The Sound of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones

The documentary on the sound design of "Star Wars: Episode II" was really very interesting. As a film maker, I love watching behind the scenes featurettes. Seeing what it took to make the final product (and what a laborious process it is), only teaches me and makes me appreciate the film even more. 

I think the most interesting part for me was seeing the objects used to make sound effects. I love the use of objects that you would never suspect to be used, like an antique air raid siren that was used to make sound effects for the speeders in a chase sequence near the beginning of the film or the squishing up of a grapefruit to make the effects of the centipede creatures that crawl along the floor. I've seen documentaries on the original Star Wars trilogy and I think it's fascinating seeing how the sound designers utilize everyday items and stock effects to create iconic sounds like Chewy's growls, the lightsabers or the lasers coming from the X-wings and TIE fighters.

I also am a huge fan of Frank Oz and to see him do Yoda's voiceover was a real treat for me. He's such a talented actor, puppeteer and director, that just even getting to watch him perform was exciting and interesting for me. 

I learned a ton about the process and work that these sound designers put into creating the sounds for just one scene. The work that is put into just even little details in a sequence, like the movement of a machine or footsteps or background noise is astounding and, again, makes me appreciate the hard work that the creative team does.

As far as critiquing the documentary, I don't have much in the way of constructive criticism. I think perhaps it could have been shortened a little in places (some of the interviews were a little long I felt), but overall, I think that this documentary is well made, informative and interesting, especially for a Star Wars fan like myself.

Editing the Digital Signal

                 One of the main points in chapter one is that, while sound acts on physical principles, it has psychological effects on humans as well. The point that Alten is making is that we, as humans, perceive sound in a way that we understand on an emotional level. In my MIDI project, the beginning of my project is supposed to sound dark and confused, full of static, with bits of sound clips and special effects playing as if a radio is being tuned. In particular there is a brief sound clip with a violin playing. I liked the ominous effect of the sound and kept it in to contribute to the confusion of the opening.
               In chapter seventeen, a main point is: "an effective interactive-sound design creates an immersive environment through which a user can travel and explore." As I was designing my MIDI project, I wanted to create an environment for the listener of my song. I had a concept that the beginning would sound like a space ship taking off, with the pilot turning the radio on. This would lead into the song as if the station had been tuned to it. With the sound effects that I selected, I attempted to create an environment for the listener of my project. 

               In chapter twenty-four, Alten points out the importance of production values. Production values: "relate to the material's style, interest, color and inventiveness."  Good production value draws you into the project and move you. With my MIDI project, I attempted to create a sound that came across as a professionally made product with decent production value. Because I was working with free resources, I felt a lot of creative freedom to create something that was creative, stylish, interesting and inventive.

Kiersey Temperment Sorter

I took the Kiersey Temperment Sorter Test and was interested with the results that I got. My grandfather has been studying the Kiersey testing for years and has always told me that my type is "INFP." After taking the Kiersey test online, my type was "ENFP."

The Kiersey Temperment Sorter is a very widely used personality test. It first appeared in "Please Understand Me." It categorizes people into four different personality types: Artisan, Guardian, Rational, and Idealist. Other technical terms you will be put into are: Introvert or Extrovert, Sensing or Intuiting, Thinking or Feeling, and Judging or Perceiving.

The type that the online test gave me the was "Idealist Champion" and that I was an ENFP. I belive that this type is accurate to what sort of person I am. The Idealist type is all about emotion, building personal relationships, communication and being gentle and kind-hearted. Idealists live in a world a filled with possibilities and see room for change. We are harsh on ourselves when we think that we are being false or insincere. I think that this type is very much the way that I am.

The Champion part of my result said that I am a energetic person, are just and love to live life to the fullest. I think that these results are accurate to my personality. 

I am a little bit unsure of whether or not I am an extrovert or an introvert. The only difference in the results of the types that I have gotten is the extrovert and introvert aspect. When I was younger, I was was very shy and much more introverted than I am now. I think that both results seem to be accurate to the type of person I perceive myself to be. 
 

