CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND MONOLOGUE REVISIONS

Bio of the Broadcaster:

His broadcasting name is Otis Valan, which is an anagram of Salvation.

Otis is what some may consider to be an antithesis of the modern day conception of a politician. He speaks plainly, bluntly, but elegantly. He is the leader of an underground resistance movement that organizes under the name of the Social Evolution Bureau. He is of middle class origin so is well educated but still does not truly hold any power.

Some ways to clue into Valan’s origins:
well dressed but not overdressed, dressed in all black with a more militant tone
powerful speaker, but not over flowery with his language
humble but well educated
white/Hispanic
male

His goals are to wake the mass of American people from their slumber of stupidity and show them the truth of their situation, which is that they are viewed only as pawns, constituents and consumers. Their humanity has been stricken from them and they don’t even know it. The American people, since the 1950’s have accepted their patriotic duty as propagators of the capitalist system in which they are the target market. They buy, every day, the idea that they can live an individualistic, idealized life if only they buy so-and-so’s new jeans, or their new table or game system or try this or that new diet. They are the consumers not only of products but of commercial jargon aimed at convincing the consumer that they need whatever product is being sold, when in reality it is the producer which needs the consumer to live. It is much in this same fashion that they view the role of government. They can’t and shouldn’t do anything to interfere with politics as they don’t and can’t understand what’s going on. They have been so led thus far to believe that they need politicians to stand up and voice their opinions when they are barely so inclined to voice their own. No, it is the politicians that need us, for without his subjects a king is a king of nothing, and so long as the king serves the people his position his safe, but should he become selfish and insensitive to the needs and cries of the people it is the people’s duty to inform the king of his shortcomings, and should he choose not to listen it is their duty to make their voices heard, even if it means given the king no other option, but to listen.

He is an advocate of non-violence but at the same time understands that sometimes there is just no other way.

The Social Evolution Bureau is an underground active resistance group that puts out people powered propaganda and fights against the injustices served by the government. The S.E.B. has long been planning action against the current structure of government but realizes that it is the people for whom the revolution is fought that must fight the revolution. With this in mind he sets out to enlighten the embittered few and the opiated masses who try to fit their imperfect pegs into the neatly categorized holes that society has given them. The American Dream is Dead. WAKE UP!

FIRST MONOLOGUE

This is a broadcast of the Social Evolution Bureau. They are the catalysts of change and the time has come. The time for you to stand up and join us. They have been lied to and played for fools. They have been the puppets of the ruling elite dutifully doing as they commanded unkowing of the strings they have held. But still they are alive, and they are not so blind as to keep our bonds. They are free to choose our own fates and they must fight for this right. Do not let the tides of misfortune and fate dictate you to yourself. Now is the time to live.

REVISION #1

This is a broadcast of the Social Evolution Bureau, we are the catalysts of change. The time has come for you to stand up and join us. For too long have you dutifully played the role of the consumer puppets on the strings held by those in power. For too long have we given our silent consent to be condemned to our willful prisons. We have sacrificed our freedom without even raising an eyebrow. But are we not human, do we not have rights. And as long as we live we must fight for these rights for if we do not then truly we do not deserve to live. The American dream is dead. It is time to wake up…

REVISION #2

This is a broadcast of the Social Evolution Bureau, we are the catalysts of change and the revolution is upon us. For too long have we so dutifully played the role of the consumer puppet dancing on the strings held by those in power. And for too long have we given our silent consent to be condemned to our willful prisons. We have sacrificed our very freedom without even raising an eyebrow. But if you do not feel that it is worthwhile to fight for your freedom then truly you do not deserve it. But are we not human, do we not desire the freedom to live our lives. Wake up America, the dream is dead.

REVISION #3

This is a broadcast of the Social Evolution Bureau, we are the catalysts of change and the revolution is upon us. For too long have we played the role of the consumer puppet dancing on the strings held by those in power. And for too long have we given our silent consent to be condemned to our willful prisons. We have sacrificed our very freedom without even raising an eyebrow. But if you do not feel that it is worthwhile to fight for your freedom then truly you do not deserve it. But are we not human, should we not have the freedom to live our lives? Open your eyes, your salvation has come.

