Freak FACTOR

Read David Rendall's "Freak Factor : Discovering Uniqueness by Flaunting Weakness." 

In this article it talks about everyone’s weaknesses and strengths. Rendall says everyone should embrace his or her weaknesses because a weakness could end up being a strength. He also says how we should build on our strengths, so our weaknesses won’t seem so big to us.  The thing I love about this article is how it discusses strengths and weaknesses because those are the two things everyone thinks about on a daily basis; what are my strengths and what are my weaknesses? We think about those things when we are in school, at work, and in daily activities. Knowing our strengths and weaknesses is the most important thing to know personally.

Here are three of the nine suggestions that I felt were valid:

4. Forget it: Don't Try To Fix Your Weaknesses

In this suggestion it states that we shouldn't try to fix our weaknesses because it doesn't work; we will always have weaknesses. I would use this suggestion, in my creative life, by not trying to fix or get rid of my weaknesses. By doing that I will save myself a lot of time and effort because I know I will never be able to fix or overcome them because I will always have some type of weakness. I also shouldn't try to get rid of my weaknesses because someday that weakness might become a strength in a certain situation. I feel we should embrace our weaknesses because if we don't than we will just let them get to us and then we will never overcome them or we will forget about our strengths.

5. Foundation: Build On Your Strengths

In this suggestion it states that we should build on our strengths, so we don't end up losing them. I would use this suggestion, in my creative life, by trying to build on my strengths because the better I am at something, the less people focus on my weaknesses. For example, I'm not that great at writing, which is my weakness but my strength is coming up with story ideas. So I can come up with ideas, I just haven't mastered putting them down on paper. So I will try to build on my strength by coming up with lots of ideas and working with the right people that have the strength of writing.

7. Fit: Find the Right Spot

In this suggestion it states that we should try to find situations or places where our natural strengths excel. By doing this we are setting ourselves up for success, instead of putting our selves in situations or places where our weaknesses are the ones displayed. I would use this suggestion in my creative life by choosing one part of the entertainment industry where I know my strengths would excel at. I would most likely choose the film industry because that is what I'm passionate about the most and I know I would excel in that part because I'm great at coming up with film ideas; I'm not so great at coming up with TV ideas, which would be another weakness of mine.

Throughout my first year at OU I have started noticing my strengths and weaknesses in my major. Right now, I would say that my strengths would be coming up with ideas for films, being organized, dealing with the business side of my major, and taking leadership in projects. I would say my weaknesses are things I have not yet learned and things I still haven't mastered yet. Some of the things I haven't learned about yet are lighting (gaffing), sound, or final cut studio. And the thing I still need practice on is writing; once I master writing I will be set for good.

Collapsus

Collapsus - watch this video. This video has a lot of different trans-media in it and it is very interesting.

Listen to the link below, which is me talking about this video and what I think of trans-media in my work.


My Audio of the video

Gaming Reflections

Weak Point- Rules
Strength- Background info, Goals, Objectives

Easiest to Convey to audiences- Rules


Listen to the link below to hear the full explanations of the points above.

http://www.podsnack.com/playlists/beb23bf82d892c0d8650c6ac2a651703

                                                              Dance Dance Revolution

                                                                       Mortal Kombat

SuperHeroes

American Life - Listen to the first act of this episode about super powers. Then listen to the link below to hear me talked about the super powers of Invisible Woman from Fantastic Four.

Invisible Woman 

Heroes and Villains!

Becca's Hero and Villain

I first looked at Becca’s animation. Becca and her partner, Gretchen, decided to do their animation together. During their animation they used stick figures to represent their hero and villain. But even though they used stick figures for their characters I could still tell the difference between the two because of their different colors. The hero and villain both use the hue of blue but they use different saturations of the color. The hero uses more saturation than the villain; the villain uses more value. The hero, which is called Aqua Woman, has a lighter blue color to her, which makes her brighter, and has a warmer feeling to her and has the power to produce a lot of water by crying. Aqua Woman’s nemesis, Evaporation Girl, has a darker blue to it, which means there is more value to the color and gives this character a colder feeling unlike the hero.  Evaporation Girl’s power is to evaporate water, plain and simple. Tension and Release is used in their animation when Evaporation Girl appears before Aqua Woman and starts evaporating Aqua Woman’s water; it gives the audience tension of you don’t know if Aqua Woman is done for. But the release comes when Aqua Woman starts crying and defeats Evaporation Girl. 

