The interesting part of being an oddity is figuring out how to interface with other people. It's sort of fun figuring how to get a screen into a set design or figuring out what the lighting designer is going to do. On this show I've had the most interaction ever with the other designers. It's also the first time I'm doing video (two large screens) as opposed to projection. I'll lose scale, but I'll gain resolution and presence. Interesting to see how that will turn out.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The problems of video projection
When you're doing projection design you have to get used to being somewhat of an afterthought. Every theater project must have a scenic designer, lighting designer, costume designer and sound designer. But in LA small theater, a video projection designer is always optional. The thing I dislike the most about the job is dealing with the hardware. It's always different, it's never set up, and I'm usually expected to install it. You have to deal with projectors, going video or computer, running lines, installing projectors, rigging dowsers (or trying to convince someone to do these things). And then you have to make sure that the system actually works. This job would work best split into two parts with one person handling the software and one person handling the hardware.
Micro shorts & experimentation
Talking to Ben today about doing micro-shorts. I've been thinking how a lot of my work is genuinely experimental--not in the aesthetic sense, but in the fact that it always involves experimentation, as in I'm trying to figure something out. Ben's idea was to make really short films, like a minute long which suits short experiments. The trick is to get something that goes beyond the typical camera workout or "subway short"--short films that look more like technical tests or are just simple fight scenes.
Barriers to entry
I was thinking about how barriers to entry are potentially a good thing. One of the things that differentiates music from film is that in music, the barriers to entry are very low. All you need is is the idea that you can write and sing something (which seems to be everyone, especially with auto-tune). But film requires a significant investment of time and energy if not money.
I think that's one of the things that's bothering my rapper second cousin who works on beats. When the barrier to entry is low there are thousands and thousands of other artists working out there; there is a lot of 'noise.' And to cut through you have to be a good marketer (my second cousin hates marketing despite the fact that he has a degree in it.) In film it's not quite as difficult to get out there because the barrier to entry is higher. So to a certain extent, the marketing demands are not quite as high depending on your aspirations.
Friday, February 05, 2010
Current approach
This is the direction that the director and producer are liking so far. The projections are like animated educational slides that are light in tone and comment on the monologues that they underscore.
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Reference video--Pink Floyd - "Time"
This is what I was given as reference video by the producer several weeks ago.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
My 6 cues
These are the cues I'm underscoring with video/animation.
CUE 10 --watery images
My father told us with a smile. To me and your mother—we were just married then. (Putting tea inside the kettle.) The tea requires-first and foremost-good water. Water in California where we live is not good. So we use purified water, but it isn’t good either. There was a village in Korea where they planted a juniper tree beside a well to make the water taste fragrant. It was the pride of the village. People believed your well, or the taste of the water from it, could help you see the future of a family or the village that owned it. The story goes that when a mother gave birth to a baby, the mother’s family fetched water from a well where a large juniper tree stood. They probably cooked sea weed soup with the water from the well to feed the mother. The water in Korea was excellent. (Pours tea and gives it to his son and the daughter-in-law, and pours some in his cup.) Isn’t this tea fragrant? To tell you the truth, I didn’t know how to enjoy tea at that time. But, when my father asked me how the tea tasted, I used to say, “Yes, it is wonderful.” How do you like the tea?
YOUNG MAN. I don’t know.
WOMAN. . . . . . .
CUE 20 -falling leaves
OLD MAN. I see you can’t say, “Yes” when you don’t know the taste. I earned my father’s trust because of the “Yes,” I gave him. (Pours the tea into the cup for his son.) My father talked about tea while drinking it. The tea is made of the leaves. But not all tea leaves are suitable. Only the tiny leaves on the branches that sprout in the early Spring are made into tea. Those light green young leaves that sprouted newly into the world after a long winter hiatus are what I’m talking about. They were soft and pretty like the swallow’s tongue; thus, given the name, “Chaksol.” People classified the tea quality by the size of the leaves and called them, “Fine Tongue,” “Semi-fine Tongue,” “Middle Tongue,” and “Large Tongue.” In Korean weather, they could harvest the best tea leaves near “Kok-wu” season, which is the end of April. They regarded the best of the best tea leaves harvested before Kok-wu. Do you understand what I’m saying?
CUE 30 -orbiting planets, SUN.
