Video Game

I have no idea how to upload a powerpoint so as I try to figure it out heres the link to it on Andrew Kellogg's blog.

http://awkellogg.blogspot.com/2011/03/game-powerpoint.html

Freak Factor

The article “Freak Factor”, by David Rendall discusses how people’s peoples strengths and weaknesses and how they effect a persons success in life. He writes than many people attempt to both build on their strengths as well as work on their weaknesses. Rendall believes that this waste too much energy, in that in the end it has very little success. He argues that instead people should realize that weaknesses are apart of everyone and that they accentuate our strengths. Additionally, he writes that we should focus only on bettering our strengths rather than worrying about hard to fix weaknesses.

            I find this an interesting take on ways to better oneself. For most of my life I have heard that being well rounded is key, and that working on weaknesses is an important part of life. I’m not sure if I completely agree with the author because I feel that working on weaknesses can be successful and make people more well rounded. However, I do like a couple of things that he writes about, most notably the sections Flawless, Foundation, and Putting your Quirks to Work.

I enjoyed the section Flawless because I like Rendall’s take on how people’s weakness don’t make them flawed. He writes that everybody has there own set of strengths and weaknesses, and that each strength is connected to its own weakness. I thought that his list strengths and their comparative weaknesses was very insightful, and I see both of this in myself. I think that people should start to see weaknesses in a way such as this. Nobody can be perfect, and the chemistry of our brains only allow for so many strengths. For example, I can’t think of many creative people that I know who are organized. Even now as I look around my room there is shit everywhere, I know where nothing is, and I just cleaned. However, one thing I disagree with the author on is that I should work to make my self more organized. If not just to have my room look presentable to friends.

A second part of this article that I liked was section five, Foundation. I think that people are happier when they are doing things they love, and usually people love doing what they’re good at. This is the same principle that the author is getting at in this section of the article. He writes that people have the greatest potential for success in their strengths (duh), and that building on these strengths gives people the ability to become great at something. Additionally he writes that sometimes strengths can make up for ones weaknesses. Lets go back to the creative vs. disorganized issue. It may piss people off that your office looks like shit, but if you always have great ideas that make the company money, I think they might forgive you.

A final section of this article that I liked was Putting your Quirks to Work. He writes that we sometimes exhaust ourselves doing things that we aren’t very good at, and that this gives us less energy to do stuff that we excel in. For example, why would I waste my time trying to figure out the next big formula for math or physics? I at suck at math and I hate it, so it would be just a waste of time. I’m not to bad at making music so why wouldn’t I spend more time becoming great at that. Additionally, he writes that we should all find the freak in others. I really enjoy this idea because I think that’s what makes life interesting. If we all had the same strengths and weaknesses life would suck. I love finding people who have quirks and do interesting things because it throws a twist into life. 

Trans Media Overview

                       

My Audio is being funky so I decided to just write about this one.

When I first began “playing” Collapsus I was kind of put of by the style of game play, only because it isn’t like a traditional video game. However, as the story line went on I became very interesting in the story line and the mechanics of the game. The reason I liked the story so much, is that it really addressed problems that we are having in this world today and raises important issues that we need to discuss as humanity. Additionally, I think that trans media part enforces the message more than a regular game would. As we see clips from real people and see them react to what happens in the game, it makes it feel like the problems could actually be unfolding right in front of you.

            Another aspect that I enjoyed was the news coverage. I think it brought the game together because it gave an overview from an international standpoint letting you know everything that is going on.

            As far as trans media in our class, I think that effect may be limited. For me, the way I approach my musical creativity probably will not change due to this class, only because I already have techniques and processes that are effective for me. I am however, interested in working outside of the music industry at some point in my career, and I think this class has given a good overview of ways to tell stories that I had not experienced before. 

