The article Brainwashed by Seth Godin talks about seven ways to reinvent yourself. Seth basically says that society has “brainwashed” children to live a certain way and the young people grow up living up to society’s standards.
Layer #1 Acknowledging the Lizard
This layer is about the little voice in everyone’s head. It’s the voice telling you to not go outside the box. Everyone is so self-conscious about their artwork so they are afraid to share it with the world in fear of being laughed at. We must acknowledge this problem in order to ignore it. If we follow the rules and refuse to put our artwork out there, we will never fulfill our dreams and will stay behind the walls of society.
Layer #6 Fail
This layer deals with challenging the lizard as well. The population should be able to fail in certain things, in front of the public. This comes back to the self-esteem of society and how willing people are to risk something if they might fail.
“If you take no risk you win no victories.”
-Richard Milhous Nixon
Connection To Our Blogs
All of these layers explain how blogs will help me become an artistic person. Blogs help you get your voice heard in some aspects and can give you the confidence to raise that voice. Also if you fail miserably it can give you constructive criticism if someone comments on your blog. It will help you criticize your own work, which can only make you better. Blogs cannot hurt your chances only help you gain skills and confidence.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Soundscape Comments
Nathan Chapman's Soundscape
I enjoyed the causal noises such as the rain or owl hooting. It went along with the picture with the owl sitting on the chair and the hoot being heard in the background. The whispering near the end was creepy and great way to transition into the final piece of the soundscape. The manipulation of time and space was used greatly by the heartbeat near the end where everything seemed to come together. It seemed to echo near the end, which made space seem big and made it louder as well. The intensity increased making the song more creepy and interesting. Every picture was placed in the perfect position to represent what was happening in the song. With the thunderstorm and the floating house placed in the rain it seemed like you were there experiencing what was happening in the picture. The soundscape represented all of the pictures perfectly and the end was the best part. The blast of the horn was a great ending to a sneaking and intense soundscape. Overall the song represented space and time with echo and storms with thunder and rain dropping. It gave size to the picture and made you look beyond and view more space within such a small picture.
Nolan Alexander's Soundscape
All of the noises included in this soundscape represented rage very well, from people yelling and shooting guns. What I thought was the best part was the intensity that built up throughout the beginning. With the bass going along with each sound being made. It’s as if the people yelling and breaking things were part of the beat. It added a whole dynamic onto the rage emotion. The manipulation of sound was represented with the rhythm of the baseline. Everything was timed to fit along with the bass, which was moving at a fast tempo. When a bass moves fast it really represents anger or rage like they were showing. The space represented a confined area with glass breaking and people yelling like it was in a bar. The idea to show rage in such a small confined area really makes the listener feel uncomfortable. When a person feels uneasy listening to a song and it’s supposed to represent rage then it did its job. The illusion of a bar fight was great. It seems like they didn’t need a lot of layers to show what they were doing. They were able to show a bar fight with few layers making it a great illusion. It seemed like so much was going on during the song, and they only made it in Garageband.
Tyler Dawly's Soundscape
I really enjoyed the introduction of this soundscape. The manipulation of space was great with the intensity increasing and the panning. It made the sound seem as if it was coming towards you and fading away. It also moved left and right making you think there was a large amount of space within in this song. The piercing noises in the background and the dreamscape really add to the ecstasy. During the song I admit I was feeling different with my headphones in, it almost added on another dimension in the real world. I didn’t feel like I was sitting in a room anymore, I was experiencing new things. The gestalt principles with illusion and proximity are used greatly in this soundscape. The space represented in the song sounds so random and the proximity is almost impossible to guess. It represents ecstasy perfectly with the random panning and intensity. It sounds so natural when it changes from one speaker to the next. It makes the listener feel uneasy because they cannot guess where the sound will go next. Overall the representation of ecstasy was achieved through careful manipulation of sound and the addition of background noises to add depth and interesting dynamics.
