blog 8

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 

The theme of this and the entire Harry Potter series is that love can conquer anything and that even in the face of absolute hopelessness, hope can still come.  Neville in this scene talks about that.  He says that even though Harry is gone all is not lost.  The theme is actively communicated in the dialogue of Neville.

The video uses shape to show the shift of power.  At the beginning of the scene, Neville is in a wide shot and Voldemort is in a close up shot.  As the scene progresses and Neville stands up for himself he becomes bigger in the frame.  Neville in this scene represents hope, and this action of making him bigger portrays the theme of a growing hope.  There is also a contrast between the two sides.  The Hogwarts people are all wearing civilian clothes.  On the other side there is an affinity between the death eaters in that all of their clothes are the same.

Space is demonstrated through tension and release.  The tension builds all throughout the scene.  It builds when the death eaters laugh at Voldemort’s words.  This also gives the area a sense of depth and space given that it is echo-like.  The tension is released once Harry comes alive and and rushes back to the castle.  Again, here we see space utilized well.  The spells have to travel very far and the explosions are farther away, giving a sense of large space.

Blog 7

The colors of these two characters are what defines them and sets them apart.  Frozone, the character on the left, has the super power of controlling ice.  Ice is cold and so are both blue and white.  the blue is vivid against the white and gives him that chilly feel.  The white is very desaturated, but the saturated hue of the blue makes Frozone pop.  He is a good character and therefore has bright colors.  Syndrome, the character on the right, is the villain of the movie and therefore black is appropriate.  Also, he is very skilled with mechanics and the black gives a greasy "worker" vibe.  The white on his chest gives him some life, but the very dark hue of the black is what makes this character so sinister.

Light is used to show that Frozone is good and Syndrome is bad.  Frozone is bright and well lit, giving him a happy and comfortable feel.  Syndrome is dark and sinisterly lit with shadows.  The shadows are so important in adding depth to the characters.  Frozone's lack of shadows implies that he is not hiding anything, while Syndrome's shadow covers half his face making people be wary of him.  The Symbols of the blue representing ice and the black representing evil give each character a specific mood that they convey.  Frozone conveys a cool and happy mood where as Syndrome gives and uneasy mood to the audience.

Blog Assignment 6

The director did follow the 180-degree rule.  The first shot of Hugh Jackman has him on the right side of the screen.  Then we cut to Christian Bale on the left side looking where Hugh just was.  This is how the 180-degree rule works.  It makes sure that the camera is positioned in a way that makes cutting easy for a viewer to understand.  If one was to super-impose one shot onto another, then they would have the characters looking at one another.  When the camera cuts to the girl in the glass box, it is still following the 180-degree rule.  The camera start behind the box, on the side furthest from where Hugh Jackman was standing, then cuts to the front on that same side.  This is the most important part.  This ensures that 180 is not broken and that the audience is able to understand where the characters are positioned.  It is a subconscious thing, but one that is so important.  If the director did not follow this rule then the audience would be distracted from the important parts of the scene.

            The rule of thirds is followed throughout.  Both Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale’s eye lines are on the upper third.  Christian is on the left third and Hugh is on the right.  The first shot from behind the woman in the tank she is on the upper left third.  The reverse angle is on the upper right.

            Both rules of 30 are followed.  No cut is a jump cut.  Following the 30-degree rule ensures this.  The 30-degree rule means that the camera must move more than 30-degrees in order to avoid a jump cut.  The camera cuts back and forth at angles much greater than thirty degrees, allowing the characters to be far enough away on the screen that the scene is very understandable.  This first hot cuts from a medium shot and then cuts to a close up.  This follows the 30% rule and makes sure that the camera cuts to a shot that is at least two sizes away.  This is not necessarily necessary in this instance, however, because the camera cuts to a different subject. 

Blog Assignment 5

 Pumped Up Kicks- Foster the People

 Original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDTZ7iX4vTQ&ob=av3e

Cover: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXjUNd_eV3Y

Both of these songs are very similar, but there are a few defining factors that really make the original stick out against the cover.  First of all, the lyrics themselves are the same.  The cover version does not take any liberties with the words, and I agree with this decision.  The words are what give the songs their meaning and they can be tricky to change.  The voices, however, are very different.  The female voices in the cover are in stark contrast to the male voice of the original.  They have completely different tones.  

The melodies are similar, but do have some differences.  A big difference is the loop station that is used in the original.  The sounds from that, especially at the beginning, are so definable and what makes this song unique.  The cover does not duplicate them so it does change to melody a little bit.

