Project 2 – Poetics

For this project I made a small self reflexive story, by combining a written story. Which as very close to me, because I want to be a filmmaker and film makers tell story’s. Video games have always been apart of my life since I was young so I really wanted an interactive piece to my writing. This is why the audience has some choices on what the main character, the boy, will do. I modeled it after some early text only video games that I played. I handmade the first picture you see of a desk,computer,chair,and room in Maya. Participatory culture was the reason I was able to use these models and know how to use the program. I only modeled the room, the rest were models I were able to download from various locations.I also set up the lighting and I textured the walls.Maya is a 3D creation program I learned almost exclusivity through the internet since I was in highschool.  This story, even though it is very personal to me still represents Participatory culture/Public Pedagogy. Such as the Boy in the stor,  I learned Final Cut and how to make a lightsaber through internet forums and videos when I was young. I show through the boy proper methods of posting to these forums and how all you really need to know can be googled. I chose a lightsaber for the Boy to make, because that was the first effect I did. Which was really the start of my understanding as a kid that the internet is also a place of learning and not just goofy videos.  It also introduced to me, like the Boy, that people on the internet could be really nice and helpful  which was a new concept to  Kanyme when I was younger.  The Boy at the end of the story has had suddenly a big opportunity open up to him, because he was able to effectively see the internet as a learning tool and use it with much aptitude. Which is not much different for me and how I got my Los Angeles internship. I emailed the producer on a Tuesday with not much hope asking if any internships are available. He called me on Friday asking what programs I knew and or I could learn. I listed what I knew and have messed with. I also said depending on the task I could learn what ever programs he needs me to. The next week i was whisked off to Los Angeles. It was all because of the kind people on the internet that guided me through all the various programs was the reason I got so lucky working on a real film set as a DIT and Assistant Editor. The film set , like the one in the story, was also a sci-fi film. So the Boy and I’s first film set was sci-fi. The first page, I had the mockup of the room I did in Maya plus a video of a  air conditioner. Which I thought was a good way to add elements to a story that were more physical and made the story come to life.  I think it really help set the mood of the story. The learn by doing page as a typical frustrated computer person. I chose, because that is how many people feel about technology and the internet. Its also a common computer trope. To show someone flustered behind a computer. The video of learning Final Cut was much like the same video I saw to learn the program when I was younger. The forum I posted below is a forum/website I frequent often to learn new computer programs. The tutorials are outstanding the the community is super friendly when ever you need help. The image of forum rules under the all caps response choice was taken from a generic forum, because it shows edict is a must on any web community forum.  If you click it you can see a terrible use of caps by Kanye West. Jedi kid on the last page was a video I thought was funny when I was young so I thought it would be funny to have a before and after of the video to show what the ” boy did”. It also hints at remix culture. Error media missing is a common final cut 7 problem that many editors joke about, because it happens so much. Its easily fixable and everyone is bound to run into it if you edit enough. I gave the boy a common error, pointing out to him and the audience that most issues that look bad really can be solved with just a quick google search. Picture of a moody film set that reminded me of the one I worked on. Yoda meme, because it fits perfectly with the lightsaber theme, and i like star wars , and it fits with the Boys likes and the lessons he learned.  The picture of adult me at the yoda fountain. Showing the Boy now works at ILM all from the help of internet communities and the resources available for public pedagogy.