NANORAMAS

New website!

2006-05-15T21:38:00.000-05:00

Nanoramas has officially moved to a new site: jenniferproctor.com. All feeds will remain the same; just the URL has changed. See you there!

Birdwatching

2006-05-14T11:47:00.000-05:00

At least someone's getting some use out of this chair.

By the way, if you're in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro, NC area, my film "Alternative Forms of Energy" (excerpt here) will be playing at the Hi Mom! Film Festival, June 17th at 4pm at the Carrboro ArtsCenter. Lots of other great stuff playing too. Check it out!

From Filmdom to Vloggercon

2006-04-28T22:11:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in a little while as I attempt to wrap up my semester and finish my film. I'll post more soon. But I'm really looking forward to Vloggercon '06 in June. See some of you there!

Reflections on tornado aftermath

2006-04-15T10:28:00.000-05:00

Recovery efforts are underway, and Iowa City is doing its best to return to business as usual.

Blogging the tornado

2006-04-14T09:29:00.000-05:00

Damage at St. Patrick's Catholic Church on Court Street in Iowa City, from the Press-Citizen.

As Iowa City begins its recovery effort from the tornados that hit last night, a number of area bloggers have been offering firsthand accounts of their experiences. It's good to hear that so many folks made it through OK. I'm still waiting for my Audioblogger posts to show up here. In the meantime, read and watch the stories of other Iowa Citians:

Daily Iowan (YouTube video)
PATV (the only station offering local coverage into the night)
Kenyons
Bells and Blades
The Yin Blog
Draegonhawke
Mouse's Lilypad
Socchan
Callirhoe
2 Hot Chiks

Here's a particularly well-made and rather accurate portrayal of the way things went down: Appropriate Safety Actions (Video by Josh Eklow)

Tornado Aftermath in Iowa City

2006-04-14T01:27:00.000-05:00

One of many onlookers photographs tornado damage at a building in downtown Iowa City (corner of Clinton and Court, just north of the courthouse). Tonight, Iowa City was hit by twisters that caused extensive damage throughout the downtown area. My Audioblogger posts of the tornado damage and aftermath should become available on this site soon. In the meantime, see some footage of the funnel clouds on Aaron Valdez's site. Luckily, injuries were minimal and there were no deaths in this highly unusual occurence.

Ava Su Work-in-Progress

2006-04-09T19:17:00.000-05:00

It's Videoblogging Week Day Seven!

Last day!

Technorati Tag: videobloggingweek2006A sample of a treatment of a snippet of a film I'm working on. Includes hand-processed 16mm film slowed down using an Analyst projector and transferred by shooting off the wall. Yeah, it's a work-in-progress. Features the great Ava Su Ganwei.

Here's another video featuring Ava Su (by Aaron Valdez).

Brain Awareness Day

2006-04-08T14:12:00.000-05:00

It's Videblogging Week Day Six!

Technorati Tag: videobloggingweek2006

BRAINS. 'Nuff said.

Wheeeoooo!

2006-04-07T20:37:00.000-05:00

It's Videoblogging Week Day Five!

Technorati Tag: videobloggingweek2006Today, Aaron and I went spinning. No, not like at the gym. I mean the real thing!

Takin' it higher

2006-04-06T19:02:00.000-05:00

Videoblogging Week Day Four!

I'm still in the game!

Technorati Tag: videobloggingweek2006It was a long day. I was tired.

Ink and optics

2006-04-05T17:11:00.000-05:00

Videoblogging Week Day Three!

Technorati Tag: videobloggingweek2006A short lesson in unconventional film techniques (actually, I screwed my film up the first time around, so now I'm redoing it). Yeah!

Some bad news and some good news

2006-04-04T19:48:00.000-05:00

Videoblogging Week Day Two!

Technorati Tag: videobloggingweek2006

Bad news about the new film I'm working on. Good news about my most recent film.

By the way, if you're in one of these areas, check out "Alternative Forms of Energy" (Super 8/video, 2005) at:

Iowa City Documentary Film Festival
Wednesday, April 12th at 6pm (Iowa City, IA)
Englert Theater

Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts (DIVA)
110 W. Broadway (Eugene, OR)
Tuesday, April 18th at 8pm
The Power of the People Don't Stop!
Short Political Documentaries Curated by Marc Moscato

Portland Documentary and Experimental Film Festival
Sunday, April 30th at 8pm
NW Film Center's Guild Theater (Portland, OR)
(playing with Bill Brown's "The Other Side"!)

The Yashica Arrives

2006-04-03T21:16:00.000-05:00

It's Videoblogging Week 2006!

Day One. My new (almost literally) Super 8 camera arrived today. It was $20, including shipping. Thank you, eBay.

Technorati: videobloggingweek2006.

Iowa Geese in Winter

2006-04-01T14:16:00.000-06:00

Walking along the path that borders the Iowa River earlier this winter, I came across a couple geese who were making their way across the half-thawed water on foot. Soon, they were joined by a flock of their avian compadres, who chose a spot within feet of me to gather. It was a quiet, beautiful moment. These videos are silent.

Groundless

2006-03-24T23:09:00.000-06:00

Groundless (2004, 5 min) It's no Snakes on a Plane, but it is the worst plane disaster I could summon by collaging various scenes from feature films. It was actually designed to help me get through my own fear of flying; I figured if I could intimately create and experience my worst fears through sound and image, I could get over them. It actually helped. Others, however, have not found it so calming.

