Crew Evaluation

Well since I do not have a group I guess Ill do some reflective evaluation of myself. Nothing has changed I am still a bit disorganized but I am getting better. I am getting more organized and I am starting to become really comfortable with the After Effects software. At the beginning of the year a 20 second animation would take me up to 6 hours now it'll probably be less than an hour. I am finally starting to develop a certain style and recognize what works with animations and what does not.

My animations abilities have gotten better but my ability to put my thoughts on paper in an organized and fluent manner is still a struggle. Hopefully when I graduate I can get a job where I have to focus more on the animation then the writing, because writing the dialogue of this film took a hell of a lot longer then the animations. But hey the same way I got good at After Effects is the same way I will get better at writing. Practice, Practice, and More Practice plus THE COURAGE TO FAIL. 

Apr. 26th (Art)

Coming Soon.

Apr. 26th

If anyone wishes to act as the narrator of this short animation, please let me know. Its been fun.

Final Draft:

As we replaced trees for houses and houses for hotels, human development continues to thrive while our habitat struggles to survive. Just as Newtons third law of physics states; That for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. As we build up our communities to grow jobs and our economy we are destroying the very Earth that provides our food, water and way of life.

For example, an average sized Dog Shit contains 3 Billion forms of fecal bacteria, which can cause E Coli and other harmful diseases.

The Huffington Post reports that, EACH YEAR, American Dogs produce 10 Million Tons of Shit. Since 40 Percent of Americans do not pick up after their Pets, Everyday, 11 Thousand Tons of Dog Shit could be polluting your water.

WE HAVE OFFICIALLY TIPPED THE SCALE. Even if we had the same amount of oysters we did in the past it still would not account for our increased stress

And this means disaster for the long-term because decreased water quality leads to a decrease in public health which inevitably leads to an increase in cost of living. Not to mention the impact it will have the on Tourist and Fishing Industries. Two of the leading contributors to coastal economies, especially the state of North Carolina which alone brought in over 5 billion dollars last year.

There are things we can do to minimize our stress. Such as rain gardens, planting native vegetation, rain barrels, impermeable cement, sewage treatment plants and a whole other list of solutions. But it all starts with taking responsibility, by accepting that the road we are on leads off of a cliff.

The first step in fixing any problem is to recognize that there is one. TO MAKE THE CONSCIOUS CHOICE TO CARE FOR YOUR ACTIONS. Not your Friends, Not Your Politicians, and definitely NOT YOUR FUCKING PET. IT All STARTS WITH YOU and what you decide to do. To sit idly by or to take action; to be a hero even if it's in your head.

Newton’s third law does not have to be a curse, rather a gift for it forever binds and aligns our fates. It forces us to consider the consequences. To recognize that we all have an impact and a role to play to maintain a SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY.

SO PLEASE, DONT BE THAT ASSHOLE, AND CLEAN UP YOUR DOG SHIT.

Apr. 19th

Came up with some concept art for posters and what have you. I think they are pretty clever and are sure to stand out. I feel that they still need some touch ups like everything else because everything can be better but there good. I think I am going to make the whole poster yellow on the Pet Waste one with the guy slipping on dog shit. But overall I feel that they are simple and yet carry a very strong message which is the very essence of this film.

I am still having trouble with the dialogue and timing of the animation. I feel that the first draft is too long and I have been reworking a lot of the paragraphs to allow it to flow more. Recording myself say it our loud has been helping me a lot as well. We I can hear what I say I can better understand what works and what doesn't. But for now everything is coming together. It is the home stretch and now I just need to dot the is and cross the ts for graduation.

Apr. 12

The animation is coming along a lot better now that I have my script and foundation. I have a list of objects that I need to create and I am already starting to develop clever ways to animate them. The background has continued to be a struggle with color and overall design. I do not want to create something that is simple but bold at  the same time. I have been working on different textures and gradients. I feel for now a dark blue background may be better than a light blue. I just feel it has a stronger presence.

I also came up with a song for the animation. It is a Woodie Guthrie song "This Land is Your Land" and I am unsure about copyright laws with him. For now I am going to use it as I seek his or his families approval for the song. Knowing that Guthrie was an environmentalist and cared for this country his family may allow me to us it, but I am unsure if they will be ok with my cursing in the animation. That is something I will need to follow up on because I do not want to offend them .

