A Rough 48ish Hours

My 48 hour video race was rough. The race coincided with my final 495 shoot dates so I knew I would not have much time. As a result, I thought a long time about the concept when I was not working on the race and I think it shows.

The movie came to me in two parts. The first of which was a fairly logical leap in thinking and not too shocking. I heard the theme "my secret" and the initial image that came to my mind was dirty laundry. I couldn't use a camera so I went with my trusty cellphone.

I piled up my actual dirty laundry and shot a stop motion animation of a sort of laundry centipede escaping my house. I also added to the secrecy by making a cryptic series of numbers out of my clothes. (The numbers are part of my student id)
The result was interesting if a bit shaky and typical. A day later, I went to the digital arts lab with my pictures and got to work. The animation totaled about 20 seconds when I put it at the desirable speed. This class ain't called 6x20seconds- what was I to do?

I pondered the assignment and remembered that the ideal of using no camera would call attention to the fact. BOOM.

What if I made a transparent film? One that reveals how it was made while you watch it?

I took pictures of my cell phone with a Mac. I took pictures of the Mac with my cellphone. I even through in a few tricks that make the whole thing a sort of puzzle. The one minute film has a twist.

The film was rough because not using a camera is like painting with dirt. The quality of anything else pales in comparison to the footage of a camera. In this roughness lies intrigue. I think the theme of "My secret" was perfect for what we discussed in class. The roughness of the medium added a sense of voyeurism and "I'm not supposed to be seeing this" mojo.

I cannot wait to see what other folks in class have come up with in such a short time. (Not just because I am intrigued as to what everyone's secret is) It might get super personal and that sort of rawness is key in "the rough theatre".

Side note- there is no theater rougher than stand up comedy- lonely, simple - just a human, a mic, and a crowd. I think this is why in stand up, the truly open comedians are the transcendental ones.