Observing Gender in Advertising and Media

In class, we took a look at several different films exploring gender roles in media and advertising. After watching these movies, I've noticed I'm looking at gender roles in advertising and media with a keener and more informed eye.
Later that day when I was Facebook, I took a look at some of my photo albums. I realized just how many photos I had taken where I was in many of the classic poses that we observed in the last film. Head tilted, leg canted, twisted into a position that threw me off balance or contorted me in some way. In positions that are considered to be classically feminine poses. I had never realized before how many of my photos were like this. Very few that I had taken could have fit into the category of "masculine" stances.
A few weeks ago, my friend's little cousin, Gabriel, came to visit. We took him out shopping with us. In one store, we came across some coloring books. My friend suggested to him some Batman or Thomas the Train Engine coloring books, but Gabriel was very insistent upon getting a bright pink and yellow Hello Kitty coloring book. My friend was attempting to discourage him from picking the girly item and even made a few comments to me about Gabriel potentially being gay. Gabriel is four years old and already being mocked for not being "masculine" enough.
Just experiencing this situation really brought to mind just how much importance we place on fitting into your gender role and how early on we are pressured to meet society's expectations of those roles. Before you are even born, sometimes as soon as your sex is determined, your family may give you a pink or blue nursery.
These films brought to light the enormous divide in the world of the feminine and the masculine and have made it easier to observe it.

Blog Four: Favorite Genre Film?

A genre is a used to understand the signs and content of a story for the purpose of building an audience. It is a type or category in which television, film, literature, etc. can be grouped into.

The question posed to me was “What is my favorite genre film?” I would say that my answer to this question is “Edward Scissorhands” as a favorite of the modern fantasy film genre.  

The concept alone is a fantasy. An inventor dies before his creation, a young man with scissors for hands, is finished, leaving him to live alone in a castle in the suburbs. The creation, Edward, is brought to live in the suburbs by the local Avon lady and Edward attempts to adapt to normal life. However, Edward’s inability to do so leads to disaster and his eventually having to return to the castle to live alone.

The film is original and different, while incorporating many of the common tropes we find in the fantasy film. We have familiar characters with the young hero, Edward, the old mentor/Father figure to the hero, The Inventor (played by the late, great Vincent Price) and Kim, the beautiful girl that he falls in love with.

Fantasy films often involve a quest of some sort. The hero has a goal and that goal tends to become the focus of the movie. Edward may not look to be a not heroic knight on a quest, but his goal is to win the love of Kim. In the end he takes on this role, winning the love of the fair maiden and saving her life.

Of course, with this being a Tim Burton film (and one of the first to showcase his unique and distinct style) the settings and characters of this film are over the top and fantastical. I adore the juxtaposition of the dark, lonely expressionistic castle on the hill against the cookie cutter, pastel-colored Floridian suburbs. The sets featured in the “real world” are so fantastically exaggerated that they are as fantastic as the castle where Edward was created in.

“Edward Scissorhands” is one of my all-time favorite films and my favorite film of the fantasy genre. It plays with tired conventions and modernizes them, makes them fresh. I love this film and it inspires me to learn more about fantasy as a genre.

My Favorite Role in the Studio

While working in the production studio, I had a chance to work a little at every position in front of and behind the camera, from camera operator to working on audio and being in front of the camera.

While I enjoyed a many of these positions, my favorite role in the studio was being in charge of lighting. Lighting is not exactly something I have had much experience with, but while I was working in that position, I had some creative control over how the set looked. I was able to alter the position of the lamps based on whether or not I thought that they looked good, were distracting, etc. I liked being able to call the shots in that area because I was able to arrange the set so that I thought it was more aesthetically-pleasing to look at. I liked being able to have a little control over the look of the set. I was very pleased by having had the opportunity to do that.

There were many other positions that I was afforded the opportunity to work in, but that one was my favorite because I was able to give some creative input, something I always enjoy and something I would very much like to be a part of my career in the future as I feel it is one of my strong points.

Blog Five: The Importance of Understanding Communication

My life’s ambition is to work in the film industry as a director. This is a career where the ability to not only communicate, but understand communication and the power it holds is paramount to being successful in the field. A director must communicate with his or her cast and crew and must understand how to translate information from the script to the soundstage to the big screen. 

