First Cinemagraph

Click on image to see the motion!

Personal Manifesto

This is a design manifesto I created last quarter to express some of my beliefs and thoughts about mainly interior design, but i think it can be carried over to other aspects of design as well.

Freak Factor

"Freak Factor: Discovering Uniqueness by Flaunting Weakness” - David Rendall

http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/45.02.FreakFactor 

This article was about focusing on your strengths and weaknesses, and why it is ok to have both. I thought this was a really interesting article/manifesto. I have never thought about strengths and weaknesses being connected before. I think every single one of his suggestions was valid and they are all very thoughtful ideas to concentrate on while trying to improve some of your strengths and weaknesses.

4. Forget it. Don’t try to fix your weaknesses

I think all of the reasons he explains for why this is a good point are completely true. He says that it is hard to fix your weaknesses because it is slow, it is painful, it distracts us from activities we could make progress on, and it doesn’t actually work. One of my favorite reasons he lists is that it is a distraction. Recently I have had many problems working on assignments for some of my classes. More than the fact that I don’t feel like doing them and it’s almost finals so I’m burnt out on homework anyway, is the fact that some of those things seem like weaknesses to me. I think it is because I might not know enough about what I am trying to accomplish, or that it is not the type of work that interests me. Therefore I feel like I am wasting time working on something that I don’t even care about, when I could be working on something much more productive for myself. However, in terms of actual weaknesses I feel like he makes a valid point in saying that it doesn’t work. If you spend too much time working on getting rid of something you don’t like, you lose focus on the things you actually do like.

6. Focus: You can’t do both

First of all, I think the Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart analogy was a really good example of this point. He explains that it is nearly impossible to fix your weaknesses and build your strengths at the same time. I definitely understand his explanation that we have limited resources and therefore cannot spend enough time or energy doing both things because we can’t put 100% of the focus on one thing. I have always tried to be well rounded in my skills, so that I know a little bit about everything, and when I’m working on something I know there are some things I can do better than other. His statement, “If you try to be everything to everybody, you’ll end up being nothing to nobody” is very interesting, and it makes me think a lot about the things that I try and focus on. Adding to this is the statement he makes about the fact that no one will pay you to be mediocre. It would make me more successful as a person if I were able to excel in one area, and could sell that point to a possible employer. To put this to work in my creative life I think I want to put a lot of focus on fewer things that I know I am really good at.

7. Fit: Find the right spot

I loved all the analogies he came up with to explain the meaning of each of his points. They all work perfectly to make you understand what he is trying to explain. The main goal of this point is that it’s important to figure out situations that will help you become better, not trying to squeeze into something you don’t necessarily fit in. “He didn’t succeed in spite of his weakness; he succeeded because of his weakness”. If you find someone that appreciates a ‘weakness’ or uniqueness that you have, it suddenly becomes your strength, and you find something that works for you. The best thing about this is that everyone has their own unique talents, so there are limitless ways for them to find something right for them, even though it might take a little longer than jumping on the first train that passes you by. Following this advice will help me progress in my creative life because I will more readily look for places and situations that fit and focus on my natural strengths.

Some of my strengths are that I am dependable, caring, and passionate. On the other hand, some of my weaknesses are that I am easily distracted, impatient, and indecisive. However, I think that in the future I can look at these things and try to find a way that makes them more useful to me, and how I can look at them with a different perspective, and use them to my advantage. One thing I know I could definitely fix is the current distraction Internet things like Facebook and Stumbleupon cause me; and that is something I could easily fix through the use of moderation, because there is a time and place for both of those things. I believe in all the things he said, but for myself I think there are some minor flaws, like the one I mentioned above, that are definitely things I should work on making better regardless.

