blog #6 storyboard imitation

This is a pivotal scene of Inception directed by the world renown Christopher Nolan.  Christopher Nolan is a director who very much pushes the line when it comes to vision.  As a director Nolan knew this scene was very important which is the number one reason why there are so many shots and cuts back and forth between Cobb and his children.  The 180 degree rule is not broken in this scene.  The camera never breaks the 180 degree line from where the center of action is occurring.  Nolan also follows the rule of thirds.  Nolan as a director has broken the rule of thirds but not in this particular scene.  As a director he never has the point of interest in the dead center of the shot.  Nolan did visually break up each shot into thirds accurately.  Nolan however does use limited space in some of the shots in this scene.  Nolan did follow the 30% rule, to avoid jump cuts.  As a director he did always make sure when he point of interest in different shots changed he followed the 30% rule.  The final shot is a wide pan shot from Cobb and his kids to the spinning top on the table.  This is a beautiful continuous shot and adds great effect and really leaves the viewer on the edge of their seats.  Overall the shots in this scene were well done by both Nolan and his director of photography.  The shots and framework done in this scene is perfect for the ending of such a well directed film.

blog #8 scene deconstruction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd7e1fXYIuM

   The theme in the movie The Silence of the Lambs is compensation for past failures.  The theme of the movie is best exemplified in this scene because Dr. Hannibal Lecter quizzes Clarice about her past and finally figures out why she is so dedicated in saving the victim of a serial killer.  The theme is shown to the audience in an active way even though many may not notice it, Hannibal clearly says to Clarice "Do you think if you saved Catherine, you could make them stop? Do you think, if Catherine lives, you won't wake up in the dark, ever again to the screaming of the lambs?"
  Movement in the scene best reinforces the theme of the movie.  The interaction between the two characters is what the scene is all about.  The camera movement back and forth from Clarice to Hannibal is what give the scene the suspense that drive the theme of the movie.  The last part of the scene when he simple movement of Hannibal giving Clarice the case file shows he knows her motive exactly, and that she is compensating her failure to save the lambs when she was younger to trying to save the victim of the serial killer.  The interaction between the characters is perfect example of tension and release.  The tension built up between them while Clarice is telling her story is almost too much to bare then the release of the case file at the end is timed perfectly giving the scene rhythm of first intense build up then quick release, which seems to add to the overall theme of the movie.  Also to add Hannibals obsession with Clarice is a way he compensates for being locked in a jail cell.

blog #7 animation deconstruction

     The two images I chose to analyze are from the ground breaking movie Fantasia.  The movie Fantasia is a series of different short animations set to famous Western classical music.  The first image I have chosen to analyze is from the short "Night on Bald Mountain".  It is about a devil like creature and its forces it has on a small town.  The hue or what is also known as actual color in the image are blue, black, and purple.  There is very little brightness in the image.  The little brightness or really darkness creates the mood of the short animation.  The evil creature is dark to represent he is obviously evil.  There is very little saturation of the colors.  The value of the colors is very dark and intense.  All the colors have a similar value.  The lighting in the first image is basically non-existent. There is some lighting surrounding the evil creature to create point of interest.  Besides the surrounding light the image is really in complete darkness and gives off a sense of darkness.  The lighting creates the mood which is scary. The evil creature terrorizes the villagers of the town.  There is no shadow in the first image.

    The second image is from the short animation "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" which features Mickey Mouse as an aspiring magician who over steps his limits.  The hues in the image are blue, red, and brown.  The colors are warmer than the colors in the first image.  The colors are bright and somewhat saturated.  The red and blue colors on Mickey Mouse really do stand out to the viewer causing him to be the point of interest through out the whole short animation.  The lighting in the image is directly on Mickey Mouse and it is very intense light, almost creating a spotlight on him.  The shadow on the ground coming from Mickey Mouse does create a sense of line towards the broom holding the buckets of water which creates some suspense in the scene.  The overall mood the image gives off is excitement and interest.  The difference between the two images is seriously like night and day.

blog #5 song deconstruction

 Song 1 "Mean" Taylor Swift-  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYa1eI1hpDE&ob=av2e