CORPORATISM

MORE NEWS FOOTAGE

NEWS FOOTAGE FOR FINAL

SET DESIGN

This is the background set design for the final piece.

NEW MOLOGUE

This is a broadcast of the Social Evolution Bureau. We are the catalysts of change and the time has come. The time for you to stand up and join us. We have been lied to and played for fools. We have been the puppets of the ruling elite dutifully doing as they commanded unkowing of the strings they have held. But still we are alive, and we are not so blind as to keep our bonds. We are free to choose our own fates and we must fight for this right. Do not let the tides of misfortune and fate dictate you to yourself. Now is the time to live.

NETWORK

This movie, although made in the late seventies still holds a very important part in dealing with important issues today. Namely the issue of the sociological effects of television of children and young adults who actually spend more time interacting with a screen than they do with other people. It delves into the cultural and generational rift of those raised on tvs and those who grew up prior. It also delves into the ever present and ever neglected role of corporations in what actually gets played, and told, and how it is spun politcally before it is even presented to an audience, who is then free to twist it whichever way they so choose. It is important to note that there is one scene in which an ex tv exec is talking to his affairess, and explains that she is the manifestation of television in physical form. Everything that she touches dies, but not him, for as long as he can feel, and smile, and cry then she has no hold over him. "He chooses life." One of the other great things that the director/storywriter(s) did well was to allow the audience of the film to decide for themselves the extent to which Howard Beale (the main character) is insane or not. Overall I thought the film had a very important message and among those is the danger of believing and taking for granted what you see on tv to be the truth.

FINAL: STORYBOARD

"Greetings, and welcome to today. Today is the day the revolution begins. This is not a revolution of violence or politics, but rather, it is a revolution of the mind. No excuses. No one to blame. Only yourself. You all have something to say but no will to say it.Where do the words stop, and the actions begin? Know this: It is not the loudness of your voice but the resonance of your actions. No more excuses, for today the revolution begins." - Andrew Lebowitz.

REVISED FINAL CONCEPT

After investigating what it was about revolution that so interested me I realized that it was the notion of social change or rather social evolution that really caught my attention. This notion that societies evolve just like people do is something that I would like to run with. So, in this spirit I would like to create an Orwellian style propaganda Public Service Announcement from the Social Evolution Bureau inciting people to revolution. The concept is that the world has become stagnant and is no longer progressing or moving in the right direction, so in steps the S.E.B. to ensure that social change happens when it should. I am trying to play at this absurdity of propaganda, and why we listen to certain propaganda without listening while other we disregard as obvious propaganda.

FINAL CONCEPTS

- Commercial for a revolution
- An exploration of the processes of old
- A brief history of design

The commercial for a revolution will be what seems to be a standard ad but the item being sold will be revolution itself asking all citizens to become involved.

The process exploration will be an exploration specifically into how the first motion graphics designers did their jobs.

A brief history of design will be just that.

EXPERIMENT 2

Exercise 2 from Andrew Lebowitz on Vimeo.

EXPERIMENT 1

Motion Tracking practice from Andrew Lebowitz on Vimeo.

A MOMENT IN PROCESS

So, the past two days have been a trip to say the least. An experiment in the process of process. I set about to learn a new skill in after effects based on motion graphics in such movies as "Stranger than Fiction," "Fight Club," and "Zombieland." It is an experiment in type, motion graphics, and film and integrating all the elements into a seamless final piece. What have I learned? MASKING IS A BITCH! Going through the movie frame by frame masking out the type is, an experience, to say the least. I have learned, that 20 seconds of graphics = 8 hours of work. Which begs the question, How long does 3 hours of graphics equal? All in all though it was a very gratifying process, through the gruel and grit, and borderline insanity, being able to create these types of effects is an amazing experience.

Ok, enough of the emotional shit. Let me explain how I did what I did. First I started by doing some visual research, looking at movies and title sequences that emulated what I wanted to do. I also studied some kinetic typography videos just to get a feel for the use of type in a very dynamic way. After the research phase came an experimental phase where I made two "practice" videos exploring motion tracking capabilities in after effects. After realizing, however, that without a high contrast image finding a source to actually track the image was more difficult than originally thought. Most of my time was spent manually going frame by frame making sure the motion tracker was tracking exactly what I wanted it to. Next I began experimenting with 3-D type, allowing the type to mimic the actions of what it was tracking. From there I began tracking other shapes and then began the masking process.

