Just finished the assesment and it confirmed my suspicions, the animated puppet is a little distracting, it removes some of the elements of the actual film piece which is more powerful due to the sound and motion.
As statement to the piece, the following is a descriptionof what I want to achieve with it.
'he' is heavily inspired by the community outings with ARC and Youth Point. During the 'Big Day Out' when we visited the Big Wheel at the Albert Dock shortly followed by the Yellow Duckmarine, I noticed the community enjoyed the interation between the different generations. Afterwards (by a few days) there was a little get together reviewing the day out with the community with tea, snacks and games, it was then that I learnt of The Ghost of The Cinder Path. The story has some variation and the older generation seem to have more experience of its sightings. Mostly the ghost is of a male in a flat cap and blazer vanishing up the path where he was killed by the railway.
The film piece is based upon the experience of a haunting, the questioning of the reality, and sense of loss. The puppet created as a physical representation of this lost spirit is choreographed represents the mind of the audience. Is the Cinder Path really haunted or is a function of our inner minds tricking us into believe in it?
The fact that I am now removing the animation from the film is also statement to a feeble mind as they pass by once, the film un-noticed, but at a different point curiosity brings to focus the audience and straight to the description of the piece once again leading to a deception. Is there something in the film representing the ghost? The answer, yes, the perspective of the audience especially during the slight pause where a spec of dust outside the screen may be interperated as a ghostly orb.
This links back to my initial thoughts at the beginning of every project, I love the audience's perspective on a work of art, then to eliminate what they expect lead to a detemination to find it, and they will. To shock is the most satisfying aspect of modern art.
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
PrtScn
Due to my Graphics tutor in College I was encouraged (along with everyone else) to press 'PrtScn' every so often and I haven't kicked the habit. This is the evidence of my editing solid for 3 days with tantrums every so often.
I'm thinking of titling it 'he' in lower case (that's media and film studies kicking in) as it is the type used/seen on most thriller films or programmes.
I'm thinking of titling it 'he' in lower case (that's media and film studies kicking in) as it is the type used/seen on most thriller films or programmes.
The reason for 'he' is once again the short syllable promotes an immediate interest and conclusion that the film will be based on thrill and horror which also creates an atmosphere of what I imagine to represent The Cinder Path in the dark walking alone.
'he' also generates a question, who? Then upon the arrival of the character, what? It is the response of the audience and the inner workings of the mind I am interested in. I want the audience to question the truth in this, is it a figment of the imagination? A fiction? or has the essence of this person really remained at the place of death?
Please view youtube, I realise the link may not work so type in Garston green screen by lsarfoster
Search for Cinder Path 'he' the most recent upload.
Sunday, 20 March 2011
Videos
I've a channel on youtube. lsarfost
Please check it out, i've put progressive videos on how the Cinder Path video is looking.
I've had difficulty putting them here so below is a simple collaboration of what would be the animation.
Please check it out, i've put progressive videos on how the Cinder Path video is looking.
I've had difficulty putting them here so below is a simple collaboration of what would be the animation.
Thursday
Got back to Garston and worked with the kids. I admit I was a bit doom and gloom but at the end i finally saw it coming together...
The man is Arthur by the way, our professional photographer. His camera looks incredibly intimidating.
Alright, now the doom part again on the 28th March I'm in Berlin for a week, the puppet film needs to be done by Friday, the dissertation sum up also needs to be done, and this mural is due for completion next Thursday. Can it be done with an assessment on Wednesday?
I need a plan.
Monday
Lecture 10am - 12.30pm, Power Point presentation for assessment, load pics and film onto mac format in case I find the Coral videoStudio does not work. Go home at 4.55pm and work on film.
Tuesday
10am work on film, write a sum up of my work for exhibition, May be needed at Garston at 1.15pm
Wednesday
9am work on film on the Mac suit. 1.30 Assessment
Thursday
9am work on any suggestions made from assessment, school at 1.15pm
Friday
Finalise film, write dissertation intro 500 words & e-mail, make sure someone gets my final film piece to John.
Tuesday Wednesday
On the way to Garston at St.Michael's station I spotted this.
