SOUND and STORIES review

flickr user all that improbable blue

So I've been a little bit cynical.

In my weekly review I talked about how radio doesn't really do it for me. I can't seem to focus on it and I don't see the need to. However, I have recently had...a change of heart. I wouldn't say that my opinion is changed completely, but in a way I almost feel bad for radio. It's been through a lot. 

That being said, I guess you could say I have found a new appreciation for radio after reading this piece, mostly because I was looking at it through the wrong lens - radio isn't necessarily about picking up every specific detail, it's just about listening to a story. When someone tells you a story, you might not pick up every word and sentence and intonation they use, and that's fine, because that's life. You can't always be alert to every detail of your life, thank god.

One of the things I liked about this article that I hadn't noticed (mostly because I don't listen to radio very often) is how personal radio DJs make the radio experience. It hadn't occurred to me that when listening to radio, one is often times alone, so being catered to on an individual level is something important for full listening pleasure. By forming questions with "you" as opposed to "all listeners out there", the relationship between radio and its listener is intensified – we're practically dating.

In all, what I generally want to say is that appreciating the difference between auditory storytelling and print/video/other media is important. Each have their own positive and negative qualities, all of which are appreciated in different ways through different lenses. Not everybody can write a broadcast for a radio show that engages, inspires and entertains, but most people would find it easier to write a short story – not that writing is a walk in the park, because it isn't, but something about radio, its relatability, voice, and personal experience takes us to a different place than certain stories can and ever will.

W E E K L Y . S U M M A R Y .

MY WEEK WOOT WOOT WHAT WHAT

• third and final video - my walk home; a commute story
• dailycreate
• dailycreate
• radio on - a review

I had a really good week this week. Aside from all the stress of upcoming midterms, I managed to make it out alive. It doesn't look like my week was very eventful...but it definitely was, outside of this class! I decided that I want to minor in Creative Writing, and I'm really really excited to pursue that and see where it takes me, we'll see! Other than that my week was filled with lots and lots of homework. Nothing extremely exciting. This weekend was also great, personally apologizing here and now if you follow me on twitter...

Sorry this post is a little bit all over the place, I'm still a little bit riled up from just watching the Oscars...I'm upset I didn't see Argo since it won best picture, definitely have to put that on the top of my list. Here's to falling, jumbled acceptance speeches, and Daniel Day Lewis of course!

W E E K L Y R E V I E W - 2.10.13

THIS WAS A BUSY WEEK

• Posted a video on the Future of Education starring Aja and Ariana
• Discussed Reality Hunger: A Manifesto
• Created my first video (!!!)
• Daily Create, Daily Create
• Video Create about my favorite word in French
• Talked about "How to read a movie"

So many things packed into one week! Can't believe how fast time flies. I think my favorite projects for this week were my first video and reading "How to read a movie". My video isn't the best, but there's a certain feeling of satisfaction that you get after working hard on something, no matter how small, that feels really nice to have. I also loved "How to read a movie" because it really opened up my mind to so many different ways of looking at film, which I love because I love watching movies. I think this has been one of my best weeks, work-wise, which feels great to have completed! Now, I still have to do a bunch of homework for my other classes...great!

"How to Read a Movie"

CC: Flickr user Dave & Bry

When filming a movie, there are obviously many things that directors, cinematographers, camera men etc. need to take into account - but never had I heard about how the placement of certain things in a film frame can say so much about a moment in the movie. Of course, there's the law of thirds - but there is a whole dynamic of placement that goes far beyond that, and that can mean so many different things. 

The most interesting example I came across was the "tilting"of a screen in order to signify something going on with characters in a shot. I loved the idea that "Tilt shots of course put everything on a diagonal, implying the world is out of balance. I have the impression that more tilts are down to the right than to the left, perhaps suggesting the characters are sliding perilously into their futures." ("How to read a movie", Ebert). I think there is something really beautiful in tilting the camera so that characters are seen as "sliding" into their futures, and that there is so much more going on in a movie than just the characters on a screen! 

I loved the idea of going through a movie and stopping at certain frames like Ebert did with his class. I found it so interesting that at any moment in a film there can be material to analyze, that there will always be something to investigate and look more into - just by looking at the way the characters are placed. Certain lighting can emphasize different parts of the frame, which can send a completely different message depending on who/what the light is cast onto (or not cast onto). I can surely say that I will now look at cinematography in a completely different light!

MY FIRST VIDEO

Alright, so I finally completely my first video assignment. I'm very excited about it! I got the idea to do this video ever since I was first introduced to the "Will it Blend?" videos by Tom Dickerson. My process was rather tedious, but I ended up really enjoying the whole film editing aspect of the project.