I enjoyed the causal noises such as the rain or owl hooting. It went along with the picture with the owl sitting on the chair and the hoot being heard in the background. The whispering near the end was creepy and great way to transition into the final piece of the soundscape. The manipulation of time and space was used greatly by the heartbeat near the end where everything seemed to come together. It seemed to echo near the end, which made space seem big and made it louder as well. The intensity increased making the song more creepy and interesting. Every picture was placed in the perfect position to represent what was happening in the song. With the thunderstorm and the floating house placed in the rain it seemed like you were there experiencing what was happening in the picture. The soundscape represented all of the pictures perfectly and the end was the best part. The blast of the horn was a great ending to a sneaking and intense soundscape. Overall the song represented space and time with echo and storms with thunder and rain dropping. It gave size to the picture and made you look beyond and view more space within such a small picture.
Nolan Alexander's Soundscape
All of the noises included in this soundscape represented rage very well, from people yelling and shooting guns. What I thought was the best part was the intensity that built up throughout the beginning. With the bass going along with each sound being made. It’s as if the people yelling and breaking things were part of the beat. It added a whole dynamic onto the rage emotion. The manipulation of sound was represented with the rhythm of the baseline. Everything was timed to fit along with the bass, which was moving at a fast tempo. When a bass moves fast it really represents anger or rage like they were showing. The space represented a confined area with glass breaking and people yelling like it was in a bar. The idea to show rage in such a small confined area really makes the listener feel uncomfortable. When a person feels uneasy listening to a song and it’s supposed to represent rage then it did its job. The illusion of a bar fight was great. It seems like they didn’t need a lot of layers to show what they were doing. They were able to show a bar fight with few layers making it a great illusion. It seemed like so much was going on during the song, and they only made it in Garageband.
Tyler Dawly's Soundscape
I really enjoyed the introduction of this soundscape. The manipulation of space was great with the intensity increasing and the panning. It made the sound seem as if it was coming towards you and fading away. It also moved left and right making you think there was a large amount of space within in this song. The piercing noises in the background and the dreamscape really add to the ecstasy. During the song I admit I was feeling different with my headphones in, it almost added on another dimension in the real world. I didn’t feel like I was sitting in a room anymore, I was experiencing new things. The gestalt principles with illusion and proximity are used greatly in this soundscape. The space represented in the song sounds so random and the proximity is almost impossible to guess. It represents ecstasy perfectly with the random panning and intensity. It sounds so natural when it changes from one speaker to the next. It makes the listener feel uneasy because they cannot guess where the sound will go next. Overall the representation of ecstasy was achieved through careful manipulation of sound and the addition of background noises to add depth and interesting dynamics.
Journey & Glee
The original song Don’t Stop Believing was performed by Journey and there have been many covers, but my favorite was the recent one covered by the television series Glee. The biggest difference is the people singing the song. For the original version it was just one man, the lead vocal of Journey. In the Glee version it is mixed between their two lead singers Rachel and Fin. Using the contrast of a girl and a boy really changes the pitch up instead keeping it the same as the original. The most interesting part is the introduction of the songs and how they differ. Glee uses the voices of the club to make the noises for the introduction. Another big difference is within the chorus, where in the original the lead vocal sings. In the cover the entire group of singers in the glee club are singing. The voices in the background the entire time really made the speed seem quicker with the faster rhythm. The original song uses solely its instruments. I think the way they decided to uses the glee members to sing the background beat really added a new dynamic on the song. I like the cover better, because it is more musical and passionate. The original relies so much on the instruments, which is still good but the Glee version adds so much depth to the song. When all of the members join in to sing the chorus it really makes the song seem bigger. It really adds to the intensity. The intensity is how loud or soft a song seems. I think the cover had a louder sound to it, so the intensity increased. The intensity of the original was softer giving a less passionate feeling to the music. The lyrics all stay the same and the timing was very accurate. The organization is identical to the original they only changed the singing style and the background music. Overall I enjoyed the Glee version, which is the cover. The original is definitely a classic, but Glee put a better twist on it. They added in some new voices and created a duet. The duet added so much more interesting dynamics and really created a new version. Some covers seem to be identical to the original, but Glee did a great job of making it different but keeping the same spirit in the song. Also with the visual used in the television show it adds a lot more to the song. I have not seen a music video for the original, which may cause me to be bias to the Glee version. The visual definitely added depth and intensity. It made it seem louder and more interesting than just listening to the song. But even without the visual part the songs are still easy to compare and contrast. They both have the same lyrics and organization Glee just took another route with singing. It was probably down that route because the songwriters wanted to include everyone in the glee club, instead of the one lead vocal. I think decision sets it apart from other covers and is one of my favorite cover songs ever.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Finding Your Howl
In this article your howl is your own authentic voice that you must find. This article basically involves connecting your inner abilities with those around you to connect with the world. We are identified by what decisions we choose and how others judge us. That is how you choose to integrate with the world. Flaum talks about his fifth grade class and how it caused him pain to hear a person present their story. To Flaum the student’s story was true and he hated to admit that. His story involved a tiger and his cage. His cage had now become a part of him. In order for the tiger to get rid of his cage he had to die because the cage had become a part of him. This story encompasses our entire life decisions and how our surroundings become a part of our daily lives. It is impossible to drop your surroundings unless you die all together.
