So this post will cover the final crit for this project that occurred this past tuesday. Overall, the design didn't change much from when I last posted except for a few minor shuffling around of rooms, furniture , and structure. At the crit on the other hand, it wasn't understood as well as I had hoped. My design originated from the Drawdel from the previous project and the critics understood that, but according to them, my original design idea got lost along the way. The things I learned from the critique, I need to move the curator's offices, expand the library, create a more fluid way of understanding the concept, rotate the biggest theatre, and try to use light as a pathfinder. With this in mind, I'm already working on a revamp of this idea for this friday/weekend. I've already got the main shuffling around of rooms figured out and honestly, It looks and communicates my main idea in a better way. I look forward to figuring this out further for the final portfolio.

 

The Semi-Complete Idea

So it's been a long time of Ups and Downs since I last posted, Some good, some bad, but overall, I have an idea that is coming to fruition.

So my current idea is the above drawings, You enter through the main entrance in a sequence that is akin to the "tracking shot present in films. While moving through the main area, you can see the theaters on the outside through their jutting from the main building shape and through the differing slopes present in the interior. The main sequence is Lobby, Main Exhibition, and finally, Exterior Terrace in which you can see all the slopes and shapes of the theaters' impacts. The second floor is devoted entirely to the cinema aspects as all three theaters and the concessions stands are on this floor. Finally, the library and subsequent admin offices are off the main path to promote a sense of a more private space. The archives, screening rooms, and curators' offices are located below the library. Moving forward from this, I'm going to try to make the archives more autonomous from the curators' and screening rooms as well as think about the structure of the building. Now that is going to be a bit of a challenge for me as I'll have to orient the columns and trusses/beams in a way that does not hamper the path of circulation, but instead accentuates it.

These two images are from the Drawdel I did, a highlight of the tracking shot motion. I used brick textures to show the main outside walls and the tiling to show the main path of circulation through the space itself. The bottom of the path is cut out due to two reasons. I wanted people to be able to see the interior ceiling change I've talked about and the space itself goes down.

A bundle of Information

So the past few weeks have been a bit busy for me due to my inability to post for a variety of reasons. Fear not however, I bring with me a plethora of new information

The following pictures detail our third final project, the drawdel(a drawing turned into a model). Overall the reception for the project turned out well as most people had a difference in opinion of which side showed the most. More notably, the underside of the drawdel I made had the most favorable stance, but the back had 2 votes to its name as well. My perspective of the entry space turned out well in addition due to it showing the space, but in hindsight, the area shown was not the best area and the next best spot would have been the street itself.

Our current project is one that involves us using the site of the UNAM in Mexico, a autonomous university. Most of the drawings that I've done are currently prepared to be shown at the mid review, the process drawings, but I have a model to show of the process. The model below focuses on using the film techniques Framing and Zoom to highlight the entry of the lobby/gallery space. I decided to keep those in moving onto the next few models. One of the current ideas that is not shown, but will be shown at the midterm/after the midterm on this blog, is the idea of a tracking shot. A tracking shot is a shot in which a moving object is shown for a long period of time as we are tracking it. Im currently experimenting with the idea of using the tracking shot to highlight the passages to the theaters themselves.

Once the midterm review is finished, expect A LOT of pictures and I mean A LOT.

Current Status on the most current project.

So for this current(as of this date) project, we are to make a Drawdel(a three dimensional drawing) and a drawing of one element of the transitional space that we chose. Mine focuses on the portion that examines the transition between the more chaotic cityscape and the more controlled university space. However, I'm at a bit of a standstill at the moment. Im trying to figure out what else I could do besides using black as an element to distinguish the building spaces and using bristol board to frame the transition space. The Xs in the drawing are the black spaces, the Gs are the Green spaces, the Hs are the streets and the Ls are where the extrusions for the transition space go. As of right now, I'm set on the idea, but I figured that I'd let it ruminate a bit before making a decision tomorrow.

