My Life On Film

Social media has begun to migrate from a predominantly text-based medium, through photography and into cinematography and edited video. Film is a vital medium through which we not only capture our world, but also seek to understand it. This workshop explores an emerging area of research within the CHI community that focuses on applying filmic techniques in two different ways; 1) to automatically interpret personal data and to allow users to interact with personal data, and 2) to explore film as a vehicle for the personal curation of digital identity. This multidisciplinary, one-day workshop will bring together social scientists, cinematography experts, ethnographers, semantic and graphics engineers together with general HCI practitioners to explore and evaluate individual and community representations on film, new ways of translating traditional social media data into film, the engineering challenges of automatically rendering filmic media, and the critical role such automatic and semi-automatic systems can play in persuasion, understanding, and empowerment

Mist

Mist is an abstract, animated graduate thesis film with a duration of five minutes. It is an extremely personal film, which is inspired by my childhood memories and Chinese culture. It is a reflection of my own life, which just like the fluid ink in the film, reacts with the environment naturally and leaves distinct marks on the paper of my life. This is a live action and 2D animation mixed film that was produced with After Effects and Premiere software. The primary plan was to produce this film in 3D. However, in order to achieve a more dynamic look, I eventually made changes in my medium. The majority of the footage in the film was shot in live action and edited in After Effects. This thesis paper is about the creation of Mist from my point of view. It involves the generation of the ideas, experiments and trials, production processes and the challenges I encountered

“A Dem Fine Woman”: Female Artists and Actresses' Visual Representations of Beautiful Evil

Citation: Allan, E. (2017) “A Dem Fine Woman”: Female Artists and Actresses’ Visual Representations of Beautiful Evil. Unpublished manuscript, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS.Kirmser Undergraduate Research Award - Individual Non-Freshman Category, honorable mentionAnne PhillipsThe scene is iconic: a faun walking through a snowy wood holding an umbrella over him and his companion, a young girl. This evocative image has become the foremost visual representation of the beloved works of C.S. Lewis, his seven-book Chronicles of Narnia. Having grown up reading the books, beginning with my introduction to the seminal The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at age eight, I can attest to the powerful influence these books, with their fantastical settings and characters, had on my life. While most readers are enthralled with the wonderfully good lion Aslan or the world found beyond the wardrobe, I was captivated by the titular witch. I spent hours looking at the illustrations of her in my books and shivering when I heard the commanding voice of Elizabeth Counsell’s performance of the White Witch in the Radio Theatre broadcast audiobooks. My obsession has extended well into my adult life as I encounter new depictions of my favorite villain. The incarnation of evil, Queen Jadis the White Witch, has been visually brought to life by three women over the years. Pauline Baynes created the official illustrations for the Narnia novels, Barbara Kellerman portrayed Jadis in the BBC's 1988 TV miniseries, and Tilda Swinton took on the role for the 2005 feature film. The progression of the depictions over the years has illuminated the source of the Witch’s power over other characters and readers alike. Baynes’ original illustrations set the standard, while the following film adaptations either fail to meet the standard, in the case of Kellerman’s melodramatic portrayal that undermines the character, or supersede the standard in the way that Swinton seamlessly reimagines the villainess to fit the 21st century

Examining Eschatologies of Glory and the Eschatology of the Cross in A Theology of Hope and A Fire in My Belly

This paper utilizes the theological framework developed in Jūrgen Moltmann\u27s A Theology of Hope to examine David Wojnarowicz\u27s film, A Fire in My Belly. Moltmann\u27s work criticizes eschatologies of glory that can be seen when the church emphasizes heavenly salvation at the expense of earthly life. Instead, Moltmann poses the eschatology of the cross that leads the believer to hope for God\u27s transformation of the earth on which the cross stands and sends the believer back to struggle in the world. Using these theological categories, this paper examines Wojnarowicz\u27s film. The footage from A Fire in My Belly contains themes of colonization, poverty, HIV/AIDS, church, and sexuality. The film juxtaposes images of poverty, suffering, and silence with images that symbolize wealth, power, and indifference. Through this juxtaposition, Wojnarowicz vividly depicts Moltmann\u27s eschatology of glory. When Moltmann\u27s theology is applied to Wojnarowicz\u27s film, it strengthens the film\u27s critique of society\u27s and the church\u27s silence, exclusion, stigmatization, and maintenance of hierarchical structures. This paper concludes that because Wojnarowicz\u27s film speaks to numerous concrete situations of oppression – of persons living with HIV/AIDS, the poor, queer persons, persons from the two-thirds world, and differently-abled persons – it makes a stronger and more precise critique of the ways in which Moltmann\u27s theological categories operate than Moltmann makes himself and demonstrates how Moltmann\u27s theology, in its failure to speak to earthly suffering, fails to be the eschatology of the cross that Moltmann poses

