Blog 6 essay

I chose the scene from Jurassic Park. The directing in this movie is great, and it is a well-known film because of this. However, they do break the 180 degree rule, but it was for a very good purpose. Here, I will talk about how the 180 degree rule, the rule of thirds and the 30 degree rule apply to this scene.

                In this scene, the 180 degree rule is followed through consistently except for one shot. The entire scene is the characters discussing an experiment. The shots are back and forth between the two. They are OTS shots. Around the time this is broken, the shot is pulled back to show Dr. Grant’s view who is staring out into the wilderness. The camera then breaks the 180 degree rule by showing what Dr. Grant is looking at. Instead of slowing turning the camera or focusing on another object they just switch angles and break the rules.

                The rule of third is also applied in this scene. The two characters that are the strongest in the scene are right on the thirds. Then, when it switches to Dr. Grant his eyes are both on the thirds, and this helps to show that he is looking at something. The other characters eyes are also on the thirds when they are discussing the experiment. The 30 degree rule also shows up in this. When discussing the experiment, the camera switches back and forth from the 30 degrees the entire time they talk about the experiment.

                I think that the directing in this film is one of the elements that helped it to be so incredible. The shots and scenes in this movie were brilliant. One of the best aspects was also sound, but the directing is great too because they follow the rules except for when they absolutely need to be broken.

Blog #6 Storyboard

Project #8

Scene From American History X

The movie American History X displays racism in modern society. A man named Derek is a neo Nazi, and his attitude reflects that of his father’s. He is extremely racist towards black society. His attitude is then passed on to his little brother. His character has an extreme transformation because of an event that causes him to go to prison. In the end he realizes that his beliefs were wrong. His brother ends up being killed because of the Derek’s beliefs. The theme of the movie is that racism can create pain and suffering for both ends. The theme of this story is didactic because they are letting you find this on your own.

This scene of the movie American History X displays a lot of characteristics from our basic concept lecture. The two that I noticed most was tension and release, and conscious and subconscious. Tension rises in the scene as Derek begins talking about his beliefs, and then is released after the entire family has fought and Derek goes up the stairs because his mother screamed terrible things at him.  As for conscious, you are completely aware that this scene of the movie is in black and white. Subconsciously, however, they are showing you this in black and white to show Derek’ beliefs. He is extremely racist towards that black community, and he sees you as either black or white. After Derek’s character transforms and realizes that his beliefs were wrong, the movie is returned to color. The theme of this movie is also displayed through rhythm and movement.

                The rhythm of this scene rises, and gets faster and faster, letting the viewer know that something bad is about to happen. Then, the rhythm smooth out again after Derek completely freaks out. He shoves food in his sisters face, and begins screaming at her and pulling her hair. He then looks at his mother’s boyfriend and begins screaming at him. He tells him to get out of their house, and he is not welcome. Then, his mother goes outside to tell her boyfriend bye, but before she leaves she tells Derek she is ashamed that he came out of her body. This is probably the worst thing that a mother can say to her child. The tension is released her, and everything slows down once again. Movement is also important. The camera movement gets quicker and quicker, until finally Derek goes crazy. Then, the camera returns to a slow smooth movement.

IMovie

Blog 7

Pocahontas is a classic piece of animation to me. Governor Radcliffe is one villain that I could never forget since I watched Pocahontas. This animation uses the three topics color, light and movement to help define the characters in the movie.

                Color was utilized in this animation, when Governor Radcliffe was created. The hue of his clothing, the purple out fit and his very pale skin helped to define the Governor. He is shown as opposite of the Indians. The Indians skin is a deep saturated brown, while his is a very bright white. His clothing is very saturated purple, while the Indians just have brown and simple colors on. This shows his wealth, as well as his differences from the Indians.

                This animation also utilized light to help define Governor Radcliffe. Many times Governor Radcliffe would be surrounded by very bright colors. This helped him to stand out with his very dark purple. I believe that this had some metaphorical meaning because he is this very dark saturated color among this very bright light, showing that he is a dark force against good. His clothing also sets a mood. This deep purple almost puts you in a sad state, and Governor Radcliffe brings sadness among the Indians.

                Movement was very important in defining Governor Radcliffe. He is a very large man, and his weight was really utilized. They made him almost disgusting looking, and the squash and stretch approach was definitely used here. Governor Radcliffe’s nose was definite over done, and his facial expressions were very dramatic, and this is because they used the squash and stretch approach, along with weight playing a big role. Overlapping movements were also used because when the Governor would move his body would flop around to almost create a thought that he was a joke. At the same time, however, he was so big that he was extremely intimidating.

                All together these elements add up to create a sometimes comical and sometimes very scary villain. Because of Governor Radcliffe’s size, weight and apparel, he has been one of my favorite animated villains of all time. Just his size is enough to show that he is a villain, and the rest of the elements just help to add to that. His big bird nose also helped show that he was no good guy.

