Blog # 3- Sound Deconstruction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=eMKI5r12JKo&feature=related

                                                              Sound Critique:

In this scene from Inception, as you listen the sounds that we hear are all casual, they are all literal sounds that happen as we hear them as they are digetic (the world of the movie). They only sounds that are non-digetic are the soundtracks that we the audience can hear but the characters in the film can't. The soundtrack is the only sounds, which are sematic. It used for to represent a specific character-Mal. The music is very dark, and harsh. Which is ideal since she is the villain. Since the scene takes place in limited space, the sound is affected as such. The directionality plays an important part. When Ariadne steps on a glass, there is ting with an echo, when Mal steps on the glass there is just a low crunch. The difference is the ting gets Mal to become aware of Ariadne, it's important to the scene. When Mal steps on the glass it's immaterial hence the lower volume. To invoke emotional response there is the music becomes tense, and eerie, as Mal threatens Ariadne, and the audience is meant to feel her fear, and anxiety, which is enforced by her audible breathing, and quiet speaking.

Blog # 2-Response to Finding your Howl

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

                          Summary of Mumon's story:
In the 1970's, some red wolves have been released into the wild. But they’ve forgotten "howl", and how to be a real wolf. Mumon realizes that he’s got to find his howl in order to be a real wolf again. Along his journey he instinctively kills a deer which pains him. He then meets a raven he tells him to not be ashamed of what he truly is. He then meets a farmer who fires a gun at him, and it is then that Mumon finally "howls", and become proud of who he is, and become free.

                                My Favorite Quote:

"That's all any of us are-amateurs. We don't live long enough to be anything else."- Charlie Chaplin, Limelight

 It was a small shock to have heard the above quote uttered by Charlie Chaplin in his last American film, a man dubbed as a cinematic genius by film critics and historians. As a young student who hopes someday to work in the special effects industry, it got me thinking about people in show business. Most people in show business start as "amateurs", before they become "professionals". As "professionals" they want there films to be the best, and in order for that to happen the strive for perfection. But sometimes you might ask yourself if it's even worth it to try to reach for perfection. As artists grow, and mature they've got to stop be an "amateur" when it comes to criticism of their work, and take on the "professional" attitude and acknowledge when we've made an atrocity. But most importantly of all do we ever stop being amateurs at all, no matter what are level of success is? I shall look at each of these questions in turn.

Let's begin with perfection. Directors Charlie Chaplin and Orson Welles, and producers Walt Disney and Irving Thalberg all had reputations for wanting to make their films the best. Some times it worked and they were met with critical praise, and financial success with films such as The Great Dictator, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and A Night at the Opera. When it didn't they were left with a financial embarrassment with films such as Citizen Kane, and Fantasia. With the financial burden that is entitled with the entertainment industry, you might ask yourself if it's really worth it to strive for perfection? The answer is yes. Doing so gives you a better feeling about the project you're working on, and it gives you a better reputation-you're willing to do what's necessary to make your work special, to make it stand out from the crowd. Even if it might be a less a financial success in the short term, with age, and the home video market you might have a cult classic on your hands.

As artists in the entertainment industry you can spend months, or even years on a project. But there is nothing more heartbreaking than after spending all that time on it, than for the critics, or the audience to tear it to shreds. It's very tempting for an artist to respond with "you just don't get it", or "you don't know what's good". But to have such an attitude is to be an "amateur".  Even though you might be very attached to a project, you need to listen criticism in order to learn, and improve your work. No one is immune to working on a flop (critical or financial). Actor Michael Caine admits to squandering his talents in a string of horrible films. Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies a sequel to Phantom of the Opera was a dud in the West End Theatre District and will never see a Broadway production. Then there was Kenneth Branagh the "next Laurence Olivier", who learned a hard lesson in humility with his disastrous adaptation of Frankenstein. These "professionals" have learned to admit their mistakes and by doing so become better artists. If they hadn't they would all be "amateurs".

