i've been working on securing equipment for production. the problem i have is with jagtv's equipment i could be more flexible with my schedule and i'm more familiar with all of the audio equipment and harddrives. however i think the it building's equipment would give me a better quality image. whatever i choose will have to stay that way to keep consistant shots.

i'm relieved that finals are over so now i can put more time and energy into just the capstone. this semester's been difficult for me and i'm glad it's over.

on a side note, i found out i might be able to go to greece again to work on another documentary, which i'm very excited about.

again it's been awhile since my last post, and i apologize for that.

i've been making progress with the pre-work. I have set in stone the story and am beginning to story board the chapters. i'm hoping to start gathering b-roll after my finals are over during winter break.

i've also been scheduling interviews. i have talked with the owner of headliners tobacco and he has agreed to be interviewed. so has a pulmanologist that smokes hookah, which is an amazing find for this documentary. i'm also looking to other hookah bars and tobacco shops around indianapolis. unfortunately due to my finals schedule i'm afraid i won't be able to interview anyone until i start gathering b-roll. as much as i would like to get a head start on this, i'm also glad so i can devote my full attention to the cinematography of this documentary.

i'm also working on the specs of the film. so far i'd like to shoot and edit it in 1920X1080, full HD, in stereo. i'm not sure of the full running time. for the moment i'm aiming for 10 minutes as a minimum, but am going to make it as long as it needs to be to present all the information i think needs to stated; un-biasedly of course.

i'm having trouble getting the script started. i have a few different intros but picking up from that is difficult for me. this is something i'll have to spend more time on.

project update 11/24/10

i apologize for not updating sooner.

since my last post i've found other interviews that would work more in the favor of documentary production. the interview i've hoped to get from the eyptian cafe would not work due to scheduling and other production elements. i've decided to replace that interview with the owner of headliners tobacco shop. they sell many products, including hookah pipes, tobacco and accessories. i'm also contacting the pulmanologist tomorrow to set-up an interview.

i was also originally hoping to have a solid 20+ minutes for the documentary but i have a feeling that i may not have the full time for that. i've also been thinking about having small video segments from my macbook instead of/replacing parts of the narration.

Capstone Status as of 11/3/10

This is the first update for my capstone project. I've been really busy and forgot to change this from an old class.

My original idea for a capstone project was to cover how Indiana's school music industry is losing state funding, but a lack of materials forced me to switch my topic a few weeks into the semester.

Now I am making a documentary about hookah smoking, which is smoking flavored pure tobacco and molasses through a water pipe. This is a growing trend in America, but is a long standing tradition in many countries and cultures. My reason for making this my topic is to find my own solid evidence of whether hookah smoking could be considered a better alternative than smoking cigarettes. Most of the reviewed information I consider inconclusive due to the investigators not taking into account the vast difference between hookah tobacco and cigarette tobacco, which is pure tobacco and molasses for flavoring instead of the 400+ chemicals found in cigarettes.

I have found a interviewees for this documentary that are very involved in the hookah industry. They are shop owners and enthusiasts that are very knowledgeable and personable which will the interviews seem less ameturish. I also have doctors lined up, one being a hookah smoker himself. This was a very exciting find for me.

I also have a rough list of questions, that I will be updating soon. So far they are (copied from my treatment):

• Questions:
• Hookah industry:
• · Name/role with hookah
• · How long have you been involved with this?
• · How did you learn your trade?
• · Can you give me a history of water pipes?
• · What are different types of waters pipes you’ve used/seen?
• · What are the average ingredients in hookah tobacco?
• · How much smoke would one person inhale in one hour?
• · Do you smoke cigarettes?
• · Is it addicting?
• Medical
• · Name/position
• · Where did you go to school?
• · Have you worked on any projects involving smoking? Papers? Conferences?
• · What do you know about smoking cigarettes?
• · Do you know the differences between cigarette and hookah tobacco?
• · What’s the difference between the two?
• · What are the long-term and short-term effects can hookah have on someone who smokes 3 times a week?
• · Are there any benefits, physical, mental, social or cultural to smoking hookah?
• · Have you ever smoked hookah or cigarettes?
• · Is it addicting?

My next steps will be to story board, come up with an art directions, and a chapter sequence.

seeing vs looking

this assignment calls for us to take a LOOK at the difference between seeing and looking.

i think of looking as the most basic way of viewing something. as in looking at something without searching for something; without breaking down the visual landscape and without having a designer's eye for whatever you're looking at.

seeing something is different. i see movies and videos. i break down images and videos by seeing what makes an image an image. the rules of thirds being followed, the color schemes, the motion put on it, and how it's edited.

i remember as a kid i would try to figure out what the film crew was doing to get the shots they had. after i took my first video class i learned basic editing i knew how much effort an editor would put into every single clip. the more i learned, the more i SAW with video clips.

that's what i think the difference is between seeing and looking.

who the hell i am

this assignment came at a perfect time in my life. last semester i thought i had myself figured out pretty well but before winter break some changes happened that have affected me more than i thought.

i asked one of my fraternity brothers to tell me who i am for this assignment and even he had trouble telling me, based on the changes i've made this year. what we could both agree with is that i want to be successful and hard working as well as fun and out going.

the next person i asked is also a fraternity brother, but one of our new guys that doesn't know me that well. his response was "a funny, out going guy who works hard. he's like a tuxedo shirt, because it says i'm classy, but i like to party'".

i wish i had finished this little animation that could go along with this project, but lack of time this weekend won't allow it.

recap of class 3/29

so i presented the video, kinda a 2-fer since i'm afraid of public speaking too. i was nervous about how ppl would react to the music i chose, but it was my choice and i liked it. half of the reason i chose that would be to hype up the anxiety i felt about the music choice if that makes any sense.

then we talked religion. the end.