OLD MAN. (After a laugh.) From now on, it is up to you whether you do this as a ceremony or a ritual. I’ve done this ritual of feeding the clock every morning for forty years. Without missing a single day, I’ve performed this ritual early in the morning when the sun breaks. The clock is a symbol of time, isn’t it? Life is about every second you have. No one knows only one second later I may not be able to see this world. “Use your eyes as if tomorrow you would be stricken blind. Hear the music of voices, the song of a bird, the mighty strains of an orchestra, as if you would be stricken deaf tomorrow. Smell the perfume of flowers, taste with relish each morsel, as if tomorrow you could never smell and taste again. Thus, glory in all the facets of pleasure and beauty which you couldn’t see before”—this is what Helen Keller said. While listening to the sound of this clock, I received my doctorate degree and became a professor as a Korean at a world class University, and won all kinds of awards the society has to offer. Because of my keen awareness of the time limit, I have lived a successful life; even if I leave this world, my scholarly achievement imbued with my spirit will live on to the next generation.
YOUNG MAN. Certainly, father, you have lived a successful life. Many people respect you. I too respect and love you.
CUE 40 --Clock build
OLD MAN. Thank you. I love you too and that’s why I wanted to make sure to do this. When I turn the spring to feed the clock, I can hear the clockwork move inside it. At first it was impossible. If I did it as a ceremony, it would have been entirely impossible. Through a ceremony, one cannot channel through the object. But if you do it as a ritual, it is possible even to talk to the object that you are channeling with. That’s why ritual is the mysterious birthplace . These days, people like ceremony over ritual. That means, there’s no inner exchange of feelings. It means dreariness. While I perform the ritual, the living soul of the clock spoke to me. Neither challenge Time, nor fight it, but be friends with Time. Then it will present you with a gift of miracle that turns every human dream possible. Your grandfather realized that early on and asked me again and again to perform the ritual, not the ceremony. Your grandfather said, on the day of my wedding, “I’d like to see you turn the spring for the wall clock with your own hands.” I didn’t understand the meaning of his words. Still, I answered, “Yes, I shall do it, father.” I gave him an easy answer but I was not really interested in the wall clock.” I should have given it to you earlier. I didn’t know you wouldn’t marry someone till you turned nearly 40 years age. (The OLD MAN briefly controls his breathing and continues with his talk.) Now you are married and have received this wall clock—it’s done. That wall clock is now a priceless antique piece. You may not hear it right now. Someday you will hear the sound of the clockwork, charrruk, charrruk. (In a very frail voice.) Don’t forget to bow each time you turn the spring three times. (The OLD MAN’s last sentence is so weak that it is barely audible.)
CUE 50--BODY< Dense stuff
WOMAN. What about ruining my health from insomnia? The tick tock sound carries nervousness in it. I can see the despair that [you may not come] and the fear of separation looks as though it will crash the bud of hope. How about the fear of death those tick tock sounds bring to us? It stretches your nerve too tight to sleep. (The YOUNG MAN, unable to speak, looks down at the golden spring [in his hand].) I found out on the internet: that the clock is just a device that measures time. I agree with that statement. Long time ago, people used to tell time with the Sundial, stars, water or even sand, using the positioning of the Sun and the stars. You know—the first clock is a stick set straight above the ground. People called it “gnomon.” But this Sundial wouldn’t work on cloudy or rainy days. (The YOUNG MAN looks at his father in the wheelchair.) In Korea, record shows they used the Sundial and water clock during the Three Kingdom’s period. The Great King Sejong used the water clock, “chagyokru,” that had an automatic alarm system. (The YOUNG MAN kneels down over the wheelchair, crying. The WOMAN looks at him with sympathy.) People say that it was during the 14th Century when machine clocks were invented. It became fashionable for all the major European cities to build clock towers that told time for the people. The spring clocks were made from the 16th Century on. By the 18th Century the electronic watches were invented and wristwatches with an automatic spring that moves by simply shaking it came out. Next came the electronic watches and today digital watches tell time accurately without any noise. It was in the 18th Century that the system of 24 hours a day began. Now what type of clock will come? Who knows if a clock divides a day into 25 hours instead of 24? On the internet yesterday, I read about 200 manufacturers produce over 80 million watches annually in Korea. And over 950 million watches are being transacted worldwide every year. (The WOMAN helps the YOUNG MAN rise slowly. Grabbing his hand,) Do you know why jasmine turns counterclockwise? Most plants grow turning counterclockwise. They defy the Coriolis effect. It’s in our DNA to disobey the natural order. What if we perform the ritual of love every morning at dawn like we honor the machine clock?