Collapsus Response

Link to Collapsus:
http://www.collapsus.com 

Game Presentation and Reflection

Here is our game presentation:

The game we created and presented was called Aberdeen, and it is a first preson RPG set in 19th century Victorian Britain. One of the weaknesses in our presentation was possibly how we actually presented the game. We definitely presented it like a class project instead of selling it as an idea to investors. I think doing this would have made the project seem more interesting, because it would have been explained in a completely different way. This was not really part of our actual game design, but it’s possible that some of out other ideas for the game could have come across better if we had changed the way we presented it. I also think one thing we could have improved on was the explanation of our plot. One of the most difficult things to do while presenting is to remember that no one has any idea what you’re talking about. While working in our group we all were pretty much on the same page when it comes to knowing how the game was going to work, and we started to get into specifics of how things would work to make the entire game make sense. However, I think in the short time we had to present everything, it was hard to give a solid summary of what the game would actually be like, and how the story line was going to work with all of the game concepts.

As for the actual concepts themselves, I think once you understand the game you are trying to design, the mechanics are the easiest thing to talk about with another person. You have an idea of how you want people to play, and it becomes (if you are using an existing console) picking pre-determined buttons for specific actions that you decide.  I think one of the more difficult concepts for me personally to figure out are the rules. I understand what they are, but it was hard to figure out how to actually explain them. When playing games I could figure out what they are, but it was difficult to actually try and explain them to other people. I also had the same problem for the objectives at the beginning. It would take a few minutes to process the definition, and then be able to articulate the way the game would actually handle these situations. However, the one great thing about working in a group is that we could all process the information and come up with the most accurate way to describe what we wanted to do.

This American Life

This American Life – Superpowers

Act One: Invisible Man Vs. Hawkman (minutes 6-20)

www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/178/superpowers

Super power I wish I had: Time manipulation

Super hero with this power: Tempo (Marvel Comics)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempo_%28comics%29 

Character Project Reviews

Katie Everett
http://katieeverett.blogspot.com/2011/02/character-and-movement-hero-and-villian.html


Nate Hoover


Andrew Kellogg

Character Development

Meet "The Good". A confident hero I created, this cowboy's motivation is to stop "The Ugly", his nemesis, from destroying the town's lovely image. Luckily for The Good, The Ugly isn't very smart, and their fights tend to be more of The Good teaching The Ugly a lesson and having the sad, lonely villain go on his way, back to the drawing board to plot another scheme.

This is "The Ugly", a villainous character created by my partner:

Here is an animation giving you an example of how the two characters move and act. Enjoy!

Video Joke Project

Summary:
As a group, we picked a joke out of a list of ten and had to write a 2-3 minute script of how the joke was going to be told. After we chose our two favorite scripts, we had to then make a 2-3 minute movie telling the story of the joke. The genres we chose to film were Film Noir and Buddy Movie.


I was the editor for Le Bar and the camera operator for What's Your Number?.


Le Bar 

What's Your Number?

Comparison
First off, the main affinity between the videos is that we were trying to tell the same joke. The contrast is shown in the way the scripts are written, and how we tried to get each joke across. Le Bar went for a film noir feel, and had a narrator help keep the story going. What’s Your Number?, on the other hand, was present day and dealt with an internal thought process instead. We felt that both videos did a good job of telling the joke and that they were both successful. The scripts chosen for both jokes were also didactic; they were very straightforward and gave the audience all the information they needed to know. If we didn’t have the narrator or internal thought process then the audience would have needed to do a lot more thinking on their own, and in a 2-3 minute video, we weren’t sure if we would’ve gotten our joke across as well. 

Le Bar consistently tried to manipulate line, shape, and rhythm, while What’s Your Number? manipulated space and movement. In Le Bar, we used both active and virtual lines. The male character was constantly looking at the femme fatale, which created virtual lines in their eyesight. Actual lines in the booth, the pool table, the bar and the horizon line created different senses of power between the two characters. We also used rhythm in the type of shots created consistently in the video; this created a sense of distance between the characters, so the audience would get the feeling that they weren’t going to be together in the end. In What’s Your Number?, we used movement to keep only one or two characters moving throughout the frame at a time, so that they were the sole focus of the shot. To manipulate space we used a variety of types of shots (WS, MS, CU) to create focus, as well as using the rule of thirds, the 180º rule, as well as the rule of 30 in order to change how the space was perceived.

