Thursday, December 10, 2009
BLOG 1 Rewrite
Today the web is more interactive then ever. At first the webs interactivity was limited to giving you the ability to choose what data you wanted to access. Now you can post your own data, like blogs, such as the one i am writing now, or write in a forum on any topic, even write on some ones “wall”. I do these things every day as most do in some form or another. I go CNN.com where i am able to create my own news segments by adding video segments of different news stories to a playlist. On the New York Times web site, you are offered links from their current articles to related stories of the past, which allows you to gain background on issues. These sites create user center content by allowing the user to choose the content. Facebook.com takes this to an extreme by creating a forum where you can view news on your community of friends, news that is generated by not only what they write but what they do. All of these websites utilize many media mediums to deliver their content, such as video, sound, and images, Allowing interaction with that media which offers an enhanced online experience that people only dreamed about, or feared ten years ago. All of these features in websites, on a basic level offer content in all available mediums, allowing you to filter that content, and then share your thoughts on the content that you have seen. This is the essence of interactivity and selectivity and it has only been made possible because of the data that the web offers.
BLOG 4-160
Blog 4
When I was searching the web for the flash animation in which to write this blog on, I stumbled upon a site that uses animation to create political cartoons. One guy named Mark Fiore, regularly creates and posts animations on his site pertaining to what ever the hot political story of the day maybe. After watching a few I saw this as a great utilization of flash. Print political cartoons often have to hide some deeper meaning to be interesting enough to make a lasting point. This is not the case with flash animations, he is able to put more out there and touch on more issues in a unique way. In addition this delivery system is more conceive to a younger crowd who may not read the paper but still needs to know about politics. It also could inspire people that watch the cartoons to read more into the issues they touch on, this is an important service in a country where people are becoming increasing politically illiterate. One animation that i watched was about President Obama’s serge in Afghanistan, in the animation he is giving a speech that is contradictory and as he is goes on people keep “crashing” his speech. First are the famed party crashers which really have nothing to do with the issue but then others come, that are inconvenient visitors for the President, that suggest why farther deployment to Afghanistan might be a bad idea, and work to contradict the premise of the speech. The cartoon proves a valid point and is funny at the same time. There are also forums that correspond to these cartoons so there is a level of interactivity involved, as far as interactivity in the animations there is only a replay button. The cartoon is very entraining and its minimalist animation even adds to it’s appeal, if you have a couple of minutes i highly suggest taking a look at the cartoon i discussed as well as others on the site
http://www.markfiore.com/
When I was searching the web for the flash animation in which to write this blog on, I stumbled upon a site that uses animation to create political cartoons. One guy named Mark Fiore, regularly creates and posts animations on his site pertaining to what ever the hot political story of the day maybe. After watching a few I saw this as a great utilization of flash. Print political cartoons often have to hide some deeper meaning to be interesting enough to make a lasting point. This is not the case with flash animations, he is able to put more out there and touch on more issues in a unique way. In addition this delivery system is more conceive to a younger crowd who may not read the paper but still needs to know about politics. It also could inspire people that watch the cartoons to read more into the issues they touch on, this is an important service in a country where people are becoming increasing politically illiterate. One animation that i watched was about President Obama’s serge in Afghanistan, in the animation he is giving a speech that is contradictory and as he is goes on people keep “crashing” his speech. First are the famed party crashers which really have nothing to do with the issue but then others come, that are inconvenient visitors for the President, that suggest why farther deployment to Afghanistan might be a bad idea, and work to contradict the premise of the speech. The cartoon proves a valid point and is funny at the same time. There are also forums that correspond to these cartoons so there is a level of interactivity involved, as far as interactivity in the animations there is only a replay button. The cartoon is very entraining and its minimalist animation even adds to it’s appeal, if you have a couple of minutes i highly suggest taking a look at the cartoon i discussed as well as others on the site
http://www.markfiore.com/
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Blog 3 medp160
blog 3
creating a film from a story board to shooting to editing was a interesting process, at each stage i found myself wishing i had done something differently in the last. when i was shooting i found that my story board was not detailed and extensive enough and when i was editing i never seemed to have to right footage. However i learned to coupe, improvise and by doing so learned the fundamentals of film making. At the end of the process i was happy i had made the mistakes i did, realizing that they were for the most part inevitable.
Since the time for developing the project was short, creating the story and shooting it were rushed and thus not every fulfilling, but that did not take anything away from the editing experience. Working with final cut was by far the highlight of this project . learning to use the programs many tools to piece together coherent scenes to create meaning from a shot list.
