Final Animation Project - The Time Capsule

The Time Capsule

This project based on a secret interview with my boyfriend about a childhood memory was definitely a labor of love. There were a lot of bumps along the way, but I'm happy with the concept. Enjoy - and please don't mind the poor resolution in some bits!

No Sharpeners Allowed

A (Eerie but) Lazy Day

This is my final animation. I played with paper in a few different forms and although there is still much I'd like to change, I am satisfied with the end result. Enjoy!

The Bird and the Hour Animated Poem by Yael Ginossar

This is an animation inspired by the poem 'The Bird and the Hour' by Archibald Lampman. The cutout animation over a light-table creates a playful contrast of black and white, and different texture to illustrate the moods of the poem.

Blake Final take 2

Blake Final take 2

Don't Make the World a Nightmare

This video tends to show the importance of recycling. A small action can make a big difference to the world. And you and I are all responsible to make the planet beautiful.

Our Future. A Child's Wish. Blake Moskowitz

This is video shares what children hope for the future. The poem was written by a 6 year who was asked to express her hopes for the future. Her older sister, 7, played an original piece that she felt matched the pictures and the words of the poem. The vision was created by me as well as the sidewalk art. Photos were captured by the little girls father. I hope you enjoy!

Equations

I honestly can't remember how I came up with the idea for equations. At first I wanted to do something about the relationship between my sons but it evolved into the additions and subtractions of my life.
Meredith

One Day with My Brother Al

A few years before his death, we interviewed my grandfather about his life. During the interview we discovered many stories about his life that were new to us. One of the stories he told was about his older brother Al.

At the time of the story, my grandfather was a little boy and Al was still in high school. Told with my grandfather’s dry sense of humor, this new old story tells an amazing act of courage with a slight twist on the ending. 

Frog Prince

Frog Prince is a short poem that redirects the old adage, "kiss a frog, meet your prince."  I wanted to try and swap characters giving the agenda of the poem more meaning.  Maybe I should have called it Gay Frog Prince, because the underlying theme here is that, "someday my prince will come ... even if I have to kiss a frog".

Enjoy,
James Martin

Dragonhearted by: Rachel St.Pierre

Dragonhearted by: Rachel St.Pierre from Rachel St.Pierre on Vimeo.

This is a video collaboration between myself and the 11-Year old girl that I am honored to nanny.  The poem (authored solely by 11-Year old Anjali) was inspired by a conversation we shared on the topic of authenticity and growing up.

GENESIS: A Pop Stop-Motion Creation Poem

GENESIS: A Pop Stop-Motion Creation Poem

A modern take on the creation narrative, 

this icon-filled film brings life to brands and pop-items that make consumers come alive. 

This work colorfully illustrates the moving cycles of consumption 

and the energizing, yet fleeting qualities of our pleasures. 

It acts as a metaphor to humanity's greater impression on earth.

Youtube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10G0Dao2NKo&feature=youtu.be

Music Copyright License: 

"Adventure, Darling" by Gillicuddy is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Germany License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/de/

Gun Fun

"Every day, eight American children are killed by guns."

Children can be easily affected by their environment, their friends, and especially their parents. They learn by watching people interact with the world and take it as a model of their behavior. Our video reflects how powerful a gun or other violence could be to change a child’s life, even if they don’t witness the actual violence.

Blake storyboard

Moving image poem

Script: The clip will be about a child's ideals of what she believes to be peace within her environment.

This is a poem written by my friends daughter. She is 7 years old and wrote this poem in response to a class assignment titled: How to create change in your environment. She wrote about peace and her hopes for the world she lives in in poem form. Her older sister will be playing a violin tune that she had created and I will use art to create images that will bring the poem to life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA4xMaVmk1Y

RachelSt.Pierre Storyboad

Script

My project is entitled “Dragon Song”.  The animation is based on a poem written by the 11 year old girl that I nanny for.  The poem is inspired by the influence I have had on her as a mentor and the impact she has had on me as a young, innovative girl.  The main theme of the poem focuses on the infinite power and potential of freethinking passionate of young women.  I will be using lots of paper throughout the animation in cutout form, origami and paper dolls.  

