Monday, November 7, 2011

blog 8

http://changethis.com/


Brainwashed is simply a rant on the conformity of the world.  As many things before, it presents “layers” that, when conquered, will lead to success.  Seth Godin poses the thought that we are all blessed with lizard brainstems, which, true or not, posses us to hang our heads in defeat quite easily.  They advise us to fail when given the chance.  This is coincidently another layer… fail.  Failing not only encourages risks, it also tares down fear of failing.  Apparently failing causes art.  Which should be shipped.  Shipping is the key to success over competitors.   Being accessible and having product is a huge step past your lizard brain.



These blogs are roughly what you make of them.  There is no denying that full participation in these blogs demanded one to inadvertently apply the concepts we have learned in class.  There is no denying that nothing but experience and comfort with the subjects at hand can come from these assignments.  While the intentions of these assignments are good, the broad nature of the material detracts from intimacy with the projects.  Seth Godin is not necessarily lying with his layers.  They just aren’t a guarantee.   It’s ironic that the message he is trying to spread uses all the same mediums as those who “brainwash”.  His message is very ant conformist, yet it intends to persuade.  As largely ironic as it is, much like the blogs, if a full commitment is made, the outcome will be largely good.  Technically the experience gained from these blogs is a good thing, however a more engaging, and focused medium would have been better. Strangely enough, I feel that the creative process works well when approached from many angles.  Material created from the Godin approach will be raw and new.  It may be highly praised but not highly marketable.  If you follow a rigid creative process, and walk proven paths with proven formulas again, you may have a highly valuable product.  Chances are it wont be new, but art will be created nonetheless.  

blog 7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=dPNPQoIuRxw


The theme of the whole movie Johnson Family Reunion, as implied in the title, is caring about family.  Without a doubt, while humor may skew slightly mature at times, there is strong emphasis on the power of a respectable, devout family.  From start to finish, the scene goes from father son bonding, to sacrificing for family, to defusing tension, and finally cleaning up for “mom”.  The main binding force in the family, the father, is flung briefly through all antagonistic characteristics of his family.  Despite the flaws he manages to maintain his family, which he ultimately only cares about.  While this scene shows the theme as only slightly didactic, even possibly more passive, the movie is largely didactic.   







Like much of the movie, the scene has very minimal visual themes.  The emphasis is on unity as would be suggested by the visuals.  Most of the shots contain lines that show obvious affinity.  Rhythm and movement are easily distinguishable, and their intent is obvious.  Since most of the shots consist of close ups and medium shots, there is little shown on screen.  This is intended, as there is nothing to distract from the primary movement on screen. 
         Throughout the shots the only actual lines on the screen are the horizontal and vertical lines of the house and yard.  While humans are mostly curved lines, the clothes of the mom and dad were strictly linear.  These align nicely with the minimal background lines, pushing the feeling of unity.  The only virtual lines on screen are the actors addressing each other.  Again emphasizing importance on family.  The daughter, while in the family, is being portrayed antagonistically.  Her lines are very curved, in stark contrast to the rest of the scene.  Both her clothes and motion is in opposition of that already established.
         With motion in the scene very rigid, the daughter’s speed and quality is quickly noticeable.   She is constantly moving in very curved, rhythmic patterns.  Much of her actions feel wrong and out of place, as is intended.  Her speed is much faster than her parents, which also shows youth.  Tertiary movements only show emphasis on the Johnsons.  At no point does camera movement or cutting imply importance on anything outside of their vacation and being together.   Space is kept minimal as well as to not detract attention.  

Thursday, October 20, 2011

blog 6




The two images from SpongeBob Squarepants capture different moods with different techniques.  Both pictures use light and color to show motivation and meaning.  Both pictures have very little movement, but the point is emphasized nonetheless.  The subject and shot of both images is nearly identical as well.  Since the images are from the same show, the color pallet is nearly identical; the only difference is brightness and saturation.  However ridiculous the color scheme, the shade of yellow in both pictures tell of different moods.
            The first picture shows the subject lit from above with some intensity.  It suggests power and importance.  Spongebob is bright, the focus of not only the audience, but the fictional audience as well.  The background carries almost no brightness, giving depth and drawing no attention.  The sole shadow lies directly below the subject.  This eliminates the feeling of a skewed view and gives a scale of proportion.  The only perceivable movement in the picture is SpongeBob’s face.  Strong stance lines indicate a fixed pose.  Curved facial features however suggest movement and current motivation.  Along with the commanding lighting, emotional facial features show importance.  Surrounding this in red also calls attention to the matter.  There are strong parallel lines in the back.  This shows some urgency in the situation.  The entire context of the shot effectively conveys all aspects of the situation that matter to the audience. 
            The second picture makes good use of the rule of thirds.  There is much less saturation in the picture which gives it a softer feel.  The foreground is lit only slightly brighter then the back.  It appears to be early in the morning; colors do no appear to there fullest yet.  Strong lines indicate direction and intention.  Movement is absent from the picture however.  Light appears to be from the left, showing that the character is addressing not the light source itself, but rather what the light appears to be illuminating.  Unlike the first picture, moods seem to be less tense, rather joyous maybe.  Rather then urgency, we get a sense of hiatus.  The only driving force here is SpongeBob’s reaction.  Almost all straight lines are lined up by the rule of thirds, which cause the grouped curved lines of the subjects face to become the center focus for the shot, as should be.    

