do admit, the second half of the documentary was a bit drier, but I found the introspection into the King's character most interesting. As I've said, I loved both of the documentaries, and I really must watch the Hollow Crown!

-14.4-

It's been a while, but when I went college visiting to Seattle last month, I added a lot to my library. I experienced my first overnight stay at a college, and I remembered how much I loved the climate, and the nice blend between urban and natural beauty Seattle has to offer.

I was also exposed to very interesting TED talks, and Shakespeare documentaries on the plane, and during my stay.

Part 1
TED talks:
On the ride to and from Seattle,

TED: Beyond Looks
This short talk provided an interesting look into the lives of models. The model here talked about how she thought it was so odd how girls want to have an occupation where they just need to look pretty, instead of having an occupation where they could be a "ninja cardio-thoracic surgeon poet."

TED: Fashion Lesson
This fashion designer went into the culture of fashion, and how their lax copyright laws allows for innovation and competition. I thought this was an interesting, since I'm a supporter of the protection of intellectual property. The video also goes into the positives of copying! (Something we've discussed a lot in STAC.) The most interesting part of the video was that the idea of free copying made others strive to make something so unique that no one would be able to copy it (ex. where all those crazy fashion designs come from!)

TED: Learn to read Chinese with Ease!
In this TED talk, a basic chinese lesson is taught (with radicals). I knew the concept before, but the way ShaoLan incorporates humor into an educational lesson -the part where two women characters together symbolizing the character for argument made me smirk- impressed me.

TED: Elusive Creativity
The author in this TED talk discusses a very interesting concept on genius. When she introduced the topic, she talked about how people asked her if she'd ever create another best-seller. This is how I feel about my animation (after the great piece I made in 10th grade, I haven't had any tremendous ideas, which scares me), so this talk touched me on a very personal level.
The author talks about the origins of genius. A "genius" was actually a familiar, or muse, that lived in creative people's homes and helped them with works of art. Only recently has the word "genius" been attributed towards the person themselves. The author connected this to the pressure "geniuses" face because of this re-alignment in association, and why "geniuses" often become mad and suicidal.
The concept of allowing yourself times of lethargy was very different for me, but I do agree with the author in that you still try and create work during these flatline times, until your muse decides to pitch in again.

-13.4-

Yesterday I watched the documentary These Amazing Shadows. The documentary was about the National Film Registry.

It was fascinating to see how the whole project started; One man bought all of MGM's films and started to colour them, which caused a lot of controversy. Famous stars and filmmakers protested the film in court, which led to the creation of the National Film Registry. I found it interesting how important it was to keep the original films black and white...I could see why, when they showed some clips of It's a Wonderful Life in colour; I didn't recognize what movie the clip was until the original black and white version was played!

The vague criteria and diversity of films to select impressed me. Only 25 films are selected each year, and films have to be 10 years old. Besides that, everything is free game (I remember one interviewee said the people to make up the criteria were brilliant for making the instructions so vague.) The documentary presented many types of videos that were admitted for various reasons from one of the first films to test sound, Gus Visser and his Singing Duck, to modern art films such as Koyaanisquatsi. I was especially happy that they made a special tribute to animated films admitted, since I mostly hear people looking down upon animation. The fact that the Rocky Horror Picture Show was admitted was very amusing to find out, too.

The diversity of the films also attracted many different interest groups. There was a section discussing African-American groups promoting the film The Birth of a New Nation to be admitted, to represent how the KKK affected history. Another part discussed the role of women in films...one interviewee said that almost half the silent movies were written by women! It was also very interesting to find out that abortion was discussed in an early movie, since society seemed so conservative at the time...
(Some historical films were simply awful. Not only was "Duck and Cover" admitted, but another short was admitted that was even worse! The film encouraged people to paint their houses nicely, in efforts to protect themselves from atomic bombs!)

With all of the clips from movies admitted, I also found out about new films (ex. Daughters of Dust), and reminded of movies I need to watch (ex. Bladerunner). I also was reminded how magical film is; I'm not quite familiar with the science behind film, but the thought of moving pictures just appearing on a certain type of plastic is simply astounding.
With all of the clips from movies admitted, I also found out about new films (ex. Daughters of Dust), and reminded of movies I need to watch (ex. Bladerunner).  The fact that all of the films shown were American-made is amazing. It makes me feel proud that the USA has produced a prolific amount of amazing cinematography.  The movie is a must for cinephiles!

