Alexander Karam @alexkaram-blog - Tumblr Blog

GBDA 201 Animation (20 - 40 seconds of audio)

- Alexander Karam

Mini-Blog 3 (Storyboard)

Animation Technique: character rigging

Dialogue: ‘’I was climbing this part of the rope next to the silo and I was about fifteen feet off the ground maybe sixteen feet off the ground’’

Action: Landscape shot of character climbing the rope to show the viewer the height at which he’s at

2. ‘’And I’m climbing up’’

Action: Zoomed shot of characters hands (first person view almost) climbing the rope

3. ‘’And all of a sudden the rope snapped’’

Action: Camera focus on rope snapping and characters hands suddenly shifting and turns into panic / falling action (camera still zoomed as of this moment)

4. ‘’I hit a part of the shed, slide off that it was like a steel shed’’

Action: character is shown in a tracking motion of him falling and hitting the shed

5. ‘’And I fell’’

Action: Character is now off the shed and shown him in the air falling towards the ground, next scene can transition with character hitting the ground.

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Mini-Blog 2 - Part B (Log line)

Big on spectacle and omnipresent, such a simplistic object captures a transcending journey across a boys unbroken speculation on the possibilities that may lie exclusively within a soccer ball.

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Soccer Ball Video: Project Statement (Mini-Blog 2 - Part A)

The object that I chose for my short film has been very close to me my whole life, and has taught me many things about winning and losing. A soccer ball to me is not just an object but a learning experience for me every time I am to touch the ball. The most interesting factor to me about a soccer ball is how it brings others together and can change the setting of any environment, for example you take a grass field with nothing going on, add a soccer ball and anything two objects for nets and you have a game. The soccer ball fuels the elements the game brings to myself and others. To me there is not one theme or emotion that a soccer ball can bring. It can be your best friend and greatest enemy, sometimes it causes you pain and suffering and at times it brings you greatness and glory. My greatest interest with a soccer ball is that it is used for the same thing every time, yet is able to provide people who interact with it wonders for their future (ultimately a professional career in the sport). In order for me to show the viewers the change of environment and outcome of using this object, I included an ‘’amateur’’ view and a professional view towards how this object can impact one of its users. I really wanted to show almost like a journey and how influential this object can be to someone, I formatted my film almost in like a timeline sort of feel, as if it’s a journey from start to finish.

Short films usually capture more than one genre I find, therefore I didn’t have any direct plan or motive to capture a direct genre. The end result of my film I would say captures an adventure film of an aspiring dream of a young soccer player, I find the effects I added promote a little bit of an action motion throughout the film as well. During the filming process the main thing I kept in mind was my focus and zoom as well as my camera movement. This reflects critically to my editing techniques on how I transition from one shot to another by using wiggle, twixtor, screen pumps, and twitch. For the focus on the camera I always tried to make sure the soccer ball is the ‘’eye catcher’’ for the viewer. When shooting the clips of users interacting with the soccer ball, I would either follow the soccer ball after it was kicked (showing camera movement) or have a zoom in (on the soccer ball) during whatever action it takes. As for effects in order to keep the film flowing fast and keep the same mood throughout the entire film, the main effects used were; twixtor, twitch and wiggle. My transitions were either straight cuts or I used scaling and positioning in order to highlight important shots within my composition.

In conclusion the objective of this short film was to teach a message about how influential and important such a small object can be to someone, by what it brings to them. I would like to see any viewers of my video walk away with the message of; anything is possible because of what something so small and simplistic can do for someone. I showed representation of my object by showing use of the item and what it means to me every time I use it, and what I wish I could have achieved from this object.

TAG LINE: Passion, Emotion, Motivation, Dedication, Adventure, Goals, Opportunity, Striving, Career, Dream, and Success.

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In association with Fractal, produced by Alexander Karam

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Visual Storyboard (can’t draw sorry....)

- Alexander Karam

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Mini-Blog One (Part C) - Descriptions

Storyboard Write-Up / Descriptions:

1.The opening shot of the short story, starts with myself (or whoever is being recorded) dribbling a soccer ball on the streets of the city. The camera shot is a low shot so the viewer is only able to see the road and a foot shot of the person and the soccer ball itself. The camera will be moving forward with the person and I will add real smart motion blur in order to make all the movement smooth and clear.

