thanks

Thanks to my group who pulled through at the end. There were still re-working to be done. But for the length of time, I think the performance came out pretty well. So thanks to Cecilia, Farrell, Matt, Mike, Jon, and of course Arturo. Have a good break guys.

i had the worst headache this morning. my god. anyways, i'll be in later today. and tomorrow if necessary and definitely on sat to rehearse. if you need me to do anything, write me.

story story who's got the story

So I wrote the story. I think we should do Jon's suggestion of blooper outtakes as part of the script. It's so short anyways. Plus, I think it's not strong or funny enough. I think it should be over the top. But you guys let me know what you think. Yay or nay. And of course feel free to change it up. Mix up dialogue and whatnot. Input = good.


here goes...


adapted from chicken little (but not really)

It's the Spring Season

Characters:

**Narrator (2)
Papa Finch
Mother Finch (in the window)
Kid Finch
Sissy Finch
Baby Egg

--------------------------------->

Narrator (with an English accent): On a bright, sunny day. Come to think of it. It's always bright and sunny. I'm tired of fake sceneries.

2nd narrator: Oh come on, Niehls (some random name). Why do you always have to be so damn pessimistic? Aren't we trying to tell a nice story to the children?

Narrator (now named Niehls?) : Yes yes, but you're American. You know us Englishmen. We can't rely on our weather.

2nd narrator: Alright you've got a point. Let's continue then huh?

Narrator (Niehls) : Yes Yes, lets do. ... So anyways, It was bright and sunny (but mind you it was in California, where it can ONLY be bright and sunny)
[2nd narrator rolls eyes, but no one can see except script reading folks, thats you] at the barnyard. There was a finch. Now typically there are chickens running around in barnyards. But these were no ordinary finches you see. These finches have arrived from Xylotyl (pronunciation: "Zii-Lo-Toe") . Again generally the name xylotyl belongs to a strange little amphibian type creature, but in recent years, the creature sold their name and gave property rights due to their "supposed" need to take charge of their species and their need to revise history. So they sold the name to these finches on the planet now renamed Xylotyl. Now let's begin the story.

** Darkness. A green light darts across the sky. The light slows down and suspends in the air for a few seconds. (fog fills the room) . Out pops the family.
The family of finches that is. **

----------------------------------->

Act I : Scene I

** Pop is sitting in the chair. Watching the Television. He is unusually quiet this morning. Staring very blankly at the screen. It reads: "Invasion of Bird creatures on planet Earth (they're really right next door)". [other ideas to entertain: 1) it's hunting season on planet Earth - uh oh watch out birds. 2) over-populated on planet Xylotyl, needs to stabilize population by forcing some birds to relocate] **

Papa Finch: "Hmm... Ahh... Humm...Uhhh...Ahem. Ahem. Hmm...Ummm... Ahem... Hmmm..." (just drag this out)

Mama Finch (in the window): "What is it honey? Something interesting on TV?"

Papa Finch: "We are ... hmm... We've been spotted."

Mama Finch : "Spotted?! What do you mean spotted? You mean we've been ratted on?"

** Just then the children arrive home **

Kid Finch: "Hey mom. Hey Pop. "

Papa & Mama (in unison) : "Hello loves"

Sissy Finch (blurts out) : "They chased us!"

Papa: "What do you mean they chased us? Who's they? "

Kid (whispering): "Shhh!! Sissy (pokes her with his wing), be quiet! You know how they get"

Sissy (whispering): "Sorry"

Papa: "No what? What's going on?? We demand to know what happened!"

Kid (grumbling): "No it's nothing really. We were playing Catch your Beak and uh, we forgot we weren't on Xylotyl..."

Papa: "Uh huh. Go on, so what else"

Kid: "Well you see we weren't quite alone..."

Sissy (interrupting) : "We didn't know any better!" (Flaps her wings wildly)

Kid: "Please be quiet! (looks at Sissy sharply) So anyways, yeah we were playing Catch your Beak. And... we forgot to morph into human mode...
We thought we were alone! Really!"

Papa (shakes his head, i mean moves his beak): "Well they know already. This is just emphasizing what they discovered."

Kid, Sissy, Mama (all at once, or just one character whatever) : "What do you mean?"