Would have been useful had we not already started the Mural. Anyway, Tuesday was spent at the school prepping the board (previously painted by children) with the design for the mural using a projecter to scale. Then we painted the edges and tidied it up basically.
Would have been useful had we not already started the Mural. Anyway, Tuesday was spent at the school prepping the board (previously painted by children) with the design for the mural using a projecter to scale. Then we painted the edges and tidied it up basically.Wednesday I spent prepping my puppet for animation. Painted these tree like things to prop up the limbs as I discovered fishing line /string was too complicated to handle and take photos even with assistance.
Below is my completed puppet tied up as his hat dries from glue...it didn't work by the way had to use white tack in the end.
Below is my completed puppet tied up as his hat dries from glue...it didn't work by the way had to use white tack in the end.Now my puppet on a painted green background, it's going to have to be a bigger bakground, I knew there is a green screen sheet at Uni, it was just a matter of finding it as it wasn't where it was last.
Bought a new video camera, much smaller than the ones I've previously used, a Canon Hd. The guy at the store reccomended it as he was given it on a course and showed me the features, it won me over, I was initially going to go for a Sony until my research pointed out a few inconsistancies. Also began looking for programmes to edit my film on, I would like one for PC so I could work on films over the summer period.
Friday, 11 March 2011
Thursday mural day
The morning I spent going over things with Miguel then re-thinking some of the questions in the review we were all sent such as what skills have I developed.
Unfortunatly we weren't overly pleased with the quality of the boaards as we trusted them to be sorted for us once we told them what we wanted, they fit together fine like a jigsaw, but we noticed there was a crack on the right hand corner...we covered over it as best we could to seal it for now, but we most certainly need alot of varnish to cover both sides of these boards, we need to be sure everything is sealed then perhaps put some sort of lip on top to ensure some extra protection.
Then around midday I went on the train to the school with Gill.
We set up ready for 2pm, in the end the Louise swapped the paint for emulsion and Gill said she's used varnish on emulsion a few years ago and it still looks good.
I have to say I am slightly pleased with this swap as it was a windy day and keeping windows and doors open for the fumes would have been a nightmare, fortunatly emusions these days have little to none VOC.
The kids really got stuck into it as well, it was a great experience working with them together. They also though the final composition for the mural was, and I quote, "boss".Some pics were taken by Louise for a stock frame animation, she also took pics with the rest of our cameras.
Unfortunatly we weren't overly pleased with the quality of the boaards as we trusted them to be sorted for us once we told them what we wanted, they fit together fine like a jigsaw, but we noticed there was a crack on the right hand corner...we covered over it as best we could to seal it for now, but we most certainly need alot of varnish to cover both sides of these boards, we need to be sure everything is sealed then perhaps put some sort of lip on top to ensure some extra protection.Also I hung around around 6pm to go to Antonia's origami workshop at Metal @ Edge Hill Station, it was good but I only made two flowers, one of them a practise out of newspaper. I was so tired by 7:30 I packed up and went for my 40min train home, thankfully I stayed awake to get off at the right stop. I'm still tired now with a left over headache from yesterdays intense blue and green close up.
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
7th and 8th of March
Monday;
We came up with a plan for the mural.
The GOLDEN Pigment Identification Chart (www.goldenpaints.com/pigment.htm) lists the relative lightfastness and permanency ratings of all our colors. For maximum longevity, we recommend using only colors with a lightfastness rating of I and a permanency rating of Excellent.
Please note: Cadmium pigments should not be used outdoors as premature fading will occur. Ultramarine Blue and Cobalt Blue should not be used at full strength for outdoor projects. Mixing with other colors or diluting with GOLDEN Gels or Mediums will improve exterior durability.