Actually, I first filmed a short little snippet of film following my girl-friend as she got ready for class. After editing the film together, which was filmed on a little flip video camera I brought it into after effects where the magic began. Above you can see the initial experimentation.

MIDTERM CONCEPT

I would like to focus on building a technical exercise that explores the relationship of motion/information graphics within the context of film or motion pictures. The footage that I will be using will be non-copyrighted snowboard footage cut and put together in after effects along with added motion graphics. The graphics themselves will be explaining what is currently happening as the snowboarder does what he/she does. The ultimate goal of the exercise is to implement the graphics in such a way as they appear to physically interacting with the footage as well as to enhance clarify and at times add suspense and awe to what is playing.

THEO AARTSMA

Theo Aartsma is a 27 year-old designer out of Northern Holland who spends most of his time working with flash and other interactive media. While his computer work has been highly publicized in publications such as Computer Arts and Digital Arts his typography is also becoming very highly recognized. His work balances illustration, design, and computer art and he spends much of his “free” time focusing on amazing 3-D typography work.

His typography work is very detailed and seems to me to have a very rich history in graffiti. While this is not verified on his or any other site his style and treatment of letters seems very influenced by the graffiti movement, with one exception. His work revolves very much around the juxtaposition of technology and nature and melding those two aspects into the detail of his lettering. All of his work seems very much inspired by the meaning or context of the word, which in turn determine the type of detail work that go into each letterform.

I would have to say that while his work seems to be doing the exact opposite of what our assigned project is it seems none-the-less to be very relevant. While our task is to create a world out of type he seems to create a world within his type; building his typographic characters of organic and mechanical forms. I just find his use of shapes and form used to create typography to be very fitting and can use, perhaps, his ideology and create a world of text within a world of text. Using the letters themselves to build up other letterforms as well as letters breaking down into other letterforms.

I have seen very much of trend going towards this type of typographic work and looking forward to seeing the next stage in the evolution of typography. It seems that the only place to go from here is to begin examining the letters for the inherent value that they seem to possess while combining with that the added cultural weight while simultaneously eradicating any meaning within the form itself and providing a new context to the language. In other words, break it down to build it back up.

(Free)Will from Andrew Lebowitz on Vimeo.

IN FOCUS...

I think it is now safe to say that I have sufficiently narrowed down my scope to something that I can digest as well as have enough to work with. I would basically like to focus on the affect of commercialism and corporate advertising culture on society. How does it affect our perceptions of our selves and the world around us? We see advertising and sponsorships everyday. We see product placements in movies, hell MTV is a frickin' channel dedicated to broadcasting the newest fad sponsored by corporate America. The people that used to sell us products have moved far beyond these boundaries and have started marketing to us the ideals that we think we should live by; beauty, safety, fun, all sold on telling us how ugly, scared and bored we all are.

WHAT ARE THE AFFECTS OF ADVERTISING AND COMMERCIALISM?

1. Commercialism distorts our culture by turning every event into a reason to consume. Anthropologists say that holidays reflect a culture's values. In America, every holiday is a sales event.
   
   
2. Advertising projects false images. For example, some ads imply that you're not cool unless you drive an expensive car, that smoking means you're an independent spirit, or that to be mature means drinking alcohol.
   
   
3. Commercialism contributes to environmental problems by encouraging wasteful use of natural resources. Over-packaging, disposable goods, and buying things we don't really need all contribute to unnecessary use of limited resources. The manufacture and disposal of the things we buy cause other environmental problems, including habitat loss and increased air and water pollution. Billboards cause visual pollution.
   
   
4. Advertising perpetuates stereotypes. Examples include stereotypes related to race (African-Americans as musicians and athletes), gender (women as sex objects, men as business people), and class (middle-class whites as the social norm).
   
   
5. Advertisers influence the content of publications and broadcasts. Government censorship of the media is illegal. Yet it is well documented that newspapers and other media are censored by advertisers. For example, a beer producer may pressure a magazine in which it buys ad space not to print articles on the dangers of drinking...

for more go to http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/index.cfm.

