A few weeks ago we welcomed Cameron Knox, a local film screener and artist, as our current Maker in Residence. He’s currently working towards his goal of producing a 60 second short film exploring the “magnitude and brevity of the human gene” via the tools we have at the shop. Read on to see what he’s been up to and be sure to introduce yourself when you see him in the shop!
Test, Test, and Test Again
That’s what we teach you to do when you learn to use a new material in our laser checkout class, and that’s exactly what Cameron and Leena (one of our newest team members!) are doing right here. Cameron is hoping to engrave on cardstock with a wood grain pattern to give the appearance of wood without some of the limitations of our standard 1/8” Baltic birch. If you’ve ever worked with paper in the laser, you know this delicate process can take quite a while to get right. But, thanks to Leena’s expertise, they were able to find the optimal settings in record time!
Watch the laser in action as Cameron and Leena test the speed and power of their rastering! Despite not being much thicker than standard printer paper, this lightweight cardstock engraves surprisingly well.
One frame at a time.
Once he nailed down the settings, Cameron got to work on engraving test images for his film. A series of these stills will combine with a bit of movie magic to tell a short story about humanity.
Progress is happening!
Keep checking back with us for more updates as Cameron continues to hone his laser skills and develop his film. For a chance to learn more about the film making process, be sure to join us on Friday, June 9th at 2:00pm. Cameron will be giving a free presentation on Lighting: The Most Important Aspect of Filming. Check out our events page for more info—we can’t wait to see you there!
Much appreciation to Zingerman's Mail Order for their generous support of our Maker in Residence program!