To be a successful individual I must be able to communicate, whether through my work (engaging an audience requires communication skills) or in everyday life (communicating with my employers, co-workers, business partners, etc.) The key to understanding communication is starting at the beginning, at it’s foundation and working your way from there.

To begin at the very basis of communication, we start with Hermeneutics. Hermeneutics (deriving from the name of the Greek god Hermes, who would translate divine language into human language) is the science and philosophy of communication. It is how we humans interpret and make sense of the information that is presented to us. Next, we move to semiotics.

Semiotics is the “science of signs.” Semiotics is a way of “reading” images and decoding things that are multi-layered such as film, television, books, etc. and making sense of signs and mythologies

After decoding the signs of semiotics, we arrive at the narrative, a story with a well-established structure. A narrative is a discourse in which time is enacted, where there is a beginning, middle and end.

The narrative can be broken down further by placing it in a genre. A genre is a category in which a narrative can be placed and structured even further. As someone interested in the film industry, I am fond of many different genres of film, from the dusty Western with it’s tough but soft-hearted sheriffs to the hard-boiled PI’s and femme fatales of the black and white Noir. Genres will take narratives that are similar in content and structure and group them together to make them even easier to interpret.

I believe that understanding these concepts will lead to a better understanding of communication and hopefully the ability to better communicate with those around me. I believe that this basic knowledge would be very practical and useful to have as a film director, a career that is really focused entirely on the art of communication.

"Art and Copy"

In the PBS documentary “Art and Copy,” we see the artistry and work that goes into creating advertisements. The documentary features interviews with the creators of some of the world’s best-known advertising campaigns and hear about the creative process it took/takes to create them. While viewing some of the famous advertisements (The Volkswagon Beetle campaign, the iPod dancers campaign, etc.), I began to realize what the documentary was “really” about.  

As I really studied some of these ads, I realized how brilliant they were. I would find myself being pulled in by some of these advertisements. Watching this time around with a critical eye, I realized just how manipulative some of these ads were. But not only are they manipulative, but these advertisements can be pieces of artwork.

I observed just how much human emotions are manipulated to sell products. Advertisements may become works of art that appeal to our emotions. Advertisements can sell us dreams, ideals, states of mind. An ad can sell us the idea of strength of family or the power of dreams all while selling us a bottle of shampoo, a car or a candy bar.

“Art and Copy” puts a great deal of emphasis on the idea that we, the consumer, are part of the advertisment. It is based on the idea that we are participating with the ad. We, the viewer, are part of the experience, and share in it with the creators of the ad. The documentary “Art and Copy” seems to emphasize this shared experience between advertiser and consumer.

One of the examples of this sort of emotional advertising is the use of Ronald Regan’s campaign commercial. The commercial features a very friendly suburban neighborhood, full of families, neighbors and friends, working together and generally having a good time being in each other’s company.

The ad is colorful and warm, creating a very inviting, safe and secure environment. The advertisement claimed that this was the way life in the United States of America was since Ronald Regan took office. The ad was able to conjure up such strong feelings that it even managed to take Regan’s critics by surprise when they were moved by the powerful advertisement.

So while you are being shown a commercial about a fun new airliner, you aren’t buying the ticket. You’re buying the happiness, the fun, the colors of the plane, the beautiful flight attendants. You are buying the good feelings that the ad can give you. The point that the documentary was trying to get across, I believe, is that advertisements use creativity to sell their products. They appeal to our emotions, ideals and standards.

I think that “Art and Copy” is really about the appeal to our emotions, and the idea that advertisements may not just be sleazy and deceptive forms of media used to empty our wallets. Advertisements may also be pieces of artwork, bits of print or television that in addition to selling a product, may also truth and beauty. May also sell us feelings and emotions.

"Bad Angel" Blurb

When a chance encounter with her old love, Lucifer, leads a newly promoted Guardian Angel to rebel against God, she is tossed headfirst from the Pearly Gates and down to Earth.  

