Blog Assignment #8

The main theme in I Am Legend is never give up, no matter how bad your circumstances may be there is always hope. In this scene he is bathing his dog while listening to Bob Marley’s Don’t Worry Be Happy. That by its self shows strong thematic meaning because of the songs lyrics. He then proceeds to shut the blinds and cover the windows as the song continues to play. This signifies that he is hopeful about surviving his circumstances. I would say this didactic because the entire movie he talks about survival and making it to the safe village, which implies the theme.

There are quite a few elements that lead me to the theme through out the scene. First, is the use of lines, as he walks up to the window the lines shown on the glass convey he is separated from the outside world. Also when he shuts the doors in front of the window it shows the vertical lines created by shadows once again showing his isolation. Secondly, the rhythm in the scene also demonstrates the theme. The song in the background is what enforces the rhythm which as I mentions before lyrically explains the situation and theme of the movie, because it saying to not worry about where you are now and to be happy in the present because anything is possible. Lastly, tension and release is used at a key point in the scene. When the alarm goes off and the song fades out the tension build extremely, because as a viewer it brings you back to realizing the reality of his life, and that he has a time limit for everyday activities. Then he snaps back and the release happens as he goes around shutting doors and covering windows to avoid the nightfall and being spotted by the creatures. As an audience member you can then relax because he is safe for the time being. All of the elements together help demonstrate the theme through out this scene, along with various others through out the entire film to convey the theme of survival through anything.

Blog Assignment #7

The two animations I chose to compare are Up and Monsters Inc , both of which are my favorites! They however have contrast between their animation styles that I would like to discuss.

            First, color is one major difference between the two. In Monsters Inc the hues are al based off greens and blues mostly, at least in this photo. As for the saturation I find Monsters Inc to be very saturated in this picture particularly because the light is shinning right on the characters making the colors more intense. They stand out more because their characters colors are very bright and the room around them is all black making them pop and come to life more. There is obviously strong brightness because of the spotlight shinning on them which like I said makes the scene come alive more. As for Up there is a very color scheme. However, if you just look at the characters themselves they are wearing very dual colors compared to their surroundings. The characters themselves are lighter dual colors making them saturated, but the surroundings are both saturated and unsaturated having more value. The colors are much more intense in the back ground making the scene have a lot of depth. The brightness its different than Monsters Inc because this is more of a natural sun light rather than a spot light.

            Secondly, lighting greatly impacts both pictures. In Up the lighting is natural which casts a shadow on the boy who is having a great time but keeps the old man in darkness. That demonstrates the mood of the scene because you can tell the older man is very annoyed and wants to keep moving forward wear as the boy is having a great time and is just basking in the sun light. The main symbol in this is the house at the top, which is lit because that is the symbol of “home” through out the movie. In Monsters Inc the major light is from the spot light shinning on them. This creates a shadow on the wall behind them. It also displays the mood of the scene and them being in fear of what ever is casting that light on them. I don’t however see a clear symbol being displayed in this exact picture. Both vary good animations with different creative techniques!

Blog Assignment #6

The first five shots of this scene don’t tell us very much of what is to come because they only take up about the first twenty seconds or so. However, the director used the 180-degree rule, the rule of thirds, and the 30 rule throughout the twenty-second span. 

            First I will go through the 180-degree rule. The camera as far as I can tell stays with the characters eyes. When she looks out the elevator gate the camera does. So the quick jumps from her to what is going on outside the gate are not jump cuts. They aren’t because they still stay on the 180-degree line of the character and the characters movements, and if you follow the characters movements or there eyes it cannot be considered a jump cut.

            Next the rule of thirds, which is also displayed well in the first five shots. When it is a close up of Ariadne she is always in the middle segments of the thirds or right on the line. When it is not her if it is an object outside the elevator that object is always with in the segment of thirds. When the shot of the hotel room is shown all of the major components are in between segments. For instance the knocked over chair is directly in the middle, which draws are attention immediately. Then as our eyes move to the outer segments we see the couch, which is key later in the scene and the brightly lit lamp also catching our attention.

            The rule of thirty is used quite a bit as wall but in a more subtle way. There are multiple close ups in the first five shots, Adriane’s face, the train, the buttons, and the room in the last shot. All of those would be jump cuts but because the director only used a 30 percent increase in zoom they flow better and make the shots smoother.

            I think the director did a great job of obeying all three rules and by doing so created a put together scene along with the entire movie. I thought his directing was impeccable and brilliantly done. I really enjoyed the movie! If it weren’t for the strong decisions he made I don’t think it would be as good.

