After reading ten points of Karim Rashid's, a creative design specialist/artist, creativity manifesto, or Karimanifesto, I was inspired to come up with ten points of my own.
1. Be Yourself. The most important thing is to embrace what makes you you and not try to change the stuff that people thing is "wrong"
2. Do not force your creative process. Chances are you'll never think of anything original if you try to force something out.
3. Experience life. They say to draw from your experiences, and if you haven't experienced life you won't be able to better yourself. Go on an adventure.
4. Don't think yourself better than others. You can learn a lot from other people and if you spurn them you risk missing out on interesting things that may influence your work.
5. Consume media regularly. The more you read books/play games/watch movies, the more things you will be able to draw from.
6. Save everything. Every little idea that pops into your head, every doodle you make and every creative thought you have, you should store away. You never know when you might need it later or might discover it again in your records and make something great out of it.
7. Never be content with your final products. Contentment can lead to complacency and that can lead to you never trying to better yourself and your work since you are "content"
8. Cooperate with others. People working in groups can critique each other and play off each other's strengths to ultimately assist in their betterment.
9. Patience. Rome wasn't built in a day, and your work won't improve overnight. Keep at it and you'll eventually find you've improved a lot.
10. Be passionate about your work. Don't be afraid to show off your work to the world. After all, what's the point of being creative if you can't share your fruits with others.
Well, it's definitely been an interesting experience being in MDIA 203 these past 10 weeks. The work was time consuming and difficult, but I think that was probably for the best. It really made me think about my place in the world of media and I think that it has help me grown as a creative person. Despite all the bitching I've done about these blogs under my breath, I'm a little sad about ending it. If I could, I'd probably continue on with it, but given my track record of waiting till the last second to do my blogs every time, I probably wouldn't be very punctual about updating it. Maybe in the future I might start this blog up again, or even start a brand new one. The future holds many possibilities, and the chips will fall where they may.
~Adios ~Sayonara ~Live Long And Prosper
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Getting Your Freak On; Assignment 10
The Article "Freak Factor: Discovering Uniqueness by Flaunting Weakness" was penned by David Rendall, a speaker, author, professor, and entrepreneur. He gives presentations about leadership and, in this article, provides an interesting viewpoint regarding the personal uniqueness of all people: that being unique, or a "freak" as Rendall puts it, is not a weakness, but a strength.
Rendall's manifesto is split into nine parts, that detail ways that a person can overcome their weaknesses. The first asks that the reader think about their own weaknesses and explains the misconception about "fixing" weaknesses. His second point tells the reader to try and use those weakness as strengths in the appropriate situations. The third provides the reader with a table that list strengths and their weakness that comes with them. Rendall stresses that they always come in pairs, and that they should not be considered flaws. The fifth proposes that you build upon your strengths, and the sixth tells the reader not to try to both fix their flaws and build their strengths as you cannot do both. The seventh stresses finding the place where your strengths work best or finding the right spot to fit the puzzle piece that is yourself. I will discuss points four, eight and nine below.
4.) Forget It: Don't Try To Fix Your Weaknesses
I think that the quote Rendall provides from Dr. Phil says it all: "You can't put feathers on a dog and call it a chicken". Simply put, you just can't be someone or something that you're not. So why try so hard to do that very thing? Rendall provides a survey statistic that said that 59% of people interviewed thought that fixing weaknesses were an essential part of personal development. Rendall then goes on to list why this isn't the case. He says that it is a slow process and that it is painful. After all, what person would enjoy doing things that they detest just so that they could get better at it. How is that helping us. He says that it distracts us from things that we could be using our strengths to do well at and that, in the end, it never really works out and just leaves your strengths uncatered to. I can really get behind this notion of forgetting about trying to fix your so called flaws and focusing on your strengths, because I personally have tried to do the same thing. I tried my hand at fixing my "flaws" once and it only made me miserable and it weakened what once were my strengths. I think that school and parents can shoulder some of the blame for this as it is these factors that are constantly pushing us to do better in absolutely everything, no matter what, no excuses.
8.) Freak: The Power Of Uniqueness
I am definitely no stranger to feeling strange or like a freak for having certain tastes in music or media or being obsessively interested in things people might not normally be. But things that are labeled as strange or freakish are only being compared to what is considered normal and normality is only made such when it is considered normal by the majority and standing out in a crowd isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, being creative and original means thinking outside the box or not following what other people consider normal. Doing things normally can get pretty boring with the sheer unoriginality and it's repetitive nature. Rendall gives the example of The Leaning Tower of Piza, because millions of people flock to see the tower each year, because of it's flaw, not in spite of it's flaw. After all, why would all of those people spend all that money to see The Perfectly Vertical and Normal Tower of Piza. Rendall says that we can learn five lessons from the tower: the flaw is vital in what makes the tower special, fixing the flaw would destroy the tower's specialness, but that didn't stop people from trying, efforts to fix flaws usually fail, it is worth the effort to maintain your flaws and to stop listening to those who want to "fix" you and be your best because of your flaws.
