Blog Assignment 8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX6dHWyqwNo

Blog 8

The director of this film cleverly utilized this revamped version of the Beatles’ song “I Want You” and was able to change the meaning or theme of the sequence from a love song into a musical number that expresses the very real fear of being drafted into military service. This is exemplified in the scene by how the protagonist is forcefully processed through what could be compared to as basic training. The theme is didactically imposed upon the audience because of how the camera reveals how he would rather lie about how physically and mentally incapable of military service he is rather than risk going to war.

One way that lines help reinforce the theme is at the very beginning of the sequence the camera tilts from up to down depicting a wide intimidating government building as ominous music begins to play in the background. Because of the fact that building takes up the entire shot and is shown from top to bottom it understood that it is a frightening place, likely because of the long vertical and horizontal lines that frame the building in the shot and the slow descending motion of the camera that makes it appear even larger. Rhythm also is another element that helped reinforce the theme because of how the director utilized specific shots in the sequence such as; the close up shot of the protagonist’s feet slowly climbing the stairs of the building, and the shot of him double-taking at the realization of two large images of Uncle Sam reaching out at him which functions as an establishing shot from his point of view as two military figures drag him onto a sort of assembly line for soldiers. These examples and others reinforce the theme of apprehension against military service by depicting the main character as weak and diminished in size in comparison with the “officers” training him. The director also accomplishes this in many ways, first by exposing all of the trainees in their underwear in contrast with the all so similar looking officers who are fully dressed in matching uniforms, and also by displaying fighting moves on the cadets while simultaneously dancing.                             

Blog Assignment 7

Blog 7

My first image is of the character Goku from one of the greatest animated programs of my childhood “Dragon Ball Z”, while my second image features a character from possibly my most favorite hyper violent anime series “Afro Samurai”. Each one captures a unique intensity that is created from elements in the image such as; color, to create a point of interest within the frame, and movement, which helps structure the rhythm of the animation. Although both images use bright oranges and yellows in the shots, each one has a different function. For example the bright pillars of energy around Goku are parallel with each other with him in the middle making him appear taller and more powerful, however the orange and red sky in the background of Afro (that’s his name as well as the title of the show) directly contrasts with the cold blue and brown color of the ground that he is standing on, possibly symbolizing his struggle. Another quality of color the images use is darkness to attract and/or hide the focus, for instance in the image of Afro the eye is immediately drawn to the point of his sword because of its brightness and linear/curvilinear design that creates contrast brings us to the rest of his body which is darker and further away from the camera. In comparison, the image of Goku is framed by the darkness behind him and the pillars which center him in focus. Elements of movement are also present in both images such as the overlapping action created in the first image while Goku is yelling his aura burns and writhes around him creating the impression that he is on fire, but in the second image Afro is standing straight up, however there are curvilinear lines all around him that denote movement like his headband blowing in the wind and the smoke rising off his cigarette that contrast with him. Although the two images depict different directions, both of them similarly show weight in simple ways like the ripped and baggy clothes that each character is wearing, and in non-realistic ways such as the pointy hair that stays straight up when Goku has his head backwards and Afro’s flowing wispy afro that stands up.                        

