One of my good friends posted an entry on her blog about "misplacing her inspiration" as to how it applies to machinima projects. I think it's fair to say that inspiration is a part of all endeavors which hold us captive. And I guess it's also fair to say that there are just as many different sources of inspiration as there are reasons why we do the things we do.
I had commented on her post, and she returned an interesting comment to my comment, which inspired me to want to comment on the reply :) And as I began to type that first word, I thought perhaps it would just be easier to blog about it, as my reply was going to be a lengthy one.
For my understanding, I place artists into two categories. There are the practical artists and the romantic artists. The practical artists are able to apply their talents and creations through avenues of business ... earning an income from their art ... turning it out as if it were a product for mass production. And I have a lot of respect for those who can take their talents and make them work for them in financial ways.
Ah, but for the romantic artists ... and I have to be honest, I fall into this category. We often struggle with things like "writer's blocks" or "lack of inspiration". The romantic artist is always trying to "express" something, whether it be something about him/herself or about things which move the artist in some way.
The practical artists are more efficient with being able to meet deadlines and are usually individuals who are better focused. They can draw inspiration from simply knowing that a project has to be completed at a certain time to earn the "big bucks". I had a friend in college who was an extremely talented artist and was earning a degree in Graphic Arts. She would go on to set up her own business making T-shirts boasting her brilliant designs, and eventually would land a fantastic job with The Cosmopolitan magazine.
And the romantic artists are often those who are better known as the "starving artist", and fortunately we all don't cut off our ears when the love of our life leaves us. But we struggle and this is reflected in our art and creations. We procrastinate and postpone and scrap ideas and stress over the fact that we aren't getting anywhere with our creations.
Because the romantic artist is so motivated by inspiration and the desire to "express", any little moment of life can derail us from our focus ... the weather, a loss of a loved one, the job that pays the bills that our art does not. And as life changes, so does the source of inspiration, and as we change and grow, so does our source of inspiration. But sometimes it's just a simple matter of not knowing what it is we want to express. But then one day it suddenly hits us and a masterpiece is born.
My Current Project
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Breaking Silence About Broken Trust
I've been silent about this for a very long time now, but I have been alerted to a blog entry that has pretty much pushed me to the limit on this, and I'm not going to be silent about it any longer.
On November 27, 2007, stranger 109 writes in a Machinima Spotlight of The Snow Witch ... "So I was more than pleased to see Michelle’s piece not only nominated, but win. Hopefully we will see more and more women like Michelle getting their work out there (for more from Michelle checkout her site Britannica Dreams)."
Michelle was the first to leave a comment to this post, and she did not bother to correct the gross misrepresentation represented in that posting.
First, for the record, I have been unsuccessful to reach an agreement with Michelle to dissolve Britannica Dreams. As far as I am concerned, the moment we fell out with each other, which was in part connected to "The Snow Witch", and stopped making films together, there no longer was a Britannica Dreams. The sites to which she has uploaded our films after January of 2007, were done so without my consent.
The site, Britannica Dreams is not her site as the blog post claims. The domain name, britannicadreams.com was created, purchased, and originally registered by me, and I have the bank statements to support this. The site was purchased and financially maintained by me for two years, and I also have the bank statements to support that claim as well. The original template of the site design was purchased by her husband ... however, I do not have those records.
The videos that are on the Britannica Dreams site, except for the featured artists videos, were created in a joint effort between Michelle and myself. However, all of the base Sims2 games and the expansions packs used to create those videos were all purchased by me. And I have the bank statements to support that as well.
As for the film, "The Snow Witch" which she and the mentioned blog entry claim is her creation ...
Michelle approached me with the idea of that film a year before it was finally released, and it was as all the other videos, a project meant to be done as a joint effort. I made several sets for her, including the bridge and garden which is used in many promotional shots for the video. She was responsible for all the sims and costumes, the interior furnishings, and most of the exterior sets. She was responsible for the actual video capture. I shared in the decision on choosing the narrator, and functioned as the main director. Director does not mean the one who captured or edited the video. That would be the camera person and editor. But my greatest capacity was to go through the footage she sent me and determine what worked and why, and what didn't work and how to fix it.
