Mindful of additional inspiration

As I plunge into thesis land, I've begun to notice aspects of other media that are good examples for me to follow, and reminders of some of the ideas I've come up with to solve the complexities of the work ahead.

Sdrawkcab Krow (Work Backwards):

A video that is circulating the internet (below) and available on "YouTube" shows Michel Gondry, the music video master, solving a rubik's cube with his feet. As with most Gondry videos, it is an illusion of trick editing. In this case he took a solved rubik's cube and used his feet to mess it up and then played the video backwards--with some sound editing and cutting, the video is pretty convincing aside from a few odd quirks that are pointed out by the user "BeyondBeliefMedia" in his video "How Michel Gondry Faked His Rubik's Cube Stunt".





The video points out the concept of making sure the puzzle is solved by working backwards. I expect this idea will be invaluable in having Justin solve the puzzle ball--by starting with the final pose of the just completed puzzle and working backwards, I can make sure the puzzle is solved successfully and in a convincing manner.

Near and Far:

While watching "The Little Mermaid" the other day I was reminded of a concept I have been developing to minimize the amount of animation necessary while still being able to convey the video and complete the piece. I have been planning to intercut between close-ups of Justin with the puzzle ball with wide, sweeping shots of the entire planet to alternate the focus from detailed, convincing animation to storytelling and expressive camera movement. Disney did just this--I bet--for the same reasons, and its very evident during "Under the Sea" (below). The close-ups allow for really nuanced movement and lip sync which keeps the audience aligned with Sebastian, while the wide shots allow far simpler animation of Sebastian and shows the performance of the other fish, fulfilling the narrative purpose of the musical number.





Dreamweaver:


To some degree I intend this video to function as a dream sequence...a place where fate seems to have a way of directing everything that happens. I'm currently reading "Neil Gaiman's" "American Gods" and a comment he makes about "dreams" stuck with me as a great way to word the "dreamworldly" quality I hope to create within the video:

"It was a dream. and in dreams you have no choices: either there are no decisions to be made, or they were made for you long before ever the dream began."
(p. 303)