link to howeHAUS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y9S2QDgpk0&feature=youtu.be

Caitlin Trafton NMD 343/ Spring 2013

<Collection and Review of Works>

I’d like to articulate the work I’ve done for NMD343.

Caitlin Trafton

NMD 343

Thursday 10/10/2013

<First Story Idea>

  POV Exercise: Story: Me against Muffy, I come out on top. This led me to my Logan story: A parrot’s Tale. This is the story:   Antagonist: Muffy is in her late 50’s Protagonist: Me, as an adult   …The Wake: Family and Friends gather at 7 Hubbardston Road, Princeton Massachusettes. Its July, the day is half overcast, half sunshine. Friends clear. Family leave, a few linger; Auntie Muffy and her wife ‘Auntie Debbie’ are in the kitchen. Debbie is sitting and, as I remember it, Muffy is standing(she could have been massaging her Debbie’s shoulders)   She and Debbie I remember from my childhood. Muffy is my ‘GodMother,’ though I was never officially baptized. When I was a kid, Muffy and Debbie, took to me and my liking art; They did their utmost to provide me with sketchbooks, paints, and supplies every Christmas. We did Christmas, every year-on Christmas Eve-at Nana’s in Princeton. Holidays slowed in the end, Grandpa died, and Nana only two years after. I think she was lonely. The gifts from Muffy and Debbie stopped ten years before that though. They don’t call me, they didn’t welcome me to stay at Nana’s house. I have been welcome at Nana’s house my entire life.

villain materials: 1-description

characters present:

  1. Auntie Muffy: my Dad’s sister
  2. Auntie Debbie: Muffy’s wife
  3. little Sarah (my cousin)
  4. myself: I am 25 years old

The Family has gathered for my Grand-Mother’s ‘wake.’ We called her Nana. She died in June 2013, she had 5 children. We have this ceremony in July, at Nana’s house in Princeton, Massachusetts. I am the Protagonist here: Caitlin Trafton. Auntie Muffy and Auntie Debbie are the Antagonists/Villains. little Sarah is an innocent. 2-scene in which villain obstructs the protagonist   So: we are in Nana’s Kitchen, just after the service: Nana has a big Rosemary bush, in a pot, there in the kitchen. I said aloud, “Nana gave me a clip of this Rosemary, and I couldn’t clone it, and it died. I wonder how I could get a snip of it, to try and do it again.” I was looking the plant over and Muffy, came to the front: “Here’s what you do:” she illustrated this with her hands- “…you go buy one at Home Depot, they have little ones already started, they’re no expensive.” (I felt like saying yeah stick it up your ass.) I said, “i kind of thought it would be special to have a piece from Nana’s. I guess thanks though.” I didn’t take a piece, but I wanted to take the whole pot. I didn’t.

3-backstory, explanation of desire lines, and relationship to other characters in the story

  Back-Story: For two years Nana had been “dying.” The five years before that, she “could die any day.” The five years before that, “we might not have Nana for the next holiday.” At age 21, the Rutland Tuberculosis Ward told her she might not live past 30. They took her lung, she only had one lung, and it was kidney failure that took the last of her life, she was 83. Muffy was the second child she bore. Nana appointed Debbie as the financial overseer. (Family rumor: has it that Debbie was paying herself $1,200 a week.) The last two years, in Nana’s weakened state: Muffy took over the House. Muffy was given a $1,200 weekly salary, for her contributions. I saw Muffy, I saw how stressful it was for her. She coped with the death of her Mother, the way she knew best; by cooking and cleaning. I see Muffy, as an Usher of Death. She and Debbie I remember from my childhood. Muffy is my ‘GodMother,’ though I was never officially baptized. When I was a kid, Muffy and Debbie, took to my liking art; They did their utmost to provide me with sketchbooks, paints, and supplies every Christmas. Every Christmas Eve we did at Nana’s, in Princeton. Holidays slowed in the end, Grandpa died, and Nana only two years after (I think she was lonely.) The gifts from Muffy and Debbie stopped ten years before that though. They don’t call me, they didn’t welcome me to stay at Nana’s house when they were caring for her. I have been welcome at Nana’s house my entire life. All the children seemed like 5 money mongers where human beings once stood. My Dad, yes, may be one of them. Not to say he isn’t good. He is an advocate of my greatest dreams. (So he’s like a Spirit Guide.) I think people with missed opportunities want money. I think where are people today without money? Hungry? Thirsty? Stuck at a Dysarts, without water, or food. At least if you are stuck where there are people, you can use your language. You have a vehicle; of voice. Like the heel-toe express. (Set aside what you learned about safety.) “Just talking to the people with proper grammar and manners is worth a lot. “     “Projection hurts people”   I reach for the Rosemary.   Uncle Muffy, sees my admiration, and : “Tell you what you do: you go to Home Depot, they have little plants there, buy yourself one, they have a bunch there.” She said it as if it was a gameplan. I responded: “Thank You” …but what I really wanted to say was: “Im sorry that you thought I wanted to buy it. I don’t want to buy it I want to have a piece from Nana’s so I can remember her, and what family is”

