Preparing for the Christmas Holidays and Vince the Stereotypical Pirate

Since the Christmas holidays are coming up, I've been busy this week preparing all the bits and bobs I'm going to need for making my animations, starting with Vince the Stereotypical Pirate.
As Decembeard is obviously in December I had the idea of an advent calendar being the way I would change from scene to scene. This would be done by a calendar having a door pop open as an animation and then in post-production the video for the next scene being there behind the door.
The tricky part though was deciding what would be on the front of the advent calendar, which is where Vince the Stereotypical Pirate stepped in.

Vince began life as the character who would explain the rules of Decembeard to the viewer in the opening scenes of my documentary, but from there evolved into the comedy relief and exhibitor of all the different things I'll need to show throughout my film, such as the different styles of beard in the Research animation, the Decembeard introducer and now the face for the calendar transitions.

In this blog you can see the actual calendar I've made and animated ready for when I'm home in Exeter for christmas. Since this documentary is being made in "real time" (i.e. as I go through December the footage has to show the correct amount of beard growth etc.) I needed to design, animate and edit these calendar transitions before I left for Christmas as I wouldn't have a chance to until afterwards.
Ironically it turned out when I did make them, I was only in the first one and so it wasn't as time based as I thought but still at least they're done and out of the way now.

You'll see in the animations at the end and the photos here that Vince's eyes move and he winks. I would upload the videos here but I'm going to only upload photos and narrations so that the final product is a surprise and you can see it for the first time properly.

Next up is the work I've done on Vince for the introduction animation.
To draw Vince after starting with only drawing his head was quite troublesome but eventually I ended on a style I liked and after chucking him into Photoshop he came to colourful life.
This final photo will be put back into photoshop as it's a PSD file at the moment and then I will be cutting out each body part and exporting it as a single file.
Then once his body is all exported I am going to drop him into After Effects where I will make the animation.
I've only used After Effects a few times but this is a good chance for me to get to know it so I'm quite excited to see what powers it holds for my future animation!

That's it for now so I will post again soon during the Christmas Holidays after I've finished with Vince so check back then.

Take care,
Joe.

MEDI 259 Experiment: Ideas and Practices (2010 - 2011)

Hello and welcome to my blog/online sketchbook for MEDI 259 Experiment: Ideas and Practices.
I admit it has taken a while for me to start this blog, but things have been pretty hectic getting the project on it's feet, so finally now in the Christmas Holidays I have gotten some down time where I can start putting all my notes and work into order for you to see in this blog.
So for now, watch this space as the work will be uploaded soon :)
Take care, Joe.

Interviews and First Scenes

Beginning with my interview with Jeff, the interview was very nice and relaxed and a great way to start off the first filming bits of my documentary.
However, before filming Jeff for his interview, he helped me to film the first scenes of my documentary where I shave off my beard.

This went well and since me and Jeff are friends I find working together really enjoyable and so my delivery of the lines, although a little bit rushed, is surprisingly natural for me as this is one of the first things I've ever done on camera myself mainstage instead of alongside others.

The interview with Jeff carried on in the same fashion as we played Xbox and filmed during as I'm going to put a narration over some silent shots of Jeff.

Next up I went to my girlfriends and Interviewed everyone there.

Starting with her family I found that they were really helpful and willing to engage fully with my questions. Often people can get a bit nervous and just say short answers but there were no nerves here and so the interview has a lovely family dynamic and warmth to it. The natural humour about Phil's chin etc. really accents this style and I'm really pleased with this as it linked into Phil's interview well too.

With Phil's interview we kept the warmth but looking back after filming you can hear Eden downstairs shout shut up at the dogs for barking whilst we're filming. Although trying to help she did end up being louder than the dogs so we re-shot the interview.

However, after playing the interview back to others they barely noticed the dogs and Eden and said if anything it strengthens the family feel of the documentary. It was a pain that we re-filmed when the original was fine but still it's a good practice to get into just in case and actually this fact came into play as I edited the interviews.

With this work I am going to be doing each scene/subject of my documentary as a mini piece of work so that each subject gets a full dose of focus and detail.
I call this style of working "The Lego Effect" as the practice is the same in that I have these separate scenes as building blocks which I'll put all together once I've got all the pieces I need to to make the final model. :)

I've started this work ethic with these interviews and already edited and put them into an order so that they smoothly progress.
Sadly I wanted to film the interviews with two cameras but could only get one JVC out so instead I have filmed the same questions from different angles and then was just going to put them next to each other but instead have gone one step further and used the pauses and "Umm's and Aaah's" in the speech to link one scene into the next seamlessly.

