Blog 9: Freak Factor

Read David Rendall's Freak Factor

 http://changethis.com/

David Rendall says we should ask ourselves what our apparent problems or weaknesses are. However, he does not say to change or fix your issues, but to use the clues to help discover your true strengths. He believes everyone should know there is nothing wrong with you, you find success when you find the right fit, and weaknesses make you different from everyone else. I believe his idea to be valid because no one should be put down for the way they are, and no one should be forced to change. Just because people are different does not mean they are any less of a person. Some people like to tell others how they need to change themselves, but in reality the people telling others how to change are the ones who need a change. I myself fall to putting myself down when it comes to my weaknesses because I might see an issue within myself and instead of using it to my advantage, I will try to change it. In order to implement it into my creative life, I should tell myself that my weaknesses are who I am and I do not need to change for anyone. Everyone should believe this because people are too concerned with conforming to what other people believe to be how life should be lived. This could help my creative life by allowing me to create art in times when I feel I have a weakness, but in reality those are times when I should feel strengthened.

David Rendall says we should not try to fix our weaknesses. He believes it is difficult to make progress in this area, we don't enjoy it, it distracts us from finding fulfillment, and it does not work in the end. I believe his idea is valid. When I have tried to change myself, I have noticed that I do not enjoy the experience at all. It does not make me happy, and ultimately it does not work. That's the main thing, that it does not work. In the end, when people try to change, it usually ends up failing because people really do not want to change for someone else's benefit. In order to implement this into my creative life, I could stop trying to change who I am and focus on my strengths instead. I may not be the best at everything I attempt, but it does not mean I should not try when it comes to being creative. If everyone stopped looking at their weaknesses and focused on their strengths, this world might be a little less judgemental. People are too concerned with putting each other down rather than focusing on what is important in life. It is something that needs to change on a global level. This would cause the entire world to be more caring and in the end, people would be happier because there would not be a constant issue of trying to conform. People would look out for each other for once rather than only themselves.

David Rendall says in order to put your quirks to work, you must engage and find your true your freak factor. He says this can be done by increasing your energy efficiency, engaging in permanent procrastination, finding people who are strong where you are weak, and finding the freak in others. I believe his suggestions to be valid, with the first one being valid because it is important to put yourself into situations that focus on your efficiency to better yourself. Permanently procrastinating in activities you do not like allow you to focus on ones you do, which shows your true strengths. Finding people who complement you allow you to get  the work done and have some fun in the process. Finding the unique things in others allow you to find your uniqueness at the same time. I could implement these ideas in my own creative life by mainly not doing things that I do not want to do, because ultimately those things are not going to be good in the end when it comes to being more creative. Also, looking at the unique aspects of others could really help me in collaborating on ideas with other people. By increasing my efficiency by focusing on what I want to focus on, I could even find more strengths I did not even know I had. Being around those who are strong where I am weak will also allow me to improve upon my weaknesses probably without even realizing it is happening.

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My strengths as far as the creative process is concerned is being able to produce creative things or ideas when I am on a time crunch. I have found when I push things to the last minute, it allows me to be more creative and really push out something good in the end. However, this is also a weakness for me. Because I am such a procrastinator, I push things off for too long and this causes me to panic. I need to be able to find a balance to really be able to produce more creative work. Another strength is being able to accept what I create for what it is. I have found that I am not too judgmental on my creations because in the end, creating something is meant to be fun and not make you feel bad about your abilities. Another weakness of mine is at times focusing too much on the details when I need to be looking more towards the overall goal. This can be negative because it wastes time for something that does not need to be focused on at that type of level. Oppositely, at times I look too much at the overall goal than the particulars which causes the creative piece to be sloppy. I need to be able to find a balance between both concepts to be able to make my creative process more efficient. However, I am who I am and I should not try to change myself according to Rendall's manifesto. And he is right. Why should I change just because of a few weaknesses?

Blog 8:Brainwashed

Read Seth Godin's "Brainwashed"

http://changethis.com/ 

Seth Godin talks about reinventing yourself by acknowledging the lizard. It is important to acknowledge the fact that people might laugh at us but we have to be able to ignore our own internal skepticism when it comes to our lives and art.

Seth Godin talks about reinventing yourself by connecting through digital media such as social networking. He says it can help you to talk to people and make connections. Also, it allows you to get help or to get a message out to the world. We can now interact with anyone, and we should take advantage of it.