On Earth, our heroine, now known only as “Bad Angel,” befriends a lusty demon, Lady Lechery, and works for the Devil as a Retriever, a Hellion who collects souls from Earth. But when the life of the boy she was first assigned to protect is threatened, will Bad Angel side with Heaven or Hell? Is there any chance of redemption for this Ex-Angel?

In Bad Angel’s journey between Heaven, Hell and Earth we learn that Demons can love, Angels can sin and even God has his doubts. “Bad Angel” is the story of one young Angel’s sacrifice in the name of love. 

                      Bad Angel (left) and Lady Lechery (right) playing croquet.

  

Lady Lechery and the Archangel Michael  

  

Big Red and Mr. Red (Lucifer) 

Myth and Ideology

In class, we learned the definitions and difference of the terms “Myth” and “Ideology.” We learn how these terms can be used and how they these terms steer our ideas of communication.

Myths are defined as the “stories we live by.” A myth is a story, a tale that is retold over and over again. Human beings love to tell stories. We use these stories to communicate. The myth can be split into categories of Naturalism, Liberalism, and Structuralism.

Ideology is “a constructed belief system that explains economics, political, and social reality to people and establishes collective goals of a class, group or in the case of a dominant ideology, the entire society.” They are a system of beliefs, values and ideas. Ideology is an image society gives itself in order to perpetuate itself.

The terms “myth” and “ideology” may be considered synonyms, two words that are similar but with slight differences between them. Both of these terms “indicate acts of communication (talking, writing, filming) require a background of ideas on which draw.” The term “ideology” has a political connotation behind it that the word “myth” lacks.

We use semiotics to make the ideas of myth and ideology, the “invisible side of communication,” into the visible side of communication. We use these ideas to make sense of intangible ideas and give them an image.

Working in the Studio

I have enjoyed working in the studio. There have been many positive things that I have experienced while working with the equipment.

I really like that everyone had to chance to get some experience in each position. I think that way of doing things is fair to everyone. Every person gets a little taste of a particular position. Many of those jobs I’d never attempted before and I liked that I was able to have a chance to try them.  

I also really enjoyed receiving instruction when I had an issue with getting the camera to white balance. I felt that I was really being listened to. There was time taken time to understand and explain how to fix the problem. I understand that everyone requires attention (especially when operating equipment they’ve never used before), but I really appreciated the attention paid to me. I like to have a great deal of direction so that I know what I’m doing. It made me feel that my work in the studio is taken seriously and that I am valuable to creating the production.

I am getting to know and work with my classmates. Through my classes in the past I have made great friends that I go on to work with and involve in my projects. Through our work in the studio, I’ve gotten to interact with people I’d never met before. I think that working together towards one common goal (in this case, producing a show) brings people closer.

I wouldn’t say that there is anything I consider my least favorite as I saw all of it as valuable and interesting to me, but I would say that I always have a great deal of difficulty with technical things. I’m always nervous that I’m going to press the wrong button and ruin a shot or mess up the audio or something. I think that with further instruction, I ought to be less nervous.

I think that I would like to learn more about each of these positions that we went over. I think that doing the rotation again might be a good idea because I would be interested in seeing how I handle a job that I had gotten a little, tiny bit of experience in again to observe how I do the second time around.

Overall I have enjoyed my time working in the studio acquiring new skills and making new friends.

Graphic Novel Ideas

            I’m very excited to begin brainstorming for my graphic novel. I had an idea over Christmas break for a superhero series that I found to be something I thought was interesting and deserved to be expanded upon.

            My initial idea was of giving people superpowers as a way to cope with fear (ex: someone with a fear of heights could fly, fear of water could swim, fear of animals could speak to them), but I have been having trouble making that idea come together.  

I began to think in a world where superpowers could be possible (for the right price) they would have to do some testing. If the side effects were bad and proved to make a person too dangerous, what would happen to this person? They would have to be destroyed.

One character that has been in my mind from the beginning of this idea is test subject of this project who gains immense physical strength and agility. The character “X,” out of the characters I have created for this project, is the most like a comic book character. She is a character who serves as the protagonist of my story. I wanted to take the female superhero and make her less of a sex object and more a soldier, sort of an extreme female marine. I want her to be brutal and gentle at the same time. She is a character that is driving this story forward in my mind even though the details are vague right now because I’m clinging to the images of her to keep me going.

