pre-calarts
bfa-1 first semester | bfa-1 second semester
bfa-2 first semester | bfa-2 second semester
My classes!
MondaySigning up for classes is such chaos. I am convinced that the School of Art is in charge and that the process is actually a performance piece which harkens back to the days of YORE. Picture this space filled with tables. At the tables are all the teachers. The students have to fill out a form (in triplicate) of the classes they want to take and then find the teacher of each class to have them sign off on it. Next, one goes to the critical studies (liberal arts) sign out and get one's overall schedule okied and signed. Then, over to student affairs to get their signature. Next stop, the health department table to get their okay. Once all the signatures have been collected, you stand in line for one of three computers which can't be newer than the late 70s (imagine small monitor screens, black with green type, no graphics). Then a school official enters in your schedule and validates your ID.
Video Animation and Computers 9-12
Perspective Workshop 1-4
Beginning Story Development 7-10Tuesday
Animation I (Computer) 8-11Wednesday
Functional Anatomy: Upper Body 2-4Thursday
Life Drawing I 9-4
Animation I (Traditional) 7-10Friday
Nada!
I find the entire process very amusing and so chaotic. Oddly charming, in a way. Hehe!
Anyway, this semester was really odd. It completely revolved around your film and the classes are kind of structured to accomodate that. We didn't receive any assigments in traditional animation--half of the class was focused on lectures (most of which had to do with acting) and the other half, the teacher made himself available to us to talk about our films, show him our stuff and generally get his input on how things were going. Story development, additionally, served as an outlet to fine-tune our stories and the pacing off things. The perspective workshop lasted for the first three weeks of the semester and then it was open-hours with the teacher to get help with our layouts. Sleep became a thing of the past and while the cubicles would be generally quiet during the wee hours first semester, they were always teeming with activity no matter what hour of the day or night second semester. This held especially true the closer the deadline loomed. When it came time to scan our animation and edit it all together, the computers were available by schedule once we hit the two-weeks-until-the-films-are-due mark.
I found the activity in the cubicles to be distracting so I ended up doing a lot of work from home. I have a light box with a peg bar and I pencil-tested my stuff using my digital camera and After Effects. I kind of regret doing this--I missed out on getting input and suggestions from my peers and I probably didn't push myself as hard as I could have. In the end, I was happy with my story and the music but felt my animation could have been a lot stronger. Something to work on next year, right?
Making a film was an awesome experience. You learn so much from all the difficulties and failures along the way; I know what pitfalls to avoid and how to structure things better. I can't wait to get to work on my second year film.