9.) Freak Factory: Putting Your Quirks To Work
In this section, Rendall gives you ways, both as a person and as a manager that you can use to increase your overall "freak factor". He says that you need to forget self control and to throw yourself into situations that can make the best use of your strengths. He also says to practice "permanent procrastination", where if there is something you procrastinate on doing, to just stop doing those things altogether, since you'll never not procrastinate on them in future events. Another point he makes is to find people who are strong where you are weak. To find peoples whose strengths compliment your own and perhaps your strengths meet the job where their weaknesses don't. He stresses that teamwork and partnerships are great ways to get important things done without having to do it all by yourself. On the managerial side, he stresses choosing the right people for the job and not trying to change who people are. I think that these things pretty much perfectly encapsulate the ideas that are being taught to us now in University, the ideas of teamwork and networking throughout the industry and the cooperation and teamwork of those of us from different sections within the school of media. Like what we were doing with the cooperation of video, audio and digital media students in 203.
What are my creative strengths and weaknesses? I've often spent much time mulling over the very same question as I moved my way up the academic ladder, setting out onto my current media pathway. I think, thought, that sometimes my strengths and weaknesses change depending on what is being done, but if I had to define them, I guess they might be these:
Creative -------- Unorganized
Realistic -------- Negative
Patient----------Indecisive
Determined------Stubborn
etcetera, etcetera, you get the picture.
I have a very messy, workspace in my dorm room, but I know exactly where everything thing is, so I guess you could call it an organized mess. And perhaps my disorganization has helped me see outside the box on how things can be done and helped with my creative process. I know that definitely my stubborn-ness to keep doing my work over and over and never being satisfied with regards to finished products help me to keep trying to better my work. This "weakness" of never being satisfied, will definitely help me to keep bettering myself and my skills as I move onward in the field of digital media. And hey, if being a freak is wrong, I don't wanna be right.
Rendall's manifesto is split into nine parts, that detail ways that a person can overcome their weaknesses. The first asks that the reader think about their own weaknesses and explains the misconception about "fixing" weaknesses. His second point tells the reader to try and use those weakness as strengths in the appropriate situations. The third provides the reader with a table that list strengths and their weakness that comes with them. Rendall stresses that they always come in pairs, and that they should not be considered flaws. The fifth proposes that you build upon your strengths, and the sixth tells the reader not to try to both fix their flaws and build their strengths as you cannot do both. The seventh stresses finding the place where your strengths work best or finding the right spot to fit the puzzle piece that is yourself. I will discuss points four, eight and nine below.
4.) Forget It: Don't Try To Fix Your Weaknesses
I think that the quote Rendall provides from Dr. Phil says it all: "You can't put feathers on a dog and call it a chicken". Simply put, you just can't be someone or something that you're not. So why try so hard to do that very thing? Rendall provides a survey statistic that said that 59% of people interviewed thought that fixing weaknesses were an essential part of personal development. Rendall then goes on to list why this isn't the case. He says that it is a slow process and that it is painful. After all, what person would enjoy doing things that they detest just so that they could get better at it. How is that helping us. He says that it distracts us from things that we could be using our strengths to do well at and that, in the end, it never really works out and just leaves your strengths uncatered to. I can really get behind this notion of forgetting about trying to fix your so called flaws and focusing on your strengths, because I personally have tried to do the same thing. I tried my hand at fixing my "flaws" once and it only made me miserable and it weakened what once were my strengths. I think that school and parents can shoulder some of the blame for this as it is these factors that are constantly pushing us to do better in absolutely everything, no matter what, no excuses.
8.) Freak: The Power Of Uniqueness
I am definitely no stranger to feeling strange or like a freak for having certain tastes in music or media or being obsessively interested in things people might not normally be. But things that are labeled as strange or freakish are only being compared to what is considered normal and normality is only made such when it is considered normal by the majority and standing out in a crowd isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, being creative and original means thinking outside the box or not following what other people consider normal. Doing things normally can get pretty boring with the sheer unoriginality and it's repetitive nature. Rendall gives the example of The Leaning Tower of Piza, because millions of people flock to see the tower each year, because of it's flaw, not in spite of it's flaw. After all, why would all of those people spend all that money to see The Perfectly Vertical and Normal Tower of Piza. Rendall says that we can learn five lessons from the tower: the flaw is vital in what makes the tower special, fixing the flaw would destroy the tower's specialness, but that didn't stop people from trying, efforts to fix flaws usually fail, it is worth the effort to maintain your flaws and to stop listening to those who want to "fix" you and be your best because of your flaws.
9.) Freak Factory: Putting Your Quirks To Work
In this section, Rendall gives you ways, both as a person and as a manager that you can use to increase your overall "freak factor". He says that you need to forget self control and to throw yourself into situations that can make the best use of your strengths. He also says to practice "permanent procrastination", where if there is something you procrastinate on doing, to just stop doing those things altogether, since you'll never not procrastinate on them in future events. Another point he makes is to find people who are strong where you are weak. To find peoples whose strengths compliment your own and perhaps your strengths meet the job where their weaknesses don't. He stresses that teamwork and partnerships are great ways to get important things done without having to do it all by yourself. On the managerial side, he stresses choosing the right people for the job and not trying to change who people are. I think that these things pretty much perfectly encapsulate the ideas that are being taught to us now in University, the ideas of teamwork and networking throughout the industry and the cooperation and teamwork of those of us from different sections within the school of media. Like what we were doing with the cooperation of video, audio and digital media students in 203.