That's it for now but with these first scenes and interviews edited and ready to be put into the mix I can now focus on the animations which are going to take up most of my time.

Check back soon for the next part of work I've undertaken.

Take care,
Joe.

Second Proposal and Decembeard has Begun!

Following on from my first proposal, here is my second proposal which shows how far I am since then and how I'm going to continue:

MEDI 236: DECEMBEARD ORDER

Here is my list of scenes in the order in which they will appear in the documentary. Also at the bottom is an attached video of the first and third scenes, which I’ve already filmed. Also these films won’t play in Word for Windows.

1. Open onto me shaving (shaving foam on and just about to put razor to cheek) and camera aimed at sink and mirror etc. and I turn to camera, surprised “Oh! Hello there I’m Joe Skinner and with my friends Philip Peskett (photo of Phil pops up) and Jeff White (Photo of Jeff pops up) we are taking part in the social challenge that is DECEMBEARD and the following event of Manuary.
Now I’m pretty sure you’re all thinking “Decembeard?” “Manuary?” what on Earth are they? Well here is my good friend “VINCE” to explain. Over to you “VINCE”.

2. Transition to animation with “VINCE” (think 70’s handlebar Ricky Gervias David Brent moustached guy?) explaining the scientific explanation of why people grows beards, and the origins and rules of Movember, Decembeard, Manuary and others (the February) Etc. “Back to you Joe”

3. Transitions back to me wiping foam with a towel from my face all clean-shaven “Wow thanks “VINCE”, though you do sound strangely familiar…. then get Jeff to voice him? (Or say something funny) maybe VINCE shouts shut up and just get on with it?”.
So there you have it, it’s whatever time (10pm) on November 30th; I’m clean shaven, as are Jeff and Phil so time to get an early night so we’re all ready to begin Decembeard afresh tomorrow.

4. WHAT WOMEN WANT: “Intro = While I was taking part in Decembeard I thought it’s only fair to ask my girlfriend what she liked in terms of facial hair as she’s the one who has to put up with it!
Interviews with girlfriends, what they want, how they feel, how it makes them look, favourites etc. Starts with the calendar door NOTE: MAKE A JOKE OUT OF THE CALENDAR FROM FIRST SCENE AS I HAVEN’T FILLED IT IN SINCE WAS AWAY AT EDEN’S OVER THE WEEKEND! SO MAKE UP JOKE E.G. OH WOOPS THIS HASN’T BEEN UPDATED IN A WHILE! THEN FILM OF ME TAKING DOWN CALENDAR AND PUTTING UP ADVENT CALENDAR READY FOR TRANSITIONS! Opening and the date then goes into video (intro as narration over calendar) interview.
I introduce everyone “Hello today (looking at camera then turning it round, handheld) were going to find out what women like when it comes to facial hair by talking to my girlfriend and Phil’s partner Greta. Then go into interview and asks questions. Maybe interview housemates too?
From this we find out why they like beards (and also which types they like for later on - Point 8)
So from there I can lead onto what beards have represented over the years = history e.g. what they represent and symbolism. Why Etc. etc. “So it seems that beards for most of the girls I’ve spoken to symbolise strength and manliness, but has it always been this way? What else have beards been a symbol of in the past? Well through the magic of cinema let’s have a look through “The History of Beards” WITH THE HELP OF POP-UP POWER! (Film me talking to the camera so can explain how far along my beard is as well) (3rd week of December!)

5. The history of beards and facial hair. Pop Up Animation transition from the interviews with a voice over to a big book on a table (I put on table then open and zoom in on whilst narrating?).
From here the scene is then of the open pages whirring across then the stop-motion cut out people appear (side on animation on my desk) and the animation begins until a transition back out of the book (zooming out) and the book closes. Then the voice over carries on to say that now we’ve seen the past, let’s go forward in time using the magic of technology and transitions via this calendar to look at how Jeff got on with his first week. Then the camera zooms out from the book and out of a door on the calendar (the 3rd? Or put on another title e.g. 10,000 BC) and zooms in on a week ahead where that door opens and we see Jeff’s video inside and zoom onto it.

6. Interview starts with video of Jeff shaving or about to, or playing Xbox or something) and then voiceover explains that Phil’s away working in Guernsey for the first 2 weeks so we’ll see how his beard is coming along later on, but for now let’s hand over to Mr. Jeffery White. Begin interview of him a week later on how it’s come along and what styles he’s thinking of going for, influences of this style, Whether it’s itching etc. (30 seconds max) include pictures and narration too? Photos like on Mac whirling.

