COVID: Premiere

Posted on by Thor

The film, COVID had it’s premiere at Fringe this year in the visual artists area. I had screened a film several years ago and that screening happened in the outdoor tent behind the Shakes. In my Facebook invite that is where I directed people. I got to the outdoor tent about half an hour before the screening began. It was surprisingly light outside but I started blocking in my sketch, thinking I would sketch the audience as they arrived.

I was still blocking in my sketch in pencil when I began to realize that the movie screen had not been set up yet. Pam and several friends arrived. And Pam decided to go in the shakes and figure out where the screening was happening. Andy Matchett, who wrote the amazing single that is the basis of the short, showed up and we went inside together to see if the screening was indeed inside.

The screening was actually in the round planetarium room which was being used for visual Fringe. There was a full crowd. I realized that I didn’t have the time to complete a sketch, so I sat and relaxed for the show. The pencil sketch I had started is under the sketch I have posted here. I didn’t have an erased so it can be seen faintly underneath this quickly executed sketch.

Most of the seats were taken so we sat at the kids table to watch which was separated from the main audience. Since chairs had run out a comfy recliner was pulled away from the wall and I offered it to Andy. He deserved it since his music is amazing and the show Key of E had premiered at Fringe 10 years prior. The singe I built the short around is “I just Can’t Wait (for the game to end)” and every word feels like it is about the COVID pandemic and a desire to return to normal. The song was written in 2013 but it feels like it was written in 2020 or today. I consider Andy a profit, though he hates for me to say that.

My film COVID was the only one that required a warning in case people wanted to shield themselves from the reality I was showcasing. After the screening we went to the outdoor beer tent. I was masked all night except for the moments I was downing a Hefferweisen beer. Being unmasked I was calculating wind directions and my distances from others. I usually insist on 22 feet of distance but that distance broke long enough for me to drink the beer and try the schnitzel. Pam went to order some schnitzel and in the time she was getting that I finished this sketch. I realized that I had left my pen at home, so this sketch was done with a colored pencil.

Before I finished the sketch, a singer in a captains cap and a uniform came over and asked if I was Thor. He thanked me for the work I had done for the opera in the past and he was glad I was out sketching theater on location again. It was nice to sketch live theater again but it is exhausting navigating in a world where people think the pandemic is over and I know the pandemic is far from over. A black N-95 is now a part of my everyday sketch uniform.

 

COVID: Shot 8

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Shot 8 shows Fun Spot which refused to close its doors when the pandemic hit hard. They put out some hand sanitizer stations and called it a day. For those who aren’t aware, COVID is airborne, it floats through the air like smoke waiting to be inhaled to infect a new host. Sanitizer is a nice gesture but it does not stop an airborne virus.

This shot was created with landscape mode of VoluMax Pro 7. I then re did the shot using a depth map for the background and separate layers of each group of hazmat workers. The challenge then became to keep the workers solidly placed on the ground. It took some work to get that right.

Things never got quite this bad in Orlando but with well over one million deaths in America, I wasn’t far off the mark in the paintings I produced in the first weeks. According to USA Facts,  Orlando Florida has had 88,288 COVID deaths so far and that number continues to grow. Where are they all buried? Someone dies about every three minutes from COVID.

Americans have been duped into accepting mass infection. They can accept the risk of infection as no worse than a possible auto accident. However with an auto, you at least can wear a seat belt and steer clear of oncoming traffic. There is no steering clear of COVID when literally no one masks.\

 

I am starting to enter this film in Film Festivals. I have come to realize that it is a film no one wants to see. I therefor have to pay festival entry fees to get an audience to see it.

 

Arts and Culture Procession

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COVID is taking a toll on arts and culture. It seems like every day there is news of another musician canceling their tour due to “illness.” The C word is never mentioned. I have heard that performers and athletes are forbidden by contract from mentioning if they are infected with COVID.

Michael Osterholm, a notable talking head in the pandemic scene was taking every precaution against infection. If he had a gathering of friends at his home, everyone would need to be tested beforehand. He masked everywhere but decided life needed to return to normal in some sense. He decided to got to a Bruce Springsteen concert. He was one of the few people in the stadium wearing an N95 mask. The next week on his COVID podcast he announced that he had been infected. He attributed the possible moment of infection to a brief elevator ride. Now he is fatigued and suffering from Long COVID.

