Read Seth Godin's "Brainwashed" HERE
Acknowledging the Lizard:
What Godin means by the 'Lizard' is the voice inside of you that tells you to follow the instructions and that if you don't you're wrong. He tells us that one way to reinvent ourselves is to acknowledge that the lizard is there, and do the work on our own. Acknowledge it so we know it's there, but then ignore it instead of following any norms.
Connecting:
Another way Godin suggests to reinvent yourself is to connect with others. Years ago we were much more isolated, but now we can connect with virtually anyone. We have to take advantage of that ability and connect with as many people as we need to.
Failing:
Failing is one of the most important and common parts of being creative. Today, being different or risky can be what makes your career. We must be able to cope with failure because there's always a chance people won't like what you have done or made - this doesn't mean to give up though.
These three layers of reinventing ourselves go right along with this class and even our futures in general. Acknowledging the Lizard is a very important lesson because it shows us how important being able to stand out and speak our minds can be in any situation. It goes with this class because we are being taught the creative process and what it means to be express ourselves and avoid the social norms that are taking over people all over the world. Connecting is also a very important aspect of reinvention. If you want your work to be seen/heard you have to connect with as many people as you can (or just a few of the right people). This aspect goes with our blogs/class in that it allows all of us to be connected to not just each other, but anyone else who either reads them or has their own blog. Lastly, failing, in time, will only help you to succeed in what you want to do. Learning to except failure is one of the hardest, yet rewarding lessons that one will learn. It relates to this blog because we know that if we fail, we have still learned a great deal from the experience. At least we are challenging ourselves with new ideas and tasks and giving it our best effort. If someone doesn't appreciate the work you do, that's their personal opinion. You are still in control and know that you put in your best effort, and that's what really matters. All in all, these things lead back to being able to acknowledge the lizard, and be as creative as your mind will let you.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Blog #4: Reflections on Sound Design
Pulp Fiction Scene
This scene, although it's in quite an ordinary place, uses many qualities of both time and space to give Jules a feeling of great power. When he's speaking, it's almost as if he's toying with the three men before he actually gets to his point. Once he does, he makes his point by yelling in a very loud and clear voice. When Brett has any hesitation, he speaks even slower in an angry tone to make a very clear and direct point. Movement is very noticeable as it's not a very large apartment. When Jules walks towards the man on the couch you can tell there's a slight shift in the scene. The space of the apartment is limited, yet Jules uses it to his advantage. He stands at the other side of the table while he's joking with Brett, but when he starts to get serious he flips the table over so there's nothing between the two of them. This almost gives you a sense that Brett's a prisoner because he's sitting right in front of Jules, who's standing with a gun pointed at him. These elements gives Jules a great sense of power throughout the scene in its entirety.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Blog #2: Finding Your Howl
Read Jonathon Flaum's article about 'Finding Your Howl' here - FIND YOUR HOWL
The story of Mumon the Red Wolf is one about instincts and survival. The red wolf was an endangered species at this time, so the 14 that were left were captivated to keep alive. None of the wolves (born in captivity) remembered how to howl when they were released into the wild. This made it impossible for them to have a leader. Mumon learned that the best way to live was to act on his own instincts while in the wild. The message of this story is to live life by your instincts to ensure you get the most meaningful and true experience from it.
Lyrics from Atmosphere - Say Shh
So if the people laugh and giggle when you tell 'em where you live
say shh... say shh...
And if you know this is where you wanna raise your kids
say shh... say shh...
If you're from the midwest and it doesn't matter where
say shh... say shh...
If you can drink tap water and breathe the air
say shh... say shh...
If they playground is clear of stems and syringes
say shh... say shh...
And if there's only one store in your town that sells twelve inches
say shh... say shh...
If no one in your crew walks around with a gun
say shh... say shh...
And if you ain't gonna leave cause this is where you're from
say shh... say shh...
In my personal opinion, Slug (one half of the hip-hop group Atmosphere) is one of the most talented lyricists in the music world today. I can almost guarantee that just about everyone can identify with at least one song he has written. I can identify with these lyrics because he's saying that you don't need to fit into any type of generalization to do what you want to do. He's a very popular hip-hop artist and he doesn't exactly fit into the stereotype that many people attach to his profession. He's saying to take pride in who you are and where you're from, even if other people don't share a similar outlook. He proves that he has done this by writing about how he lives in Minnesota, and isn't a thug like a lot of rappers are portrayed to be. Some even strive for that image, but he is doing the exact opposite. This is only a portion of the song, but the song in its entirety really speaks to me as a creative person. It gives me inspiration to continue to do what I enjoy doing even if people shoot me down along the way. Slug has a way of painting pictures just with the words that he speaks. He's a true poet, which is much harder to find in today's rap or hip-hop scene. When I was deciding on what I wanted to major in I had a tough time deciding on audio production. I know that it's what I want to be doing for the rest of my life because I enjoy music so much, but along the way I've been told time and time again that I should study something that guarantees me a career right out of college. This may not be the exact message that Slug intended to portray through his song, but I feel as though his lyrics can be interpreted in whatever way you choose to look at them. Looking at these lyrics in the way that I did made me realize that I wouldn't be happy with any other major. I wouldn't be satisfied with a boring career working in an office day after day doing the same thing. Audio production will provide me with an interesting career that I can actually look forward to. Being creative, to me, is not always about how artsy one can be. It's about how one approaches whatever they may be working on, and how much time and thought is put into the finished product. It's using your imagination to come up with new ideas people haven't heard of or thought of before you. The creative process is a process that every human being is capable of, but only some people actually utilize it to create something brand new. These song lyrics are inspiration to anyone that anything is possible no matter who you are or where you're from. Never take what you have for granted.
