Friday, May 20, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Procrastinate Now, Don't Wait 'til Later
(P.S. This isn't a blog post for school, yay!)
I've never been a procrastinator. When I was younger (like elementary and middle school), I would come home from school and sit at the counter in the kitchen and do all of my homework. Seriously, I was that kid. All of my homework was done by 4pm (when it only took an hour to do homework), and I had the rest of the night to myself. Now, homework takes me about 4-6 hours a day. Sometimes I have my boyfriend change my facebook password so I can't log on, and when that happens, the amount of time it takes me to complete homework will get cut maybe in half. Sometimes he'll just take the initiative and I won't even have to ask him to change it. Is my procrastination problem that obvious? Maybe so.
Even with facebook gone, though, I'll turn to other things. IMDB, YouTube, StumbleUpon (that's my big weakness); sometimes I'll even check my email 5 times in 15 minutes just so I won't have to do what I need to. When did this become such an issue? I don't like staying up into the early hours in the morning to accomplish what I could've accomplished 3 days ago. I'm not really sure where I was going with this post, but I think I figured it out. I'm making a pledge to myself (and my mom) that procrastination will no longer be the death of me. I cannot and I will not be tempted with stupid websites or redecorating or cleaning or anything that will keep me from my work anymore. Take that, Satan. This past week I think I've been the most stressed than I have been all quarter. You know why? Because I've been thinking about these two things I have to do, I have to do, I have to do. I spent all this time worrying and thinking and stressing instead of just, eh hem, DOING them. It seems so simple, doesn't it? Maybe it is that simple. This is definitely one of those times where I wish Dory was actually here. I'll give my 6th grade self a try again. However, positive thoughts and prayers my way are still very much appreciated.
Also, if you've actually been taking the time to read my blogs for school, thank you. They might not be the most fun to read, but I think I actually learn something, whether it be about the class or about myself, every time I do them. Pretty cool.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Analyze Analyze [Blog 7]
To watch the video that I compared ours to, click here.
Both of these videos used very different approaches. Ours (I'll call our video Joke 4) was a silent film, with just music and text, while the other group (I'll call their video Joke 5) used dialogue and no music.
The first thing to look at is the line in both videos. They're pretty similar in interior spaces. Joke 4 begins with an interior scene in a living room. The afghan, picture, and pillow all points directly to our characters head. Likewise, in the office space of Joke 5, everything is angled toward the character. And I mean everything. The laptop, papers, and even scissors are all pointing to him to accentuate his character. Joke 5 also uses line very well throughout the entirety of the video. I assume this is because they shot it all inside. It's a little harder to create line for eye-direction purposes when shooting outdoors, like we did for Joke 4. However, in the jail cell, our main characters head is framed by the lines of the cell blocks.
The second thing that adds to the subconsciousness of an audiences' depiction of a story is shape. In Joke 4, our main character's head is very round, giving him an innocence and a jolly quality. Our antagonist, on the other hand, has a very triangle face, making her devious character match up perfectly with the devious action she ends up doing. In Joke 5, the main character has a very square shape to his head, fitting perfectly with the aggravation he displays throughout the entire video. His wife and all 3 coworkers, on the other hand, have the round faces, which gives them innocent qualities. Poor Todd. Also round are the balloons displayed on the mantel and the cake set in front of the protagonist. All this adds to the contrast of his aggravation and the nice gesture his wife tried to make.
There was contrast between how the producers wanted the audience to take in the characters of the videos. Joke 4 was very active; because there was no dialogue, the audience is put in the position to assume how each character feels and the way they speak the text on the screen. However, Joke 5 was didactic; the producer wanted the audience to know exactly what kinds of qualities the characters possessed and did this through providing the dialogue.
Contrast and affinity played an important role in both videos. Joke 4 had the contrast of interior and exterior scenes, while Joke 5 was strictly interior (with the exception of establishing shots). Both videos had a male and female character, and I guess you could even go so far to say that in both videos the females were the antagonists (always causing problems, those women). And, of course, the contrast between not only dialogue/no dialogue but color/black and white adds a specific feel to each video. Joke 5 is warm so the audience can feel a little more connected than Joke 4. Kinda cold and gray.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
How To Be Creative [Blog 6A]
Before you watch anything, check out this website. Click 'download' to read what I read. http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/6.HowToBeCreative
Friday, May 6, 2011
The Italian Job [Blog 5B]
No, I don't like this movie just because I'm italian, and yes, that is Charlize Theron. When I finish watching this movie I always have a craving for some Mighty Joe Young. Enjoy. :)
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