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

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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