Papa: "Look (points to screen)"

(from Farrell)....

[Sissy: "Kid and I were playing catch your beak together after school and all of a sudden huge men in camo (aside to audience: I mean really who are they kidding with the camo... we could see them plain as day) invaded the playground. Kid and I hid in the bushes and watched as the men questioned all of the birds around us about whether or not they had seen any finches lately. That's when kid got scared"
Kid: "Nu uh I did NOT!"
Sissy: "Yes you DID! Anyway, Papa, we were really scared and kid blew our cover and started running home. They chased us until we got to the tree by the library, but I think we lost them."
Papa: You THINK you lost them? Children, in times like these we must be careful. (pause... to himself kind of in a gentle tone) I can't believe it!!! They really are doing it!! Everyone brace yourselves. We've got to go into hiding until this all hopefully passes over.
Mom: What do you mean dear? What is going on?
Papa: Look ]

Mama: "Oh dear. Well kids come here quickly and let me give you a bit of food " **Mmm... vomit. Just my dish.**

Act I: Scene II

[cut to TV telling about the situation]
TV anchorman: "Just in... Finch-shaped creatures have been spotted walking amidst the streets. The president has asked the people to remain as calm as possible as they are currently sending out operational forces to scope out the extent of the situation. Again, do not be alarmed if you see one. Please call your local authorities, and they will further assist you in what to do. We do not know currently if they are armed or dangerous. But we will keep you informed when we receive further instructions and information. Again, please notify your local authorities if you see one"

Kid: "Oh bird shit!"

Papa: "That's not necessary Kid"

Mama: "What are we going to do??"

Papa: "I'll tell you what we'll do **aagahgahgahbookybookyookookdoooooo** "

**Narrator : Kid, Mama, Sissy: [All stare at Papa like he has gone completely mad - which incidentally he had]**

Papa: "No that's what we'll do. It's an old trick you see. My pops use to tell me during dire times that the saying would elevate us"

Kid: "What do you mean "elevate us" papa?"

Papa: "Like you know, uhh fly"

Sissy: [eyes pop out] "Fly?! But... but... we've never flown in our life!"

** Narrator: Even Mama was afraid at this point with the whole flying bit. Had papa stumbled unto something amazing? Or was he leading the family
into his nest of nuttiness? Hmm... It's hard to tell at this point. **

ACT II: Scene I

Papa: "No I know. Flying isn't really something us Finches have ever done on the planet of Xylotyl. But times are a desperate. Your gramps use to tell me
about this trick. Apparently it's inherent in us he says, but because Penguin (narrator: who actually was the dictator of Xylotyl for about now 300 zions - which on Earth equals 2000 years- yeah it's crazy) couldn't fly he didn't want anyone else to either. But there's a certain call us Finches can emit that will help signal us to fly."

Kid: "Is this guaranteed? For real? I mean have you ever tried it???"

Papa: "Welll... not really."

Kid: "So how can we know this will work?"

Papa: "Boy, your gramps don't lie!"

Mama : [nods/ shakes her head] "Don't question your father dear"

Kid: "Sorry. It just seems so... incredible to me, ya know? "

Papa: "Well it is. A miracle in fact. But it's been done"

Sissy: "So how do you suggest we do this? Like. How will it work?"

Papa: "Oh wouldn't we all like to know... Actually, it isn't that hard. You know, this thing ( **aagahgahgahbookybookyookookdoooooo** ) "

**So the family decided to give it a shot. And they all did it. All except Baby Egg, who hadn't even cracked yet, much less have the ability to vocalize.
Soon they found themselves flying or as papa liked to call it "elevating". It was lucky for them because just as soon as they were leaving back to their planet (no these finches could fly into outer space without imploding) the FEDs came in and demanded their heads. Unfortunately, baby egg was still there.
But don't worry, the FEDs didn't arrest him (they didn't notice him since he blent in so well with the family room). He stayed there until he cracked and flew back on his own. So in the end the story was short and painless. But in our next chapter, the family will conquer a new planet. Stay tuned ... **

Little part of script

Ok so I wrote different drafts of the script. But here's the most recently revised script. Add on to it. Edit it. Make it goood.