At that time, "The Snow Witch" was to be the first video in a series ... again, the credit for the series idea goes to Michelle. The second release was to be a Native American ghost story, and I wrote a "retelling" of an old Native American Telling called, "Two Ghostly Lovers". That retelling can be found on my myspace blog
After a couple of weeks, Michelle decided she didn't want to continue with the project. After many months, I persuaded Michelle to reconsider, and I went through each clip of footage, deciding what was good and what needed to be reworked. We spent several weeks on the film, and per my suggestions, Michelle had to recapture many of the scenes until we arrived at the desired composition. After the first completed editing, Michelle was not satisfied with the audio of the video, and it was at that moment I suggested she contact gToon and ask him if he would help us with the project.
I do not want anything from the film ... I have not asked for any mention or thanks or any part of any prizes the film may or may not have received. However, credit should be given where credit is due, so, I at least wanted to exert my right to set the record straight.
On November 27, 2007, stranger 109 writes in a Machinima Spotlight of The Snow Witch ... "So I was more than pleased to see Michelle’s piece not only nominated, but win. Hopefully we will see more and more women like Michelle getting their work out there (for more from Michelle checkout her site Britannica Dreams)."
Michelle was the first to leave a comment to this post, and she did not bother to correct the gross misrepresentation represented in that posting.
First, for the record, I have been unsuccessful to reach an agreement with Michelle to dissolve Britannica Dreams. As far as I am concerned, the moment we fell out with each other, which was in part connected to "The Snow Witch", and stopped making films together, there no longer was a Britannica Dreams. The sites to which she has uploaded our films after January of 2007, were done so without my consent.
The site, Britannica Dreams is not her site as the blog post claims. The domain name, britannicadreams.com was created, purchased, and originally registered by me, and I have the bank statements to support this. The site was purchased and financially maintained by me for two years, and I also have the bank statements to support that claim as well. The original template of the site design was purchased by her husband ... however, I do not have those records.
The videos that are on the Britannica Dreams site, except for the featured artists videos, were created in a joint effort between Michelle and myself. However, all of the base Sims2 games and the expansions packs used to create those videos were all purchased by me. And I have the bank statements to support that as well.
As for the film, "The Snow Witch" which she and the mentioned blog entry claim is her creation ...
Michelle approached me with the idea of that film a year before it was finally released, and it was as all the other videos, a project meant to be done as a joint effort. I made several sets for her, including the bridge and garden which is used in many promotional shots for the video. She was responsible for all the sims and costumes, the interior furnishings, and most of the exterior sets. She was responsible for the actual video capture. I shared in the decision on choosing the narrator, and functioned as the main director. Director does not mean the one who captured or edited the video. That would be the camera person and editor. But my greatest capacity was to go through the footage she sent me and determine what worked and why, and what didn't work and how to fix it.
At that time, "The Snow Witch" was to be the first video in a series ... again, the credit for the series idea goes to Michelle. The second release was to be a Native American ghost story, and I wrote a "retelling" of an old Native American Telling called, "Two Ghostly Lovers". That retelling can be found on my myspace blog
After a couple of weeks, Michelle decided she didn't want to continue with the project. After many months, I persuaded Michelle to reconsider, and I went through each clip of footage, deciding what was good and what needed to be reworked. We spent several weeks on the film, and per my suggestions, Michelle had to recapture many of the scenes until we arrived at the desired composition. After the first completed editing, Michelle was not satisfied with the audio of the video, and it was at that moment I suggested she contact gToon and ask him if he would help us with the project.
I do not want anything from the film ... I have not asked for any mention or thanks or any part of any prizes the film may or may not have received. However, credit should be given where credit is due, so, I at least wanted to exert my right to set the record straight.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)