Tyler's Hero and Villain 

The second one I looked at was Tyler's animation. Tyler and his partner decided to do their animation separately. During his animation, I felt it was very colorful and it set the mood of happiness. In the animation it had two kids standing in the rain and then Sun Boy comes and makes the rain go away. Then, the two kids are happy and start throwing a ball back and forth to each other. The character Tyler decided to animate was the hero. The hero's name was Sun Boy and he had the power of sunlight. Sun Boy had the hue of yellow, which made his hero very bright and noticeable. For Sun Boy Tyler used a lot of saturation than he did value. The only dark parts of Sun Boy was his eyes, mouth, and legs; which were black. The mood for Tyler's animation is happy and we know this because Tyler was using didactic in his animation by telling the audience what to think of his character; which was that his character is good and here to help.

Nathan's Hero and Villain 

NightNurse Vs BioHazard

Biohazard                                                                                                                NightNurse

Here is the villain and hero that capri and I created. I hope you like them!

Our Joke :)

                                           Joke #1- Our Black and White Silent video. Written by me.

                                           Joke #2- Our Voice Over video. Written by Tyler Dawley

In Joke 1 we used movement more than we did in joke 2.  We used movement in the first joke by moving the camera a lot back in forth from character to character; we used this to emphasize the arguing between characters without using sound.  

In joke 2 we used Line and Shape. We used lines by when the doctor is staying outside the elevator; the doctor is staying in the middle of the crease of the elevator door and the frame of the door; instead of the doctor staying in the middle of the crease of the elevator door.  We used shape by in the family room we had a round table that made your eye lead you to the main character.

Contrast and affinity is also displayed between these videos. These videos contrast between one another by joke 1 was a black and white silent film; so everything had to be exaggerated more than joke 2 because there was no sound to help out the story, unlike joke 2 because we used voice-overs instead.  In joke 2 we use deep space in the hospital scene when the family is leaving; in joke 1 we only used flat and limited space.  In joke 2 we used more than 1 location, where in joke 1 we used one location.  These videos are similar by how we used limited and flat space in both.  But overall I felt these videos were very different from one another.

Tension and Release is also used in both videos. Tension is built in both videos by in joke 1 we built up the tension by leaving the punch line of the joke at the very end of the video, when the punch line was given the tension was released. In joke 2 the tension was built up at the beginning when the doctor came up to the parents saying how they don’t know if their son will survive. The tension was released when the family walked out of the hospital and their son was ok.

Mortal Kombat!!!

The video game I decided to choose was Mortal Kombat. This Mortal Kombat is the 2010 version, so it is a lot more life like and advanced than the first Mortal Kombat. I chose Mortal Kombat because it was my favorite game growing up and I thought I would show how advanced the newer version is, since I guarantee most people haven't played this version yet. Well I hope you enjoy it!

Here is the link to my video on Youtube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BEgcUd869U

Suggestion on How to be Creative!

After reading Hugh MacLeod's " HOW TO BE CREATIVE," I chose three of his twenty-six suggestions on how to be creative. I chose the suggestions that I agreed with the most and could apply to my creative life.

So here is a video of me explaining the three suggestions that I chose. I hope you enjoy it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jlv4WJagSWg

Audio Commentary of "Letters to Juliet"

 For my Audio Commentary and Critique I decided to do a scene from " Letters to Juliet", Directed by Gary Winick. I chose this film because it is one of my favorite films and the scene I chose is my favorite scene in the movie. So I hope you enjoy it enough to watch the whole movie, minus my commentary. 