=)

-------------------------------->

adapted from chicken little (but not really)

It's the Spring Season

Characters:

Narrator (2)
Papa Finch
Mother Finch (in the window)
Kid Finch
Sissy Finch
Baby Egg

--------------------------------->

Narrator (with an English accent): On a bright, sunny day. Come to think of it. It's always bright and sunny. I'm tired of fake sceneries.

2nd narrator: Oh come on, Niehls (some random name). Why do you always have to be so damn pessimistic? Aren't we trying to tell a nice story to the children?

Narrator (now named Niehls?) : Yes yes, but you're American. You know us Englishmen. We can't rely on our weather.

2nd narrator: Alright you've got a point. Let's continue then huh?

Narrator (Niehls) : Yes Yes, lets do. ... So anyways, It was bright and sunny (but mind you it was in California, where it can ONLY be bright and sunny)
[2nd narrator rolls eyes, but no one can see except script reading folks, thats you] at the barnyard. There was a finch. Now typically there are chickens running around in barnyards. But these were no ordinary finches you see. These finches have arrived from Xylotyl (pronunciation: "Zii-Lo-Toe") . Again generally the name xylotyl belongs to a strange little amphibian type creature, but in recent years, the creature sold their name and gave property rights due to their "supposed" need to take charge of their species and their need to revise history. So they sold the name to these finches on the planet now renamed Xylotyl. Now let's begin the story.

** Darkness. A green light darts across the sky. The light slows down and suspends in the air for a few seconds. (fog fills the room) . Out pops the family.
The family of finches that is. **

----------------------------------->

Act I : Scene I

** Pop is sitting in the chair. Reading the paper. He is unusually quiet this morning. Staring very blankly at the paper. It reads: "Invasion of Bird creatures on planet Earth (they're really right next door)". [other ideas to entertain: 1) it's hunting season on planet Earth - uh oh watch out birds. 2) over-populated on planet Xylotyl, needs to stabilize population by forcing some birds to relocate] **

Papa Finch: "Hmm... Ahh... Humm...Uhhh...Ahem. Ahem. Hmm...Ummm... Ahem... Hmmm..." (just drag this out)

Mama Finch (in the window): "What is it honey? Something interesting in the paper?"

Papa Finch: "We are ... hmm... We've been spotted."

Mama Finch : "Spotted?! What do you mean spotted? You mean we've been ratted on?"

** Just then the children arrive home **

Kid Finch: "Hey mom. Hey Pop. "

Papa & Mama (in unison) : "Hello loves"

Sissy Finch (blurts out) : "They chased us!"

Papa: "What do you mean they chased us? Who's they? "

Kid (whispering): "Shhh!! Sissy (pokes her with his wing), be quiet! You know how they get"

Sissy (whispering): "Sorry"

Papa: "No what? What's going on?? We demand to know what happened!"

Kid (grumbling): "No it's nothing really. We were playing Catch your Beak and uh, we forgot we weren't on Xylotyl..."

Papa: "Uh huh. Go on, so what else"

Kid: "Well you see we weren't quite alone..."

Sissy (interrupting) : "We didn't know any better!" (Flaps her wings wildly)

Kid: "Please be quiet! (looks at Sissy sharply) So anyways, yeah we were playing Catch your Beak. And... we forgot to morph into human mode...
We thought we were alone! Really!"

Papa (shakes his head, i mean moves his beak): "Well they know already. This is just emphasizing what they discovered."

Kid, Sissy, Mama (all at once, or just one character whatever) : "What do you mean?"

Papa: "Look (points to the paper headline)"

Mama: "Oh dear"

meeting sunday, 1 pm

Hey Jan, we're gonna meet on Sunday at 1 p.m. If you can, post the part of the script you've worked on so that we can all add to it and work on some ideas for sunday.

psychedelic space birds?

We finished painting the last bird characters, and noted how zany and colorful they were compared to the house setting (to be completed soon). I'm glad that I didn't write too much of the script yet, because I think we might discard it and write about this crazy family instead. Our original script consisted of birds that were unable to fly, and we wanted to create a sort of didactic telling surrounding this conservative family? Well at least that is the impression I got. But with the actual production of the birds, I don't think a conservative family will do. Anyways, I agree with getting the construction done and then do more of the script. I mean I'm still writing it in bits. But I like how the production of this is going.