The Rolling Stones announced on June 13, 2022 that it was postponing that evening’s show after front man Mick Jagger tested positive. The rockers noted that Jagger was “experiencing symptoms of COVID” after arriving at the Johan Cruijff Arena.

Elton John, announced January25, 2023 that he was postponing the Dallas dates of his farewell tour after contracting the virus. He shared in his Instagram stories: “Hi everyone, wanted to send a message to let you know that I have contracted COVID and so have had to reschedule my shows in Dallas.”

Adele shared a tearful video Jan. 20 in which she announced that she was postponing her Las Vegas residency, which was scheduled to kick off the following day. “I’m so sorry, but my show ain’t ready,” she said. “We’ve tried absolutely everything that we can to pull it together in time and for it to be good enough for you, but we’ve been absolutely destroyed by delivery delays and COVID. Half my crew, half my team are down with COVID. They still are. And it’s been impossible to finish the show.”

After her appearance at the Met Gala, Lizzo had to cancel her Montreal Concert due to “health concerns.” As she said, “I had a sore throat last night and a headache and went to bed,” Lizzo remained apologetic throughout the video “I woke up this morning, and my body is weak, and I have chills, and my head hurts. Normally, if it’s just a cold, I’d shower, I’d eat, take some medicine, and it gets better. But this is getting worse.” She was later diagnosed with strep which has been surging after COVID infections deplete the immune system.

A 21 year old Keyontae Johnson collapsed on the basketball court after his bout with COVID. He was rushed to the hospital in critical but stable condition. Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin, 24, collapsed during a game on Jan. 2 in front of millions of TV viewers. He has since been discharged from the hospital to recover at home. It is not yet known why his heart stopped, but experts say Hamlin’s cardiac arrest was likely caused by an arrhythmia following a blow to his chest. For people who have had COVID-19, lingering COVID-19 heart problems can complicate their recovery.

Sam Smith issued the following statement after walking off the stage mid-concert in Manchester… I don’t know what to say honestly. I fought off a virus a few weeks ago and since then we have traveled across Europe and had such incredible shows. Today in soundcheck I felt fine and was excited to give Manchester an amazing show tonight. During the first song, I noticed something wrong with my voice. I prayed it was just my voice waking up for the show but into the forth song I could feel something was really wrong. I came off stage and tried everything to get my voice back in gear but it won’t. I am honestly heartbroken I couldn’t finish the show tonight for you all. I love you all. I’m Sorry.

Part of the new normal now as well is watching speakers drop unexpectedly while on stage. I shouldn’t have to say this, but this isn’t normal.

COVID: Shot 7

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In the first weeks of the pandemic people rushed to the store to hoard toilet paper and fist fights broke out in the aisles. Videos of fights broke out all over social media. Of all the survival needs this seems to be the most mundane.

This was the first shot in the film that used a fast paced zoom transition that I used for the remainder of the film. This effect at first was done by zooming in 75% each time. The timing of that zoom was consistent over time but very quick. After the whole film was edited together I abandoned that technique and instead used adjustment layers to create a transition that ramped up to happen super quick.

Most of the shots would involve a quick zoom in a settle and then zoom in again. This gave each shot the impression that they were part of a much bigger scene. I listened to the whole soundtrack and put down beats on the timeline by pressing the M key on the keyboard. Each shot would last for one or two beats at most.

The pandemic rushed towards us at an insane pace with some crazy story popping up each day. The pandemic continues with a person dying from COVID every 3 minutes but the media has become complicitly silent. The only way Joe Biden can get re-elected is if the country believes the war against COVID is over. Over 700,000 Americans have died since Biden became president but that is never discussed.

I have come to realize that what I have created is a film that no one wants to see. In the rush to return to normal, the nation has suffered a complete amnesia of what has happened and is still happening today.I offer harsh realities but people prefer false hope and denial.

COVID: Shot 6

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Shot 6 was the first time I tried using Volumax Pro 7 Smart to try and get some sense of a third dimension to the monkey. I drew depth maps with a pen tool and adjusted the 4 or so layers I creates to that the hand was light and things grew darker moving back. I then painted the mouth to be darker to get some depth. The effect is subtle but it is there. I can see the teeth turn obsessionally as the monkey screams.

