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Sunday, August 12, 2007

Haidawood Wrapup

full cast shot for final sceneSharmeen and I leave the islands tomorrow, and so we are busy wrapping things up here in Masset. Ernie, Jonathan, Heather, and I ended up working until 5 am, in order to get the movie done in time. You can see some pictures here. Ander was also a big help, coming and helping us animate for most of the day on Wednesday.

On Thursday Heather and I met with Jusquan, and Naani Mary, and Tsiini Stephen. We showed them the movie, and recorded some Haida phrases, which I later incorporated into the script.

sharmeen poursWe had a big premiere for the movie Hoopla! on Thursday night here at the Chateau Hamersley. A lot of people came, I'm guessing maybe 30 people or so. We had a terrific potluck, with a ton of excellent food. People take their potlucks very seriously here on the islands. We showed the movie, and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. You can see some pictures from the premiere here.

Friday I dropped by the Teen Center. Sarah had already showed the movie to the kids a couple of times. I showed the movie to a few of the kids, and talked about how I wanted to get a rap soundtrack for the movie. I guess we'll see what happens. I'd like to improve the sound track that we have now, but realistically, I've got other projects to work on, and I feel that I should post the movie on YouTube some time soon.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Wednesday's work...

raven puppetErnie finished the Raven's head today, and we managed to assemble the puppet. We've also made progress shooting, although we still have a lot to do for tomorrow! Tomorrow we're doing a potluck at 8 pm, and we're going to show the film... And, I'm scheduled to meet with the elders tomorrow afternoon to show them the visuals, and work with them to record the soundtrack... So, a lot to do. You can see some pics of today's progress here. I'm about to head back to the Teen Center, to shoot more footage, and see if we've got any teens who want to help out.

Workin' like Mad

bball
Well, we're into the final stretch, and we still have a lot to go, if we're to finish the movie for tomorrow night! Sharmeen and I are planning to host a potluck at Shannon's place on Thursday (tomorrow!) night. The plan is to show the short (5 minute?) movie, and nosh on some yummy food. Also, we're scheduled to meet with the elders tomorrow, to have them provide the sound for the movie.

We've added a giant to the script, and we're waiting for Ernie to deliver the Raven head. The Raven plays a key role in the film. Here's to gettin-r-done on time!

You can see pics from last night's shoot here.

Friday, August 3, 2007

Thursday Crowd Scene

checking out the vidOn Thursday, Heather, Ander, and I shot the crowd scene for the Hoopla movie. It took us a while to get in our groove, but once we did, it was meditative and relaxing: all I had to do was move little bits of paper around. How hard can that be? I was pretty happy with the results, esp. when the crowd stands up and cheers.

Meanwhile, Ernie is working on the Raven puppet. He's going to be important for the overall plot. And Jusquan has arranged for us to meet with the edlers on Thursday, to provide the voiceover for the movie in both English and Haida. How'wa.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Haida Teen Night


Tonight we made a video, which I've called "Haida Teen Night." Basically, Heather, Roy, Sharmeen and I went to the Masset Teen Center for their Wednesday night dinner. When we got there, the teens were watching the movie 300. We watched the movie, and then a few of the teens, including Ben and others, helped us shoot some test video, which we then compiled together into this short. Enjoy!

Hoopla

storyboard pitchWe've got a name for our movie: it's called "Hoopla" and it's about a basketball game. Basketball is big on the islands, and a lot of kids play. We've got a whole story line mapped out - I think it'll be fun. This is a picture of me explaining the storyboard...

We also had a visit today from Owen - he's a photographer who specializes in images from the West, and First Nations peoples in particular. He was very respectful and knowledgeable, and it was nice to have him visit.

Tonight we're going to hang out at the Teen Center, for their usual Wednesday night Teen Night. Hopefully we'll get some new participants!

You can see pics from today here.

Day Two

building bball courtbball


Yesterday, Heather, Ander, Ernie, and I worked on making a basket ball court, as well as two new puppets, and making a crowd for the audience shots. We were supposed to meet with the elders, but that meeting got nixed, and now it looks like we'll be meeting with elders one-on-one, which might be more effective.

Basket Ball is big on the island, and so it seemed like a fun place to start, to develop a story line that would interest young kids... The plan is to actually start animating today, and to come to the Teen Night tonight, and show the kids what's up, and see if we can recruit some new participants.

You can see some pics from yesterday here.