Blog Assignment 6

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

Blog 6

“How to Play the Violin” is one of many in a series of humorous original animated videos created by a Youtube user named Jason Steele and his channel also called FilmCow and Secretagentbob. As Jason directed/designed this short he made a lucrative choice to only depict a few changes to the total sequence from shot to shot, in fact the only transitions to speak of is a couple of cuts to close ups and a zoom out at the very beginning to isolate a nervous Johnny and then place him in the room standing near his much larger, more intimidating father Ron. In this way, he maintains some of the rules of film but violates others. For instance Jason is able to maintain the 180 degree rule in his animation by keeping the background of the house and the room they stand in as 2D props rather than an actual setting, and by keeping with one shot and having characters walk on frame he maintains the audience as a single objective point of view. Another rule of film that the online video “How to Play the Violin” maintains is the rule of thirds, it accomplishes this by keeping the main characters in center frame for the entire duration of the video and only allowing one character to leave after a new character has already entered. One rule that the clip failed to establish was the 30 degree rule. It fails to establish this rule because of the lack of transitions within the sequence and also because the director likely had no new information that would be expressed by changing angles. The first reason/excuse Jason could have used for breaking the 30 degree rule was that the video itself was too short to include a lot of expensive shots and transitions. The simplicity of the shots also help the humorous aspect of the animation by making the video easier to watch the director widens the range of his audience to a younger demographic. Jason Steele displayed an excellent talent for directing by including even a couple rules of film that might not otherwise be acknowledged in a short animation.  

   

Blog Assignment 5

“Fatal” by the RZA            -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrasgjD25jY

“Combat” by the RZA      -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKY_12kdgD4

                  The RZA is one of my personal favorite hip-hop artists/producers and the prominent leader among the notorious Wu Tang Clan, which is why I chose two of his songs that were made to accompany both a great action suspense film such as Blade Trinity and the hyper violent animated series Afro Samurai. “Fatal” begins simply with a quite badass quote from the film as its slow but intense bass sets the dark mood of the lyrics which are from an inhuman vampire hunter’s point of view. As the song continues more instruments join the beat and add an undertone of tragedy to the overall mood of the song as epic quotes are dubbed over from the movie to summarize the characters backstory and Blade’s blood thirsty ferocity. Much of the song is driven by the RZA’s vocals, deep bass, and heavy use of a synthesizer; however the pattern to the melody of “Fatal” builds loudly with the lyrics until it suddenly drops as the chorus plays and through repetition and slow beat creates suspense. “Combat”, also by RZA, is the second song that I analyzed and contrasted with “Fatal”, but because of the rather awesome content of the series it was my favorite of the two. Like “Fatal”, “Combat” also begins with an intensely cool quote and a very slow beat but unlike the other song it maintains this slowness throughout the entire duration of the song and does not build or drop significantly other than the vocals. Another similarity between the two songs is that they both feature dubbed content from the media samples that they were created for, a popular convention used by many members of the Wu Tang Clan. The melodies of both songs are understandably dark and each ones layers of instrumentation are built up by the drums, bass, and guitar. Although the two songs have a similar rhythm, each one has musical qualities that are very different from the other. For instance “Combat” has a more complex timbre and a lower pitch, while “Fatal” is more intense, longer, and is more organized around the emotional architecture of the film it was created for. “Fatal” is a better song with a more interesting narrative progression, but my favorite of the two is “Combat” because of the awesome series that accompanied it and many other intense samurai raps that created a style of action I’ve never seen before.                          

LISTENING FRAMEWORK- “Fatal”

LISTENING PHASE 1 (Rhythm)

Tempo [slow, medium, fast] – Slow rhythmic beat.

Source [where is the rhythm coming from?] –The bass and drums mostly.

Groove [describe how the personality of the rhythm] –Dark, foreboding. 

LISTENING PHASE 2 (Arrangement)

Instrumentation [which instruments drive the song?] –The bass, drums, synthesizer, and by majority the vocals.

Structure/Organization [how is the song built?  Order, patterns, etc.] –The song is arranged according to the character Blade summarizing his backstory and skill with a repeated chorus and dubbed over in places with quotes from the film to add context.

Emotional Architecture [Draw how the song build and drop?] –The song stays emotionally neutral until the vocals begin which is when it builds quickly and intensely with Blade’s anger and suffering. It seems to drop when RZA begins the chorus but rises again shortly after and then fades out.   

LISTENING PHASE 3 (Sound Quality)

Balance

- Height [high and low of frequency] –There is a high frequency for most of the song because how closely and loudly the music lines up with the loudness of the lyrics. During

- Width [stereo panning left/right] –RZA repeatedly pans the stereo sound of the music back and forth until the chorus begins, intensely builds, and ends.     

