Blog Post #11- Wise Words From an Otherewise Unwise Wiseacre

   I have used a blog before. I just find things (movie clips, songs, lyrics, etc.) that I want to share with my friends or people who enjoy the same things as me. I didn’t mind using the blogs in RTF. I did like that I could visit the blogs of my cohorts if I was struggling with what to write or having issues with how to structure my posts. I didn’t have any problems with the blogs, though there were times that I wished they were due later since Sunday nights are always big homework nights for me. I very much preferred the types of blog prompts that were actually film related. Sometimes we were asked to speak on an issue (like posts five and ten) that I was less confident in. Though these were more difficult, they did help me to better understand foreign subjects, but only through severe distaste. I would recommend using the blog in RTF in the future for the simple reason that there is a growing digital trend not only in the university, but in the work force. It only makes sense to begin to prepare students for the real world by asking them to perform assignments over the internet. I would suggest being lenient with the cutoff dates of these posts, though, since the internet CAN be a bit unreliable at times (bad weather, etc.) As a whole, I think the blogs were a success, and should be continued in the years to come.

Dogma - The Buddy Christ

Blog Post #10- Globalization (I'm Out of Witty Titles)

   In our generation, media has reached distances never before imagined by our founding fathers. With the internet, the entire world becomes one single entity. China is only a click of the mouse away, Australia can be reached in seconds, and because of this amazing connectivity, computers have become the ultimate business medium. Globalization is slowly creating an all inclusive world through the world wide web (hence the term "world wide").
   Globalization, in a sense, is the assimilation of all cultures into one SUPERCULTURE. By the reduction of differences in speech, protocol, and all elements of business and communication, it creates a standard operating procedure for doing specific things so that, no matter where you are, the protocol for conducting whatever business you're involved in is the same. When people in India answer your tech services calls and can speak more clearly than you, that's globalization at its finest.
   In this concept of globalization, a certain issue must always be taken into account: which method is best? From the answer rises a significant problem in our world today. The dominance of one culture over another, or cultural imperialism,  has been around from the beginning of time. Slavery and persecution have defined the human race, but these things aren't still occurring in our civilized world, right? Not to the extent of those days (except for a few places here and there that I'm pretending don't exist for the sake of my argument), but there is still a dominating force behind many countries, such as the United States and China.
   Take film, for instance. Hollywood has shaped the industry from the invention of the motion picture all the way up until now. Our culture has created many of the techniques used by filmmakers and cinematographers, and originally considered the methods used in other countries to be unorthodox. The worst part, in my opinion, is when a group of English speaking actors goes to another country in a film, and suddenly everyone in that country speaks English. This promotes an image that Americans believe English is the best language and all other countries should learn to be more like us. If you can't tell, this bugs the hell out of me. Anyways, back to the real issue. America has created such a specific method for movie making that the people enjoy, and because of this, we have dominated the industry, leaving little room for outside influence.

http://plus.maths.org/issue44/outerspace/iStock_www.jpg

  

Blog Post #9- A Touching Advertisement

 

    Human beings are born with five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. It is from these senses that we judge our world. The truest form of beauty does not need thought, only the involvement of the senses in their rawest of forms. This advertisement from HTC, in my opinion, is truly beautiful. It shows events, each involving the sense of touch, that display emotion. This small montage of emotional moments is paired with a very calm, soothing song, which only adds to the feelings being evoked in the audience. At the end of the ad, the narrator asks:

"Isn't it amazing how many emotions you can feel with just a sense of touch?"

This advertisement struck me as incredible. Something so simple, that everyone has, can have such an overwhelming affect on a person. Then, at the end, tying all of this beauty to a product. It's just fantastic.

    The appeal of this advertisement is its aesthetic sensations. Advertisers believe that their promotions will not be well taken if they are not attractive, and they have a point. Our culture loves art and beauty, and if influenced to believe a product is beautiful, they are more likely to buy it. With this in mind, agencies will sometimes make advertisements (like this one) where very little of it has to do with the product itself, but the public is so drawn to it by the ad's beauty that they associate the product with these aesthetically pleasing commercials.

   In this spot specifically, aesthetics are conveyed through emotion. By showing experiences many people have in a beautiful manner, they evoke the audiences' feelings that they associate with these experiences. What makes artwork magnificent is if it can evoke emotion, and therefore, this advertisement becomes a work of art. It is aesthetically pleasing enough to cause passionate sensations in its viewers, and then associates this beauty with their product. Truly touching.

Blog Post #8- Looking at the 3 Act Structure Through a Secret Window

   In film making, the most common plot structure is the Three Act Structure. Good for telling quest stories, it is characterized by a series of plot points leading up to a major climax at the end of the film. It is broken up into three acts, each escalating the stakes and asking a question that the next act answers. In the spirit of Halloween, I decided to apply this structure to one of my favorite thrillers, David Koepp's Secret Window.