Here is the Link to my video on youtube  http://youtu.be/d_XniDOLFcA

Reframing Images

                                                                       Original Image
       

 

                                                                      Re-framed Image

What originally drew me to this image was the depth and space that was shown. In the original image there is a lot of space beneath the main object in the photo, which is the woman, and a little bit of space above the woman. I chose to reframe this image by focusing on the woman in the photo and less on the space all around her. I feel the woman is the most important part of this image, so I think it is important to get the Wide Shot of the woman but still having that Close Up feeling; More of a close up than the original image was displaying. I think the artist decided to not zoom in this image because they wanted to show how deep the water is, that the woman is swimming in and to get more of a feel of the environment that the woman is in.  This image also displays the binary of objectivity and subjectivity. This image can be subjective by everyone can have their own opinion of what they think this image means or what the story behind it is. What also drew me to this image was the story or meaning I thought was behind it but that is me being subjective of it. The only objective could be why the artist took this photograph and the true meaning behind it. By reframing this image I’m making the viewers focus on the woman and being subjective over it, instead of all the space above and below the woman.  The Rule of Thirds is also displayed in this image. In the original image the sweet spots in the frame were on the woman and on the empty space below her. In the reframed image the sweet spots are all on the woman; even though the two sweet spots below her are barely on her hand and foot. By using the Rule of Thirds to reframe my image I have made it so the audience is mainly focusing on the woman.

Classmates Music/Song

 

I did an audio critique of three of my fellow classmates and here they are.

 Yingqi Zheng    
Is number 123 on the playlist

Anthony Aerni
Is number 1234 on the playlist

Nolan Alexander 
Is number 12345 on the playlist


They all did a great job on their song so you should go check them out at their blogs!

Are you Brainwashed?

Seth Godin's "Brainwashed" 

Why are we brainwashed? Well in Seth Godin’s “Brainwashed” he discussing at the beginning how everyone is brainwashed by the economy and then tells us seven layers to help you become unbrainwashed. While reading his seven layers, I connected with two of them; Make Art and Acknowledge the Lizard.

In the Make Art layer, Seth Godin tells us about how art isn’t just a painting or a poem but the human ability to make a difference. And that art can be a risky form because the artists take risks of people not liking what they create but they take those risks because it could lead them into getting rewarded. Art is also not something that has instructions that you can follow; it is the act of creating the uncreated.

The second layer I chose was Acknowledge the Lizard. In this layer it tells us how we have a lizard brain, which means we have a little voice in our head that encourages us to follow instructions and not be creative. And that the resistance(the voice) is part of the brainwashing. The voice normally occurs when you create something and then are scared of being laughed at or people not liking it. The resistance is the barrier that artists have to face. But instead of just giving in to the voice, we have to acknowledge it so we can ignore it.

I feel like these two layers relate to this blog by they both help inspire my creativity and isn’t that what this blog is about. By reading these layers it helps my inspiration for what I want to do for my career and that the advice it gives is very useful and helpful. I have felt that some of these blog assignments have been useful; mainly the ones with the articles we have to read. But I don’t like how we have to summarize what we just read because it seems like a waste of time. And I feel like the minimum 750 words for each blog is a little much because it is hard at times to explain something in great detail the thing you read or heard and sometimes there aren’t 750 words to explain it.

My Song!

This is the song that I created. I used over 7 instruments and my main focus was rhythm and the emotion of mellow. So I hope you like it!

Cover song vs Original

                                            "Jar Of Hearts" by Christina Perri (Original Version)

                                           "Jar of Hearts" By Kait Weston (Acoustic Cover Ft. by Tyler Ward)

The song I decided to choose was “Jar of Hearts”, originally done by Christina Perri; the cover song was done by Kait Weston (Acoustic Cover ft. Tyler Ward).   The two songs are very similar but each still has a unique factor about them. The things that make these two songs similar are the lyrics, speed/tempo, and intensity. The lyrics for both songs are the same exact lyrics; they don’t change any of the words. The speed/tempo, for both, were andante (slow). The intensity was soft for both, which goes along with the andante tempo. The other similarity, between the songs, was that both songs are performed by a female.