(April 5th) Script draft 1

Here is the first draft of my script, It very sloppy but there is room for improvement I just need to make it more concise.

As we replaced trees for houses and houses for hotels, human development continues to thrive while our habitat struggles to survive. Development is a double edge sword. As Newtons third law of physics states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. As we build up our communities to grow jobs and our economy we are destroying the very earth that provides our food, water and way of life. Development, my friend, is a double edge sword. when we gain one thing we inevitably have to lose another. But what are we trading beach front property or the view that brought people her

40 percent of Americans do not pick up after their dogs. With over 70 million dogs in the US that means there are 30 Million dogs who’s shit can end up in your waterways. The water you use to clean, cook and drink. Dog Shit which contains 3 billion fecal coliform bacterias individually. Yeah thats a billion with a B and these fuckers can cause Ecoli and other harmful diseases. 

WE HAVE OFFICIALLY TIPPED THE SCALE. Even if we had the same amount of oysters we did in the past it still would not account for our increased stress

And this means disaster for the long-term because decreased water quality leads to a decrease in public health which inevitably leads to an increase in cost of living. That does not even include the impacts/ consequences on our Fisheries and Tourism. Two of the leading contributors to coastal economies. Especially the state of North Carolina which brought in over 5 billion dollars last year.

o09All hope is not lost however, there things we can do to minimize our stress. There are rain gardens, planting native vegetation instead of non-native, rain barrels, impermeable cement, sewage treatment plants and a whole other list of solutions. But it all starts with taking responsibility, by accepting that the road we are on leads off of a cliff.

The first step in fixing any problem is to irecognize that there is one. By your caring actions and  considering the consequences, you can lead this world to a better tomorrow; Not your Friends, Foes, Politicians, and definitely not your fucking pet. IT All STARTS WITH YOU and what you decide to do. To sit idly by or to take action; to be a hero even if its in your head. 

Newton’s third law does not have to be a curse, rather a gift for it forever binds and aligns our fates. It forces us to cooperate with one another and to recognize we are stronger together rather than apart. because a rising tide raises all boats. We are all aboard the same SpaceShip. We all have a role to play to maintain the functioning of this Space Ship. We all have an impact, that is something we can never control. But we can control if that impact is NEGATIVE OR POSITIVE. 

So please, DONT BE THAT ASSHOLE, and clean up after your PET. (America will thank you for it) If not for me, then at least be shellfish and do it for yourself. because we are all drinking the same punch (from the same cup)

Because that’s a DOMESTIC ISSUES

SO JUST IMAGINE A DOG SHITTING IN YOUR MOUTH, OR YOUR CHILD MOUTH THE NEXT TIME YOU CONSIDER NOT PICKING UP YOUR DOG SHIT. 

March 2nd

After careful consideration, I have decided to switch my 495 project. Instead of doing an animation about oysters, I am going to complete my Dashrath Manji animation. I only completed the first half of DM and it allows me a top to switch to that I can complete before the end of the semester. Overall I feel that DM has more potential to play at festivals and with some fine tuning be really good. I still need to do the fight sequence, add dialogue, and make Kanye Dance. I already have the framework and I may redesign my characters, that is still up for debate though. I am thinking about drawing my own Kanye and Gore faces but the cut out are pretty humorous.

Oysters were good but it was more of a youtube and facebook post than it was a festival film. DM has a narrative story to it and has a lot of potential to it. I was planning on doing it over the summer but I decided why wait to do another project when I still have one to complete. Also it would be better to do this animation now that I am at school because then I can utilize their good recording equipment, rather than like an iphone at my house in Jersey.

Three Act Structure

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/102uo5sON6JIffCP_eTOIr0dIQIXsSCYqn635k3mwFdU/edit#slide=id.p

Proposal/Treatment

Outline:

Intro: Sunrise and Roadkill (Video)

Act I: Animation (1 min)

• Dr. Hawkes will describe the topography of the Wilmington area from Cape Fear River downtown to Wrightsville Beach. Briefly discussing how each environment functions, from barrier islands to estuaries.This will allow ppl unfamiliar with describes the water quality and water pollution pros and cons. Animations will accompany her story of how things are to give the audience a better visualization of the problem and to stress?(stress may not be the best word) how we are all connected

Act 2: (Animation, 1 min)Rise in Population equals more buildings, cement and less natural land.