Find the game @www.Collapsus.com

Game Reflection

      I think that one thing that didn't come across very well in our game presentation was the silence aspect. I think we over enforced the fact that remaining silent was an important part of the game, and this caused the audience to think the game was only based on sneaking around and had no real action. In actuality, the game is based mostly on story line and combat. We just thought that adding the aspect of keeping a low profile would make the game more interesting.
    One thing that I think we did well in our game presentation in developing a story. I think that our story was unique to video game platforms, and offered a unique set of tasks for players to participate in. For example, there are a wide range of paths that one can take to get to the final goal. Additionally, I think we did a good job of developing details such as weapons and tools. We had a vast array of optional and original weapons that would be involved in the game. Additionally, we developed original tools to make our game different than other RPG games.
   I think that GOALS are the easiest aspect to discuss with people. I believe this because everybody has goals and wants, so people can easy relate to discussions about this. In reference to a video game I think that people want the goals to be similar to those that they have. Goals in a video game may be on a much larger scale, however many of the the characters problems reflect everyday things. This brings fans into the game so they feel more connected to the characters.

     The second hero villain combo that I am critiquing is by Dan Wanio. This set of characters was one of the most interesting in class because of the sort of twisted plot that surrounded them. For me, the characters personality CONTRASTED their appearance. The Creep looks like an evil monster to me, but I like the fact that he is actually the good character. Also at first glance the Ringleader looks like a possible debonair hero, however, he is a seedy, evil man.
    I think the shading of the characters is key to their development. The shadows on both characters gives them a dark look which goes along with the story of both characters. Additionally, I think that shading is a form of symbolism as well. For the ringleader I think that the shading may symbolize that he has a secret dark side that at at first may not be apparent. This CONTRASTS the color scheme of his outfit that is very bright and vibrant. This contrast between personality and appearance can put the viewer in an uneasy MOOD because one is not sure whether to trust or shun this man.

The first character that I'm critiquing is created by Vic Sherrick and can be found at http://sagevic.blogspot.com/. This hero is actually a team of characters named Wiz and Oz, in which Wiz stumbles upon a magical magicians hat that gives him the power to summer the giant bunny, Oz. The pair go on family friendly adventures solving problems and getting into trouble.
        One of my favorite parts of this combo of characters is the color scheme. The Hues of each character are mostly yellow, red, and blue, with a little black thrown in. Additionally, most of these colors are high in SATURATION giving both characters a bright and vibrant look. I think Hue's of each character complement the other well and that the AFFINITY between each character lets us know SUBCONSCIOUSLY that they are on the same team. I especially like the placement of the black magic wand and sunglasses on Wiz and how it goes with the black belt on Oz. I think the placement of the small things on characters is what can make them more interesting and I believe that has been done well on this duo.  The Brightness of the characters let us know that they are good natured and mostly likely the heros of any situation.  

Joke Comparison

            There are many differences between these two videos even thought they both convey the plot of the same joke. Both jokes express a United Way workers attempt to gain financial aid from a wealthy local attorney. After the United worker asks for a small donation the wealthy man spits off a string of very unfortunate events that have recently occurred in his family that are keeping him from donating. After this, the United Way worker feels guilty and apologetic, only to hear that the attorney is making things up and has no desire to give money to anybody.  Even though these movies have basically the same plot, both have some aspects that CONTRAST each other.

            In the first joke, we use LINES, in order to SUBCONSCIOUSLY, direct the viewer’s attention to the clearly more powerful attorney. For example, the sequence in which the attorney exits his house, the lines from the stairway and porch all point to the door in which the rich man is framed. This causes us to be directed to him whether we like it or not. In addition to the lines pointing us to him. Most of the movie is shot so that the camera is looking down on the United Way worker and looking up at the attorney. This shows us that the attorney has the power in the situation.

            In the second joke we used RHYTHM within the frame in order create affinity between the United Way workers, and to contrast the attorney. The rhythm of the shots with the United way workers are very similar to show that they are on the same side, while the shot of the attorney ‘s office is somewhat difference to show his lack of a desire to donate money.

