Thursday, September 8, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
3 Animated Shorts
Kiwi!
This was the first short I chose. It's a student work, but in the simplicity of it I find a great story. There's only one character, a kiwi, who cannot fly, but through hard work creates an illusion of flying when he is actually falling. It raises some philosophical questions about perception. He's not really flying, but he's accomplished his goal through the illusion begging the question...does it matter that he was falling.
The concept is overcoming impossibilities. We start out watching him setting up to make his dream come true. The conflict is his own limitations of being a kiwi.
http://youtu.be/JM0MXvE2lnU
The Chubb Chubbs
This was the next short that I watched, and was not a big fan of at all. There wasn't much story or conflict for that matter. The artists didn't say much, and it was meant to be a joke. Mainly it was lame.
It was a character driven plot about a huge loser who tries to the right thing, but never can get it quite right. It was set in an alien world with all sorts of humanoid type aliens. There was a conflict between the main character and general populous, and a conflict between the chubb chubbs and the general populous.
Something wrong happened to the main character, then again and again, but then something good happened. That pretty much sums up the plot.
http://youtu.be/uPSultAKrew
Knick Knack
Was my last film that I watched, and I enjoyed it a great deal. It had a character driven plot, and was set in this land of knick knacks or trinkets. All the sunny knick knacks are hanging out having fun, but there's a snowman in a snowglobe who is left out. He really wants to join the girl who is sunbathing. He tries his hardest to get out of his snowglobe and falls off his shelf into a fishbowl, back where he started. Fortunately there is a mermaid, but his snowglobe covers him again keeping him from his lady. The obstacles are the physical barriers keeping him from women.
http://youtu.be/4PphlAKPp6U
This was the first short I chose. It's a student work, but in the simplicity of it I find a great story. There's only one character, a kiwi, who cannot fly, but through hard work creates an illusion of flying when he is actually falling. It raises some philosophical questions about perception. He's not really flying, but he's accomplished his goal through the illusion begging the question...does it matter that he was falling.
The concept is overcoming impossibilities. We start out watching him setting up to make his dream come true. The conflict is his own limitations of being a kiwi.
http://youtu.be/JM0MXvE2lnU
The Chubb Chubbs
This was the next short that I watched, and was not a big fan of at all. There wasn't much story or conflict for that matter. The artists didn't say much, and it was meant to be a joke. Mainly it was lame.
It was a character driven plot about a huge loser who tries to the right thing, but never can get it quite right. It was set in an alien world with all sorts of humanoid type aliens. There was a conflict between the main character and general populous, and a conflict between the chubb chubbs and the general populous.
Something wrong happened to the main character, then again and again, but then something good happened. That pretty much sums up the plot.
http://youtu.be/uPSultAKrew
Knick Knack
Was my last film that I watched, and I enjoyed it a great deal. It had a character driven plot, and was set in this land of knick knacks or trinkets. All the sunny knick knacks are hanging out having fun, but there's a snowman in a snowglobe who is left out. He really wants to join the girl who is sunbathing. He tries his hardest to get out of his snowglobe and falls off his shelf into a fishbowl, back where he started. Fortunately there is a mermaid, but his snowglobe covers him again keeping him from his lady. The obstacles are the physical barriers keeping him from women.
http://youtu.be/4PphlAKPp6U
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Assignment #3
David the Drunken Squire
David the Drunken Squire has for many years wanted to pass the trials that allow him to be knighted, but his nerves always get the better of him. Such anxieties have bred unhealthy habits such as drinking, which lead him farther away from his goals.
Confidence and assurance are what is needed in this knight-to-be, or else he will most definitely never become a man of merit. What stands in his way are his insecurities, habits and fears. Most prevalent is his fears is that of failure.
As the trials seem to bound towards David he is uneasy until he grasps hold of something that may help him. Legend tells that there is courage for those who travel across the kingdom to the gate of the healer. David sets off on the journey anxious and full of fervor, but also full of doubt, and for this reason he has not forgotten to pack his favorite brand of courage. Unfortunately for him, he fell off the wagon and broke all the spirits that he had, and immediately withdrawals, panic attacks, asthma and sticky fingers ensued. Inhaler in hand and walking the rest of the way he was robbed, attacked by zombie fiends and was the butt of practical jokes played by fawns, yet he made it to the gate of the healer.