Production Plan

I will shooting this film on a Cannon rebel camera and using a desk lamp for fill lighting.  I am using props such as origami, paper cutouts (hearts, text and backgrounds) and these gorgeous paper dolls that I purchased on Etsy. (Examples Shown Below)  I will be using the SAM animation studio and attaching my camera to a USB cord. I prefer to use the SAM software because I love the onion skin it provides to help with continuity.  Since I am shooting more than one “scene” I will be uploading all the footage onto iMovie and doing the final edit on there.  

URL Example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06dAqSFn1lk

Polished Refined Women

This film is about the juxtaposed women's rights and how far have women really come in today's society. The twentieth century saw a dramatic change in perspective as to the position of women in society. But has that change been as dramatic as we first thought? Watching these images of powerful women while listening edited to this particular audio track asks the question of how far have we really come? These changes, like those that constituted the economic revolution, will probably accrue over time. They will come about as more women, and more men, adjust their lives to the conflicting pressures of family and work until a threshold of incompatibility is reached.

Fly Away With Me - Dream Sequence

This is the story of a little kite who wanders off into the world to meet with a special someone. Follow him on his journey across the fields and see what he finds. We ran into a few issues during the process but overall I think we're satisfied with the final result. Our original issue was a lack of tripod, so each image is slightly different which effected how the "scenes" lined up at the end. There was originally 2 more sections in this animation but we decided to remove them as the final product was too long. The second was the decline of resolution once I imported the images into SAM. I'm unsure why that happened but it's all part of the learning process I guess. The inspiration behind this film was based on the soundtrack. We were reminded of a summer day filled with hot air balloons and kites. So we thought it would be fun to create an animation of a wandering kite in its travels.

http://youtu.be/oDhaZElJ4Ho

Music by the The temperance seven
Titled "you're driving my crazy"

The Land of Great Expectations: Another American Dream

After

Before

              There are so many angles to look at regarding gender, but I chose to focus on what it means to be an "American Woman in modern times" as I know it to be. The ad I found for a salon in The Improper Bostonian was as close to perfect for this project as I could have hoped for. 

              Here we have a woman who looks like she fits the standard of an "ideal woman"- she's physically attractive, well groomed, and can afford to get her (already gorgeous) hair done at a Boston salon. From there I considered the human anxieties and goals of today's (American) women and placed them below the hair, as if they were being washed out. I was happy to recycle the slogan as well, because it works just as well in this new scenario.

Sources:

• Google Images
• The Improper Bostonian
• Boys and Girls Names for your Baby

Sexuality is My Own

 

Girls and women are continuously portrayed as objects of desire. They are degraded in television and movies both subtly and blatantly. Examples of this devaluation of woman's sexually can be found everywhere from high end clothing advertisements to cult classic films like Jack Frost (the horror film). Girls are pushed to dress sexier, be skinner and to continue to keep up with the latest trends. If they do not abide by these social expectations and peruse things like careers, they are often labeled negatively. If we don't put more effort into teaching girls about media literacy they will never unlock their true potential. Girls need to breakdown and push back on the societal pressures placed on them. This is the only way a woman can gain control of her image and once she does, nothing will get in her way.

Images found in this order.

http://resumebutterfly.com/classic-suit-job-interview-outfit/

https://www.facebook.com/BostonAtNite

Google search of "sexy women"*

*note the lack of women of color.

The Power of the Red Head

I spent a lot of time this past week reflecting on the discussions of our guest speaker from our last class, specifically the part about the Sally Field movie giving the Arab culture a bad name.  I don’t think the ‘makers’ of this film did this on purpose.  I want to believe people aren’t that cruel.  

That being said - red heads.  Always intriguing and always terribly sexy (at least to me) – male or female, the red head has always been prized.  And feared.  And even ridiculed.  I immediately think of Lindsey Lohan.  The question I ask; Did Lindsey Lohan’s stints with cray-cray give red heads around the globe a bad name?  I don’t think any of her over-sexualized, drug-induced antics were brought on because of her red hair.  Maybe I am wrong.

