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.