- Depth [layers of instruments - via loudness] –The loudness of the song increases from only one instrument in the beginning, to a cacophony of electronic sounds and ominous vocals whose volume and intensity increases as more sounds enter. The chorus is the transition period where most of the instruments rest and only bass and RZA can be heard, which builds exponentially.  

LISTENING FRAMEWORK- “Combat”

LISTENING PHASE 1 (Rhythm)

Tempo [slow, medium, fast] Very slow

Source [where is the rhythm coming from?] The drums and vocals create the rhythm

Groove [describe how the personality of the rhythm] Morbid, remorseful. 

LISTENING PHASE 2 (Arrangement)

Instrumentation [which instruments drive the song?] The drums, bass, and guitar.

Structure/Organization [how is the song built?  Order, patterns, etc.] The song is built upon slow instruments that keep the low rhythm while the deep chorus plays before and after the main lyrics while keeping with the beat.    

Emotional Architecture [Draw how the song build and drop?] Beginning from neutral the spoken introduction builds a serious mood and raises the intensity until the scream and a transition into the actual song. The song then rises and falls back and forth according to the slow rhythm and booming vocals.  

LISTENING PHASE 3 (Sound Quality)

Balance

- Height [high and low of frequency] Low, the slowness and low frequency create the unhappy groove of the song.

- Width [stereo panning left/right] There is a great deal of panning back and forth because of shortness of the song and the rhythm that is created from the repetitive beat made up of drums and bass.

- Depth [layers of instruments - via loudness] Transitioning from only spoken words to a loud scream into the actual beat of the song made up of many instruments playing at the same time as the vocals creates a cluttered loudness that makes it difficult to place individual instruments, but easy to recognize the slow lyrics.  

Tyler's First imovie

Red Guy Beat Down

Blog Assignment 4

Tyler Skelton

Blog 4

1.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUpggXGHYjk&feature=relmfu

2.

FADE IN

INT. House – Day

The title “How to Play the Violin” appears with the blurred image of the house as the background. The frame shifts to inside where JOHNNY is nervously holding a violin. His father RON enters the frame.

(Ron)

Johnny you have been given a violin, now play it.

(Johnny)

But papa no.

(Ron)

Do it Johnny!

Johnny begins to PLAY the violin as he WAILS with unhappiness.

(Ron)

Yes, yes Johnny. Play the violin.

(Johnny)

Pappa!

(Ron)

Play it! Play it forever.

(Johnny)

No papa.

(Ron)

Play it!

Johnny continues poorly PLAYING the violin as he CRYS. Johnny’s mother enters the frame.

(Mother)

What is going on in here?

(Johnny)

Mamma, help me.

(Mother)

Ron you put an end to this immediately.

(Ron)

But the boy has to learn.

(Mother)

Ron..

(Ron)

Johnny! Stop playing the violin.

(Johnny)

Thank you papa.

Ron grunts disapprovingly and walks off-screen. Johnny’s mother whispers to Johnny.

(Mother)

..Play the violin Johnny.

A frame of credits appears.

FADE OUT

3.

 This clip was a perfect example of the diverse brand of comedy that exists on the internet today. Older generations might not have enjoyed this video as much as I did, however after analyzing simple elements of the clip like time and space, perhaps I could explain the comedy to others and make them understand why millions of people view clips such as this one and find them so hilarious; as I do. For starters there were many qualities that made that clip funny; one of them has to do with the speed and loudness of the character’s awkward voices. Ron’s deep and commanding voice contrasts Johnny’s because of the fact that Johnny spoke quickly and highly which made him sound younger and his torturous wailing showed how pitiful he felt as he was forced to play. The illustrator/creator of this clip depicted habituation by creating and reusing the images of the characters with little non-facial movements that adds inexpensive but visually satisfying animation to this unique production. This animation is also funny because it was created with very emotional but unnecessary dialogue, for example Johnny’s pitiful moaning, Ron’s angry sigh, and the mother’s strange whispered command that Johnny continue to play the violin. These audio and digital elements are some of the reasons milions of online viewers found “How to Play the Violin” so funny.             