Every artist in the entertainment industry starts out as an "amateur" hoping to be noticed by studio bosses and some of the lucky ones include George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Sir Peter Jackson, and Christopher Nolan. Each of these men have managed to achieve considerable critical, and financial success over their careers. No one would think of these men as "amateurs". Or are they?  When you stop being an "amateur", and start being a "professional"? The answer is never. We tend to think of "professionals" as being people who have perfected their craft and have nothing left to learn.  But that is not true. No one is ever too old to learn, and no craft, or art can ever be perfected. It can be tweaked, or enhanced but not perfected. But we can try and produce some incredible masterpieces, or some embarrassments that can help us learn humility. We can all try to make the best film we can, and then learn the whole process over again with our next project. So that sense we are just "amateurs".

Blog # 1-Photo Deconstruction of a villain Professor Dectreum, and a hero Nemo

                                                      The Villian

    In popular culture with films such as the Matrix, computer binary code  is represented as a bunch of zeroes and ones-specifically green zeroes. Professor  Decretum is a computer genius, so his color scheme is mainly green like a computer code only it's in contrasting light, and dark saturations such as the way the binary code on the left is represented with different saturations of green on a black background.  But green is a color often associated with negative emotions such as “being green with envy”.  Of course green is also the main color of currency, so in turn it can be associated with greed.

Most devious characters such as Lex Luther, or the Joker prefer not to commit crimes in the light of day where every one can see them, and Professor Decretum is no exception. Instead they prefer to commit the crimes when they're be most safe at night, where the shadows of the dark will hopefully keep them hidden, and stop anyone from interefering with their designs. But of course there has always been something eerie about what is hidden in the dark, that twinge of fear that comes from the unknown, with an impulse to automatically assume the worse. For characters lurking in the shadows often have no redeemable qualties about them, and they should be feared.

Now the shape of Professor Dectreum's head is a triangle. There are certain aspects of personality that are often associated with a triangle that are very fitting for a villain. Amongst them being highly motivated, ambitious, and a very huge ego to top it all off. These traits make the villain a serious threat to hero and others, as they will not let anything stand in their way, not respect for the law, and not even the lives on innocent bystanders. Nothing matters to them in their twisted minds except achieving their own goals. But despite all this their ego is what usally leads to their down fall.


                                               The Hero

Ironically enough Professor Dectrum's greatest threat is a sentient robot that he created called Nemo. Nemo is decked out in a blue and yellow color scheme, that he himself created. The blue is in a light saturation, why the yellow is in a darker saturation. The blue represents his desire for peace, and calm to return to the world against the chaos, and insatiability imposed on it by Professor Dectreum. The yellow represents his optimism that one day the long battle between the two will one day come to an end. The happinies and joy brings is also in direct contrast with the cold, unfeeling green of Professor Dectreum.

The Round Table of King Arthur, and his Knights

As opposed to Professor Dectreum's triangular shaped head, Nemo's shape is more round, and circular. The Professor unfeeling actions threaten the world, and it is Nemo who is the one who tries to keep things safe from the deranged Professor. Nemo is a hero, a peace keeper, which is what the circle represents. Nemo is also empathic with other beings, and generous. Nemo is also a very warm character, in great contrast with ambitious, and goal  motivated Professor. Also where the Professor with his triangle-shaped head has a huge ego, Nemo with is circular shape is more self-critical of his thoughts and actions as a hero

In a world where Professor Dectreum has seemingly plunged the world into darkness, Nemo is in a sense the "shining light" as it were but it's more than that. Nemo, and the Professor are both very technologically based characters-a robot, and a computer program contaminated with a virus. But that's where it ends as the two are totally opposites. Nemo is good, the Professor is evil. But since the two are similarly themed, they sort of compliment each other in a way like ying and yang. Also in that sense, the two are locked in a never ending battle, similar to the battle between the Joker and Batman, and in this battle Nemo is the light, and the Professor is the dark; two forces at contast war that can never seem to defeat the other for good

Batman- A Hero for the Ages

Batman is my favorite super hero, because unlike other "super heroes" he doesn't super strength, speed etc. He is a man who has dedicated himself in fighting techniques, and crime detection abilities to fight criminals as a result of witnessing the murder of his parents as a child, and turning his grief and anguish to good use to avenge their deaths by making the streets of Gotham City safe.