Studio Journal

iPad: A Novel Invention

The above link is to a topical video I did days before the anticipated release of the iPad. Due to the iPad's built in e-reader the video's plot encompasses the plots of various novels from 'Fahrenheit 451' to 'Lord of the Flies'.

This is also a miniature example of what I would like my thesis to resemble. For my thesis, I would like to incorporate several art history references as this video incorporates several novel references.

Studio Journal

Birds of Prey

This video is a shot for shot parody of the kitchen scene from 'Jurassic Park' where the two children are hiding from two Velociraptors. The only difference is that my version is a much lower budget, and instead of velociraptors I have two intrusive Jehovah's Witnesses.

Doing a shot for shot recreation of a Spielberg film was very educational for me as an aspiring filmmaker. It allowed me to step into his shoes and direct as he would. I still find that I use some techniques that I learned from this video, in other videos that I have made since this.

Studio Journal

2001: A Highway Journey

The above link is a parody of Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey.' Kubrick is one of my all time favorite directors and basing a video off of his style was great fun. In retrospect I know I could have chopped the video down a few minutes, but I think this is one of my best satirical videos. It is both topical and a parody.

The style of this video is close to what I would like my thesis to resemble. However I will make my thesis tighter.

Studio Journal

Yanks, Sox and Ground Zero Mosques

The above link is to a topical skit that I wrote and shot in the hight of the ground zero mosque controversy at the end of the summer. It is the latest video that I have done.

I enjoy writing topical humor because it allows for me to put the particular topical issue into my own perspective. This video also follows the formula of a sketch, but would not be widely viewed as a great sketch because of the coy parallel between the mosque controversy and Yankees/Red Sox rivalry.

If you view the comments on this video, you'll see that people either loved it or hated it. It stirred up debates on the comment section of the youtube link, as well as debates on other sites and blogs on which this video has been embedded. As the creator of the video, I am very proud that it is significant enough to stir up such passion in the viewers (for good or bad).

Studio Journal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8X1OawLIKw

The above link is to a video that I made over the summer. It is less cinematic and more of a skit because I wrote it for a sketch writing class I took in the city. I shot it on my own spare time with a few friends/people I had met in my sketch class. It follows the structure of a sketch which consists of a game, or one unusual thing (in this case, a newscaster lives his life in his on air persona). That game is played through different beats which are different ways of exploring this unusual thing. Each beat is supposed to be more heightened than the last.

I find sketch writing to be fun and challenging. I enjoy the formula and think it is a good method for evoking more laughs, but I would like to use this method to create more of a storyline. Once that is accomplished, I would like to direct it in a visually stimulating way. I thoroughly enjoy good Saturday Night Live sketches, but they are not meant to be viewed artistically. I would like to combine this formulaic humor with artistic direction for my thesis.

Studio Journal

This is original Image of Rembrandt's 'Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp.' It is a relatively well known painting which would be a good example of something that would be widely understood if parodied or recreated.

This is an image of a parody of the Rembrandt piece drawn by my grandfather, Will Elder for the short lived 'Mad Magazine' spinoff, 'Humbug'. The accuracy of this recreation is the primary aspect that makes this parody funny. If something genuine looking is discovered to be a forgery, the joke hits much harder than that of a shabby recreation.

Death of Marat - Jaques Louis David. This image is extremely well-known and can be recognized even by those who are not very keen on art history. The gesture is great and I feel that it would make a fun composition to recreate.

This is a film still from 'A Clockwork Orange.' It is one of my favorite films, from Stanley Kubrick, one of my favorite directors. I don't know if I will necessarily reference or parody this film, but I have drawn much directorial inspiration from Kubrick over the years. There is no directing style quite like his.

This film still from 'Inception' depicts Christopher Nolan's use of practical effects. Hollywood is obsessed with mindless action inundated with tasteless CGI. Seeing these effects that were accomplished in production (as opposed to post), are a breath of fresh air, as well as a homage to Kubrick's rotating sets from '2001: A Space Odyssey.'

