Final Blog/ Rank Projects Best to Worst

6 X 1 Final Blog /Rate Projects Most Fav 1 to Least Fav 6

Sadly, this is my last blog for my favorite class 6X1. It’s going to be really hard to rate my favorites from most favorite to least favorite because I truly thoroughly enjoyed every one of them. Some of them I thought I would not like but ended up loving.  I will list my favorite 1 to least favorite 6.

1) Cameraless Filmmaking: this is one of my favorites, but I must say at first I was a little apprehensive, because I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to come up with anything cool. It’s a really strange thing making something that you won’t know how it turned out until you actually play it through the projector after it’s completed. What I liked most was actually learning how to do some of the fimmaking techniques used by Stan Brakhage and the likes.

2) The Bolex Long Take: I really enjoyed this one too because we got to not only shoot 16mm on the Bolex, but also got to hand process the film, something I’ve always wanted to do. I was really pleased with the outcome of the shoot, especially the exposure on the hand-processed film. To actually see the image appear in front of your eyes was pretty awesome.

3) Rythmic Editing: The big reason I liked this one so much was because, I was having a hard time trying to come up with a concept. But once I got a few things shot and looked at the footage, my concept came to me immediately. I really enjoyed coming up with cool bits and pieces of my footage rhythmically to tell a story.

4) Recycled Footage/Flxer: I was excited to do this project from the beginning, because I really like Craig Baldwin’s films of Other Cinema. He takes old found footage and recontextualizes it into his own narrative, while calling attention to social problems. The fun part of this assignment was going through videos on YouTube trying to come up with my concept. There are so many options; it was a bit overwhelming trying to pick things that fit together to tell my own 1-minute story. I was happy with the way mine turned out.

5) 48- hour video race: This project was fun; the best part was waiting for the “Mystery Prop” to see what our film was going to be about. I was a little apprehensive about putting myself out there to my peers with the theme of my secret. Then I realized I could do something totally silly and ridiculous, in which I did. It seemed to get a good comedic response from the class, which made me happy!

6) Multi-Plane Animation: This project was really fun but I found it very challenging trying to come up with a concept. I tend to over think things sometimes and I think this project was a prime example of that.

Yes Men Blog

Yes Men Blog

I had never seen the film Yes Men before our screening last Monday, and I really enjoyed it. I think they are very clever in the way they sort of re contextualize themselves as members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the funniest part is that no one seems to get that they are a farce even with the wild presentations they give. Or it could just be the fact that all of these people at these conferences really don’t listen to what’s going being said from the guest speaker at the podium, they are just there going through the motions.

I can see how this film relates to our final assignment the recontextualization of found footage, basically that’s how the Yes Men get their foot in the door at the conferences they are invited to attend. They make their logos, letterhead and so forth look just like the World Trade Organization’s. So at first glance people truly believe they are dealing with the real WTO. This is exactly the point I think the Yes Men are trying to make, that people believe everything they see and hear without checking the facts to make sure these statements are true, I mean come on, everyone knows the media most of the time is a complete manipulation of reality.

While looking for footage for my assignment, I started seeing other videos and in doing so coming up with other ideas and concepts. Things just started to fall in place after that.

I found a really cool video of a group called The Love Police, who sort of do the same type thing as the Yes Men, they were at the royal wedding and poking fun by using sarcasm against the royal family and their better than everyone blue blood ways. One of the guys who described himself and an absurdist anarchist was walking through the streets of London that are lined with retail stores, shoppers and tourists with a megaphone giving his absurdist type commentary on society. Some of his comments were pretty spot on as far as I’m concerned. He spoke out about organized religion, consumerism, the corporate controlled media and all of the war going in the world. I think it is hilarious; it was really pissing off some of the older people in the streets. I would say their techniques were very effective, because they got wanted from the public, a reaction. Maybe making them think for themselves instead of being controlled by the mainstream media.

I really loved this project but found it difficult to fit everything I wanted to use in the piece because of the one-minute time limit. I found that coming up with the initial concept was also pretty challenging, but like I said earlier once I started finding all of the different clips everything started coming together.