Song 2 "Enchanted" Taylor Swift-  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJpKQkzrJTo

Song 1 Listening Framework
Listening PHASE 1 Rhythm
Tempo-medium
Source-banjo and guitar
Groove-fun and breezy
Listening PHASE 2 Arrangement
Instrumentation-banjo, guitar, violin, tamborine
Structure/Organization-verse chorus verse 2 chorus verse 3 bridge chorus
Emotional Architecture- starts down and slow gets more upbeat as song progresses
Listening PHASE 3 Sound Quality
Height-high frequency
Width-balance
Depth-loud, lots of instruments
Song 2 Listening Framework
Listening PHASE 1 Rhythm
Tempo-slow
Source-guitar
Groove- calm,thoughtful,hopeful, almost nostalgic
Listening PHASE 2 Arrangement
Instrumentation-drums, electric guitar, bass, violin, and acoustic guitar
Structure/Organization-verse chorus verse 2 chorus bridge chorus bridge chorus
Emotional Architecture-starts out slow and progresses then slow then progresses to a ballad


I chose to analyze two songs by the artist Taylor Swift.  The song "Mean" and the song "Enchanted".  The song "Mean" is an upbeat fun song.  It is memorable because the lyrics are so simple and the instrumentation is very unique making it a very catchy song.  Knowing Taylor Swift this song is probably about a mean ex boy friend.  The song is very simple and has literal meaning.  The melody of the song is also catchy and what the listener carries around in their head while thinking about mean people in their lives'.  The rhythm is regular and consistent and the timbre is simple just adding again to the simplicity of the song.  The intensity is loud and the pitch is high.  The song "Enchanted" is similar to the song "Mean" because the melody is also very catchy and the lyrics are simple.  The musical quality is different in many ways.  The timbre is complex not simple.  The speed is definitely slower than "Mean" and the intensity is softer.  Taylor Swift is a young artist and most people say she has a lot to learn about producing music.  She is very simple with her lyrics and yes sometimes that is bad, but she is also very relatable which causes her listener population to like her even more.  I like Taylor Swift and both songs are fun to listen to at different times, but my favorite is "Enchanted".  I like the whole mystical sense it gives off and the mood it puts me in when I listen to it.  Even though the instrumentation is not very unique I like it better than the instrumentation in "Mean".  The elaborate sound quality it gives off is impessive to me.  I also like Taylor Swift's voice in "Enchanted" better because she is holding notes longer and it is definitely more of a ballad style song.  Even though normally I like upbeat breezy songs like "Mean" I am a sucker for any type of fairy tale.  The song "Enchanted" is describing a fairy tale.     

blog #4 reflections on sound design

FADE IN:

INT. KITCHEN, COBB AND MAL'S HOUSE - DAY

Cobb enters with Miles. Drops his bags. Moves to the table, looking out at the overgrown garden. He reaches into his pocket, takes out his pewter spinning top, lowers it to the table and SPINS IT- a CHILD'S SHOUT makes him look up-

Through the window, James and Philippa have run into view, playing, THEIR FACES TURNED AWAY... Cobb STARES at the back of his children's heads... Miles moves to the window and KNOCKS on the glass-

James and Philippa TURN- see their Dad. He steps to the window, watching their BRIGHT FACES SHINING as they run towards him...

Behind him, on the table, the spinning top is STILL SPINNING. AND-

FADE OUT.

blog #2 finding your howl

http://changethis.com/manifesto/51.01.YourHowl/pdf/51.01.YourHowl.pdf

The first story in "Finding Your Howl" is about a wolf named Mumon.  He lived in captivity and was released into the wild.  A problem was that he had forgotten how to howl.  Mumon gradually starts listening to his instincts and first kills a deer to eat.  Before he kills the deer, the deer tells Mumon when he is hungry enough for it his howl will come.  Mumon is put in a life or death situation his howl comes back to him and he is the leader of the wolf pack.  This basically means that to find our own howl we sometimes need to pay a price.  We need to sacrifice to find our own unique voice.