Video Game Clip Analysis

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
E3 Trailer, North America

Analysis:

How to Be Creative

“How to be Creative” – Hugh MacLeod

http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/6.HowToBeCreative

Movie Scene Analysis

The Princess Bride (1987)
Scene: The Battle of Wits

Sorry about the sub-par video quality! The good clips wouldn't allow embedding
Analysis: 
 

Re-imagining Visual Framing

 

One of the main reasons I was drawn to this piece of Ben Goossens’ work is because of the composition.  One thing we talked about with his work is how you will see a lot of pieces where there is one larger object on one side and a smaller on the other, and this one is another example of that.  I was also drawn to the colors used, because they are pleasing and natural to the eye, because of the grass and sky. I also liked the image because it seemed like it wasn’t as dark as a lot of the other ones, which really made it more noticeable to me.  The main reason I reframed the image the way I did was because I think the elements in both photos have the same vertical visual movement, and I wanted to show this by using two objects in the frame, rather than just a more direct vertical one and keep an affinity to the original image. I also wanted to follow his example in the frame of having one larger object and one smaller object. Both images have a consistent visual rhythm and a nice mix of vertical and horizontal line, which reinforces the rhythm. I think Ben Goossens framed the image the way he did because you can see both objects fully, without them being cropped out of the frame. They are also framed so that there is not a lot of extra space around the outside of the image. This image also uses the same theme as many of his other works of art, which make it a piece stylistic of him. I also think the original image does a good job of expressing the rule of thirds. The first thing you look at is the window, then the top of the chair, then the intentional blank space at the bottom, and lastly the owl sitting on the chair. Looking at the picture, I also don’t feel that they have much tension. They seem pretty straight forward, possibly just slightly confusing to figure out the composition and why the objects were chosen to be in the frame.

Music/Song Reflections

Katie Everett

http://katieeverett.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-song.html

Jillian Gates

http://jgatesyeah.blogspot.com/2011/01/musicsong-assignment.html

Nathan Hoover

http://nathanhoover.blogspot.com/2011/01/garageband-song.html

Music/Song Project

This project was to create 2 songs with a partner, where each person creates their own song.  Then the goal is so make each song share one listening phase, while keeping another listening phase different.

You can listen to my partner's song here.

Brainwashed

“Brainwashed: 7 Ways to Reinvent Yourself” – Seth Godin

http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/66.01.Brainwashed

Acknowledge the Lizard

The main point of this layer is to recognize what is holding you back.  Seth talks about how there is a part in your brain that will shut down at the first sign of fear. Fear of anything, really.  He explains that artists believe most of the time that this ‘resistance’ is the one thing that separates them from their art. I think this is a very interesting stance; it is something you hear all the time, but rarely listen to yourself.  It seems obvious that in order to conquer something you have to face it, but he suggests acknowledging what you know is there so that you can overcome it and come out better in the end.

Learn

This pillar sums up the fact that in order to accomplish the other layers, you need to complete this one.  However, he explains that you don’t complete this one.  You are always learning, no matter who you are, how old you are, or where you are.  I like how he describes (pretty much) that school is anything you choose to do, the only thing that matters is that you’re learning while you do so, so that you can accomplish the other layers in the manifesto, and think differently.

I think both of these layers are connected to the blog for the quarter.  They both make me a better person in general (if I follow them) because, as the author describes, they challenge you to think about something that you might not have thought of before. I think the page about learning is obvious, and I think in order to keep up with the world you have to keep learning, or you will get left behind.  I think the other suggestion is also obvious, but in a way that most people say they try when they really don’t.  It seems like it means the same thing as having confidence in yourself, because then you are more likely to do what feels right, rather than what you feel like you have to do because someone else tells you so.