The Videos can be seen below the Hero picture.  

Hero Picture

Movies

Fallout trailer

Fallout New Vegas Critique

26 ways to be creative

The Dude audio

Scene Critique

I couldn't find my favorite scene from the movie, but this is pretty much the plot.

Visual Framing

These two images, the second one originating from the first, are by the artist Salvador Dali, a Spanish surrealist painter from the mid 1900’s. What drew me to this specific work are the odd an absolutely crazy images that Dali uses in this painting. Surrealist work relies mostly on the unexpected juxtaposition of images to create an alternate reality and really mess with our minds both consciously and subconsciously. In this specific painting the legs of the animals are extraordinarily long and create visual LINES that direct our attention to the center of the painting. Along with these lines Dali employs the RULE OF THIRDS to make sure we are looking where he wants us to look. He constructs the frame so that important parts of the painting are placed where the human eye naturally looks. For example, the visual climax of the painting is the golden building on top of the elephant. This part of the painting is right in the center of intersection points if the fame were divided into nine squares as the rule of thirds suggests.

The second image is an altered visual framing of the painting that focuses on the man in the bottom left of the painting. I wanted to frame this man as a CLOSE UP SHOT because in the original work he is far from the point of focus. I found it interesting that Dali would put something this in the far corner away from our point of focus, however, the mans shape actually has visual AFFINITY with the rest of the painting because his body shape is directing where we look via virtual lines.

Dali choose to frame the painting in this manner because it being framed this way gives the work a great amount of depth.  This depth contributes to the overall image of the because it really lets us become drawn into the work of art. 

Song Review 3

Song Review 2

Song Review 1-Find this at The Case of E.V. Riordan on blogger

Garage Band Song

Brainwashed Analysis

Acknowledge the Lizard- This section of the essay basically discusses the part of our brain that causes us to shutdown when we begin to diverge from instructions that have been given to us. This shutdown, which the authors refers to as "the resistance", is something that inhibits people to make art. The author suggests that in order to make something genius, we must acknowledge this resistance, or feeling of doubt, and choose to ignore it.

Learn- In this section of the essay, the author discusses how we must learn new things every day. He writes that the past ways of schooling are long outdated, and that in our time school continues forever. We need to constantly be failing, learning, and creating in order to make ourselves better creatively. If we do not continue to learn, then we are surly destined to fail.

I think these two sections of the essay both support how these blog assignments are helpful. These assignments teach us to begin to ignore the feelings of doubt we have in our creative minds, as well as continue to stress our minds creatively and make sure we are constantly learning. These blog assignments are teaching us to collaborate with our fellow students and showing us one possible avenue to get our creative work out into the world. I believe that assignments such as this are far more practical than a traditional paper and inspire more of a collective learning environment.

Audio Response Two

Audio Response One

Comparing and Contrasting I Am the Walrus and a cover of it.

My choice of song for this assignment was I Am The Walrus by The Beatles with the cover version by Zappa. Both these songs have many similarities and differences, and both reflect the unique styles of each artist. Both of the these songs require the listener to be actively involved in listening to get the full meaning of what the musicians are trying to achieve More similarities from the two songs come from the melody, organization, and lyrical parts. Melodically the songs are basically identical. The Zappa orchestra takes some artistic liberties here and there, but the melody is in the same key and is the same rhythmically. Structurally the song is also the same. Zappa uses the same sequence of verse and chorus that give both the original version and the cover the same organization. One final aspect of these songs that is similar, are the lyrics. Zappa keeps all the lyrical parts of the song the same, because lets face it, changing the lyrics of a Beatles song is musical taboo. However, there is one thing about the lyrics that is a bit different. The timbre of the vocalists voice in the Zappa orchestra is more raspy and soulful which gives starts to give the Beatles classic a more Zappa feel. Another difference between the two songs is their speed. The Beatles version has more of a medium/moderato tempo while the Zappa takes a faster tempo. This may be because the Zappa version is live and he is trying to keep a high energy so that the crowd remains entertained. Due to this faster tempo, the Zappa version has a higher intensity and the instruments are playing much louder. This contrasts the intensity of the Beatles version, which has both a slower tempo, string ensemble parts, and less distortion on the guitar.            

