I often find myself horribly irritated when forced to participate in group projects for classes. No matter how simple the project, it's always complicated by the single idea that you must work with other people... simultaneously. Considering all that comes with that idea - scheduling, difference in thoughts, communication - it's not a fun prospect.
So when three classmates and I were forced to get together and make something, I had very low expectations of what would come out of this project. And thus, Pterodactyl was born.... a quite palatable mash-up of a musician, photographer, actress-turned-screenwriter, and a filmmaker.
Contrary to my previous experience in group projects, the process was simple and uncomplicated. We could openly communicate our ideas, and draw inspiration from each other's chosen mediums and aesthetics. Our conceptual approaches aligned far more easily than ever expected, and we eventually landed on on a overall lightness and absurdity to the piece. We still hadn't quite planned out the final product in its entirety, we had a conceptual starting point. From there our ideas began to come
together, each step of the process coming organically and naturally. Together, we very possibly could have made a volcano erupt, or sent a rocket into orbit with our work. But alas, we decided to keep it simple and concise, and stick to what we each knew best.Once our creative energies sparked into fireworks, we had a fairly simple concept on our hands, that was both malleable and concrete. A combination of still photographs that were arranged and edited as a story, set to music. After infusing this concept with our own individual quirks and ideas, it came to life. The work of Pterodactyl became... The Bearhouse Effect... the story of a bored teddy bear expressed through a stop-motion style assembly of photographs and musical accompaniment. While disparate, our mediums became interdependent; without any one element of the process, our artwork would not be nearly as successful. The story, the photographs, the assembly, and the music all seemed to coalesce. Our flair for absurdity came out in the teddy bear's human expressions and his interest in the work of Kurt Vonnegut, yet the story also had accessibility. The product maintained a modern aesthetic while staying true to simple approaches. We may not have caused any natural disasters, but "The Bearhouse Effect" definitely exceed our own expectations.
And so, my friends, the Pterodactyl learned to fly, and did not just disprove a lifetime of negativity towards group assignments, but actually created a rather impressive piece of work...
"The Bearhouse Effect"
Written by Samantha Zyck
Photographed by Michael Lee
Edited by Meredith Upchurch
Music by Yusuke Watanbe
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