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The Weeki Wachee Spring, 1947, Toni Frissell

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Producing Independent Films

Christine Walker, co-founder of {Werc Werk Works}, a Minneapolis-based production company (what up, home town) and an alumni of the Univeristy of Utah Film Department, talked about the struggles and rewards of producing independent films.

"Some films simply deserve to be made because they are art, for their social value...the world is a better place because of it."

Walker organized the lecture into 3 sections based on her core values - art, money, and community - but they were so intertwined she kept jumping back and forth between sections.

Here's the poster I made for a class in response to her talk. Her favorite artist is Leonardo DaVinci because he "would have been a film-maker", thus the Mona Lisa. It may be too small to see on here but I've filled in the gaps between letters with her ideas, teachings, and quotes. I'm teaching myself Adobe Illustrator - let me know your thoughts.

Click on the image for full-size.

Emily, Shelby, & Chris

Look at these beautiful people. Chris let me borrow his equipment and have my own photoshoot. (yea, that's him in the photos - not only is he an incredible photographer, he can dance!) Setting up was an experiment in itself since I didn't really know what I was doing, but I'd say it turned out ok. I didn't break anything, so that's a plus. Emily and Shelby are both dancers in the Modern Dance dept at the University of Utah and I am so lucky to get to work with these peeps. They made the process so easy. Essentially, all ll I said was "move" and this is what happened. Here are some of my fav's from the sesh, although choosing just a few (x4) was nearly impossible. I can't wait to do more of this. I think I'm in love.

 Fabric makes things pretty

Boots = magic

This = magic

The movement in her hair and the torque in her legs makes this a favorite

 The lighting on her face makes me happy

 Juicy

 I love the negative space between her left foot and his right leg. See it?

This makes me want to shoot fashion stuff. Cause pretty shoes are in

the full gallery is {here}

Adele

Oh my, this lady.

Her name's Adele, she's from the UK, she's 21, and she's incredibly talented.

21! Also the name of her newest album (which is set to be released late February but inside sources got my hands on a copy early...). Her first album, "19", she recorded when she was 19. I sure hope this is a trend and she's spewing out such genuine stuff every couple years or so. I'm a fan.

Plus, I love stuff like this: in-home recordings, little blurbs from the artist tagged onto their work. It gives insight into their process.

**Update: I just listened to a short interview with Adele on NPR. Inspiration? Etta James. (No surprise there). And she hates the sound of her own voice; says if she wasn't herself she "wouldn't listen to my music". 

Thought of You

Alright, check this out.

It’s beautiful.

It’s not often I say that about dance. Anyone who has ever sat next to me at a dance concert, listening to my brutal critiques, knows I am not easily impressed.

So when I found this little gem that so intimately captures something raw, I had to know more. I tracked down the film’s website and making-of documentary (which I encourage you to explore).

“Thought of You” was a personal project dreamed up and fulfilled by the obviously talented Ryan Woodward, an animator, designer, and storyboard artist working for the big names in Hollywood – from Disney to Dreamworks – and teaching at his alma mater, BYU. He speaks of his reasons for the project – to “combine several art forms into one exhibition”.

And he clearly does so using music, dance, and animation to tell a story. Abandoning traditional narrative for individual interpretation, Woodward notes “a graceful moving human form can communicate more emotion that any length of dialogue.”  He plays between “academic” and “creative” drawing, letting the story and his aesthetics guide the imagery and style.

To the untrained eye, it’s sometimes hard to discern between quality and sh*t. But to a dancer, every detail matters – the placement of a hand, the sway of the back, the rotation in the hip. It is incredible that Woodward, having no dance training, was able to capture with such precision the subtleties in movement, body placement, and emotions of the dancers sans the use of facial expressions or words. This is dance.

It is a feat in itself to produce good choreography for the stage. When you translate dance for the camera, it’s as if a veil has been placed between the dancers and viewer. Something is lost – that real, raw quality. Thus it’s even harder to capture choreography on film, much less in animation. At 24 frames per second, I can only imagine the absurd attention to detail Woodward had to devote to create this three minute piece. Talk about late nights in the studio…

With nearly 500,000 views on Youtube alone and a busy Film Festival schedule ahead, it is clear that many people are inspired by this film. And needless to say, I am too.

Animation: Ryan Woodward       Music: “World Spins Madly On” by The Weepies