I started off by having to download Tom's "Will It Blend"videos from YouTube - not an easy feat. Only certain videos worked on my computer, the .mp4 file wasn't the right format...it was a little bit of a nightmare. I ended up being able to download a couple of videos so I could edit them, and uploaded them to iMovie.
I'm actually really surprised by how easy it is to edit video on iMovie - one of my favorite things about Apple products is how easy they are to use, which I could go on about for hours, so I'll just focus on iMovie for now. Anywho, iMovie makes it easy to clip, trim, copy and paste clips exactly to where you want them, which in turn makes it so easy to get the end product that you really want. I haven't really used iMovie since the old, old version (I don't remember which one) in middle school, and I'm very pleasantly surprised by the new interface.
I started off by using some ready-made text screens in iMovie, then edited the clips to make them shorter, copying and pasting each one in order to get each small part of the clip to work together. I added in some music and transitions by simply dragging them onto the project surface, moving them to where I wanted, and that was it. There you go! You have yourself a mini-masterpiece. Really happy with iMovie and I look forward to making more (maybe better, more refined, more interesting, more serious...) videos!

R E A L I T Y H U N G E R : a manifesto

Let me begin by saying that I loved and hated this essay. I mostly hated it because of all the references...I'm glad you're well-read and all, but I'm afraid I haven't read half of the things this man is talking about (maybe that's just me).

I mostly just loved the topic of this essay, which is very well portrayed in the first lines: "The world exists. Why recreate it?" The author does a great job of explaining his views "against" fiction writing - why should we have to make up completely new worlds, stories, and ideas if there's already so much in the world that we already have, and that we haven't discovered yet? While this is a rather limiting thought that I'm not sure I believe in, I think it's a very noble idea to promote and pursue. Sure, there's a lot to be created from what you already have, which is done on a daily basis all around the world. But where's the appeal? Why should we limit ourselves to the things that are inside our realm? Why not go out and invent something completely new from scratch as an escape from the real world? 

This is where I disagree with the writer. Sure, it's fine to make beauty, art, and express yourself from the things you already have, but what about expressing those things through something you don't have, and finding a way to manifest your thoughts and send a message through something you invented? In my opinion, that is one major component of creativity - inventing something that no one else has thought of. Of course, this can be done with the same materials as everyone else, but what about making something different with the same things as everyone else makes it so...well, different? I hope you can follow my train of thought. It's not always easy to, and it's especially hard in writing. 

Something else I noticed in the essay was a sort of stylistic device the author uses to prove his point, and I hope I'm not the only one that picked up on this: in constantly citing things form other authors, the writer uses this essay as a prime example that something completely new can be made out of things that already have been made. Creativity comes from already-established entities that can be recycled into something completely new. When I realized this about the essay, I got pretty excited.  Maybe I'm way off, but I'm still proud of my findings. Good move, David Shields.

"The Syncher, Not the Song" Response

This post was marred by Beyoncé's outstanding performance at the Beyoncé Bowl. Nevertheless, I was able to calm down and write down my thoughts on a tune that brought me way, way back.

"Eell pro ten day dragonsta din tei!" everyone would scream, not knowing what they were saying sounded like the worlds of a drunk Spaniard. "Dragonstea din Tei" was truly a song that marked a generation. For a while, there was nowhere you could go in public where the song's upbeat dance tune was not playing. From playing in bars to your car radio to dentists' offices, it truly cannot be argued that Dragonstea din Tei was a big part of the world for about 4 months. I'll always remember the first time I heard it - I was waiting in the car with my sister and friends while our dad was getting something from the grocery store, and it came on. Having already heard it, my sister and her friend instantly started singing along, blasting the music and dancing like crazy. Instantly, I was immersed into a world of soprano male voices and eccentric, bass-bumping music. There was something hypnotic about the tune which forced you to like it instantly, which is why I believe it dominated the world. Immediately, I became a victim to this song, completely enthralled by the music. But, that's enough about my experience.
This article did a great job at following the track of the song's success, especially since it seemed as though this sensation of a song came out of nowhere. I had no idea that Dragonstea din Tei became big in Japan, nor did I know about the whole crazy deal with Mona the cat. What surprised me the most, however, was the fateful story of Gary Brolsma from New Jersey. Of course he got the fame, but I never knew how uncomfortable he got about the whole story. I imagine that at any hinting of the song that poor boy must cringe, never being able to live down his past.

Branding in the Digital Age

If you have a product you love, why would you switch to something else? This state of mind has been prevalent in human nature ever since the beginning of mass production, and in this day and age has been taken to to an entirely new level.

This article discussed how consumer/producer relationship has changed to a completely new system in the Digital Age. This "Consumer Decision Journey" (CDJ) has changed from being a journey filled with narrowing down many options, to being attracted to a specific set of advertisements for a product. Now, one would think that we have more choices today and have more narrowing down to do - which is true - but, being constantly "assaulted by media and awash in choices" (Edelman, "Branding in the Digital Age..."), we tend to stick to the things we see more often advertised; therefore already narrowing down the available options that we know about.

One of the most interesting parts, however, is after we have bought a product. If we really enjoy it, we'll advocate it, blog; Tweet; post a picture; Facebook about it because, quite honestly, that's all some people have to do these days (which isn't necessarily a bad thing - although I do tend to see some of the most pointless posts nowadays). This sharing is in itself advertising for the brand we just bought, which then again is exposed to others around you that you share with, who will see the brand and consider it when buying a product...it's all just a big circle.

I really enjoyed this article, it did a really good job of analyzing the new relationship that we have with buying products - which may seem trivial, but in fact completely influences our decisions and outlooks on the things around us. 

Tell me what you think!

You can find a link to the article here.

CC: Flickr user ImageNationPhotography