Although GOLDEN Acrylics are optomized for traditional easel painting, the acrylic resin is somewhat soft for mural work, and should be modified with a harder acrylic medium to maximize durability. Adding GAC-200 also reduces the pigment load of the paint mixture, making the paint more binder-rich, which extends exterior lifetime. This is especially important if the artist chooses not to topcoat with a varnish. We suggest blending 1 part GOLDEN GAC 200 for every 2 to 4 parts paint. Cleaning - Remove any loose material, power-wash clean.Abrade non-waterbased coatings.Priming - Inspect knots for staining, sand and spot-prime as needed.Apply primer coat (suitable for latex).Painting - Apply GOLDEN Acrylic Paints to surface.Isolation & Varnish Coatings -Apply isolation coat. Let dry thoroughly (at least 48 hours).Apply GOLDEN MSA Varnish* or suitable alternative. BEST PIGMENTS - The most stable GOLDEN colors for exterior use.
Burnt SiennaBurnt Umber LightCarbon BlackCobalt BlueCobalt GreenCobalt TealCobalt Titanate GreenCobalt TurquoisGraphite GrayMars BlackMars YellowOrange OxidePhthalo Blue GSPhthalo Blue RSPhthalo Green BSPhthalo Green YSPyrrole OrangePyrrole RedPyrrole Red LightRaw SiennaRaw UmberRed OxideTitan BuffTitanate YellowTransparent Red Iron OxideTransparent Yellow Iron OxideTitanium WhiteViolet OxideYellow OchreYellow OxideZinc White
Susan TogutChildren’s Murals Susan Togut’s mural work with intergenerational groups is a natural development of her own work exploring transparency and layering, changing light and changing seasons. Susan has worked on volunteer and commissioned projects for schools, hospitals, and community groups. She resides in the Hudson Valley region of New York State.
We came up with a plan for the mural.
We each assigned ourselves tasks for the mural which we will begin Thursday.
Went on paint suppliers website just to see what their paint contains health wise. All masonry paint contains anti-fungi which may cause allergic reactions, goggles and gloves are a must, as is good ventilation, I don't think we should let kids get their hands on it. The same goes for all of their paints suitable for outdoor use. Taskers is crap in all aspects of this project
Rapid has rollers but no paint...unless you like glitter paint.
So we should either go back to drawing the mural on thursday, or we get something else, the guy at Taskers didn't look convinced.
goldenpaint.com offer advice on mural painting, they say HEAVY BODY ACRYLIC:
Golden Artist Colors, Inc. produces several lines of paints that can be used for mural work. Selecting which type of paint to use is dependent on each artist’s style and the surface to be painted.
GOLDEN Heavy Body, Matte, MSA, Fluid and Airbrush Colors can all be used for mural work.
The artist must determine if the texture will influence the way he or she paints. For example, if painting on brick, it will be tough to get a smooth line on such a textured surface with the Heavy Body Colors as is. They need to be thinned with GAC 200 (which also increases film hardness and potential durability) or the artist may consider switching to the Fluid Colors. The thinner consistency will allow the paint to flow into the crevices of the brick. Mixing Fluids and Heavy Body Acrylics together will produce a consistency similar to house paint, ideal for covering larger areas on most surfaces. Color selection is especially important to minimize fading of acrylic paints.
Golden Artist Colors, Inc. produces several lines of paints that can be used for mural work. Selecting which type of paint to use is dependent on each artist’s style and the surface to be painted.
GOLDEN Heavy Body, Matte, MSA, Fluid and Airbrush Colors can all be used for mural work.
The artist must determine if the texture will influence the way he or she paints. For example, if painting on brick, it will be tough to get a smooth line on such a textured surface with the Heavy Body Colors as is. They need to be thinned with GAC 200 (which also increases film hardness and potential durability) or the artist may consider switching to the Fluid Colors. The thinner consistency will allow the paint to flow into the crevices of the brick. Mixing Fluids and Heavy Body Acrylics together will produce a consistency similar to house paint, ideal for covering larger areas on most surfaces. Color selection is especially important to minimize fading of acrylic paints.
The GOLDEN Pigment Identification Chart (www.goldenpaints.com/pigment.htm) lists the relative lightfastness and permanency ratings of all our colors. For maximum longevity, we recommend using only colors with a lightfastness rating of I and a permanency rating of Excellent.