What are my creative strengths and weaknesses? I've often spent much time mulling over the very same question as I moved my way up the academic ladder, setting out onto my current media pathway. I think, thought, that sometimes my strengths and weaknesses change depending on what is being done, but if I had to define them, I guess they might be these:
Creative -------- Unorganized
Realistic -------- Negative
Patient----------Indecisive
Determined------Stubborn
etcetera, etcetera, you get the picture.
I have a very messy, workspace in my dorm room, but I know exactly where everything thing is, so I guess you could call it an organized mess. And perhaps my disorganization has helped me see outside the box on how things can be done and helped with my creative process. I know that definitely my stubborn-ness to keep doing my work over and over and never being satisfied with regards to finished products help me to keep trying to better my work. This "weakness" of never being satisfied, will definitely help me to keep bettering myself and my skills as I move onward in the field of digital media. And hey, if being a freak is wrong, I don't wanna be right.
Collaborating Collapsus; Assignment 9B
Collapsus is an online trans-media experience developed by Submarine Channel and Directed by Tommy Pallotta. It features a story about a fictional international energy crisis set in the near future and was made as a way to discuss the issue of peak oil (when we've found the most oil we'll ever find and the world's stock of oils grows ever smaller). The experience is trans-media as mentioned above and features interactive maps, documentary film clips and animated scenes.
I played the game for a while and then recorded my thoughts about the game and trans-media concepts in general.
I played the game for a while and then recorded my thoughts about the game and trans-media concepts in general.
Presentation Pros and Cons; Assignment 9A
This week I presented, with my group, the idea and concepts for a video game by the name of High Life. The player controls the character, Alan, and tries to become the best drug dealer ever. The game is almost stupidly simplistic, but therein lies the hidden difficulties for us when presenting. Overall, I think the presentation went rather well, however, I think that perhaps we didn't get across the concept of the mechanics very well to the audience.
To start off with, as mentioned above, I believe that our explanation of the mechanics was to general and not enough detail was offered for the audience to get a grasp for how our game was to be played. Adam Cesarz, someone from my group, kept describing the game as being similar to a game called lemonade stand, a game that I myself, and probably quite a few people in the audience had no knowledge of and no real explanation was given regarding that relationship/similarity.
A strong point, to contrast the weakness, was our objectives for our game. Objectives are the mandatory goals set by the game's creators that the player must achieve in order to proceed onwards with the game. For us, it was that, after earning a certain amount of money selling weed, the player could proceed to selling hallucinogens for a greater profit. Then, after earning another, larger, certain amount of money selling hallucinogens, the player could begin selling pills and so on.
Probably the most difficult concept area to discuss with others, and I know that this might seem weird, is the concept of goals. As stated above, objectives are goals that are mandatory and that the player must achieve. Goal goals are an entirely different beast, as goals are things that the player sets for themselves to achieve, like trying to earn a certain amount of money that isn't required by the game to move on or to buy every cool item for your Ecuadorian Mansion. It's just that since the goals are completely up to the player to decide upon, how exactly are we, the creators, supposed to discuss them without influencing the players choices.
Friday, February 25, 2011
X is for Mutants; Assignment 8B
Hero - Lightning Man
Villain - Puck
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Carolyn Shea
Villain - Ultra Violet
Ultra Violet
Carolyn Shea's character was the villain, Ultra Violet. The colors that she chose for her villain were purples and blacks. The hues used for this villain are quite dark, the dark purple and black colors having a certain affinity for one another that is quite fitting for a villainous character as the dark colors symbolizes the evils that she represents. The use of black in the costume also gets the viewer to actively make the connection between the black and it's stereotypical meanings such as evil. The black also gives off a mysterious feeling to her character, that there is more than meets the eye. The colors are also very saturated which contrasts quite nicely with the dull, yet quite bright background. The brightness of the background also contrasts with Ultra Violet's dark color scheme. That is to say that the whites highly contrast with the darks. The inclusion of the sun, especially, whiles showing didactically what Ultra Violet's powers are related to, adds to the contrast between her dark figure and the bright background. Ultra Violet's own body, too, has the effect of contrasts, as her almost alabaster skin greatly contrasts the dark colors of her suit. Suffice to say, the use of these elements make Ultra Violet's motives and her driving factors clear, that she is evil. I'm sure that if there was a hero to be created opposite her, that the colors would contrast her own, perhaps white and yellow or something. Overall, I think that Carolyn did a good job.
Chad Vasquez/Mike Giles
Hero - Mega Peel
Villain - The Mad Melon
Mega Peel The Mad Melon
Chad and Mike's hero and villain are Mega Peel, the hero, and The Mad Melon, the villain. Mega Peel is characterized by the colors that make up his body. The yellow hue that makes up his banana peel is very bright and really pops out at the viewer and draws attention to himself and makes the viewer actively connect the color yellow with it's meaning such as energy or light. It is essentially these factors that make the viewer view Mega Peel as a hero. Even more so, is the way Mega Peel carries himself and his face. He is standing at attention and flexing his muscles, grinning confidently. This way you know he is strong and can very much kick some melon ass. There is an affinity between the hero and the villain because they are both fruit. I think that having another fruit being the villain better cements the world that the two come from, rather than having the villain to a banana man be, say, a monkey based super villain. That isn't to say that there isn't contrast between the hero and the villain, though. Whereas the hero uses bright colors, the villain uses much dark colors, hues of red, black and green. His colors are very saturated and add to the overall dark feeling of his image. The way he holds himself also didactically informs the viewer that this the villain by the way he has his mouth open and it is full of sharp, point teeth, and he seems to be sticking out his tongue. His villain status is also conveyed didactically with his very name, the "Mad" Melon. "Mad" being a word that brings up negative connotations. Overall, I think Chad and Mike did a really good job and that their characters were quite unique.
