Collapsus - Media At It's Finest

Below is the link to an awesome site that presents the energy risk in a new and creative light.

Collapsus

Response to media project

Podsnack would not upload my response to blogger and said there was an error so I put a link to my response

Video Game Presentation

The video game that my group created called Little People, Big World was a very basic game that was based on strategy and skill. The main idea of the game is for the character, which has been shrunk to collect all of the pieces that are scattered on different levels that when put together at the end of the game will make you normal size once again. I think a point we did not get across to our audience in this presentation were the ways to gain points in this game. Because the main point of each level was to find a piece of the remote that was needed to end of the game we did not focus on ways that the player could gain points within the different levels. I think if we could have made up some examples for this. The easiest thing to describe and convey to our class were the objectives and the goals of the game. The objectives and the goals of the game were the easiest to describe and I think was one of the strongest points that we made in our presentation. However looking back maybe we could have developed more goals and objectives for each level of the game.

Explaining these goals was easy because the goals themselves were too simple. The goals and objectives of the game are pretty plain and I think we could have had more complex levels in our game. As a whole I think that the presentation went well and that our audience understood the purpose of our game.

This American Life - Superpowers

I have tried multiple times to upload my response via podsnack but it is not working so below is the link to my superpowers response based on the episode of This American Life

Superpower

Dr. Manhattan

Heroes and Villains

For Alex’s animation I think he focused on a superhero and not a villain. He had a basic stick figure character that wore a cape and could fly as well as run very fast. His character sprays out a fire with his superpowers and all was well with the world it seemed after, it looks like there were fireworks to celebrate. At the end of the animation his character shows off his skills some more, by showing more water coming from the hero. I think Alex did a good job focusing on the lighting aspects in his animation. While there were no shadows in this animation that shows that his character is a hero, and that he is not trying to be sneaky or hide in the dark, unlike villains most of the time. The contrast of the water that the character is spraying and uses to deflect the fire and keep himself safe are a positive sign and symbolizes that he is a good character, because villains tend to have fire or to be spreading or starting fires. The setting and the fact that this character can fly establish the mood of the animation. The setting is in the daytime and there is bright green grass making it known that this is a hero. I actively associate flying superheroes with Superman and we all know that he is a good, worthy hero and not a villain so I am sure that he is a good guy because of this. Alex created an entertaining animation and made good use of lighting in his work.

This is a link to watch Alex's animation on his own blog - Alex's animation

I really enjoyed watching Ian’s animation. He created a villain and it was obvious to the viewer that it is a villain because of the color. Not only did the color stand out on the character but also in the graphics in the rest of the animation such as in the actions. First off there was contrast in the shape of the characters. The villain had a triangle head and the other character, probably the hero, had a circular head. Contrast was also shown in the color difference of the fire from the villain and the water from the hero. Subtext was shown in this animation in the scene of the fire and water. Water is brought into the animation and the villain quickly deflects this with fire, showing that he is more interested in destruction. The entire animation the villain has the same hue for all of his actions and his outfit. He is wearing red and has red and orange fire to fight with. The brightness of the fire, his outfit and the light saber that he fights with and kills the hero with are different colors of the hero. All of the colors in this animation are deeply saturated so that they stand out. The hero does not have an outfit and is a plain black stick figure, which makes the saturated colors of the villain stand out in the animation more. Ian’s animation was very well done and the colors made it memorable. Job well done.

This is a link to watch Ian's animation - Ian's animation

I was supposed to do another critique of someones animation in my lab, but not very many people have posted their animations...

Animation Villain

Below is the animation that I made and the pictures of the hero and the villain for the animation assignment.

Villain

Hero

MEDIA 203, Joke 3, Interpretation 1...

For the video joke assignment I was given a joke that involved the phrase T-G-I-F, along with the well less known phrase S-H-I-T which means Sorry, Honey It’s Thursday. Because I was the only girl in the group I ended up acting in both shot movies and got to personally experience the differences in the ways that my group approached filming these movies.

The first movie that we filmed or otherwise known as “Joke 1” with our obviously very creative title was done as a comedy and was filmed inside of Siegfried Hall, mainly inside the elevator. I would say something that we did not focus on enough in the movie is movement. While the movie is only supposed to be less than 3 minutes and the joke is a short one, since we were in an elevator we did not have much movement within this film. In our other film, once again creatively titled “Joke 2” there was exaggerated movements. Because it was a silent film we had exaggerated movements so it was obvious of what was going on to compensate for the lack of dialogue. Along with movement something we focused on in this film was tension and release. The tension is evident when both of us became agitated in the films because we did not understand what the other was saying and then the release at the end of the film when he explained S-H-I-T.