Another character that I must work with is a boy who is afraid of animals that can now communicate with them. I think that this character has great potential. I have to keep him because I have the image of his reconciling with a dog who bit him in his childhood, triggering his fear of animals.

There are reoccurring themes in all of my stories, I’ve noticed. I love transformations, whether literal or in terms of character development. I always love taking a villain and making them heroic or vice versa. Dabbling in grey areas is always fascinating to me. I always really enjoy exploring the dynamics of relationships, the themes of love, loss and loneliness. I really also want to just take a look at how people would deal with having “superpowers” in a more realistic environment. I would like to see how these powers would effect a person in their daily life.

Overall, this project may be too big, too ambitious for me right now, so I may just write a side story about it, but I think that I’ve got something here that really interests me and I would like to see where it takes me.

                                        
                                             Here is the first doodle of "X" I made.

                                               "X" as portrayed by my friend Ryan Smith

Century of the Self

In the documentary, “Century of the Self,” we take a look at the work of Sigmund Freud and his nephew, Edward Bernays, known at the “Father of Public Relations.” The film explains how both of these men used psychoanalytical ideas to explain and predict human behavior and how Edward Bernays used it to create techniques used in advertising.

I was really fascinated by the work of Bernays. I find it rather surreal to think that, as the movie states, advertising before Bernays seemed to rely entirely on facts and advertisers believed that that alone would sell the product. Edward Bernays borrowed ideas from his uncle and discovered the power of mass consumer persuasion by appealing to unconscious desires and emotions. It was Bernays who ushered in all of these advertising techniques that we still see used today.

I particularly enjoy the story of the “Freedom torches.” One of Bernays’s clients was a cigarette company. The company wanted to figure out a way to break the taboo on women smoking so that they could sell more of their product. Bernays had the idea of having young, influential socialites smoke cigarettes in public where they they would be photographed and call the cigarettes “freedom torches.” Calling the cigarettes “freedom torches” evokes the idea of liberty and patriotism, as well as the idea of gender equality. Also, using popular, young socialites to market your product as something that is fashionable as well as patriotic is a stroke of genius. I’d say that this is akin to a celebrity endorsement.

Bernays used the idea that you bought things not only because you needed them, but because they were an “an expression of your inner self to others.” That idea of selling individuality to the masses is both ridiculous and genius. It appeals to the basic human desire to feel admired, cared for, respected, loved, etc.  This technique works based on the belief that this product will somehow make you more beautiful, powerful, sexually appealing, popular, etc. Many of the techniques he used to sell products to the masses are advertising strategies that we that are so common place now we hardly think of when or where they originated from.

Here is the source to an article that I found on how the work of Edward Bernays has affected American consumerism:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2002/mar/10/medicalscience.highereducation

The Use of Transition in "Maus"

The transition is necessary in the comic world. It allows us passage onto the next scene, the next thought, the next moment that we need in our story. It is the means by which the creator of the story allows us to move forward. In McCloud’s “Understanding Comics” we learn the six types of comic transitions:

1.     “Moment to Moment"

2.     “Action to Action”

3.     “Subject to Subject”

4.     “Scene to Scene”

5.     “Aspect to Aspect”

6.     “Non-Sequitur”

I have identified three types of these transitions in Art Spiegalman’s “Maus.” So far the three types of McCloud’s comic transitions that I will use as examples are: “Action to Action,” “Scene to Scene,” and “Moment to Moment.”

On page thirty-two, the top two panels to show the “Oi!” and the other mice’s reaction to that. I believe that this would be an example of an “Action to Action” transition, because it is showing an action and a reaction to that. 

The second transition I noticed was a “Scene to Scene” transition on page 56. At the bottom row, there are two panels. One is stretched to I think indicate the passage of time that the people were supposed to be working for.

The third transition I observed was on page fifty-seven. The third row of panels down is what I believe could be considered a “Moment to Moment” transition. The characters barely move except for the movement of the subject on the right’s head from one panel to the next. Since the event seems to happen only a moment later I believe this to qualify.