The picture on the right is of Linsday Lohan at the AMFAR kickoff to Fashion Week.  (SOURCE: nydailynews.com Troubled starlet Lindsay Lohan … February 6, 2013) After coming across the picture, I immediately wondered how I would have reacted if Lindsay’s hair was blond.  Would the blond hair eliminate any ill feelings I might have towards how I perceive her?  Is the media to blame? Blond superstars Britney Spears and Paris Hilton for example, seem to have “gotten away” with their antics, but for some reason Lindsey continues to suffer.  Is it the red hair?

*I realize that there was that one time Lindsay went platinum blond.  The look didn’t last long.  I’m thinking more “natural blond.”

The second pic is my attempt to give Lindsay Lohan a “blond” makeover.  Do you think Lindsay looks less troubled with blond hair?  What if she had brown hair?

American Beauty?

Ever since I was a kid I have been aware of these fashion magazines. Once every 4 or 5 years I'll pick one up for a particular article or to read in the bathroom. It always makes me sick looking through the pictures of plastic women in grotesque circus makeup and clothing so outlandish I can't imagine it could ever trickle down to reality. I think the worst part is the advertisements which take up the bulk of the magazine. These advertisements are geared toward the improvement of personal appearance. Silkier, stronger, shiner, straighter and tangle free, flawless coverage, perfect skin, longer lashes, diminished wrinkles, holding on to and regaining the appearance of youth. 

Who's In Your Bed?

The ‘American Dream’ of love and romance between two people once proved nitty-gritty, spontaneous, authentic interaction between those who felt frisson and found each other face to face, either as strangers, married, high-school sweethearts, or merely swinging in a fated moment of fling on a dance-floor. This original photo, feels more real in some capacity than interactions typically are in this day and age. No longer is sacrifice or commitment the norm. This image remix shows the cold, ice, artificial nature of maintaining a purely individualistic, instant gratification, social media approved, clean and no strings attached romantic relationship. Sure, each of these items (hobbies, sex, money, sleep, friend, luxury, nightlife, travel, freetime, spontaneity, and exercise) are beneficial to want in life and to maintain in balance...but when the priority becomes ‘how can I have my cake, and eat her too’...that is when old-fashioned, lasting, meaningful, human, respectful love –between any gender— falls to the wayside.

 

Photography Credits: Details Magazine April 2011 Issue, p. 106-107, 126-127.

Who can achieve?

Image was retrieved from: The Oprah Magazine, March 2014, pp.141. 

The image I chose demonstrates the way implicit messages in the media support the hegemony. In relation to issues of gender, media serves as an agent of socialization to the heteronormative model. The ideal model is of a white, young age, heterosexual male. This model is often being strengthen by the lack of representation of other options.   

In my remix I wanted to show a wider verity of people with the potential to succeed. Providing representation of a wider range than the heteronormative model, will express the value of equality in a fuller sense. Since the commercial is for Campbell’s soup I was compelled to reference to Andy Warhol’s work, and used a pop art style inspired by his prints. This adds another layer of interest in relation to gender. Warhol himself pushed the boundaries of the heteronormative model and was still a very popular and successful artist. 

Who is Beautiful?

In my transformative picture, I use an average woman who we can easily find walking on any street in the United States to advertise the same product. The purpose of the new image is to subvert people’s impressions of beauty. I believe that every person can be a model, but it seems that our standard of beauty is in fact defined by the images in fashion magazines. When you see the new image I created, will you think the model is beautiful? Will you still buy the product? Have you ever thought about what you really wanted to buy: the products themselves, or just the dream of being beautiful?

On the other hand, maybe we can use this image to test if Americans are really materialistic. If people don’t think those products are fashionable anymore and are not willing to buy them, then perhaps people are not really materialistic -- just extremely shallow and focused on beauty. However, if people still want to buy the products shown by the new models, they may just be materialistic at heart. Either way, people's’ values about this are deeply affected by their exposure to visual media.

