jayzanye

[jayzanye]

Drawing from films

Drawing from films is a ridiculously useful exercise. It’s not enough to watch films; it’s not enough to look at someone else’s drawings from films. If you want to be in story, there’s no excuse for not doing this.

The way this works: you draw tons of tiny little panels, tiny enough that you won’t be tempted to fuss about drawing details. You put on a movie - I recommend Raiders, E.T., or Jaws… but honestly if there’s some other movie you love enough to freeze frame the shit out of, do what works for you. It’s good to do this with a movie you already know by heart.

Hit play. Every time there’s a cut, you hit pause, draw the frame, and hit play til it cuts again. If there’s a pan or camera move, draw the first and last frames.

Note on movies: Spielberg is great for this because he’s both evocative and efficient. Michael Bay is good at what he does, but part of what he does is cut so often that you will be sorry you picked his movie to draw from. Haneke is magnificent at what he does, but cuts so little that you will wind up with three drawings of a chair. Peter Jackson… he’s great, but not efficient. If you love a Spielberg movie enough to spend a month with it, do yourself a favor and use Spielberg.

What to look for:

Foreground, middle ground, background: where is the character? What is the point of the shot? What is it showing? What’s being used as a framing device? How does that help tie this shot into the geography of the scene? Is the background flat, or a location that lends itself to depth?

Composition: How is the frame divided? What takes up most of the space? How are the angles and lines in the shot leading your eye?

Reusing setups, economy: Does the film keep coming back to the same shot? The way liveaction works, that means they set up the camera and filmed one long take from that angle. Sometimes this includes a camera move, recomposing one long take into what look like separate shots. If you pay attention, you can catch them.

Camera position, angle, height: Is the camera fixed at shoulder height? Eye height? Sitting on the floor? Angled up? Down? Is it shooting straight on towards a wall, or at an angle? Does it favor the floor or the ceiling?

Lenses: wide-angle lens or long lens? Basic rule of thumb: If the character is large in frame and you can still see plenty of their surroundings, the lens is wide and the character is very close to camera. If the character’s surroundings seem to dwarf them, the lens is long (zoomed in).

Lighting: Notice it, but don’t draw it. What in the scene is lit? How is this directing your eye? How many lights? Do they make sense in the scene, or do they just FEEL right?

This seems like a lot to keep in mind, and honestly, don’t worry about any of that. Draw 100 thumbnails at a time, pat yourself on the back, and you will start to notice these things as you go.

Don’t worry about the drawings, either. You can see from my drawings that these aren’t for show. They’re notes to yourself. They’re strictly for learning. 

Now get out there and do a set! Tweet me at @lawnrocket and I’ll give you extra backpats for actually following through on it. Just be aware - your friends will look at you super weird when you start going off about how that one shot in Raiders was a pickup - it HAD to be - because it doesn’t make sense except for to string these other two shots together…

[jayzanye]

i say i like tragedies and everyone’s all like ‘why do you like sad stories? are you depressed?’ and never ‘how was the catharsis? was the catharsis fun?’

[jayzanye]

when people are like "i didn't come here to make friends" i'm like thats sooooo unrelatable. i am always on the look out for some girl friends. I would be in that hunger games cornucopia like "your ex boyfriend did WHAT."

[jayzanye]

is there anyone out there with a nyt cooking subscription

will they send me the chamomile tea cake with strawberry icing recipe

[jayzanye]

The Sibyl, Otterbein College, 1905 

[jayzanye]

craziest shot of the whole movie

[jayzanye]

some people were asking for a actual and i can never pass up an opportunity to procrastinate so here’s just a couple of things i always need to remind myself of…now back to my paper :(

[jayzanye]

why is it soooo accurate dear god

a summary

[jayzanye]

it’s okay to not be okay + transitions

[jayzanye]

[jayzanye]

– パプリカ Paprika (2006) dir. Satoshi Kon

[jayzanye]

The Cheetah Girls (2003) // The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

[jayzanye]

“You will do beautiful work some day […] you have the temperament of the artist.”

— Oscar Wilde, in a letter to G. H. Kersley - February 24, 1885. (via wildestically)

[jayzanye]

You’re not faking it.

People who fake things do it because it makes their lives easier to fake it.

Of all the people I’ve met who are so worried that they’re faking their chronic illness, or autism, or adhd, or depression, or whatever else,

Not one single one has had their lives made easier because of their condition.

It makes their lives harder, and the guilt they feel because they think they’re faking it only adds to that.

You wouldn’t fake something to make your life harder.

So don’t worry about it, okay? 

You’re not faking it.

And you deserve support and treatment.

[jayzanye]

do you have any tips for studying with adhd

[cracks knuckles] alright here are the things that work the best for me:

General study tips: 

Study in a library/study area/empty classroom. I’m more likely to actually study because other people are there + it’s usually a very organised space.

COVID version: if public areas are closed try to study in a room that is not your bedroom. Only bring the things you need for studying)

Study with other people!!! 

COVID version: videocall your friend/partner/study buddy. If their ‘people noises’ (breathing, typing) distract you too much you can both mute your microphone and just wave at each other sometimes.

Study in time blocks! I personally study for 20 minutes, take a short break, then study for 20 minutes again. You can do shorter or longer blocks if you prefer!

Figure out a reward system. I give myself gold star stickers when I finish a chapter/complete an exercise/etc. It sounds childish but it works for me! 

Tips for reading: 

Read texts out loud. 

Figure out the best medium for you. I started printing texts instead of reading them from on my laptop because it was easier for me to focus on actual paper. 

If you have to read long texts, use markers! Use one colour for every date or year, another colour for every name. Use a third colour for important sentences. Scribble your notes in the margins! 

Tips for writing essays/papers: 

Puke words first and don’t worry too much about structure or proper grammar. Go back and edit it later. 

Set (very) small goals. I am currently working on my thesis and I try to write 100 words a day. That is not a lot & that is good because it means I can still reach my goal on bad days! 

I hope this helps, good luck! 

[jayzanye]

EMAILS TO MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER

Hello friends and enemies,

I have decided to do a masters degree for some fucking reason. Due to these godforsaken circumstances, I am going to be a student again.

Now, based on my experience being an undergrad with my Brain and Misc Issues, I knew that my hubris in pursuing YET MORE EDUCATION would result in having to write a lot of stressful emails, while dealing with a stressful situation.

So, to help myself cope in advance, I’ve decided to write drafts of these emails in advance, so that it’s less agonisingly painful to deal with this shit when it comes up.

And you can use them too!

under the cut, I have some draft emails for when you need to tell your lecturers:

I’m going to miss a lecture.

I have missed a lecture

I will be turning in an assignment late

I have missed a deadline

I have had a personal crisis which impacts my studies.

SEND AT START OF SEMESTER: explaining that you fidget/stim without using the word stim.

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[jayzanye]

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Never related to anything more