Sound Design - Blog #3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5QxUHCKqMU

In this ending scene from Spiderman 1, MJ and Peter Parker are talking to each other in close proximity. The dialogue is very prominent and the background noise (casual sounds such as wind blowing and birds chirping) is very low. This creates a sense of flat space, where we are only focused on the dialogue from the two central characters. During the scene, Peter voices his thoughts in-between the dialogue while he and MJ are on screen. Only the audience can hear this voice over, so it is an example of a non-diegetic sound element, which guides the audience through the main character’s feelings in the scene. In the last shots with Spiderman swinging through the city, semantic sounds are used to represent his swinging from building to building. When he gets close to the camera, we hear an exaggerated WOOSH. Also, whenever he shoots a web, even in the far shots, we hear the sound of the web being shot, which is also an example of a semantic sound element. The purpose of these sounds is to give us a further sense of movement in an environment where we could not easily hear any type of sound coming from an individual. The music through the scene also rises and falls with the emotion and dialogue, culminating in an intense orchestration to close the movie. 

Blog #2 - Finding Your Howl

Summary: Finding Your Howl

In Jonathon Flaum’s FINDING YOUR HOWL, he references the story of the wolves.  The wolves have been bred in captivity and as a result have “lost their howl”, where they lack leadership because they did not grow up living in the environment they were meant to live in. One wolf goes on a quest to obtain his Howl. He must achieve and endure hardships that he did not want to face in order to earn the ability to earn his howl. The point that Flaum is trying to make is that we all must endure and experience things that we would care to not have to go through in order to become able to live a meaningful and productive life.

Quote: http://judithpordon.tripod.com/poetry/inspirational_quotations_on_creativity.html

"The key then is to find your own mountain, 
other wise you will be competing 
with people who are not even in your event, 

and running up against 
the 'shoulds' and 'oughts' of that world, 
and the inevitable frustration and depression 
and feelings of failure. 

A person can be complete or incomplete, 
but one thing is sure; 
he cannot be someone else." 

George Sheehan M.D

This quote explains what it was like for me to realize what I finally wanted to do with my life. I originally went to a small private school my freshman year of college intending to major in theatre, since it had been a favorite hobby of mine. For the entire senior year leading up to my freshman year of college, I was under the impression that I wanted to be an actor, and planned my first year of college according to that plan.

When I finally arrived at college and the theatre program, it was not what I expected. The atmosphere was completely different from the one I had experienced in community theatre. In this theatre program, everyone was striving to become a successful actor. While there is nothing wrong with that, it made the atmosphere uncomfortable because the people would act like they were your friend, but when you turned your back they were plotting ways beat you at the next audition. There was no true friendship because the entire experience was a competition, rather than a collaboration. As a result, I found myself feeling like I did not belong. I had not found my own “mountain”, but rather I was doing what I was being taught, and not fully appreciating it because of the disconnection I experienced from the art.

After the first semester I left the theatre program and joined (of all things) the physics program. Why? For a while I had this mindset that I should do what makes money. I was taught that any science would be a much bigger moneymaker than anything in the arts. I found that I did not enjoy physics, and my disappointment with the way my college career was going started to mount. I felt as if I was “running up against the ‘shoulds’ and ‘oughts’ of the world”. I felt like I was battling against what I was told to do rather than what I wanted to do.

Then I decided that I needed to rethink my college career. I needed to do what I truly enjoy, and I have always had a knack for creating interesting videos. Back at the beginning of high school I was under the impression that whatever my future career would be, it would involve videos and media in some capacity. I should have listened to myself, rather than wait to figure it out all over again.

The area I decided to specialize in is video editing for TV news. I find the news fascinating because it connects us to what is happening, locally and around the world. To be involved means to help shape the story through the use of the creative process. Video, even the simplest of news clips, tells a story which will be viewed by thousands of people, so even the simplest story can make a difference in how people perceive an issue. For me, being involved and having the ability to create that story is a mountain that I aspire to live on. 

Deconstructing Characters Blog #1

Antagonist

Color

This character follows an analogous color scheme, which primarily uses green hues. These colors represent the character’s society as being close to nature. They are not necessarily primitive, but instead contrast with the industrialist world that Earth has become. The color green stands for a state of balance and having the ability to pursue new ideas. This character exhibits all of these traits. The character also uses a shade of blue, which represents trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, and truth. With these colors we gain a sense that this society has moved past typical human faults and learned to live at a higher level of understanding.

Lighting

The lighting that illuminates this character is meant to bring focus to the character’s position in his society. The character is symbolically standing on top of a planet. The sun illuminates the character from behind, and his shadow is then cast upon the planet. This signifies the character as a leading member of his society, perhaps even its leader. The position of the sun also puts Earth in a weird light. This makes the planet appear as if it is in despair, which again sets up a contrast between our world and the character’s world. One world is thriving, while the other is dying.

Line/Shape

When deciding how to draw the character, it was important to emphasize that he is a strong moral and political figure. The triangle was the perfect shape to base the character off of. According to a reading for class, “Triangles are leaders. They’re ambitious, motivated go-getters, decisive and focused. They’re strong, political, and make egotistical leaders.” The character is drawn with very straight lines. There is little to no curve (besides my inability to draw), and the manner in which he is holding his hand tells us that outsiders, particularly those from Earth, are not welcome. This culture is reserved, and does not appreciate alien contact.

 

The character described is General Atiri.

 Protagonist

Color

While the character follows an analogous color scheme, it contrasts with the background in which he is placed, which follows a monochrome color scheme. This is meant to distinguish between the distinct differences between the character and his environment. The character has colors of orange and tan while the background contains shades of black and gray. This portrays the character as being out of place in his society, but the lighter colors portray him as having good intentions, despite the differences between him and his society. We can also determine that the society he lives in is evil.

Lighting

This picture shows many light bulbs in an environment similar to the picture above; dark and mostly filled with shades of black and grey, which tells us that the society is less than an ideal one to live in. One light bulb among all the rest is illuminated, lighting a particular area of the picture while the rest is dark. This can signify the character’s desires. In the environment in which he is standing, an object illuminates part of the sky while he looks up at it. This shows his motivation to leave the oppressed world that he has been part of for so long.

Line/Shape

The overall shape and drawing style used for this character contrasts with that of the antagonist. The antagonist was drawn with straight lines, which formed the overall shape of a triangle, which signified the character’s position as a leader in his society. For the antagonist, he contains little or no straight lines, but instead has an overall curved shaped, which makes the character appear more open for change. It also indicates that he is a peacemaker and will do what he can to keep the peace. This will come in handy for when the protagonist and antagonist finally meet.

The character described is Jake Fury

Media and the Creative Process

Media is cool