Please note: Cadmium pigments should not be used outdoors as premature fading will occur. Ultramarine Blue and Cobalt Blue should not be used at full strength for outdoor projects. Mixing with other colors or diluting with GOLDEN Gels or Mediums will improve exterior durability.
Although GOLDEN Acrylics are optomized for traditional easel painting, the acrylic resin is somewhat soft for mural work, and should be modified with a harder acrylic medium to maximize durability. Adding GAC-200 also reduces the pigment load of the paint mixture, making the paint more binder-rich, which extends exterior lifetime. This is especially important if the artist chooses not to topcoat with a varnish. We suggest blending 1 part GOLDEN GAC 200 for every 2 to 4 parts paint. Cleaning - Remove any loose material, power-wash clean.Abrade non-waterbased coatings.Priming - Inspect knots for staining, sand and spot-prime as needed.Apply primer coat (suitable for latex).Painting - Apply GOLDEN Acrylic Paints to surface.Isolation & Varnish Coatings -Apply isolation coat. Let dry thoroughly (at least 48 hours).Apply GOLDEN MSA Varnish* or suitable alternative. BEST PIGMENTS - The most stable GOLDEN colors for exterior use.
Burnt SiennaBurnt Umber LightCarbon BlackCobalt BlueCobalt GreenCobalt TealCobalt Titanate GreenCobalt TurquoisGraphite GrayMars BlackMars YellowOrange OxidePhthalo Blue GSPhthalo Blue RSPhthalo Green BSPhthalo Green YSPyrrole OrangePyrrole RedPyrrole Red LightRaw SiennaRaw UmberRed OxideTitan BuffTitanate YellowTransparent Red Iron OxideTransparent Yellow Iron OxideTitanium WhiteViolet OxideYellow OchreYellow OxideZinc White
Susan TogutChildren’s Murals Susan Togut’s mural work with intergenerational groups is a natural development of her own work exploring transparency and layering, changing light and changing seasons. Susan has worked on volunteer and commissioned projects for schools, hospitals, and community groups. She resides in the Hudson Valley region of New York State.
© Susan Togut, "Healing Arbor",22' x 12', 2000
Susan Togut is a public artist who has become involved working on murals with children, the elderly, and those touched by serious illness. She has created mural projects involving large groups of people for schools, community sites, and hospitals. Susan faces special concerns about substrates and materials because of the types of groups she works with and the sensitive locations where her murals appear.
Substrate choice is greatly influenced by the groups that Susan works with. When working on exterior or interior walls, Susan prefers to work on wooden panels rather than on the walls themselves. There are a couple of reasons that she gives for her selection. When working on an indoor mural in a school, for example, it is messy and difficult to have the children working on the walls directly. Many of them won’t be able to reach the higher portions of the mural, and it is too dangerous to have them standing on ladders. Having a lot of children and materials in the narrow hallways at one time can interfere with school traffic.
Susan also prefers the wood panels because she finds that they can help control the chaos factor of working with large groups of people (she has had up to 500 people working on a single mural). By assigning smaller groups a specific theme and area, it helps them to focus their energies and fine tuning the work becomes a lot more manageable.
For indoor murals, Susan has used fourteen 4’ X 8’ panels of MDO plywood, ½’’ thick. For exterior murals, she has used up to twenty-four 4’ X 8’ panels of ¾” MDO. Susan primes the panels with Sherwin Williams Heavy Duty Latex paint. Indoor panels are primed with 2 coats on the front side. On outdoor panels, she primes both the front and the back with 2 coats, and uses additional coats on the edges where the panels are most vulnerable. She also says that building a frame around the edges can increase longevity.
Susan uses GOLDEN Heavy Body Acrylics on the wooden panels, and she draws from a wide gamut of colors including metallic, iridescent, and interference colors.
For a protective finish on outdoor murals, Susan uses a two-step process prescribed by GOLDEN Artist Colors. She applies an isolation coat of GOLDEN Soft Gel Gloss. Then she puts on two coats of MSA Varnish, Gloss or Satin. Indoors she doesn’t use any topcoat unless the mural is in an extremely high traffic area or directly exposed to natural light.
