Fonts

The fonts listed above express a lot of me. It would be very hard to narrow myself into one font. But I chose three to represent who I I am to many people, to my friends, and ideally, to myself. A Roman base informs two of the fonts; Sans Serif informs the other.

I value strength and expression, intensity but accessibility. I enjoy celebrating myself but I do not ever want to close myself off from the world around me.

What, Why, When

What: "The Perfect Man"
[promotional suite for a movie-in-the-making]

• film teaser
• cast interviews
• character blogs
• 24" x 32" promotional poster
• mini-DVD with sleeve

Why: because we can ^_^
[..and it is good experience]

• technical experience in Adobe Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Audacity, Flash, and Final Cut Pro
• theoretical experience in communications, advertising, and entertainment

When: before the deadline
[starting Tuesday]

• teaser: 10/19
• poster: end of Oct.
• interviews and blogs: first week of Nov.
• entire website: end of Nov.
  

So, yeah, it's pretty idealistic to consider accomplishing all this (on top of other class). But without a big vision, what's exciting about life? So Kevin Johnson and I are going for it.

First Unfurlings

One of the most exciting parts of film making is storyboarding. It's when you reach deep into the abstract linguistic part of your brain that reads the script and transfuse those mental images to a blank sheet of paper you grasp a hint of the film's visual reality.






You decide how you want your audience to look at your character. Where you want to move them through the six dimensions of free movement (x, y, z, and rotation about those axises)--available in the real realm and expanded through camera rigs (ex. flying with Spiderman). Cuts and transitions and effects and audio track--the first breathes exhale across the drafting board.




The script of a film wraps its visual and audio elements around it like a sumptuous garment. The body may be frail; the robe may be garish. The frame may be heavy; the color palette subtle. In storyboarding, you begin to create the script's wardrobe, to fashion a statement, to bring it to life, and present it to the world. The small, black and white strokes of a thick ink pen are the first unfurling tendrils of the film.



So please enjoy and comment on the storyboards for "The Perfect Man". (Note: they are in reverse order, beginning to the left of this paragraph and traveling back up the blog to the top.)

Picturing Poverty

Dr. Diana George's article on the depiction of poverty definitely diagnosed the problem clearly and accurately; basically, non-profits that use those images rely too heavily on the images' ability to be readily understood. In fact, the generalizations made for the sake of time usually hinders the goal for which the pictures were intended. The issue to far too complex to be encapsulated in the stereotypes that have served us thus far.

I get that. It makes sense that something as complex as poverty cannot be represented in copy-cat hyperbole mimicking the devastation of the 1930s. However, I failed to grasp Dr. George's answer to the problem. Perhaps the paper only sought to diagnose the issue. Perhaps I misread it under the pressure of "onto the next homework assignment." But in any case, I failed to capture a solution to the problem that she presented.

As I ponder any possible solutions of my own, I am struck with a new thought: Are images really the best way to present as intricate a problem as poverty to begin with? Do we really have to bow to the all-powerful IMAGE in this new Informational Age?

Photography used to be lauded as the objective eye-witness. But as its use and study progresses, it becomes increasingly obvious that even a camera is subjective. Even more subjective: the interpretations of its products. Maybe, then, it is better to use a medium that inherently forces reflection--such as text. When you are reading these words I am writing, you are forced to interact with them--to both absorb and interpret them in a specific order, specific time-frame and under specific guidelines (generally called grammar). Photographs can be treated the same way but they lend themselves to the kind of instantaneous comprehension that usually satisfies viewers, not launches them into further contemplation.

In summary:
*What was Dr. George's solution?
*Do our modern communication practices exclude the possibility of text-based interaction?
*If we cannot avoid the image, how do we break down these stereotypes--visual re-writes?

Mourning Genres

Yay! I finally got a face shot out of my awkward fingers and shy avatar :)

The experience in the classroom on Thursday really contributed to my enjoyment of Second Life itself. Camera moves? check. Flight school? check. Teleport? check. Gestures? check. Chatting? check. However, among all those technical accomplishments, the lab accentuated the uncanniness of virtual reality. Considering it afterward, I realized that what bothered me most was the loss of social norms.

Somehow the familiarity bred through mediated communication breaks down the comfortable interaction provided by social norms (such as a authority) and generic structure (such as "how are you? fine, you?"). We discussed the comfort of generic conventions in my film course, and I believe the same phenomenon appears in Second Life. In a classroom, one knows what to expect from the teacher and from the students; but juxtaposing a classroom setting and its existing hierarchy alongside an amorphous society simultaneously made me uncomfortable. With so many people able to interject into a conversation through the chatting feature, it was difficult to follow trains of thought and respond with appropriate timing and content to the appropriate person. I do not lack that kind of experience---AIM consistently distracts me from writing papers--but meeting in a virtual class is much different than debriefing with friends after a long day.

Virtual reality is indubitably powerful. I can definitely see it's advantages in connecting people regardless of their location, accessibility, etc. However, it does not seem to accommodate for the various social genres that form the backbone of our ability to clearly communicate with one another. Expectations provide a framework against which to cast innovations or to support maintenance.