YOUNG MAN. Ritual of love?
CUE 60--rotate Jasmine
WOMAN. Very solemnly, with utmost sincerity. . . We should light the candles, prepare fragrant tea and flowers. . . (The WOMAN takes the golden spring out of the YOUNG MAN’s hand and puts it inside the red pouch that looks like heart hanging in the middle of the stage. The two embrace each other holding the shoulders and exit, pushing the OLD MAN’s wheelchair. Intense light focuses on the red pouch and fades.)
CUE 10 --watery images
My father told us with a smile. To me and your mother—we were just married then. (Putting tea inside the kettle.) The tea requires-first and foremost-good water. Water in California where we live is not good. So we use purified water, but it isn’t good either. There was a village in Korea where they planted a juniper tree beside a well to make the water taste fragrant. It was the pride of the village. People believed your well, or the taste of the water from it, could help you see the future of a family or the village that owned it. The story goes that when a mother gave birth to a baby, the mother’s family fetched water from a well where a large juniper tree stood. They probably cooked sea weed soup with the water from the well to feed the mother. The water in Korea was excellent. (Pours tea and gives it to his son and the daughter-in-law, and pours some in his cup.) Isn’t this tea fragrant? To tell you the truth, I didn’t know how to enjoy tea at that time. But, when my father asked me how the tea tasted, I used to say, “Yes, it is wonderful.” How do you like the tea?
YOUNG MAN. I don’t know.
WOMAN. . . . . . .
CUE 20 -falling leaves
OLD MAN. I see you can’t say, “Yes” when you don’t know the taste. I earned my father’s trust because of the “Yes,” I gave him. (Pours the tea into the cup for his son.) My father talked about tea while drinking it. The tea is made of the leaves. But not all tea leaves are suitable. Only the tiny leaves on the branches that sprout in the early Spring are made into tea. Those light green young leaves that sprouted newly into the world after a long winter hiatus are what I’m talking about. They were soft and pretty like the swallow’s tongue; thus, given the name, “Chaksol.” People classified the tea quality by the size of the leaves and called them, “Fine Tongue,” “Semi-fine Tongue,” “Middle Tongue,” and “Large Tongue.” In Korean weather, they could harvest the best tea leaves near “Kok-wu” season, which is the end of April. They regarded the best of the best tea leaves harvested before Kok-wu. Do you understand what I’m saying?
CUE 30 -orbiting planets, SUN.
OLD MAN. (After a laugh.) From now on, it is up to you whether you do this as a ceremony or a ritual. I’ve done this ritual of feeding the clock every morning for forty years. Without missing a single day, I’ve performed this ritual early in the morning when the sun breaks. The clock is a symbol of time, isn’t it? Life is about every second you have. No one knows only one second later I may not be able to see this world. “Use your eyes as if tomorrow you would be stricken blind. Hear the music of voices, the song of a bird, the mighty strains of an orchestra, as if you would be stricken deaf tomorrow. Smell the perfume of flowers, taste with relish each morsel, as if tomorrow you could never smell and taste again. Thus, glory in all the facets of pleasure and beauty which you couldn’t see before”—this is what Helen Keller said. While listening to the sound of this clock, I received my doctorate degree and became a professor as a Korean at a world class University, and won all kinds of awards the society has to offer. Because of my keen awareness of the time limit, I have lived a successful life; even if I leave this world, my scholarly achievement imbued with my spirit will live on to the next generation.
YOUNG MAN. Certainly, father, you have lived a successful life. Many people respect you. I too respect and love you.