The second film that was shot was a more creative than the first. To change this film from the other one my group decided to make it a silent film and to add in captions so the viewer could understand what was happening. This film relied on the rhythm that we had when acting and the rhythm of our movements. Our movements allowed viewers to actively see that we were talking to each other and by reading the captions are aware of what we were saying to each other, however it is also didactic because the viewers can tell that we are becoming confuse and frustrated by each other.

I am proud of both videos and I think that they are very different, however I liked the second video more than the first. My group was successful in filming this video in a different way than most other groups, and was able to portray the jokes in two different ways.

Tony Hawk Pro Skater

I always stuck with the simple video games growing up because I was never very good at them. One game that I always did play was Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1. The video below is my critique of the movements that are used in this game.

Learning How To Be Creative

The video below is my reaction to Hugh MacLeod's How To Be Creative. I focused on 3 of the topics that he wrote about in this article and at the end are pictures of things that are and have been important to me and my creativity.

Audio Commentary On The Princess Bride

5A. Reimagining Visual Framing

The image I chose to focus on for this blog assignment was created by Ben Goossens. This artist is from Belgium, Europe and studied photography in art school and later worked as an art director for 35 years. After his work as an art director he decided to specialize in Photoshop images, which he had 15 years of experience in. The picture I chose to critique and reframe is of an owl sitting on an old chair in a room that is painted in clouds and grass with a window in the background. The colors of the walls and the floor bring contrast to the picture, while the layered framing on the chair adds affinity to the picture.

I was attracted to the picture because of the framing and of the painted background. The owl and the window did not necessarily catch my attention right away; I was drawn to the type of frame it was set in. The viewer looks at the lines and perceives a room with three walls. The image reminded me of Winnie the Pooh and made me think of the owl, specifically because he is sitting on a book, similar to when Owl would have a book when teaching. The framing was what drew me to this picture in the first place and that was what I decided to enhance or tighten on this picture. I took out the sides of the picture and tightened the middle or center of the picture, but still following the rule of thirds. The original image followed the rule of thirds, with an image or color in the left, center and right and top, middle and bottom part of the picture. The new image also follows the same guidelines for the rule of thirds. In creating this new picture I made the conscious decision to focus on the visual intensity of the picture and create a new frame for the picture where it was focused on the chair and window and not as much the walls.

I think that the artist framed this picture the way he did because he wanted to show off a room with walls and depth. The window in the background is seen as something far away because of the walls and the chair with the owl shown on the other side of the frame show the width of the picture. I believe that Goossens kept the sides of the picture not only for the depth and width of the picture, but too also show how the walls and the ground come together.

Original image by Ben Goossens

My "reframed" image

Can We Avoid Being Brainwashed??

Seth Godin’s article “Brainwashed – Seven Ways to Reinvent Yourself” describes how our culture has lead us to believe that we are average and illustrates how we have the ability to change our ways if we so choose. Godin suggests seven different ways to pull ourselves away from what we have been brainwashed with over the years and to revel in these new ideas to transform ourselves: connect, be generous, make art, acknowledge the lizard, ship, fail, and learn.

The suggestion “acknowledge the lizard” that can be used for reinvention immediately caught my attention because of the odd name. The lizard brain as Godin likes to call it is the prehistoric brainstem that all of us must contend with. Basically the lizard brain is his way of saying that people have never and will never enjoy being laughed at – embarrassed, and initially scared to try new things. Because of this “lizard brain” we lash out in anger and prevent ourselves from creating art. I can say that I have been one to follow the lizard brain formula and to go along with the resistance. Steven Pressfield describes “the resistance” as the voice in our heads that convinces ourselves to go along with the brainwashing and to conform to the rules that are set out for all of us. It is essential that we acknowledge this voice in our head and that we break down this barrier and have the courage to create and challenge the world. I think that this idea of acknowledging the lizard is a great suggestion for anyone looking to be successful and to try something new. The first step in creating something that is important to us and to society is to acknowledge that this is somewhat against the norm and then to just do it anyway. When reading about the lizard brain I realized that this pertains to my thoughts on this blog that I have to do for class. As I am becoming more comfortable with this blog I should remember to ignore that prehistoric thinking that is embedded in my brain. In reality, writing this blog isn’t all that bad. Do I dread looking at the assignments for it sometimes? Yes. Do I finish and post the assignments regardless of my feelings for them? Yes. Following this suggestion will only help me while I am studying communication. New and exciting ideas only come from people that have learned to control this thing called the “lizard brain.”

