*intermission*

While we scamper about to finish the last of the whathaveyou for the films, I provide this intermission entertainment before the main feature {aargrhgrhrghhh}...

I adore this woman.

Instructions for Efficient Work Flow Management

1. take in deep breath down to the bottom of your torso.

2. extend index finger and place between lips, in front of teeth, parallel to the ground (should you be vertical at the time)

3. move finger up and down rapidly between lips as you exhale, using your voice.

4. repeat.

*optional* feel free to augment with rolling of eyes or walking in a tight circle. Feel free to change pitch. Feel free to wipe finger on hanky in between breaths.


Alternate Version

1. take in deep breath down to the bottom of your torso.

2. pout out your lower lip slightly.

3. pull down and release lower lip with alternating finger tips as you exhale, using your voice.

4. repeat.

*optional* experiment with speed and pitch.


{ten days 'til shipping}

ReTransfering: Christina Bryant Saved My Life

Here, we see the last functional super8 projector on the Eastern Seaboard (belonging to one Ms. Bryant) being worked over (in the best possible way) by Pope. We set up our vid camera and captured the first roll or so. Seeing the Super8 in it's original glory makes me even sadder to hear that it's getting phased out. It's nice stuff. So, Pope had all the tender attention and perfect settings for everything and it's looking great; Far surpassing the shlock we got "professionally" transfered before.
See below for "A" "B" comparison:


Hot.
A few more rolls to go...
thanks Chris.

We in POST, baby

That's right. Finished recording all sounds and images for both films. Hari and Trucci (pictured above) ended on a particularly high note with some fabulous cookie-drunk dirge music that knocked my socks off.

Not that we don't have our work cut out for us. We are retransfering all the super8 footage, recapturing it and recutting it into both pieces {lower lip biting cabbage patch dance}. Also shooting the aforementioned credits. Then Pope is in digital filter land. Noah is in audio mixypoo land. And I'm in purgatory. Keep an eye out for some more important additions to art history (see previous post, you KNOW that shit is hot)

[no, really, I mean, I'll probably be, like, working on the synopsis and the graphic for the dvd menu page and the disc itself and researching more festival stuff and, you know, being really busy, so... yeah]

My latest artistic collaboration

So, my housemate Greg had the inspired idea we all doodle together on newspaper photos; give them a new layer of dimension (a photo doodled-on is worth a bagillion words). The above image is a particularly hot collaboration between Greg, Brian and I. I think we can all learn something new from this piece.

{FOR FUCKSAKE SOMEBODY GIVE ME SOMETHING TO DO. 90% OF THE SHIT LEFT TO DO ON THE FILMS IS NOT IN MY HANDS. I AM RELEGATED TO WRINGING MY HANDS 'FATHER IN THE WAITING ROOM' STYLE. YOU'VE NEVER SEEN SOMEONE OBSESS QUITE SO MUCH OVER CREDITS AS YOURS TRULY.}

I have also enjoyed this sort of thing quite a lot.

Valerie Thompson Rocks My Bee's Ass

RECORDING FOR CREATION IS COMPLETE




After a hefty 13 hour day, we have wrapped recording for Bony Lil's Creation.
As each new instrument was added to the tracks I was continually blown away by the fantasticosity of Ms. Valerie's composition. Absolutely amazing, blazing flamenco style strings. hot hot hot. We had some hot musicians to laying that shit down (see above). And I spent a great deal of time doodling again (while in the expert hands of Val, Noah and Michael Pope (see below)).

It feels like a belly full of yummy breakfast. My manifold thanks go out to the sparkling individuals that helped make this happen.

P.S.

Here's one from the vastly superior cellphone camera machine of Brendan Burns.
Saucy clapping. hour eleven.

Again with the Whatnot

So these photos are a recap from last time for what sort of things will be happening this evening and tomorrow somemore; Well, with guitar and two violins and a bass also. Almost done, really. Should be by Saturday night, anyway, with the recording, that is; sounds effects, music; for Creation.

Got one more session with Hari and Trucc, too. Really narrowing this shit down.

Oh rue the day I've got to seal this puppy up and call it what it is: you know, done.

Recording s'more

We had a cookin' recording session with Valerie Thompson and Brendan Burns last night. Pope and I laid down some lingering sound effects with Noah before they arrived and played some spicy-hot cello and classical guitar.

Unable to watch things and see things and hear those subtle things musician types hear, I relegated myself to doodling (see above).

The tracks are hot.

We may just reach that Valentine's Day Deadline. (hyperventilation)

New Bony Lil Video Remix

A sassy new remix of Bony Lil's Creation & Distraction footage with vintage public domain film and a kickin' soundtrack cut together by BriAnna Olson for a certain birthday.

{if'n the video's not playing, click on the post title to be shuttled to le yahoo video channel}

Featuration

Bony Lil's Creation Preview
(was)Featured on Top Bar(now general feature list)
of Front Page
of Yahoo Video

hits up the shits

go see

Memories: A roof garden

Spurned on by Barnaby's blog post about his gorgeous garden
I was prompted to share my own little green paradise.

I don't have a yard. at. all.

So, this past summer, I took to trying to put one in milkcrates atop the pizza parlour. There was a lot of wind and too close with the planting so all the plants were interestingly dwarfed. I had six inch tall delphiniums with weensy little flowers on them. I'm not sure I'll be trying again next year. Getting a plot in one of the urban community gardens is more likely...