My Fort Party Screening Experience

My Fort Party Screening Experience

I was totally surprised by the Mystery Workshop Part 2 yesterday. I was really wondering what we were going to do. I figured we were going to eat and screen the films along with the 3D footage and long take, but for some reason I was thinking we were going to do it outside in the courtyard or something. I was super excited and surprised about us having to build a fort.  It immediately took me back the days of being a kid and making forts with blankets and chairs with my brother. Those were the good old days. So a little nostalgia was sparked which made it even cooler. The gear from the equipment room really helped out in setting up a cool foundation. That was an innovative design for sure.  I must say it was definitely the biggest and nicest fort I’ve ever been involved with. I mean come on it even had its own movie theater. You really can’t beat that!!!

Everyone came together as a team and quickly and efficiently constructed beautiful Arabian Desert Style Tent Palace. Then we got to eat and watch all of the films we all worked so hard on.

Everyone’s films were all very impressive. So many good secrets told in so many different ways through so many different mediums of filmmaking.  I think there are a lot of talented filmmakers in this class and although everyone is a little different I think we all really bring something special to the table. I must admit I was a little nervous about how the class would receive my film, because it was a little silly and risqué and I’m usually pretty reserved unless I know people pretty well.  I was worried that the stuff I thought was funny wasn’t going get laughs but instead the sound of crickets. I was pleasantly surprised by the reception; everyone apparently understood my humor because it got a good laugh.

I was very impressed with the entire classes tent building, snack bringing and filmmaking skills. It was truly a wonderful experience with people that I think very highly of.  I think this class is the way all classes should be hands on and everyone working together and putting themselves out there. This was definitely one of my favorite things we’ve done this semester, but to be honest I’ve really loved every aspect of this class so far, it truly has been a pleasure working with all of you.

My Rough Theater

My Rough Theater

Well another project down and the semester is coming to an end, it’s crazy how fast it’s gone by. It must be because I’ve been having so much fun in my classes and especially 6X1. It really blows my mind how much we’ve learned and accomplished in this class in such a short amount of time.

I let myself stress out over the assignments sometimes, especially the last one, the 48-hour video race with the prop being the theme of MY SECRET. I think the reason I get so stressed, is because I one who always like to feel like I’m in control f a situation and going into these assignments where its kind of sink or swim leave me feeling little helpless because I feel like I’m trying to do some of these assignments on the fly, “off the cuff” if you will. I think that explains the term Rough Theater totally. In my experiences with Rough Theater have been just that, I usually get a little worried that my project is going to be crap, then after all is said and done. It usually turns out better than I had initially thought. This is due to the unexpected twists and turns that take place while trying to work with what you have available. My mind starts churning and gong into overdrive trying to figure out ways in which you can figure out how to incorporate your prop/theme and how you will achieve your goal with the restrictions and limitations that stand in your way.  

I think when people are put under pressure and deadlines their creative juices begin to flow and that is when some of the best ideas come out of the wood work. This has been true for several of the last projects that I would label Rough Theater. The animation, the Bolex long take , the 3d shoot, and now the 48- hour video race. They all have a very similar feel to them in the way that we are just working with what we have and trying to make something that is worth showing in front of our peers without feeling judgment. I’ve really enjoyed all of these exercises and think they have definitely made me see things in a new respect and help make me a better filmmaker. I didn’t realize how much this class would impact my life as a person and a filmmaker

Beat Stretch Response

BEAT STRETCH

     When we got this assignment I was a little apprehensive because I thought it would be really strange listening to a classical song such as this slowed way way down. I listened to the disk before going to bed and put it on track 3 like Andre suggested helping ease into it with a more mellow part. When the first song came on I was expecting to hear something right away, and nothing happened. So I checked the volume on my computer and it was up all the way. Then I realized that the sound may take a little while to get started, and sure enough after a few more seconds a very slow paced and soothing sound began to emanate from the speakers. The sound seemed to be one note that kept building but it really showed no resemblance to the original song like I had expected.

     After a little while of listening to the song (maybe 10 minutes or so) I just totally let myself go and tried to think of nothing and only feel the music. In doing so I felt myself going into sort of a trancelike state. The sound was making me feel as if I was flying over a rolling field of wheat or a green grassy countryside. It was a very peaceful and surreal feeling. The changes in this section all were pretty subtle but you could definitely tell there were different crescendos and valleys in the song. Instead of being only one body of work, it seemed like there were many different little soundtracks being played back to back. I could see this being played as many different pieces for many different films.