The greater treasure is, that as more clips are taken from the whole, the better the bush does. PRUNING: People prune little by little, together, unknowingly; and the whole becomes a Mother.

I started using Prezi to create a real-life experience of going through my Nana’s House. (As I’ve said before, she passed away in June, and her five children now share ownership of her house.  They can’t reconcile their differences, and all of them are hungry for money, all of them think they deserve more. Oh well.) So no one is allowed in the house.

Go to howeHAUS.mov

November 19th 2013

Tuesday 11:21am

CAPTURED AND DOMESTICATED Pack of Trouble: Indigo Child-new set of children(demanding elders to grow) example: Bethany-”Todd wants love and happiness, for everyone.”   NMD 343-Six Stages of Plot CONFLICT: why is conflict important? RESOLUTION: Shows us how people grow. In order for them to ‘transform’ they have to start with a desire. They don’t get what they want. They are miserable. Logan wants to be heard. People won’t listen. Money is object. People can’t fly but they fly right by Logan. He tries to speak but no one will teach him.   BELIEFS: example: wound-catholic girl and sexuality. Taryn: saying someone that loves you=”icky” “most characters have erroneous beliefs”   what are Logan’s triggers? What scares Logan? Trouble: What Logan hears could be different from what is being said to him.   FEARS: Cranes, Towers, Everything higher that him. Brooms, Guitars, Long objects. Being ALONE. Being left behind. How does he act out: He acts big and tough. He throws himself on the floor.   START with MOMENT: Tremont He wants to come to school. But I leave him. He can’t fly, but he remembers Africa-where he would-with a Pandemonium of Parrots. I hang him outside, to go to the bathroom. He bites. Greys don’t bite eachother. He bites out of fear, he remembers being left before. (Back Story: Most of the time he gets attention when he does something bad. Caitlin watches him closely after the penalty.) Caught in the moment, he bites, because bad attention is better than none. Logan never what taught how to act, how to ask. Logan is 10, but he is not a dog.   WOUND: He has had more than three owners, he was “stolen from Africa,” he comes from many broken homes, people just never understood him. Family means nothing to him, so he acts out. He yells. He sees me yell. “Shut up,” “Fucking Bird” He knows ‘shut up’ means be quiet. *kiss means ‘yes’   EXTERNAL-something happens INTERNAL-something happens in response.