-12.4-

Part 2/2 of my mini project!
Part 1

Reference:


Clothing:
For the outfit, I didn't have a lot to finish. I cut my hair, styled it (learning how to use a straightening iron was nerve-wracking) and bought a zip-up tie (what a fascinating invention!)

I was planning to put on make-up to make it seem like my cheekbones were sharper, but I didn't have the time to get the right materials.

Sceptre:
Last time I posted, only the blades were completed. I searched for an extendable pole, and found either an extendable hanger reacher, or an extendable utility pole. I decided on the utility pole, since it was hollow. I also ordered a blue emergency light for the sceptre's energy source. When everything came in, the pole had three sections, so I only used two. I also cut a hole in the plastic on one end of the pole, so the light fit snugly inside.

I also took a risk and sawed off the end of the emergency light so it would be the appropriate size (it worked because the bulb, wasn't at the far end of the light!)

I then painted the pole gold (both the inside and outside extendable parts), and the blades silver.

I measured the length of the pole so it would be appropriately sized for the "cane mode" and cut off the extra on both parts. All I needed to do was attach the blades to the pole!

To do this, I bought a 2" screw and the appropriately sized wingnuts and washers from the hardware store. The wingnuts would allow me to control the tightness of the blades so I could move them in upright postition or leave them down when "changing forms." I marked off, then drilled a hole across the pole, and drilled holes through the blades. I then attached the blades to the pole and secured them with wingnuts!

Complete!:

  

  

-11.3-

Assignment: Search at least 3 words that you like in a google search. Share a link that interests you.

Attempt 1: I searched "science, paper, craft" and was lead to this link. A periodic table paper craft! But...the website didn't explain what the varying heights of the elements represented...perhaps its electronegativity (I see Flourine is 4.0 and it's EN value is 4.0.)?

I hadn't really thought about it, but using paper craft as learning tools could be a fun way to teach science. It's easy for students to make, and is extremely interactive. Now that I'm thinking about it...I remember making DNA mobiles in 7th grade. That was fun, and I still remember what parts of the mobile represent!

Attempt 2: Since papercraft is really one word, I googled "
An Atlantic article came up (one of my favorite magazines) so I had to click on it!

http://www.theatlantic.com/video/archive/2013/01/one-kids-sci-fi-short/267320/

One man wrote, directed, and animated a science fiction short at the age of 22 (I don't see why the age matters). The plot of the film is simple, machines fighting against man, but I liked the twist at the end (Slight spoilers here: the ending was painful, since you know a catastrophe is going to happen.) What really amazed me was that one person animated the entire short. The level of detail in the animation was incredible. The article said that it took him 7 months to animate 5 minutes of film. Drawing upon my experience at self-animating, that's a short amount of time!

-10.4-

I liked doing the psychogeography assignment in school today. (I wish I could have snuck some abstract photos during class, but I didn't get the opportunity.) The assignment fit with my general approach to photography: take abstract photos in order to redefine the world for others.

A photo I took a few months ago (A glass with juice in it)

-9.4-

A small observation. Aka "Aha, I think I found some stealing in progress!"

While watching the anime Shingeki no Kyojin, I noticed that a scene in the second opening had the exact animation sequence to The Avengers credits. It amused me that the animators directly took the style from a comic-book movie.

-8.4-

A mini-project I'm working on is a cosplay of Loki (Avengers):

Motivation: I really liked the design of the outfit. The suit with the long coat has a crisp look to it, and the scarf is such an unusual pattern...the bold decals, and color combination of green and cream appealed to me.
Goal: Be finished by NYCC 2013 (october 11)
Status: WIP
Reference:

Process so far:

Although I really liked the design of Loki's battle armour, his midguardian attire was easier, and more accessible. I already had a white dress shirt, black dress pants, long winter coat, and last Christmas I received the "lokiscarf" for casual wear. I already had a vest, but I found another one that was longer and better fitted the look. The only thing I'm missing is the tie:

 

Now, for the sceptre. To distinguish myself from other cosplays -aka. I wanted a challenge that would be more painful than the normal route- I changed the design so the sceptre would be able to "morph" into its other form (something resembling this). School has kept me busy, but I managed to make some progress beforehand (aka the last week of summer). 

I found references of the sceptre online and printed them out. I then bought some plywood from Michaels and traced the design onto it. Using a jigsaw and drill (my Dad and I had some fun bonding time), I cut the pattern out, and voila!

