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