Christina Wang/Chris Page
Spark Hot Spot
Christina and Chris' hero and villain are Hotspot, the hero, and Spark, the villain. Hotspot is characterized by the colors that make up his costume. The oranges, reds, and yellows that make up his costume symbolize his strength and power. The red and orange hues, I think, are a way to get the viewer to actively make the connection between those colors, and his powers, which involve fire. The colors are also very bright and very saturated, giving off the same feeling of warmth, like from an actual fire that I think make's Hotspot seem very heroic. In contrast to Hotspot's color scheme, is that of the villain, Spark. Spark's colors are pale blue, and black, and it is evident to the viewer that he is evil, didactically from the sinister shape of the eyes on his costume. The same can be said for the thunderclouds and lighting in the background, that didactically show the viewer what his powers entail, given that he has a storm cloud on his chest. Also in contrast to Hotspot's image, while Hotspot stands in contrast to his background, Spark very much has an affinity with his. Like his costume, the colors are very subdued and are a mix of various greys and pale off-whites. Whereas Hotspot's image design choices made him pop out at the viewer, Spark's makes him blend in the background almost sinisterly. This hero/villain duo contrast each other quite well, using the stark differences to symbolize that the two would be at each other's throats. I think that Christina and Chris did a good job.
Villain - Puck
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Carolyn Shea
Villain - Ultra Violet
Ultra Violet
Carolyn Shea's character was the villain, Ultra Violet. The colors that she chose for her villain were purples and blacks. The hues used for this villain are quite dark, the dark purple and black colors having a certain affinity for one another that is quite fitting for a villainous character as the dark colors symbolizes the evils that she represents. The use of black in the costume also gets the viewer to actively make the connection between the black and it's stereotypical meanings such as evil. The black also gives off a mysterious feeling to her character, that there is more than meets the eye. The colors are also very saturated which contrasts quite nicely with the dull, yet quite bright background. The brightness of the background also contrasts with Ultra Violet's dark color scheme. That is to say that the whites highly contrast with the darks. The inclusion of the sun, especially, whiles showing didactically what Ultra Violet's powers are related to, adds to the contrast between her dark figure and the bright background. Ultra Violet's own body, too, has the effect of contrasts, as her almost alabaster skin greatly contrasts the dark colors of her suit. Suffice to say, the use of these elements make Ultra Violet's motives and her driving factors clear, that she is evil. I'm sure that if there was a hero to be created opposite her, that the colors would contrast her own, perhaps white and yellow or something. Overall, I think that Carolyn did a good job.
Chad Vasquez/Mike Giles
Hero - Mega Peel
Villain - The Mad Melon
Mega Peel The Mad Melon
Chad and Mike's hero and villain are Mega Peel, the hero, and The Mad Melon, the villain. Mega Peel is characterized by the colors that make up his body. The yellow hue that makes up his banana peel is very bright and really pops out at the viewer and draws attention to himself and makes the viewer actively connect the color yellow with it's meaning such as energy or light. It is essentially these factors that make the viewer view Mega Peel as a hero. Even more so, is the way Mega Peel carries himself and his face. He is standing at attention and flexing his muscles, grinning confidently. This way you know he is strong and can very much kick some melon ass. There is an affinity between the hero and the villain because they are both fruit. I think that having another fruit being the villain better cements the world that the two come from, rather than having the villain to a banana man be, say, a monkey based super villain. That isn't to say that there isn't contrast between the hero and the villain, though. Whereas the hero uses bright colors, the villain uses much dark colors, hues of red, black and green. His colors are very saturated and add to the overall dark feeling of his image. The way he holds himself also didactically informs the viewer that this the villain by the way he has his mouth open and it is full of sharp, point teeth, and he seems to be sticking out his tongue. His villain status is also conveyed didactically with his very name, the "Mad" Melon. "Mad" being a word that brings up negative connotations. Overall, I think Chad and Mike did a really good job and that their characters were quite unique.
Christina Wang/Chris Page
Spark Hot Spot
Christina and Chris' hero and villain are Hotspot, the hero, and Spark, the villain. Hotspot is characterized by the colors that make up his costume. The oranges, reds, and yellows that make up his costume symbolize his strength and power. The red and orange hues, I think, are a way to get the viewer to actively make the connection between those colors, and his powers, which involve fire. The colors are also very bright and very saturated, giving off the same feeling of warmth, like from an actual fire that I think make's Hotspot seem very heroic. In contrast to Hotspot's color scheme, is that of the villain, Spark. Spark's colors are pale blue, and black, and it is evident to the viewer that he is evil, didactically from the sinister shape of the eyes on his costume. The same can be said for the thunderclouds and lighting in the background, that didactically show the viewer what his powers entail, given that he has a storm cloud on his chest. Also in contrast to Hotspot's image, while Hotspot stands in contrast to his background, Spark very much has an affinity with his. Like his costume, the colors are very subdued and are a mix of various greys and pale off-whites. Whereas Hotspot's image design choices made him pop out at the viewer, Spark's makes him blend in the background almost sinisterly. This hero/villain duo contrast each other quite well, using the stark differences to symbolize that the two would be at each other's throats. I think that Christina and Chris did a good job.
