On the third iteration of the spinning practical effect, it finally seems to work. Version 1: use of the chopsticks and paper cone is too inaccurate to allow for smooth motion. Version 2: addition of wood rig creates stability but the small size of the circle attached to the drill motor causes too much side to side motion. Plus, the spinning is uneven... spin, spin, spin...slow down. spin, spin, spin... slow down. Where's Dan (physicist) when you need him? Version 3: a charm. Use of a larger circle (a 12" diameter piece of wood) attached to the drill seems to work pretty well. It allows for slow motion and doesn't causes too much sway or uneven spinning. It took us about 16 hours to get the thing working.
This time spent caused us to question how important the whole visual effect was. Our conclusion: it was important. More thought on the spectacle thing. Last week I analyzed the student projects in terms of four factors: impressiveness, spectacle, poetry and authority. Students tend to like videos that are high on impressiveness and spectacle, lower on poetry and authority. Documentaries tend to be low on impressiveness and spectacle, high on authority. For our film, we're going for low on impressivness but high on everything else. That's why it's important to get the spinner working. Film needs spectacle. But spectacle without the impressiveness, and without being MTV Jackass.
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