Since there was little time for production and preproduction the meaning of the piece had to be mostly manufactured through editing which ended up giving me a first hand look at how editing is pivotal to the story telling process. All in all creating this project was very enriching technically and not so much creatively but the skills i have learned will with out a doubt help me to create works in the future by developing creative stores into the film medium.
creating a film from a story board to shooting to editing was a interesting process, at each stage i found myself wishing i had done something differently in the last. when i was shooting i found that my story board was not detailed and extensive enough and when i was editing i never seemed to have to right footage. However i learned to coupe, improvise and by doing so learned the fundamentals of film making. At the end of the process i was happy i had made the mistakes i did, realizing that they were for the most part inevitable.
Since the time for developing the project was short, creating the story and shooting it were rushed and thus not every fulfilling, but that did not take anything away from the editing experience. Working with final cut was by far the highlight of this project . learning to use the programs many tools to piece together coherent scenes to create meaning from a shot list.
Since there was little time for production and preproduction the meaning of the piece had to be mostly manufactured through editing which ended up giving me a first hand look at how editing is pivotal to the story telling process. All in all creating this project was very enriching technically and not so much creatively but the skills i have learned will with out a doubt help me to create works in the future by developing creative stores into the film medium.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
blog 2 med160
For this blog assignment I decided to look at the opening scene of Super Size Me. This is a well know documentary about a man who tries to go 30 days on McDonnell's alone. Not as a stunt but as an experiment in response to the first round of law suits that were taken against McDonnell's by consumers who were seeking reparations from the company for their obesity and resulting health problems. To do this the court said that the companies would have to prove that the meals they eat from he fast food giant were the priceable reasons for their heath problems.
The way that the film makers decide to open the piece is particularly interesting, its intended effect is to clearly draw the viewer in by immediately providing them with the extent of the fast food empires effect on American culture. They achieve this by opening with a group of kids that are about ten, who are partaking in a sign along, the song is about fast food and how much they enjoy consuming the food items that they sell. Instantly it hits you how much these restaurants have become a part of the fabric of this countries culture and the influence they have over the latest generation of Americans, the future generation. These children at a fairly young age have developed an affinity for fast food, this is why how they choose to conduct business is of great importance to the nation, by stating this with the opening sequence they clearly make the case of why your should continue to watch the film and to take it seriously.
The first shot opens up with a close up on 4 of the kids but quickly expands to reveal a larger group then an even wider shot reveals 40 to 50 children all singing and uniformly using hand singles to make shapes that coincide with the food their singing about. wings for Kentucky fried chicken, a big circle for pizza hut and so on. The shot is jarring because it depicts an activity that most people participate in as a child, an American past time the sing along but instead of the song being about a folk hero its about fast food icons it’s almost as if the sound track conflicts with the imagery. Then the wide shot of the signing children fades to a quote. The song continues. The quote, which is simply written in white letters with a black background “Take care of the costumer and the business will take care of itself”. Under the quote after about three seconds the author is revealed as McDonnell's co founder Ray Kroc. The quote then stays on the screen for an additional 15 seconds. way longer then it takes to read it, its meant to be comprehended. It has the effect of the viewer asking questions like, is the extreme loyalty that these companies enjoy deserved. As this questions drum up interest in the movies content grows and the viewer becomes almost immediately engrossed in the content.
check out the scene by clicking on this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V168xofxgu0
The way that the film makers decide to open the piece is particularly interesting, its intended effect is to clearly draw the viewer in by immediately providing them with the extent of the fast food empires effect on American culture. They achieve this by opening with a group of kids that are about ten, who are partaking in a sign along, the song is about fast food and how much they enjoy consuming the food items that they sell. Instantly it hits you how much these restaurants have become a part of the fabric of this countries culture and the influence they have over the latest generation of Americans, the future generation. These children at a fairly young age have developed an affinity for fast food, this is why how they choose to conduct business is of great importance to the nation, by stating this with the opening sequence they clearly make the case of why your should continue to watch the film and to take it seriously.
The first shot opens up with a close up on 4 of the kids but quickly expands to reveal a larger group then an even wider shot reveals 40 to 50 children all singing and uniformly using hand singles to make shapes that coincide with the food their singing about. wings for Kentucky fried chicken, a big circle for pizza hut and so on. The shot is jarring because it depicts an activity that most people participate in as a child, an American past time the sing along but instead of the song being about a folk hero its about fast food icons it’s almost as if the sound track conflicts with the imagery. Then the wide shot of the signing children fades to a quote. The song continues. The quote, which is simply written in white letters with a black background “Take care of the costumer and the business will take care of itself”. Under the quote after about three seconds the author is revealed as McDonnell's co founder Ray Kroc. The quote then stays on the screen for an additional 15 seconds. way longer then it takes to read it, its meant to be comprehended. It has the effect of the viewer asking questions like, is the extreme loyalty that these companies enjoy deserved. As this questions drum up interest in the movies content grows and the viewer becomes almost immediately engrossed in the content.