Left image is retrieved from: VOGUE August 2013 issue # 08449

The woman in the right image is retrieved from: www.pinterest.com/jaacckkiieee/fat-girl-fashion/ 

Balancing the Power of Being a Pillar of Strength

 The power of the concept of the image below was that women have been the pillars of strength for many communities. The idea of women empowerment has been an ongoing struggle. Oftentimes women have not been supported or recognized for these struggles of personal balance. However, women have been there. They have been woven into the very fibers of the society. To symbolize this universal role of women, I used a tree. When one has gazed at the remixed photo of a woman balancing herself within a tree, he or she can visually see the complex similarities between women and trees. Trees have been at the root of civilization, and so has been the role of women.

  

   

Tree Photo: The Student Conservation Assosictaion. Twisted. Accessed Feb 28, 2014. https://contest.thesca.org/photo/twisted

Woman in Yoga Move: Tatianna. Loving Fit. Accessed Feb 28, 2014. http://www.lovingfit.com/exercises-workouts/the-strength-beast-workout/

Gender and the American Dream Remixed by: Rachel St.Pierre

      I decided to buy a Vogue magazine for the remix project, because I knew I would find plenty of images pertaining to gender, particularly femininity, which is what I wanted to focus on.  This untouched image of a black, chubby-cheeked little girl with braids and a smile as bright as the sun was the only one of its kind in this magazine.  Out of 646 pages in the March 2014 issue of Vogue, this simple black and white image stopped me dead in my tracks. It was the most relaxed and natural photo in the entire magazine.  The photo left me feeling joyful and warm inside.  

For the remix portion, I thought of Kohl’s article, and decided that I was literally going to deface this gorgeous portrait.  I began cutting out pictures of eyes, lips and noses from various makeup ads.  I replaced her natural braids with silky smooth untraditional African American hair fastened back by white roses.  I also played around with the idea of giving her an African-inspired necklace with an oversized diamond pendant domineering the lower half of the composition.  I wanted to play around with the irony of America supporting femininity as long as it was on America’s terms.  It is funny that in a magazine like Vogue, which gets lots of their fashion inspiration (bright colors and bold prints) from Africa expects their models of that heritage to suppress their own ethic attributes of that culture.  The irony of this is sad but evident.  

Photo Credit

Vogue March 2014 Issue #08449

Balloons transcend borders

Source of photo: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/01/we-hacked-north-korea-with-balloons-and-usb-drives/283106/

I came across this image while trying to track down a separate image of balloons in North Korea and decided that this was powerful enough to share as well. Please read the article if you're interested, as it is a fascinating piece.

Viewing this photo without the background story:

Although at first glance I do not understand the context, I can tell through the body language of the people on the ground that what is happening is important. Arms are upraised in a celebratory fashion, and it looks to be an event that is bringing this group of people together. It's also powerful in it's own right because I've never seen balloons that look that way, and there is obviously a message written on them. The photograph is composed very effectively because the action is gathered in the center with the exposure set for the sky and balloons. The figures are thus darkened, which plays into the reality of the situation. Lastly, the small amount of sunshine is used here as a hopeful/triumphant device of sorts.

Circus Acceptance

WATCH CIRCUS ACCEPTANCE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJH6fYf90mM&feature=youtube_gdata_player&noredirect=1

Circus Acceptance illuminates a dream world of animals who live in joy and harmony, while a human is isolated from their community, lonely, alienated, and sadly cast off in shadow. He witnesses their atmosphere of loving celebration and longingly wishes to be included. In a gesture of kindness, one bear offers his scarf as a sign of friendship to the human figure. He accepts this symbolic act, and is welcomed into their community celebration. He finds home, comfort, and peace amidst the animals. 

                                                                    See Our Story Board >>>

A Heartbreak Deferred

Marathon Sports on April 25, 2013, 671 BOYLSTON STREET, BOSTON

Photo Credit: Catherine Howard 

During the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, two pressure cooker bombs exploded at 2:49 pm EDT, killing 3 people and injuring an estimated 264 others.