            If I had to pick my favorite between the original version and the cover, I would pick the original. The Beatles are one of, if the best musical groups in history. Their genius is something that may never be seen in music again and I Am The Walrus is one of their best songs.  While this song does not make much sense lyrically, it shows the bands diversity and ability to switch up styles during changing times. I like this version better because I think the tempo used in the original is far better suits the emotion that this song conveys. Additionally, I think that the melody fits into a slower tempo rather that the faster one that Zappa uses. That is not to say that I dislike the Zappa version, because Zappa, like The Beatles, is a musical genius. He is well known for odd musical arrangements, and freakish lyrics. These two aspects of Zappa’s style make I Am The Walrus a perfect song for him and his orchestra to cover. The aspects that Zappa adds to his cover certainly make it an interesting song to listen to; it is however, impossible to beat The Beatles. 

I Am The Walrus-Zappa Cover

I Am The Walrus-The Beatles

Soundscape

Nick is messing with my audio....lets hope this works

Just click on the title to go to the audio link.

Nicks a Nihilist...he must be exhausted.

In his article Johathon Flaum describes a story that his fifth grade classmate had written. The story basically involves a Tiger who is stuck in an infinite amount of cages and when he escapes one, he only finds himself within the confines of another. This story, understandably, had an adverse affect on the psyche of a fifth grade version of Johnathon Flaum, and the story, in is point of view, an expression of how life actually is. Flaum writes, “Nick’s lesson is this: there is nowhere to run! This is our situation in a nutshell.” The writer believes that we as humans are perpetually stuck within this cage that is both “a prison and a home”. We like the comfort of what we know, however, we all want to break out of our comfort zones and better ourselves as people and do something meaningful with our lives. We need to “dig” our way out of this sequence of cages and get to the bottom if what our true potential as human beings is, and to do this we must defeat the notion of comfort that this original cage has for many people. Only then can we see what our true authentic form is, both intellectually, and personally. To sit inside the cage would be to just wither up and die, and to not truly understand what our full potential is. 

My take on Mitch Ditkoff’s “14 Ways to get Breakthrough Ideas"

This article can be found at http://changethis.com/

Mitch Ditkoff’s “14 Ways to get Breakthrough Ideas”, is basically a 14 step plan to help ones mind attempt to make the concept of coming up with a great a idea less intimidating. While reading this I took special liking to three of Ditkoff’s suggestions.            

His eighth suggestion is to take a break from the stress of and frustration of trying to come up with something big. He writes, “from years of experience…more is often less”.  Sitting at a desk for hours, only thinking of how to solve a problem that has come up in a project, will usually lead to nothing but increased stress and probably a headache. Ditkoff instead suggests that we take breaks from our problems and do something entirely different. With this strategy we may subconsciously come up with a solution to the problem. I think this suggestion is something that people overlook all to commonly. I have found that if I take short breaks in between working, I am far more productive than when I just working straight through every problem.  While I might not be solving world problems during these breaks, I think the concepts are the same.

For Ditkoff’s 10th suggestion, he says that we should try to hang out with diverse groups of people. If we constantly hang out with like-minded people, the odds of coming up with a breakthrough idea are much smaller. This is because if we are always in the same group, we always get the same perspective for every situation. I guarantee someone from NYC will have a totally different ideas and solutions to problems than someone from a farm town in Italy. While this may be a drastic difference between people, it illustrates the point that we need to constantly be diversifying our point of view in order to make a useful breakthrough.

