My Animation Project

Haiku

http://fmundergrad.hunter.cuny.edu/~fedit/mainhaiku.html

Portrait of a Family: Alex Martinez

http://vimeo.com/32218739

Blog Entry #3: New Productions: portrait of a person analysis

It’s been a long road working on my, “portrait of a person,” project and now it is finally complete. I have made a few videos along the same premises in the past and this one by far seemed to be the most challenging for me. My niche is usually creating works that are comical and this piece involved more serious subject matter an with the limited resources and time it was definitely challenging to whip up something that would directly translate my vision into something tangible. I do not have a Mac computer at home and so I could not work on this project outside of school, which definitely was a major reason I felt it didn’t come out the way I hoped it would. At home it is quieter and I don’t feel rushed and it is just a much better work environment for me personally. Also the only time I could really get any work done at school was during the open lab hours on Wednesdays during the day for the duration of my actual lab class is so short and I nearly always just spent that time working out the kinks of all the technological difficulties I always seemed to have. I was very disappointed that I also was not able to shoot footage outside of class because of my work and school schedule plus the lack of equipment I have. I feel that my footage is rather random and just does not fit with the piece because I was only able to film my subject running around Hunter rather then getting him with his family and at his house and whatnot. So if I could do this project over again I would definitely have planned a bit better from the get go; I would have storyboarded a well organized outline of specific shots I wanted and felt would fit the piece better. Right now I feel that the piece came out too and kind of drags on a bit because of the footage playing as the interview proceeds, if I had the right footage I feel like it wouldn’t feel so prolonged. I definitely learned a lot from this experience about what it means to make a film and what goes into it. I learned that the audio and visuals are recorded on different channels and it is in the editing process that you mix the two together and are able to make alterations then such as tweak the way it sounds by using the pen tool. I learned a lot about how to use Final Cut in general. I learned a lot about the different hot keys and how to quickly be able to cut clips, use the pen tool, and set my inputs and outputs. I also learned how to add text to different slides, which will definitely come in handy with other projects to come. I was definitely pleased with how the interview turned out, I feel like had to a lot to work with in that aspect and I also really thought I ended the portrait itself on a good note. This project actually did help me to look at commercial movies in a different light; I am definitely more critical and analyze every little shot and transition as I am watching the film. Overall this was an awesome project and I wish I could have done something more creative with it and I feel that would have been possible if I had more time and more access to different resources but hopefully I will be able to do this again one day and do it exactly as I anticipate it. 

Tracee Fedi
MEDP 160
Anderson/lukas
Blog post #2: sound image and image-image relationships

For this assignment I chose to concentrate on a video I made in the first part of this class last semester. The video conveys a story because of the way I chose to allocate the footage. I constructed  sequences of moving images that would be pertinent in relaying my overall message. Where I chose to cut certain parts, stick footage filmed toward the end of shooting day in the beginning of the video, what song I chose, where I chose to zoom in and pan, why I kept shakey footage and where I chose to place it within the video are all just a few of many crucial decisions I had to make in order to create an effective piece that would engage my viewers and provoke their minds to run wild with what they thought was really the meaning of my work. If you notice, the beginning of the video is the only time throughout the whole video that my subject looks directly at the camera, as you continue to watch you notice that all the other footage is from a vantage point of the audience watching him as he looks deep within himself for answers, for help to make a decision to stop using drugs and to free himself from his mind's own entrapment. When filming these different shots were recorded in a different scheme than they appeared in the video, I chose to make the opening scene of footage from when I directed my subject to look straight at the camera with the plan in mind to have every additional scene loaded with images of him doing his own thing for the audience to look over him and have a less direct relationship with him and just gather ideas in their mind as to what's going on in his mind and what his next action was going to be as well as what his final revelation would be. When he was looking straight into the camera at the beginning he was making a direct connection with the viewers and engaging them in a way that perhaps wasn't so obvious right off the bat but if you watch the video a couple times you can start to realize that the relationship with the subject is indeed more direct and intimate and meant as a basis for comparison to the relationship you have with the subject after that point. Editing plays a major role in establishing these kinds of relationships and elements such as the specific music chosen and the transitions placed between shots are all crucial to the flow of the story itself as it is to the message as well.