I notice that there seem to be quite a few of the three examples that I chose in the novel. I found either none or very few examples of “Non-Sequitor” or “Subject to Subject.” I think that Spiegelman’s transitions are all relatively similar and I had trouble finding different examples of McCloud's listed transitions to use.

The Persuaders: "Song" Fails To Get Off The Gound

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The film “The Persuaders” was a fascinating look at the world of advertising. In this movie we try and discover how advertisers break through the clutter of millions of other commercials in an attempt to persuade you to look at THEIR product. It’s all about proving that their product is the one that deserves your precious attention (and money.)

Throughout the course of the film, there was focus on a new airline, “Song,” and how it was trying to get off the ground (pun absolutely intended.) I was very interested in the creative (and sometimes silly) ways that the “Song” team tried to market the new airline.

I really enjoyed seeing the footage of the “Song” party. There was one scene where a “Song” commercial was being played on the back of a airline seat because the airline had equipped it’s seats with tiny video monitors on their backs. I also love that one of their main selling points was the different colors that the airlines would be.

            I thought that the silliest thing was the way that the “Song” team tried to make the phrase “That’s so Song” a cool new catchphrase, like it was going to catch on and people were going to seriously be using that to describe something. I loved the interview between with the man and woman who were talking (mostly jokingly) about how “Song” their lives were.

            I enjoy seeing any brainstorming sessions for just about anything. The way that people throw around ideas, some silly, some terrible, some brilliant. I love listening to people creating and building on ideas, or transforming them to make something altogether different. There is an edge here because ideas in these sessions can either build or break a company. They can mean someone’s career.

            What’s interesting, though, is that after seeing ALL of the effort that this team went through to make this airline take off (also totally intended), things still didn’t pan out. “Song” only stayed in business for three years. I had never heard of it before viewing this film. It just shows you that you can put so much effort into cutting through the clutter, but whether it catches on or not is anyone’s guess.

Graphic Novel Reading List Pics

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After scanning the Graphic Novel reading list on the syllabus, I have chosen three graphic novels that I would like to read: “V for Vendetta,” “Watchmen,” and “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.” I would like to read new material, look at the art and add these three novels to my list of graphic novels that I have read.

            I am a HUGE fan of the film “V for Vendetta” and would like to read it to see how much the film deviates from the source material. And if it does, will I like the novel as much, if not more, than the film? I’m also a fan of Alan Moore and I could always stand to read more of his work. I think he’s a superb writer who creates complex characters and situations.

            When I was in high school, I was lent a copy of “Watchmen,” but was unable to finish it because I had to return it to my friend before he left for college. I would like to finally finish the book because of how well written it was. I have seen the movie several times and from what I remember of the book, the movie seems to follow the novel faithfully, even down to the Again, huge Alan Moore fan. From what I read of “Watchmen,” I really enjoyed. I have heard that the end of the movie was different than how the novel ended (and has seemed to cause some controversy among fans), so I am curious about that.

            “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns” is a graphic novel that I know is very popular in the Batman fandom that I have never read. Being a huge fan of Batman myself, that is a good enough reason for me to want to read it. I fell in love with “Sin City” and have wanted to read more by Frank Miller since.

            The next time that I’m in the bookstore, I’d like to pick up these three so that I can begin to read and analyze them.

Hermeneutics

 We do not just inherently understand everything we encounter in the world, so we must interpret it in some way to give it some meaning. We interpret the world through Hermeneutics, the study of interpretation. The word “Hermeneutics” is derived from the name of the Greek messenger god, Hermes, who could translate the language of the gods so that the humans could understand it.  Hermeneutics are broken up into five different categories. I will explain these different types, how each type works, and provide an example of one in everyday life that a person might encounter (a television show, an ad, etc.)

The five theories of Hermeneutics are: 

-  Natural   

-   Normative 

-   Scientific

-   Philosophical

-   Depth

The first category is “Natural.” This type is the “spontaneous everyday, usually unreflective interpreting we do when intersubjective understanding breaks down.” (K. Williams, 15) I would think that this hermeneutic could apply to just about any movie, television program, commercial, etc., because we are just so bombarded by them that at this point we barely think about interpreting them. It feels spontaneous and "natural."