      It really amazes me the sound you get when everything is slowed down to this extreme. It sort of sounds like a revelation is taking place right there in front of you, I can envision space and the final frontier while listening to this piece. The notes that hold longer and are a little more screeching tend to get monotonous after a while. They leave me wanting for an end result of excitement or an upbeat tempo instead of more of the same slow paced blissful feeling.

      After listening on for about an hour and a half, I must have dozed off. When I awoke at about the three-hour mark or so there was a big change happening in the mood and feeling of the song. It began to get very loud and intense, and left me with a feeling of something big was about to happen. This must have been the reason I woke up. Although there were very subtle changes to the song throughout, there was really only one major shift in the four hours or so of this part three, which surprised me.

Response:Molotov Man

Molotov Man Response

When I first began reading this article I thought it was only about rebels fighting a cause, mainly because of the powerful image that’s displayed on the first page, which happens to be the image in question in this article. After a few sentences I quickly realized that this was relatable to what we’re doing right now in class with our found footage assignment and re-appropriation. This is a tough subject because it brings a lot of different emotions from the artists themselves. Most of the time artists feel like they are being stolen from and rightly so. Basically it really comes down to ethics, using artists pre existing works is a cool thing and I do believe you should have permission form the original artist to be able to use it but only if you are profiting from the use of that particular “borrowed” piece.

It's crazy how many people or groups ended up using this same Molotov Man image that Joy used and for so many different reasons, many having nothing to do with the original context. It really shows the power of an image and the way that image is presented can have a direct effect on the viewer. This says a lot about this image in particular and to me can be seen as only good publicity for the original photographer because the image is being spread to more and more people only giving the artist more coverage and publicity.

 When I used to hear rap music that’s made from using samples/loops from preexisting hits and try to pass themselves off as musical geniuses used to really get to me. The songs are mostly made of samples of popular songs throughout our history have always questioned and doubted the talent it took for these people to take a hook or line from an already established masterpiece of a song already and try to make it there own. Nowadays I have grown to like these types of songs because some of these hip-hop artists have taken sampling to all new levels making it truly genuine and unique. I believe it does take skill to take something that means one thing in and make it into something completely different and it helps to using image or sounded to people now that is popular because it subliminally gives them a leg up.

I really excited about the Found Footage Assignment and have been searching the Internet high and low for public domain footage to use. It’s going to be a lot of fun to take something that can be totally dated but a part of pop culture or history and make it into something new and fresh. What’s truly exciting is there are so many options for these types of films; all that limits the film is the filmmaker’s creativity and imagination.

Saturday Bolex Long Take

Saturday Bolex Long Take

     Today we had our Saturday shoot for our Bolex long take; the forecast was for 60 percent chance of rain, so I was a bit worried about our big day being cancelled. I even made sure and bring a raincoat and a few umbrellas, but luckily we didn’t even have to use the foul weather gear we’d all brought just in case Mother Nature was in the mood to make things a little more difficult.

     I have to admit it was a little scary going into this challenge without our faithful leader Andre, and in the back of my mind I was a little afraid something might go wrong. But once again everything and everyone cooperated with our efforts of expedient, and efficient filmmaking. Just as planned everyone in class came together as a team and worked as one like a well-oiled machine.

     While setting up for the shoot, processing and video transfer everything went extremely well and in no time we were all out in the field ready for several practice runs and blocking for the real deal. That process took up a majority of the allotted time for shooting and both groups I worked with ended up shooting there real take with about five or ten minutes left in the one hour and fifteen minutes designated for getting the shots done.

    Then, once we were done with the shooting, we went inside and hand processed the film. This part of the job turned out to be pretty sketchy, because a lot rides on this very important aspect of the process to actually making the hard work put in come together. If we didn’t properly expose the film we shot then all could be lost and all of the time we spent on it would have been entirely in vein.  As far as I could tell by the negative exposure everything turned out pretty well, but I guess we won’t really know how it turned out until we actually get the digital version back. I hope it looks good and if it needs fixing that it is manageable in post.