At the gate of the healer there wasn't really a wall, just a gate. However, all efforts to move past the gate were rendered insignificant by some sort of misunderstood law of the universe. Birds flying too low would catch a surprise and fly straight into an invisible sort of incomprehensible structure. At the healers gate there was a card, with the words the healers gate, and a receptionist. She asked if David had health insurance, and then asked David to take a seat on some foliage. David waited weeks, but food was easy to come by, because any animal could easily be duped into hitting an invisible wall.
Just as the fifth week had ended a small man with a very long hat dragging against the ground came through the gate and told David that he had to sign a waver before the healer would see him. He signed it quickly and a tall, rectangular faced, youthful looking man came through the gate, cordially introduced himself as the healer, felt David's back, fumbled with his joints a little, muttered a few questions to himself and re-entered the gate. Confused, disgruntled and slightly worried Dave reached for some grapes he had started to ferment, while he had been waiting. Before he had the chance to numb his brain a bit the healer launched the gate from his hands, and it clanged against the invisibility. David stood up reaching ever more furiously for his brew, while keeping his eyes on the healer that ripped towards him. Then David threw up, grabbed his inhaler and wheezed.
The healer's shoes were not so white as they had once been, but the healer seemed unfazed as he inspected David's head as one might inspect a maze. Next he forced some pills into David's hand. Placebo was printed in large letters on the cap. Eye contact was made firmly and a smile visited the healers face, but remained distant from David's. At this the healer left, and David was left with many questions.
Why would he mark them as placebos? Were they really placebos? What did he even do? Could he even know why David had come there? Was he a quack? He seemed like a quack.
Holding onto the pills he decided it was foolish to do away with them, so he held onto them. Next on the list of decisions he replaced his brew with pills. Early in this process he realized that each "pill" was actually sugary candy, yet he stuck to his constitution and would not drink. Candy replaced all drinking making for a dull story.
When he had returned to the king's castle he faced the trials in spite of puke, asthma and tears. He faced it head on in all of its grief, yet perseverance allowed him an honor. None had seen such a hardworking knight.
Confidence and assurance are what is needed in this knight-to-be, or else he will most definitely never become a man of merit. What stands in his way are his insecurities, habits and fears. Most prevalent is his fears is that of failure.
As the trials seem to bound towards David he is uneasy until he grasps hold of something that may help him. Legend tells that there is courage for those who travel across the kingdom to the gate of the healer. David sets off on the journey anxious and full of fervor, but also full of doubt, and for this reason he has not forgotten to pack his favorite brand of courage. Unfortunately for him, he fell off the wagon and broke all the spirits that he had, and immediately withdrawals, panic attacks, asthma and sticky fingers ensued. Inhaler in hand and walking the rest of the way he was robbed, attacked by zombie fiends and was the butt of practical jokes played by fawns, yet he made it to the gate of the healer.
At the gate of the healer there wasn't really a wall, just a gate. However, all efforts to move past the gate were rendered insignificant by some sort of misunderstood law of the universe. Birds flying too low would catch a surprise and fly straight into an invisible sort of incomprehensible structure. At the healers gate there was a card, with the words the healers gate, and a receptionist. She asked if David had health insurance, and then asked David to take a seat on some foliage. David waited weeks, but food was easy to come by, because any animal could easily be duped into hitting an invisible wall.
Just as the fifth week had ended a small man with a very long hat dragging against the ground came through the gate and told David that he had to sign a waver before the healer would see him. He signed it quickly and a tall, rectangular faced, youthful looking man came through the gate, cordially introduced himself as the healer, felt David's back, fumbled with his joints a little, muttered a few questions to himself and re-entered the gate. Confused, disgruntled and slightly worried Dave reached for some grapes he had started to ferment, while he had been waiting. Before he had the chance to numb his brain a bit the healer launched the gate from his hands, and it clanged against the invisibility. David stood up reaching ever more furiously for his brew, while keeping his eyes on the healer that ripped towards him. Then David threw up, grabbed his inhaler and wheezed.
The healer's shoes were not so white as they had once been, but the healer seemed unfazed as he inspected David's head as one might inspect a maze. Next he forced some pills into David's hand. Placebo was printed in large letters on the cap. Eye contact was made firmly and a smile visited the healers face, but remained distant from David's. At this the healer left, and David was left with many questions.
Why would he mark them as placebos? Were they really placebos? What did he even do? Could he even know why David had come there? Was he a quack? He seemed like a quack.