Seth Godin talks about reinventing yourself by making art. Making art is important because it lets you express yourself. It doesn't have rules or regulations and it can be anything you want it to be. Art can change everything and can make a real difference.

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The layers I summarized are definitely connected to the blogs I have created over the course of the quarter. 

 There have been a few times while writing the blogs where I have had to acknowledge the lizard. I have worried that something I might say or post might be found funny by someone else when I did not intend it to be. It made me worried that something I say might cause me to be embarrassed. In order to get over this, I have had to just post what I wanted to without care of what other people might think. Ultimately, it is important to be honest with your art and not sculpt it to conform to someone else's idea of what is acceptable.

I also do believe connecting with other people through social media is important and I have done so by being linked to the entire class. Networking is important because the people in the course are all trying to get similar degrees, so we will ultimately be in the same careers in the future. Knowing people can definitely help, and blogging has allowed for connections to develop more than just talking in person during class.

Also, making art is important. Blogging and the class overall has allowed me to create a few pieces of art this quarter. It is important because our field is entirely based around art, so it is good to stay in practice creatively. The blogs may be time consuming, but they are not difficult and allow for a little bit of art viewing or creating in the process.

The exercises done through blogging have made me a better artist because it keeps me in practice. If I was not taking media courses this quarter, it would be really easy to just stop making art and focus on school, but the blogs and assignments force me to stay active in the ongoing creative process. Blogging has also made me a better student because it helps me to prioritize my assignments. However, I must admit that I hate being forced to blog. I feel like I do not learn much from this experience and they are not exactly fun to write. A better use of time might be to have the individual assignments due on a weekly basis in lab along with the presentations, rather than all at once at the end of three weeks.

Blog 7: Scene Deconstruction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8UtojJT8ts

The theme for the finale in V For Vendetta is that governments should be afraid of the people; the people should not be afraid of the government. It's about standing up for the good of the people rather than letting dictatorial leadership continue to be in control. This is shown in this scene best because all of the people against the government line up to watch as the parliament building is destroyed. The theme is didactic because we are told exactly what to expect.

The use of camera movements help to reinforce this theme because as the building is blowing up, the camera dollies alongside the destruction. The use of this technique draws your attention towards the actions taking place and tell you the plan of blowing up the government building is being followed through with and lets you know the theme is also being accomplished because the people are taking back the power. With the use of directionality and fast speed, the camera movement is effective in showing the action.

The use of lines also help to reinforce the theme because they focus your attention. Actual lines are shown throughout and you mainly notice them on the building as it is blowing up. These are straight lines but are contrasting rather than an affinity because they go in different directions. Also, actual lines are created by the fireworks and they are more curvilinear. The fireworks at the end of the explosions give a release after the tension because you know symbolically the government is getting a fresh start and the madness is over. Virtual lines are also created between the characters. As they stand next to each other and talk while watching their government fall, virtual lines are shown between them. Their eyes create these virtual lines and they are linear. As the characters look out towards the building, their eyes also create virtual lines because you can imagine where they are looking and what they are seeing. These are also linear lines.

Blog 6: Animation Deconstruction

 

The images above are from the animated movie, The Incredibles. The images can be compared and contrasted based on the elements of color and lighting.

The main hue or color in image one is blackish gray and is represented in the road. The other hues emphasized are red and black on Mr. Incredible and blue and white for Frozone. Similarly, image two uses the hues of red and black on the people, but the main hue is green and brown for the background. The brightness of the characters faces and above in image one is because they are not being enveloped by the shadow of the figure attacking them yet. The rest of the image below is not bright. In image two, the characters are brightly lit but the background is a bit darker. Saturation, or adding white to a color was used in image one where the light is still hitting the top of the two males' bodies. In image two the uniforms are also lightly saturated.

The shadow in image one is of a figure attacking the protagonist and his friend. The use of this gives a sense of imminent danger. Image two also has shadows, but they are instead the shadows of the protagonists. The dark lighting as a result of the shadow of the antagonist gives a sense of danger in image one, but also gives the emotion or mood of despair. The lighting in image two gives a contrasting affinity with the ways the characters are standing. The brightness of the background combined with the green calming hue give the sense of safety, but the characters are in defensive poses. So, the bright green lighting combined with the bright lighting of the characters symbolizes safety and gives a calm emotion. Possible symbolism here also is because the characters are so strong and united, the background lighting was made to be calming so we know the characters will be okay, whatever the danger may be. This also creates the relaxed mood. It was clever how the animators utilized colors and lighting techniques to give you clues to how the scene will turn out.