Found: Socks belonging to Ryanne Hodson or Jay Dedman

2006-03-22T09:42:00.000-06:00

The great vloggers and newfound friends Ryanne Hodson and Jay Dedman and their feline companion Battlecat came to stay with Aaron and me on their trek west from New York to California. Once they had left, we discovered these socks left behind. Ah, to be in the presence of the feet coverings of greatness. Wanna learn more about vlogging? Check out Ryanne and Jay's fantastic initiatives, freevlog and Node 101.

Found: 80s Mixtape

2006-03-08T23:07:00.000-06:00

Once again, Houseworks does me right. For fifty cents, I became the proud owner of this unlabelled 80s mixtape, which features Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" about five times. Here, I offer a couple samples of some of my favorite segues on the tape.

Hickory Hill

2006-03-01T22:26:00.000-06:00

Hickory Hill (2004, 2 min.). A meditation on spring, in its beauty and harshness, at Hickory Hill in Iowa City.

A different kind of geoblogging

2006-02-26T23:01:00.000-06:00

This multimedia project is a work-in-progress, as I struggle to figure out what it is and what it's about. Incorporating elements of this blog plus new audio and video, this map represents a bird's eye view of friends, strangers, and inanimate objects throughout Iowa City. Tentatively titled "Community," it's kind of a blog using a map rather than a map of blogs. It will premiere as an interactive site this Friday as part of the Open House presented by Intermedia, a program of the University of Iowa's Department of Art & Art History.

Please feel free to explore this project. Comments and (constructive) suggestions are appreciated. I know this project doesn't work in all browsers or platforms, but I've had the best luck using Firefox and a very high speed connection.

Thanks especially to the awesome Mapbuilder.net, without which I could never have built a map like this.

Infinite Chai is infinitely delicious

2006-02-22T14:49:00.000-06:00

It might not be as cuddly as the Infinite Cat Project, but it's more tasty (I hope). It's the Infinite Chai Project, created by Bonita Sarita. Brew yourself some delicious homemade chai from this recipe, then take a photo of yourself enjoying it while observing the previous drinker's enjoyment online. It's a kind of virtual coffee--er, chai--klatch. It all started with this video. Who's next in the chain?

Chai recipe

2006-02-17T10:50:00.000-06:00

Bonita Sarita suggested I post the recipe that accompanies my video, "Chai," which is an excellent idea. I received the recipe from the proprieter of an Indian grocery in Boulder, Colorado, and he assured me that once you make your own Chai, you will always insist it is the best. He's absolutely right. Here's the recipe, adapted to my liking (and I often approximate these amounts):

Pour 1 1/2 cups water and 1 1/2 cups soy milk in a pot and heat on medium-high heat
Add one tablespoon Jivraj 9 C.T.C. Leaf Tea* (or a black tea of your liking)
Add one tablespoon granulated sugar
Add two whole cardamom pods, crushed
Add about a tablespoon of fresh ginger, cut into small pieces with skins on
Add two fresh mint leaves

Stir to create a beautiful, rich brown color. Heat until boiling, being careful not to scald the milk or boil over the mixture. Boil down one cup's worth (about ten minutes). Strain the tea and enjoy. Makes two cups.

*I've had difficulty finding this particular brand of tea again. Perhaps you can find it at your local Indian grocery. It's a delicious, rich, flavorful tea that I find particularly lovely in this recipe.

Cha cha chai

2006-02-10T12:04:00.000-06:00

Chai (3 min., 2005) A meditation on the making of homemade Chai tea. Made for Iowa City Microcinema's Video Race 2005, which required the inclusion of a plastic toy flute

somewhere in the movie. I'll let you figure out where it is.

Low Angles in Unrushed Time

2006-02-05T16:34:00.000-06:00

Low Angles in Unrushed Time (5:30, 2005) A journey through the banalities of the everyday existence of a cat, from his point of view. Thanks to Mr. Petersen.

Anna wants to sing a song, Christmas Eve, 1984

2006-02-01T11:34:00.000-06:00

"Kids Do Cartwheels," an original composition by Anna Proctor, age 7. A song that was the bane of my existence at age 10, but is now one of my very favorite sounds. I'll spare you the unbearable family rendition of "Jingle Bells," however. Audio only, 1:30.

Lost is found

2006-01-31T14:18:00.000-06:00

A story so unbelievable I must share it:

Aaron and I got married this past July. The night before our wedding, we had a great party--Texas-themed, of course--at the Mill in Iowa City. We drank, we danced, we hollered, we drank, we played practical jokes, and we drank some more. At the end of the night, my parents caught a cab back to the Alexis Park Inn to get some rest and enjoy the oddly wonderful paintings of airplanes that adorned the walls of their room.

Morning comes, and my mom discovers that her camera is missing. Her prized possession, the inspiration for much of her work as a printmaker, her "little child," as she calls it. We search everywhere, we hound Old Capital Cab, we investigate every nook and cranny, but it's gone, and all of the pictures from the previous night's festivites with it. We give it up for lost, and my mom, devasted, throws away her battery charger, her cables, all the vestiges of what once was, and returns home to California.

Flash forward to January--six months later. My mom receives a call from a guy named Dan, a driver for Old Capital Cab in Iowa City. He found a camera wedged in the seat of his van, and could it be hers? Two days later, Dan dropped it off to me, party pictures and all, having survived the worst of the Iowa summer and most of the winter. This shot is one of my favorites.