Scene deconstruction

A theme from this movie that you could draw from this scene is: Material "needs" are really not needs, they're just "wants". And these wants can push the people you love away from you. You can see in this scene, he starts off saying , "I don't need a damn thing! I don't need any of this!" He then proceeds to see, things he wants and decides he does "need". The theme is not quite didactic; it doesn't quite go out and say it. But, it does keep pushing the joke further and further as he goes through the scene, further and further out the door, with more and more stuff in his hands.

The director uses direction to show the second part of the theme. As he gains more and more and more possessions, he gets further and further away from the love of his life, literally and metaphorically. He also uses space by barely moving the camera at all. As the main character gets further and further away, he also looks smaller and smaller. So, he is trying to hint that the more material possessions you have, the smaller you really are. and the further away from loved ones you are.

animation Deconstruction

While both pictures utilize almost the exact same hues, the values of all of the colors are different. The first picture has fairly low values, making very bright pinks and yellows. The first picture is much brighter. The first image uses lower saturation for everything but Homer. This makes his yellow skin stand out from the rest of the frame. The second picture uses very similar saturation all across the frame. This leaves only line and shape to make the gun stand out at you.

Matt Groening uses very little shadow in either of these shots. He does however have different lighting in the two shots. The first shot seems to have light fill the whole room, with somewhat of an emphasis on Homer. The second shot seems to be dimly lit. In the first image, one could draw that Homer is a slob, from his beer belly to his underwear, to a crooked painting above him. Because the second photo is dark, and the violent nature of it, one  could draw that Homer is in some sort of horror role. The second ones dimness gives the viewer an uneasy feeling.

Song Deconstruction(s)

Listening Phase 1 (Rhythm)

Tempo [slow, medium, fast]

fast, around 150 beats.

Source [where is the rhythm coming from?]

Drums, with syncopated bass.

Groove [describe how the personality of the rhythm]

A very funky upbeat pop dance song

Listening Phase 2 (Arrangement)

Instrumentation [which instruments drive the song?]

The Drums. Kick and Snare/clap really drive this song. During the breakdown, i'd argue that the vocals drive it.

Structure/Organization [how is the song built?  Order, patterns, etc.]

Verse,chorus, verse, chorus, breakdown, chorus outro. a very simple 4 chord pattern all the way through

Emotional Architecture [Draw how the song build and drop?]

This song builds by adding new instruments during the chorus. Messing with the timbre. It also ends up dropping instruments during the breakdown.

Listening Phase 3 (Sound Quality)

Balance

-       Height [high and low of frequency]

High. Has low kick drum and bass, with a high keyboard riff and guitar chord progression.

-       Width [stereo panning left/right]

Not much width. No panning that I could hear.

-       Depth [layers of instruments - via loudness]

While there were several instruments, there was not really much depth. they were all just building on one another. 

Listening Phase 1 (Rhythm)

Tempo [slow, medium, fast]

medium-fast

Source [where is the rhythm coming from?]

all of it is coming from the guitar

Groove [describe how the personality of the rhythm]

an indie, campfire groove

Listening Phase 2 (Arrangement)

Instrumentation [which instruments drive the song?]

Guitar

Structure/Organization [how is the song built?  Order, patterns, etc.]

It is the same basic structure as the original song.

Emotional Architecture [Draw how the song build and drop?]

he plays and sings louder during the choruses., and even changes the rhythm up. Before most choruses he drops the guitar out completely.

Listening Phase 3 (Sound Quality)

Balance

-       Height [high and low of frequency]

Low. just a guitar

-       Width [stereo panning left/right]

no panning.

-       Depth [layers of instruments - via loudness]

Not deep at all. Just one instrument.

Both versions of this song shared the same Melody and Lyrics. They also share the exact same song organization. It differed, however, on the speed and timbre. While both had around the same tempo, Parker's cover lacked the driving Kick Drum. This lack of drum beat makes his sound much slower. The original song had a much more complex timbre. They did this by using several instruments: bass, drums, keyboards, vocals, backup vox, guitar, claps. Parker's cover has a very simple timbre: a man and his guitar. 

I, personally, enjoy Outkast's original song over the cover. It has a more dancy feel to it. It's great to play for a party or in your car, either place you just want to dance. The cover is not very danceable. If I was in an acoustic guitar mood, I would choose to listen to Obidiah Parker's cover. But overall, Outkast's is the best in my book.

Blog post 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVof0qj7SOw



FADE IN:


INT. BUILDING WINDOWS-- NIGHT


THE NAMELESS NARRATOR - 20s, Edward Norton - and his girlfriend, MARLA stand at the window. 

MARLA

You shot yourself.

NAMELESS

Yes, yes. But it's okay. Marla, look at me. 

As they're looking at each other the MUSIC starts to bleed into the scene. 

NAMELESS

I'm really okay. Trust me. Everything's going to be fine.

Just as he says "fine", the music really kicks in and every building around them begins to EXPLODE. Marla GASPS.

NAMELESS

You met me at a very strange time in my life.

