I know Rusty was disappointed we didn't use the chroma key screen. First of all, the lighting we had in the studio was fixed and limited. 2ndly from what I studied up on it, the subjects must stand at least 12 feet in front of the "Blue Screen." Lastly because we were using digital, and we only had a choice of this puny little blue backdrop, I learned that green is better when it comes to digital imagery. So unless my signers were positioned right and wearing the right kind of clothes, using the chroma key backdrop might've proved to be a disaster. I didn't want to get stuck with footage of signers in front of a blue screen which to me makes it look cheap and also makes me wonder, why was that backdrop used if it wasn't for special effects? Here's more info I copied and pasted from Wikipedia :)
Background
Blue is generally used for both weather maps and special effects because it is complementary to human skin tone. However, in many instances, green has become the favored color because digital cameras retain more detail in the green channel and it requires less light than blue. Although green and blue are the most common, any color can be used. Occasionally, a magenta background is used. With better imaging and hardware, many companies are avoiding the confusion often experienced by weather presenters, who must otherwise watch themselves on a monitor to see the image shown behind them, by lightly projecting a copy of the background image onto the blue/green screen. This allows the presenter to accurately point and look at the map without referring to monitors.
Even lighting
The most difficult part of setting up a bluescreen or greenscreen is even lighting and the avoidance of shadow, because it is ideal to have as narrow a color range as possible being replaced. A shadow would present itself as a darker color to the camera and might not register for replacement. This can sometimes be seen in low-budget or live broadcasts where the errors cannot be manually repaired. The material being used affects the quality and ease of having it evenly lit. Materials which reflect light will be far less successful than those that do not. A plastic sheet will reflect light and have a hotspot in the center which will come out as a pale area, while the edges may be darkened. A cotton sheet will absorb more light and have a more even color range. Recently a much simpler and easier way to create an evenly lit background has been developed. By using screens made from a retroreflective fabric illuminated by a ring of LEDs around the camera lens it is possible to produce very even bright blue or green backgrounds whilst only consuming around five watts of energy. Products such as Reflecmedia`s Chromatte and Litering systems enable chroma key backgrounds to be created very simply and quickly, freeing the user to concentrate on lighting the foreground creatively. The systems are extremely energy efficient and enable users to create virtual studios in areas where space and energy are at a premium.
Good info to know for the future. Now the next step is for Rusty to sort through the footage and see what we covered and what areas are left to be covered. I'd like to do one more shoot before the end of August but it probably isn't feasible. It would be about $3000 all together if he used Ronnie, me and Blondie and 5 new signers for another 2 day shoot. This time, Ronnie, I(depending if I feel pretty that day?) and Blondie would focus more on the sign database itself and let the new signers cover the areas that need to be fattened up so to speak.
Well after a week of self imposed bed rest, ok the fever made me sleepy too, but anyhoo its nice to finally feel somewhat back to normal. A week ago today, I thought I would die, I was so miserable, couldn't hold food or liquid down, it was bad!
Chicago is on hold. Both Jack and I realize it would be too soon to try to move there this fall. He just started a job he really likes, and I only recently started to change my focus from teaching ASL only to just teaching. Meaning the 20+ resumes I've sent out today were in different areas of education from pre-school programs all the way to University level programs. As far as I'm concerned, its who offers what pay and what benefits is all that matters to me now. I've completed my coursework in my Masters studies, I have been teaching for the past 8 years in several areas so I am only missing is my student teaching classes/intern and my thesis. When I find a HS job that I can teach ASL and be paid for it, I will finish my Masters but I am not gonna stress myself out over it anymore. I have been living and breathing ASL for the past 3 years, I could use a break.
I would like to visit Chicago later this fall just to see what the city is like before I even start planning the move if we move? After my Sweets, Jack arrives home, and we visit some. I am gonna edit some tonight. I am being more disciplined when it comes to my film work. I can't let the lack of a videocamera get my spirits down.
I honestly think I got sick because I was so stressed about finding a FT ASL job this fall, making ends meet, dealing with issues with Jack (nothing serious, things are quite good between us actually!), not having a camera, not feeling confident with what was to be done for the DVD shoot itself (the script I had to work with, left me feeling very despaired). But now after a week of bedrest and healing, Jack and I have starting using the "we" mode. I hadn't been in that mode since my ex and I broke up. I wasn't in that mode the 1st year Jack and I have been dating. Only recently in the past week or so, it hit me, I love him and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. It was unexpected because I didn't think I had it in me, to have another real relationship. But I do. We're joking a lot more, he's getting used to my highs and lows of the day. I've been told I change moods often, hence "deafening chameleon" fits accordingly. He knows how to guage my moods now and based on how much rest I get, and how much work I am doing. Its weird having someone love me enough to bother to get to know me. My ex never did that, I appreciate that a lot about Jack.
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