Up, up and away? Or disappear?; Assignment 8A
This American Life Radio 178: Superpowers
Listen to the first 20 minutes of this radio piece. It's about superpowers. 'Nuff said.
Listen to the first 20 minutes of this radio piece. It's about superpowers. 'Nuff said.
Friday, February 18, 2011
One Joke, Two Joke, Grey Joke, Color Joke; Assignment 7
Both videos are quite different in style, the first being inspired by the silent films of the 1920s and the second being much more contemporary color piece, but there are similarities that one can find if they look.
There is an affinity between the two pieces when it comes to the use of the topic of lines in both pieces. In the first video, lines such as the diagonal lines in the paneling of the wooden wall behind the bar are used to direct the viewer’s eyes to the characters that are the main focuses of the shots such as the bartender and the man in the opening shots of the video.
The second video also uses lines to direct the eyes of the viewers, but it does so much more subtly. In the second video, it is lines such as those that are apart of the tables and window frames that direct the eye. As well as virtual lines used with focusing on where the character’s eyes are directed.
The contrast between the video appears in relation to the video’s rhythms. In the first video, the rhythm is sped up and erratic to simulate the sort of chaotic effect of silent films from the 1920s. Meanwhile, in the second video, the rhythm of the characters movements are much more natural, laid back even. Another example is that the characters' speech in the first video was quick and to the point (they were on cue slides after all), their speech in the second had a much more lethargic and unsure tempo that seemed to simulate actual conversation.
Other contrasts can be found in the active and didactic elements in the pieces. In the first piece the cue cards do not indicate to the viewer that a portion of the video is taking place in the male character’s imagination and are meant to deduce this fact by the sudden change in costume and the character’s use of magic to woo the woman. Whereas in the second video every detail is explained to the viewer, thought not directly, by the characters, such as when the male character makes his joke and then proceeds to almost awkwardly explain it. However, it is the use of the character’s ridiculous voice that make this less obvious.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Reframing a Painting; Assignment 5A
If you recall my soundscape a ways back, you might recognize this piece by Salvador Dali called Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man.
Originally, I was drawn to this image, as with many of Dali’s pieces, because of the sheer hosed-up-ness of what is going on in the image. I mean, a guy trying to rip his way out of an egg that looks like the planet earth? That is pretty sweet and weird at the same time.
Now, below the original image, is my reframing of said image. The reason I chose to reframe it as such is because in the original image, there is a lot going on. Whereas I simply want to focus on the man escaping from the world-egg, the original image has a lot of visual intensity that my reframing did away with. The way I have reframed the image, too, has added a lot of contrast in the colors. Whereas the man and the egg are light colored, the rest of the image is black. Something that worked well with the circular framing is that, like the egg itself, the use of curvilinear lines creates a sort of affinity between the man and his prison.
How Dali originally framed the image has a lot more to do with the entirety of course and Dali uses how lines are perceived to draw viewer’s eyes to the center. This is seen with the figure pointing at the man trying to escape. Also, Dali creates a sort of tension and release when he has the sharp ridged lines acting as the frame to the softer curvilinear lines of the man and the egg. Dali also uses depth cues such as smaller objects in the background and perspective lines to create the illusion of a vast space behind the egg. I believe he framed it in such as way to show that the man escaping the softness of the egg was entering a much more ridged and chaotic world.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Song Audio Reflections: Assignment 4B
Song by Me
Song by Chris Faust
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Mike Mytnick's Song
Amanda Oyakawa's Song
Chris Page's Song
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Response to Mike's
Response to Amanda's
Response to Chris's
Song by Chris Faust
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Mike Mytnick's Song
Amanda Oyakawa's Song
Chris Page's Song
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Response to Mike's
Response to Amanda's
Response to Chris's
Brainwashing Yourself: Assignment 4A
Once again, we turn to changethis.com for another interesting article. This time, the article is “Brainwashed” by Seth Godin. In the article, Godin explains seven steps, or “layers” a person can go through in order to re-brainwash themselves to negate the brainwashing effect society has placed on us since childhood. I will be looking at two of these seven layers.
Here is the link to view the article for yourself: "Brainwashed"
The first layer I will be looking at is the one titled “Acknowledging the Lizard”. In this layer, Godin talks about the “lizard brain” or the “prehistoric brainstem that all of us must contend with”. In layman’s terms, it is the portion of the brain that dislikes being laughed and fears rejection. Godin says that it is the portion of the brain that tells us to keep our heads down and follow orders. It is the portion that makes us fear the social punishment that may result from not doing our homework. Godin says that it is only by acknowledging our fear of rejection that we can ignore it to fulfill our desire to create our art.
Another layer that I think is important is the last layer “Learn”. In this layer, Godin talks about how learning isn’t defined the same as it was fifty years ago and that true learning happens outside the classroom at expos and on blogs and in other experiences. He suggests that a person never stops learning and as long as there is something to experience, there is something to learn. Godin leaves off on this note: “The opportunity of our time is to discard what you think you know and instead learn what you need to learn. Every single day.”