      I had a really good time today shooting and the four hours between 12:00 PM and 4:00 PM really flew by, It seemed like we were only there for a brief period of time, This means I must have had fun, like the old saying, “time flies when you’re having fun!“

48-Hour Video Race

48-Hour Video Race

     After reading over the assignment guidelines for the 48-hour video race, I ‘m very excited about this project. I’ve heard about these types of races in the past and have always wanted to enter one, but haven’t had the chance. I was trying to go over different things in my head to capture video or make my film. It’s a pretty difficult task for me to think of any techniques for capturing video without using something with the word camera or cam in or ones that you haven’t already discussed. I was leaning towards using my cell phone, it actually happens to have a very nice camera on it (720p I think).  I would possibly like to do something that gives the perspective of my dog Clarence. Sort of like a day in the life of Clarence, but somehow told through his eyes.

     I was also thinking of using Maya, After Effects, Flash or Toon Boom and maybe doing an experimental animation piece that taps into the viewer’s subconscious. I’m envisioning something with odd creatures in a parallel world and maybe using some effects plug-ins and an underlying soundscape to help set the mood or tone of the film. I feel like this could be pretty fun to play around with these effects and plug-ins and see what kind of cool, odd or interesting things that they may yield.  You could even incorporate a little bit of each of these different styles together to make something that is totally off the wall.

     I was also thinking about doing some sort of time-lapse footage with my cell phone camera, I need to figure out how I’d go about keeping the camera totally still to take the photos though, maybe I can make some sort of makeshift tripod or something. It would possibly be cool to incorporate something like this into the experimental piece as well.

     Another idea I had was using the XBOX 360 Kinnect, it has a camera on it that takes footage of you while playing Kinnect games or for web-chatting as well. I could do different poses in front of the camera and bring them into FCP or After Effects and see what I can come up with. I’m still not quite sure what I’m going to do yet, but there are plenty of options. That means the opportunities are pretty much endless, just as long as you keep an open mind and think outside of the box.

Thoughts and Experience on Assignment 1 (Camera-less Filmmaking)

Thoughts and Experience on Assignment 1 (Camera-less Filmmaking)

 The camera-less filmmaking assignment we had for our first assignment was really fun and I enjoyed it thoroughly.   Honestly though, it left me feeling a little uneasy working in such a small area on the filmstrip (frames) and not knowing what you're end result will look like until you view it in class. I was little worried how it would come out because we weren't able to view it while or after you were making the film unless you had a projector of course. When we viewed the film on the projector I was very pleased overall and thought it turned out to be pretty sweet. 

 The pacing was definitely different than what I had imagined, everything seemed really quick. I wish I had drawn out and scratched several more frames on some of the animations I had done, so that they would have lasted longer. But when it’s a quick flash of animation or image, there is a subliminal message feel to it. Making the viewer ask himself, did I just see that?

 It was fun experimenting with different camera less filmmaking techniques. The layering of multiple techniques really gives the film a unique, funky effect and really makes the possibilities endless depending on the imagination and creativity of the filmmaker. One example of this in our film was using the rayograms but where we’d twisted the rayograms w/contact printing on it, we filled the clear space in with magazine and newspaper transfers as well as coloring it in with some oils and paint We also did some with Sharpie colored markers which turned out to be a cool idea. 

 I shared my film with a friend of mine who is also a Film major. He hasn't been lucky enough to take 6 x 1 yet and he seemed pretty impressed by our film. So much so that he asked if he could use it in his documentary that he's working on this semester. Needless to say that positive feedback from him made me feel even better about the end result.

 I really enjoyed seeing some of the other group’s films too. From the ones I’ve seen I feel like everyone put in a lot of time, planning and effort into what they were doing. I was pleasantly surprised at how good all of them came out. I could definitely see myself doing more of this type of filmmaking in the future. I love the anticipation of seeing the end result; it’s like getting a surprise on Christmas morning.

Chion and Cummings Readings on Sound

Chion and Cummings Readings on Sound

The readings by Chion and Cummings on sound remind me of the old question, “If a tree falls in the woods and nobody hears it, did it really happen?“ We as humans sometimes take our sense of hearing for granted. Have you ever watched a thriller or scary movie with the sound muted. If you have then you know that the film is no longer scary or tense, but becomes somewhat comical. This is the point of Chion’s article on sound.  Chion’s article says it well when it exclaims, sound helps temporalize the image by normalizing and stabilizing of film projection speed. Just like his point about our ears being able to perceive sound quicker than our eyes can figure out what they are seeing. It’s something I never really thought much of before when watching a film.