Butterscotch December 26th

SO Hasbro made this near-life-size fuzzy animatronic pony that all the little girls are coveting. I'm waiting for the landfill photos. It is inevitable they will start popping up. This is my rendition/premonition.

A Moment of Silence

A moment please
to honour the passing of the Godfather of Soul.

He has been hugely influencial in the development of my performance. When we were asked to prepare a lip-syncing performance in our solo performance class at the National High School Institute at Northwestern (performance performance performance), I chose James Brown's "I'll Go Crazy" (by the by, the teacher said I did a fairly good rendition of a large black man, being a skinny white girl) That's where it all began. He was also the first artist to incite me to ask the question "Does an artist need to be a model citizen?". In his case, I love him in spite of his shinanigans. He gives plenty to the betterment of society in his music. (Brittany Spears might be another case) Perhaps it's due time I should tackle that tribute I've been wanting to do...

RIP, James.

The Sounds of Lil

The recording of sounds effects for Creation with Noah Blumenson-Cook has begun.
The creation and recording of music by Hari and Trucci for Distraction continues.
The creation of the music for Creation by Val Thompson begins.

Fiercely excited on all fronts.

And Pope and I will continue forging ahead until the holidays become too formidable a power to battle, in which case we'll pick it back up in the wees of January.

The finish draws near...

Covering All Cyberbases

NEW MySpace Comedy Page
NEW Youtube Channel
hotchihuahua

New Distraction Preview
New Flipbook movies
New Bony Lil LIVE video melange



check it

Folds Video Surfaces

hesitant to post this, but the Ben Folds video we did is online now. The quality is shitski on youtube. I'll post a better one when I get one. but here.

UPDATE: no no. go to the source. it's on ben folds' site: http://benfolds.com/footage.html
the footage is squozen (16:9 - 4:3) but it's better than that youtube one I saw.

'Learn to Live With What Your Are', by the way

Popsicle on youtube

My first foray into youtube territory...

more to come

Nashville Photos

I was going to wait on this until the video gets released but it seems they're taking their time so...
Don't take'm cause they're mine photos, kay?

In other news the music is coming along wonderfully. We've changed the Distraction edit for, essentially, the first time ever. I intellectually think it's better but the original version is so deeply ingrained in me that, mostly, it just looks weird.

Getting snippets together for a Bony Lil myspace and youtube presence...

Taking new photos for Barnaby's use...

Nashville: Step Two

We have returned. We have footage. We are starting to cut today, the next new single for Ben Folds. Shooting went as well as could be expected for such short notice and we've got some great stuff. There was an exciting kamikaze feel to it: running about on an ever evolving plan, getting some great stuff on the fly. There were some sizable downsides and repercussions to little sleep and food but we adapted and got what we needed to cover four minutes of song. We're editing at a similar whirlwind pace to make some exciting deadlines. We'll see what happens.

I hear there's this girl that just finished shooting a bunch of animation for her short film. I'm hoping to get more info on that soon.

Mission: Nashville

I have a pirate suit in a suitcase. I'm heading to Nashville with the gang. We're making a music video this weekend. I'll be the designer, best boy, dolly grip, set and talent dresser and half an assistant director. We'll take pictures.

At Last: UPDATE photo

As of October 8th, at about 1 o'clock in the morning, shooting was officially wrapped on Bony Lil's Creation. After a year and half of trial, toil and little bitty pieces of paper, the animation is complete and all that remains is the aural. I aim to celebrate by getting some rest and bursting out of the gate tomorrow; cutting the shiny new footage together. Oh Happy Day.

Good Fun

During the meticulous process of shooting the 'Popsicle' and 'Bony Lil's Creation' animations I've always had the urge to veer violently off course and create a new improvised narritive. I begin each scene with an envelope or two filled with small cutout arms and heads and props and bodies of the characters. As I'm replacing a new head onto a character so it can look to the right, for instance, I have an overwhelming impulse to have the head slowly drift off the body and swim around the page like a goldfish. The impulse toward improvisation surfaces even in the most strictly structured settings.

So this time I indulged. I made a scene whose purpose was to explore the surreal possibilities of all these little cutouts. It was a hoot. I started with a general setup of craziness and got the delight of watching the possibilities unfold as I went. What if the arms swinging the violin around batted the floating head with gnashing teeth? My, the trajectory seems to be going over near those disembodied hands! There's not much more thrilling than the improvised discovery of new possibilities.

So Close as to Taste

One action left to be drawn
Two more days of shooting
We shot the tarzan closeups last night using a rig of wire hanger, gaff tape and an unknowingly donated drumstick from my housemate. Each character posed in front of the camera as Mr. Director whizzed it around in a circle to delicately depict a background in motion. Photos forthcoming.

Next:
Edit Creation
Organize sound effects and music recording sessions
Revamp Distraction preview
Make Lil stickers and/or patches
Create T-shirt Art Commerce Project
Make videos of flipbooks
Make Lil epk
Edit snippets of movies for youtube and myspace film

Maintain balance between self-promotion and new content and when possible blend the two.

But, I get ahead of myself. Today: We shoot animation.

The Animation Process: Illustrated