Method of the act

Hi everyone, this week I wanted to make an adjustment to an earlier work.

I'm talking about the small animation "Midnight Dreamer" I posted a few weeks ago. You might have seen it. During a rewatch I thought it might be cool to try and make a version with an altered soundtrack, using ambient sounds to be more precise. This way, I think you feel more pulled into the world, like you're a fly on the wall observing the scene, instead of creating a distance between the viewer and the animation by letting them listen to a piece of music the whole duration of the clip. There's still some music in there but just minimal.

All the sounds you'll hear are recorded with my camera, with the exception of the crickets and small pieces of music. The sleeping part gave me some trouble as I wanted some snoring to be heard and normally, I never snore. I didn't want to fake it so to solve this problem I used some dedicated method acting. From my own observations it seemed to me that the loudest of snoring occurs when people are intoxicated with a good amount of alcohol and nicotine, by preference after a wild night of partying, and to simply crash on a mattress without being bothered by who or what may lay there already.

I took upon this method, which I call 'The way of the snore", very seriously, so I positioned my matras in the ideal spot beforehand (just behind the frontdoor if you walk in) so I could get that part absolutely right. The next step was to jam a 100 Gigabyte SD card in my camera that made it capable to record the whole night through. When the whole setup was complete, the first bottle of Polish bisongrass wodka I stashed in my room was quickly in process of being emptied, followed by some fat joints I purchased the day before. This whole process went well but you better believe I didn't stop there. It was time to head to "Ceasars Club" in Turnhout, a place well known for it's willing women and nights to remember. In short, the perfect spot to develop a good snore according to my theory. Unfortunately I don't recall too much of what happend there (there goes that "night to remember") but did found several phone numbers in my pockets the morning after. "Call us, André & Ferdinand xxx" said one note, so I'm sure I had a good time.

It was around 4 P.M when I woke up the next day. It seemed I missed the mattress on my way to the floor that night causing some bruises on my chin and my clothes were all sticky with an afwul smell filling the room but I couldn't have been happier, this felt like the ultimate snorefest had taken place. The feeling of happiness quickly vanished when I discovered someone had forgotten to turn the camera on....This was definitely a setback but I didn't want to let the disappointment sink in so a back-up plan was already thought of. I knew my dog occasionally has a natural snore and he sleeps multiple times a day so it wasn't that hard to record the snore I needed for my animated movie. It all worked out pretty well in the end.

Anyway, this is what became of the revisited Midnight Dreamer:

                                             Midnight Dreamer (Ambient sound)

Let me know which one you prefer.

Well then, let's listen to Joan Baez. She was a protest singer who in the 60's and beyond developed quite a name for herself. Even now she still preforms and when I think of a hippie woman, it's her face that pops into my head. That she was a beautiful girl in her youth surley helps too. The song Diamonds & Rust is probably one of her most famous songs I think and you'll understand why when you hear it.

And now just shut up and enjoy.

                                                  Joan Baez - Diamonds & Rust

Chill & Sketch

'S up?

I hope y'all had a great time celebrating New Year's eve. If by any chance you've woken up just today since then, finding yourself in a different timezone than usual with all your money gone, recent memories replaced with a black void and a tattoo of a raccoon on your back that has no business being there, I say don't worry, I'm here for you. This blog will let you forget about all that for at least two minutes. If you read slow it could be even five.

Just recently I too found myself in a different timezone. Attentive readers know I headed to London last week and I have to say, the city is a blast and has a lot of cool places to visit. If you're into art, many museums are free of admission and I definitely advise you to check out Brick lane if you're looking for alternative art, clothes, people and music.

It was also surprising to see just how close France and England really are. This photo was taken on the shore of France, Calais and you clearly see the white cliffs of Dover in the distance.

To cross the Norh Sea by swimming like some do didn't seem that hard to me anymore but my friends managed to talk some sense into me just in time. They needed my share to pay for the ferry or it would cost more for them and I didn't want to let them down. Still, I've got some unfinished business with that plane of water.

Since my return I haven't had much energy to spend on drawing or making movies but I did make a few sketches. It's nothing much but I'll let you take a look at it just below.

There seemed no group more convenient to present this week than London Grammar, who I already mentioned last time. You wouldn't think the voice belongs to the young girl you see in the picture below but somehow it does. It reminds me a bit of Florence and the Machine. The song Metal & Dust doesn't represent the range she has very well, but it's definitely worth a listen.

And now just shut up and enjoy.

                                                 London Grammar - Metal & Dust