Behind the Lens

Time flies. I arrived at my thesis year after two years of study at RIT, and began working on my film “Behind the Lens.” The film runs for five minutes and 56 seconds, and includes hand-drawn animation, music and sound created by me. After some personal changes, I re-pitched a whole new thesis proposal in the fall semester of my thesis year because I felt passionate and committed to the important message of the film. In truth, this story didn’t have a clear outline until April in my last semester. The story is about a camera character going through his life journey, struggling to find answers in his pursuit of true peace. It is based on the idea that each individual’s life experiences are different from one another, but that people all suffer the same pain from their own attachments, and these are hard to admit to, or even realize. This means that we are often prevented from seeing what’s really important in life. My film mainly focuses on ways to visualize those attachments, and how they can pass through generations. It also explores what would happen to someone after letting go of life’s attachments. “Behind the Lens” is a film with 2D hand-drawing style with character animation combined with motion graphic elements in the background. The character animation is mainly done in TVPaint, and background animation is created in After Effects. Due to the simplicity of the style, I did all the work in my film by myself without assistance in the visuals or sound. This made the project quite a special artistic experience for me. During this production, I learned more than just animation and storytelling, but also sound design and post-production. This paper talks about the creation process for the film, along with the film’s visual development. I also discuss the various obstacles and accomplishments that happened throughout the making of this film

Neil and the Nun

This thesis illustrates the production of the narrative short film Neil and the Nun. The various chapters included in this written work delineate the development, preproduction, production, and post-productions stages of this thesis film. In supplement to these four larger chapters, the script, shot list, budget, and script breakdown are included. Neil and the Nun, written, directed, produced, and edited by me, articulates life through the perceptions of a child. The story centers on the volatile relationship of two fourth graders and their teacher, a possibly closeted lesbian nun. Because they are children, they have different notions than adults of priority, relevance, and the meaning of life\u27s events. The intention of this film is to authentically delve into this child worldview, revealing their shift towards wisdom and compassion. The film took twelve shooting days and involved five primary locations. My larger goal was to create a film that exemplifies my capacity as a filmmaker, thus, steering me towards the next step of my career

How Comedy Television is Written and Developed.

In this analysis, I plan to describe how I developed and wrote three episodes of a comedy web series. In the beginning of my paper, I will discuss the importance of my cultural background and how it shaped my appreciation of a wide variety of artistic expression. I then will discuss the contrast of art I experienced in my academic compared to my domestic life. I will then focus on the importance of television and film in my life. Specifically, I will discuss how I was influenced by popular television at a young age. I will discuss viewing sinister films at led to my appreciation for dark comedy. In my view dark comedy, more than other genre, puts a spotlight on society ills. My web series is titled The Force. In addition, I will also describe how my aesthetics of my favorite comedy shows assisted in my development of the screenplays. In the final section, I will discuss what I plan to do after I graduate with a Television, Radio, Film degree from Syracuse University. I will elaborate on how this project has influenced me to become more interested in the creative opportunities in the television industry

Abroad - A Short Film

Abroad is a short film that serves as a music video for two original compositions that I have produced. The story consists of a fictionalized version of myself, who reflects on his life one day during his stay in Valencia. The music discusses adulthood, relationships, and partying, as well as some other themes. The project also serves as my debut production in both film and music, and the film is intended to launch my professional career.https://remix.berklee.edu/graduate-studies-production-technology/1099/thumbnail.jp