To do: For the outfit, all I need is to get a black tie.

For the sceptre, I need to find an extendable pole (3'-5'+), which would help the illusion of the prop "changing" forms. Then I need to paint the pole and blades, and attach the blades to the pole (I'd do this by putting a bolt through the middle of the pole and securing the blades to it with wingnuts).When I want to change from cane to sceptre, I'll flip the blades up and extend the pole.

I also need to figure out how to create the blue light. I bought an emergency blue glowstick, so I'll go from there.

-7.4-

I'm the public relations officer of Herrick's GSA, so this weekend I was making a poster to hang in the cafeteria.
This led me to search up colors that attract the eye, and I came across an interesting study by Standford: Link

The study showed that color choice results in the creation of tone, and noticeability. For example, "before and after" ads often have dark, neutral colors in the before section and bright, hot colors in the after section (the after section also incorporates more white space).

The most interesting thing I found about this article was that energy bars mostly use blue and brown hues. I thought energy bars would want to use bright colors to emphasize feelings of alertness, but it turns out that the darker hues symbolize health, appealing "to the lifestyle choices that energy bar users might make." The advertisers focused on the long-lasting effects of the energy bar rather than short-term effects.

We can certainly incorporate this into the STAC crowdfunding we're planning!

-6.4-

I was talking to my parents about my day in STAC, yesterday, and we got on the subject of marketing. I realized that the PBS station and we have similar goals, so perhaps we should analyze their marketing strategies (except for their giveaways, of course.) I also realized that we could market STAC as a program that picks up where school's leave off. The phrase sounds nice in my mind. (The phrase from last year was very good, too, but I forgot most it...something with dreams starting when it's STACtime, is all I can recall)
Some brainstorming:
STAC is different because:
-more freedom to pursue own interests
-we work with working artists (when workshops were around...)
-CONNECT areas of art and REALIZE WHY LEARNING IS IMPORTANT
-very hands on
-great field trips
-a big commitment to the arts (3 periods a day for 4 years in my case)
-a multigrade community (the only other classes I've experienced this was in 11th grade AP Bio, 12th grade health, and gym class)
-a supportive community
-ability to fail/experiment
-more independent group projects
-more real-life experiences (responsibility matters more than grades when you take on a project)
-we learn to market ourselves
-lots of connections to history and modern culture (we watch youtubes, but we also watch silent films)

-5.4-

I looked at the link to Google's branding, and here are some patterns I noticed:
-The product was flat, and had simple shading
-Most icons were geometric shapes
-They used a simple colour palette
-Logos/icons had to be recognizable with any dimension size
-They even took account of the amount of padding around the logos!

I also looked at what others were posting. While looking through a blog (I forget who's) the person mentioned that the educational section of Gofundme didn't have much. I checked it out, and I found this funding project:
http://www.gofundme.com/4890wk

I was puzzled how she got $2000+ in 8 days, since there are many other kids like her that need help, so I decided to analyze her page.

Techniques:
-A short, but sincere background story as to why she needs the money (positive outlook)
-A photo of the person in need
-Credentials (honors student)
-FACEBOOK and TWITTER share button

I also looked at the given site 11 Tips for Crowdfunding and the line "people invest in the filmmakers as much as the project" stood out to me.

I'm not sure how this connects to our goal, but all this talk about crowdsourcing reminded me of this science game, Foldit (Wikipedia link). The game is a 3D puzzle game in which the user folds proteins into the most efficient configuration possible. If I remember correctly, a few hundred thousand users are playing this game. Scientists are using the results for various experiments, getting results faster than if computer software did the work!

-4.4-

I added a link to "My Videos" on the Links sidebar if anyone is interested in films I've done in STAC, and for other subjects.

Note: I do not have the video presented at STAC night 2013.

-3.4-

When I came home, I still had a headache, so I took a nap, and put on some background noise  in the form of listening to episodes of Welcome to Nightvale. Before I drifted off to sleep, I realized that there were a lot concepts that could be stolen, and that I should blog about this. I also thought the concept was very interesting and wanted to share it with everyone.

Welcome to Nightvale is a podcast in the format of a (fictional) radio newscast. The news covers various events in the desert town of Nightvale, USA, and is divided into two parts with a musical "weather" forecast as a interlude.