blog 5



The rooftop scene of The Room appears amateur due to lack of following the basic rules.  Both the rule of thirds, and the 30 degrees rule are broken often.  The 180 was not violated though, the scene remained mostly focused in a single direction.  The entire scene consists of a conversation between two talent.  There is little action in the scene aside from slow character movement.  The only motivation of the shots is to show dialogue and reactions.  The framing of the shots is too wide on character close ups, we never get a real sense of connection during the scene. 
            Often the medium to close shots centers the subject with horizontal lines through the middle.  Often the shots consist of half of one substance and half of another.  This creates less of a relationship with the screen then following the rule of thirds.  Since there are very defined lines within the set, it’s interesting that the rule is not used more often.  Only the wide shots effectively make use of the formula.  Since the scene is obviously trying to convey stress and confusion, the lack of emotional connection due to wide framing do an effective job of masking this. 
            The scene often is very close to jump cutting.  A true jump cut is never fully made, however pointless cutting often brings the same feel.  While the scene progresses, the shots vary from a 2 shot to a 1 shot and slightly different lengths but identical angles.  Had a full zoom been used the shots would not appear so abrupt and jolting.  This is executed successfully a few times to track character movement however.  While many cuts appear random, much of the conversation is tracked effectively.  What little action that happens throughout the scene is conveyed and never vague.  The director obvious was using multiple cameras in a set environment, so all of the movement is shot from one side of the scene.  This shows the spacing rather well.  

blog 4




 The Postal Service made a beautiful, emotional song out of Such Great Heights.  The cover, by Iron and Wine, is no less so.  The two songs attempt to capture a similar emotion, but go about it in very different ways.  Every aspect of the song is different, from tempo to arrangement.  The Postal Service has a much fuller sound, with more instruments.  The various sounds are mostly synthetic however, aside from the vocals.  The tempo is almost twice as fast as the cover, giving it a much peppier and younger feel.  The organization of the song is simply layers of sound added onto loops.  The melody of the song is almost fully driven by the lyrics because all other sounds are adding to the beat. 
            In Iron and Wine’s cover of Such Great Heights, the tempo is slowed dramatically.  Every texture is stripped, apart from the vocals and a single guitar.  The song maintains constant growing intensity, with no drastic jumps forward or back.  The shill highs and impossible lows are exchanged for a single driving melody, which also sets the rhythm and tempo.  The emotional architecture feels much greater, even though the songs been slowed and lessened.  The lyrics have greater intensity and a slightly more varying melody.  The timbre sounds less refined and smoky.  As a whole the song feels like it carries much more weight. 
            The song was written about undying, passionate love.  It has beautiful meaning and is emotionally manipulative.  The Postal service has a consistent upbeat tempo.  The result in a rushed feeling, not how true love should feel.  The lack of real instruments lacks the authentic feel as well emotional feel.  As a whole the piece feels oddly juvenile for a song about lifetime commitment.  The slow pacing of Sam Beams version feels more thought out and authentic, a sole man and his instrument singing of love.  The lack of percussion adds to the sincerity.  There is little to distract from the solemnity of the vocals.  The gradual build draws you in at an almost unperceivable rate.  While both versions of the song are amazing, the cover simply captures the sole of the song with much more success.   


