6x1 Thus Far

I figure talking about each thing we've done individually is the best way to express my likes and dislikes.

Scratching: I enjoy doing this. I tend to start to attempt to animate with my scratching. It's just what I drift toward naturally. I enjoy the freedom of the scratching. Essentially that I get to dismantle perfectly good film until I see fit. Really the only boundaries to this are what you limit yourself to. Anything can be a scratching tool. Just some things look better than others. I found that the sand paper was not to my liking, but a nail offered me precision more than the thumb tack. Though one perk I found of the thumb tack was being able to punch small holes in the film, another great technique for simple animations.

Animating: The animation portion of the project is the one I think about the most. The one that I plan the most. I find the precision of animation to be infatuating. I like that I create the motion. Not just random motion either. Motion that is calculated and timed. I've always been interested in this. Even in ninth grade biology. We were assigned to make a flip book of mitosis (cell reproduction) and I spent hours making the perfect motion. I view this as a big mitosis project.

Magazine Transfers: Easily my favorite thing we've done. This is so unique. Really I'm not sure how this was conceived, but I really enjoyed the process. Arranging the layers and seeing how things turn out on the screen was a lot of fun. Much like with the film scratching, I try to get very precise and start to animate. I have to constantly remind myself that this small strip will be on the screen for a fraction of a second. Still, knowing exactly what I put on my strip even when I see it for that split second is rewarding.

Inks & Oils: This is tough for me to enjoy because it lacks the precision of a pen or scratch. It seems aimless and I prefer to have greater control over my work. I'm sure there are ways to control the inks, but I haven't discovered them. Again, this is most certainly a personal preference. Maybe I will enjoy it once I begin to master it. Or maybe there is no mastering it and what I've experienced thus far is precisely what inks and oils are all about. Hopefully I can discover what it is that sets this form of filmmaking apart and make something I feel is unique and fulfilling.

Rayograms: I enjoyed doing this, but not quite as much as the magazine transfers. I thought it was involved for what we produced. Much like with the inks/oils, I'm confident that much can made from this technique. We just can't fully explore the depths of rayograms in a single week, on a 6 foot film strip. After doing it once though, I see little objects and think "That would make an interesting rayogram." Hopefully I can explore this technique a little more.