An interview with filmmaker and research fellow Eli L.

What was your original idea for filmmaking?
The first idea for my project was that I would make a sequel to last year’s film The Fellowship of the Media Lab: “The Dawn of Imagination” about this year’s Media Lab fellows. But, I decided to change my idea, because there were two different classes of Media Lab fellows and I couldn’t film all of the fellows and their projects as easily. So, I decided to make mini documentary short films (docushorts) about each fellow’s project, but make them more creative by using stop-motion animation with different materials (paper, Legos, real footage, screen captures, and books.)
– The ideas for all my movies :
 NASA Challenge: Stop-motion with Legos
 Hamster Book (“Veronica the Hamster Expert”):
Stop-motion with stills and a book
 “ABC’s of Veggies Book”: Real footage using
pre-schoolers, music and art
 Monarch Butterfly (“The Butterfly Girl”): Stop-motion animation and real footage
 Baden Minecraft (“Blocks of Our School”): Real footage and Camtasia screen captures.

What type of equipment did you use for filming?
I’ve always filmed with a small handheld video camera. This year I decided to use my iPad as an experiment. Here are my reasons:
1. The battery of my video camera didn’t stay charged for very long.
2. The screen was bigger, which made the shots easier to see when filming.
3. It was easier to take the photos and footage because of the touch screen.
4. It was easier to find music for the film by using iTunes.
5. It was easier to download the footage and stills to the iMac for editing.
What I discovered:
1. I discovered that I couldn’t zoom in and out when filming on the iPad. That wasn’t a good thing, because I had to do that in editing. This was more work and took more time.

What did you learn this year? 
I learned a lot about filming when I made a set for the stop-motion part of my film. I learned:
1. How to figure out what type of lighting worked the best. I used lamps with different kinds of bulbs. The bulbs were halogen, incandescent and fluorescent.
2. When shooting on my stop-motion set, I used two lights at different positions and angles. That helped to light the set and make interesting angles on the set.
3. I had to soften the light that was closest to the set because it cast too much light. I softened it by putting a piece of paper in front of the light.
4. I also learned how to bounce light by using paper at different angles.

Is there anyone you would like to thank?
My mom, Dr. Ellen, Mrs. Walaan, all of the research fellows particularly Timmy B., and most importantly my mentors. Kim Rullo is an experienced in design professional specializing in mobile app design, graphic and web design, filmmaking, photography and conceptual art. Her partner is Isaac Rullo, specializing in conceptual artistry.  Brent Isaac os a seasoned filmmaker, photographer and conceptual artist, currently teaching cinema at both Point Park University and Art Institute of Pittsburgh.