Holding onto the pills he decided it was foolish to do away with them, so he held onto them. Next on the list of decisions he replaced his brew with pills. Early in this process he realized that each "pill" was actually sugary candy, yet he stuck to his constitution and would not drink. Candy replaced all drinking making for a dull story.
When he had returned to the king's castle he faced the trials in spite of puke, asthma and tears. He faced it head on in all of its grief, yet perseverance allowed him an honor. None had seen such a hardworking knight.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Assignment #2
Character Choice #1: From "I am Sam", Sam, played by Sean Penn.Sam is a mentally retarded single father who struggles to keep custody of his daughter who is quickly surpassing his intelligence.
When I first saw the movie I was taken by his idiosyncrasies, mainly an obsession with The Beetles and certain phrases like, "nice choice". However, what really pushes the story and makes it heartfelt is the love between his daughter and him. It is incredibly difficult for Sam to do anything out of his ordinary routine, but he steps out in order to keep his daughter. Above all Sam is a failure, and that's why I love him. Again and again he fails, yet he perseveres on his one track mind, expanding it in order to prove he's a suitable father.
Character Choice #2 "On the Waterfront's" Terry Malloy played by Marlon Brando.
Terry Malloy is a washed up, has been boxer who never really got to show the world what he had to offer. He's not a smart man, and he's been hanging around with the wrong crowd for too long. When he was younger Terry had a chance to make a name for himself as a boxer, but the mafia told him to throw the match and ever since then he hasn't had much to live for.
At the beginning of the movie Terry wasn't a very likeable character. In fact, he was naught much more than a wimpy thug. He didn't do anything bad, but he didn't do anything good either. However, as the story progresses you see that he enjoys and values the lives around him. Soon the mafia oversteps their bounds and through union corruption and other types of things people are getting hurt, and Terry is the only one who stands up to the mafia. He regains his self-worth and fights for the rest of the dock workers as well. Perhaps he is an ignorant man, but I think he finds something truly valuable and is willing to take a beating for it.
Character Choice #3 From "Schindler's List" Oskar Schindler played by Liam Neeson
There's a simple premise to Oskar's motivation, and yet an endless complexity. His goal is to stop Nazis from killing Jews, but that is such a difficult task and encompasses so much.
He's different from my other two choices, because he's collected, he's a rich man of power and he's knowledgeable not ignorant. He's similar to the other choices, because he has incredible perseverance, hope and passion. Again and again this movie shows a man who wants to do good, is disciplined and is unafraid to do what he knows is right even in the face of danger.
1st Assignment
Character #1
Name: Garth Butsch
Occupation: Contractor
Garth Butsch worked his way up the rungs on the construction ladder. He started out as a low worker smearing mortar, but now he's the boss.
When things don't go according to plan Garth can usually roll with the punches, but being late always makes him terribly uncomfortable.
Character #2
Name: Daschik Franz
Occupation: Trainer of Shadows
Daschik is a mystic of sorts. He does his best to train the shadows armed whatever he has handy. A MacGyver of sorts, he'll take what he's got on hand to train the shadows. An itinerant man, he travels teh world day after day following the the shadows and light. It would be uncomfortable for him to waste time, sleep or do something he knows is bad for himself or others.
Character #3
Name: Dennis Lin
Occupation: none
A strange rogue from North Western China. Born to an aristocratic family he spends most of his time searching for beauty slaves and potions to win beauty contests that his family's money sponsors. He has never won a beauty contest, but remains hopeful. Any manual labor or work would make him feel uncomfortable.
Occupation: Contractor
Garth Butsch worked his way up the rungs on the construction ladder. He started out as a low worker smearing mortar, but now he's the boss.
When things don't go according to plan Garth can usually roll with the punches, but being late always makes him terribly uncomfortable.
Character #2
Occupation: Trainer of Shadows
Daschik is a mystic of sorts. He does his best to train the shadows armed whatever he has handy. A MacGyver of sorts, he'll take what he's got on hand to train the shadows. An itinerant man, he travels teh world day after day following the the shadows and light. It would be uncomfortable for him to waste time, sleep or do something he knows is bad for himself or others.
Character #3
Occupation: none
A strange rogue from North Western China. Born to an aristocratic family he spends most of his time searching for beauty slaves and potions to win beauty contests that his family's money sponsors. He has never won a beauty contest, but remains hopeful. Any manual labor or work would make him feel uncomfortable.
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