While there are similarities about the same exact song, there are also differences because each performer brings there own twist to a song in order to make it their own. For the Christina Perri version there were different instruments that made the rhythm of the song. The instrument in the background sounded like a grand piano that helped keep the rhythm of the song. Also, throughout the song there are others instruments playing, like a string instrument.

For the Kait Weston version the instrumentation choices were different. The instrument that was used, to keep the rhythm of the song, was an acoustic guitar. The guitar was the only instrument used in this song, which made this song feel very organized because there weren’t too many instruments being played all at once. An element that I noticed in this song that was used, and not in the original version, was echo. They used the element of echoing Kait’s voice throughout the song to give the song more depth. This is song also has more of an acoustic feel to it than the other version.

After listening to both songs, over and over again, I have come to the conclusion that I prefer the Kait Weston version better than the original version of the song done by Christina Perri. I prefer the Kait Weston version more because I like the instrument choice for this song; I feel it suits the lyrics of the song better than all of the other instruments used in the other version. I also liked the use of the echo on her voice to help create depth for the song instead of using more instruments. But I do feel like the song could have been better if they hadn’t over used the echo because at times it became distracting. The other reason why I like this version more than the original is because I felt Kait Weston has a better voice than Christina Perri; Kait’s voice just sounded ten times better with these lyrics than it did with Christina. Also, Kait’s voice just help bring the subtext of the lyrics out in the song better than Christina did; I felt the emotion of this song more in Kait’s version. So overall, I have found that cover songs by unknown artists can overall be better than the original (famous) performer; you just have to know where to look for them on YouTube.  

My Soundscape!

This is the soundscape that Gretchen and I created. Our emotion that we had to portray in this soundscape was WORRY. And above is one of the photos that went with our soundscape. I hope you like it! 



And here are a couple other soundscapes that you should check out because they are AWESOME! They are by Joey Buccini, Brie Donovan, and Angela Salerno

Do YOU have a Howl?

Find Your Howl by Jonathon Flaum


Jonathon Flaum spoke about two stories, that have a lot of subtext to them about life. I felt connected with the second story which was about a tiger being trapped in a cage in a zoo. The tiger wanted nothing more than to escape and be free but everytime that tiger escaped, it always ended up in another cage in another zoo. The author tried to convey that the zoo and cage are apart of the tiger and the tiger can just run away from it. Flaum's main point of this story is that we are all trapped in our own ways to something even if we don't realize it. We can't just run away or forget about something in a heart beat.

Flaum states that the author, of the tiger story, lesson was there is nowhere to run! Flaum also states that, "There is no easy escape from a situation that we ourselves created, because that situation, despite appearances, is no longer just outside us, it lives inside us." I relate to this story and this statement because it explains what kids feel like when they leave for college. They feel relieved at first because they are escaping all the rules that they had to follow at home and now have the chance to be free and make their own decisions. But little do they realize that they are entering a whole new undiscovered world for themselves a lone. They don't have mom or dad to help them through the hard parts in life. They also will discover new things about themselves and realize that they can never escape from rules because they are everywhere; they don't all just come from our parents.



On the playlist below I tell you my favorite quote and how it speaks to me as a creative person. I hope you like it!:)

New playlist

Ways To Get IDEAS!!!!!!!

How To Get Breakthrough Ideas……

Many of us struggle to find those perfect creative ideas for films. I myself have struggle with this process over and over again. Then, I read Mitch Ditkoff’s “14 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas.” After reading this I began to realize how simple the most creative and brilliant ideas could come about. I found myself amazed by how right he was about how great ideas are created. I felt like each of the 14 ways are very useful for trying to conjure up that breakthrough idea and are very similar, if not the exact same way, I have come up with my ideas. 