7. Phil’s back after 2 weeks (ish) so interview him then talk about styles and same things. Make it interesting and different to Jeff’s!

8. Then with narration over montage video of the two and Gret and Eden talking (amongst everyone else too if have interviewed the house as well) explain how from from all these interviews it seems that style is much more important than just growing a beard. Have examples of the most popular beards popping up as stills/drawings and then go on to to say: “So as I started taking into account everyone’s different style of beard in consideration for my own, I wondered just how many styles are out there? And which are the most famous/popular?”

9. From here I began to research style (clips of me on laptop and beard websites etc. have a clip of redtube maybe as a joke like oh! Woops! ) And found that like the history of beards, there is a lot more than you’d expect to find! So In short, it began with” then explain which style was most popular first (e.g. Mr. T’s) whilst it cuts to the comic strip in a comic strip panel style (i.e. the video becomes rotorscoped and cartoonified, then zooms out to actually be a panel on the comic strip and camera pans over to first style and on from there etc. Then end panel is a cartoonisation of the next scene, an interview with me explaining the end of Decembeard.

10. “So here we are at the end of Decembeard or in Manuary?” Then from here come back to an interview with me at the end of Decembeard or beginning of Manuary? (New Years Eve?) And explain what style I’m going to go for and why (For Eden). Then montage of the journey (extra footage which can include a Christmas theme e.g. me wearing a beard as a joke whilst interviewing family and friends etc.) and explain in a voice over how it’s been a great and surprisingly educational trip into a subject which I never thought could be so interesting and vast, and cite some random beard facts.

11. Then explain which style I’ve decided to go for during the montage with examples popping up (e.g. if went for Mr. T he could pop up) and then end on the animation of my beard growing and then becoming styled with narration, then fade out to an actual video of me in the same place talking about how I like my beard and how Eden likes it could end with a wink then closing my bedroom door but that could be too rude?

12. End credits is music over firstly an animation of Jeff’s beard or Phil’s beard growing and then a little disclaimer over the music explaining how far they got (for Jeff not far etc.) and what they went for in the end, then video of the beards and them talking about the overall experience. Think Jackass 3-D ending.

13. Actual credits with slide show of everyone with those blue beards. E.g. Starring: Jeff White with actual beard, and Philip Peskett with actual beard (same for me) then the others e.g. cameramen, Eden, Gret have the blue beards over the top. OR: All have blue beards but start with everyone else but me Jeff and Phil then show everyone with the beards as a starring and special thank you to and then have me, Jeff and Phil with blue beards then move them away to show animations? Prefer the first way.

14. Funny disclaimer at the end Merry Decembeard and a Happy manuary to everyone! Note: No beards, chins, Moustaches or any other facial hair/area was hurt during the making of this documentary. There was however a lot of itching for poor Jeff.

15. Date Created.


To really show the progress I have made, I've literally given in my final list/order for Decembeard (the title I'm giving this piece) and shown which bits I have filmed already as they are lined out. So far I've only filmed the first scenes where I've shaved off my beard and started Decembeard. All I can say is my chin is so cold! :( Didn't think it would be this bad but it really is freezing when it hits my bare skin like that haha.
So Decembeard has begun for myself, Phil and Jeff and so has taking pictures everyday till January. I decided against the video diary every few days as there is plenty going on in this documentary without them.
Also I could start uploading the photos of each day, but I'm going to leave them till each set is an animation of our beards growing and then upload them instead. :)

Other than that, nothing else has happened really. Next weekend I'm going to interview Jeff after a week of Decembeard to see how he's getting and then I'm going to my girlfriend Eden's next weekend to interview Phil who is her dad on how he's been getting on.
I was going to interview him around the same time as Jeff but he's been away working in Guernsey so I'll do it next weekend as I'm also going to be interviewing his partner Greta (Eden's mum) and Eden herself as to what they like in facial hair, since it's them who are going to have to put up with the beards overall!
So far my girlfriend has made it pretty clear that she regrets saying Decembeard as an idea because I apparently have a "fat chin". Hence I am now dying to have my beard back more than ever to cover this cold fat chin of mine!

That's all for now so check back soon when I'll talk about the interviews :)

Take care,
Joe.

Text Presentations

Alongside getting our proposals and the ball rolling on our projects, we began with the task of making a documentary on a select text we were given, ours being "The Performative Documentary" by Barker, Dineen and Broomfield.
In short, the text was trying to argue the question as to which out of "performative" documentaries (E.g. Documentaries which re-enact scenes using actors) or "Real-Life and Challenging" Documentaries (E.g. "Bowling For Columbine", director really involved with subject) portrays the truth best?