These two videos are the result of the required assignment to shorten them to no more than 4 minutes in total length. The first video below, the filmed footage, was relatively easy to shorten, however, the second video required more thought to do so. The second video had audio syncs I needed to modify, but I managed by shortening the dream portions and by removing or speeding up the destruction portions.

Avant Garde Films

This past assignment focused on our group completing two avant garde films, one would be filmed footage, that is footage we filmed ourselves, and collaging other films together for the second one.

The first film above, talks shows how the campus is used in varying degrees of weather as well as times of day. During the day, I show several of the different buildings, and during the night, I show the dorm rooms on campus

The second film talks about how we can create in dreams. I used Inception as the base for the film and added elements to further drive home the point of creating and destroying such as the building time lapses, and the building demolitions. 

Results of the first project and moving onto the second.

Kind of a catch all post here, but we're rolling with it at this point. Back on Tuesday we reviewed our works on our separate films, mine being Detective City Angel. Final results are in the duo of pictures below.




















Looking back on the project, I believe I could have put more pictures in the first board on the left, but it was quite a big deal to take into account; at least for the first half of the film. The second part of the film on the other hand, was easier to understand, and the arrangement of the story was well received. Unfortunately, I should have printed out a map view instead of a satellite view of the city in which the murder takes place. Overall, I had fun watching the film and the other films of my classmates and seeing what everyone came up with.

As to the second project. We are supposed to produce two films, one about architecture and one of our choice. Here's the kicker however, one has to be found footage, meaning filmed ourselves and the second has to be of internet videos and footage. I already know what I want my found footage film to be about: The relationship of buildings depending on the time of day on campus. I.E. What time of day has the most people around a specific building. The second film on the other hand, I have no idea where to begin unfortunately. Hopefully after Friday's class I'll have a sense of direction.

Revisiting Detective City Angel

After taking a second look at Detective City Angel, the only thing different that I observed this time was the message conveyed in the first half of the film. The message was that Los Angeles was a melting pot of a city that had all these different cultures within the city such as chinatown, hollywood, historic Los Angeles, etc. The later half of the film is still the same for me this time going through it.

       Detective City Angel starts off by talking about duty, faces, and families and various images are used to demonstrate each, such as a soldier, a donkey(the democratic symbol since California is predominately democratic and is the main setting), and an open window to a house. By using images as well, the main attack of the film is deduced as well as the perpetrator. The images of a briefcase, an alarm clock, blood splatters, all drive this point home.  It was very clever of the director to use the above for mentioned images to hint at a later event, much like how during the beginning of the semester, our professor showed us a film that hinted at an eye being sliced open with a cloud moving across the moon.

      The film then lets us know it was a double homicide stick up and it shifts to the search for the suspect, who might have possible mob connections as a woman says "Those who betray me live to regret it, but not long" and a male voice says that his "Friends" might become worried about him.  Our main character, who was shown earlier carrying a suitcase,  acts suspicious while walking to a destination. Apparently he leaves a note on the wall that says "Did I leave any prints detective?" He phones a woman who may have been the woman mentioned earlier and talks with her about a man who has been following him around. He's afraid that the man that has been following him is trying to kill him, however, she laughs it off and says its pathetic and that she goes the entire day without thinking about him. The man is revealed to be a does indeed attempt to kill our hooded main character but alas, despite stunning his assailant, the hooded main character ends his story with a knife in his neck.

     Thinking over the film, I honestly expected to see the film through the eyes of the detective that would solve the case, but it turned out to be a story of the murder and that it hasn't been solved yet. The crime family that the hooded man worked for found out that he was a rat for the cops and called a successful hit on him. I'm pleasantly surprised that I was wrong about the viewpoint and premise and I quite enjoyed the film.

So we've been assigned avant-garde films within our studio to watch and review. I picked Detective City Angel as my choice. I chose it due to my assumptions of a detective film, but I'll need to tread carefully as it is an avant-garde film after all.