Finally, in his first suggestion Ditkoff tells us to follow our fascinations. I think that too many people choose career paths involving straight number crunching, or sitting at a desk all day because it makes the most sense for the finance future. And while these are great career choices, think if everybody pursued their childhood passions and fascinations. These fascinations might seem useless, trivial, or even impossible at the beginning, but could have the possibility of turning in to something great. The Wright brothers were two crazy bike mechanics from Ohio, with the insane fascination of taking to the skies like a bird. Think if they had not followed that passion for wanting to discover something new and revolutionary. Why not take hold of that small fire inside and see where it takes you? As Ditkoff writes, “what enchants us and delights us is sacred –or could be sacred- a clue that something significant is knocking on our door”.

At the end of his ninth suggestion, Ditkoff asks us to notice trends in the market place that are most intriguing to us. I am very interested in the world of electronic music, and therefore, stay up to date on what is going on in the industry. And for someone who is looking to add creatively to this industry it is a very exciting time. Over the last couple years I have seen music that is traditionally more popular on the other side of the ocean begin to fill iPods closer to home. For example, artist like Tiesto, Deadmau5, and others have started to become massively popular in our part of the world. Tiesto now has a residence in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas has collaborated with international Hip-Hop stars such as Three six Mafia and Busta Rhymes, and both have gone on massively successful tours in both America and around the World. In addition to this DJs at nightclubs have started to spin electronic music into their sets rather than traditional Hip-Hop and top 40 music. One doesn’t even need to look outside the Athens city limits to see this trend. For the first time ever a DJ headlined the main stage at Athens’ Halloween block party, spinning Trance, House, and Progressive music. This trend syncs right along with many of the ideas I have. Making a living in the music industry is tough and sometimes impossible task, however this trend shows that there is a growing interest for the style of music I create. While this might be only a small consolation, it gives me some confidence to know that there is a body of people out there that actually cares, and that that body of people is continuing to grow. 

Mat Zo is a producer who I have been listening too and admiring for the past couple years. He is one of the few people in the industry who really have a distinct sound and style, which is something I aspire too have as well. Mat Zo was born in London England in 1990 and was first became involved in music by playing the drums. He was in multiple jazz and rock bands as a kid, but slowly converged to electronic music with age. (oddly similar to my path.) His style of music is considered to be progressive trance, which is sort of hard to describe since it is still developing as a genre. But, a basic overview is a producer slowly builds a track by adding more and more layers of either percussion or synth until a climax. This track, called Land of The Free, is one that shows all the talents that Mat Zo has. His ability to build the song from the ground up with out the original beat getting old makes this song a progressive masterpiece.

This pair of producers called W&W (Willem Von Hanegem and Wardt van der Harst), introduced to me to the world of tech trance. I have been a drummer all my life, so rhythm is one of the most important parts of music to me. W&W met at Trance Energy in 2007, and haven't looked back since. All of their music relies heavily on the subdivision of the beat with seemingly random clicks and clocks. If you mix them right, however, you get a product like this. This track, called DNA, is just one of their many massive releases from 2010, and 2011 is sure to bring out even more from this duo. Tracks like this have gotten them props from world wide stars, Armin Van Buuren, Tiesto, and.... me..... Their tracks feature massive beats under string soundscapes that can give you the sub-conscience feeling of flying through space. And no I'm not on drugs.

For my first example of someone who has influenced me creatively I have selected the music producer Tiesto. This track is called Elements of Life, and while I cant give this song/producer full credit for my developing my love of this style of music, I'll give it about 95%. Tiesto himself is a Dutch born DJ and producer, and is widely recognized as the best in both fields (depending on who you ask). He began mostly in the genre of Trance music, which this track is classified as, but now has moved to a synthesis of many styles. For this he has received criticism from many of his older fans (Oh no Dylans gone electric!), however, I think he is just attempting to advance Dance music as a whole despite the contrast in his past and present styles of music, there is one thing that is certain. Tiesto has a sound like non other in the world.

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