#14 Demo Reel // Artist Statement

https://vimeo.com/41353675

My style as an artist has been difficult to figure out. I tend to have soft colors with very crushed depths of field in my shots. I am inspired by many different kinds of music and most of my work is ultimately the work derived from the inspiration of a song or a song’s concept. I think the thing I enjoy most is combining the two to create an even stronger emotion in an audience.

Special Project - CW Tornado Documentary

Special Project: Jack Blankenship for UA President

#12 Scene Assignment

#8 Shot by Shot Analysis

The first shot of the scene is a panning shot that racks between the first subject, Jacob,...

and the second, "Smoke Monster". This gives the audience a sense of direction as to where Smoke Monster is entering. 

The very next shot is an establishing shot to reveal the vast landscape. Smoke Monster procedes to walk up to have a seat with Jacob.

Next is a medium close up of Smoke Monster looking off into the distance, as Jacob does.

Next is an over the shoulder shot of Jacob. This gives the audience a sense of dialogue and interaction. We now know the characters are going to be discussing something.

We have another expository shot of the ocean and ship in which the two are gazing at. We now know that this ship is an important element to this conversation.

We have a reverse over the shoulder shot of Smoke Monster, reinforcing the dialogue and conversation shared between the two.   

The next series of shots are tighter OTS shots. This brings the audience closer to the characters. 

This closeness is also shown through this shot of the boat. It also reinforces its importance of the ship.

The next shot is a over the shoulder dolly move. It starts behind Smoke Monster... 

...and pans around his side. This also breaks the 180º rule. I thinks this allows for a dramatic shift intended to let the audience know that the mood of the conversation is about to dramatically change. 

The process of increasingly close over the shoulder shots repeats with this dramatic sequence.

The closing begins with a wide shot of the smoke monster exiting. 

This shot lets the audience know that Jacob is going to be remaining in his own spot. This shot pans upward...

...revealing a statue that at this point in the series has become somewhat of a character.

The scene ends with a wide shot of Jacob, Smoke Monster and the statue. This shows how massive the statue is.

#7 Lighting - Daniel Roth

I have always thought that this picture of Nick Saban is really awesome. It is obviously lit very well, given the amount of detail this photo entails. He almost looks like he was painted on the photo. I do not know how it is specifically lit but looking at it really makes me want to achieve that look for photos and video. 

The natural light serves this music very well. It has such a cool and calm look to it. I really love natural light although artificial is very useful and crucial. This natural light gives the video that 90’s look that I think the artist, Mac Miller, was trying to achieve.

This photo is really awesome. Although there isn’t a specific style of lighting in it the use of light is very intriguing. The waves of light that have been flashed across the screen are really neat. I think, so called, “light painting” is an awesome new form of photography. The color is also very awesome. It has somewhat of a black light effect and is a really pretty blue. 

This photo, again is another great, natural light photo. The light from the city provides back light for the subject to produce an awesome silhouette. I like the use of silhouettes because it provides the viewer with a unique perspective of mystery. We can tell from the photo that it’s a man, probably in his 20’s-30’s and he appears to work at a bar or restaurant of sorts, atop a high scenic view. With silhouettes we can use our imagination and create a story of our own for the subjects.

#6 Portrait of a Place

#3 Where do I want TCF 312 to take me?

            I have been doing videography since about the fifth grade. I remember doing power points set to music because I didn’t have any other way of making a video. I soon got into working with the classic Window’s Movie Maker. After a few years with that I briefly began using Sony Vegas. My dad later bought a Mac and it was Final Cut from then on. I love creating videos, especially ones that incorporate music. I feel like both video and music draw such emotion within a person and that is something that I want to do for the rest of my life. Being able to share not only how you feel but the true emotion behind the feeling with someone is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever experienced. Life is so full of emotions of all kinds. Everyone wants someone to be able relate to what they are going through and understand their feelings. Why wouldn’t we share that with as many people as we can, while we can? Whether it’s a room of twenty people or a stadium of 101,821, an emotion can be shared through the perfect combination of audio and video. That is what I hope to do with my life, move people. 