check out the scene by clicking on this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V168xofxgu0
Thursday, September 17, 2009
MEDP 160
blog 1
regularly i view news media via websites like the nytimes.com or cnn.com these sites are extremely interactive. On CNN I am able to create my own news segments by adding video segments of different news stories to a playlist. The New York Times links their current articles to related stories of the past, which allows me to gain background on on issue which i find interesting or i have a vested interest in. I also regularly view sites that are centered around user generated content such as Facebook.com. These sites in a since offer up extremely local news. Just providing information on your network of friends, birthdays, events etc. It also allows me to stay in-touch with childhood friends some of which are on the other side of the world.
All of the websites i use combine media mediums to deliver their content. such as video, sound, images. They also allow me to interact with that media therefore enhancing my online experience.
blog 1
regularly i view news media via websites like the nytimes.com or cnn.com these sites are extremely interactive. On CNN I am able to create my own news segments by adding video segments of different news stories to a playlist. The New York Times links their current articles to related stories of the past, which allows me to gain background on on issue which i find interesting or i have a vested interest in. I also regularly view sites that are centered around user generated content such as Facebook.com. These sites in a since offer up extremely local news. Just providing information on your network of friends, birthdays, events etc. It also allows me to stay in-touch with childhood friends some of which are on the other side of the world.
All of the websites i use combine media mediums to deliver their content. such as video, sound, images. They also allow me to interact with that media therefore enhancing my online experience.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
What I hear
I did my sound walk around the subway which in a sense is a neighborhood in New York. As I walked down steps to the platform I heard very little. It was quiet enough to hear the sound of crumbing paper as people turned the pages of their books and newspapers. As a train approached the station, it broke the pseudo silence. Its’ brakes roared as they brought the train to a stop. Then again there was a silence, which was even quieter then before as people waited for the doors to open. As they did sound came flooding out, penetrating the silent platform. As I boarded the train I realized it was emanating from a loud conversation that three men were having as they leaned against the door across from the one I was entering. Then in the foreground I heard the very familiar ding-dong that warns people that the doors are closing followed by a galloping sound created by people running down the stairs in an almost always futile attempt to catch the train. This noise evaporated as the doors shut, terminating with a clicking noise. Then there was a whining noise in the background created by the train, as it got up to speed. It sounded as if the train was struggling.
These noises repeated time and time again as the train hopped from station to station. The roar of the brakes, the ding-dong of the doors, the galloping sound of people running, the click and finally the whining of the train as it got back up to speed. I thought by listening closely to the subway I would hear things that I have missed the thousands of other times I have ridden the subway but I had heard all these sounds before. Then I realized separately they were just noises but together they made up a sound track that I have heard every time I have gone beneath New York, to ride the subway, a sound track whose ever presence is comforting.
These noises repeated time and time again as the train hopped from station to station. The roar of the brakes, the ding-dong of the doors, the galloping sound of people running, the click and finally the whining of the train as it got back up to speed. I thought by listening closely to the subway I would hear things that I have missed the thousands of other times I have ridden the subway but I had heard all these sounds before. Then I realized separately they were just noises but together they made up a sound track that I have heard every time I have gone beneath New York, to ride the subway, a sound track whose ever presence is comforting.
Museum blog
While at the museum I discovered the large role that the cinematographer has in the production of a film. I knew the position existed but I thought it was more of a director’s assistant that voiced the orders of the director to the camera men. Yet it is in fact much more important then that, I would go as far to say that the cinematographer is the unsung hero of film production. He or she determines the lighting and camera movement and thus the effect the shot will have on a viewer.
There is a 3rd dimension to film production one that surpasses what is being said and how the actors are moving when they say those lines. The 3rd dimension is the mood the shot is given by the cinematographer, which it does not have initially. The shots of a movie center around the actors so a viewer sees them as the most important elements, when in fact the cinematographer has told you where to look and how to feel about the story those actors are telling. The viewer of a film is only looking at a screen and listening to audio via speakers. Yet the filmmakers have to make the viewers feel as if they are really there. This is, in some ways, a magic trick and the cinematographers are the magicians.
There is a 3rd dimension to film production one that surpasses what is being said and how the actors are moving when they say those lines. The 3rd dimension is the mood the shot is given by the cinematographer, which it does not have initially. The shots of a movie center around the actors so a viewer sees them as the most important elements, when in fact the cinematographer has told you where to look and how to feel about the story those actors are telling. The viewer of a film is only looking at a screen and listening to audio via speakers. Yet the filmmakers have to make the viewers feel as if they are really there. This is, in some ways, a magic trick and the cinematographers are the magicians.
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