Sound very important in the making off a film. The choices you make for sound in a film really depend on what type of film you are making. If you are making an experimental film and want the viewer to feel disoriented for instance. Then you may want to use sound is non-sync or possibly sound that has nothing to do with the actual images being displayed upon screen. Sound can make or break a film; it needs to help guide the viewer/listener in the direction the director intends to take the film journey.

The article by Cummings made me think of an interview we did the other day for my documentary I’m working on for 495. We were shooting in the subject’s backyard, it was a beautiful non windy day outside and he has some nice scenery in his yard so we framed up a good shot and went with it. It was a good thing that we had lavalier mics though even though it wasn’t windy, because the road out in front of his house turned out to be very busy thus being very noisy. Being such a sunny and pretty day out it must have been perfect conditions for a motorcycle ride, because it seemed like about a million of them went by.  We were going for the nice light, “Natural “ outdoorsy ambient backdrop of sound for our interview and instead we got the loud, obnoxious and abrasive, sounds from the motorcycles and traffic.  We haven’t captured the footage yet so hopefully the lavs will have eliminated some of the background noise, if not our good interview will be lost. 

Side note: Why are motorcycles sooo loud anyway? I find them very annoying because of that. I have my windows opened right now; I can hear the soothing and calming sound of wind blowing through the trees and then out of nowhere…wheeeee wheeeeee wheeeeee wheeeeeeeeee wheeeeeeeeeeeee.  A motorcycle ruins it!

Wells/ AnimationReading Response

Animation Reading Response

I always loved animation since I was a child, Disney and Saturday morning cartoons like Hannah Barbera or Warner Bros. were at the top of my list of favorites, and I can remember them like it was yesterday. It was always a way to escape from the real world and make believe.  I really think animation is a cool way to make films due to the fact there are so many interesting ways/ mediums to create them.

 I took three 3d animation classes in the last three semesters here at UNCW and studied the principles of animation with the extremes and in betweens; there truly is a high degree of difficulty artistry to being a good animator. There is a lot more to it than people think and to become a great animator must take years and years.

This article really made me look at animation in a new light, instead of thinking as animation as strictly narrative, there is also a whole different aspect of experimental animation in which you can be as off the way and creative as possibly creating a whole new dream state kind of fantasy land. I like that you don’t have to stick with one medium of animation in experimental animation as well, for instance you can use cell animation, claymation, and 3d animation all in one film if you like so that you can give different feelings or moods to the scenes for the viewer.

The statement by Wells that experimental animation wants it to look more like Visual Music, is reminiscent of Brakhage and like minded avant-garde artists. I also see this type of musical feel in some of Disney’s films such as Fantasia.I also like how Wells described orthodox animation as prose and experimental animation is more poetic. I can definitely see his point in even some of the animations we’ve screened in this class so far this semester.

When I graduate in may I plan on having more free time to focus on becoming a better all around artist/ animator,  it's something I’ve always dreamed of doing.

My Thoughts/Experience with Cameraless Filmmaking

I really enjoyed the experience of working on our cameraless filmmaking projects thus far. I love the fact that we are actually working hands on with the celluloid. It gives it a true organic feeling as opposed to working on these types of effects in the digital world.

I like how we jumped into it the first week of class with scratching on film. After watching a lot of Stan Brakhage, Naomi Uman and others in History of Avant-Garde, I would often wonder how the actually went about manipulating their film stock to achieve their desired effects. Getting to do it myself really put things in perspective and made me think what I need to do frame to frame to make and image I had scratched move. It’s really the same concept as doing and animation in a program like Toon Boom or Flash. Every frame must be a little different from the one prior and you must do the math for 24 frames per second to time out how long you want the movement to take to get to the desired place. I also like the fact that you really don’t have to make things very complex; you can make your creations more simple or abstract, because there is no right or wrong way to show your vision.

I loved doing the magazine and newspaper transfers as well. It was sort of like being in art class and making collages, but on a much smaller scale being that your canvas is only this tiny piece of film. When we got to see what our creation looked like when played through the projector I was pleasantly surprised. The colors, shapes, and textures that we created in such a short period of time were beautiful. I can see where you could use this process in making something very elaborate if you took the time to plan it out properly.

Doing the Rayograms, totally made me look at filmmaking in a new way. It gave the x-ray look to the objects we place on film, which I thought was really awesome. It’s great how you can get something so cool on film from such a simple process and concept. It only took about ten–fifteen minutes total for each of out five foot pieces of film. I saw so pictures online of various Rayograms where people used their hands and bodies on the film to create the image. I haven’t got to do the painting on film yet, that’ll be this week for me. I’m very excited to do so, it’ll add yet another tool to my cameraless filmmaking tool kit.

