Sunday, September 25, 2011

Blog Assignment #3- Sound Design

The scene I have chosen is the ever-famous "flying" scene from Titanic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MDPeL8lpzo).



This scene contains a nice mixture of diagetic and non-diagetic sounds. Under the Gestalt Principal, this scene creates "illusion" in the way that it sounds very "full", but there are only 3 or 4 sounds being created: the ocean waves, the wind, their voices and the background music. It is not a "catastrophic" sound, in fact it is actually a very comfortable scene, but still sounds very full which is an illusion of sound. The overall intensity of this scene is quite minimal, and creates a certain comforting, calm mood. The timbre is of both ambiance and melodic sounds (ocean vs. music) and pitch only occurs in the background music, which is quite high.
Space is created very intensely in this scene. The visual distance of this scene is shallow between Jack and Rose and very deep around them. This contrast is evident between the clarity of their voices, yet the rustling of waves combined with beating wind. So overall I would say this scene uses a mixture of shallow and deep space with sound to create the "full" feeling. The non-diagetic music works to create emotion throughout the scene in the way that it intensifies when Jack and Rose are physically close and fades when the scene overlaps to fade into the 'present'.
Johnathan Flaum's article, located here: http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/51.01.YourHowl speaks of an experience he had in the fifth grade. He talked about his experience when a fellow classmate had found a sort of "loophole in the system." The classmate had found a way to exceed the teacher's expectation, which nobody else in the class had even managed to come close to, while concurrently writing such an in-depth story that relates so closely to every person's situation. That particular point is this: One can run in circles for eternity trying to escape when there is no where to run to. Or, one can learn to admire where they are, in turn opening up a new world of possibilities.


A song that I love and that speaks to me creatively is "I Must Belong Somewhere" by Bright Eyes. This is a copy of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B-mBqG1HCA

And these are the lyrics:
Leave the bright blue door on the whitewash wall
Leave the death ledger under city hall
Leave the joyful air in that rubber ball today

Leave the lilac print on the linen sheet
Leave the birds you killed at your father's feet
Let the sideways rain in the crooked street remain

Leave the wimpering dog in his cold kennel
Leave the dead starlet on her pedestal
Leave the acid kids in their green fishbowls today

Leave the sad guitar in its hardshell case
Leave the worried look on your lover's face
Let the orange embers in the fireplace remain

Because everything, it must belong somewhere
A train off in the distance, bicycle chained to the stairs
Everything must belong somewhere
I know that now, that's why I'm staying here

Leave the ocean's roar in the turquoise shell
Leave the widower in his private hell
Leave the liberty in that broken bell today

Leave the epic poem on its yellowed page
Leave the gray macaw in his covered cage
Let the traveling band on the interstate remain

Because everything, it must belong somewhere
Soundstage in California, televisions in Time Square
Everything must belong somewhere
I know that now, that's why I'm staying here
I know that now, that's why I'm staying here

Leave the secret talks on the trundle bed
Leave the garden tools in the rusted shed
Leave those bad ideas in your troubled head today

Leave the restless ghost in his old hotel
Leave the homeless man in his cardboard cell
Let the painted horse on the carousel remain

Because everything, it must belong somewhere
Just like the gold around her finger or the silver in his hair
Everything must belong somewhere
I know that now, that's why I'm staying here
I know that now, that's why I'm staying here

In truth, the forest hears each sound
Each blade of grass as it lies down
The world requires no audience
No witnesses, no witnesses

Leave the old town drunk on his wooden stool
Leave the autumn leaves in the swimming pool
Leave the poor black child in his crumbling school today

Leave the novelist in his daydream tomb
Leave the scientist in his Rubik's Cube
Let the true genius in the padded room remain

Leave the horse's hair on the slanted bow
Leave the slot machines on the river boat
Leave the cauliflower in the casserole today

Leave the hot, bright trash in the shopping malls
Leave the hawks of war in their capitals
Let the organ's moan in the cathedral remain

Because everything, it must belong somewhere
They locked the devil in the basement, threw God up into the air
Everything must belong somewhere
You know it's true, I wish you'd leave me here
You know it's true, why don't you leave me here


This song speaks to me creatively for many reasons. The first reason, and the most straightforward reason is that it took me a long time to find what I wanted to do, career-wise. I have bounced around from fashion design to sculpture to fibers to music to video production. I have literally thought sometimes that "I must belong somewhere" and have wondered around trying to find exactly where. I am both relieved and excited to know that I have found that place now, whereas in the song, he sings "I know that now that's why I'm staying here." I have found my howl in the arts the hard way- by literally pushing through everything I jumped at before and eventually finding what jumped at me. Flaum explained that one cannot know their true path without knowing from where they came. You must learn the ins and outs of everything along the way and find your own meaning to it, and that is what makes you truly insightful. He also explains that happiness will never come from bouncing around, and the smartest thing one can do is to become content, and even happy, with where they are. I am finally happy now, and I can truly understand what this song is speaking about, because I have experienced it myself.
This song has a second meaning to it which I found to be important, and that is a sort of commentary on the way the world tends to look at people who are different. He says to leave everything where it should be, some literal and some sarcastic. For example, "leave the true genius in the padded room..." explains that people are often afraid to look at things differently and therefore condemn anyone who dares to do just that. This is relevant to us creative folk because we tend to look at things differently every day. We have found our howl in the workings of society by simply choosing to look at things in a different light, and that, I believe, will make a larger howl than anything I could imagine.