The credits begin to roll and the music plays on; Where is my mind? where is my mind?

bRaINwAsHEd

http://changethis.com/manifesto/66.01.Brainwashed/pdf/66.01.Brainwashed.pdf

Acknowledging the Lizard

The lizard brain, as Seth Godin calls it, is the brain stem that tells us we can't. It is the biggest barrier any artist has to overcome. You must acknowledge the lizard, so that you can ignore it. 

Connect

One of the most important things someone can do is connect with the world around you. It really is all about who you know. If you put yourself out there, and your stuff is even decent, you  should at least get feedback that you can grow on and improve yourself with. 

Be generous

With the advent of the internet, there is so much free art circulating 24/7. This means you can't charge whatever you want for something these days. Some things should just be free. If you're generous with your work, you'll be rewarded in return.

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By just being a part of this class, I am making connections with the sort of people I will work with in my field. I think that making these connections helps me see more approaches to creative thinking. While I don't agree all the time, I enjoy listening to people talk during class. You can really get an idea of the views a person has from how they answer in class. Also, by connecting here, I'm making connections with people I will probably work with for, at least the next 4 years. 

Being generous is a good virtue to live by all the time. Not just being generous, but being nice too. If you're easy to work with and your work is decent, people will want to work with you. If you suck to work with and your work is great, no one will want to work with you. That is wasted talent. If you're generous, you will be rewarded.

I am not so sure that "acknowledging the lizard" really helps me write this blog. I suppose that I don't have much censorship while writing this blog. But I also feel that there's not a whole bunch of creativity going into this blog. We're assigned everything. 

# 2 Finding your howl

http://changethis.com/manifesto/51.01.YourHowl/pdf/51.01.YourHowl.pdf

In Flaum's Finding Your Howl, he tells a story of a wolf that is bred in captivity and loses his howl. Mumon, the main wolf knows that he has to howl or else his species will go extinct. Out of hunger, he goes after a deer and is scared at the raw power that he has exerted upon the deer. After a while, he pursues this intrinsic power and keeps going with it. Eventually the old Mumon dies and he finally finds his howl.  I think he explains the moral best by saying,

"For the cage to drop away it has to die, and this means that we have to die with it because, for reasons beyond our control, we have become identified with the cage and are one with it."

A great quote I like to think of from time to time would have to be 

                                        "Shit happens, 

              and it's awesome"

-Andrew W.K.

As a creative person, I think it is important to realize that there are good times in life and there are bad times. I think one has to look at all of these as just experiences, however. Not good, not bad, just experiences.  As a creative person, you need to draw from every single experience, not just a good one or a bad one. While I may not be the most positive person all the time, I rarely fail to see an experience to be learned from. 

Some of the best songs ever written were written from probably the lowest points in musicians lives. At the same time, some are written from the greatest times in peoples' lives. So it really makes you think, it's not about how sad he is or how ecstatic he is,  it's about how many experiences he has in life. While I do not think that one should use good or bad to describe an experience, I think that there should be some size aspect to experience. Eating a bowl of cereal in the morning, is not much of an experience. Winning the Superbowl is. The size of the experience is what makes an impact on your life. (and thus creative work)

When Andrew W.K. says "shit" in this quote, it is assumed he's talking about bad stuff. I like to think of it as just everything. Everything happens, and it is awesome. Within this context, you take away a more positive meaning of the quote. It makes me think, "Life is awesome, experience it." If you view take away all of your experiences you can do nothing but grow as a person. 

Once you let go of "good" or "bad" experiences and take them all in as just experiences. You are able to draw from those experiences and learn a lot about yourself. Once you kill off the old you, you are able to find your howl within.

Blog Numero 1

Dis my hero:

White Color Scheme

His white outfit shows just how pure he is. Don't, however, confuse pure with perfect. He is not perfect. He loves to party, so his white outfit will make any imperfections stand out. But he is certainly modest about that. All he has to do is wash his white outfit, and boom, it's white again. His white outfit also shows how simple he is. He just wants to spread joy to the world and have everyone experience life.

Overhead spotlighting

He is the center of everyone's attention and the spotlight is always on him. The white spotlight just adds to his white color scheme. It creates a very simplistic emotion of good. No fancy lighting, just a simple white light over his head to make him even more pure. Most of his backgrounds will be black, that also makes him stand out even more as the good guy.

Angular Stance

This partying hero is almost always caught in an angular stance. This shows that he's not a complex person, his personality, like his stance, is straight and simple. The ways he stand makes him look like very fun loving guy

I just deconstructed

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ANDREW W.K.

(Party Man)

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This is evil enemy deconstructed: 

Orange/black color scheme

This villain represents all that is evil. His black evil soul is so powerful that it has been cast through unto his outfit. His reddish-orange color provokes the audience to think of hell, especially when complementing a deep black. These two colors exemplify how far opposite of Andrew W.K. he is.

Curvy round shape

Unlike Party Man, this evil villain is complex and ambiguous. His shape is round and curvy. His curves are unsettling and give you a sense of uncertainty about him. Round shapes also lets him blend into his background easier. Not knowing where your enemies are makes them much scarier. 

Rear, silhouette lighting

Party Man's arch-nemesis is generally lit from behind to create a silhouette. With a silhouette, he is more ambiguous, therefor more scary and unsettling. Since he's already partially black, only the orange in his silhouette stands out. A very daunting thought.

I just deconstructed

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KG

(Nasty Man)