A picture is worth 1,000 words. This is one of my all-time favorite film stills because it gives off such a feeling of peril in one simple image. Spielberg takes a well known warning that anyone who has driven a car has seen (objects in mirror are closer than they appear), and uses it to evoke sheer terror. I love the idea of juxtaposing imagery to convey a certain idea or mood (The image is taken from Spielberg's 1993 adaptation of Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park).

Hitchcock is another one of my all time favorite directors. This still is from his 1951 thriller, Strangers on a Train conveys the recurring theme of the film; 'Criss-cross.' An obsessed fan of a tennis star proposes the idea that he kills the tennis player's ex-wife while the tennis player kills his father. Hitchcock throws in criss-crossing imagery throughout the entire film including this still of Guy (the tennis player)'s lighter with the crossed tennis rackets. Symbolism adds another level of which to be aware in a film.

Taxi Driver is the perfect example of a film that is entirely character driven. What retains the viewer's interest is that De Niro's character (Travis Bickle) grows increasingly more fed up with urban corruption as the film progresses. He starts off strange but mellow in the beginning and by the end of the film he becomes a vigilante who goes on a killing spree. This sense of heightening creates a vehement cinematic experience.

BFA Thesis Proposal draft 1

            Growing up I showed an early talent for drawing and painting. My parents and Grandfather (who was the co-founder/artist for Mad Magazine) tried to support this talent any way they could, but my real passion has always been in film. My Grandfather would show me the classics from the original King Kong, to James Bond and the works of Hitchcock. I always knew I wanted to go into the business of creating a fantastical world on the big screen but as a child, I had no access to the proper equipment so I focused on drawing. Writing, directing and acting came later once I was able to buy my own camera in early 2002. Throughout high school and college I put drawing on the backburner. I felt bad about not practicing something at which I was really good, but I was busy with schoolwork and making videos.

            My videos got better as I went through college. I eventually found that the videos for which I drew storyboards always came out better than the ones that I did not. Of course they were very rough, hastily drawn figures simply for the purpose of composition. Currently I am taking Graphic Narratives and have been drawing more than I have ever drawn in the last several years. Reading the works of others and producing my own comics has really enlightened me on similarities between film and comic books. After all, a storyboard is essentially a comic and vise versa. I have finished my video requirements and my busy schedule has forced me to put video making on the backburner.  For my thesis I plan to once and for all combine my love for film and my talent for drawing.

            My thesis would reveal the stages of production. I will write a script and then produce a comic version of it as a storyboard. Once the storyboard is complete I will make it into a short narrative of roughly ten minutes. I envision the monitor displaying the video to be in the center. Bordering the monitor will be the comic/storyboard and bordering that will be the script. The viewer will see the basic stages of production in order when they view the piece. The outermost layer will be script, followed by the storyboard followed by the video; the final stage of production that the mainstream public always sees. The video will be on a loop so the viewers can always find the point at which the video is in the surrounding comic. If they want to take it a step further they can also synchronize the script and the video, the script and the comic or all three at once!

            I am unsure of the plot for my short narrative but I would like to somehow incorporate my minor: Art History. My grandfather, Will Elder, was an extraordinary artist who could precisely mimic the styles of any other artist. This enabled him to effectively parody other artists such as Rembrandt, Gericault and Rockwell. People would view his parody, believe they were looking at the real thing, and then at the last minute they would catch a small gag that would make them realize it was a forgery. He used his talent in the vein of humor. Being that I am an art history minor and work well with comedy, I would like to do something similar. I want to somehow recreate famous works of art acted out unintentionally by the characters in the video/comic. For example, if several characters in a scene are playing ‘Operation,’ they can be portrayed around the game in the same manner as Dr. Nicolaes Tulp and his anatomy students from Rembrandt Van Rijn’s famous painting.

            I have been thinking and toying with several ideas lately. I do not know what exactly the narrative will be, but I do know the structure and some key aspects. I know that being around the gallery, networking with others in class, and just keeping an open mind will allow me to create an idea that can serve as basic storyline for my thesis project.