Blog # 5

Hotel California
Lyin Eyes

LISTENING FRAMEWORK

        (SIMPLIFIED)

LISTENING PHASE 1 (Rhythm)

Tempo [slow, medium, fast] - Hotel California has a slow tempo in the beginning. In the end, however, it changes to a medium tempo. Lying Eyes has the same medium tempo throughout the entire song.

Source [where is the rhythm coming from?] The rhythm is mainly established through the drum in Hotel California. It is the same with Lying Eyes.

Groove [describe how the personality of the rhythm] In Hotel California, I feel like the rhythm is slow, and almost sad. You know the slow rhythm cannot be a good thing. In Lying Eyes, it is just a happy rhythm, even though the lyrics aren’t so happy.

LISTENING PHASE 2 (Arrangement)

Instrumentation [which instruments drive the song?] Guitars drive both of the songs.

Structure/Organization [how is the song built? Order, patterns, etc.] In Hotel California, the song is slow until the very end, where there is a guitar solo. Here is where the tempo picks up. The vocals also end. In Lyin Eyes the vocals last throughout the entire song, and the tempo remains pretty consistent throughout the entire song.

Emotional Architecture [Draw how the song build and drop?] In Hotel California, the entire song builds up for the guitar solo. I feel like that is really the climax of the song. The lyrics also help build the story up for you, and once the story is over the guitar solo begins. In Lyin Eyes, the song builds up for a little guitar solo, but the lyrics remain. It is not as good of an example as Hotel California.

LISTENING PHASE 3 (Sound Quality)

Balance

- Height [high and low of frequency] In Hotel California, the entire song has a very low frequence. At the end, however, this changes, and it develops a high frequency during the guitar solo. In Lyin Eyes there is a pretty consistent frequency throughout the entire song. It is some where in the middle.

- Width [stereo panning left/right] I feel like in Hotel California the stereo is panning to the right, and you know this because of the guitar. In Lyin Eyes, however, I have a hard time determining this. I am really unsure.

- Depth [layers of instruments - via loudness] Throughout the entire song of Hotel California there is a large build up of instruments (Guitar, drums and vocals, etc.). However, in the end when the guitar solo occurs, the guitar is the only instrument that plays. In Lyin Eyes however, the song’s climax is when all of the intsturment build up at the end. It is the opposite of Hotel California.

                The Eagles is one of the best classic rock bands that has ever came about. Songs such as Take It Easy, Take It to the Limit and Already Gone came from the Eagles. I have chosen two of my favorite songs by the Eagles to compare: Hotel California and Lyin Eyes. It is crazy to think that these two songs both came from Eagles because they are so different. These two songs have different depth, groove and tempo which I believe are three of the most important elements of a song.

                The song Hotel California has a depth with the intstruemtns through the beginging of the song. There is drums, vocals and of course a guitar in the beginigng all together; However, the song builds up and in the end the only depth of the song is the guitar, when an incredible solo occurs. In Lyin Eyes, the entire song has a depth of guitar, vocals and drums. During the end of the song though, this depth becomes even greater, as all of these intruments play together loudly. These two songs have opposite depths.

                These two songs also have very different grooves. In Hotel California, the song’s groove puts you in the mind of being on a beach. It is also creates a lot of tension because you know something is going to happen because of the song’s tempo and build up. This is opposite of Lyin Eyes. In Lyin eyes, the tempo is consistently medium throughout the entire song. It is a happy feel good song, with the exception of the lyrics.

                Although Lyin Eyes is a great classic, nothing can beat Hotel California for me. It is one of my all time favorites, and is the song that made me love the Eagles. The underlying meaning with the lyrics also gets to me everytime. It tells such an incredible story, while having amazing instrumentation at the same time. Hotel California is definitely a classic.

Project #4- Essay

                Jurassic Park is a movie that displays great sound techniques. From the monstrous roars of the dinosaurs to the casual sounds, of a jeep running, sound plays an extremely important role in this movie. I have chosen one of my favorite scenes from Jurassic park. In this particular scene, listening modes and the space of sound, play a key role.

                When driving on a trail through the park, one of the scientists begins discussing the chaos theory. This doctor then decides to put on a brief experiment, to prove this chaos theory. He drops a drip of water onto another scientist’s hand. Here, semantic sound is used. A loud drip noise occurs, when the scientists drops the drip of water. This sound would not have been loud enough for an audience just to here; therefore, a representational sound of water dripping was displayed to symbolize the water sounded like when it was dripped.

                The casual mode of sound was also used in the scene. Throughout the entire scene, the audience cans here the noise of the jeep. It is a loud ringing noise that is consistent with throughout the entire scene. This makes this casual noise because it is the actual sound of the jeep moving, and what was actually created when filming this scene.

                The space of sound is also displayed in this scene. Movement, which is a key aspect of sound as space, is shown by the casual jeep noise. This noise shows the audience that the jeep is moving because any audience is familiar with what a vehicle sounds like when it is moving. Directionality is shown when the two scientists are discussing this chaos theory. When Dr. Sattler shows Dr. Malcolm that this theory is over her head, she makes a gesture with her hand. She makes a noise at the same time she is moving her hand, which lets you know the direction that her hand is moving. This shows the directionality of her hand.