• One suggestion from Ditkoff’s list that I found intriguing was #7, Listen to Your Subconscious. A lot of our ideas come from our subconscious because our subconscious is continually working on ideas that I floating in our head but are just taking their time to finally reach our conscious. Our ideas come at the most random times because it is a time when you aren’t straining yourself to come up with the most brilliant idea ever.  Ditkoff even says, “If you study the lives of people who have had Eureka moments, you’ll note that their breakthroughs almost always came after extensive periods of intense, conscious effort. They worked, they struggled, they noodled, they gave up, they recommitted—and then the breakthrough came. And often at unexpected moments.” Ideas come when you are least expecting it. I have acquired my ideas from either my dreams or when I’m daydreaming, which means my ideas come about through my subconscious. Anytime I feel like I have prefect an idea I always feel like I can’t come up with anything and that I only want to pull my hair out instead. But at the times when I’m just listening to music or daydreaming in one of my classes is when my most creative ideas hit me.  I would implement this suggestion into my life by just keeping my mind open and not trying to strain myself into finding the most creative ideas of all times for a film because most likely I won’t.

• Another one of Ditkoff’s suggestions on his list is #8; Take A Break. In this suggestion, Ditkoff states how when you are stumped or is struggling with an idea, you should walk away from it for a while. I agree with this because the times I’m struggling with an idea, homework, or anything that has me frustrated, I will step away from it for a while, so I can get a clear mind. Most of the time I will workout or go for a long run; it helps me think about something else and it makes me feel like I’m running or working out my problems and frustration. Then when I return to my work again I feel refreshed and ready to accomplish things. Taking a break can be the best thing for a creator because without one eventually you will feel irritated with yourself for not coming up with something; you might become discouraged with yourself to a point of giving up completely. A break can equal success and less hair pulling.

• Third and last of Ditkoff’s “ 14 Ways To Get Breakthrough Ideas,” is # 10; Hang out with Diverse Groups of People. Ditkoff suggests that a way to come up with a story or an idea is to hang out with different groups of people. He states, “If you want to increase your chances of getting a breakthrough idea, you will need to break the bonds of the familiar. Hang out with a different crowd. Go beyond the usual suspects. Seek the input of oddballs, mavericks, outcasts, or, at the very least, people outside of your field.” I believe this to be true because some of the best ideas can come from someone you meet. The people you meet might have an interesting background or a unique personality that could become one of your characters for a movie or TV show. The more we break out of our comfort zone of our friends and venture out and meet new people, the chances of our creativity will increase. It can be hard trying to meet new people but it can also be for the best. In most cases, you don’t have to necessarily go by yourself to meet new people; you can bring your old friends too. The best way I will implement this suggestion into my life is to venture to different cities and try and find interesting people. By doing this I could come up with a movie idea just based on someone I meet randomly in a random city. Overall, I feel this suggestion is similar to students starting their first year of college. When we first start out we want to make as many friends as we can, so we don’t feel a lone in college; since we are without our parents and our oldest childhood friends for the first time. By having that motive you begin to make friends with all different types of people because they may seem interesting to you and you think maybe it would be fun having them as your friend. I know when I came to college I wanted to break out of my shell and meet as many people as I could; that’s what I know I have to do again, in order to enhance my creativity.

I decided to choose suggestion #11; BRAINSTORM. This suggestions prompt, which was at the end of the reading, stated, “What is the topic of your next group brainstorm? Who will you invite? Who will facilitate? When?”

• The topic that will be at my next group brainstorm will be about coming up with the main plot/story line for our Episodic Soap Opera and what other horror film ideas that anyone has to share with the group. To this brainstorm I will invite all of the group members that were in my 48-Hour Shootout group and a couple people that went on the Spring Break LA Trip with me this past spring break. I will facilitate this gathering; I will contact them through Facebook or talk to them in person. Our next group brainstorm will occur this Sunday via Skype.

Who Inspires You?