Soundscape Reflections

Daniel Ahrens

http://danielolahrens.blogspot.com/2011/01/blog-3b-soundscape-mdia-203.html

Alex Wiseman

http://lexwiseman.blogspot.com/2011/01/soundscape-presentation.html

Dan Wainio (posted on partner’s blog)

http://somethingsmax.blogspot.com/2011/01/soundscape.html

Exploration of Cover Songs

Queen/David Bowie - Under Pressure (1981)

The Used/My Chemical Romance - Under Pressure (2005)

One of the main comparisons between the two songs are the lyrics, which are the same in each band’s version.  The cover song follows the same basic melody of the original, and you can hear what sounds like music from the original in the background, but I’m not sure if that’s original music or them playing. The most notable change in melody for me is the very beginning, and I was surprised not to hear it in the cover version.  Near the end however, there is a change in the melody, and to me it sounds like something you would expect to hear from The Used or My Chemical Romance.  The timbre of the singers also makes the song different for me, because the artists both have such different voices.  The vocals come in pretty different, and the newer version seems to be sung more like it’s spoken, where the original has follows the rhythm of the music.  The other change in timber is the actual sound of their voices.  Freddie Mercury from Queen has a much higher voice than the singers from The Used and My Chemical Romance. 

To me, the tension and release of the songs are similar, and at the same parts lyrically, but use different instrumentation at those points in the song (middle-end).  Where I expect to hear the same rhythm in the background, it seems different, and I notice myself still expecting to hear the melody and vocal cues in the same places.  The speed in each song is also different as well.  The Queen version seems more drawn out and relaxed, even during the parts where the song builds up intensity.  The new version seems quicker and sped up in certain parts.  You don’t even have to listen to the songs at the same time to realize one seems shorter than the other; the cover version is about a minute shorter than the original.  If you do listen to the songs at the same time, or try to, you realize that the pauses in vocals are shortened, and the instrumentation in the background also makes the whole songs timbre sound different as well.  As for the contrast and affinity of the songs, I feel like they are more similar than different.  They may sound fairly different up front, but I think The Used and My Chemical Romance try to deliver a convincing cover for a classic song.  They make the song their own and create an affinity by changing some of the instrumentation, and generally because of the difference in their voices and how the lyrics are delivered. 

Overall I can say without a doubt that I enjoy listening to the original version with Queen and David Bowie much more.  I have always loved this song, and I think the relaxed feel and catchy melody are much more interesting to me than the new version, even though I think it was done very well.

Soundscape Project

The emotion we were given for our project was An "Ah-Ha" Moment.  My partner Jillian and I decided to use the story of how an idea comes to to life as our focus.  The essence of the sound scape is that the image starts off black and white with darker sound in the background, then as the track goes on there are sparks of color, until you eventually hit that moment of epiphany and the idea comes through, with a more peaceful or successful feeling done with different sound.

Find Your Howl

“Finding Your Howl” – Jonathon Flaum

http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/51.01.YourHowl

I think the story that Flaum references about the tiger is really interesting, especially considering the fact that it was written in 5^th grade by one of his classmates (if it’s a true story).  He describes the cage the tiger was “trapped” in and how much he wanted to escape.   Once he finally got the courage to he jumped and landed in another cage at another zoo.  I think this story is relatable to anyone who is struggling with a problem they are having.  They think the easiest thing to do is just “jump the fence” or run away from the problem instead of dealing with it.  In the story, the tiger quickly learns that there is no running away, and his problem just keeps following him wherever he goes.  The meaning of this that Flaum is trying to explain is that you have to face your problems, and deal with them face to face, because there is no solution in running away, and there is nowhere to run away to.  In order for the cage to die away, Flaum explains, the tiger would have to die as well, because they are connected.  To me, the moral of the story is that even though you feel like you are trapped dealing with a certain problem, you have to deal with it or else you will spend a lifetime running from something that will follow you forever, when you could face the problem and deal with the situation to have it end happily.