I used Volumax Ai to create a depth map for the background monkeys and then moved each of the hands separately. I doubt people notice all the hand movements but they should get a general sens of chaos. By this time I was used to animating breath and COVID spatter using positioning and scale. As each shot progresses the breath expands and the spatter moves with it. Each painting has a different way of visualizing breath. I must have used every color of the rainbow in visualizing how airborne COVID floats through the air like smoke.

The public was lead to believe that the virus could only spread 6 feet but it can travel so much further. My general rule of thumb has been to mask up if I get within 22 feet of anyone else. That applies inside and outside.

For the first time I am paying attention to how many times this film has been seen. I am disappointed since the day before I posted this online a woman posed a video of her singing a song about masking. That video had 80,000 views on the first day. This film has only been seen several hundred times. I don’t understand how ti use social media. I don’t think I ever will. I knew people didn’t want to be reminded of what has happened and what is still happening. Oh well, I need to muster up the courage to keep creating.

You can see the full COVID film here.

 

COVID: Shot 5

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I was amazed at how quickly mass gathering for sports became the norm. COVID infected players can literally have their hearts explode and collapse on the field and the fans still cheer. Entitled players were some of the first to express their ignorance about vaccines and the virus. Positive roll models are rare. Most celebrities are required by contract to hide their COVID infections. Bruce Springsteen and a rash of other musicians are forced to cancel concerts due to a mystery illness. Don’t think I am bashing Bruce because I respect him also canceling a concert to protest North Carolina’s newly signed anti-gay bill.

COVID-19 has hit the Giro bicycle race hard. 16 riders to date have headed home after falling ill with the virus, which returned in the peloton in the weeks leading up to the race. This seems to be the new normal with athletes and performers dropping like flies.

This shot was completed like the previous shots with each row of audience members isolated by erasing around them and touching up areas that might usually be hidden. I did try and animate each layer to get the effect but that didn’t result in a natural movement. Stacking them three dimensionally and moving the camera gave the the natural movement I needed.

When played at speed in the film, no one has the time to pick out all the subtle details in each shot. Each scene happens in quick succession much as the pandemic itself unfolds like a freight train on a collision course.

The entire COVID film is now viral on youTube. You can see the entire film here.

 

COVID: Shot 2

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This is the first shot I created in the film. It was used as a way to learn how to use Adobe After Effects. I had to separate the sheep into four separate layers going back in space. I did this in my painting program in my by isolating each layer using a pen tool in Photoshop.

For instance the black sheep and the four or so sheep in the foreground were separated by using a pen tool in Photoshop. I later abandoned the pen tool preferring to simply erase what I didn’t need to see. I think I did this shot twice. The first time was done entirely in Photoshop by allowing the program to sort of expand the image behind foreground layers. I wasn’t satisfied with the computers, choices to create a sort of hint of what is behind each layer. I much preferred to paint this myself by hand. I t gave me more control to imply what the background sheep might look like behind the foreground sheep.

I learned a lot from doing and re-doing this one shot. I chose this shot since the soundtrack sounded a bit like a sheep baaaahhing.

I imported the layers into Premiere Pro the first time and moved them to try and get a feeling of three dimensions as the camera moved in. I wasn’t satisfied with the result. I ended up re-importing the layers into After Effects and effectively created a three dimensional diorama. The animating was then just done by moving the camera. I learned as I proceeded. I knew what I wanted to accomplish and had to watch youTube videos to accomplish each task.

I discovered I could animate the breath and spatters separately. If I ever go back into this shot I would move those two elements more. I got more liberal with animating breath as I got into the next shots. Do people notice? Probably not, so for now I am leaving it as it is. With over 200 shots, I am always agonizing about whether I should keep nitpicking each shot.

See the full COVID film here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQWz4umY4QA

COVID: Shot 1

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The COVID film editing did not begin from shot 1 and proceed in a linear manner. I scoured three years of illustrations and began picking out images that worked with the lyrics to Andy Matchett’s, song “Just Can’t Wait (For the Game to End)” from his apocalyptic rock musical Key of E. The idea for the film was sparked when @IamPoliticsGirl posted on March 24, 2023 a TicToc video on Twitter that was set to the music of Billy Joel‘s “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” Digital Resonator used AI to create each fast paced image which appeared three dimensional. I figure I could used the same effect to pace my images to Andy’s apocalyptic music. You never know where inspiration will come from.