I am definitely open to learning the genre of virtual communication, but at first glance it strikes me as insufficiently broad to envelope something as complex and intricate as successful human communication.

A Little Help Here...?

So this is me. Reisytal Aluveaux wondering where she can go on Help Island to figure out how to put the camera in front of her face instead of behind her back. Oh, well. "Hello, World," say the eyes in the back of my head.

Felicitous Flummery

Several years ago, when I was young and in high school and lacked a fully-developed vocabulary, I stumbled upon Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo. It changed my life. I discovered words that online dictionaries didn't even post; watched the movies; hunted down various versions of soundtracks; traveled to Atlanta's Fabulous Fox Theater to experience the musical; and wandered the maze of fascinating hyper links that was the project of a college literature class. Not only did I transform my young reading repertoire, but I also found my Second Life calling.

Reisytal Aluveaux adores everything associated with Les Miserables; she even enjoys the pleasure of being a pseudo-francais professeur. In honor of that small class of geniuses who ask not whether they can pass but whether they will survive the boredom, the reigning academia surrendered a diploma to the ripe young seventeen-year-old. Last week she celebrated her tenth year teaching French literature to Parisians. Perhaps within the next ten years she'll finish another twenty Pulitzer-prized novels...

Without shame, I hereby declare my intention to incarnate my literary geek-ness. [This could be the start of some seriously felicitous flummery.]

Kayla's Verdict:

Kayla's verdict in response to my Facebook mock-up?

"Cool! When can I get one?"

She's eleven.
Sorry, dear--not til high school. :)

the greatest tease: A Perfect Man

He is OCD to a tee.
She is--not so.

Kevin and I both wanted to do a film. But we both appreciated the huge commitment that capturing reality through a lens requires--and neither of us were eager to embark on such a demanding project independently. Therefore, we conspire to produce a group project with distinct individual elements.

It all started with "The Perfect Man"--Kevin's short story. What better topic?

Todd is seriously OCD, but seriously falling for a non-OCD lady, Emma. Can he reconcile his habits with his love--literally and figuratively? It's a charming question that implies a rather charming answer, for, of course, love triumphs over all.

Condensing the story into a heart-warming, hilarious, unpredictable trailer seemed an excellent exercise to occupy the semester. However, I stayed behind class one day to examine the equipment available in MATRF, and it gave need for pause.

The resources were incredible--for web authoring. No boom assembly. No sturdy, well-oiled tripod. No LAV mics. But a convenient digital camcorder, audio recorder, and lots of software. So, that evening while being bombarded with MTV's gigantor of a campaign for the VMAs, I lit upon an idea:

Why not incorporate the trailer for "A Perfect Man" into a whole suite of visual and audio bytes? Why not use Illustrator and Photoshop to design a poster? And Dreamweaver to launch a website? And FCP to produce a teaser? And Flash to host character blogs, actor interviews, and other interactive elements? Kevin and I could gain some exposure to all the different equipment available in multi-media visual production and simultaneously break up a huge, well-developed project into manageable chunks of personal responsibility.

So, the Perfect Man may end up being no more than every girl's greatest thrill and fear: nothing more than a delicious tease.

Facebook Mock-up: Presenting Kayla

My younger sister is crazy beautiful.
To jump-start my understanding of visual communication, I present a description of a mock Facebook profile for Kayla Joy.

Profile Picture:
The bright blue sky behind her accentuates her brilliant blue eyes and intensely friendly smile. She's suspended mid-air--flying toward the camera. Her funky colored Chucks jut out behind her. The trampoline is out-of-frame but the momentum of her bounce translates into a crisp action shot. Although many people would alter the image with photo editing tools, Kayla's profile picture would be candid and natural, in reflection of her innocent lack of ability to present herself as something better, different, or worse than she is.

Applications:
Being rather ignorant of the many applications available on Facebook, I cannot list exactly which applications she would choose but I know it would be many. No Zombies, probably pirates. Sticky notes, maybe. A flower garden absolutely. Videos, fun-wall, etc. She enjoys detailed care-taking; all her friends would have so much fun interacting with her through the various applications now available. It would be a busy list, but precisely arranged and maintained.

Information:
Parental supervision would keep many details out of her information section, but the quotes, favorite movies, music, etc. would be full of fun updates that reflected her current and long-standing interests. Once she had initially filled the form, updates would be frequent but irregular. Many other activities occupy her interests, but connecting to people definitely ranks high on her list.

Photos:
In Facebook, Kayla would gain a forum to present all her pictures and therefore increase her picture-taking fun. Lots of photos with friends, probably updated frequently. The albums would be prominently listed in the column of applications (most likely right below the FunWall).

To summarize, Kayla Joy's Facebook profile:

* fun, colorful, and full of friends
* busy but precisely organized and carefully maintained
* frequently but not obsessively updated

These aspects of her profile would display her personality clearly and reflect her desire to connect with people and enjoy life alongside an excellent group of friends. :)