Susan warns about one problem that can come up when working on wooden panels. Scale is very important to the success of a mural, and when artists are not working right on the wall or working away from the site, creating an appropriate scale can be more of a challenge. Artists should consider issues related to scale carefully before they start working.
Lexan, a polycarbonate with excellent impact strength, is another substrate that Susan enjoys working on outdoors. She creates simulated stained glass installations and environments using mural components such as her “Healing Arbor” in Kingston, NY. Susan says the transparency of the Lexan is very effective, and it can successfully resist most outdoor conditions.
No preparation is needed for the Lexan since transparency is key to achieving the proper effect. Susan mixes GOLDEN Fluid Acrylics with GAC 200 to make the paint adhere better to the plastic and GAC 500 to make the paint layer less tacky and more durable. For a topcoat she uses a minimum of 2 coats of MSA Varnish Gloss which increases the glass-like quality of the Lexan.
Susan experimented with a variety of products before deciding to use the Fluids to paint the Lexan. She didn’t want to use toxic materials when working with children or cancer patients. This eliminated some products that produced excellent results but were so toxic she wouldn’t even use them herself. She also worked with a dye paint that looked beautiful, but it was not pigment based, not good for outdoors, and faded quickly. GOLDEN Fluids, however, were safe, permanent, and were able to produce the effects that she wanted.
Susan Togut is a public artist who has become involved working on murals with children, the elderly, and those touched by serious illness. She has created mural projects involving large groups of people for schools, community sites, and hospitals. Susan faces special concerns about substrates and materials because of the types of groups she works with and the sensitive locations where her murals appear.
Substrate choice is greatly influenced by the groups that Susan works with. When working on exterior or interior walls, Susan prefers to work on wooden panels rather than on the walls themselves. There are a couple of reasons that she gives for her selection. When working on an indoor mural in a school, for example, it is messy and difficult to have the children working on the walls directly. Many of them won’t be able to reach the higher portions of the mural, and it is too dangerous to have them standing on ladders. Having a lot of children and materials in the narrow hallways at one time can interfere with school traffic.
Susan also prefers the wood panels because she finds that they can help control the chaos factor of working with large groups of people (she has had up to 500 people working on a single mural). By assigning smaller groups a specific theme and area, it helps them to focus their energies and fine tuning the work becomes a lot more manageable.
For indoor murals, Susan has used fourteen 4’ X 8’ panels of MDO plywood, ½’’ thick. For exterior murals, she has used up to twenty-four 4’ X 8’ panels of ¾” MDO. Susan primes the panels with Sherwin Williams Heavy Duty Latex paint. Indoor panels are primed with 2 coats on the front side. On outdoor panels, she primes both the front and the back with 2 coats, and uses additional coats on the edges where the panels are most vulnerable. She also says that building a frame around the edges can increase longevity.
Susan uses GOLDEN Heavy Body Acrylics on the wooden panels, and she draws from a wide gamut of colors including metallic, iridescent, and interference colors.
For a protective finish on outdoor murals, Susan uses a two-step process prescribed by GOLDEN Artist Colors. She applies an isolation coat of GOLDEN Soft Gel Gloss. Then she puts on two coats of MSA Varnish, Gloss or Satin. Indoors she doesn’t use any topcoat unless the mural is in an extremely high traffic area or directly exposed to natural light.
Susan warns about one problem that can come up when working on wooden panels. Scale is very important to the success of a mural, and when artists are not working right on the wall or working away from the site, creating an appropriate scale can be more of a challenge. Artists should consider issues related to scale carefully before they start working.
Lexan, a polycarbonate with excellent impact strength, is another substrate that Susan enjoys working on outdoors. She creates simulated stained glass installations and environments using mural components such as her “Healing Arbor” in Kingston, NY. Susan says the transparency of the Lexan is very effective, and it can successfully resist most outdoor conditions.
No preparation is needed for the Lexan since transparency is key to achieving the proper effect. Susan mixes GOLDEN Fluid Acrylics with GAC 200 to make the paint adhere better to the plastic and GAC 500 to make the paint layer less tacky and more durable. For a topcoat she uses a minimum of 2 coats of MSA Varnish Gloss which increases the glass-like quality of the Lexan.
