Blogging Assignment #8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9G-OSgXRD8

Theme of The Astronaut Farmer


I believe there is a very simple theme to the movie, The Astronaut Farmer. I believe the theme is the cliche that "you can accomplish anything if you put your mind to it." I believe there is a second, differently worded theme being said here "do not let anybody put you down and tell you that you cannot accomplish something." I believe this scene exemplifies this theme very well because it is the moment that the protagonist finally accomplishes his nearly impossible goal.


Essay.

I would like to start off this essay by saying the Astronaut Farmer is all about Tension and Release. The whole purpose of the movie is for this average farmer to accomplish his dream of going into outer-space. This is the release of the movie and everything finally begins to unfold. In society, it is very often considered that up is positive and down is negative. Keeping that in mind, the scene definitely uses that fact to its advantage. All throughout the 2 minute clip that I selected, characters are looking up. This happens even before Billy Bob Thornton's character blasts off. Virtual lines are built all looking up to this area in the sky that hasn't occurred yet. I believe this was done to strengthen the theme of accomplishing the dream and that everybody wants the protagonist to succeed. Next up is shape. In the beginning of the video, before the rocket takes off. Very straight and triangular shapes appear on the screen. Representing the challenges that the protagonist must go through in order to achieve his goals. After his lift off, all shapes turn into round faces and the cylindrical rocket in the sky. There is definitely a motif in this scene over rigid versus the round.Movement throughout the clip is all upwards and continues the idea of progress. Space. It is the goal of this man, but it is also well used by the director of photography in his movie. Once again, the biggest contrasts are at the beginning of this clip compared to the end of it. At the beginning all space is cramped, close ups are heavily utilized. After the astronaut successfully takes off, suddenly space is opened up. Space goes from a very flat and cramped feel to an open, almost empty feel. This opening up symbolizes the realization of a dream. And everybody around can only watch and appreciate the hardwork that has gone into it. The theme is thoroughly and actively explored in this two minute scene.

Blogging Assignment #7

Essay.

These two images are from the Japanese show, Naruto Shippuden. First off, I will compare the hue, brightness, and saturation of the color between the two pictures. You may notice that the two pictures differ quite a bit in their color scheme. In picture number one, the hue of the colors are all very grey and there is very small difference in hue throughout the entire picture. Meanwhile the second picture utilizes a wide range of different hues, with yellow dominating the picture. The brightness between the two pictures is also obvious. The fight scene is dark and the only well lit object in the entire frame is the belly of a gigantic salamander (?). The second scene is much brighter and reflects a much lighter and happier mood. Colors in the second picture are much more saturated, compared to the flat and grey de-saturated tones of the fight scene. Lighting of the two scenes are obviously much more different as well. The lighting of the first scene does not necessarily use any shadows, but the overall darkness of the photo symbolizes imminent danger and an evil mood. The lighting of the second animation also does not allow for shadows in the light flooded area. The intense lighting symbolizes love and the mood is memory-like and happy.

Movements between the two pictures are also very different. The first picture demonstrates weight through the two characters hunched over, trying to hold themselves up. These characters also demonstrate parallel movement. Overlapping action also occurs here, as the two characters are standing in front of a moving monster. There is not much movement in the second picture, characters appear almost weightless and the only parallel movement is through their sitting and arm movement. Overlapping action somewhat does appear in the second picture through arm movements occurring at the same time. Overlapping action also comes from the conversation that is occurring between the two characters in the second animation.

Blogging Assignment #6

http://youtu.be/xs_PwFWuwJs
Storyboards and Overhead.