The story of Mumon the Red Wolf is one about instincts and survival. The red wolf was an endangered species at this time, so the 14 that were left were captivated to keep alive. None of the wolves (born in captivity) remembered how to howl when they were released into the wild. This made it impossible for them to have a leader. Mumon learned that the best way to live was to act on his own instincts while in the wild. The message of this story is to live life by your instincts to ensure you get the most meaningful and true experience from it.
Lyrics from Atmosphere - Say Shh
So if the people laugh and giggle when you tell 'em where you live
say shh... say shh...
And if you know this is where you wanna raise your kids
say shh... say shh...
If you're from the midwest and it doesn't matter where
say shh... say shh...
If you can drink tap water and breathe the air
say shh... say shh...
If they playground is clear of stems and syringes
say shh... say shh...
And if there's only one store in your town that sells twelve inches
say shh... say shh...
If no one in your crew walks around with a gun
say shh... say shh...
And if you ain't gonna leave cause this is where you're from
say shh... say shh...
In my personal opinion, Slug (one half of the hip-hop group Atmosphere) is one of the most talented lyricists in the music world today. I can almost guarantee that just about everyone can identify with at least one song he has written. I can identify with these lyrics because he's saying that you don't need to fit into any type of generalization to do what you want to do. He's a very popular hip-hop artist and he doesn't exactly fit into the stereotype that many people attach to his profession. He's saying to take pride in who you are and where you're from, even if other people don't share a similar outlook. He proves that he has done this by writing about how he lives in Minnesota, and isn't a thug like a lot of rappers are portrayed to be. Some even strive for that image, but he is doing the exact opposite. This is only a portion of the song, but the song in its entirety really speaks to me as a creative person. It gives me inspiration to continue to do what I enjoy doing even if people shoot me down along the way. Slug has a way of painting pictures just with the words that he speaks. He's a true poet, which is much harder to find in today's rap or hip-hop scene. When I was deciding on what I wanted to major in I had a tough time deciding on audio production. I know that it's what I want to be doing for the rest of my life because I enjoy music so much, but along the way I've been told time and time again that I should study something that guarantees me a career right out of college. This may not be the exact message that Slug intended to portray through his song, but I feel as though his lyrics can be interpreted in whatever way you choose to look at them. Looking at these lyrics in the way that I did made me realize that I wouldn't be happy with any other major. I wouldn't be satisfied with a boring career working in an office day after day doing the same thing. Audio production will provide me with an interesting career that I can actually look forward to. Being creative, to me, is not always about how artsy one can be. It's about how one approaches whatever they may be working on, and how much time and thought is put into the finished product. It's using your imagination to come up with new ideas people haven't heard of or thought of before you. The creative process is a process that every human being is capable of, but only some people actually utilize it to create something brand new. These song lyrics are inspiration to anyone that anything is possible no matter who you are or where you're from. Never take what you have for granted.
Blog #1: Deconstructing Characters
Hero: James Brett
Color: Monochromatic - Brown, Orange and Yellow
The color scheme is monochromatic - the same hue is used with different saturations (light - yellow, dark - brown). The reason for this is to give him a western feel. The brightness of yellow shows that he is a character with good intentions, while the brown shows that he's not much of a big shot 'super-hero' but more of a bland person that still wants to do good. The value of the colors is pretty dark to give the character a vintage kind of feel. This is because he's from the west and has an old fashioned cowboy sense to him unlike his villain who is more new-age and has more of a technological side to him.
Light: Very bright lighting, but the character is almost in the shadows of the light.
The lighting is bright to show that the character is good and has the same qualities as the normal hero would. He is in the shadows to show once again that he's not a big important hero, but more of an average person trying to do the right thing. In the picture, the cowboy is portrayed as moving away from us towards the sun. This gives us a feeling that he has a goal which may be reachable, but is quite a long distance away. He is moving towards his goal trying to reach it and not looking back once.
Shape: Star shaped
This character has the shape of a star because it symbolizes goodness. The many points of a star show that it's a complex shape just as the hero is a complex character in that there's more than meets the eye about him. This shape also represents hope. The character has very high hopes to reach his goal and will do anything within the confines of the law to do so. It represents light and direction. He must follow it to go in the right direction straight to his goal so he can achieve it.
Villain: Vito Carenzetti
Color: Analogous - Red, Purple and Yellow
The villains color scheme is a blend of red, purple and yellow. These colors are an analogous color scheme because they are different hues, but they are all next to each other on the color wheel. In this case, the analogous color scheme gives the character a sense of power. The red and yellow hues accent the purple since it's the darkest. Purple is also a color of royalty and power so it gives the villain a kind of evil powerful feeling.
Light: In the Spotlight
The villain, in our case, is the center of attention. He has power and technology so he tries to always be in the spotlight. The parts of him which are visible to the eye are large and all powerful, while there's still darkness in which he's hiding. The darkness behind the character is only seen by few, which is why he is looked up to by the city where he dwells. This lighting scheme gives the villain a very mysterious and powerful feeling to him.
Shape: Cube shaped
The cube shape this character possesses portrays in him a large sense of stability and power. It is a basic shape, yet very bold and stable. It has a perfect sense of balance just as the villain is always in control, or at least tries to be, of his actions and gestures. It also symbolizes strength and integrity, qualities which every villain should have.
Friday, January 6, 2012
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