Events in Nightvale are more than slightly off-kilter; hooded figures and angels wander around the town, a "glowcloud" is a member of the high school PTA, and many odd events are hushed up by "the sheriff's secret police,"...the casual tone of the show's host only brings out the show's eccentricity. The podcast also parodies aspects of our daily life such as the "word from our sponsors" ("That word... is carp!"-Episode 7) It's amusing and slightly creepy at the same time.

The music is excellent. The style of both the background music and "weather" song fits the strange tone of the podcast.

This show is enjoyable for those who like something out of the ordinary that's slightly sarcastic, slightly creepy, slightly humorous, slightly quirky, and slightly Orwellian.
I'd really like to steal the idea of creating fictional news. I also like how simple the podcast is. The cast is composed of one person, the show's host, and I imagine this makes production relatively fast. Definitely doable.

Official website
Soundcloud Official Playlist

Marketing: Surprisingly, the podcast is free. However, the company have a store on their website, and links to other books they have produced.
When looking at the website, I saw that they sell tickets to live shows (I never knew they had live shows before!) And they're in NY! I'm not sure if we'd be able to sell tickets to STAC live...perhaps a special event?

-2.4-

Kate Bush Assignment:

“Them Heavy People” by the singer Kate Bush. Listen to the song, watch the video and read the lyrics, etc. Find yourself in the song, find the song in you, and write another verse to the song that is your specific verse, that is about your connection to the work.




Now that I'm rolling, that I'm on my way

I've got to keep it up my newfound strength

Keep on building keep on filling

until I overflow then spill - on someone else. Haha!

-1.4-

A short artist's biography:

Born in China, Shiana Skye Mainarich is currently a senior at Herricks High School, New Hyde Park, NY. Since a very young age, Shiana has visited many art and history museums, sparking a wide range of interests over the years. However, there are three art movements that have heavily influenced her: Surrealism, Manga/Japanese woodcuts, and Mid-20th century Modern Art - specifically modern art with primarily geometric/biomorphic shapes such as the works of Mondrian, Rothko, and Barancusi. The school experience has also served as a theme in Shiana's work, especially in her animation Monday. Currently, Shiana is interested in the artist, Alphonse Mucha, and the voice synthesizing program, UTAU. Shiana has also been heavily influenced by the many hours she spent playing pretend with her friends, causing her work to be mainly fiction and have dream-like elements to it. Through her art, Shiana portrays the world in different perspectives, and allows others to appreciate the world in a new way.

At Herricks High School, Shiana is part of the gifted arts program, STAC. On her own, and through STAC workshops, Shiana has experimented with a diverse number of mediums including: painting, papercrafting, sculpting, drawing, dancing, acting, singing, playing the trombone, playing the piano, composing, writing, and filming. She has directed, acted in, edited, and written four films for Chinese class. She has also performed in the school musicals Urinetown and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, the former as first trombone, the latter as second trombone. Shiana has also completed a "365" practice, in which she utilized line drawing in order to draw a portrait every day for a year. Her most notable work to date is her animation, Monday, which follows the struggles and triumphs a student faces throughout one school day. Her current projects involve finishing a Mucha-inspired digital painting and mixing an UTAU cover of the song Scattered Cherry Blossoms -Elegant-. Over the course of the coming year, Shiana plans to create short films, create an abstract instillation using paper, and hone her drawing skills in realism.

-0.4-

Ah! A new year of STAC. And the final one.

Before I start off with our assignment/introduction, I'd like to reflect a bit on my summer (I didn't have a tremendous time to catch up with others, or reflect on the past few months, so I feel the best way to accomplish these two is to post on here.)

This summer was very busy. To start things off, my friends and I went into the city and attended the 2013 Gay Pride Parade! It was my first time going, and I gathered a lot of good material to share with the GSA here. I had to say, I wasn't as shocked as I was expected to be (what has the media done to me?!)

Since I am a senior, the summer was filled with college-related business. I took a physics class in Flushing in order to make room for Wind Ensemble, so now I know how to ride public buses. I also visited colleges in Ohio (Weslyn and Denison), New York (City College, Hunter, and Purchase), and Maryland (McDaniels). At the colleges in Ohio I sat down for interviews, which was scary, but I think I handled myself in a calm manner. I also studied a lot this summer for the ACT.

