12/2011

My First Pregnancy may have a second life! One of my earliest ideas for this piece was a hopeful future of a traveling exhibit to colleges and universities, even high schools across the U.S. Thus far this may be a reality folks, I've been in contact with local OBGYN Dr. Cecilia Hann, who is in full support of My First Pregnancy as an educational tool that is seriously needed in today's public health education (so much that her clinic is donating $500! She also thinks I should write to Oprah). What does this mean for the piece? Lots of funding, sponsor, and marketing possibilities. This is one of my focuses over the break so I will definitely keep you posted on what goes down.

Welcome new Team Members!
I met with some super duper folks this semester who are excited to work with us on the project and we are so lucky to have their talents. :)
Leah Olbrich - Puppetry
Jenee Jernigan - Graphic Design
Emily Mae Heller - Production Management
Elizabeth Eggert - Technical Direction
Jaime Tan - Experimental Animation
Dr. Cecilia Hann - OBGYN, Valencia OBGYN Associates

Fundraising & Marketing
The first part of the break I'm dedicating to hitting up folks for money so My First Pregnancy can look and work its best. I have a former colleague from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln Communications Department, Kim Hachiya on stand-by to help put together a press and media kit for My First Pregnancy to help gain sponsorship, financial support and buzz. :)

The Ride
*Episode breakdowns, designs & ideas*
My First Pregnancy the Ride is coming along but still needs a lot of attention. The uber talented Sara Pocock is offering a slice of animation for Episode 1 "Pre-Prenatal" and Evelyn Ellias our fearless(?) Scenic Designer and I have been racking our brains all semester to think of ways we can translate my story into a physical dark ride. I've thrown out a couple of designs her way which you can see on THE RIDE page.
Also I've been able to break down the final episodic structure into 6/7 sections they are:
Episode 1 - "Pre-Prenatal"
Episode 2 - "The Evangelist Witch Doctor Clinic"
Episode 3 - "The Long Road Ahead"
Episode 4 - "In the Land of Beer and Coffee and Not a Drop to Drink"
Episode 5 - "To Begin Again in L.A." **
Episode 6 - "The Home Stretch"**
Episode 7 - "L&D (Labor and Delivery)"
**5 and 6 may be combined

Each episode has a short description on the website which you can read here:
We still plan to have actors acting like animatronic robots which the amazing Leah Olbrich has offered her insight on making latex masks of Jeremiah and my faces for the actors to wear!! The possibilities are soooo creepy cool. :D

The Stations
The stations are coming along technically and now need some aesthetic attention to their display setup, which our other fearless(?) technical director Elizabeth Eggert is excited to take a stab at. Also the wonderful graphic designer and mother herself Jenee Jernigan will be concepting designs for our logo, and sign displays for the unique interactive stations.

*Magic Mirror & Baby as Fruit/Vegetable - Documentation videos and display concepts up on the website*
Some of you were able to make my MFA 3 Experimental Animation Show in November and witnessed first hand the Magic Mirror and the Baby as Fruit/Vegetable pieces, thanks so much for your thoughts and excitement about them. I got some great feedback that was super encouraging... we're on the right track! I've added documentation from the show to the site as well as the latest quick sketches I've made for these two pieces here:

*Pregnant Appendage - Hacked doll*
The Pregnant Appendage has officially gotten underway! I now have a creepy doll that the wonderful and super talented David Casey helped me hack so it can now respond to touch and next semester we will work again to get it setup with a mic sensor so it will also respond to sound. Angela Ursetta in the costume department has thrown her hat in to help me create the soft fabric surroundings of the appendage. :)

*What Can I Eat? - New physical game setup*
The What Can I Eat? (working title) game is planned for development next semester in Unity 3D! I took a class this semester in the program and aside from it being a pretty amazing application I also was introduced/re-introduced to some great minds in the class including our already eager member Vincent Tang as well as Tyler Scroggins and Melody Yenn as well as others who would be down to help work out the game.
As of now the latest concept for the game is a physical dinner table where the players sit at screens embedded in the table and either as a group or individually race the clock to decide what on the menu they could eat if they were pregnant. Each chair is styled as a different type of restaurant perhaps?

Needs

*Team Members projected involvement schedules*
Brass tax here. Please let me know what and when you are most able to help on the project. It's getting down to a few months off and we need to know as much as we can to plan out our development. Obviously I want to make sure folks can use this project to try something new so make sure to inform me on when you want to get your hands dirty. This may also include the break... I will be here throughout minus a week away Jan.4-11th to good ol' Nebraska.

*More Voice Over for stations*
If you are someone you know may want to record some VO please let me know. I'm looking for a mix of voices for the Mirror, Fruit/Veg babies, and maybe the game. I have scripts for the Fruit/Veg. The mirror scripts are getting looked over by Dr. Hann now. (they need to be condensed for time)

*Worker Bees for setup*
If you would like to be on call for the setup of the Black and White definitely let me know. As of now we don't have a finalized week but we are shooting for March/early April. UNLESS we are able to get it into the New Works Festival which is April/May. The plan will be more concrete by January. (hopefully)

Coming Soon
Logo, signage, and possible patterns from the lovely Jenee Jernigan
3D model of Black and White layout
Research from Amusement Park trips this week!