Favorite quote:

 

http://wemakepogo.com/95-quotes

(the first image is the source of my quote)

Video: One quote that really inspires me in the work that I do is “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm” by Emerson.  Even though it’s not very long, it speaks to me because it is a simple statement with a lot of meaning.  Thinking about that quote makes me put more emotion into the work that I create.  I can tell from looking at a final project whether I was enthusiastic about it or not, because it shows in the final product.  This quote means a lot to me because I feel like in order to create something worthwhile, you have to put a part of yourself into it, and once you do that, it also becomes a part of you.  It makes it seem like making something you don’t put enthusiasm into is a waste of time, because you won’t create anything worth showing to someone else, and that is what the process is all about.

Ways to Get Ideas

“14 Ways to get Breakthrough Ideas” – Mitch Ditkoff

http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/49.06.14Ways

The main point Ditkoff is trying to make in this article is that there are many valid and effective ways of creating innovative ideas.  He talks about how everyone wants innovation and new, exciting ideas, but no one can come up with them.  Because of this, he gives 14 ways that will help people come up with new ideas, and since everyone works differently from someone else, there are multiple ways of approaching each idea.  I think that most of Ditkoff’s suggestions are valid, because they teach you to look at something in a different perspective, which is often all a person needs to come up with a great new idea.

Suggestion 2: Immerse

            I think this is a great suggestion, and I think it is something that everyone should be given time to do; not something you have to struggle to find time for.  I know if I set my mind to it I could make time and work around other things to make time for other projects, but its so much easier to get lost in mounds of school work hoping I’ll be able to sleep at some point during the week.  I still think about all the other projects I have that I would like to work on, but just can’t seem to find the time to sit down and do it.  I think it’s great that companies like Google and 3M give their employees time to immerse in projects that might not seem “related” to the job.  The employees can spend time focusing on something they really enjoy, and when they get back to work will most likely be much more productive because of the time they were given, instead of daydreaming about how they wished they had time to immerse themselves in the fantasy birdhouse they’ve always wanted.  This would really help me in my creative life because I feel that if I set aside time for me to work on something else I would feel less tempted to half-ass the other work I was doing just so I could get it done and move on to the next thing.

Suggestion 5: Fantasize

            Even though this is a great way to come up with an idea, most people just shrug it off as unworthy and a silly thing to waste your time on. However, I think there is real value in someone who can fantasize a goal about something, then really use those ideas and put them in motion.  Without people like that we would have a stifling low number of great innovations in the world.  I think it’s so unfortunate that children feel like they have to give up their imagination when they grow up, because it gets in the way of things like standardized testing and schoolwork.  I can definitely admit that I envy other kid’s abilities to imagine crazy things and believe in them.  I remember those times when I was a kid, and how easy it was to come up with anything, and how hard it is for me to do that now without people thinking I’m crazy.  This would also be helpful because it gives you a chance to really do what you want and not care about the outcome.  I would be more likely to think of more diverse ideas and create things that I’ve never seen before.

Suggestion 10: Hang out with diverse groups of people

            Again, this is another one of Ditkoff’s ideas I really enjoy.  I feel like in my subconscious it’s an obvious answer, but something I would always look past when given the opportunity.  Being the socially awkward person I believe myself to be, I think my struggle with this suggestion is that I would be too nervous telling people I don’t know very well ideas that I was seriously considering.  My first worry would be that I would just be ridiculed and would lose all confidence in my thoughts.  However, in all reality, I think the opposite would probably happen.  Because these new people don’t know how I think, they are more likely to give me ideas of their own that I would have never thought of and therefore give me new opportunities to create good ideas.