We worked a little bit more out of class today.
Including painting bird puppets, wallpapering, background of the mother's kitchen, tissue papering the wings.
Sundays at the studio might become a regular event in the future. So book for 1 in the afternoon on Sundays from now on.

Evidence of work 2 weeks ago







AND today...





YES! some work done! Woo-hoo!

here's a photo of the gouldian finch of which i will bring a printout

Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts

Also, I'm going to Atlanta with my chum next weekend. Now you may not have known that Atlanta has their very own Center for Puppetry Arts. How awesome is that? Unfortunately the only thing they've got going on next week is this "House at Pooh Corner" -- yeeah.. uhh no thank you. But they've got all these schnazzy shows lined-up from Nov. 19th onwards to the next year. One thing that stands out for me is Xperimental Puppet Theater
Interesting no? Anyways, just a heads up.

Everday = another productive day. So get to class on time! That's preaching for my own ears. La dee dah.

Some of us worked on gessoing, sanding, and getting those bird puppets to a real smooth start for the painting task. Others (myself) worked on little set furniture pieces-i.e. painting the table. Still others worked on the shadow puppet and the need to resolve mechanisms, how it would look flying horizonally across vs. flying away at a further distance.

This thing is far from finished. We realized today that perhaps we need to cut out the back (slits mayhaps?) to manuever the puppets better. We found that manipulating them from the bottom wasn't quite the easiness. And in order to get better control, the back would probably work out better. I've provided a little sketch to show what I'm talking about. We could 1) cut out the back entirely and separate it from the stage at a slight gap (so we can move it) - but still keep the back scenery and the window and the mother bird all intact OR 2) slits - little cutouts along the back so we don't have to cut out the entire back, and camouflage it with some set decor

Does it sound confusing? Check out the sketch. AND if still confusing well... then... I can't help you. just kidding. Hmm... and lastly.

The script. DOom doom doom. So unfortunately all of us are bad at writing. Well we are art students and not professed writers. So excused. BUT... our story relies heavily on dialogue and unless we are fantastic improvisators (is that a word?) then we need a script. Script I say! So I will attempt the feat of writing the script. Matt I see says he is willing to lend a hand to this. Thanks. Anyone else in the meantime decides for a yes as well, Well, let me know. Anyways, catch el birdio group on Sunday then. (seriously I'm not this "gay")

I lost my USB cable for my camera. So I can't upload images here tonight. On Tuesday we gesso'ed the bird puppets and then used a hard molding paste for the beak to give it a smooth touch. We found that fingers were the best technique to use for smoothing. Tomorrow we are probably going to finish that gesso process and begin painting the bird characters. These updates are getting shorter and shorter huh?

Im sorry about last week. yes very sorry. i brought in some hay bale for the set stage and some red curtains for the front.... maybe we should paint the box instead of covering it entirely in fabric. anyways, to the bird group, i apologize. so now about the script. is there someone that wants to help me write it? who likes writing stories and developing character plots? am i being too quiet about this whole thing? anyways, anyone willing hit me back on the post.

We worked on the puppets some more. I have to remind myself to stop missing class due to oversleeping - but the alarm (that didn't go off on Tues) has been fixed. So this shouldn't be happening anymore. Anyways, we were working on the bird puppets. Actually I spent about the first hour and half to figure out some more of the script and write it down (again, not very successful). Farrell worked on the mother bird and got some pretty good mechanics going on there, with the bird beak and the movement for the eyes using wires. On the latter half of the class period I worked on getting the bird son's body molded and plastered. Unfortunately I forgot to bring a camera to class, so currently I have no pictures to show. Arturo also suggested that we not actually show the mother bird regurgitating her food, but rather have her mouth move and the children birds catch the food in their mouth. And use sound to emphasize her actions. I think sound would be very necessary and would also help facilitate the scenes.