Blog Assignment 3

In Seth Godwin’s article Brainwashed he points out several ways in which our society has essentially conditioned us into following all the rules at the risk of being ostracized or humiliated by our peers. One of the seven ways to reinvent one’s self against socialization that Godwin mentions is called “acknowledging the lizard”, which he explains as the internal resistance present within us all that represents our fear of skepticism and being mocked. Seth goes on to say that the key to overcoming this hesitance is simply to recognize and ignore it.  Being able to connect with others through the internet is also another valuable skill because it allows for a greater circle of networking which happens to be drastically important in every aspect of modern business. Godwin’s last way to reinvent one’s self is to learn new things by experiencing difficult challenges and meeting them head on.

In my opinion, these exercises are a worthless waste of time because I feel there are more interesting things that my peers and I could be learning about while we are instead focusing on these mundane blogs. Especially considering how much material that has been crammed into this course it’s expected that students can study several an entire majors a week at a time. As a Digital Media major I am much more interested in projects on our syllabus that are relative to me, such as; game design, character animation, and video production. Every every second spent on these blogs is one that could be used to help me learn something that could better prepare me for my future career.  For example if perhaps if the class did not have blogs we could focus more time and energy into our creative assignments which would lead to better quality and instead of having to keep track of my blog like a burden the class could simply use this time to study and actually keep pace with the online readings. I know that other activities like in-class character analyses and much more time utilizing basic animation would be more worthwhile to my scholastic experience. I would also be very interested in learning about more advanced game design, 3-D modeling, and other video techniques/effects however because of course issues like limited time, overwhelming material, and wasted energy spent on assignments such as these blogs that these things are impossible. Although I found reading Seth Godwin’s blog about ways to reinvent yourself mildly interesting, I don’t particularly enjoy having to publish my summary of his article onto the internet when I could have just as easily turned it in class, which I feel makes the blog unnecessary to the course. Nobody dislikes wasting class time like a student who is paying for their own classes. Learning about the physical anatomy of a camera and various lens would be more useful to many students in my line of study as well. In fact students may have an advantage in future assignments with more time for creative activities when more challenging projects that require group work. As a non-journalism major, It is my opinion to conclude that there are many other more creative and interesting activities/projects that we students could be experiencing rather than a list of online essays that would support our learning of advanced media techniques. It is these reasons why I feel the many blog exercises are a waste of time.                                 

                       

http://changethis.com/

http://changethis.com/

Blog Assignment 2

Tyler Skelton

blog 2

The short story “Mumon” is a spiritually inspiring tale about the offspring of a captive pack of fourteen red wolves and one wolf’s journey through nature in his attempt to survive extinction and relearn how to howl. Mumon is the protagonist of the story and after his release he travels across great distances while experiencing terrible hunger as well as remorse for the animals he kills when he learns to hunt. Mumon learns that he should not feel shame for doing what is necessary to survive in nature until he is eventually shot and killed by a scared farmer. In his death he experiences a bizarre ritual and Mumon himself becomes the howl which he and his pack sought to learn, and by doing so saved his kin from extinction. From my interpretation of this story the writer is explaining how if what you truly want is to be achieved the pursuer must be able to experience the hardships that come before, be it crossing a desert, catching a deer,  or studying for an exam without taking any shortcuts. 