Blog Assignment #5

For this song deconstruction blog I chose to compare Heartless by Kanye West to the cover version done by Kris Allen. I tried to think of an original song and cover that were done completely different while keeping some similarities through out. Kanye’s version has a tempo between moderate to allegro depending on either verse or chorus. He seems to sing the chorus slower than the verse because he is “rapping” the verse where as the chorus he is singing. The rhythm is coming from the beat if the drum, which I would guess, is from a synth.  The groove is very soulful and but intense at points. From what I can tell the instruments are synth based and there isn’t really a variety of them. The structure is  pretty basic the there is an intro/ chorus then verse 1- chorus-  verse 2- chorus- bridge- chorus.  The emotional architecture follows the organization because the emotion gets stronger through the chorus and drops again during the verse.  There isn’t very much height in this song because the pitch stays steady through the verse and goes up only a little in the chorus. As far as the width there is slight panning but nothing extremely noticeable. The depth is very boring because there isn’t any as far as instruments because they stay the same and the volume doesn’t change a lot.

            The version I like more of this song is Kris Allen’s cover. The tempo is andante to moderate. The source of rhythm comes from the backbeat of the drums, and the groove is very rhythmic and soulful but a different soulful than Kanye’s. The two prominent instruments are drums and guitar. However, there is a subtle violin in the back that gives it more depth. The structure is the exact same as the original but the emotional architecture is a little different because Kris gives it more emotion in the intro and verses. There is much more height and depth in this cover as well, which is the main reason I like it better! The original is too boring for me because Kanye doesn’t use height or depth, which makes the song less emotional and relatable.

Blog Assignment # 4

The sound in "Inception" is some of the best I have ever heard in a movie. It is so suspenseful and I feel as if I am there, it makes my heart pound. The sound at times gets so intense and sets the mood for the scene. The scene I chose is where Mal, Cobb’s wife is in the hotel room where they used to go for their anniversary where she later kills herself and in the dream Ariadne walks in. At the beginning when the train goes by it sets the tone for the scene to come that there is a major event to take place. This demonstrates proximity and similarity because later in the scene the sound gets intense and the pitch goes up much like it did when the train went by. Also going along with the Gestalt Principal is figure and ground. When Ariadne gets off the elevator the camera shows the full angle of the hotel room then we finally draw our eyes to Mal sitting on the couch and the sound drops. The sounds in this scene are casual for the most part because they are all the literal sounds; from the breaking glass to the train racing by. However, there is some referential sound because the music at the end is symbolic to the train racing by at the beginning of the scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMKI5r12JKo&feature=related

Blog Assignment # 3

https://blackboard.ohio.edu/@@/6064A3E2644F1D2DE70281BD30038212/courses/1/MDIA_203_100_LEC_WINT_2011-12/content/_2141064_1/wk%208%20Brainwashed.pdf

Summary:

Brainwashed is centered on the idea of not learning for a purpose but because society tells us we have to learn certain things, but in this day in age most have no significance. One point he makes is about connecting and how important social media is. It provides us with ways of contacting people that we never would have been able to before. We are no longer isolated. Another good point is to make art. Not just a painting but also something that creates a change and a new platform of innovation for the world. Taking risks in art are what lead us to greater things beyond what we thought. And lastly he said acknowledge the lizard.  It is the part of our brain that worries about safety. It tells us to keep our head down and follow instruction. What we need to do is acknowledge that the lizard brain is there, ignore it, and stand up and continue with our art.

Response:

Brainwashed really got me thinking about school and its importance as related to the rest of our lives. Sometimes I sit in other classes and I think I would rather be anywhere but here, and that it is all pointless information. However, in Media 203 I rarely think that. Although the blogs can sometimes be annoying to do, I think in the long run they will have helped me. They expose me to all sides of media and not just the audio part, which is what I am studying. I’m learning things that I can apply later in life when I have to collaborate with other various artists. These blogs make me think beyond what I know and apply pervious knowledge. They help me connect with others obviously because it is a blog which is one of the main point from Brainwashed. They also make me generous by sharing my ideas with others but by getting nothing in return besides the gratitude of doing it. Also by creating these blogs we are making art to share with others and we are enabling others to create as well. We are taking risks by sharing but in the end it will benefit us and the others who read our blogs and also decide to share their art. One of the main things these blogs do is force us to confront the lizard brain we each have. We have to ignore the scared feelings and not worry about what people might say and who might laugh.  The blog projects expose us to that so we are prepared and not scared to show our work later down the road. Shipping also ties into the lizard brain because everyone is scared to ship out his or her art because of fear of failure. Shipping is a key component in being able to reinvent ones self because it allows us to get things “done”. We have to have the ability to fail and except that to move forward which our blogs allow because not every blog project will be perfect. Lastly we have to be able to learn and with a new blog project every week I feel I have learned a lot of new information to move me forward in my profession.  I like how each blog corresponds to the in class learning that takes place each week. It helps me understand the material more and relate my art to it. Overall I think the blogs are a good tool in helping us learn.