Susan experimented with a variety of products before deciding to use the Fluids to paint the Lexan. She didn’t want to use toxic materials when working with children or cancer patients. This eliminated some products that produced excellent results but were so toxic she wouldn’t even use them herself. She also worked with a dye paint that looked beautiful, but it was not pigment based, not good for outdoors, and faded quickly. GOLDEN Fluids, however, were safe, permanent, and were able to produce the effects that she wanted.
Tuesday;
Went to B&Q, I have found that no matter what the kids will have to be sensible with any paints, covering them up will also be essential as all paints say keep out of reach of children and avoid skin and eye contact, if this happens soapy water for the skin, rinse the eye and seek medical advice.
Sooooooooo goggles are a must for anyone working on this stage of the project. As well as plastic covering for their clothes which I know year four have (covers whole arms and down to knees).
so must list; goggles, wipes, warm soap water, plastic clothes covers, hair bobbles.
I've focused my search on low VOC emissions (hardly smells) for obvious reasons, good ventilation is still required.
Brands and qualities:
Farrow & Ball is THE best but £40 per tin and not so easy to get hold of colours as they are made in individual batches.
Craig & Rose, authentic period colours collection; 750ml acrylic eggshell (waterbased), covers 7m sq, £10.98
Crown, Originals; 2.5litres matt emulsion, covers 35m sq, £16.98
Crown Le Petit Palais; 2.5litres matt emulsion, covers 35m sq, special offer £10
Crown wood gloss; 750ml covers 9m sq, £10.98, wash with warm water allow 6hrs touch dry
Quick dry (4hrs) wood gloss very limited on colours £3 each 750ml covers 10m sq
Dulux ecosense; 2.5l, matt emulsion, covers 32m sq, £16.98, 2 coats needed, 4hr hour between coats
Homebase Dulux; 1.25l covers 16m sq special offer 3 for 2
£16.98 for 2.5l
Advice given by store;
Masonry Paint no matter the brand emit high fumes, described to be like sticking a glue stick up your nose.
Gloss paints in general need fine brushes (no rollers), and long dry period, not really suitable for kids to apply.
The best we may go for is Le Petit Palais for best colours and lesser health risk. No idea what varnish may or may not do to it but the bolder the colour the better.
Joyce edited the plan for the mural to scale, this is hopefully what it will look like!
Gill and Louise are sorting out expense on tools ie. brushes. phone calls to different people eg. Dept. Head of school, Alex Corina ect.
For the remainder of the week I have lecture Wed morning, get together afternoon, Tutorial Thurs morning, mural painting afternoon, Puppet making Friday.
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
School Day!
Had the first session with the class today, it was great! I had a plan...but ditched it the moment I walked in the room.
The next two are of a fairground with an edible candy shop that re-grows, hot dog cars and chocolate bar trees.
There were some fantastic ideas about the future and what they would like to see on the mural, very colourful!
Above we have carrotlator that tells us answers..below the huge multicoloured sun surrounded by plants, people and animals.
The next two are of a fairground with an edible candy shop that re-grows, hot dog cars and chocolate bar trees.
Finally the last two images. Words, aliens, popular culture, i-pod tree etc.
I've learnt that most of what the children drew came with a story/function. Below we have a limo (a really wide one) with a skateboard ramp and a sky diving platform... a lot of multitasking going on here.
From what I saw, they wanted their version of paradise, there was another of no prisons, zoos, spiders the size of elephants, police men non existent. All building focused and colorful whereas afterwards when I got together with the others, they had line drawings very detailed, focused. In the next session (Thursday) I'll introduce paint for even more colour, tell them it must be detailed, perhaps paper each so they can work on their own thing. Meeting on Wednesday, discussing today and photocopies of pieces. Homework was set for them as well, what do their relatives know of the Cinder Path, what would they like?I was daft and left a couple of sheets in the staffroom, hopefully they'll be there on Thursday.
Mission! Puppet must be done in 2wks, essay must be done by Monday.
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