Blog Assignment #1- Deconstructing Characters

The three elements of my character- light, shape, and color- are all quite basic, yet say a lot. My character, Bingley, is made of an analogous color scheme of yellow, green, and blue. All three colors are quite vibrant, yet shading is used to bring attention to certain features of the character. Yellow, which represents fun and energy is the main color of the character. Green and blue compliment yellow as well as add depth. None of those three colors typically accompany any one gender, either, which is why I also chose to use them; I wanted my character to be gender neutral.
I chose a round shape for my Bingley for three reasons; one being that it is natural (being a puffer fish and all...) and because circular shapes do not typically represent strength, but more so fun. The third reason I chose a rounded shape is to compliment their favorite thing to do- play ping pong (ping pong balls are also round.)


I chose this picture of a ball to represent my character for two main reasons. The first being that it represents my character's rounded shape, and the second being that it obviously portrays the color as well. This is obviously a children's play toy, which coincides with my character's genre. It is likely that a child who would play with this ball would also be interested in my character. All in all I would say this is a perfect representation of my character, and would give anybody a pretty good idea of what Bingley is all about.

I chose this picture of colors to accurately represent Bingley's colors. Yellow is on top, which represents the majority of Bingley's coloring. Green is in the middle, which accurately represents the second major color, and blue is on bottom. Since Bingley is a sea creature, I chose not to color it blue, due to it possibly blending it with the ocean background. Yellow is a fun, vibrant color in and of itself, which is why I chose to use it. The yellow tone in this picture, I believe, fairly represents the shade of yellow I chose to use for Bingley. This shade is quite understated, which I purposely did for the sake of originality and attempting to not overdo the whole "bright fun colors" thing.


I chose this ball to represent Bingley's shape. Since Bingley is a fish, I chose a more sluggish shape rather than a stealth arrow type shape. Bingley is not a strong or stealthy; he is more of a rounded, bouncy- type character. Bingley can also be described as a "ball of energy" so I literally chose a ball to represent it. Of course Bingley is not a perfect rounded shape, but I feel that this quite accurately described its overall personality.




My second character, the antagonist, is named Octopong. Octopong is a monotone grey color, with only slight variations in shading. I chose grey for a few reasons- one being that it is an expected octopus color, as well as it being a relatively dark, dreary color. This is the exact opposite of Bingley, who is brightly colored and fun looking. This visual cue lets the viewer know immediately which character is the protagionist as well as the antagonist.
The lighting of Octopong is relatively simple and straightforward. His underside is colored lighter than his upper side for a few reasons. One being that he is more creepy and eerie, so lighting his underside is similar to someone holding a flashlight under their face to make them look creepy, and the other being that it is normally how an octopus looks.
The shape of Octopong is naturally the shape of an octopus, but a little squirmier. I did this because he is a sly, sneaky character, so I wanted to make him look the part. Slimy, squirmy tentacles that move and wiggle are a definite ick factor, so I wanted him to be extra slimy.


The first photo I have chosen to represent Octopong is this sun:
This sun represents Octopong's overall shape. That being his main center and pertruding squiggly arms. Of course, ignoring the coloring and brightness of the photo, I think the overall idea of the shape represents Octopong. This photo represents movement in its shape, and in relation to Octopong implies the movement of his limbs.


The second photo I have chosen to represent Octopong is this snake. This snake is definitely creepy and gross, and his squirmy long body represents Octopong's long, squirmy tentacles. It also somewhat represents the color of Octopong, and his intimidating appearance. Snakes are one of the most feared things in the world, so I thought it was appropriate to compare this snake with Octopong, since he is what Bingley fears.



I chose this last photo to represent Octopong for several reasons. One reason is simply the color scheme-- that being grey. This alien is pretty monotone and grey, as is Octopong. This photo also shows what a grey, monotone color scheme does for a character, and that is to make it cold, creepy and eerie. This brings me to the next reason I chose this photo, and that is to show the eerie-ness I want to convey with Octopong. He is a dark, creepie octopus who lives in the deepest parts of the sea, which I think relates very well with this alien, who lives in the deepest parts of space. Both characters are elusive and both are feared. So overall, I think this is the best photograph to represent Octopong and what he is all about.