Rhythmically the two are identical.  The same drum pace is used, and the guitar in the cover keeps the same pace as the bass in the original.  The original has a bit more intensity that the cover, but the female voices in the cover make it have a higher pitch than the original.  The timbre in the original is much more complex than the cover.  This is mainly because of the greater amount of instruments used in the original. 

Blog Assignment 4: Reflections on Sound Design

Follow this link for the corresponding YouTube video for this post.

In this scene the Gestalt Principal is very apparent.  The Gestalt Principal is the theory that an organized whole is perceived as greater than its parts.  In this scene, the Gestalt Principal is used through illusion. When the machine is turned on, there is a cacophony of sounds.  There is an undertone of an electric buzz.  Then on top of that are various pitches of lightning crackles.   Then when Robert disappears, you hear a subtle sound of a trap door opening.  These sounds aid in selling the illusion on screen as well as making the viewer think much chaos is happening when I reality it is an orderly array of sound effects.  To further the realism, when the camera is in the audience (far from the stage) the sounds are not as loud as to when we are right next to Robert as he enters the machine.  This proximity allows us to feel more involved in the scene. 

The Space is apparent through the sounds of the audience.  There are hundreds of people in this large theater, so when they applaud, the size of the theater is very apparent.  There is directionality when the sound of their gasps dims when the camera is up in the balcony with Robert, then grows louder once it is down on their level.

Assignment 3: Brainwashed

Connecting to the world is of vital importance to anyone who wants to make a name for himself.  If no one knows who you are, it will be very difficult to move up socially in what you want to do.  The Internet is a great and cheap medium in which to get recognized.  Another layer that is mention is making art.  Godin says that art is ingrained in humanity and it is what makes us human.  It helps us express ourselves and to feel thing we don’t normally feel.  Finally he talks about acknowledging the lizard.  This is his way of referring to that voice in our heads that tells us to conform.  He says that we have to acknowledge it so that we can actively ignore it.

This blog incorporates all three of these things.   First and foremost is acknowledging the lizard.  This refusal to conform is key to being a successful artist, which is one thing that this blog is helping us do.  We have to know what is the norm and what is boring in order to openly refute it.  In the past two posts we have been able to look at mundane characters and articles in a way that makes them exciting and innovative.  This blog allows us to express the opinions that we have in a way that may differ from society or from what is expected of us.  It’s an invaluable opportunity to explore what we believe to be true and artistic in our world.

Second is the great potential for connections we can make.  On a basic level we connect with the other students in our class.  We learn who likes what and we learn each other’s styles and what we all like.  This helps us in two ways.  First it allows us to see who has similar interests and therefore can make bonds among students that way.  Second, it can help us see what other outlooks there are in the world and what other artistic styles are out there.  On a bigger level, this blog helps us connect to the outside world.  Like Godin said, the Internet is a great medium to expose oneself to the world.  Blogger is a very well known site.  People can look at our blogs through there and start to see what insights we have and our own artistic style.  If they like it then they’ll share it.   This is how word spreads, and before we know it we have many people who know our thoughts and what we like about art.  This is a fantastic way to get our name into the world and make connections.

And finally comes the making art aspect.  This blog, though it may be unconventional, is art.  It is a vehicle for human expression, which is what art is.  This blog contains our personal thoughts and ideas and outlooks.  These are all part of what makes each of us unique, which is art.  This blog makes us a better media student, by making us look at things from a new creative aspect as well as in an academic way.  In doing this we learn from others and better ourselves.  It also makes us better artists in that it can help us to refine our personal style and to come up with better ways of expressing ourselves.  These blog entries are beneficial in many ways and it is a great artistic opportunity.

Blog Assignment 2: Find Your Howl

For the entire article follow this link

            In Jonathon Flaum’s article Finding your Howl, he tells a story of a red wolf named Mumon.  Mumon was kept in captivity for his childhood and into his adult life to protect him, because the species was almost extinct.  He was able to escape his enclosure and make his way out into the wild.  He knew that in order for all the other wolves to have a leader and survive, he needed to be able to howl.  After an encounter with a deer and a raven, he realized that his howl was always a part of him and just needed to go through the trials of life to get to it.

Jonathon Fluam’s Article is all about going through trials in order to achieve greatness.  These trials often involve loosing part of ourselves in order to escalate to a greater version of our being. 