            What I want to obtain and accomplish through this class is simple. I want to be able to better my ability to do what I stated above. Any way that I can improve at creating an image for someone to view, I’m willing to learn. So much goes into producing an image that you see in your head; from framing, to lighting, to just the basic camera settings. Those are definitely the kinds of things I’m going to need to learn to be able to accomplish my dreams. 

#2 What Inspires Daniel Roth?

Both this song and video really inspire me. The footage totally matches the imagery of the song. Music is so important to me, but I am in no way musically talented. Music videos are a great way for me to contribute to helping deliver a message a particular song. The music is so beautiful in this video. Sometimes when I take photos, I listen to music as inspiration. Music has the ability to make someone feel a particular emotion. I think video adds even more to that.




This video is truly amazing! Even though it is an ad for a travel agency, someone still traveled the world and filmed all of this. This would really be a dream if I was ever given the opportunity to do this. The world is such a beautiful place and to film all over it would be a dream.

The movie "The Wackness" is such an inspirational movie. The key line that stuck out to me was along the lines of, "We need to do the things in life to become the men we want to be." That really stuck out to me because of all the changes I am going through in my life. It made me start to realize that I am about to be on my own and I need to start thinking about how I want to live my life.

 I work for The Crimson White, as the multimedia editor. This is my boss, Victor Luckerson. On April 27th, when the tornado hit, our staff was flung into a non-stop chase of stories. The morning after the tornado at 7 am in the Crimson White office he told us that "Our paper is not a product, it's a service." Those words totally changed the way I viewed my job. I was no longer creating something for my portfolio or a cool video, I was providing information for the students of the University of Alabama.

This is the band, NEEDTOBREATHE. They are a Christian band from North Carolina. They're music is full of Christian undertones and meanings. They don't always come out and say that they are talking about God, but reveal their faith through life experiences. I sometimes listen to them as a prayer. It's always such a peaceful and inspiring experience when listening to them.

This is my family. I don't think there is anything that inspires me more than them. My brother, Nick is 18 and will be at Alabama next year. My parents both teach special education. I am always so proud of them. They're the greatest people I know and would be nothing with out all three of them. 

Carson Tinker inspires me because of his faith. Bouncing back from what he went through is truly incredible. I follow him on Twitter and his tweets alone are incredibly inspiring. Every time I go on a run and workout and am getting tired and thinking about quitting, all it takes to keep going is thinking about him and his perseverance. 

As sappy it that sounds, I really feel inspired by nice days. When it is really pretty outside, I feel like I have to partake in everything it has to offer. I want to see every pretty scene that the day has to offer. I often put on some headphones and just walk around and look at everything. 

The Alabama pump-up videos really, really inspire me. I want to do stuff like that for a living and everytime I watch those, there is no doubt about what my passion is. 

The final thing that inspires me, is when I have a very friendly encounter with a complete stranger. It is very reassuring to see that there are people in the world that care about others, especially if they don't know the person. I think that's what life is about anyway: developing relationships and loving others. 

#1 - "Ten Things" by Daniel Roth

1. I listen to music EVERY spare moment I have.


2. I think this is hilarious.





3. I work for The Crimson White.


4. If I could go anywhere today it'd be Ireland.


5. I got to interview Charlie Sheen when he came to Tuscaloosa. I also gave him my hat. 

6. This is my favorite song!





7. This is my favorite photo I've taken. 

This is my brother Nicholas.


8. I share my name with my father.


9. I am Catholic.


10. These are my parents.

Short Film Review #15: "Two Laps"

     Two Laps is an awesome short about 2 friends, one old and one even older, who swim together everyday. I really liked the way the story was told. The present day was in all black and white and HD. The flashbacks were in color and were filmed with a rather old camera. This gave the film a very interesting look and was very visually appealing. I really liked the underwater shots as well.


