Author: Courtney Minden

Here is the link to my html video:

https://dtc-wsuv.org/cminden22/html-video/

For my final project, I am thinking about doing a video on how to make a spiral tie dye pattern that would have continuity and montage elements for how the video will play out. My idea is to do the process of tie dye with getting the fabric into the correct shape, how to add in the dye for the best results, and how to rinse out the tie dye to make sure the colors stay in and not get ruin. I would explain in some parts of the video why I enjoy doing tie dye. The sound will be a voice over to help keep the instructions consistent. I might use AI to create music for the background to see if I can come up with a fun background soundtrack.

The interactive movie of Bandersnatch allows the viewer to take control of the narrative and allow them to create specific parts of the story by choosing between options. While some options are just basic decisions, a couple of the options end up changing the whole plot of the interactive movie entirely.

The beginning of the movie allows the viewer to learn how this movie works in comparison to regular movies by giving a simple “Which cereal do you want” choice between two different cereals. If a viewer does not choose fast enough, then it will proceed to choose for you. There is an option to reverse back to allow some options to be redone. This gives the viewer the choice to re-do some of the choices within the story and how the story is in the viewer’s hand to a specific degree. I ended up getting the first ending possible within Bandersnatch which is where the game releases but does not do that well. I then got sent back to try a different choice with the characters beginning to act differently. Viola states, “As a start, we can propose new diagrams, such as the “matrix’ structure This would be a non-linear array of information. The viewer could enter at any point, move in any direction, at any speed, pop in and out at any place.” (pg. 12). As it is shown within Bandersnatch, the viewer could reach one of the final endings at any direction, speed, and just enter in after completing one of the many endings. Thus, giving me, as a viewer, to attempt to see the different choices within the movie.

I feel like this will become its own form of storytelling within cinema through the use of creating a story that has multiple endings. What would happen if you choose one decision rather than the other one, or what are the different outcomes within the story? This could allow the viewer to choose how to “watch” a movie how they want. As long as the writers of these types of films make sure that the story is compelling to watch, then the viewers will enjoy viewing the story to get as many different endings as possible.

When giving ChatGPT the prompt, I gave instructions that the genre was Action/Fantasy/Adventure with the camera angles and lighting being similar to “Chronicles of Narnia” style because I loved the styles within the movies. I gave a simple prompt as well of what kind of story I wanted it to tell along with the given duration. I did not specify a costume, but I did specify the view that is being given.

Story Prompt:

In the golden hues of late afternoon, the camera pans over a lush forest trail, dappled sunlight filtering through the dense foliage. We follow Allen and Sasha, siblings of adventurous spirit, as they trek through the winding paths, their laughter mingling with the chirping of birds.

As they ascend the mountain, the camera switches to a series of breathtaking aerial shots, capturing the vastness of the landscape below. Finally, they reach the cliff’s edge, and the camera angles down to reveal the stunning panorama of floating islands, adorned with verdant trees and cascading waterfalls.

Sasha, captivated by the beauty before her, sits at the precipice, framed by the majestic scenery. Allen stands beside her, his expression serene, bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun. Close-up shots emphasize the tranquility of the moment, the siblings lost in silent contemplation.

As the sky turns fiery orange and pink, the camera captures the siblings exchanging a meaningful glance, a promise etched in their eyes. With a final sweep of the landscape, they reluctantly tear themselves away, their footsteps echoing against the rocky terrain.

The camera follows them down the mountain, lingering on their figures silhouetted against the fading light. With each step, their resolve strengthens, ready to embark on yet another thrilling adventure, their hearts full of memories and dreams. As they disappear into the twilight, the scene fades to black, leaving the audience with a sense of wonder and anticipation for the next chapter in their journey.

Videos by: Courtney Minden and Mailei Brodniak

Infinite Loop/Continuity Loop

Storytelling Loop

Montage Loop

This first one is a pin that I found on Pinterest of Indiana Jones that I always enjoyed watching how it was set up. The camera follows the marble with classic Indiana Jones movies scenes in the background made out of legos. The loop follows the music made when the marble hits each of the slots to make the melody of Indiana Jones’ main theme. The loop placement is well hidden due to how the marble remains at a constant pace at the beginning and end of the looped sequence. Due to how the music and marble placement are done, the loop feels continuous with no break from the loop.

The second one is an Minecraft animation that has a spinning cube at its center. Within the cube reflects the journey of a normal Minecraft player to complete the game from the overworld, to the nether, to the stronghold, to the end, then jumping back into the overworld. The music and sound effects help blend in the loop by making sure each part has its own segment of music and sound effects that fades in and out at the beginning and end of the cycle.

The last one is an animation tutorial about how movement of falling down to see how much movement is needed for the animation to feel more real than fake or rigid. They show how to keep the loops hidden within animation to keep those who are watching from knowing where the animation begins and where it ends.

By:

Courtney Minden

Mailei Brodniak

Sam Barclay

Gunner Kipp

While comics and cinema are two different forms of storytelling, there are some areas where their expressions can look similar to one another just like how time interacts. This could be how the characters are arranged within a comic to how the shots in a cinema are organized for fluidity. However, the time in comics and cinema are seen differently.

Let’s say that someone wanted to change this small snippet from McCloud’s “Understanding Comics” strips for an example into a movie scene. In this comic example, time is measured through the size of the frames. The side panels are seen as shorter to represent a smaller amount of time passing while the longer panel is seen to represent a longer amount of time passing. Now, if this were within a movie, the side panels would be seen as a few seconds of the individuals speaking their lines. As for the longer panel, it would be translated into a long shot of the man just sitting there thinking to address time.

Now, how about turning a cinema into a comic. One of my favorite childhood movies was “Home Alone” with the battle plan being my favorite part of the movie. In “Home Alone” during the preparation sequence, Kevin is seen setting up different areas of the house with traps before the Wet Bandits come. If this scene was a comic strip, the traps would be seen in different panels.

Comics use their panels by size or order to help explain time while cinema must use shot duration or shot placement to explain time. Even though they have different ways of telling time, they still use these methods to tell their stories.

For my break space video, I decided to do a somewhat thought process and emotion kind of style with me going back and forth between by dog and my homework. I tried to keep the duration less than 2 seconds for each clip. Well, here is the final product.