In my life, one huge part of myself that I have had to leave behind is my seriousness.  I used to be very one track minded about everything I did.  I was anal and always on edge.  I never had a sense of humor when trying to get something done.  This made every task seem harder and more difficult to get through.  The rapper Eminem once said, “A lot of truth is said in jest.”  This quote was pivotal in helping to mold and shape me into the creative person I am today.

            Most of what people say is truthful.  Often times it can be perceived as harsh or rude.  Having a sense of humor about truth can make all the difference in how you respond to the world.  When you are able to take potentially self-esteem damaging comments with a grain of salt and try to understand what the person is really getting at, you can better yourself and usually have a laugh or two in the process. 

            An example of this in my own life happened just recently.  A friend of mine was writing a comedy sketch about having a sense of humor about stereotypes and being able to laugh at yourself.  The premise was a story that followed a residential advisor as he visited each of his residents on move in day.  Each room that he visited was going to portray a certain social stereotype.  He read the story to me a a group of my friends and I personally thought it was very clever and very funny.  One of my friends however became indignant and stormed from the room.  We went to find her and asked her why she was so upset.  She said that the portrayal of the stereotypical female as overly sensitive and self-righteous was offensive.  We explained to her that it was all in fun, but also that there was an irony to that immediate situation.  She, a female, was acting exactly as my friend had written in his story.  This was him writing the truth, but in a way that was not overly serious and was something to be laughed at.  My friend came around eventually was able to also see the humor in the situation.  She opened her mind to not being so defensive around social truths.  

            Like my friend, who used truthful humor in a creative way, I too have been much less inhibited.  When I am writing a script or helping produce a video, I am much less concerned about offending someone and am more concerned about putting out a good final product.  If I was to worry about offending someone then nothing would get accomplished.  There will always be someone out there that is uptight and has no sense of humor about the world.  As long as I do, however, I will be much happier with what I create and will be able to focus on creating something that sends a truthful message, hopefully with a little bit of humor too.

Blog Assignment 1: Character Deconstruction

Color- Black and Blue

 

Iceman has a black and blue color scheme.  He is covered in ice and that is often represented by blue, since it is such a cold color.  Black is often an undertone beneath the blue.  This enables the blue to pop, but also gives depth to the character.  In the above picture, the blue streaks appear to disappear into the blackness.  Having a black undertone then a frosted blue overlay makes Iceman appear to be made of ice completely through which enhances the visual representation of his abilities.

Light- Mainly Backlighting

 

Iceman is often portrayed with a strong backlight. This does a few crucial things.  First it separates him from whatever background he is in.  It outlines him and draws the eye to him, making him stand out in any environment.  Second, it enhances his icy aura.  Many pictures of Iceman are backlit giving the effect that there is frosted air coming form him.  It makes him look cold and makes the idea that he is covered in ice more realistic and believable.

Shape- Rectangular

Squares and rectangles are very strong and sturdy shapes.  The give a character a commanding presence and make him seem powerful.  In addition to the strength that comes with this shape, ice cubes and blocks of ice are common images associated with ice.  Modeling Iceman's shape after such a common image is a way of making an unrealistic character more accessible.  When we see blocks and cube shapes, ice is a common association; likewise when we see Iceman in a rectangular shape we think power, strength, and ice.

Character Deconstructed: Iceman

Color -Red and Yellow

Red and yellow are very close to each other on the color wheel so they go very well together.  they are also heavily associated with fire.  Pyro's mutant ability is the ability to control fire, so having his uniform have colors representative of fire makes sense.  Pyro would be considered a bad guy or a villain.  He is dangerous and easy to set off.  This is just like fire, so having red and yellow- both colors of caution and danger- gives the viewer the idea that this is a mutant that is not to be messed with.

Light- soft glow

Everything about Pyro points back to his ability to manipulate fire.  there is usually a soft glow of diffused light on the front of him.  This gives you a sense of the fire within, but also separates him from the crowd.  As a boy he was an outcast and even in modern society he is not socially accepted by others.  This is portrayed through the light that surrounds him, which is different from that of anyone else that would be in a picture with him.

Shape- Angular

Pyro has a very angular shape.  This directly corresponds to his ability of fire manipulation.  Fire is swift and stealthy and has an ever changing shape.  It moves fluidly and is deceptively destructive.  Pyro too is a very swift villain.  He moves in and out of crowds with ease and is hard to hit.  He sneaks in, does his damage, and then is out.  his angular shape symbolizes that fluidity and allows the viewer to see him as a filer-like man.

Character Deconstructed: Pyro