I'm trying to narrow down my college search, and finding a small, liberal arts program with a good bio program and low tuition/scholarships is ideal for me. Although I plan to major in Biology, continuing with band and the arts is a must, so the college must also have art programs and music programs available for non-majors! I feel that the Macaulay honors program at Hunter is promising. I also plan to visit Queens college and the University of Puget Sound this semester.

Besides school, I worked at the Women's Fund of Long Island, where I edited videos for them and wrote scripts for a possible PSA project (which I hope to continue this fall, if I have the time). I also attended a week-long leadership school geared towards creating worships for Unitarian Universalist congregations (hopefully I can use some of the more general skills to get projects done this year)!

I was so busy I felt a little stressed, but I had some time to wind down by drawing, mixing music, taking pictures of interesting outfits, watching a lot of art/science documentaries with my parents, and going to the bookstore. I also managed to hang out with friends by going ice skating and swimming three times...the only regret was that I never got to swim in the water (today I got to put my feet in when I visited my old town in the Rockaways, but I found an interesting way to photograph the beach via. the new telescopes they put up!)

I also attended "International Cosplay Day" with my friends, and we sang for a contest (we didn't win, but it was still exciting to perform)!

Not from the actual day, but this is what we wore

When my cousins from Texas came up to visit. We went into NYC and went to the Natural History museum (a special whale exhibit was on display, but we didn't get to go! I hope to go back soon...) Even so, I was fascinated by the hall of biodiversity...I had forgotten how expansive their collection was.

Overall, the summer was a lot of work, but I feel that I worked hard and played hard. I'm a little nervous about being a top dog, but I'm looking forward to carrying some of my summer experiences into STAC, and having a productive senior year (especially after all-things-college-related are done)!

...I'm pretty sure that I wrote down all that happened, but I feel like I'm forgetting something...

Add.3

A list of topics I wanted to write posts about, from last year, and I never really got to:

Thor review (Ok movie, but good casting)
Acting (It seems appealing, but I'd never do it professionally...that world is tough.)
John helping me with how to approach chordwriting (I have a sheet he wrote out for me with some tips!)
STAC live
Writing poem for UUU (The subject was love...I tried to expand the definition to all types of love)
Posture and changing it
Possible working w flash (Which I actually ended up doing for my QUEST project Link)
Pitt (a bit trouble hearing where notes are sometimes)
Bad art
Improv (Sometimes when I'm walking home I pretend to talk on the phone with friends/family. It's quite easy to improv, then.)
Making a gift for my friend Nadira (I love making gifts for people...it's fun finding a theme and making the envelopes and present for that theme ex. Nadira loves movies, so I printed out a picture of a clapboard and made it into an envelope that held the gift)

-52.3-

Trip2
In January, the Friday after break, STAC took a spontaneous trip into the city to see "The Event of a Thread" by Ann Hamilton at the Park armoury. After a few hours, we separated and explored the city until 7:30 where we met up at the Crane theatre (which is quickly becoming a STAC haunt) to see HorseTrade Radiotheatre's production of King Kong.
Park armoury:
My favorite trip. I loved the exhibit! The gentle movement of people swinging back and forth, and the curtain flowing by the mechanical breeze was quite calming. Many people were taking a nap under the giant curtain!
The constant movement and the large crowd made the exhibit very photogenic, too. I took a lot of pictures/video: Link (Note: Facebook albumn only friends can see)

Exploring:
I was in a group with Ellen, Danny, little Katz, Lex, Emily, Jessica, Ishna, and Scott. After we exited the armoury, we walked down 5th and looked at the post-christmas decorations, including the tree.
-couple of pics-
Then we took a train down to The Village, where Ellen showed us an authentic Ukranian restaurant (I've seen it before -the building across from 16 Handles- but I never knew it was a restaurant.) I ordered perogis and they were delicious!
After that we walked around and settled on 16 handles for dessert. By then, it was time to head to the Krane theatre to see the show!
King Kong production:
We've been to the Krane theatre to see a few shows from The Futurists, and from those experiences we were all eager to see how this show would be.
The show did have excellent voice acting, but...it was a bit too dry to taste that night. It was clever how the actors used a huge picture of King Kong, and let a lot of the scenes up to the viewers imagination, but I think we were all looking for something more...exciting.
All in all, it was a relaxing trip. A nice come back from break (I love doing spontaneous things...)