I feel that these two layers are connected to the blogs that we are creating in this quarter in that these are just the kinds of outside experiences Godin speaks of in his “Learn” layer. Also, by presenting our work on the internet, it has the possibility of being one of the most exposed thing in the world, which may make some of us, like one such as myself who absolutely hates having his work viewed by others, incredibly unnerved. This falls into the “Acknowledging the Lizard” layer where it is the fear of rejection or the dislike of our work that keeps us from displaying it in such an open manner. That’s why I believe that by having the class be able to view one another’s work at all times and by having these assignments/blogs in general, may help us to grow as artists.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Soundscapes and Audio Reflections: Assignment 3B
~Here is the soundscape made by Christopher Page and myself~
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Audio Reflection
Covering a Covered Song: Assignment 3A
Covers can be a touchy subject among fans both of the original work and of those who were introduced to the work through the cover. Fans of the original may feel that the cover does honor the original song and fans of the cover feel that fans of the original are too big of fanboys to accept anything new. Regardless of these groups, I am going take a look at an all-time classic metal song: “Holy Diver” by Dio and the newer and rather well known cover: “Holy Diver” by Killswitch Engage.
Dio - Holy Diver
Covered by:
Killswitch Engage - Holy Diver
There are some similarities between the two songs, the most obvious of which being that Killswitch Engage managed to stave off any urges to change any of the lyrics so the lyrics in both pieces are the same. Another similarity between the two is the melody. Both songs start out with the same familiar sequence. However, this is where the similarities start to end and the differences begin.
While the original Dio version is certainly intense, the Killswitch Engage version seems to dial the intensity of the piece up to 11, being much, much louder than the original. This is the same with the pitch of both songs. While Dio’s version is sung in an intense, yet slightly higher, pitch, the Killswitch Engage version is sung at a much lower one. Yet another difference, is the feelings of tension and release used in the songs. In the Dio version, there are long, slow stretches of music without lyrics and it really makes you anxious or tense waiting for the story of the song to continue. Whereas in the Killswitch Engage version, the whole song sort of flows together and never really lets up on the intensity, leaving the relief only for after the song’s ending. Another somewhat large contrast between the two songs is the way the lyrics are sung, aside from the pitch of the voices. While in the Dio version, Dio’s voice will remain largely in the same style of singing, Howard Jones, the lead singer of Killswitch Engage, will occasionally stop singing the lyrics and beginning screaming them to the point that the words are just about intelligible.
Overall, I would have to say that I prefer the original Dio version of “Holy Diver”. That isn’t to say that I hate the Killswitch Engage version, though. Each version of the song has its pros and cons. Dio’s version can be a little slow at some points while the Killswitch Engage version is decidedly faster. On the other side of the coin, Dio actually sings all the lyrics to the song, while Jones will end up screaming them at the listener in an extremely loud, deep and often intelligible voice. Certainly the whole point of doing a cover is to take a song one likes and make it into your own, which is exactly what Killswitch Engage does by changing the heavy metal “Holy Diver” into a metalcore, screamo “Holy Diver”. I cannot say that they did not achieve that goal and if people prefer the cover to the original, who am I to argue.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Under the bed? Behind that tree? Where the devil is that howl? Assignment 2
This assignment revolves around Jonathan Flaum's Finding Your Howl, a cool article containing two different yet similar stories about finding one's self. Above is my summary of/response to the manifesto.
~Savlonic's Electro Gypsy~
Finding Your Muse and Spinning Your Wheels: Assignment 1B
Mitch Ditkoff's "14 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas" is, in my opinion, a very useful article about different ways to brainstorm to shake out or conjure up any, as Ditkoff puts it, brilliant ideas. I would definitely recommend this article to anyone struggling with his or her normal brainstorming methods and would like ideas on how to do it differently.
Here is a link to the article: 14 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas
Ditkoff starts off his article by detailing the two schools of thought behind coming up with ideas. The first school entails the coming up of ideas through rigorous and purposeful mental ability, a western approach championed by Rene Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am”. This school believes that ideas are primarily of conscious origin. The second school prescribes to the idea of the transcedencey of ideas, that they already exist, but are only revealed to those specifically in tuned to receive them. Think of the concepts of the muse or the collective unconsciousness. This school of thought is the inverse to the first, characterized by the Cartesian view “I am, therefore I think”. This school believes that ideas are primarily of the subconscious realm.
Ditkoff goes on to say that both approaches are valid and that very likely our own views are a hybrid of the two. He then introduces his 14 ways by saying that the only thing needed for these to work is the willingness to try something new. For the remainder of this entry, I will pluck out three of his fourteen ways to review and throw in my two cents.
1. “Follow Your Fascination” – In this one Ditkoff talks about how if we are fascinated by something it is calling out to us.
I think that this one might be the most, if not in the tippy top, important thing you can do as an artist. If something is fascinating to you, as Ditkoff mentions, there might be something meaningful to explore behind that fascination. I know that, in my personal work, that if what I’m working on does not enthrall my interests, it’s not going be fun and, if I learned anything in MDIA 101, it’s that if your not passionate about your work, it’s going to feel like work and that is the worst thing that can happen to your outlook. I myself, when something strikes my fancy, tend to voraciously eat up any and all information about said subject and help the creative gears inside my head turn so that I might extrapolate new and original ideas. This is a very good suggestion of Ditkoff’s.
5. “Fantasize” – Ditkoff explains in this that in our society the word fantasize conjures up only images of children or perverts, an unfortunate thing seeing as our future employers want fantastic ideas, but no fantasizing. He says to throw out that notion and fantasize more often.