LISTENING FRAMEWORK - Postal Service
(SIMPLIFIED)
LISTENING PHASE 1 (Rhythm)
Tempo [slow, medium, fast]
Fast
Source [where is the rhythm coming from?]
synthetic drums
Groove [describe how the personality of the rhythm]
energetic, emotional, happy
LISTENING PHASE 2 (Arrangement)
Instrumentation [which instruments drive the song?]
synthetic drums
Structure/Organization [how is the song built?  Order, patterns, etc.]
repetition with its beat, with layers added in during different parts
Emotional Architecture [Draw how the song build and drop?]
the song grows from start to finish
LISTENING PHASE 3 (Sound Quality)
Balance
- Height [high and low of frequency]
a constant low frequency is heard throughout
- Width [stereo panning left/right]
no panning
- Depth [layers of instruments - via loudness]
very loud, many sounds at some points

LISTENING FRAMEWORK - Iron and Wine
(SIMPLIFIED)
LISTENING PHASE 1 (Rhythm)
Tempo [slow, medium, fast]
Slow
Source [where is the rhythm coming from?]
strumming of guitar 
Groove [describe how the personality of the rhythm]
Slow and sincere, deep
LISTENING PHASE 2 (Arrangement)
Instrumentation [which instruments drive the song?]
Guitar
Structure/Organization [how is the song built?  Order, patterns, etc.]
Single instrument with one vocal
Emotional Architecture [Draw how the song build and drop?]
remains consistent until the end
LISTENING PHASE 3 (Sound Quality)
Balance
- Height [high and low of frequency]
does not vary greatly
- Width [stereo panning left/right]
no panning
- Depth [layers of instruments - via loudness]
2 sources of sound, soft and quiet

blog 3




This rooftop scene is horribly written and acted, and thusly very entertaining.  The scenes space and movement is very minimal, even though the scene lasts two minutes.  There is little character movement, and the emotion that is trying to be conveyed doesn’t work.  The voice acting voids all dialogue of emotion and motivation.  The scene doesn’t offer much space, only two seats and the corner of a rooftop.   The cameras do focus on the points of interest, however that is expected and is barely picked up on.   The characters movements seem awkward and scripted.  There appears to be no improvisation of familiarity with the script. 
            The time in the scene is also interesting.  The dialogue in the scene is short worded and quick.  The speed at which it is exchanged, and thusly the scene goes, is fast, however the location never changes and nothing seems accomplished, so the scene feels long.  This subjective time ultimately leaves a negative feeling towards the scene.  The characters are loosely introduced however.  We learn some back-story and motivations of the two main characters.  There is also mystery in the scene that foreshadows obvious plot points.  Camera shots are lackluster and basic; they focus where they need to when they need to. 








Nick Thomas wrote a story of fear and boundaries.  According to the author, it centered on a lion, which, no matter how hard he tries, cannot escape a cage.  He bounds from cage to cage, never once showing any success for his actions.  The story, however repetitive, has deep underlying meanings.  It shows someone who cannot accept himself and continuously shies away from the larger issue.   There is no progress or growth in the story, a forever doomed character.  The story contradicts nicely with Find Your Howl because of its opposite conclusions.  Mumon broke through his cage and grew to what he needed to be, while the lion could not.  



Paul Del Gesso
Eric Williams
MDIA 203
25 September 2011
“I did porn stars, I did drugs, I had my own TV show and then I did what all the people in America wish they could do - I told my boss to f*** off.  Then it was gone, in one fiery public flame out. And it was only when the smoke cleared, I realized just how lucky I am. Even after all that I still have a family that loves me. They have seen me in jail, they have seen me rushed to emergency rooms, they've seen me dragged to court, but seeing me on basic cable would kill them.  I am done with winning because I have already won. This roast may be over, but I'm Charlie Sheen. In here burns an internal fire.  I just have to remember to keep it away from a crack pipe.” Charlie Sheen