Two Laps from Nicole Bou-Samra on Vimeo.

Short Film Review #14: "Gulp"

     Gulp is probably the coolest stop motion I've seen in a long time. It is about a sailer that gets eaten and spit up by a shark. The detail that went into it was incredible. I can't imagine organizing and planing something like that. The zooms in and out were really awesome as well. It is a commercial for Nokia but is still really cool. 

Short Film Review #13: "Eat. Learn. Move."

    Eat. Learn. Move. is the coolest project I have ever seen. It is a series of three short films. 3 friends travel around 11 different countries in 44 days and document their experience. This shows how incredible life can be from so many different cultures and perspectives. It shows how life is about learning about as many things as you can. Also about meeting people and learning about their life. I really enjoyed these three films.


EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Short Film Review #12: "Back to the Start"

     Back to the Start is a film/commecial about a farmer who is selling his pigs in a huge quantity for pork. He realizes that he does not agree with this mass processing of his pigs. He changes his entire method of raising animals and goes back the the old way of doing things. This is obviously an ad for Chipotle Mexican Grill but at the same time it is a very well made short film. The frames flowed very well and the shots were steady throughout. This was a very well made stop motion short film.

Short Film Review #11: "Once It Started It Could Not End Otherwise"

     Once It Started It Could Not End Otherwise is a very confusing and creepy short film. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The photos chosen in the film were really creepy and somewhat disturbing. I did not understand the ending or what went on in the school other than maybe people were killing. I don't see how murders and deaths could be kept secret though. It was well made, but I didn't get the message of the film.

http://vimeo.com/24226407

Short Film Review #10: "The Chase"

     The Chase was incredible. It was a chase scene between various men and one women. The film is presented through many different windows on a computer screen and utilizes many different forms of multimedia in the process. We see the woman in the form of a video one second and the next she is seen through a video game. I don't know if this was made using an editing program or if the changing of windows and programs was entirely choreographed and just recorded as one take using a screen recorder. Either way, the film was very cool!


Intel 'The Chase' HTML5 Sequence from Nexus Productions on Vimeo.

Short Film Review #9: "The Rules of the Game"

    The Riles of the Game is a very unique short film. The entire story is narrated by the main character. He is on screen while he is telling the audience this story. He is house-sitting and walks throughout the house telling us of the story of his own fiance's affair.
     I really enjoyed the way this film was presented to the the audience. It's good to see a story told in such a different way.

Short Film Review #8: "How To Eat Your Apple"

     How To Eat Your Apple is a very confusing short film and I feel that it could be interpreted many ways. I feel like it has a 'circle of life' type message; the idea that everything is born, lives, then eventually dies. I also saw alot of the idea that many things can stem from one. The apple symbolizes energy. An apple can nourish and provide enery for people, animals, insects, and other forms of nature. From that energy living things are able to do countless things.
     Overall, I think this was a pretty cool short film with a lot of hidden symbolism and ideas.

Short Film Review #7: "Big Day"

     Big Day is an excellent short film/music video. The shots were extrememly well shot. It displays the modern day college/high school student who loves to party. It also shows a rebellious, lack of caring what others and elders think about them. The girls in this film want to enjoy their life and especially their youth. They have responsiblities at the same time, so when their fun is over they must continue on with life, as displayed ay the end of the film.

Short Film Review #6: "Pythagasaurus"

      Pythagasaurus is a silly animated film that resembles that of a short that would appear on a children's TV station like Nickelodean or something (minus the cursing). It is about what appear to be two cavemen who just realized that a volcano has appeared next to their hut over night. They go on a search for the Pythagosarus, a dinosaur/math genius. He aggrees to help and follows them back to their hut. He ends up not being who he says he is and then eats one of the cavemen.
     I didn't like the story a whole lot. It was kind of childish and wasn't that cool. However, the animations were very well done and very proffessional.