October 31st, 2013

in sighting incident Assignment! Fill-Out: SixstagePlot.rtf (bring with you next time.) Emotional Arc of the Plot: conflict, crisis, where do you want your characters to end up. Writer’s Month Novel Writers   Daughter has parrot…animal protects. “clipped” parts.   WATCH THIS: Continuum watch (5 episodes) whos good/whos evil antagonist/protagonist: dependent upon why this is happening. Consciousness of the Earth is activating Immune System. Plot devices: Create something that appears “off” bring it back later=Foreshadow. “Murder of Crows” “Parliament of Parrots” -tall boy with glasses   home-adventure-back Review the 9 aspects of character development below. Copy/Past the list below, then remove all but the Main topic, eg “History:” Jot down ideas for each of the nine sections. Instead of answering by telling, try to show what your character does, says, looks like…. CHARACTER. 1. Communication style: How does your character talk? Does she favor certain words or phrases that make her distinct and interesting? What about the sound of her voice? Much of our personality comes through our speech, so think about the way your character is going to talk. Her style of communication should be distinctive and unique. 2. History: Where does your character come from? Think out his childhood and adolescence. What events shaped his personality? What did his father do for a living? How about his mother? How many siblings does he have? Was it a loving family or an abusive, dysfunctional one? What events led him to the career choices he made? You may not need to provide all this background to your reader, but it’s good to know as the writer. It helps give him substance in your mind as well. 3. Appearance: What does she look like? This may be the least important ingredient to make your character a person to the reader, but you should still know it in your own mind. Not every character needs to be drop-dead gorgeous, by the way. Most people aren’t. 4. Relationships: What kind of friends and family does he have? How does he relate to them? Is he very social or reclusive, or somewhere in between? People can be defined by the company they keep, so this can be a good way to define your character. 5. Ambition: Just as this is the central letter of the acrostic, so too this concept is absolutely central to your character and plot. What is her passion in life? What goal is she trying to accomplish through your story? What is her unrecognized, internal need and how will she meet it? 6. Character defect: Everyone has some personality trait that irritates his friends or family. Is he too self-centered? Too competitive? Too lazy? Too compliant? Too demanding of others? Don’t go overboard on this. After all, you want your reader to like the character. But he’ll feel more real if he has some flaw. This is usually connected to his unrecognized need (see Ambition) and often gets resolved through his character arch. 7. Thoughts: What kind of internal dialogue does your character have? How does she think through her problems and dilemmas? Is her internal voice the same as her external? If not, does this create internal conflict for her? In real life we don’t have the benefit of knowing someone’s innermost thoughts, but a novel allows us to do just that, so use it to your advantage. 8. Everyman-ness: How relatable is your character? While James Bond is fun to watch on screen, most of us aren’t uber-trained special agent-assassins so it’s a little hard to relate to him on a personal level. On the other hand, Kurt Russell’s character in the movie Breakdown was far more ordinary and relatable, creating a more visceral experience. Be careful not to make your character too elite or he may be too difficult to live vicariously through. And that, after all, is the key to suspense. 9. Restrictions: More than a personality flaw, what physical or mental weakness must your character overcome through her arch? After all, even Superman had Kryptonite. This helps humanize your character, making her more sympathetic and relatable. Character: MUST ANSWER and post

  1. What about you is heroic? I try and be true to a situation. To say what might have been thought, but never said. 2. What about you is social? What do you like about people? I like people. I need people to help better understand myself. I like that almost all people that I have encountered, are reachable. In certain circumstances, I find, I wish I had more time to put into my relationships with others. I think a lot of people give up when they see they cannot have something. I think that with persistence, you avail a new perspective. I’d like to think that presentation isn’t everything and that being truly present is what makes things happen. 3. Of what benefit could you be to the current group? 4. Why would you choose to join the current group? 5. Invent an adventure/plot that your character would actively undertake (as opposed to just tagging along)?

7pm tonight Wabanaki Transformer Storytelling: Get Andrew to come d7 and audio?   Vera Francis Minsky Recital Hall   FOR TUESDAY: RESERVE: iPOD/iPAD (rm 114) Get APP: Story Kit Get Photos. iphoto-syncs with device   Rent iPad 1.) Conceive Story

  1. Assemble photo library
  2. StoryBoard
  3. Find relevant music

(3 unexcused absenses=F)

