11-6-7

The project is complete. It's entitled "A Fight About a Fight." It was done with one camera, 3 guys, and allot of takes. It was done in a single take style, and it was improvised, with a set of notes reminding me of which style or focus we should be on (if you look in front of the coffeepot on the table, you'll see my notebook).

It may seem to get off the basic focus, and I Keep trying to bring it back to the central focus, which is easier said then done with 2 other highly creative individuals.

With this being said, allot of work went into the editing. I decided to enhance the focus of the fight with subtitles. Both versions (with and without subtitles) are on the DVD I'll be turning in tomorrow, however I highly recommend watching the one with the subtitles first. I will conclude my final blog entry with the artist statement I will be turning in tomorrow with the DVD of my project.

A Fight About a Fight

The original intent of this project was to explore a form of media I was familiar with, that being conversation. The concept of doing a conversation about conversation intrigued me in its simplicity, while at the same time enamoring me with the broad spectrum of possibilities. It was challenging to find one specific field to focus on. The end decision, and what I truly feel to be the best choice, was “A Fight About a Fight.”

Keeping the simple focus on just the fight posed challenging. The filmed product is the result of several takes of one single camera, in one take. Matt Utley who can be seen opposite of me stays in the shot the whole time. Chris Sonnleitner, the cameraman also makes a brief appearance towards the end for a great effort to this project. My goal was to verbalize what style of fight we were in, and to instigate or accentuate the different aspects of the fight, such as rolling the eyes, bringing up past problems, documenting problems, all things we all do while fighting.

At the end the fight becomes exaggerated and seems to loose control, so prior to the final (and ultimate) take, I decided to add subtitles to really help analyze the fight within itself. The DVD contains the original version, but to get the true effect, I recommend watching the subtitled version to really understand the piece in its entirety.

10-31-7

In preparing for the project, I've been rolling ideas off my wife on how to conduct the now re-named fight about a fight. Some features involved include repeating, over criticism, and stating the obvious. Phrases such as "there you go again" and "why do you have to bring that up" will be included. With me being one of the 2 fighting, I will intentionally keep it focused on the minimum. I haven't had a chance to work with Matt on this, but I am very optimistic about the project.

10-29-07

Wednesday's the day of execution. I've talked to the parties involved, we're deciding which place would be the easiest to film, and I have mapped out the "fight". I've decided to go loose, and the ideas are flowing as far as how to keep the project in the perimeters of the end goal. By early next week, I'm hoping to have the finished project handed back in DVD format.

10-22-7

As the time approaches to execute the project, I believe it to be necessary to go with a "loose script" concept. In taking the role in the conversation myself, I can control it (to an extent) and keep it from being completely derailed. I may be in for a surprise with what Matt can come up with on the fly, but I will still keep it focused. I will probably tight script an "interruption" as an example of rudeness, or to show how others can ruin a good discussion by completely changing the direction of it.

10-17-07

Apologies for not blogging sooner. With midterms running amuck these last 2 weeks, my brain's been like oatmeal lately. Scripting seems to be a bit more of a challenge then I had predicted. I'm thinking in 2 possible directions; basic discussion about basic discussion, or maybe even an argument about an argument. Some would argue that discussion IS argument... come to think of it, that statement is good fodder for the project. Minimalism is always the most difficult.

10-2-07

I have just finished writing my proposal for my Film 202 project. The proposal is due tomorrow and I've been hard pressed to write up a proposal that doesn't sound exactly like my first blog entry.

Thus far I have recruited the talents of 2 individuals who I have worked with in different settings in the past. Chris Sonlightner, a UWM graduate who majored in film will be filming the project. I also will be aided by Matt Utley, a Marquette English major who graduated and is now a copywriter. Matt and I will be having the discussion about discussion.

I'm also in the proses of writing the script for the project and will hopefully be done with it next week. This is the most difficult part of the project; as it essentially IS the project.

9-26-07

The idea I am presenting for my Film 202 project is a discussion about a discussion. At my present stage, I'm looking at the overall logistics of what will be required to successfully complete this project. I will write up a script; as random discussion speak may over-complicate the performance, I will need 3 people; myself and 2 others, one to discuss with and one as a drop in to demonstrate more chaotic affects of a discussion (going off topic, changing direction of discussion and so forth), and someone to video record the project. Fortunately I believe I have access to all 3 of these.

The next phase will be writing a script and discussing the plan with the possible others who will be involved (that's right... having a discussion about a discussion about a discussion). Seeing as I'll be recording this and not performing this live, this will open up my options of who will be available.