Growing up I was given lots of opportunities to be creative. It started when I was very young by making up games to play with my sisters then it later transformed into stories that we would capture on film. My parents were supportive of my desire to be creative at a young age by letting me use their video camera and by doing that they let me create short stories that my sisters, my friends, and I would come up with. My inspiration and creativity comes from everything around me. Mostly, my inspiration and creativity comes from the dreams I have, my friends, my family, songs, and the world around me. 

~Three Examples~

• Hercules by Ron Clements and John Musker

• This is one of my favorite movies of all times when I was growing up. I would watch this movie constantly because the story was so inspiring. I admire this film but not really the creators of it. In this story you are presented with heroes and villains. I noticed which characters were which by how contrast they looked from one another. For example, the villain Hades is blue, wears black clothes, and has blue fire as hair. The hero’s were Gods who lived on Mount Olympus who wore colorful clothes and had glowing warm skin. Throughout this movie you notice the motive of the main character, Hercules, because of how he is actively trying to become a god again, so he can rejoin his family on Mount Olympus by defeating many villains. The reason I’m so drawn and admire this film so much is because of its story and meaning. This story is relatable to its audience because one of the objectives is how Hercules is trying to find a place where he belongs. Many people struggle with fitting in places and I feel this movie does a great job in display a character’s struggle with finding out who he is and where he belongs, which is what most of us face in life. This film inspires my work by I want to tell stories like Hercules; I want to tell stories that have a meaning behind them and is relatable to my audience.

• “You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift

·        

• Taylor Swift is one of my favorite artists because I feel her songs are relatable to me and what is going on in my life. Whenever I listen to one of her songs I can picture exactly what the music video would look like, if it hasn’t been made yet, and I also get new movie ideas based on the subtext of her lyrics. One of my favorite songs of hers is “You Belong With Me.” I like this song because of how it is relatable to teenage girls who have liked a guy but the guy is with someone else. The text of the lyrics describes how the contrast between a girl who is in love with a guy to the girl who is with the guy now. The subtext is about the love this girl feels for this boy and how they belong with each other.

•   Steven Spielberg

 

JAWS

 

Jurassic Park

 

Saving Private Ryan

•    Steven Spielberg is known to be one of the best directors of all time. He is also one of my favorite directors. I believe that he has a great talent of bringing his stories to life on the silver screen. Every time I watch his films I get even more inspired to make my own films, so I can have the chance to tell the world my stories and be able to bring them to life. Steven Spielberg has brought his movies to life to where I subjectively believe what is happening on screen is real. I feel like they are so realistic that some of his movies have actually made me fear things I have never feared until after I saw the movies. For example, I am deathly afraid of sharks and dinosaurs because of watching the movies Jaws and Jurassic Park. After I watched those movies I can never go into the ocean ever again because I am too afraid of getting eaten by a shark. To this day if I watch any of those movies or just see one little scene, I will have nightmares that night. But I can say not all of his movies have scared me to a point where I can’t watch them anymore. One of my favorite movies of all times is Saving Private Ryan. I can’t even explain how amazing this movie is. The casting for this movie was great and just how life like Spielberg made this film. The characters in this story are so contrast among each other that make this movie interesting. Steven Spielberg truly made this movie, which is based off a true story, come to life in more ways than I can even explain.  

The beginning to MDIA 203

It's is the first lab class for MDIA 203 and I would have to say that I'm feeling very tired at the moment since it is a 8-10am class. But I have good reasons for choosing this particular lab time. First reason; if I ever wanted to go home on Friday I needed to be able to make the GO BUS, which leaves at 10:15am on Fridays. This lab time was the only time that allowed me to still make class and make the bus in time to go home.

Second reason; when it was time for me to schedule my classes the only time slots available was the 8-10am and 3-5pm. Both not the best of times but I didn't choose the 3-5pm because it would interfere with my work schedule.

Third and last reason; Most, if not all, my friends signed up for the 8-10am lab and I wanted to be in the same lab as them, so I would know people in the class.

Lauren Worthington