• Still through Dr. Hawkes VO she will talk about Wilmington's rising population and as a result a rise in cement leads to more StormWater Runoff which is the leading source of water pollution.

Act 3: What is StormWater Runoff? (Animation, 1 min)

• VO accompanied by Animation lays out the scenario of rainwater being funneled by the cement into the sewer where they are untreated stormwater runoff pollutes the water we swim in, the fish we eat, and our economy of the Wilmington area. I can guarantee you, right now, the house value in flint is not very high. Also there will be Dogs poop and motto scoop the poop for comic relief and to people resonate with swimming in their dog's excrement.

Act 4: Solutions (Animation, 2 min)

• DNA dog poop, which is a serious proposal at some places but again this will be a joke more so to illustrate this is a band aid solution rather than solving the actually problem. Already proposing without saying our solutions that we seek long term solutions not short term fixes
• Large solutions like WasteWater Treatment Centers using man made objects
• Against DYI improvements to your home, Rain Barrels, Native Plants, rain gardens, impervious cement, and pick up your  
• And Large scale environmental projects like they did just recently in the Chesapeake Bay, made the largest man made reef using recycled Oyster Shells

Oyster Restoration is the best of both worlds because individuals can help by recycling their oyster shells, community event from the restaurant shells, fishermen, filters the water, provides a safe haven for nesting fish from dangerous predators, think Finding Nemo. Also heavy machinery is required to move these shells so labor unions will still be needed, employed and healthier which means less health care cost, and so and so and so on.

The animation ends with like the recycling arrows showing how politicians, fishermen, real estate salesmen, surfers, locals, families, restaurants can help the whole community by working together to surmount the world’s greatest threat since the atomic bomb. Dr. Hawkes finishes up her inspiring speech, the animation of the whole community begins to fade away, and an actual video take of Dr. Hawkes in front of a whiteboard with everything we talked about drawn out on the white board in a complete mess of arrows and words, etc.

Dr. Hawkes looks at the camera, a bit out of breath and asks, “Did you get that” and roll credits.  

sidenote: before the ending just in the general animation with e talking back to her in disbelief or something like that, like NPR does it.

Conclusion:

That would be a good ending, sure to make the general audience chuckle with a witty ending like that. But I was thinking instead to end it by going back to video instead of animation to stress that these solutions are not in a fantasy, animated world, but are happening right now but individuals just like. We go to a Oyster Restoration project on our own beaches were volunteers of all ages are spending their time trying to preserve what they love about Wilmington. Final shot, a large crane carrying large bundle of oysters into a dump truck while the sun is setting because, you know, everybody chuckles a bit at full circle endings because they are so cheesy. (Could be even better if their is a street light with an LED bulb when it turns on.

Treatment/Proposal

With the Paris Conference ending not too long ago, leaders from around the world  have finally accepted the dangerous road in which we have been heading and finally seek to change our course. The war against climate change is a war against our very foundation. That is why it is up to filmmakers like ourselves to be the soldiers in the fight against climate change by developing Environmental films that find a problem, break it down, and present a solution.

In order to address problems on a global scale, we first must address the problems at a local level. That is why with our film, we hope to address environmental issues that are most prevalent to the Wilmington area; Water Quality. Water by itself does not become polluted; there a variety of reasons why water quality my decrease. By introducing the rise of population in the Wilmington area due to its beautiful beaches, towns and people; we will show the correlation in the rise of concrete. From there we will show that because of the increase of population and concrete, there is an increase of untreated stormwater runoff; the leading cause of water pollution.

After we have addressed the problem we will introduce some solutions, both expensive and inexpensive, that either local officials or households may adopt in order to decrease stormwater runoff. These solutions will include, impervious cement, rain barrels, rain gardens, oysters, native plants and more.