POV

  main character: me   notice small detail of reaction to circumstance, that has to do with outside characters head: lighting, weather, user becomes involved.   Dialog: “holy fuck” -JB haha body language:   show what is literally happening, physically. 5 senses: sight, taste, touch, smell, hear, [feel] The body sells The Truth.   First Person: Types of POV: First Person – Third Person Close – Third Person Objective – Third Person Omniscient – First Person Omniscient – knows everything that is happening, not a part of the story.    A Parrot Tale: by Logan Trafton, Translated by Caitlin Trafton.   Thursday 10/24/2013 DOODLE-Meet with Joline Individually WEEKLY JOURNAL DREAMS DIALOUGE   Using your main project story idea, try to tell a part of your story using a mobile app like StoryKit, StoryRobe, or Sonic Pics. To do this use the standard digital story process: 1) Conceive the story Logan is angry with me. I show the deer cam footage of when I walk out the door.2) Assemble visuals and/or photos, video to tell the story. Need audio of Logan’s whistle. I have decided to play this audio, and if it works out, I will do a sort of documentary, and I translate for Logan. Uploaded to Youtube I made a Movie Trailer introducing Logan’s Story. A Parrot tale. 3) Storyboard your story adding an index card for each image/video and assembling them into some pattern This is how the story goes: I am rushing for the door. Logan is going nuts; his eyes scattering every which way, his beak reaching for a grip, squeaking, he flutters his wings. And the front door shuts, with Logan, on the wrong side; on the inside. He puts his wings down, he narrows his eyes and he picks up his water dish and throws it at the wall. He stomps on the rim of the trashcan and drops a big crap on the floor. Logan, is left home here today, for no given reason, and he’s angry, but he’s sad, because he’s lonely. Another day home alone, and the only ones to talk to are the mice, and they aren’t afraid of Logan. On occasion he’ll try to run them off, but instead of flying, he flops to the ground in a windmill of feathers, and the mice get away. Feeling defeated he left-foot, right-foots to the base of the shower-curtain and gently hoists feet to beak, all the way up to the curtain rings, he perches, parched without water. Then Logan sleeps for eight hours of interrupted sleep, waking each time he hears the groan of a diesel truck, or a car door slam; maybe someone will come, and with one eye he studies the front door. Logan has become a part of my family, I recently gave him the last name Trafton a few weeks ago, because my small, seven year-old cousin said, “he’s a part of this family.” Logan is more human-like than any other animal I have had, and I have had a lot of pets(rabbits, peacocks, horses, iguanas, hampsters, cocatail-which I didn’t like or have for very long-dogs, many cats, ducks, chickens, a dove.) Sometimes, it’s as if Logan is actually trying to tell me something but can’t find the words, like a toddler learning how to speak. I have never had a child at this point in my life, but if I did, I think I would be giving it more attention than I give Logan. This is what brought me to this question, that if Logan acts like a human toddler, why don’t I treat him that way? If he goes to the bathroom on the floor, I show him his little potty, and he can go there. Or if he makes a mess eating, why don’t I give him a place-mat and show him how I eat grapes and carrots. All of these are just examples, but they have led me to blips of progression with my understanding of this African Grey Parrot. His Story of Africa

  1. Find relevant music and/or sound effects, or use voice over, or significant ambient sound sounds of Africa: Water, rainforest, Parrots chatter.