To express what we had learnt from this text, as we were put into groups to make these presentations, we created a mini documentary which compared the two different type of documentaries against each other.
Filming was great fun and really did help us to get into the feel and groove of making documentaries. The text was very heavy in my opinion which sadly dampened the fun and creativity of this piece. A smaller text would have been much better as we could have really gone to town on the whole thing, instead of having to summarise and compress the knowledge from all 22 or something pages!
Never the less, the documentary is something I'm proud of and it went down well in the screening so that's a positive. :)

Unfortunately I haven't got a copy of the documentary but instead here is a link to the video which Jeff has uploaded to his Youtube account:


http://www.youtube.com/jeffwhite1990#p/u/10/3OVXlq1VJPI


That's it for now but check back next week for the next bit of progress. :)

Take care,
Joe.

Proposal, Research and Preparation (Plus Photos of Ideas/Notes)

Here today we have my proposal for my documentary as well as some links to other work I've looked at for research and also the photos I said about earlier of my notes/ideas which are penis free. Since my last post, I have included my girlfriend's dad Phil, and my friend and coursemate Jeff White to take part in Decembeard with me so that there is more than one outcome of beard style/growth. I was going to ask my friend Tom however due to geography it was much easier to get Jeff to help me out instead but perhaps in the future I could do a second documentary on just the beards growing and include him too.

Firstly then, here is my proposal:

MEDI 236 DOCUMENTARY PROJECT:

PROPOSAL

The focus of my documentary will be on the social challenge “Decembeard”, with an insight into the history and culture of beards and facial hair.

Working with influence from the McDonalds and fast food documentary “Supersize Me” by Morgan Spurlock, I will be participating in “Decembeard”, a social challenge whereby I shall grow a beard from scratch, starting on Dec 1st and finishing on Dec 31st.

Throughout this month I cannot shave, trim or style the beard in any way until “Manuary”, Which is January and the month where participants can decide whether to trim and style their beard or completely shave it all off.

Alongside my initial challenge, I will interview others who have agreed to participate to compare experiences, as well as including a history of beards and facial hair throughout the ages, focusing on the symbolism beards have become associated with. (For example, only high classed Ancient Egyptians were allowed to grow beards as they were seen as a sign of nobility and strength).

The target audience will be mainly men from the age of puberty and older, whilst the medium I shall document in is mainly film such as for the interviews and my video diary.
However, with the history and transitions created out of stop-motion and After Effects to allow for a more interesting and engaging insight into the history.


It was hard to start a proposal as I've never done anything like this trying to "convince" and explain to someone why they should be interested in my project!
Never the less once you get going, the words were there in my head as I've been working through how I'll make this project over the last week or so (hence the delay in this next post) and so putting it down on paper was quite easy once I'd gotten over that first hurdle. Introductions are always the hardest part to write.

Next up we have here some research into documentarys etc. which have helped me to build up the content for my proposal and project so far.

First up is obviously going to be "Supersize Me" as I've been rambling on about bits of this a lot so far!

First is the intro to "Supersize Me":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V168xofxgu0

I really like the animation style and obvious diagrams and visuals in this scene as they really accent the narration and the points he is trying to get across. I think I could really get on board with working in this way and with the workshops I've been having into After Effects and other animating software, I really think I could do a scene like this well (not in a vain way just saying I would love to have a go as I have an understanding of how to know!) and hopefully just as clear and exciting.

Next up is some videos on beards which I found interesting:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCP5VqmDsf4&playnext=1&list=PL37C6BA647A226115

In this one the use of reversed filming is really effective and although I don't think I will be showing my beard growth in this way, it's still an interesting piece which I debated about incorporating for a while. Perhaps as a future project?

Next up is an animation of the man who took a photo of himself EVERY day for 6 years!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B26asyGKDo

This is truly incredible footage and not ot mention ridiciously disciplined! This is the style I want my beard to be shown in at the end. Nice and simple and raw. :)

Here we have a man doing the same but with a beard being grown as well and done for 8 years instead! It's insance the amounts of dedication these people have!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc_PU3D3QNE&feature=related

And here is one of a pregnant woman during her pregnancy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBUsWwMXTjE&feature=related

This one is a little too slow for my liking and doesn't show transitions very well but still it is worth mentioning. :)

And finally I've actually found one of a beard growing as my final example of this time lapse! Although these are all time lapse based pieces, the transitions are what I've been looking at and especially the backgrounds. This change that happens around us as we grow is something which truly fascinates me as it's not just the man growing but the enviornment too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY8gja0_CCA&feature=related