            The recent roast of Charlie Sheen lead to many laughs and memorable quotes.  The ending monologue however, by Charlie himself, was left echoing in my head.  The quote is much more motivating then creatively inspiring, however the motivation I feel is to be as creative as I can.  Charlie’s adult life is essentially summed up in one paragraph.   Under normal circumstances the majority of the text would be taken negatively, with harsh repercussions and hatred toward the speaker.
            Despite the negative connotation that quote has, the resounding feeling of the quote is success worthy of respect.  Such credibility has been given to Sheen because of his track record.  His life has been founded on the shoulders of people who are paid and recognized for their ability to be creative.  The work that is produced is so respected that it can raise people to alleged invincibility.  That alone, sounds rewarding enough to push me to new levels of creativity.  The potential stardom getting things right can produce inspires me.  I can only hope for such success in the creative world of motion pictures.  To cause people to overlook such “bad” without realizing it is a unique power.  By controlling the emotions of the public through creatively manipulating an actor to seem relatable and respectable, you have conquered the world.
            Another inspiring aspect of the quote is the underlying theme of money.  By referencing such luxuries like porn stars and drugs, Sheen is hinting to his fortune.  Having a TV show and movies under your belt obviously amasses good amounts of money.  Finding success in the industry through creativity has its amazing financial benefits.  My ultimate hopes in life are to become both recognized and wealthy.  To write successfully, amazing creativity needs to be applied.  The reward appears to be well worth the risk, which helps motivate me in innovative ways.  Even better, as Charlie later points out, working for network has exponentially more money in it, making basic cable not meet his standards.  The chance to create a premise and work for network requires ingenuity and merit.  The quote speaks to me in a way that says being creative for network (e.g. Sheen’s boss) sequesters so much capital that firing the highest paid and most watched man on television isn’t even a financial problem.  
            Being renowned for your ability to entertain apparently allows crazy lifestyles to be lived almost repercussion free.  The chance to have so much fun without being judged negatively seems almost too good to be true.  The lifestyle is normally never worth the risk.  To reverse this to the point where it seems almost required seems intriguing.  Carefree fun, no matter how crazy, appeals to me deeply, but only with deserved success seems possible. 
            All of these best-case scenarios drive me to be as creatively successful as I can.  I want to be recognized and admired for my ability to tell a story.  The money that is attached to that also speaks motivationally to me.  I hope to have recognition combined with wealth one day, as an ultimate goal.  If these things can be achieved, the lifestyle that can come along side is an added bonus.  After hearing this, I want to strive to be as creative as I can.  

Wednesday, September 14, 2011


Antagonist: NightMan

Color:
a-clockwork-orange-3-1024.jpg

These colors represent the antagonist’s feelings and style.  He lives in the shadows, symbolized by the black.  His shady and deceptive lifestyle is also found within the color black.  The color white shows he is swift and deadly.  It also contrasts nicely with black to show Night Man is complex and twisted.  Orange shows the character has color to him, but nothing memorable or noticeable.  The sunset also has an orange glow, showing that the passing from light to dark is when Night Man comes out.  Together the colors reveal sick man with an untrustworthy exterior, if you can find him. 

Light:
dark-room-light-through-window-hunched-man1.jpg

This ambiguous lighting symbolizes Night Man perfectly.  The character is at home in the dark.  He is an untrustworthy antagonist covered in darkness and mystery.  The picture shows that even in some light, the Night Man is barely visible.  He is a recluse and a coward.  We can find him moping around in the shadows, delusional with sadness.  Physical features are rarely reveled, and his spottings are few and far between.  Night Man does his work as if he was never there.  His prey rarely suspects him coming.  When daylights out he is nowhere to be found, just like his victims.

Shape:
snakey.png

Night Man is serpentine, long, and slippery.  Deception and evasion is his game, which is very noticeable in his snakelike exterior.  He is long and traitorous; no one would mistake his curvy, tapering shape as a trustworthy, sane human.  Even his thin figure would suggest his elusive behaviors.  He is a recluse, a creepy, awkward character with no friends and followers.  His shape helps his move silently though the night, from victim to victim.  His speed leaves nothing but a long glisten if people happen to catch a glimpse of him.  While his elongated exterior would infer a weak body, his speed more then makes up for it.

Protagonist: Mr. Freezer

Color:
33213.jpg 
Mr. Freezer's defining characteristic is his ability to cool objects to freezing levels.  This is easily visible in his color pattern.  Blue and green typically feel very cold and crisp.  White, when mixed with the blue feels the coldest of all, as if it were ice.  His colors together make an distinguishably chilly hero.  Green and blue also carry very comforting feels.  They naturally soothe and feel welcoming, just as Mr. Freezer himself.  Opposite of Night Man, the hero seems bright and visible.  Mr. Freezer is not here to blend in or shy away.  He may  be slightly large and slow, but his appearance is friendly.  

Light:
Abstract_Blue_Light.jpg

Mr. Freeze never hides in the dark.  He basks in light where ever he goes, mostly because he naturally glows.  The color of his glow, like the picture, is blue.  While he creates light, it feels cold and blue.  His light is powerful and commanding,  his presence makes a room glow with complacence.  When in the daylight. Mr. Freezer seems like a strong presence.  He radiates friendliness, as is evident in his soft aura.  Since he is a natural good, the light also symbolizes this.  No man with evil intentions could even bask in such light.

Shape:
prints.aspx.jpg

Like the object in the picture, Mr. Freezer is large and commanding.  The square represents his power and might.  Also as suggested, he is slow.  Not only does he move rather slowly, but he thinks things through to make sure he does them right.  The square symbolizes  wisdom, four equal parts working together.  He has no weak point and is not easily deterred.  His size is unmatched, yet despite that he appears friendly.  His great strength makes up for his lack of speed.  Slow and steady wins the pace in Mr. Freezer's book.