This experience really made me look at filmmaking in a new light. It makes me realize that the options to this type of filmmaking are virtually endless, depending only on your imagination and creativity.

Synesthesia & Cymatics

Synesthesia & Cymatics

 Synesthesia comes from the Greek word together; it is a neurological condition in which one sensory or cognitive pathway is stimulated which leads to an involuntary experience in a secondary cognitive pathway.  People with this condition are known as synesthetes. An example of this would be how people see different numbers or days of the week for instance as being different colors.

 Synesthesia in art is basically art forms that blur the senses. The art forms can include or combine visual music, intermedia, music visualization, experimental or abstract film, paintings and audiovisual art. I had the luring of the senses a lot last semester when we screened many of the films in History of Avant-Garde. Some of these films showed screeching or obtrusive sounds some even use the sounds police use for riot and crowd control with a mixture of underlying subliminal dialogue and images alongside flashing colors on the screen Some of these films cause people to have seizure’s especially those with a history of epilepsy are advised against watching some of them.  

 Cymatics comes from the Greek term for wave. They are uniform patterns produced on liquids or gels type substance through he us of sound waves. This is much like waves in the ocean being produced by storms or under water forces such as explosions, shifting fault lines or earthquakes, which produce enough energy to displace the water in the form of waves and patterns. Like the way a swell looks like corduroys on the horizon. The more shallow the water the more pronounced the wave becomes. Like that of the trays or pans used in Cymatics experiments. I think the study of Cymatics is very important and may unlock some secret code to the world and the underlying power of things we never considered important before.  Dolphins use sound wave and frequency’s to communicate and maybe aliens do too like in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. By studying Cymatics may be unlocking the keys to the universe? Cymatics is bringing matter to life with the use of sound waves. It’s amazing the way the patterns of sound waves look like things we find everyday on earth like snow-flakes and starfish, maybe somehow there is some direct correlation of the two.

 Both Synesthesia & Cymatics remind me of a new trend among young people today called i-Dosing or digital drugs.  This is where people put on headphones and one sound or frequency is played trough one ear and another is played through the other ear. This is supposed to create a state of euphoria or blurring of the senses for the user. This is sort of a mixture of these two topics.

Passsage-Barbel Neubauer

Barbel Neubauer

     I enjoyed the film Passage by Barbel Neubauer. The pitch-black background with the different colored geometric shapes flying across the screen synchronized with sound and music put me in a trance or dreamlike state.  At the beginning of the film it reminded me of popcorn popping because of the popping sound and the presence of a few blips of color flying into and across the black screen.  I go the feeling that something was starting to happen.  

Neubauer's Pegasus

     The shapes and colors along with the music and sound began to increase and change as the film went progressed. I found myself trying to derive a meaning from what was happening on screen, but when I did so I think it took away from the intended experience of the film.  The film has a very abstract feel to it. I believe the intent of the film is the same as some of Stan Brakhage’s similar films, to put the viewer in a trance like state (to blur the senses).

     I took this class because last semester I took History of Avant- Garde and really enjoyed it. I used to be a little skeptical about experimental film, but after learning how I’m supposed to watch and engage with them along with the history of Avant- Garde films I’ve realized that I’ve become increasingly interested in this type of filmmaking. I’m a big fan of Stan Brakhage, especially Black Ice, The Tower and his similar films. The beautiful colors of Black Ice along with contrasts scratched and hand painted on the black celluloid really caught my eye. I find it very relaxing making me feel like I’m in a meditative state of mind and being. These films of his in particular remind me of Passage by Neubauer along with many of her other films. Her use of color in the form of geometric shapes give her works a definite Brakhageesque feel except for her use of sound. Braskhage didn’t believe in using sound. He believed that the film or images themselves should have a musical quality, more of a visual music instead of using aural music.

     Shannon also recommended that I take this class, she knew that I was interested in cameras like the Bolex 8mm and 16 mm along with the Pentax k1000. She told me that it would be fun because we would be using the Bolex and hand processing the film, and then manipulating the film by scratching, painting and so forth. When she explained this I felt like I had to take the class because it would be the perfect fit for my interests.