I had used depth maps on a few of my illustrations I posed on Facebook and I liked the effect. There had to be a way to do something similar and edit the images together to create the film. I had Photoshop and After Effects. I needed a filter to create depth maps for each shot. I searched the internet for several night and settled on VoluMax Pro 7 to do the job.

This opening shot was done with Volumax Pro 7 using the auto depth map feature. The illustration was imported into Photoshop and a script added to the actions menu created a button which automatically creates a black and white depth map. I moved a camera from left to right to get the parallax effect and was done.

For the opening shot I originally I had a shot of ground zero from 9/11. A globe shape sculpture was half destroyed by the collapsing towers. That sculpture was repainted to look like the virus as workers gathered around it. Over that scene I had the tile zoom in quickly and expand then zoom over the camera.  I liked it but the image above is far simpler and straight forward. The 9/11 image was cut and  hit the editing floor.

See the full COVID film here.

COVID Blizzard

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This phase of the pandemic feels like a blizzard with all data being abandoned and facts being downplayed and obfuscated. A blizzard in itself is not deadly, it is disorienting since you can’t see hour hand in front of your face. Pandemic era support programs have become a thing of the past. Everyone is on their own as COVID treatments will become commercialized. New quack remedies will hit the shelves as no effort is being put into improving air quality and masks.

The Census Bureau reported last year that COVID relief efforts and others sharply reduced childhood poverty. But these programs have now expired.

America is flying blind. Those who claim, “We have the tools”, are lying. With new variants, those tools are being knocked off one by one. Monoclonal antibodies no longer work against the newest variants. Testing has ceased and at home testing isn’t working well to detect the new variants. Most people don’t even know they have COVID when they are knocked off their feet for a week.

The initial infection might be “Mild” but COVID hardens the arteries and is causing blood clots and heart attacks weeks after recovery. COVID is a level 3 bio hazard more akin to HIV that a cold or the flu. President Biden ran on a platform where he claimed he would handle the pandemic. He has instead overseen 700,000 COVID deaths. Within months of taking office he declared victory over COVID and suggested everyone press together for July4th celebrations. It turned out being vaccinated does not stop infections from happening. Sending at home tests effectively made COVID cases disappear since any at home tests were not reported.

Airborne

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One of the early mistakes made in public health messaging early on in the pandemic was that washing your hand and using hand sanitizer could stop an airborne virus. Even hospitals today are abandoning masks and indoor HEPA filtration and feel they are keeping their patients safe but washing their hands and disinfecting surfaces. Don’t get me wrong, washing your hands is good but it doesn’t stop an airborne virus from infecting you. In the illustration one guy is wearing a mask but it is a surgical mask which isn’t as effective as an N-95.

Navigating the world in which everyone has abandoned masks and all health safety measures is going to be a challenge. I remain a COVID virgin but that will become more difficult as I mingle more. Another advantage of masking is that it keeps me from touching my face.

Like many people, we used disinfecting wipes on groceries before putting them away in the early days of the pandemic. That practice has stopped but we still use the wipes instead of a rag to wipe down counters. The thing that I refuse to abandon is masking with an n-95 mask indoors and in crowds. I don’t care what people think of me and honestly, I look good in a mask. It focuses attention on my blue eyes.

Other things that should become common practice to help the spread of the virus include,

  • Get vaccinated. (I am amazed at how many refuse to get the jab.)
  • Minimize time in poorly ventilated spaces. (We now use a HEPA filter at home and at work.)
  • Cough and sneeze into your elbow or a tissue, not your hand.

The CDC website has many pages on the importance of hand washing. It was not until recently that they finally admitted that COVID is airborne and can travel long distances like smoke. The six foot rule from early in the pandemic was a farce. All those plexiglass barriers that went up in fast foot restaurants and stores were also a farce.

Twice the virus got into our home and both times I managed to evade infection by wearing a mask and straying close to a HEPA filter. I now survey the air filtration in any room I enter and will position myself near an open door or window whenever possible.

So you should wash your hands and clean surfaces but don’t think that is preventing an airborne virus from infecting you. Clean the air you breath by masking and using air filtration.