So there's some of the best research bits I've done and in alecture recently we also looked at "Bowling For Columbine" by Michael Moore. Again this simplistic style and very hands on interactive style of documentary, where the director is directly involved with and addressing the viewer and the documentary, is what inspires me overall and is the main aspect I want to be present throughout my piece.
At first I thought the style might be more reminiscent of a documentary with a Expository style, but thinking it over, documentarys like this differ and become more interactive by the documentor making his/her view very clear and emphasising it through collaberation with "real life" people/witnesses, not actors and also through a general collaboeration with the project and subject(s) it/themselves.
Also, the animations used to explain in this piece are again showing just how a simplistic animation can help break up the visual and narrative to spice it up and keep it fresh and appealing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUSpszWfu_w - Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine".

Finally, in this blog are also the photos of my notes etc. from the beginning of this project right up to now with the ones showing order and content.

I'm sorry if you can't read them cos they're a bit small, but basically they are firstly all 4 documents together with top left being the notes from that first 236 lecture, then below is the content and order I've been putting together and next to that is the additional notes once I'd narrowed down my subject. Then finally top right is my list of rules for Tom and Phil which outlines what they have to do when taking part in Decembeard. Originally as you can see here, I asked quite a lot from them so when they actually take place (although now it will be Phil and Jeff) I will dumb this down and give them a more simplistic outline of what they've got to do. :)

That's it for now but check back soon for more on how I'm progressing along with this project, including footage, more images, notes, research and anything else I can think of that would be relevant to this project. :)

Take care,
Joe.

MEDI 236 Introduction

Hello and welcome to my new blog workbook for MEDI 236 A.K.A the Documentary Project.
In this module I will be creating a documentary on a subject of my choice with regards and references to other practioners work and styles.

Having already learnt we were going to be doing this module in the second year I originally thought I would do it on Buddhism, as I learnt a lot about it during my A-Level in Philosophy.
However this idea felt too safe to me and I decided to start from scratch, and if I couldn't think of anything better I would come back to this.

Below is my list of other ideas I had taken from my initial ideas and notes. I would normally upload the notes but to be honest they're very messy and also a couple of my coursemates have drawn penis' all over them so it's not the most professional approach to explaining my beginnings!

Initial Ideas List:

Buddhism - Go to temples and ask a major question/try to answer it
Improve on this idea and have my own journey!
Spiritual? Go to different religions e.g. Buddhist temple, Church, Gurdwara (Sikh Temple)
Modern Travllers/homes
Lifeboat down Exmouth
Dad's new Puppy Bea and the RSPCA
Fishermen/seamen and their lives down Exmouth
Plymouth in general (history etc.) (Crap idea)
Challenges!
Gym Challenge E.g. since probably gotten bigger over Christmas, documentary of me getting healthy again?
Learn a trick? I.e. Juggling?
Riding a Bike guy (bloke from another year in Media Arts who learnt to ride a bike for the first time as his documentary)
Volvic Challenge
Growing Plants
Finally getting a Tattoo? Scabbing etc. WHOLE PROCESS?
Haircut/hair growing?

FOR ALL KEEP VERY SIMPLISTIC - THINK "SUPERSIZE ME" by Morgan Spurlock

It was only when my girlfriend Eden said that my beard was getting a bit scraggly after that final idea that she realised how good it would be as an idea for me to grow a beard from scratch and do a photo each day!

This idea from such a beautiful creature is what I have concluded to do for my documentary. The challenge of growing a beard is already a social event which me and a few friends have taken part in before last year called DECEMBEARD.
Taking the words DECEMBER and BEARD, those who take part must shave on the last day of November and then resist from shaving all december until they can style and shape whatever facial hair has grown in January (although to stay in style with the other title, most called it MANUARY, MAN and JANUARY since it is mainly men who are growing the beards, unless any women take part who have Hirsutism!).

As I've said above, my main influence for a challenge based documentary came from Morgan Spurlock's "Supersize Me" in which he ate only Mcdonalds food for a month.
However along side this initial challenge he included a history and back story to many of the points and subjects which arose in his documentary.

For my own project, I am going to be taking part in this challenge of Decembeard and explaining what and why it exists, as well as why people have beards and what they have meant over the years.
Already I knew that a big beard (such as Merlin's) has been associated with wisdom etc. but what else have beards represented and been connected with?

From here on in I will be preparing firstly my proposal of my idea (which I'll post next along with the photos of my ideas which don't have willies on them!) and then getting an early start on the project by getting myself ready for taking part in Decembeard since it's November now and the early bird catches the worm etc. :)

Take care,
Joe.