 The next is Normative Hermeneutics. This hermeneutic is all about text interpretation. Some examples of people who interpret using this type of hermeneutic lawyers, judges, and priests. So this could apply to interpreting a legal document or a scripture. I think perhaps a an example of this might be a show featuring a televangelist, who may present passages from the Bible. The viewer of the show may interpret this text through the show. I also know from first hand experience that, growing up with four lawyers in my life, you can argue with a legal shows, like "Law and Order," when it comes to interpretation.  I'd often hear: "That'd never happen because *LAWYER-SPEAK EXPLANATION*!" They interpret the legal text within the show (and sometimes fight amongst themselves over it.)

The third is Scientific Hermeneutics. This is the category of hermeneutics that is “the foundation discipline of the human or historical sciences (Williams, 17)." An example of an advertisment that I thought applied to this category was this Dyson commercial for it's scientific approach to marketing it's product: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LApWU34o0eY

Then there is the study of Philosophical Hermeneutics. This category of Hermeneutics does not focus on the act of interpreting as the others do, but rather puts emphasis on our role as the interpreter. A category of this found in the media may be the blindfolded taste-test or something that focuses on the person who is interpreting and their reaction rather than how or what they interpret. 

The last category of Hermeneutics is Depth Hermeneutics. These are described as the "Hermeneutics of suspicion." This type is about liberation from "social dogma and oppression." (Williams, 19) Some examples of Depth Hermeneutics may be found in the works of Freud, Lacan and Marx. (20) An example of this may be when interpreting any type of news channel. 

These five categories provide examples as to how we see and understand the world around us. We encounter examples of them in the media that we consume daily. The study of the five types of Hermeneutics (Natural, Normative, Scientific, Philosophical, Depth) help us become more familiar with the different ways we are able to interpret the world around us.

Studio Production: What am I Getting Out of It?

As with any Communications course I have taken in my three semesters of attending Shepherd University, I hope to learn many new things from this course that will aid my journey towards my dream of becoming a video production and film director. I hope to work on new and interesting projects, would like to have a greater knowledge of the technical side of video and film production, be involved in an open, hands-on environment, engage in class discussions, work on set and achieve a greater overall knowledge of studio production. 

At the moment, I don’t feel particularly skilled in the technical aspects of production. I am much better at conceiving ideas, brainstorming, etc. While I think I am decent at the more creative aspects of video and film production, I would like to learn how to be more efficient in the technical realm of production.

I hope to gain some experience with operating cameras, using editing software I have never used before and working with any other equipment that might come in useful on a set (lighting, sound, etc.) Through our projects in the studio, I would like to leave this course with a better understanding of what it is like to work on a film set. 

I am excited to be involved in an environment that “encourages improvement in critical skills” as well as “self-evaluation” and “synthetic skills.” (32) I am also a very visual and hands-on learner. I look forward to time spent engaging in class discussion and writing blogs as well as working in the studio. 

            As I look to work in the field of video and film production, I hope that over the course of this class I gain experience that will come in useful in the future. This summer I am applying for an internship at Motion Masters, a video production company in my hometown of Charleston, West Virginia. I hope that this course will prepare me for possible jobs that I would have on set such as operating a camera or holding a boom. This information and experience will not only benefit me in a possible internship, but will pave the way towards my dream of becoming a film and video production director. 

Applying the concept of Amplification through Simplification in “Maus”

         

          “When we abstract an image through cartooning, we’re not so much eliminating details as we are focusing on specific details. By stripping down an image to it’s essential “meaning,” an artist can amplify that meaning in a way that realistic art can’t.” – (McCloud, 30)

            In Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics,” we begin to understand how and why we comic-readers are drawn to and identify with cartoons and comic art. The concept of “amplification through simplification,” (McCloud, 30) is an idea that I think is applicable to the graphic novel, “Maus,” by Art Spiegelman.