Do it – Suggestion 4: Make new connections

Nouns:

Computer

Cell phone

Pencil

Coffee mug

Flower

Amusement park

Shoe

Book

Apartment

Chair

Verbs:

Run

Sit

Climb

Make

Twist

Jump

Grow

Search

Type

Swim

Adjectives:

Tall

Short

Blue

Long

Dry

Hairy

Clean

Fuzzy

Red

Entertaining

A fuzzy coffee cup that stays clean.

A chair that twists covered in fuzz.

An entertaining apartment you can swim in.

A chair that can climb red walls is entertaining.

It is rare to see a clean growing amusement park.

Influences

Personally I gain inspiration from many different places, and it’s hard to pinpoint some of the exact things that inspire me from day to day.  I believe that everything and every person you encounter can inspire you to do something different, both in work and in my personal life.  Finding inspiration in other people helps me feel like I can do or make something better and that hopefully I can inspire others to do the same.  Overall, I am inspired by people in general, and the amazing capabilities and goals of others continue to help me find confidence and inspiration in my own abilities.

Christiaan Van Vuuren

One person that inspires me is Christiaan Van Vuuren, also known as the Fully Sick Rapper.  Several months ago while I was randomly stumbling through websites I came upon one of Christiaan’s videos.  I found his videos and songs amusing and wanted to learn more about him from the single video I had seen.  After some research I learned that he was being quarantined in an Australian hospital with a multi drug resistant case of Tuberculosis.  He had never worked with audio or video on his computer before, and after a couple weeks in quarantine, started teaching himself how to do certain effects and make videos that he could post online as a way to pass the time.  I think it would take a lot to be in that circumstance and not become depressed and upset about the situation.  The tension he creates in his work is constant (at least to me) because you know that even though he is having fun making videos he has no idea how much longer he will be in the hospital, and the release (again, at least to me) is that after 6 long months he is finally allowed to go home.  However, as I followed his story and kept watching his videos, I never knew when he would be released either, and I think this is one of the things that has made him so popular.  One of the things that I learned from watching his videos and reading about his story is that I have the opportunity to do so much, and that I am lucky to be able to do the things I want and be creative where ever and when ever I want.   He has made me want to do all that I am capable of and think about the things in my personal life that make me a creative person.

Frank Lloyd Wright

The above video is a 3D modeled tour of Fallingwater, which is one of my favorite buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.  For those of you that don’t know, FLW was an architect revered for his talent and innovation as an architect in the 1900’s.  “In all he designed 1141 works - including houses, offices, churches, schools, libraries, bridges, museums and many other building types.  Of that total, 532 resulted in completed works, 409 of which still stand.” – franklloydwright.org.  As an interior design student he has influenced me to work with the surrounding landscape, and use inspiration from it to influence the design inside the space.  He has created so many well known buildings, and I can only hope that I will achieve even a partial amount of his success.  In Fallingwater, he uses the shape of the building as an affinity to the surrounding landscape, and actually builds the house on top of a waterfall.  The client for the house loved that piece of land, and inside the living room there are actually rocks from the ground that can be used as a seating area near the fireplace.  I think the colors he used in the house, like the red windows also creates a contrast with the landscape, and helps the building stand out while it also blends in.

Hayao Miyazaki

“Hayao Miyazaki is one of Japan's greatest animation directors. The entertaining plots, compelling characters, and breathtaking animation in his films have earned him international renown from critics as well as public recognition within Japan.” –imdb.com.  After seeing several of Miyazaki’s films, I am continually impressed with the quality and depth each of them has.  One of my favorite films of his is Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.  I really enjoyed the story to this film, and the way the text and subtext combined to give extra depth to the characters and plot of the film.  I quickly picked up on the environmental overtone to the movie, as well as intertextual relations between the individual characters.  The moral points of the film and moving storyline inspires me to create with a purpose in everything that I do, so that there is a deeper meaning to what I am trying to convey.  The artwork in all of his films is also incredibly impressive to me and subconscious details added just make it that much more enjoyable to watch.

-Beth C.