Essay:

This scene is a perfect example of following the basic rules of video composition, even in a short youtube gag. The video begins with a well-lit two shot featuring the two main characters. The second shot is a close up of character one. This demonstrates one of the 30 rules. It did not change the angle by more than 30 degrees, but it did zoom in by much more than 30%. The shot flows very well and does not distract from the scene. The next shot demonstrates all three rules. The facial features and conch are placed on the thirds, making it more pleasing to the eye. The transition from the last shot is also flawless. The camera is moved more than 30 degrees. This also respects the 180 degree rule. Character one keeps his place on the left side of the frame, while character two is placed on the right side. Again, it is not confusing in anyway. Next is a closeup of character one, brought in for emotion. Once again, none of the composition rules are broken. Next, a shot that mirrored the second shot is pulled up, this time on the second character. Overall, the flow is very natural. The directing talents did a good job at following basic rules and to not make any jarring cuts that would distract the viewers in anyway. It would have been easy to accidently place a jarring cut into the video. For instance, a transition from Shot 2 to Shot 4 would have been very unsettling because of a breaking of the 30 rules. It would have zoomed in, but enough for the transition to feel natural in anyway. Even for just being a Youtube video, the director correctly followed the rules throughout the video and it is pleasant to watch because of that. 

Blogging Assignment #5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRiGeDMKpKU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5L39UwlONs (second cover at 2:05)

Original

LISTENING PHASE 1 (Rhythm)
Tempo [slow, medium, fast] Fast
Source [where is the rhythm coming from?] Drumset, Bass
Groove [describe how the personality of the rhythm] Fun, light, upbeat, sunny.
LISTENING PHASE 2 (Arrangement)
Instrumentation [which instruments drive the song?] Singer, Bass, Drumset, Electric Guitar, Synthesizer, Accordian, Backup Singers,
Structure/Organization [how is the song built?  Order, patterns, etc.] Intro, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus, Chorus.
Emotional Architecture [Draw how the song build and drop?]

LISTENING PHASE 3 (Sound Quality)
Balance
- Height [high and low of frequency] Short, not too large of a range. 3 octaves at most.
- Width [stereo panning left/right] Very little, not noticeable
- Depth [layers of instruments - via loudness] Deep. 5-8 layers.


Cover

LISTENING PHASE 1 (Rhythm)
Tempo [slow, medium, fast] Medium-Fast
Source [where is the rhythm coming from?] Piano
Groove [describe how the personality of the rhythm] Soft, flowing, upbeat, light.
LISTENING PHASE 2 (Arrangement)
Instrumentation [which instruments drive the song?] Piano, Musicbox
Structure/Organization [how is the song built?  Order, patterns, etc.] Intro, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus. Outro Chorus.
Emotional Architecture [Draw how the song build and drop?]

LISTENING PHASE 3 (Sound Quality)
Balance
- Height [high and low of frequency] High.
- Width [stereo panning left/right] No Width, Mono in Stero
- Depth [layers of instruments - via loudness] Shallow.

Essay Portion.
The original song is "Fine" by the band/person Lemon Demon. The cover is by the Youtube user "Fountainkeeper." Immediately you can notice the difference in instrumentation used. While the original version of the song utilizes synthesized instruments that resemble a whole band, the cover utilizes solely a piano (with a musicbox setting built in). This creates a pretty big difference between the two versions of the song. The cover feels much more natural and tangible. Although, the computer-created band is able to take advantage of timbre, such as musical excerpts of the song that utilize a distorted drumlike noise.
While the all piano cover of the song does seem to be in the same key as the original song, there are definitely sections where the cover artist decided to employ new chords into the song. More mellow and minor chords that occasionally come in do not change the overall of the feel but does give the song a more artistic mood. Another feature of the cover that differentiates it from the original is that it is solely played on the piano. There is no difference in lyrics because there are no lyrics being sung. This ultimately affects the depth of the cover, which is very shallow. Meanwhile the original version of "Fine" has up to 5 different instruments being layered on top of one another. Let us get to melody, now. The melody between the songs does not change, but the amount it is repeated does change! In the original version of the song, the chorus is very strong and is repeated a total of four times. Meanwhile in the piano cover, the chorus is nowhere as accented and is only repeated a total of three times. If I had to choose which version of the song I prefer, I would have to say that I prefer the original version of the song. Though the computer-created instruments can be somewhat cheesey. The largest part of the original song I enjoy is the lyrics, they are fun and characterize the song and its mood very well. Perhaps if the piano cover was longer and included a singer of some sort, I would enjoy it more!