Monday, April 11, 2011
14 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas
The world is always looking for new and innovative ways to inspire ideas throughout the public. This article by Mitch Ditkoff focuses on 14 rules that will help inspire and change the ideas that circulates throughout common culture. This Manifesto only requires an open mind and the willingness to achieve your dreams. One of the rules I necessarily disagree with is tolerating with ambiguity. This sends the message that your experiment can accidently be solved if you fail. This basically says that you have no control over what you are doing and you should just wait until it happens. That will make for an unmotivated and unachievable future. If you tell a kid that he will accidently come up with the answers to a test, then they will not study and fail. I understand that the rule is just saying that something may happen by accident and it shouldn’t go overlooked. It still is instilling the idea that there are larger forces at work and we have no control over our lives. If you dismiss this idea it creates an internal drive and allows you to have more control. I do agree with the next rule about making connections. Practically everything in the world is connected and if you figure out the connections it could help you develop better ideas. It will help us wander outside the box, because to the first layer some things may not be connected but you have to delve deeper to find the connections. A good example is the six degrees of separation. It asks the question to connect certain people to others only using six connections. This can be used for anything and can help you to connect certain things for brainstorming. Listen to your subconscious is a very interesting option and I believe it entirely. The person’s subconscious is very powerful and holds many secrets and passions. That will help you achieve your inner dreams and help you become truly happy. This is a common theory explored by the very famous psychologist Sigmund Freud. He talked a lot about a Freudian slip which is when you accidently say something you actually believe it because it’s your subconscious. I believe that he is right, because most of the time you subconscious really know how you feel. Looking for happy accidents explores the idea to enjoy the little things and let things happen to you. If something is good that happens to you enjoy it and embrace it. And of course it is definitely smart to use creative thinking techniques in order to develop ideas. A new idea that fascinates me is the idea of a musical. It’s a mixture of music and visuals that tells a story in a very interesting way. I will most likely address this issue by observing works of art that are classified as a musical. Maybe develop ideas that revolve around music and can be told in a musical form. I can apply this to my daily life by listening to music and watching movies with music involved. It is a great way to tell a story and unique as well. These ideas really helped me understand the creative process with brainstorming and noticing the important things.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Who Influences You As A Creative Person?
I tend to focus on storytelling and visual imagery in my creative process. I enjoy representing a story in a visual fashion in order to relate to the audience. My creative ideas are influenced by many directors but by the ones who can truly tell a story in the right manner. I am inspired by the very famous Steven Spielberg and his storytelling abilities. This is a link to a biography of Steven Spielberg. Steven Spielberg is one of the most influential directors and this article describes how far his ideas actually travel. One example of Steven's ability is his most famous and influential film Schindler's List.
This persons influences my ideas in many ways. Steven Spielberg's greatest example of tension is his film Jaws. He builds up the tension by not showing the shark until an hour into the movie. It was considered a thriller so there were many examples of tension within the story. Steven Spielberg uses black and white in his film Schindler's List which is a great example of affinity. It has less visual intensity but also contrasts the intensity of the actual action within the film. It also allows to emphasis the red jacket worn by the little girl who ends up dying. A lot of his films including Munich seem to represent certain themes that can be considered subjective. He has symbols in order to develop a deeper meaning in the text and give another dimension to the story. These ideas add so many more dynamics to the script and create another world to explore. His motivation and work gives me the inspiration to follow his footsteps. His power influences and motivates me to try my best and achieve my goals.
Friday, April 1, 2011
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