Blog 5: Storyboard Imitation

  

The director followed the 180 degree rule in the first five shots because generally when the camera position changed, the characters were moving off the screen and the camera followed to an extent. This happened in shot three. Also, the camera was on a dolly for shot four, staying on the 180 degree line.

The director mostly followed the rule of thirds in the first five shots, except for in shot three. The characters move across the screen and are not positioned in the rule of thirds.

The director avoided the rules of 30 altogether because the shots did not jump between the characters. Each shot was essentially a movement shot except for shot two, and the camera moved with the characters but did not jump around between them.

The director broke the rule of thirds in shot three because the characters move across the screen and are not in the rule of thirds. This is okay because they are moving and it does not detract from the shot. It is more so a violation of the 180 degree rule, but it is acceptable because one way to break the rule is to have the characters move on the screen.

Later in the scene, the camera changes tend to get a little jumpy when filming dialogue between characters. The director did not really break any rules with it, but the transitions between shots could have been a little cleaner. It is okay for this particular movie, however, because it's making fun of King Arthur and it is not meant to be the best movie out there. The movie did not have a lot of money to work with, so the director may not have been the greatest possible. Overall, the scene is good minus this small issue which is a minor detraction from the scene.

Blog 4: Song Deconstruction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy0fIyongdI

NEEDTOBREATHE'S "More Time"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1QMmWlOmEQ

NEEDTOBREATHE's "Lay Em Down"

The songs I chose for the assignment are "More Time" and "Lay Em Down" by NEEDTOBREATHE. The two songs are different, but they have some similarities. I will discuss the lyrics, melody, and musical quality.

Seeing as "More Time" and "Lay Em Down" are different songs, they have completely different lyrics. However, both songs are somewhat about having hope in the situations you are in, so there are some similarities in the feel you get from the lyrics.

Also considering that these are different songs, they have different melodies, or a different tune you hum. The harmony in "Lay Em Down" makes for a happy and upbeat mood, whereas the harmony in "More Time" makes for a little bit darker mood.

The rhythms in both songs are regular because neither song has a crazy change in it. The intensity of both songs are similar because neither songs are particularly loud or soft, but both are more accurately placed somewhere in the middle. Both songs stay in the medium pitch range, but at one point in "Lay Em Down" the pitch goes up high. "Lay Em Down" has a timbre that is more simple seeing as part of the song is just clapping hands and stomping feet. "More Time" does not have an element similar to this, so it is more complex. Neither song is ever slow, but more of a moderato in terms of speed. However, "Lay Em Down" speeds up a bit more than "More Time" does, and "More Time" is a little slower than "Lay Em Down" at times. "Lay Em Down" is a little bit more strangely organized because it does not follow the typical song structure, but it is also not a typical song. "More Time" is a normal pop song, and therefore the organization is more ordered and typical.

I find that I like "Lay Em Down" more than "More Time" overall just because of the message in the song. It's more about letting go of your issues, whereas "More Time" seems to be more about a relationship. "Lay Em Down" is also less poppy and has more of a Southern rock vibe which is different from your typical songs on the radio, and "More Time" is a pop/rock song. I like songs that are a little bit different from what you normally hear, so "Lay Em Down" is better in my opinion.

Blog 3: Reflections on Sound Design

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The movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail uses a lot of sound techniques to create a sound design. 

The first technique involved includes listening modes. For example, a causal sound is used when the bells jingle as the two men are galloping across the field. The sound is a literal sound, and is not one that represents a sound. It actually sounds like that in real life when bells jingle. Oppositely, a semantic sound is used when the coconuts are used to represent horse hooves hitting the ground. They are not actual horse sounds, but the hooves are used to represent actually being that sound.

The second technique involved includes using space techniques. From where the camera is angled, more towards the castle, the men galloping out of the field is very faint. As they come closer towards the camera, the sound gets louder. This gives the perception of distance, because as the size of the men increases, the sound gets louder. As the movement goes away from the camera towards the end of the scene, the sound gets farther away and not as loud. The camera also lends to the directionality in the scene because as the men go towards the castle, the camera pans right and the sound follows the camera.