McCloud’s concept is that by making something such as a face (the example used in the book) very simple, the more likely we are to connect mentally with the face of that character and associate ourselves with that character. He explains this is because when while we are always aware of our own faces and expressions, we are likely to think of little more than a vague outline or a “sketchy arrangement.” (McCloud, 36) 

In “Understanding Comics,” McCloud explains that this interest in simplicity may stem from our younger years when we watched cartoons on television or animated movies. (pg. 36) I think that perhaps this influenced Spiegleman’s decision to pick such a simple and child-like style by using the cartoon mice to represent the Jewish people and the villainous-looking cats to represent the Nazis. I think that as an illustrator, he knew that such a deep-seated fascination with simplicity and the need to identify would not only draw readers into the story, but might make them even more sympathetic to the protagonists. The design has made very clear who the “good guys” and “bad guys” are.

            McCloud explains that the simpler the face the more “universal” it’s appeal is. The example of a simple smiley face is rather similar to the faces of the mice in “Maus.” The faces are simple and cartoonish as well as rather uniform (the mice all really look very much the same, even the males and females can only really be distinguished by their clothing.) There are no distinct features to make these characters look too much like anyone. Their simplicity makes them sort of a blank slate upon which we can project ourselves onto. I find myself able to relate to these characters a little more I think perhaps because of their simple style.

What's In It For Me?

            “We must prepare young people for living in a world of powerful images, words, and sounds.” – UNESCO, 1982

            This particular statement from the syllabus struck a cord with me. We live in a world that is indeed ruled with images, words, and sounds. I find myself sometimes feeling overwhelmed and unsure what to make of them, leaving me feeling inadequate and unprepared for a career in the field of communications. From this class I hope to leave with a greater knowledge of media studies and become what I would consider to be more media literate.  

             In the first six chapters of the book we learn about the basics of navigating media and popular culture and how to analyze and understand it. In chapter two of "Cultural Theory and Popular Culture," we learn that mass culture threatens to "land us in irreparable chaos." The book states that to combat this chaos, we must be trained to properly interpret the flow of information. The third chapter teaches about "Culturalism," a word meaning used to "indicate the presence of a body of theoretical concerns connecting the work of three theorists." The fourth chapter focuses on Marxist theories, which state that "texts and practices must be analyzed in relation to historical conditions." The fifth chapter handles the subject of the Freudian psychoanalysis and the sixth on structuralism and post-structuralism.

             I would like to learn more about each of the subjects covered in the book as well as the different aspects of media literacy as broken down in the syllabus (power, analysis, asthetics and interpretation.) At this point in time, I’m afraid that I feel unprepared for working in this world full of powerful images, words, and sounds. I hope to leave this class with a better understanding of these subjects and apply these ideas and concepts to my future career in the field of communications.

Thai Life Insurance: My Favorite Ad Campaign

              

                   I (as well as just about every other person on this planet) live with a constant barrage of advertising pushing and shoving it's way into my senses, peddling Nikes and pouring the promise of delicious fizzy Sprite down my throat (now only HALF the calories!) I find many commercials to be deceptive, off-putting and a bit sleazy. One series of commercials, however, broke through the clutter and struck a cord with me. I find the Thai Life Insurance advertisement campaign that I discovered on Youtube to be the most brilliant I’ve ever come across (and certainly my favorite.)

                  The commercials usually present scenarios involving heartbreaking/heartwarming relationships between family and/or loved ones. I think that the brilliance in these ads is the ability of the content to pull you in so quickly and so strongly that they are not easily forgotten. I have genuinely cried, nay, sobbed, to a few of these commercials. They are masterfully made and come across as short films that just happen to have the company’s logo at the end.

                 These commercials contain a grace and artistry that I have never beheld in a commercial before. Unlike thousands of blaring, in-your-face Mountain Dew commercials I’ve encountered, these commercials resonate with me and are memorable. The ad is not bombarding you with the message of “BUY THIS! BUY THIS!” There are no explosions, no celebrities, no promise of “cleaner, younger-looking skin.” There is a simplicity and subtly behind them that fuels their power and the reality of the situations draw us in. These commercials appeal to the heart and mind, providing me with something much richer and valuable to me than any other commercial I have ever been exposed to. I not only pay attention to these commercials, I re-watch them. That, I think, is truly a feat in itself.