"When I was younger I believed there could be a quick escape and freedom was acces- sible to us so long as we were daring enough. But I learned over time that if we don’t live through our particular brand of prison all the way—our neurotic patterns, our fears, our disguises, our lack of faith, etc.—we are destined to repeat and re-create them regardless of what job, relationship, or circumstance we are in. It is better to stay right where we are and tunnel through the depths of it once and for all than to jump out in search of a new context right away—the old one follows us."(Johnathon Flaum)

     As a media student I feel I do not have an all time favorite quote, poem, story, or lyric.  I feed off of my mood and what I like at the current moment.  After reading "Finding Your Howl" by Johnathon Flaum I am feeling very moved and inspired.  So at the moment this is my favorite story and the above section is my favorite quote.  As a creative person I am realistic but also very emotional and I feed off of everything I absorb and form immediate opinions about what I absorbed.
     During grade school and high school I was a student who did not fully understand the purpose of school.  I would try to find short cuts, or the easy way out of everything.  I was the student who would talk out in class to the teacher and try to persuade him or her to shorten the assignment, make the quiz open note, or push back the day of the test.  To be honest when I was in high school I did respect authority but would mostly forget that a classroom was usually run by the teacher as a monarchy, not run like a democracy.  I really only ever fully never took short cuts when I was the program director of the cable station at my high school.  Media was really the only thing I cared about doing fully and completely.
     The quote I selected from "Finding Your Howl" speaks to me not only as a creative person but also as a young woman learning from life.  I have no trouble admitting that even though I am majoring in media I am not the most creative person at times.  I do however enjoy embracing creativity.  Working in the creative industry has its ups and downs.  As a creative person I have learned short cuts and avoiding things do not work out in the creative industry.  It is definitely harder to break into the media business than any other type of field.  I believe one has to fully know ones self before they are prepared for what media critics will throw at them.  I must be able to live through my own prison and deal with what I throw at myself before I am ready to handle what others think of me.  I am a person who has never had trouble spending time alone and learning from my own thoughts.  I find a person who can truly be alone and handle their own fears that he or she can grow as and handle anything.  I believe my creativity comes from two factors.  First I am influenced by an outside factor but then I spend time dealing with my crazy, neuroic thoughts and that is how I develop creative ideas.  I know I am my harshest critic.  I think this is true for everyone.  I continue to beat myself up and to puch myself so I accomplish what I want.   I  am a very passionate natured girl.  I have fears and as a creative girl those fears are people not liking any form of work I do.  If I put my heart and soul into something my biggest fear is people not liking my work.  I do not have a problem if people do not like me, it is my work that I care about liking.  
     Over the past several years I have really grown as a young woman.  I have made many mistakes and tortured myself over them.  Recently I made the biggest mistake of my life and I continue to critique myself.  I know if I do not learn from my mistakes then I will not grow as a person.  Johnathon Flaum is all about finding a unique voice, as a creative person that is my number one priority.   

     

   

blog #3 brainwashed

http://changethis.com/manifesto/66.01.Brainwashed/pdf/66.01.Brainwashed.pdf

Seth Godin references seven levers they are connect, be generous, make art, acknowledge the lizard, ship, fail, and learn.   Acknowledge the lizard is another way of saying we are scared to fail and break the rules.  It is the "resistance".  Artists believe this is what keeps people from actually creating.  Acknowledging the lizard is the first step in fighting the resistance.  Once we can acknowledge the lizard we can continue on and do our work. Be generous is doing something that in the short run might not benefit you but it benefits a greater cause which in return eventually benefits you and the whole economy.  Be generous is a way to make the economy work.  Learn is a way of saying we never really leave school.  As a human race we should continue learning and developing the ways we think and what we think.  We learn from experiencing life.