This is another good suggestion of Ditkoff’s, as the use of the imagination is one of the most important components to creative thinking, it what’s separates us from the machines such as Deep Blue (as used in the example in the actual article). No matter how much we strive to define things rationally and logically, there will always be the longing to free ourselves of that logic and immerse ourselves in the fantastical. I occasionally indulge myself in little daydreams, letting them float here and there within my brain letting what wanders in and out to do so freely. This has been useful as often times I will spot and idea or concept or character that I like and save it for possible use at a later date.
12. “Look for Happy Accidents” – Ditkoff discuss in this method the process of turning one’s mistakes into new ideas.
This one, while a good suggestion, is most likely the most difficult of the 14 methods. If you’re like me, you get frustrated at your making of mistakes and only admit that your less than perfect through gritted teeth and much to your chagrin. However, if you can soldier past your “failures” you can turn those “failures” into new venues for ideas. Personally, when drawing something, occasionally I’ll mess up and erase, but when I look at the work as a whole, I’ll notice how the “failed” part of the drawing sparks a whole new drawing in my mind and opens up new avenue to travel down in my imagination.
For the ending of this update, I’m going to take one of Ditkoff’s methods and see through it to completion. The method I’ll be exploring is Method #1 – Follow Your Fascination.
~What new idea is fascinating you?~
A new idea that has peaked my interest as of late is the notion of using music, or sound as form of weapon. Specifically in an RPG setting, but being advanced enough to have some of the instruments I was thinking about weapon-izing (see: saxophone).
~What new possibility has captured your attention?~
At first, when thinking about weapon-izing music, I only thought about using the music to conjure forth different elemental magics. I thought that perhaps since different types of instruments could produce different sounds, they would produce different magics when used. But then I thought, what if they were not only instruments, but physical weapons as well? This led me to devise different weapon/instrument hybrids, such as an Axe/Saxophone hybrid.
~In what ways can you honor this inspiration today?~
How I can honor this inspiration is research different instruments and weapons on the Internet so that I might better be able to amalgamate them together into the musical weapons I desire. By looking at pictures of instruments on the Internet, I’ll also be able to draw the instruments more realistically in my concept art.
Here is a link to the article: 14 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas
Ditkoff starts off his article by detailing the two schools of thought behind coming up with ideas. The first school entails the coming up of ideas through rigorous and purposeful mental ability, a western approach championed by Rene Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am”. This school believes that ideas are primarily of conscious origin. The second school prescribes to the idea of the transcedencey of ideas, that they already exist, but are only revealed to those specifically in tuned to receive them. Think of the concepts of the muse or the collective unconsciousness. This school of thought is the inverse to the first, characterized by the Cartesian view “I am, therefore I think”. This school believes that ideas are primarily of the subconscious realm.
Ditkoff goes on to say that both approaches are valid and that very likely our own views are a hybrid of the two. He then introduces his 14 ways by saying that the only thing needed for these to work is the willingness to try something new. For the remainder of this entry, I will pluck out three of his fourteen ways to review and throw in my two cents.
1. “Follow Your Fascination” – In this one Ditkoff talks about how if we are fascinated by something it is calling out to us.
I think that this one might be the most, if not in the tippy top, important thing you can do as an artist. If something is fascinating to you, as Ditkoff mentions, there might be something meaningful to explore behind that fascination. I know that, in my personal work, that if what I’m working on does not enthrall my interests, it’s not going be fun and, if I learned anything in MDIA 101, it’s that if your not passionate about your work, it’s going to feel like work and that is the worst thing that can happen to your outlook. I myself, when something strikes my fancy, tend to voraciously eat up any and all information about said subject and help the creative gears inside my head turn so that I might extrapolate new and original ideas. This is a very good suggestion of Ditkoff’s.
5. “Fantasize” – Ditkoff explains in this that in our society the word fantasize conjures up only images of children or perverts, an unfortunate thing seeing as our future employers want fantastic ideas, but no fantasizing. He says to throw out that notion and fantasize more often.
This is another good suggestion of Ditkoff’s, as the use of the imagination is one of the most important components to creative thinking, it what’s separates us from the machines such as Deep Blue (as used in the example in the actual article). No matter how much we strive to define things rationally and logically, there will always be the longing to free ourselves of that logic and immerse ourselves in the fantastical. I occasionally indulge myself in little daydreams, letting them float here and there within my brain letting what wanders in and out to do so freely. This has been useful as often times I will spot and idea or concept or character that I like and save it for possible use at a later date.
12. “Look for Happy Accidents” – Ditkoff discuss in this method the process of turning one’s mistakes into new ideas.
This one, while a good suggestion, is most likely the most difficult of the 14 methods. If you’re like me, you get frustrated at your making of mistakes and only admit that your less than perfect through gritted teeth and much to your chagrin. However, if you can soldier past your “failures” you can turn those “failures” into new venues for ideas. Personally, when drawing something, occasionally I’ll mess up and erase, but when I look at the work as a whole, I’ll notice how the “failed” part of the drawing sparks a whole new drawing in my mind and opens up new avenue to travel down in my imagination.
For the ending of this update, I’m going to take one of Ditkoff’s methods and see through it to completion. The method I’ll be exploring is Method #1 – Follow Your Fascination.