The other suggestion that stuck out to me when reading this article was the idea of “Fail.” It is as simple as that, before we do something great in the world we are supposed to accept that we will fail at one point or another. In fact in its description is it demanded that we fail, and that we better get used to the idea of failing often and in public. While this doesn’t sound appealing, it makes complete and utter sense and I was happy to see that someone had finally written it down so clearly and bluntly. “Fail,” explains how big industries and companies were not built on the idea of failure. But now it is encouraged that you take so many risks that you are bound to fail at something. Personally this idea seems intimidating, but I think that it could be very beneficial to anyone that accepts failure before it happens. By accepting it before it happens it doesn’t seem as scary anymore and it lets you be more adventurous. By training myself to get over failure and the idea of it I will let myself do so many things that I otherwise would have never tried.

This media class where I have actually had to divulge into the world of creation is the first that I have had in college. The other media classes I have had so far have not truly challenged me or made me put effort into an assignment. I think that the assignments in this class are worthwhile because each week I can see how the lectures translate into things that we will actually be doing. It is so common for students to attend classes, sit in lecture and just memorize the material verbatim for the midterm or final exam. This class has made me actually understand the material and use it in ways I didn’t expect to. I know that if I follow things like these suggestions from Seth Godin I will be more successful not only in my classes but in my major and my goals in general. I wouldn’t be a communication major if I didn’t have a desire to make my opinions known. By following these suggestions I will be more confident and happy with the outcomes of my work. I am fully aware that I have to continue to stray away from the brainwashing attempts and to take chances. I am quickly learning though that I enjoy taking chances, and that they are only helping me become a more creative person. I can only hope that I continue to take risks throughout life. As clichéd as it is, the greater the risk, the greater the reward.

Song Critique

Below is my critique of songs from people in my class.

Garageband Song

Rolling In the Deep

3A.  For many years I rarely liked it when artists did covers of songs by other artists. Whenever I heard that someone was going to do a cover of a song by someone else, specifically an artist in a different genre, I was never one to be curious about it or excited about this new version. However, in the past few years I started to give these songs a chance. I wouldn’t say that I am a fan of covers in general now, but I have at least started to listen to them. I was always one to think that a song should stay with that one artist but as I learned more about music I realized that tons of songs are “covers” of music that I love and appreciate.

A cover that I recently heard is “Rolling In the Deep” by Adele covered by the band Young the Giant. The song “Rolling In the Deep” by the singer Adele is off of her album 21 released in February of 2011 and it is one of the most popular songs on her album. The song reminds me of upbeat blues song, and I found it refreshing to hear a blues song sung by a woman that was upbeat and did not give off the typical melancholy feeling that one gets when listening to a blues song.  Adele’s English accent keeps up with the additional back up singers on the track and follows along with the piano and other various instruments. When listening to the original version of the song I can hear a definite rhythm that stands out. The song has a consistent beat that is heard through the piano and clapping. The rhythm is the basis of the speed of the song and is what gives it an upbeat and fast tempo.

Adele – Rolling In the Deep

In contrast to the speed of the song in the original the Young the Giant cover takes on a slower tempo. Young the Giant a band that has recently been gaining success in the United States and Europe did a cover of this song, however unlike Adele all of the members of Young the Giant are males. Sameer Gadhia, the lead singer changed “Rolling In the Deep” by slowing the song down and taking his time singing the lyrics. The clapping is still prominent in the song, but they added a tambourine and guitar. The piano is no longer in their version of the song and they focus on instruments that the band usually works with regularly. The lyrics of both songs are the exact same as far as I can tell. Since this is not a song that speaks specifically about men and women it was easy for the song to translate from Adele to the men of Young the Giant. While the song, like many, is about love and the “scars” from that love it did not limit Young the Giant when covering the song.