Mijo (my son)

textMijo emerged as an alternate project to fulfill my MFA thesis requirement when Foreign Puzzle my initial thesis project faced serious setbacks. Foreign Puzzle is an hour-long documentary about love, life, breast cancer, dance and the transcending power of the human spirit. In an attempt to unravel an individual's struggle with mortality, to understand a child's adaptation to a mother's illness and to document the healing power of creativity, I began filming Sharon Marroquin's life from September 2010. Unfortunately, when filming real people undergoing life threatening medical illness it is impossible to stick to a timeline. Sharon Marroquin, the central character in the film developed serious medical complications that pushed the deadline for Foreign Puzzle significantly. While, I was committed to the completion of the film Foreign Puzzle, I did not want to delay my graduation from film school by almost two years and hence was forced to come up with an alternate thesis project. I had an animation script ready to go into production. But, I was so deeply involved with the production of Foreign Puzzle that it became impossible to work earnestly on a completely new film. The only viable alternative was to make a short film from the footage filmed for Foreign Puzzle. For the film to work and function independently, it had to have a strong and distinct thematic strand and not seem like a trailer or a scene from a longer film. This report is an elaboration of the process that went into the creation and exhibition of Mijo and its influence on Foreign Puzzle.Radio-Television-Fil

note to self

“note to self” is a 2D animated film completed as the thesis project for my MFA degree. This film uses experimental imagery and often abstract visual metaphor to tell a narrative story that discusses suicide, self-harm, depression, trauma, mental health, and the complicated issues surrounding these subjects. “note to self” tells the story of a teenage girl fighting through her struggles and uncertainties in the metaphysical space of her own mind. Sienna, the protagonist, has resolved to kill herself and is working through her conflicted feelings to rationally explain why. Posed as a conversation with a part of her own psyche, a sort of “demon” which exists in the form of a spirited, floating mouth, Sienna explores her reasons for leaving life. On this journey she encounters many creatures and traverses many places that represent her experiences, traumas, psychological issues, and discontentment with life and the world. Due to this, she has decided that death is her best option. This isn’t so easy, however, as she is soon confronted about her decision by the specter of her future self. The future-self, a character that has been pursuing her in the background for the duration of the film, reveals to Sienna that she’s worth waiting for, and that, in truth, Sienna does have hope. In the end, Sienna decides to have mercy on herself: her future self, whoever she is, has the right to exist. She deserves a chance and, as this future self is a new and distinct person from Sienna, it is not Sienna’s life to take. Sienna fights her way back to life. The imagery throughout the film is metamorphic and expressive to represent the feelings and energy throughout the film as Sienna, and the audience, experiences them. This film was created using primarily 2D, hand-drawn, digital animation, relying on varying line, color, and texturing styles for each part of the film. While there was a prepared script and narrative created for the film, the art style and production were created through a more atypical, experimental process that relied strongly on the emotional context of the scene and the expressive nature of art. The final result was a sequence of scripted scenes that were animated and filled with art in an expressive and partially spontaneous process to create a more raw and genuine communication of the protagonist’s story and ideas. This process, while unusual and difficult to manage (in large part due to its novelty to me), made for authentic representations of highly personal, even controversial issues and enhanced the emotional value of the film. In regard to its subject matter, it is necessary to acknowledge the content of the film and the motivations that lead to its creation. By proceeding with this film, it was a task in itself to consider the various statements and discussions surrounding the sensitive topics of suicide, depression, psychological disorders, and mental health in general. Not only was it imperative to develop a background of intensive research into the subject, but also (perhaps more critically) to get in touch with my own feelings, experiences, and history on the subjects presented. It would be dishonest to deny that the sentiments expressed by the character are, in large and small ways, deeply felt emotions and sincere perspectives that I have encountered both personally and through others close to me. Naturally, this served as the creative palette for my work. It was both a crucial resource for me to draw from and inform my art creation process, and the basis upon which I pursued this film even despite some doubts in the onset. Drawing from inherently, severely, personal battles and difficulties with the topic at hand, this film did at times take its toll in nearly every space of my life. It was an increasingly challenging film to make in many ways, and yet it brilliantly also became one of the most cathartic and artistically honest experiences of my life