~What new idea is fascinating you?~
A new idea that has peaked my interest as of late is the notion of using music, or sound as form of weapon. Specifically in an RPG setting, but being advanced enough to have some of the instruments I was thinking about weapon-izing (see: saxophone).
~What new possibility has captured your attention?~
At first, when thinking about weapon-izing music, I only thought about using the music to conjure forth different elemental magics. I thought that perhaps since different types of instruments could produce different sounds, they would produce different magics when used. But then I thought, what if they were not only instruments, but physical weapons as well? This led me to devise different weapon/instrument hybrids, such as an Axe/Saxophone hybrid.
~In what ways can you honor this inspiration today?~
How I can honor this inspiration is research different instruments and weapons on the Internet so that I might better be able to amalgamate them together into the musical weapons I desire. By looking at pictures of instruments on the Internet, I’ll also be able to draw the instruments more realistically in my concept art.
What Makes Me Tick: Assignment 1A
What kind of creative person am I? Well, to be honest, I wasn’t really aware that creativity could be broken down into specific kinds. It’s just being creative to me. Maybe I’m just misunderstanding the question, but I’ve been staring at this word document for too long now, so I guess I’ll just explain how my creative process tends to work itself. If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m not one who can just sit themselves down in front of a blank sheet of paper or word document and be struck by creativity lightning. I’ll only end up getting frustrated with myself. Truth be told, some of my best ideas come to me when I’m not even doing something related to my creative work. For example, I could just be sitting in class, my mind wandering while listening to the teacher, when something will pop into my head and I’ll have to scramble to write it down lest I forget. My idea production tends to be a little too sporadic for my tastes, but I’ve got plenty of places from which to draw inspiration.
Over the years many different things have influenced my work, for better or worse, but if I had to narrow it down to three artists or works it would have to be these:
~Sonata Arctica~
One of my biggest sources of inspiration would have to be music. I can listen to almost any kind of music, close my eyes and have my imagination kick into overdrive. I’ll form settings and people to the beats and melodies of the songs in my head. This is especially true for Sonata Arctica. Sonata Arctica is a Finnish power metal band that has recently incorporated more progressive metal elements into their songs. To compare it to a more well known group, primary lyricist, Tony Kakko, has said that he has drawn inspiration from the epic rock ballads of Queen. One of my favorite things about Sonata Arctica’s songs is that they tell a story with both their lyrics and the accompanying music. It tends to so vivid that I can perfectly picture the characters and places in my mind. This can lead to the inspiration to create my own characters and themes in my head for my own works. Another thing is the use of tension and release in their songs. For example, in the above song “Deathaura”, the melody starts out slow and easy, only to jump into the high-tension metal music. Then once that is built up enough, the music then quickly shifts back to a slow and easy sound. Other songs include “My Dream’s But a Drop of Fuel for a Nightmare”, “Black Sheep”, and “Wolf & Raven”.
~Shadow of the Colossus~
I’ve been an avid videogame player for my whole life, but one of my absolute, all time favorites is the game Shadow of the Colossus (2005), by Team Ico for the Playstation 2. Shadow of the Colossus is a game about the protagonist, Wander, striving to bring a girl, Mono, back to life by defeating beasts known simply as the Colossi. What sets this game apart is that there are no dungeons to explore, no other characters, no enemies, no levels, and no items. There is simply the character, armed with a bow and sword, his horse and the 16 colossi he needs to defeat. This game acts as an inspiration to me because of how much the game accomplishes with such a minimal approach to the adventure game style. I especially love the contrast between Wander and the Colossi. When they are called the Colossi, it is no joke. Each colossi, save one, is a towering beast of epic proportions, composed of both inorganic and organic material and the player must scale each of the beasts to find a point, indicated with a glowing blue mark, to kill it. Lumbering and powerful, each colossus is itself like a dungeon or puzzle that needs to be figured out. All the elements of the game, as professed by designer Fumito Ueda, were used to create a sense of the “lonely hero”. I greatly admire Ueda’s design abilities.
~Wen-M~
While I don’t normally draw inspiration from the works of other artists (I don’t want to be a copycat), I can certainly be influenced by their style. One specific artist is Wen-M, a deviant art artist who does work for the tabletop role-playing game Anima: Beyond Fantasy. I’m a big RPG nerd and this sort of stuff has always tickled my fancy. It’s my hope one day to be able to do design work for a fantasy RPG, though more in the videogame area than tabletop. What I really love about Wen-M’s work though, as seen in the spear designs above, is his ability to take objects that are fundamentally simple (see: spear), but make them so very different from one another. I truly envy his detailed artistry in just about all of his works. It’s not just his RPG item art that I admire; he also has a whole gallery of beautifully intricate and detailed monster and character designs. Each artwork sets the character against an appropriate single color backdrop as a way to draw the eye to the character and it works wonderfully. Just seeing his artwork fuels my drive to create my own characters, to aspire to the same level as him. As such, I always check back every once in a while to see if he has put out anything new.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Reasons
Why did I sign up for the 8-10 AM lab section? To be honest, I wasn't paying all that much attention to the lab section time when I was registering for the course. I just made sure to find a section that wasn't full and, since I have no other classes on Fridays, I didn't particularly care about when my lab section would be. Despite it's early meeting time, the 8-10 AM section seems to be a fairly convenient section as it gets done early, leaving the rest of the day open to do other class work, recreation, etc.
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