But with the script I think maybe some of us need to get together or correspond via e-mail and get a script going. We were reminded again of the 4 or so weeks left till the final showing. I was wondering if maybe for some of the script we could use a narrative voiceover to cover some of the actions. Hopefully I can get some more written this weekend.

scriptwriting

Just to get a feel for scriptwriting/coming up with a dialogue etc, i printed out one of The Family guy's episodes. The show is just so hilarious and you know that their hilarity is based off their strong script. But it plays a lot on each of the characters on the set. I mean you expect each of them to say something that is in line with the personality of the character. And also, a lot of random humor. Sometimes reeaally random humor. You could say our vomiting cue is a really random bit, humorous? hmm... well it might play off just fine.

Anyways, what we have today was more of the general idea. We do have direction.

Kids arrive home from school. Dad is on the couch, Mom is the kitchen window. So the kid son has been suspended from school for flying. Dad warns the kid about the dangers of flying [ brother died flying into window bit]
[more chirping chatter]

[argument]

TV with natural disaster [what - hurricanes, blizzards, earthquakes, industrialization, wildfires ??]

dad doesn't want to leave - but family convinces dad to evacuate

---ending ---

screen with shadow puppets indicating their flight away.

--- also egg cracks on the nest couch ---

--- dim lights---

---the end---

and we all know that because our scenes are basically the family setting. our dialogue needs to be really strong and drawn out - but not dragged out.

So here are some of the components of sitcoms:

There's:
1) act (sitcoms are usually broken into 3 acts)
2) scenes - could be one long scene or several short scenes
3) A & B stories - main plot (A) and also possible subplots (B)
4) climax - usually in a sitcom there are two climaxes - the first at the end of ACT 1 and ACT 2 another climax- this one is usually the worst "I would never want to be in that situation"
5) lastly is the resolution, ACT 3.

some more points to remember about creating a story... (for writing a comedy script--advice from BBC New Writing Initiative)

1. REMAIN TRUE TO THE CHARACTERS. the characters should sound like the characters and act like the characters.
2. CHARACTERS SHOULD BE ACTIVE. not necessarily "active" meaning that they should continually be moving, but that the characters should not be passive and reactive. Make situations arise out of stuff the characters do instead of stuff that happens to them.
Generally, the BEST STORIES ARE CHARACTER-DRIVEN. There's a funny situation, but the situation should be especially uncomfortable for the main character. An instructor says: "If it's a situation you wouldn't want to be in, it's worth writing"
One way is to generate storiesby MAKING A LIST OF THE CHARACTERS AND THEIR FLAWS.

Now this is for comedy sitcoms and generally they run for 25-30 min or so. However, I think this can be helpful for our development. I don't think we're straying away from any of these points anyways. Plus, our characters are birds. Personified? yes, but people? not entirely.

At some point, I will bring in a microcassette so we can record our written script or storyboard and see how long it actually is, who's voice should go to what, etc etc.

Have a good weekend folks.

general things to remember

We continued to build sets today.
The main stage is made out of cardboard and we have wood for the frame stability and the top part for the shadow puppetry. (the flying away at the end)
Also built some furniture pieces - couch and beginnings of chair and lamp (little details)
I guess what i mean to say is that we don't have a storyboard yet.
Cecilia suggested we watch a sitcom and really get all the details and jokes whatnot from it. -Take notes.
We should at least hit for 5min at a minimum and probably 20 min maximum. (for the entire show)
I will post more for things I've found applicable to our project.
Also I am bringing some paints, hay, and other bird useable things (like sticks and leaves) for Thurs.

so Tuesday we worked on making the bird puppets out of clay and using plaster bandages, make plaster puppets. The bird puppets are a cross between the zebra finch and the gouldian finch, with a leaning toward the gouldian ;)

our storyboard is still the same. ah the anti-fly birds.

Short Outing in St. Augustine

I tried to locate everyone who went, but had no success. Maybe folks went earlier in the morning? Anyways, I went to the beach and then went to the field next to Castillo de San Marcos. I don't know how the actual pictures taken while the kite was in flight will come out, but I took some (not very good) pictures of the place and the kite flying from where I was standing. I will attempt this again in the future!