2.Next shot is that of the city showing the scene in which the opening composition was and it shows the viewer the setting / environment. This will be a slow pan shot of the city and may have a couple of cuts (same concept just different shots). The shots will be in order of the city getting closer to the soccer field where our MAIN part of the story will take place. I will use rsmb, curves & magic bullet looks in order to have the best looking city view and slow smooth movement on the camera

3.Once the composition reaches the soccer field the opening shot will be a close up of the soccer ball itself with the soccer net / rest of the field in the background. This is showing the user that this ball will be used very shortly in the next cut or scene. Effects in this clip may include glow, spotlight, different sharpening around the ball and colour curves.

4.Once the viewer has seen the soccer ball itself on the field, the next shot will be where the person (myself most likely) will start using the soccer ball. I will be including cut clips of shooting and dribbling the soccer ball, as well as the emotions and people playing with myself on the field. Since there is no audio I will be using some of these effects in order to give my clips a better more professionally edited look: twixtor, curves, magic bullet looks, rsmb, RGB twist.

5.In transition from the field, back to the city there will be another shot of the sunset in the city (showing the viewer that time has past and the current environment). The camera will scale inwards towards the shot and then shift slowly to the right like in the first shot of the city during the day. This is to show the transition from earlier in the composition and the transition to night. Similar effects will be used in this composition as the second one.

6.The end of the story takes place in a night time setting in the city, with myself carrying the soccer ball. This is to show the user the journey of a soccer ball and how people can use it in their daily lives and take differently from it. The camera will be facing behind me, as the lens points at the ball which I will be holding out in front of me (facing the night city). Hence this concludes the composition as the screen will fade out to a last message and cut. Effects used in this shot will be the following: blur, scaling, rsmb & colour curves.

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Soccer Ball - Mind Map.

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Mini-Blog Part A: Research

(Soccer Ball)

a. How is it made/what is it made out of? How does its materiality influence how you feel about this object?

Typically any soccer ball is made up of two different layers, the first being the covering is backed with multiple layers of lining. The lining is usually types of polyester or cotton blends which tends to give the ball strength, structure, and the ability to of course bounce. Then comes the ‘bladder’ inside the ball (which is what holds all the air inside), made of latex rubber or butyl (similar to rubber). Most balls will have a valve for air retention. Generally the material of a soccer ball will influence me to become inspired to play or better known as ‘game time’. When the soccer ball is blow up to it’s max it changes the dynamics of the ball and how it touches towards my foot, the inflation is very important as well as which brand it is (Nike, Adidas, etc).

b. What is its history? Does it have a history in your family or a larger history culturally? Can you conduct an interview or survey? Are there any stories, myths or narratives associated with your object?

The history of the soccer ball actually originated from the Caribbean when they used to execute people in the streets, children used to kick the heads of the deceased and make it into a game (known as soccer or football). This created the sport and the idea of kicking a small object on the ground only using your feet. There is actually no history in my family related towards soccer, I’m the only one in my family who plays or has any passion towards the sport at all. As for the sport this item is associated with there are countless different cultures and thoughts towards what a ball brings to people when they use or even see it. With some it’s passion to play the game, with others it may be joy to watch others compete in the sport of football. Interviews and Surveys could be made in order to gain information about what this item brings to people and how it affects their lives. There are many examples and short stories/narratives created about what a soccer ball has done for people etc, one that I have read and enjoyed because it relates directly to me is; The Elephant and the soccer ball. The story explains how this elephant always loved watching people playing soccer and enjoying their time with the soccer ball, but this elephant could never be able to play. One day a little girl noticed the elephants interest in a couple boys passing the ball around and threw a soccer ball into the elephant's cage. Everyone watched in amazement as the elephant was entertained by the ball and how it was able to kick it around. I like this story because it shows the joy that a soccer ball can bring to others that may not even know the purpose or name of the object, they can purely enjoy its presence by having an experience trying to play with it.

c. What are the object’s aesthetics/style? Ie does it fit into an era, genre or does it have any metaphorical/social/political associations? (Ie. think about how a paper cup can both be simple and elegant but also carries environmental problematics.)

One of the things I love most about a soccer ball is to myself it does not fit into one certain area of anything. I feel it can be used by anyone who truly wants to enjoy their time with it and see what it brings to them. For me and I would hope most people I see a soccer ball as an item that brings joy, and something to do which keeps us healthy, active and social. I believe that this social class should not be classified as anything because I would encourage each and every person to come and experience something with this item and see how they feel about it. There has been many different political and social problems that are formed from the sport of soccer itself, certain leagues, clubs and teams all have rivalry and start problems that arise into fights, riots, etc. Just recently there were various reports of riots after the Euro Cup 2016 in France due to the lose of the home team in the finals. With the the many joys and entertainment from this sport and the ideal use of a soccer ball, these are the problematics that are formed worldwide (mainly in countries who have a higher cultural value towards soccer than North America) due to the competitiveness of this industry and how it is designed.

d. What style do you see as working well for the object: describe the characteristics of this filmic style: cutting, pacing, lighting, colour palette, etc?