"You can't go to Costa Rica alone, it's too dangerous." My mother had warned me that traveling to a Central American country as a young female all by myself could be dangerous, but I took that plane ride despite warnings. It turned out that traveling far away that day in April was a blessing in disguise...as the real danger, violence, and tragedy exploded much closer to home, in my own backyard of Boston, Massachusetts. My friend ran over the finish line in celebration just minutes before chaos ensued, which means, had I not been out of the country, I would have been right there at the scene to cheer his victory. I was not there. I didn't cry out in the crowds, see the swat-teams, feel the heat of lockdown, hear the chase on the news, or even understand fully the mourning of a city I call home. I returned to Boston opening up again and getting back on its feet. I didn't have a story about where I was that day along the race route when the bombs went off. I merely witnessed Bolyston buildings in band-aids and Marathon Sports flocked with those paying respects with old running sneakers, signs, prayers, and curiosity. That silent, awestruck curiosity that tends to bubble up at places where great evil leaves broken windows and hearts boarded up till next year. I witnessed healing for a heartbreak I didn't live, or really know anything about, until it had already ravaged my community. 

These are my sons. The one on the bottom is K and he was 4 and his brother T, sitting on top was 14 months. The love they had for each other was my greatest joy. K took his responsibility of older brother very seriously.  K followed T around and always made sure he was safe. T looked up to K and mimicked everything K did. T died of a rare brain cancer in 2005 at 2 years, 3 months, 21 days. For me this photograph is a reminder of the love we had and lost and that is powerful.

American Fate Story

This is our short film. It's centered around the idea that Americans can no longer accept fate as a plausible cause for happenings. The two characters are brought together by fate and torn apart by their inability to believe in it.

Created by:
Rachel Bailey
Jim Martin
Stephanie Rosario

Pledge of Allegiance By: Bling Nation

Bling Nation
Jessica Axelrad
Yael Ginossar
Blake Moskowitz
Rachel St.Pierre

Our movie is comprised of 8 shots which take place in different materialistic settings.  Each shot has a singular line from the Pledge of Allegiance.  Jimi Hendrix's Star Spangled Banner plays in the background.  We wanted to keep our shots tight so the audience couldn't connect a face to the character but rather just see their hands.  We played around with lighting techniques using flashlights (paparazzi shot in elevator)  and handheld colored filters (poker chip shot with green lighting).   Overall we had a fun time and worked really well as a collaborative group.

Banksy, west bank

Artist: Banksy. December 2007, Bethlehem, Israel. 

The photograph of the mural was retrieved from: 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7125611.stm

The image depicts a role reversal that redefines the hierarchy of power between IDF soldiers and Palestinians. In reality IDF soldiers are the dominant and powerful agent in the occupied territories and the Palestinians are the oppressed group. Part of the daily practices of IDF solders is to conduct search on suspected Palestinians. IDF justify these kind of practices by claiming they are necessary for the security of Israel. This image challenges this perspective by depicting an absurd situation of a girl conducting a search on a solder. This situation obviously challenges the typical hierarchy. The girl symbolizes naivety and innocent represents Palestinians. The unexpected reversal role is amusing at first, but quickly becomes disturbing. This is a powerful allegory about the reality of the two nations. The medium of graffiti strengthen the message of the image. Graffiti is created in the public sphere and is an unauthorized act. Stencil graffiti, that was used in this case, implies of recurring pattern of IDF solders acts. 

Who do you see?

Jimmy Armstrong the dwarf, Clyde Beatty Circus, New Jersey, 1958. Photograph by Bruce Davidson.

I saw this image while I was reading Lapham’s Quarterly, Comedy. Comedy, for me, should be something makes you happy and laugh. And clowns are the ones to bring happiness to everybody. I was astounded when I saw this picture, because instead of happiness, all I can see is sorrow and loneliness. This image makes me think about what the meaning of happiness is, and how we can easily define someone is happy or not. Just like this clown, even though he showed his happiness and brought joy to the audience, how many people ever care about his true life behind the stage? How many people care about his probably tragedy story?