CUE 40 --Clock build
OLD MAN. Thank you. I love you too and that’s why I wanted to make sure to do this. When I turn the spring to feed the clock, I can hear the clockwork move inside it. At first it was impossible. If I did it as a ceremony, it would have been entirely impossible. Through a ceremony, one cannot channel through the object. But if you do it as a ritual, it is possible even to talk to the object that you are channeling with. That’s why ritual is the mysterious birthplace . These days, people like ceremony over ritual. That means, there’s no inner exchange of feelings. It means dreariness. While I perform the ritual, the living soul of the clock spoke to me. Neither challenge Time, nor fight it, but be friends with Time. Then it will present you with a gift of miracle that turns every human dream possible. Your grandfather realized that early on and asked me again and again to perform the ritual, not the ceremony. Your grandfather said, on the day of my wedding, “I’d like to see you turn the spring for the wall clock with your own hands.” I didn’t understand the meaning of his words. Still, I answered, “Yes, I shall do it, father.” I gave him an easy answer but I was not really interested in the wall clock.” I should have given it to you earlier. I didn’t know you wouldn’t marry someone till you turned nearly 40 years age. (The OLD MAN briefly controls his breathing and continues with his talk.) Now you are married and have received this wall clock—it’s done. That wall clock is now a priceless antique piece. You may not hear it right now. Someday you will hear the sound of the clockwork, charrruk, charrruk. (In a very frail voice.) Don’t forget to bow each time you turn the spring three times. (The OLD MAN’s last sentence is so weak that it is barely audible.)
CUE 50--BODY< Dense stuff
WOMAN. What about ruining my health from insomnia? The tick tock sound carries nervousness in it. I can see the despair that [you may not come] and the fear of separation looks as though it will crash the bud of hope. How about the fear of death those tick tock sounds bring to us? It stretches your nerve too tight to sleep. (The YOUNG MAN, unable to speak, looks down at the golden spring [in his hand].) I found out on the internet: that the clock is just a device that measures time. I agree with that statement. Long time ago, people used to tell time with the Sundial, stars, water or even sand, using the positioning of the Sun and the stars. You know—the first clock is a stick set straight above the ground. People called it “gnomon.” But this Sundial wouldn’t work on cloudy or rainy days. (The YOUNG MAN looks at his father in the wheelchair.) In Korea, record shows they used the Sundial and water clock during the Three Kingdom’s period. The Great King Sejong used the water clock, “chagyokru,” that had an automatic alarm system. (The YOUNG MAN kneels down over the wheelchair, crying. The WOMAN looks at him with sympathy.) People say that it was during the 14th Century when machine clocks were invented. It became fashionable for all the major European cities to build clock towers that told time for the people. The spring clocks were made from the 16th Century on. By the 18th Century the electronic watches were invented and wristwatches with an automatic spring that moves by simply shaking it came out. Next came the electronic watches and today digital watches tell time accurately without any noise. It was in the 18th Century that the system of 24 hours a day began. Now what type of clock will come? Who knows if a clock divides a day into 25 hours instead of 24? On the internet yesterday, I read about 200 manufacturers produce over 80 million watches annually in Korea. And over 950 million watches are being transacted worldwide every year. (The WOMAN helps the YOUNG MAN rise slowly. Grabbing his hand,) Do you know why jasmine turns counterclockwise? Most plants grow turning counterclockwise. They defy the Coriolis effect. It’s in our DNA to disobey the natural order. What if we perform the ritual of love every morning at dawn like we honor the machine clock?
YOUNG MAN. Ritual of love?
CUE 60--rotate Jasmine
WOMAN. Very solemnly, with utmost sincerity. . . We should light the candles, prepare fragrant tea and flowers. . . (The WOMAN takes the golden spring out of the YOUNG MAN’s hand and puts it inside the red pouch that looks like heart hanging in the middle of the stage. The two embrace each other holding the shoulders and exit, pushing the OLD MAN’s wheelchair. Intense light focuses on the red pouch and fades.)
Concepts
One thing you'll find with a lot of playwrights/screenwriters is that their sense of imagery is different from an artist's. It tends to be more literary (duh) and abstract. I'm working on a section now that talks about the difference between different kinds of waters.. It's hard to make an image of just water. You have to put it into something. So I'm thinking of putting water into cups.
KCC test videos
There is a scene in which the lead character is reminiscing about tea. Here are some of my tests for that video in which tea or tea leaves are drifting through water or space. To use our class language, this is elemental motion using particle systems made surrealist by slowing everything down. The video is supposed to be a bit dreamy. I found that it's useful to have some basic 3D skills for doing theater work. Directors seem to like elemental effects and visual effects type imagery. This is done in Cinema 4D which is pretty easy to use. One problem is that this version doesn't handle particle collisions well. Notice that in some videos the leaves slice into each other. Maybe I'll just do this old school--put some leaves in water.
KCC project
I'm working on a project for the Korean Cultural Center right now, working on some animations/videos for a theater project. The play is called Why the Jasmine Turns Counter Clockwise. It will debut in March. You can all come see it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