VISUAL RESEARCH

 

John Heartfield:

Hitler swallows gold and spits out junk. (Photo Montage)
 

Coca-Coloanization Breeds Resistance:

Stencil on Wall
 

Shepherd Fairey (both)

REVISED PROJECT PROPOSAL

I would like to take an insiders perspective on marketing and advertising and try to subvert it from the inside. Exploiting and exposing the manipulative techniques that marketing agencies use to sell a product. Think about it, none of the advertising that you see ever gives you the whole truth, they will give you part of the truth, the part they want you to hear, and maybe even the part they have to tell you, but beyond that they always present a facade, that is supposed to mirror reality and in turn make you realize how shallow your existence is without their product. You need them, just as much, if not more, than they need you!

PROJECT PROPOSAL

After having some time to stew in my mind what most interests me at this particular moment I have realized that it is a strange combination of revolutionary thinking tied in with mass commercialization. Have you ever noticed how giant corporation have always advertised themselves as though they were the new leaders on the brink of a revolutionary idea? Why is it that all of the counter cultures in America have been absorbed into the corporate machine? I would like to focus my project on the assimilation of counter cultures into the commercial scene. Basically raising awareness to the fact that people are not even allowed to have counter cultures any more since big corporations (such as Nike, Starbucks, Addidas, etc.) have "cool hunters" or people who are paid to go out and mingle with people and find the next big thing, so that they can exploit it before it even has an opportunity to grow. Advertising is invading and taking over our culture to the point that it seems as though advertising itself is our culture, and that without it we would have no such thing. (All of my resources are located in the top section of the information bar on the left side of the page, feel free to check them out.)

PROJECT RESEARCH

Step 1.
Snowboarding, Extreme sports, skateboarding, freedom, expression, fun, excitement, dangerous, fulfilling, energetic, energizing, aesthetic, graffitti, illustration, design, goggles, jacket, gloves, boots, bindings, counter culture, acceptance, now, beauty, power, respect, avalanche, rebel, revolt, unite, antiestablishment, tattoos, body piercings, indiviuality, outlet, escape, air, mountain, snow, ice, cold.

Step 2.
Mainstream, closed, boring, cliche, tired, lame, controlled, same, indoor, office, cubicle, status quo, empty, sluggish, expressionless, safe, artless, suit, tie, later, ugly, weak, disrespect, warm, trapped, one in a million, overcoat, shell, protected, separated, 9 to 5, static, routine, expected, deny, country club, "Chauncey dear," stuck up, judgemental, afraid.

Step 3 & 4

THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE

Very similar to the Ken Burns affect except maybe pushed a little further, overlaying multiple images creating moving collages but also singling out an individual in a picture and pushing and pulling the character and the background to create depth. What all of these films had in common was utilizing the still image but manipulating it so that it became a movie in itself, each picture creating a world unto itself.

THE KEN BURNS EFFECT

Using only still images Ken Burns is able to create motion by panning and zooming in and out of the images. He is able to create simple depth by cutting out the image and bringing the main subject forward, or letting the background recede.

TOPICS OF INTEREST

- Snowboarding (relating to the lifestyle and aesthetic of snowboard (accessories))
- Political Dissent (mainly dealing with propaganda and anti propaganda)
- Religion/Philosophy (exploring the different aspects of religion through experience and the effects on daily life)

IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL.

First off I have to say that I had no idea who Henry Darger was before I watch this movie and now I really want to know more about him. I especially want to read his book, The Realms of the Unreal, which seem like an obvious attempt to escape the harsh realities and boredom in his real life and glorify them through story telling. But moving on to the point of this post, the aspects of dynamic imaging/or motion graphics as tools for telling his story.

The amount of motion graphics in the film was not especially large, however even in its minimal form it served to create a much more visually interesting presentation. By bringing the work of Darger to life it became much more interactive and engaging for the audience, and allowed them to see the story of the Realms of the Unreal come to life through Darger's own work. Which is much more interesting than looking at a static image while someone talks about it.

DYNAMIC IMAGING.

The purpose of this blog is to keep track of assignments, as well as, to post them for class review. If you should happen to wander here by chance, please feel free to take a minute to look at my work.

YAY!!!

I can't believe we're already back in school...