This picture was taken by Bruce Davidson, an American photographer. He described that when he took this picture, his camera shutter did not seem to disturb the clown. “He seemed to know that it was the inner moment I was drawn to and not his clown face or physical appearance.” Yes, it is the inner moment of the clown that makes this image so powerful.


http://www.dandy-club.com/2011/05/bruce-davidson-circus.html

I tried very hard to think of a meaningful image from our incredibly media rich world. My favorite image from memory is a personal one and I hope that is acceptable because it has always held great meaning for me while growing up.

As a child I looked forward to turning the page and seeing this particular photograph in my family album. This is a photograph taken by my Aunt Peggy well over 35 years ago. It was ten years before I was born and ten years before I was even manifested by my parents. It was the evening my parents decided to get married.

Paint by Touch

In 2001, John Bramblitt became completely blind. It was then that he decided to start painting. Unlike most seeing painters, Bramblitt’s process is done by touch. First, he lays down the outline with fabric paint. This creates a raised line that he can use later to guide him in applying the color. Second, he applies the paint through a tactile approach based on the texture of the paint. Titanium White, for example has a toothpaste-like texture, where as the Black is more watery. 

Shown above, Street Cello by John Bramblitt, displays an excellent aesthetic quality in color and design. The painting resonates with me in two primary ways. One, it shows brilliant use of color and design to illustrate a sense of movement. It is easy to get swept away in the imaginary song that the cellist is playing.  Two, the painting demonstrates the arts as true form of expression for everyone, including the physically disabled. The artist’s plight and perseverance to overcome his physical limitations are as inspirational to me, both as an artist and a person. 

Bramblitt, J., “About”, Aug. 2009. http://bramblitt.net/?page_id=1315 Accessed Jan. 5 2009.

Bramblitt, J., “Street Cello”, Jun. 2013. http://bramblitt.net/?page_id=1315 Accessed Jan. 5 2009.

Balance

http://www.flickr.com/photos/froggerjaunt/5354946007/
The photo I chose speaks to me in many different ways.  It was taken in San Juan Puerto Rico at the once famous Swimming Natatorium. I was hoping to capture some amusement in the eyes of the 4 student-athletes in the shot, who were nearing the end of 10, long, intensive training days.  Instead, I think I managed to capture the innocence of 4 student-athletes who are mesmerized by the opportunities student-athlete life has awarded them in the years since they'd become Wheaton College Lyons.


photo by: James Martin
Jan 13, 2011

A Night in November

When it came time to choose an image, I began searching deep into my mental archive of photographs and assorted imagery. However, everything I knew didn't feel right. So I set out on a quest to find "new" imagery that I appreciated. I went with the New Yorker cover because for years I've been so captivated by how both beautiful and profound their covers can be. This image originally reminded me of a night I spent in New York with a dear friend. We sat in a park in NYC and watched the fire flies. Then, I looked at this cover again.
What I first saw as an image of leisure (which later manifested itself into the idea of "people watching") quickly changed. I took a closer look at the windows and noticed two common themes. A gathering of people and turkeys. It's thanksgiving day. I am not sure why the date didn't lead me to see that in the first place but I'm glad it didn't. This man, sits in a city park, why he's alone is unknown but it doesn't matter. He's sitting alone, in a park on a probably cold night with the company of pigeons.
Although, it does have a rather pessimistic lens I think something good can be taken from it. To appreciate all those around us and to help those not as fortunate. I've seen how little people can have and how easy it is to get there. Which can be very scary. However, we can take time out of our fortunate lives and help out those who were dealt the wrong cards.

"40 Part 34 – Chris Ware Narrates New Yorker." The Ephemerist. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014

Short Stop Motion Animation by PES

PES is a film director and stop motion animator who was actually nominated for an Oscar last year for his stop motion movie, Fresh Guacamole (here is the link) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNJdJIwCF_Y  It also set the record of shortest film ever nominated for an Oscar.  

Roof Sex (2001) was his first animated film.  The film is a minute long but actually took 20 days to film on a New York City Rooftop.  It is a prime example of the love and labor that goes into making a stop motion animation film.  

Not only do I love the concept of the film but I really like the theme of taking every day objects and giving personality and meaning to them.  PES uses this theme in many of his short films.  He successfully uses the medium of stop motion to aid in his tongue and cheek perspective on society.

-Rachel