   The first act is the introductory act. It presents the protagonist's current situation, introducing the plot of the film. In Secret Window, Mort Rainey is struggling from writer's block during a rocky divorce with a cheating wife when he is accused of plagiarism by a man he's never met, John Shooter. The first question is how Mort is going to prove to this crazed accuser that his story was published before Shooter wrote his. Shooter gives Mort three days to get the magazine his story was published in from his ex-wife, and he'll be back. (21:11)

Shooter Threatens Mort

   As soon as this three day warning is given, Shooter begins to make sure Mort realizes how serious he is about his threat. He kills his dog, threatens to kill his ex-wife, burns down her house, and continues to raise the stakes by framing Mort in the murder of his bodyguard and the only witness to him being there. All Shooter wants is for Mort to fix the ending of the story, and he issues another warning. If Mort talks to the police or doesn't show up with the magazine that he has sworn he has, Shooter will kill him. When Mort discovers that the story is missing from the magazine (74:29), the next question is presented: how will he avoid Shooters promised assassination?
   The resolution act is what makes this film brilliant. Mort begins to talk to himself. He realizes that the only way to please Shooter is to fix the ending of the story in which the character kills his wife and buries her in the garden. Then out of nowhere, the climax is presented. Mort is Shooter. He invented him in his mind. His wife shows up at the house to finalize the divorce papers, and Mort makes the major decision of the entire plot. He's going to fix the ending (80:00). He's going to kill her and bury her in the garden she once kept.
   The film ends with the sheriff talking to Mort about staying out of town, since, though no proof can be found, the townspeople know he killed his ex-wife and her new lover.
   "You know, the only thing that matters is the ending. It's the most important part of the story, the ending. And this one... is very good. This one's perfect."

Blog Post #7- The Episodic Psych-ology

   When it comes to entertainment television, sitcoms are king. Usually shown in the prime TV watching hours of the day, they draw in some of the largest audiences the networks see. What is so enticing about these crowd pleasing programs? Well primarily, each episode is like a miniature movie. Americans love their films, but why pay money and waste two hours when you can watch a half hour movie on you television? This episodic nature is essential to the sitcom world. Each week presents a new plot, in which there is a opening action, build, climax, and resolution. The beauty of this is that most episodes end where they began, so even people who aren't familiar with a program and enjoy a well thought out story. By being episodic, sitcoms become universal mediums for entertainment that anyone can enjoy, and therefore networks make more profit.
   One of my favorite sitcoms is USA network's Psych. In this program, a hyper-observant smart alec pretends to be a psychic and begins doing work as a detective for the Santa Barbara Police Force with his lifelong best friend. Whether they are investigating a missing mummy from the local museum or a mysterious death during the civil war reenactment, each episode is unique and could stand alone as its own story. These short, one hour segments of the characters' lives contain suspense, action, comedy, and sometimes even romance. It incorporates recent episodes for longtime watchers, but not to an extent where first timers would be confused. It pulls first time viewers in, but what makes this series so fantastic is that though it is episodic, and each episode is enjoyable on its own, it develops in a way that keeps long time admirers interested. It is truly one of the best shows in modern television.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOOZ1CGE5XU&NR=1

Credits: USA Network; www.youtube.com

Blog Post #6- The Garden State Of Frame

   In film and cinematography, editing is used to portray a theme. A long shot generally signifies sadness, loneliness, or isolation. A medium shot is a relationship shot in which a relationship between two or more people is portrayed. A close up shows a specific character's emotions, thoughts, or feelings.
   In Zach Braff's Garden State, a particular scene comes to mind that does a terrific job of using the long, medium, and close up shots. Sam and Large are burying Sam's pet hamster, and Large is telling her of his mother's recent death.

   The use of a medium shot shows how they bond over a mutual loss, each coping in their own way to the death of a loved one. This shot puts them at the same level, showing how they are in the same state of mind and establishing a relationship of trust between them.
   Then a close up is done on Sam as she begins to cry about the harshness of life and what she refers to as "real life tragedy." This demonstrates the emotional impact Large's story and the loss of her pet have on her.
   As they cover the hamster with dirt, the camera zooms out to show Sam and Large alone in the pet cemetery. This presents the idea that they both are hurt from their personal losses which isolates them from the rest of the world. The shot makes it seem like, at this moment, the only people that understand their pain is themselves. The only other people they have is each other.

Blog Post #5 - The Studio System and Roaming Actors

   Since the early days of film, studios have been used for shooting because it was convenient for production companies and, of course, less costly. These studios eliminated the need for location scouting and transportation for actors and crew. It also set up a central location for all production, which made monitoring multiple "in-production" films much simpler.
   Most importantly, however, was the centralization of actors. Since multiple films could be shot in a studio, the big stars could, in a sense, roam. A name like John Wayne or Humphrey Bogart could be in multiple films per year since each set was in the same studio as that of another film. Because of this, many studios became genre based. Instead of a studio making westerns and gangster films, they would choose one, find a big star, and practically build the studio around them. For example, because each was shot in the same general area, John Wayne was able to be in eleven films in 1933, a feat nearly insurmountable by modern actors and actresses. Wayne had to do very little traveling, and could just step in, play the part, and move on to the next picture. This allowed a production company to make more films per year and thus increase their overall profits.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000078/