5) Assemble all together with some kind of story app of software. I downloaded an app for the iPad I borrowed for NMD343. It was a free app where you could organize your photos in a magazine-like layout. You could send this to your friends and they could swipe through the pages. You can add text. I thought this could be a good way to explore the Parrot Tale. NB that Storykit may not let you export sound, but the other 2 apps should. You CAN play them all back on your iPod/iPhone/iPad. See “Free Resources” for places to find materials. 1a: Setup Protagonist:Logan Stolen from Africa Sold to America. Dexter-MDI   1b: Turning Point 1: Dexter, MAINE: Lillian gets Emphysema, she puts him in the Uncle Henry’s. $800:Cage and African Grey. Must go. He was biting Lillian.   1c : Opportunity: Stage 2: New Situation Caitlin wants a pet that lives longer. Her Dad has a house in Dexter. Her boss Jerry, had a son, named Oakley, he wanted a Parrot, he died young, he was a Pirate. It was meant to be. She wanted an excuse to eat healthier. This is a Mask. Turning Point 2: It isn’t all that it seems. Caitlin and Logan’s relationship is challenging, like between two people. Change Plans: Logan and Caitlin keep eachother, company, but Caitlin can’t keep up her end of the deal. Logan keeps shitting on the floor, this is a big problem.   1a: Stage 3: Progress He tells Caitlin he just wants to go to school.   2b: Turning Point 3: Point of No Return I try to bribe Logan with food, his favorite: peanuts. He rejects the food.   2c: Stage 4: Complications, Higher Stakes He stops eating, he gets sick. 2d: Turning Point 4: Major Setback The negative attention succeeds. Caitlin and Victor become involved, concerned. Everyone is taking it easy on Logan. He has established his place with a Family.   3a: Stage 5: Final Push He takes antibiotics, gains his feathers back.     3b: Turning Point 5: Climax The vet tells Caitlin and Victor that Logan has a behavioral problem. Logan has been voicing himself, he is not being heard in the vet’s office. Caitlin speaks for Logan. The vet does not expect him to speak for himself.   3c: Stage 6: Aftermath He gains feathers completely back to prove that he is not sick in the head. He had a bacterial infection. All along the way people are speaking for Logan, to Caitlin.   Extra Characters: Ashton took Logan on a play-date. Kennebunk Exit: Couple tells Caitlin about the Angel Animal Hospital in Boston. Man at Bartlett’s Landing: Tells Victor the Greys can be trained to go to the bathroom on command. A Review of eStranged: Full Version   I considered this production a good work in progress. WEAKNESSES: The only tangible weakness was the Q&A afterward. I expected to get to know the inner workings of the project, the technology behind it, but went home wanting. I like a coherent story, on the other hand, I like that UNH is live, unrehearsed. I also believe they could be a bit more informed. If we consider the two…Actors that would rather have the lines read directly to them…instead of memorizing it.. What if you had a Bluetooth in their ear, so that when all is performed, we have the New Media, voices in their head. Our objectives with New Media is vast. But let us just say…we have the New Media department in Maine reviewing current affairs….maybe this could be a newscast…like an SNL skit. But basically: The information is gathered…a script is set in place, given to the cast prior to showing, with character mugshot, they have to dress according to character (this may mean, an interview with Linda Bean, and the actor has to wear LL.Bean get-up) and the show begins to air, and we start with the girl Rachel, home from work, sits in her living room…she clicks on this sweet dual projector she made herself. Maybe she dresses in all black. Maybe sometime she has a guest. So the audience sits with her. As she watches, a recording of the script is played, with the actors voices, only now the actors must dub. The involvement of New media WOULD BE THE ABILITY TO USE SOUND TO MANIPULATE THE ACTORS INTO A PERFECT DUBBED SESSION. tHE audio will be playing over everyone, but the actors must stay on task. We, as New Media students, will use sound to que the actors. For instance, a News Break with Lepage: A dark/grey haired man with suit and tinted eyeglasses and a mole says “I want to see the federal budget or I’ll sue!” Its short and sweet, it was on the front page of lasts week’s Bangor Daily. So the thing that sets the actor off is the fade in fade out background sound. We have the bulletin: “beeb-boop-beep-boop-boop-boop” Or whatever… And it beep 2x and boop four times…the audio cuts and one second after the audio begins, just as the actor said it. We could also cast them on a green screen and give them whatever background we want. We record it, and send it back to them. Sex, parents, and partnership play major roles in society so I believe it is easy to exploit them. I say exploit, because it reaches everyone, whether they like it or not.   QUESTIONS: So the question I have in response to this one performance of eStranged is: What effect is eStranged supposed to have on it’s viewer’s? It this informative or artistic? Or is it just New Media?  This is the answer I walked away with; but it is not good enough for me. I like Photography: I could overlay Photos, randomly change their opacity, size, color and order of appearance, but why? To express the chaos in my mind each time I look at my desktop?   Is this project information or entertainment? I’m guessing neither. I don’t think it informed me of anything I wasn’t already away of. I feel anxiety as I drive down the road. Nervous all the time of what people think of me. So I deal with it. I purposely avoid watching, anything with no inkling of plot. I mean(how I feel in my life at the moment…) I want to walk away from everything having learned something. Some performances don’t immediately reach me, but almost always teach me, “wow if I was going to do a performance or installation, I would not do it like this:” So I did learn something, at the performance on Friday: I can do anything I want to in this world, as long as I make a big enough deal about it.” “Lie and withhold information, until you get everyone in one place, at the right time, and then show them what you are capable of.   STRENGTHS: Rm 104 had great lighting. I think John did a really good job framing Owen up to broadcast to UNH, blue, cool. The broadcast from the UNH Theatre Group was interesting. I should have no qualms, but I would suggest a tripod. And this is for the new Media Department: Whats with the crazy ‘dream’ filter. I thought it was useful when we saw the “dream girl’ on the floor posing with her thick braids batting her shoulders. But why must we have the dream filter always? The UNH Theatre cast ran to the top of the frame and all collected there. At the same time, our Main Actress: Rachel was laying face down on the bed, she was in her skivvies. The UNH cast was gathered on Rachels butt, arguing about some useless thing, like always.  They were yelling loud and angrily, and the camera view point made them look somewhat small, like they were Keebler Elves, riding around on some giant woman arguing who would drive.