Now For Something Different

I've taken on a new class this semester teaching 3D modeling and animation. I'm enjoying the class and testing out homework assignments and projects based on my own explorations. After a number of quick homework assignments we launched into the first project a low-poly scene that had to include a main architectural element, a secondary architectural element, a vehicle of some sort, and landscape including basic flora. There had to be at least three elements that were animated and the projected had to be edited using multiple camera angles. I did the project as well, and took the time to add a few easter eggs including an homage to a prominent sculpture on our campus, my love of brutalist architecture and suspended trains, classic cars and spring time cherry blossoms. It's not really where my work is headed but it was a nice change of pace to just do something fun.

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My most recent finished work With Love and Sincerity. A more subversive and political work is hidden under the surface. Sometimes change is inevitable and sometimes change has to be sought out. One cannot wait for change to happen. One has to be active in the pursuit for something better.

Soft Bodies and Ersatz Analog Tests

In my Directed Studio Projects class, I just introduced students to macro cinematography and microscopy. These tools and techniques have the power to change perceptions of the world around us and our place in it. They're also just a lot of fun to explore.

In academia we often find ourselves whether as teachers or as students, staying in our own lanes, never moving beyond expected parameters of study and exploration. This is unfortunate. Bringing the microscope into cinema opens up a new way of approaching art making and provides avenues that are much broader than then single one-way lane we often find ourselves upon. Life is much more interesting when we jump lanes. You'll never know where you might end up when you start going a different direction.

Probably one of the most surprising student tests with the microscope this semester was the use of Jolly Rancher candies. Some of the textures and colors were mesmerizing. I love seeing what evolves from these experiments.

I'm continuing my Cinema 4D experiments for fun and necessity. What started out as some explorations of soft body dynamics turned into an ersatz microscopy and analog video test. There's a lot of words that I never imagined would be strung together. I took the basic shape created for the dynamics test and with some slight modifications to form and materials created the microscopy piece. I expect I'll be using C4D for composited elements within Tether beyond the modeling of 3D printed props I've already started.