My ideal film for this object would be a journey of the soccer ball, showing the experiences and value it shows and brings to people in the timeframe of about a week. The cuts would be very focused on reactions of any users of a soccer ball, and the actual touch and play style they develop while using this item. As for the pace of the film itself, it would be a slower start and I would build the cut speeds and effects to reach a much quicker pace by the end of it to finally display a message or theme/mood of the film (the purpose) near the end, like some sort of build up almost. Some lighting effects I want to incorporate into my short-film would be some optical flares, CC, maybe a spotlight, and natural lighting techniques with the camera I would use (sun, umbrellas, shot angles, etc). I always like adding some sort of contrast into any of my work when it comes to colours because I love seeing something so different from another blend perfectly together. I feel this message / meaning works perfectly for my theory about how when using a soccer ball it doesn’t matter where you're from or anything about you, it’s made for one reason and can be used by anyone who wants to give it a chance (opposites can attract, all a game no differences).

e. One page of image inspiration in the form of a mood board or style tile (Min. 1 page; please cite sources on the bottom of each image or create a works cited page to supplement your visual examples — artboard/document size can vary).

Link to the IMAGES (third page): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w-8r8vhtkfuYLBqKGC6nR_0lAaqGxzNamI2DIOZy0ws/edit?usp=sharing

Works Cited:

Creative Stock Photography by Photocase that's good for your eyes. (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2016, from https://www.photocase.com/photos/196611-green-white-joy-sports-playing-graffiti-photocase-stock-photo

By Roger Gonzalez / September 25, 2014. (n.d.). Juggling for joy: Pennsylvania 8-year-old uses soccer skills to raise $900 for charity. Retrieved September 19, 2016, from http://www.soccerwire.com/news/clubs/youth-boys/juggling-for-joy-pennsylvania-8-year-old-uses-soccer-skills-to-raise-900-for-charity/

Запрошуємо глядачів та вболівальників на матч V туру чемпіонату Житомирської області з футболу серед ветеранів. (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2016, from http://www.korosten.in.ua/news/sport/zaproshuyemo-glyadachiv-ta-vbolivalnikiv-na-match-v-turu-chempionatu-zhitomirskoyi-oblasti-z-futbolu-sered-veteraniv-.html

Citation from the last link wouldn’t go through but I included the link to where I found the image below (contact if any issues with anything please!)

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwjKqeCkgp3PAhWHyoMKHSKUBEAQjhwIBQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2FGsmbb%2Fbob-marley-forever%2F&bvm=bv.133178914,d.amc&psig=AFQjCNEa5lfQG9KdBsx4OKAZol3faYCbpA&ust=1474428989631369

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Project Statement - Group Project (Assignment #3)

Our animation is based on the poem entitled “Basho Matsuo.” As a group we wanted to create an animation that drew the viewers’ attention to the screen, while allowing them to feel intrigued in capturing an understanding of the motion. We wanted to red shapes at the beginning to represent the lighting flash at the start of the poem, and this was supposed to represent a change or perception. The formation of the circle (eye) is supposed to be a traumatic experience for the person who is described in the poem, due to what change the lightning caused for him to see. In the next animation we show a heart, this is supposed to be the persons emotions to the events that are happening to him (we left this open for the viewer to imagine). The heart then starts to bleed in order to show a breaking or sorrow in the persons reaction, the general idea of the sorrow was the person thought that he saw faces or some sort however it turned out to be grass. The sorrow caused from the person was then transferred into a warping shape that is supposed to represent the person’s reaction to his realisation of the “grass.” We added the explosion as the end of the composition to show a predication / contrast of the emotions we thought would come out of the story.

This was not our first idea; our group had very different ideas that reflected on our storyboards when we shared them together. Once we had the opportunity to convene and really go over the deeper meaning of the poem we were able to develop the different objects and motions that we wanted to include. We wanted to incorporate a very dark feel to the composition in order to show a psychedelic theme (colours very dark and hardly any smooth and relaxing movements). We wanted to keep the viewer engaged and incorporate our word ``excite`` into the animation somehow. We figured the general feel of the viewer while watching this animation should be the definition of our word.

