Project 6 & Write up

In this project I tried to create a flow and rhythm of text that formed the shape of the Hollywood hills and sign. I could only use text so I animated the paths of over a hundred celebrities and had them flow across the screen in different speeds. Your eye is still able to catch a glimpse of some while others are harder to see. The Hollywood sign settles on top of the hill of names under it, but later becomes unstable and collapse which also make the names jumble around and become mixed together. I used two exclamation points as spot lights in the background over a soft blue hue underneath.

Pablo Ferro

Pablo Ferro has come along way since his early days in New York where he taught himself animation from a book by Preston Blair. He began his career freelancing through New York, animating for Academy Pictures and Elektra Studios. Then found his first job producing black and white commercials where he later met a former Disney animator William Tytla, who became his first hand teacher. He went on to stretch out his talents in many fields in the film industry. For more than three decades he has been a director, editor, producer, and title designer, and today he is still creating title sequences for movies. Just a few of the graphic sequences he has design in the past years include: Bones, Men in Black II, The Truth about Charlie, The Street, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Hope Floats, Good Will Hunting, and one of my personal favorite Beetle Juice. This is just a small list of what movies he has titled.
Ferro is known as an early master of quick-cutting and for using multiple images within one frame. He is well known for his distinctive hand-drawn titles, and has also worked with high-tech and optical techniques. This trademark though was hand-drawn lettering that he incorporated into movie titles.
In his works I noticed a fast rhythm in the pictures, words, and shapes of objects he used in movie titles. He splits pictures and multiplies them across the screen many in rhythm of music playing in the titles. The one thing I notice the most is the fonts of the letters, especially in the early days of this work. They have that hand drawn feel to them with a mixture of warm tones and shapes. In my project I tried to incorporate my own rhythm from the beginning while building up to the fall and break up of all the litters. While I wasn't allowed to use pictures in this project I tried to keep my color tones toned down enough for the text to create a movement across the screen.
I would like to experiment in later projects using some of Ferro's split screen methods, and possibly place in music that will match up with my text and imagery. His work as a movie titler has really shown me some great ideas, and I still wonder how he was able to do so much hands on projects during the day we didn't have after effects.


Links I've found with great examples of his work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gXY3kuDvSU&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE0QZDXEEGg&feature=related

http://www.oberholtzer-creative.com/visualculture/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/caringoldberg.jpg

Project 5 & Write up

In this project I experimented with using masks for the first time. I also figured out how to use the Lens Flare effect to help make the names disappear instead of just the masking doing the job. The only thing I wish i could have figured out was how to make the texture for the stars stay still, just letting the mask itself move down.

Project 4 & Write up

In this I decided to use text alone to create a Intro feel into the beginning or advertisement of a tabloid. In this project I used a series of animated camera angles, sure targets, motion blur, and particles to create a accelerated movement through the composite. I decided not to included images this time and just animate the text itself. The particles help create a form of depth within the piece as it rotates, and the motion blur adds to the spin.

Project 3 & Write up

I think I enjoyed working on this project the most. I created the background using parenting and 3d rotation of objects much like the clock example we did in class. I nested the background in with the rest of the other comp. In this project I put the viewer in the middle of the paparazzi action. I tried to create a cycle of different images of paperazzi that spin around and did different things such as getting in your face.

Project 2

Project 2 from Cassandra Case on Vimeo.

Experimenting with nulls, parenting, and 3D aspects of After Effects.

Project Video Test

Project 1 from Cassandra Case on Vimeo.

My Proposal

My idea is to combine an old practice of puppetry with today's modern forms of entertainment including current celebrities as my subject matter. Today's Tabloids are filled with stories and celebrity gossip mostly about things we usually can continue our days with out knowing. Something as simple as taking out the trash can be twisted and turned into a cover story on what dirty laundry is being thrown away. The stories can be far from the truth or exactly on spot but blown out of proportions to make something simple appear more dramatic and entertaining to the public's eye. A large proportion of tabloid celebrity news comes from the celebrities themselves, often by way of their publicists. Stars often create a working relationship with a tabloid, offering them inside info and stories in exchange for free publicity.
Who is the puppet master and who is the puppet? I want to explore these ideas using puppetry effects and motions inside after effects. I want to take simple every day events and dramatize them on stage using images of celebrities found from tabloids themselves. To create the look and feel I will be creating puppets using the images by detaching arms and legs, and animating them when needed.

Internet Sources:

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/tabloid1.htm
http://sunniebunniezz.com/puppetry/puphisto.htm
http://www.tvguide.com/news/patrick-swayze-tabloid-1003942.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppetry

Libarary Sources:

1. Book by Matthew Kieran; Media Ethics

2. New Media and American Politics; Richard Davis, Diana Owen

3. Scooped!Media Miss Real Story on Crime While Chasing Sex, Sleaze and Celebrities; David J. Kraijcek

4. Puppets and "Popular" Culture; Scott Cutler Shershow

5. Cultural Populism; Jim Mcguigan

6. The Media, politics and Public Life; Geoffrey Craig; Allen & Unwin

Pictures

Words:

40 similiar or related words or ideas:

Drama
Star
Headline
Actor
Preformer
Idol
Television star
Actress
Movie Star
Film Star
Thesplan
Act
Make Believe
Roleplay
Character
Ham
Reenactor
Tragedian
Singer
Rock Star
Pablisaty
Ratings
Pictures
Entertainment
Teen Idol
Thursh
Dramatic
Emotional
Humor
Closet Drama
Dramatize
Being Seen
Cover page
Centerfold
Simulate
Thin
Skinny
Tone
Weightloss
Sex
Fame
Celebrity
Famous
Reputation

40 opposite ideas or words:

Fake
Fabricate
Manipulate
Sham
False
Faux
Phony
Dissemble
Cheat
Artificial
Unreal
Falsification
Misrepresentation
Trikster
Forgery
Deceiver
Ringer
Unreal
Bullshit
Assumed
Counterfeit
Imposter
pretender
Hollowness
Shallow
Snob
Snoot
Chubby
Fat
Snot-Nosed
Sexcess
Plastic Surgery
Fake Breast
Infamy
Repute
Opprobrium
Finagler
Imitation
Copy
Mimesis
Mockery