-55.3-

A short posting of my initial reaction to Hugo (I watched it about a month ago):

Hugo vs. The Artist
Hugo:
-made it fun for both kids and adults. Modern and ppl who knew old films
-focused on filmmaker and the joys of filmmaking/directing. Showed how old films inspired others, too
-also showed how great old films faded into obscurity
-but now are beig brought back and appreciated
Didn't try to be a silent film
Artist:
Was authentic in looks
Effectively conveyed a story through silent film techniques
Some creative points, such as the dream sequence (the main character dreams about sound ruining his silent film career)
Tried to be a silent film (both good and bad things about it)


Overall: I feel that Hugo paid the better tribute to silent films.

-54.3-

Earlier this year I started a fashion blog:
Link (Make sure to read the purpose first!)

-52.3-

A Major

What is your major area of emphasis for Q4? This is where are you applying the majority of your time and energy.

Self-exploration via. various mediums, probably geared towards a short film (film? animation? combination?)

Are you exploring, or are you working towards a finished product? 

Working towards a finished project that explores. (I plan for a finished product, and I hope I'll be done by that time.)

What do you envision as the end result?

Me covering my eyes while everyone else watches. (It's too scary to think about!)

Are you working alone or do you have collaborators?

Probably working alone.

Who are your community?

I'm not sure. People at my lunch table?

Where are you now, where will you get to?

Right now I'm not quite sure how this will turn out. I have a loose framework that is able to be rearranged. By the end I hope to have a product

What are 5 criteria with which we will evaluate your work on this this quarter?

1. Completedness: Does the product seem finished?

2. Effort: Does the project look like it took the time it did to work on it?

3. Fun: Does it look like Shiana had fun? 

4. Risk: Has this project taken any risks? How risky are the risks?

5. Blank space: Does the project leave room for expansion?

-53.3-

It's been a while since I posted here! (School became really busy, so it was hard to write, even when I downloaded the blogger app...)

This quarter I worked on two minor projects, a major project, saw a lot of documentaries about artists, and discovered some creative fictional pieces. I continued along paths that I enjoy traveling, tried some new ones (such as starring in a film, and putting on makeup), learned about paths other artists took, and learned about different ways of working with creativity.

Minor projects:
Paper crafting:
I discovered the joys papercraft during Shoshtigigi, where we had to make a voodoo doll of the person's name we drew. I had heard of papercraft before, and decided to give it a try. I discovered that it was a challenge to make a papercraft, so I took a template of a girl papercraft I found online and edited it so it looked like Caitlin, the person whose name I drew. It was fun working with my hands, so I started making more papercrafts during winter break. I stopped for a little, because of school, but in the 4th quarter I started making papercrafts of a few of my characters. It was challenging making different pieces of clothing. Proportions had to be measured, and the only way to truly check if the model worked was to make it; it was a trial-and-error process, but it was gratifying to see my characters become 3D.

My papercraft exhibition at STAC night

Figure drawing:

I wanted to work on figure drawing this quarter. First I drew some figures in my usual technique. 

These two examples weren't the ones I showed to Luke. (I couldn't find those.)

Then I showed them to Luke, and he suggested that I use the coiling technique. He sent me out for an hour to draw people in school using this technique. He also made me use pen, so I couldn't erase any mistakes (the point was to draw quickly).

Luke then suggested that I draw figures by symbolizing different parts of the body with boxes. He said I'm used to drawing flat figures, and the boxes would help with making them look 3D.

I think this helped a lot. I'll need to practice more with this technique (it's difficult to draw a face within the box), but I hope to continue with my drawing. I'd like to work on foreshortening in the future!

Some sketches using the 3D technique

This quarter, my main project was a group film with Kaitlyn Fox.

The plot of the film followed the adventure of a fairy and a girl as they both struggle to fix the girl's problems. The fairy hates her job, but when everything is solved, she finds that she's bored, and thus gives the girl a new problem that the fairy can solve.