The blood dripping down the screen then filling the composition with a dark red was a method in which to provide interactive dynamic to our animation. As a group we figured we wanted to create something that would interest the viewers in a more in depth concept. Due to the shape of the Christie Digital Wall, our group was left with a very unique area of space to deal with. Personally when our group brought up the idea of the bleeding heart I imagined a piece from Fall, from the motion graphics in public spaces; where it depicts a man falling a tall screen and splashing into water at the bottom (the composition travels from top to bottom for the story) (Krasner,135). Taking into the dimensions we were left to deal with we took into consideration the placement of the heart at the top of the screen for the animation of the blood to drop down the sides and the middle of the screen down to the bottom, where then it will fill up the screen as an illusion of a bowl or glass. The main idea of this was to capture the same technique of dragging the viewers’ attention from top to bottom (this method creates a story within the composition for the viewer to watch). This strategy pin points various areas of the “main” action within the animation.

Our animation conveys our interpretation of the poem, “Basho Matsuo.”. By reiterating our concept, and working in a group we were able to create something completely unique. That showed the contrast of a perception and the emotions behind it. As well as depicting the problems of thinking something is one thing and it turns out to be something else.

Works Cited:

Copperman, Marcie. "Gestault Theory and Dominance." Color: How to use it. N.p.: Pearson Education, 2015. N. pag. Print.

Tingley, Jane. "Lecture Two Composition Part 2." GBDA 101. Waterloo Stratford campus. 9 ct. 2015. Powerpoint

Tingley, Jane. "Lecture One Composition Part 1." GBDA 101. Waterloo Stratford campus. 2 Oct. 2015. Powerpoint

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Green Screen Mini Blog: can’t explain how awkward this was to edit.....

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Shoot for @gammalabs love working with these guys! #BloodOrange

Assignment #3 - Group Final Story Board (for animation)

GBDA101 Mini Blog #4 - Alexander Karam

***BEFORE YOU SAY ANYTHING I KNOW IT’S MINI BLOG #4 (made a mistake and put three in the composition, and I already motion tracked)

Decided to use words mainly cause they can look very clean on a white surface.

Effects Used: CC Snowfall, C Rainfall, Light-burst 2.0, Twitch, and Twixtor

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In Class Exercise Trollback:

Immersive Environments: shape a sense of place by providing order, ambience, comfort, and insight in existing physical space.

Motion in Interior Spaces: motion graphics are vital in establishing mood and atmosphere in hotels, corporate lobbies, waiting rooms, casinos, and restaurants

Motion in Exhibition Design: motion graphics and commercial, educational, art, and entertainment-based exhibits serve many purposes. Imaginative, well-design exhibits create memorable, lasting impressions for viewers.

Motion in Performance: integration of motion graphics into live performances, including musical concerts, ceremonies, and awards shows, has increased substantially over the past decade.

Motion in Exterior Space: motion graphics are playing an important role in shaping our architectural design and urban landscape due to advances in LED technology.

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GBDA101: Assignment #3

Poem: “Basho Matsuo”

Action Verb: Excite

Independent Research:

- *Acts as a contrast between a false fear and happiness

- Once the fear has disappeared, the composition will have a more upbeat and positive motion (moments, curvy lines vs jagged motion).

- There will be a display of much brighter and “happier” colors (lighter colors), vs when the fear and unknown is present the dark colors not merging or blending nicely together.

- The motion will be much more smooth vs edgy and rough.

- There will be light (sun or brightness) within the picture to show a happier time and moment in the timeline, vs the dark motions and little light that composition will show while the beginning stages when this fear/unknown is overruling.

- Any sorts of sounds will be soothing to the ear vs scary or unpleasant sounds for the viewer to hear.

-*The animation will start dark with a bright flash, and will continue the dark mood.

- Continues to a slow transition of more upbeat animations and brighter colors brought into the picture.

- The grass will appear in bright colors (nature will blossom)

- soothing melodies will be played

Ideation:

I chose to show a harsh and fast movement of lightning in the first stanza because it is a surprise and mysterious action that leaves an unknown result to the environment. In the second stanza I show the true reality in of what was thought of as a false perception in the second stanza, to show that taking action can reveal the truth in something. The mood in the first stanza is very dark and unknown towards the viewers perception, it acts almost of a scary scene and sequence of events. In the Second stanza the people would feel much more relaxed and relieved to knowing the truth about this false image.

For the composition the background could be portrayed abstract and or realistic. If it is displayed as a realistic, there would be a physical lightning bolt hitting something leaving a big flash (covering the screen), then the viewer would see faces (real faces) floating. It would then take them to a cloud or symbol or thinking or using some sort of brain power in order to understand the truth. Then a more bright and peaceful environment would emerge for them to see. Had the background/composition be displayed in an abstract manor all of these symbols would be displayed through colors and shapes. Leading the viewers to be able to understand a transition between darkness and fear into a peaceful and happy environment or scenario.

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