The most inspiring story I ever experienced when I was younger came when I was watching an episode of my favorite 1984 animated action series known as “Dragon Ball Z”. In the episode, the protagonist Goku, his son, and many other characters had been battling it out with a powerful monster that possessed all of their collective abilities, known as Cell. When Goku’s son Gohan eventually gains the upper hand on Cell, he becomes arrogant slowly beating the villain out of revenge for the thousands of people he’s killed instead of quickly finishing the fight. This gives Cell the time needed to overcharge his body with energy in attempt to destroy himself and the entire world with him. Gohan pounds the ground in defeat, frustrated knowing his hesitance might have very well doomed them all. With only seconds left Goku realized what needed to be done said his brave goodbyes to his shocked friends and son before using his newly learned Instant Transmission technique that allowed him to teleport across great distances and space along with anyone he was touching. Goku used his newfound technique to take Cell and himself to a (mostly) uninhabited and distant planet so that his Cell’s self-destruction would not harm anyone on Earth. I was deeply inspired by the sacrifice this fictional character made not because he was a hero and I expected him to save the day but because he gave his life to protect his friends and family from a giant explosion which in no small part influenced my tremendous enthusiasm. This story was also influential to me because I learned from a couple characters such as; Gohan and Cell, who allowed their pride and confidence in their abilities to become too great which costs them both dearly. I enjoyed this series because of the memorable characters and many inspiring episodes such as this one that glorified heroes who trained hard, fought for what was right, and sacrificed the one for the many.                            

Blog 1 Assignment

Villain Deconstruction

1. 

This picture of a crown is a good representation of my character’s red, purple, and gold motif. When I designed Count Casheww I chose the colors purple and gold because I wanted to associate my character’s royal theme with a layer of sinister red. My character’s royal status and appearance are important parts of his villainous mentality. In his mind these superior status symbols allow him to abscond with the Nut Village’s entire nutritious supply of nuts without fear of consequences. It is only after the hero makes his move to take back the town’s food and namesake that Casheww realizes the lower class’s ability to push back against tyranny.

2.

The darkness of the throne room in my second image represents the character I designed well. I chose this image because of how although there is some light in this eerie throne room; it is partially blocked by pillars which represent the obstacles put in place by the villain to thwart the hero. Also most of the light is pouring in from above the ruler’s head showing his powerful status along with a long set of stairs separating himself from the silhouetted hero. Everything in this room is cast in low lighting which depicts the internal darkness within Count Casheww that caused him to go insane after losing his hand.

3.

 My third image’s shape reflects my character Count Casheww rather well because of the fact that I wanted him to strongly resemble a real life nutcracker, mainly because of their creepy appearance and I’ve always thought of them as evil looking. The shapes of the third image and my villain character both have a similar slim but oddly rectangular frame with flowing white hair from both sides of the head and below the nutcracker’s signature square jaw line. The shape of the head is also similar to my character because of how the nutcracker in the image has a round shaped head and face which is placed below a large unshapely hat.              

Hero Deconstruction / Lab partner James Shannon's character

4367161804_1ab4babb48.jpg
70668-Sunset_Cowboy_Finished_sm.JPG
images

- Blue: To symbolize the heroism residing within my character. He is garbed in blue pants and a blue vest to display that he is a true hero.
- Red: To represent his passion in justice and doing the right thing. He wears a red bandana around his neck as a constant reminder that he is not only passionate in his heart but constantly has justice on his mind.
- Brown: To show that he is down to earth, and is always level-headed. He needs to be mindful because he needs to be able to make the right decision and maintain justice for the people.


The sunset symbolizes him as the last chance to maintain peace and justice for the people. This light is fitting for him as a hero because he is typically the only person who can attain peace and justice in the land. However, the darkness part of the sunset represents the fact that he is cloaked in mystery, a silent hero for the people who saves the day and is never seen until the threat of evil is present in the land.


The almond shape represents his well rounded abilities and his emblem; the almond. He also runs a fast food joint that vends strictly almonds, which is yet another reason why an almond describes his essence. The almond shape also could represent his structure; he's not the stereotypical strong hero, he has an average build, which could be considered somewhat oval-esque.

We just deconstructed Almond Arnold

Luke Skywalker, Hope of the Jedi