... the Ghost Delta in the air!



here's Koura the Corgi waiting patiently...



it's way up there



at one point, my dog got distracted and ran somewhere in my attempt to go and fetch her, the kite got away, leaving the camera cradle in a vulnerable position, this is what happened to it.



looks like a prime place to kite fly huh



But alas, I did not have everything working out to my advantage. So folks that is the end of my adventure. Not much, only nerdy pictures to tell.

the kite aerial camera project

I received the kite on Friday like planned. However, there is no kite reel or kite string, and of course I forgot about that. Yes that's perfect. And the kite is gigantic. I knew that one though. I flew it a little bit with some spider line today. Works I guess, for now. Too bad Coastal Kites is out of town until the 26th, so looks like my line won't get in until 2 weeks from now. But I can see myself flying this kite in the near future for fun.

Anyways, I have pictures of the camera rig.






parts, parts, parts. I got parts.













we're getting closer...

























and voila! we are at the end of the kite aerial camera rig. There's a cradle involved. I did not snap photos. You like those bit crumbs on our small coffee table, for added effect.

The work of Kara Walker reminds me a bit of shadow puppetry. Though it is not manipulation of the puppet through conventional means, her work acts on the silhouettes which under overhead projections seem to animate the images. Her new exhibition "Song of the South" includes an installation of film (and 16mm!), experiments with projection and shadows, live performances, animation, and a shadow puppet performance. It also features a premiere of the film 8 Possible Beginnings: or the Creation of African-America. A Moving Picture by the young, self-taught, Genius of the South K.E. Walker. Her shadow dramas depict acts of sex, birth, dismemberment and play coupled with dominance and desire, fantasy and fear.



It is currently on display at the Redcat in L.A.
Sept. 3-Oct. 23, 2005
There will be a performance of the artist at 7PM on Oct 23 - with what the gallery says a Live Shadow Puppet Performance.

yeah i'm a bit behind as well. but it's going to be done by tomorrow (the camera rig) for the aerial kite tomorrow! That's what I'm planning on. Also I bought a kite! woo-wee! It's the ghost delta bought from Coastal Kites. The instructions stated for a kite that holds a line of at least 100lb. So thus a more costly kite I chose.

i've been checking out shadow puppetry. Shadow images of very elaborate and handcrafted puppets are projected onto a screen. It originates from India and Egypt, and traveled to Turkey, Greece, China, Thailand, Camboia, and in Indonesia.
There's a shadow puppeteering company called Shadowlight Productions founded by a pioneer of modern shadow puppetry, Larry Reed.

Reed is drawn to Native American mythology and storytelling. His contemporary interpretations of Native American tales are told in a format borrowed from the tradition of Indonesian shadow theatre. He also uses digital technology to produce shadows of the actors and stage sets, which are projected onto a giant screen that spans the entire width of stage.

robots

so i have this book, absolute beginner's guide to building robots(Que Publishing 2004. i bought it when i took Pappenheimer's Machine Sculpture class 3 semesters or so ago, and thought i'd use it. well, it turned out to be a little bit more complicated and time-consuming,plus we were focusing on projects dealing with feedback and surveillance rather than straight robotics. anyways, needless to say i didn't use it. but it's pretty cool because it teaches you step by step these projects. one is a coat hanger walker, another actually involves using a computer mouse, and still others. and it's got a decent guide to robot resources. but you know you could always use these projects as stepping stones for puppetry.

they also list some robot research centers like:


Biorobotics lab at Case Western University - they study the mechanics of nature to see what can be engineered into robo-critters i.e. cockroach, ants, crickets, and other creepy crawler types.

Biorobotics Lab


Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute - Lots of labs working on various robotic research and projects.

Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute



Humanoid Robotics Group- It's MIT. need i say more?

Humanoid Robotics Group



JPL Robotics - Developments in space robotics research.

JPL Robotics



Jouhou System Kougaku Lab- the JSK Lab @ the University of Tokyo (mostly in Japanese though)

Jouhou System Kougaku Lab



Robotics Research in Japan- A list of all universities and research centers in Japan devoted to robotics.

Robotics Research in Japan



Poly- PEDAL lab -- the lab @ Berkeley, also studying robotics based on the nature of insects. The poly- refers to "many-footed" animals, while the PEDAL = Performance, Energetics, and Dynamics of Animal Locomotion.

Poly-PEDAL lab



happy research.