http://vimeo.com/23831387

The Soundwalk- Wandering around the Lower East Side is not only is a trip in itself but if you really try and be atentive to the sounds ensuing around you you'd be surprised just how chaotic and crazy things are more so then they already seem. I already am a chronic eaves dropper so tuning into people's conversations as I strolled by was a sinch for me. I overheard this tipsy woman telling her tipsy friend about this guy she went on a date with and how at one point on the date she went to get inside his car and her tone changed as she angrily mentioned how rude he was when he didn't allow her to bring her snowball in his car. That was definitely an interesting conversation. Besides the random banter between people on the streets I heard a lot of what I hear everyday against my will, a lot of cars speeding by and braking with irritating squeekyness, taxi's swerving into puddles to pull over and pick pedestrians up, busses airy brakes, and sirens wailing. High pitched laughter and deep laughter filled the street corner as I approached it waiting to cross. There was a fight on the next block between these this couple and the girl started crying and her foot steps were fast and thumping as she made her way in the opposite direction of where her huffing and puffing boyfriend was headed. Doors swished closed to restaurants as I passed them. Candy wrappers and old newspapers crinkled softly as I accidently stepped on them as I made my way toward this dive bar where you could hear the music from blocks away just blaring in and out, getting gradually louder and louder as I approached to go inside where I decided to end the soundwalk but what actually ended up happening was the shenanigan ensuing the remainder of my night, well for days after that too.

This Class was...

This class was a lot of fun...well the lab portion haha>>the lecture portion was a little rough to sit through just because the duration of the class period and how tiny the slides were projected on the board, but other for that this class was very informative and taught me a bunch of stuff about programs like photoshop and imoive that I never was too familiar with in the past...and cassie was the best TA! :)

The museum of the moving image-The cathedral

            Upon my visit to the Museum of the Moving Image I had the opportunity to see wild exhibits that were beyond trippy and so different than a lot of the things one would normally scout out in a regular art museum. The exhibition that grabbed my attention and caught my eye was the Real Virtuality installations. There were six different installations and all the artists responsible for them are either painters, filmmakers, video artists, or some kind of engineer and they all use similar modern technologies to create these images and visuals that are so crazy and immaculate. The software used to create these different processed images are used to develop “simulated worlds that extend, augment, or disrupt the physical environment of the museum space.” The specific exhibit I spent the most time analyzing was the, “Cathedral,” by artist, Marco Brambilla. This piece was a single-channeled video and is basically captured video and film footage that has been digitally processed and looped. It took over 150 hours of high definition footage captured by camcorders allocated through the Toronto Easton Centre megamall in 2007 during the Christmas shopping season. Brambilla utilized compositing and rotoscoping techniques to coalesce recorded images captured from different focal lengths, points of views and from multiple different angles into one kaleidoscopic video shot. The technique of compositing involves creating an image that appears to look as though it’s always just been a single piece but in reality it is the combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images. Rotoscoping is an animation technique that involved Brambilla tracing over live-action film movement frame by frame to create animated images.

Time is of the Essence: the time you spend at school is invaluable. The time allocated for your journey around the academic labyrinth is of the utmost importance because every second spent is a tick in the clock winding down the best years of your life.  

Yin-Yang

The Yin-Yang is a symbol in Chinese text which represents the notion of "everything," powered by opposites and ironically-breaking the mold of black-and-white views. The Yin <black> conveys the dark, passive, downward side of life, while The Yang <white> conveys the strong, active, upward side. The idea is that "...there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast." <Moby Dick- Ch. 11 By. Herman Melville> Further explanation goes to say that "truly to enjoy bodily warmth, some small part of you must be cold. Nothing exists in itself. If you flatter yourself that you are all over comfortable, and have been so a long time, then you cannot be said to be comfortable any more." <Herman Melville> Many people take for granted their situations-they never stop to think of their hardships as a 'glass-half-full' blessing to themselves. They don't appreciate how valuable it is to be exposed to all the shades of the palette of life; even the harsh greys and the hopeless blacks.

Artist Statement

Tao- a word meaning the rationilization of human conduct fit to each being by their level of consciousness. Many regard the word 'conscious' to mean simply being awake, alive, attentative- very tip of the iceberg. My name is Tracee Fedi and I am fascinated by the mind and how it operates differently for each and every person. In a collection of photos, videos, and written pieces I hope to delve into my own realm of consciousness that I feel falls flat for many into living as a sentient being on the surface in everyday life. Here I will facilitate looking beyond the facade each scenario wears. I believe that ignorance is the downfall of human nature and society and if my insights could even get one person to open their mind and consider an alternate way of looking at an idea, disecting a belief or contemplating a thought than the purpose of my art will be fulfilled. It's ignorance vs. consciousness in the fight of evolution- survival of the fittest. I'd just like to give people another light to view human behavior and an optimistic notion that "all truths are universal." <Quote by. John Lennon>