Also the film will incorporate all aspects from this class. The intro will be experimental  consisting of still photography of road kill. Animations will depict the process of how stormwater runoff leads to pollutions and then how our solutions may stem the problem. As well as, in depth interviews from experts will provide the V.O for the animations and on site footage as evidence of the crisis.  

If you support this proposal, I will give you a film worth watching that has a purpose, a message, and a mission to promote long term and sustainable practices, in order to enact change during these troubled but opportunistic times.

Distribution

• Government (Wilmington)
• Schools
• Film Festivals
• YouTube (possibly a channel)
• Social Media
• All Local and State-Wide Environmental programs.

Links

• http://www.wilmingtonnc.gov/public_services/stormwater/education_outreach.aspx
• http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2015/09/26/man-made-oyster-reef-save-chesapeake-bay/72885072/ (Oysters)
• http://dnr2.maryland.gov/fisheries/Documents/2014%20Choptank%20oyster%20implementation%20update%20FINAL%205.5.15.pdf (oysters implementation)
• http://www.coastalreview.org/2016/01/small-polluters-could-get-a-pass/ (Pollution)
• http://www.nccoast.org/get-involved/volunteer/

Contacts

• Wilmington WasteWater Treatment System Emails and contact below. (http://www.cfpua.org/360/Wastewater-Treatment)
• Dr Andrea D. Hawkes Email: hawkesa@uncw.edu Phone: 910‐962‐2350
• Ben Brink_ Coastal Management Supervisor
• Oyster Recovery Partnership (OPR) 1805A Virginia Street,Annapolis, MD 21401, it is far away. Tel: 410-990-4970
• *North Carolina Coastal Federation* (http://www.nccoast.org/project/large-scale-oyster-restoration/)
• http://www.nccoast.org/get-involved/volunteer/ (volunteer for restoration project, get some stills, and that will be the ending, leaving people with hope for a better future that is within their grasp if we are willing to make sacrifices for the gretter good. And allow future generations to thrive from our actions rather than weakened by our mistakes.
• *Eric Pake #252-725-9290 (Jones Island Reef Construction)*

Intro

It is just before sunrise, the flourescent lights are still on. The camera is focusing on the light, the song Untitled 1 by Kyle Eyre Clyd is playing. It is a haunting, hypnotizing, buzzing sound, the music sets the tone; eerie. The music grows louder and as the the music grows the camera continue to zoom in/out? Then the sun begins to rise and their is a beautiful sun rising over the trees, when the sun begins to rise the focus shift, and the camera zooms out. Now there is only the sun, after it is nearly completely risen, the camera tilts down and reveals roadkill (species unknown yet, hoping for a cat or dog, which is really fucked up I know. However, cats and dogs are domestic and I am trying to portray on how nature is being infringed on, so either a racoon or deer would be best, a DEER would be perfect. As soon as the whole deer is in frame, we begin to zoom in on the eye….., either during production or in post since we will be shooting 4k but present/convert in 1080p. Hopefully there will be flies, I am still unsure about lighting, location, length of time, and one of those sign guys at 6 AM in the morning. I want the film to be authetic but who would know/care if it’s a “volunteer” actor. This is going to be for kids and the Gov’t. Come to think of it, parents probably wouldnt want their 10 year old child, closely observing roadkill on film at school, it may leave an impression. So I guess well just make an R version for the adults and a G version for the children without the roadkill and just the dude dancing with the sign and some traffic. Cut that scene with a 18 wheeler zooming by. Gotta be patient though for that shot, waited 20 min in Alaska and still no luck, Bastards. Then SUPER title, which for now is H2 Oh no (hahahahhahahha, that pun is just so bad), instead, Sip Savor Smile.

Location is still up in the air, I would like to be by the beach so you can see the waves and the scenery will be better but I am unsure about Roadkill, there probably is I just havent looked, a Turtle would be good. The turtles shell is broken like our shell the earth is slowly breaking from human pressures, or some BS like that, just sling some bull, you can find meaning in anything, and if you can't just make it up.  

DATES

Hatteras Island Oyster Roast Feb. 6th saturday 2pm-6pm

LOCATIONS

• Jones Island Patch Reef Construction 1h 30min car ride