     Brainwashed by Seth Godin is a message about how when we are first born we are taught that being  average is a good thing, a way to keep the economy going.  But now this is not the case we need to think out side the box.  As a child I always wondered what was the point of going to school and learning things like the periodic table of elements, the Pythagorean theorem, or about the Vietnam War.  I thought school seemed pointless.  After reading what Seth Godin had to say I understand school is not really pointless but we are being taught wrong.  The world has evolved over the last ten years tremendously.  So has the fact that doing average in school and accomplishing the task of getting a job right out of college.  This simple fact is no longer a fact but now a misconception.  Godin is saying as a society we need to embrace this new world and start thinking in a new way, we should reinvent the way we work.
     As a college student majoring in media, I have started to look at the world differently.  The way I interact with people, how I watch things, and how I spend my time has all started to change.  As a person I have always been interested in media.  I grew up fascinated with movies and television.  I never really knew what I wanted to do but consistently always had a passion for media no matter what form it came in.  College has been an eye opening experience so far.  I feel as a college student who is already concerned about what I will do once I graduate, what Godin had to say really affected me.  I understand his seven levers and believe since the world is changing, reinventing the way people do work is a good thing.  Doing these blogs in class is a perfect example of how I have started to think differently.  I believe already I have grown as a student and an artist. I have already started to learn by doing these blogs.  I never saw myself as a blogger in high school but the more I learn to analyze and express my opinions the more I am glad I am experiencing blogging.  I whole-heartedly believe as humans we never leave school, meaning we never stop learning.  After reading Godin I see school as a state of mind more than a physical place.  Going to lecture and then having to do these blogs has taught me to expand on what I learn in class and continue to learn outside the class room.
     What Godin has said about reinventing the way we think and do is something I started as soon as I came to college.  I do not know if majoring in media has helped but I do know that these blogs have allowed me to start thinking differently.  Which is what reinventing is all about.  

           

blog #1 deconstructing characters

Black represents my character because this hero is well known as a vigilante.  As a super hero he punishes those who break the law.  Like most super heroes he hides his identity by wearing a disguise.  The black is a symbol of solitude.  As a super hero he has chosen to live a double life.  The one side of his character is that he is a regular citizen, but the other side is a secret part he chooses to keep to himself.  The black represents this man who punishes law breakers and prevents bad things from happening.  The black represents the part of himself that he keeps in the shadows.

This lighting is the perfect representation of my super hero character.  The light in this picture represents two different parts of time.  My super hero has a double identity.  During the day he has to portray his normal human persona.  At night as soon as the sunsets he turns into a being of the night.  Not only does dusk symbolize when the hero merges to act out his duties, but dusk is a symbol of his double personality.  The slpit between his normal citizen and a vigilante.  Also people view this super hero has the great light in times of darkness.  In the picture the whole sky is dark besides the sun and its blaring light.

The perfect shape for my character is a bat flying through the air.  My character wears a sleek black supersuit.  This suit allows him to fly through the air.  As he flies through the air he looks exactly like a bat.  Not just the obvious traits of a bat but the physical mannerisms as well.  The physical sleekness of my super hero is exactly like the sleekness of a bat.  When my super hero flies through the air he is not really flying he glides.  When his cape flies behind him he is exactly like a bat at night soaring through the sky.

Batman

This make up pallet represents my villain in many ways.  Physically my character wears colorful crazy clothing.  As a villain he paints his face similar to a circus clown.  His face has carved scars that make him look like he is always smiling.  This is important to his persona.  As a villain he is all about playing the character of a trickster.  The paint on his face is just another thing that adds to the craziness of his madness.  He also wears unique colorful clothing.  As a villain he represents chaos and madness.

The lighting I chose for my character is high contrast with little shadow.  This lighting describes my villain in a perfect way because as a villain he has a crazy versatile personality.  This lighting is very wacky and not sensible just like my villain.  As a villain he does not have a stable personality.  He uses his different personalities to affect his victims.  As a villain he also looks very unstable and has an "in your face" look.  He is very bold but usually all you remember about him is his face.    

This shape represents my villain in a very important way.  As a villain to create character and uniqueness  he carved his face to look like it is always smiling.  The lines in this shape represent his scarred face.  Even though the majority of the time the villain does not smile at all he jokes about being too serious, the shape represents him.  The curve of the half circle gives the character depth and as a villain my character has many personalities to his character.  The sharp edges of the top of the half circle display my characters mean and rigid personality.

  

Joker