Young the Giant – Rolling In the Deep

Unsurprising to me I can say that I definitely enjoy the Young the Giant version of the song more than the original. I found out about Young the Giant in October of 2010 when their CD was sent to the radio station that I work at and I was able to listen to it before everyone else. I immediately fell in love with their debut album and have since seen them live twice. I have been told that I do not favor female singers as much as males and have denied this theory, but it is hard to dispute this idea when I like the Young the Giant version better. I like that the Young the Giant version is slower, I feel that you can appreciate the lyrics more. But this may also be attributed to the fact that I like the lead singers voice more than Adele’s voice. I enjoy listening to Adele’s version of the song, but overall I can resonate more with the sound and the vocals that Young the Giant brought to the song.

Soundscape Project

Soundscape - Disappointment

Below are the links to other soundscapes that I enjoyed listening to.
Caitlin Stone

Capri Ciulla

Nick Shega

Find Your Howl

Find Your Howl - sounds like a weird name for an article but somehow Johathon Flaum makes it work so we understand what he is trying to say with this phrase. Below is the link to his article, so you know what I am talking about in my response to it. Enjoy!

Find Your Howl

In Johathon Flaum’s article Find Your Howl he tells two stories. One story is about how red wolves are set back into the wild after being in captivity for their well-being and then how one wolf learns how to howl once they are let back into the wild. The other story, which I related to more, is based on a personal experience from when Flaum was in fifth grade. He tells the story of how his terrible teacher forced everyone in class to write a story. The story could be about anything they wanted and there was only one rule in the assignment, it had to be 5 pages long. Only one student in his class was able to write all 5 pages and was the only one to get a good grade on the assignment. This student wrote about a tiger being locked in a cage and how the tiger planned to jump out of the cage and escape the zoo at night. The tiger was never successful and always landed in another cage in another zoo. Flaum explained that the story shows how we are all stuck in a cage, one that we have put ourselves in. his main point in sharing this story is to show that for us to get out of these cages that we have put ourselves inn we have to completely accept and identify with them before we completely let go of them and reach out for something different. Because we will never be satisfied with anything besides our genuine howl as Flaum likes to call it.

Below is an audio link to listen to my response to one of my favorite quotes from the book The Perks of Being A Wallflower.

Response to quote

1B. Ways To Get Ideas

We are always looking to be creative, stand out and be ahead of the game. Mitch Ditkoff’s “14 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas” is an article that illustrates how someone can have a better chance of being successful if they implement these ideas into their daily lives. Ditkoff starts off his article by stating that innovation is the true “competitive edge” in business nowadays and that everyone wants to find out how to utilize this fact. He goes on to say that there are generally two schools of thought on obtaining new and exciting ideas; giving examples with the difference between the thought behind “I think therefore I am” and “I am, therefore I think.” Before he goes on to give his 14 ways he concludes in his introduction that this article is worthy because both schools of thought are effective and useful and that if we are willing that these ideas can be helpful to anyone that reads them.

The second idea that Ditkoff explains in his article is the idea of “Immerse.” While he provides evidence that supports the theory that immersing oneself in something will result in better and quicker ideas I have not always had positive experiences when it comes to immersing myself in something. I acknowledge the fact that often times when someone is completely engaged in something that they are likely to come up with new ideas about that subject because they know the most about it, but I also feel the need to point out that sometimes when completely immersed in something it can limit your mind and possibilities. Having a wide variety of interests and knowledge about other subjects and ideas helps leads to creating new things that have never been thought of before and not just stuck focusing on what a person already know about that topic.

A topic that resonated with me in this article was idea number six “Define the Right Challenge.” This idea explains that we do not spend enough time focusing on what we want to come out the situation, they are not capable of finding the problem because they are to busy focusing on the fact that they have no solution. This idea describes that when trying to create something new that “Coming up with the right question is at least half of getting the right answer.” The example of people forgoing a GPS on a trip because they were focused on getting out of town and not to their destination is something that resonated with me. In my own life I can use this example to show me that I may be able to make more trips possible if I actually focus on making it happen then just dwelling on the fact that going on a trip is a challenge.

Another idea that I think is simple and yet effective from this article is number eight, “Take A Break.” At some point in brainstorming you are bound to hit a wall and become stuck. Taking a break is the best way to clear your mind in most cases. Days felt so long in high school because students rarely got breaks. It was no wonder that students are burnt out at the end of the day and sit in a daze the last part of the day. When presented with a problem it is a smart decision to step away from the situation and let new fresh ideas come about in due time. I have found that taking breaks from homework and having time in between classes in college allows me to develop better ideas.