The project evolved drastically. At first, I was working on a film that would explore me though other people. There would be a certain time in the day where everyone would change personalities, and the main character would have to find out why this was happening. I didn't flesh out my idea fast enough, and didn't have enough confidence behind it, so was put in a group project with Kaitlyn, who wanted to work with dance.
I'm not used to working with others, and I didn't know a lot about choreography, and how it would fit into my idea, so I was hesitant at first. The element of comedy was new for me, too, and I was curious about how this would turn out. Kaitlyn was a good partner to work with. We stayed on task, and she was very cooperative. We both ditched ideas we had before, and started working on a new plot (that had to have me as the main character, because we were assigned to it.) At first, the story started off with a more serious tone, with the girl's problems. A doppelganger, the manifestation of the girl's inner self, would help the girl solve the problems through her dreams. We felt as if the story needed a kick to it to give it more depth- to pull the audience in- and Luke helped us when we brought our predicament to him. He suggested approaching the story from the fairy's point of view, in order give the story a fresh take. He also put out an idea that the fairy should be bored of doing her job; this would add another layer to the movie.
We spent most of the time plotting out the story. We agreed that the story should have a format to it, in order to emphasize how the girl's problems were slowly being solved. It would also help establish when dream sequences would appear. Kaitlyn choreographed simple dances so non-Dancers like me could even do them.
I didn't like the fact that the story was turning into a female myth, myths where the main character has their problems solved for them (I like male myths better, where the main character solves their own problems.) But the story itself was interesting, so I stuck with it.

Some papers from our brainstorming process

Filming was tough. I should have brought my tripod in so we could film it by ourselves better. We also should have planned out the shots more precisely. Additionally, extras kept on forgetting to bring their clothes (which were needed for continuity) and that delayed filming by a few days. But that doesn't mean that filming was boring. It was exciting working with other people and trying to learn the dance steps. Acting in front of the camera wasn't too bad, either. Most of the roles required me to act in everyday settings, so I tried to keep it natural.
We also created a symbiotic relationship with Anika's project. We had a part where I get a makeover, which Anika did, and in turn, she used our footage covering the transformation for her makeup film. I had never gotten my makeup done, and it was a very different experience... I hardly recognized myself when it came time to look in the mirror! (But I'm not going to put on eye makeup anytime soon. It felt like there was constantly something in my eye.)
In retrospect, we should have spent more time editing, also. Originally, we planned that Kaitlyn would edit a first draft, and I would go over it, since I had to edit another video for another class. It turned out that we ran out of time, so we only had the rough draft to show at STAC live. If I could do that over, I'd put together the first draft, even if I could only edit for a couple hours.

Luke pointed out that the plot of this film was similar to my animation last year. The stress of school, and the feelings of being restricted that come with it, have a big influence on my life, especially this year, and it seems that these feelings have translated into this project, too.

New influences:

Persona 4: 

Persona 4 is a video game that explores humanity in a unique way. I absolutely loved how they addressed personal issues: the characters would grapple with their dark sides in a land inside of the TV. Loneliness, denying the truth, sexuality, the nature of friendship, and the facades "used to overcome life's hardships" were some issues explored in the game. I liked how the game was more about the characters looking inward, and dealing with their inner troubles, rather than simply fighting a demon to save the princess. I found it to be extremely creative and inspiring. (The game's music is great, too.) 

Midnight in Paris: 

Midnight in Paris is another very creative piece of media that I discovered this year. I love the concept of time travel, and the fact that the main character travels back to my favorite time, the 1920's, made me love it even more. Although the message was presented more explicitly than i would have liked it to be, I liked how Woody Allen combined fantasy elements with modern settings in order to convey that the grass is always greener elsewhere.

How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster?:
link
This beautiful documentary visited my love of modern architecture. Every shot was clear and presented each building as livable sculptures. Mr. Foster is a very thoughtful, very quiet, man and it's admirable how he makes buildings functional, yet beautiful, such as the Hearst tower in NYC, which utilizes its unusually shaped design to capture water that can be reused for the building's AC. I'm not planning to become an architect, but this documentary introduced a thoughtful mind of an artist at work, and that was very inspiring.

Beauty is Embarrassing:
link
This documentary introduced an artist that dabbled in many mediums, and has only recently become well-known in the art world. In his life, Wayne White has painted, voice acted, illustrated, animated, created puppets, and designed sets. He is very honest about himself, and isn't afraid to assert his independence (for example, when people compared some of his word paintings to another man, he created a painting called "Hoozy Thinky Iz?"). I liked how he wasn't afraid of combining mediums, or transferring ideas from medium to medium, at one point he says that he would like to turn a painting into a set, or a set into a painting. He knows how hard its been in the art world (he started to get depressed at a time), and because of that he's begun to live life as he wants to, which I find very admirable. He's very confident and lives life doing what he likes. The tone of the movie was very light-hearted, and it was great to see an artist having a satisfying life.