Chicago	Daughter	Puppy	Music	Strawberry	Airplane	OU	IPod	Window	Couch
Eat	Sleep	Drive	Work	Fall	Dance	Yell	Draw	Walk	Call
Fast	Cold	Scared	Smart	Little	Young	Fat	Full	Strong	Old

There are many things in this list that go together such as IPod and music and dance and drive and Chicago and airplane automatically go together in my mind. New connections I found are how a puppy can be strong, young and that you can call a puppy and they will know their name. When I was thinking of these words I would focus on one topic, which would then take me an experience, and then I thought of another word that I could also use, so in my mind lots of these words already go together. Putting together a noun, verb and adjective I thought of “ a daughter can eat and then she will become full,” or “IPods that work now may be considered old soon.” Thinking out of the box and drifting from my personal experiences led to different ideas and thoughts when I was executing this prompt.

"14 Ways To Get Breakthrough Ideas"

1A. Who Inspires Me To Be A Creative Person

Having never used GarageBand, been in a band used iMovie or done anything on YouTube unless it was for a school assignment, I would not classify myself as the typical communication student at Ohio University. I have always enjoyed appreciating media over creating it myself. Regardless, an artist that inspires me to be a creative person is the band Dispatch. I am a longtime fan of Dispatch and whenever I think of or listen to this band I am reminded of how eclectic their music is. In the 15 or odd years that they were an active band they never stuck to one genre or style of music.

Each week I record a two and a half hour show that streams online for the Nightshift radio show from WOUB. The first show I ever completed was in November and I have noticed a significant difference in what I was playing from when I first started months ago to what I am playing now. Each Sunday when I am sit down to create the next weeks playlist that is available to anyone listening I have found that I am more confident in the type of music that I will play. I am more open to playing new and different types of music. At first I was timid and played it safe focusing on music that I figured everyone already knew about. Dispatch encourages and inspires me to branch out and be more open to different genres of music.

I am aware that over the past months I have been more open to different bands; my interest in Dispatch and their influence on me shows a subconscious reaction in my creative process. Looking back I am able to see how my shows have changed but it was not until this assignment that I realized that I was slowly but surely becoming more confident on the radio. I now make the conscious decision to try new things when it comes to the radio. For other bands that appreciate the music that Dispatch made and the fact that while Dispatch gained success in the independent music industry but that they never signed to a major record label has influenced many other bands. Other artists are able to see that they were capable of creating music that can reach many different types of people and stay true to their beliefs in the industry. While the lyrics may not always be a conscious thing in their work, musicians make choices based on what they already know and have learned in the past.

When listening to just one Dispatch CD you can hear a reggae song, folk, funk, and even fast acoustic rock. Needless to say when I was currently listening to one of their first albums “Who Are We Living For” when sitting down and hearing it from start to finish it encompassed the tension and release effect. While the CD flows and stays true to the band there are so many different types of songs that you are able to listen to the whole CD without getting bored of listening to the same sound over and over on each song. It’s safe to say that musicians and artists are more willing to step out of the box and explore the possibilities of music. An example I think of a recent change in the usual sound from a band is that of Iron & Wine. Lead singer Sam Beam spent the past three years working on his latest release which to some was a disappointment simply because it did not have the same sound as his other releases. The album has his recognizable voice and strong lyrics, however it is more electronic and is no longer just acoustic. Personally it took a few listens to accept that this was a record by Iron & Wine, but I realize that I can appreciate his new work because he decided to try something new.

Although Dispatch is no longer together one thing they focused on frequently in their work was politics and world problems. The love they had for the work they did trying to make the world a better place such as the charities they were involved in and support for politicians translated into their lyrics quite clearly. In quite a few songs such as “Elias” it is obvious that the band is telling the audience their experience with a third world country and that the listener should be aware of the conditions in countries like that. In songs like “Elias” and others the band used a didactic approach. The band did not always focus on this and left many other songs up to interpretation, otherwise known as letting the audience be an active listener. It is important to have an equal mixture of active and didactic songs within a band and Dispatch is one example of this.

Dispatch website

Who We Are Living For album

Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean

Cellular Field