Fantasy smack talk Helmets

I made these starting week four of the football season.  I'm in two leagues and will put up a new helmet every week.  The helmets will say different things depending on who I am playing.  This is probably a complete waste of my time, but I do a lot of things that waste my time.  At least it lets me get creative a little bit, and I always love a good opportunity to mess with my friends.

Week 4

League - Browns Town

Team Owner - Brandon Bailey

Team - Brown Bombers

League - Holmes Fondled Hammy's

Team Owner - Brandin Schmidt

Team - the BRADY bunch

Week 5

League - Browns Town

Team Owner - Adam Kody

Team - Over the Hillis and Far Away

In my Holmes Fondles Hammy League I decided to put back up the picture I used to use as a dedication.  He died the day before

Week 6

I took week six off from the helmets because I was having computer problems and I had a lot of school to do.

Week 7

League - Browns Town

Team Owner - Mike O'Boyle

Team - Cleveland Steamers

League - Holmes Fondled Hammy's

Team Owner - Aaron Favri

Team - Money-Shot Millionaires

Big Jims House Of Blog Lives Again!

Here we go another round of blogging for a media class.  This time for a social media class.  More specifically for extra credit points.  What can I say I'm a sucker for some bonus points.

We are suppose to write about social media, so i'll do my best.  One of the recent south park episodes addressed something that we talked about in class.  Basically the whole episode was about how Apple knows everything about you when you join itunes.  This is true for facebook, twitter, google you get the picture. For most people this is very unsettling.   For some reason it doesn't bother me.  This could be cause I grew up with social media and I'm use to it.  It's not like they are using the information to track your every move I'm sure they have better things to do.  All the information they gather is used to market products.  It is very annoying having ads everywhere, but like I said I'm used to it by now.  So I guess what I am trying to say is that I'm ok with the internet knowing everything about me as long as they don't start tracking me.

Response to Freak Factor

You can find the article that I am talking about here

The article starts out talking about our weaknesses.  We are all well aware of our weaknesses people in our lives point them out all the time bosses, teachers, parents ect.  The point is we are all-aware of our weaknesses and try to fix them, but its not working this article offers suggestions on fixing our weaknesses, and overcoming our problems.  The article is about using your weaknesses to your advantage. 

#2 What’s My Problem?

The first idea that I want to talk about is number two what’s my problem.  This idea talks about how a persons flaws can be a clue to their strengths like if a person loves talking they would be a good public speaker.  I think this is a very interesting way of looking at your weaknesses.  I have never thought about it this way, but it makes sense.  You don’t have to overcome or conquer your weaknesses, but instead use them to find your strengths.  The article goes on to say that you find success when you find the right fit, and that your weaknesses make you different, and different is good.  This idea will be very hard for me to apply to my life because I have very few weaknesses.  The only ones that I can think of are that I’m to caring, I work to hard, and I am to good looking.  That last one should probably go under strength.  I need to identify my strengths and weaknesses in my creative life and try to exploit them.

#4 Don’t Try to Fix Your Weakness

The second idea that I want to talk about is number four don’t try to fix your weakness.  This one means exactly what it says.  The article talks about a survey that says that 59% of the people surveyed think that fixing your weaknesses is an essential part of personal development.  The problem with this approach is that it is slow, painful, distracts, and doesn’t actually work.  This is a very good observation.  Why waste time trying to fix your problems when you can concentrate on your strengths.    The article talks about how if you remedy a weakness that still doesn’t make it a strength.  If we are focusing on our weaknesses there is no time for activities where we could make significant progress.  I could use this idea in my creative life by trying to focus on things that I am good at like filming, editing, and directing, and leave things like set design, and storyboarding to the people who are good at that.

#6 Focus: You Can’t do Both

The last idea that I am going to talk about is number six focus: you can’t do both.  This idea is basically saying that most people believe that they can fix their weakness, and improve on their strengths, and this is not true.  Most people have two much to do already (like a bunch of blog post), and don’t have time for both.  Focusing on both limits the amount of progress that can be made.  It prevents us from becoming exceptional in one area, and since weaknesses and strengths are linked, attempting to fix a weakness can actually diminish strength.  I can use this in my creative live by not trying to do things that I can’t.  I can’t do animation, or make a video game (even though Girth would be a smash hit) so I’m not going to try to do those things.  I’ll leave that to the experts.

I feel like I have a lot of strengths as far as the creative process goes.  I work great in groups and love it.  I would much rather do creative things with other people.  I also feel like I am a pretty good leader (that could be due to the good looks).  My main weakness as far as the creative process goes is that I can’t draw.  This is a major set back when you are trying to convey thoughts and ideas to other people .

Audio Response to Collapsus

You can find the game that I am talking about here.

Audio Reflection on the Gaming Presentation

Written Reflection on the Hero/Villain assignment

The first Hero/Villain I will be talking about is by Jessica Rovniak.  Her superhero was PsychoElectric.  Lets start out by talking about color.  She used two different hues green and blue, which go together because they are next to each other on the color wheel.  It is a more saturated green, which makes it more intense, and a less saturated blue, which gives a little contrast.  The colors that were used are very bright and stand out on the screen.  She used contrast and affinity through the colors of the two characters.  The colors that were chosen are on different ends of the color wheel.  This gives them contrast, but also affinity because opposites go together.  There was also some tension and release in the animation.  The tension comes in the beginning when PsychoElectric was zapping all those nice people with his eyes.  The release comes when the hero pulls up and saves the day. 

The second Hero/Villain I will be talking about is by Peter Fumosa.  For Peter’s assignment I will be talking about lighting.  Peter used very little shadow on his hero Mr. Doctor to make him seem more inviting to the audience.  In the animation the hero is blue and the villain is red.  This is a great example of symbolism.  The blue symbolizes good, and the red symbolizes evil.  The mood for the two characters is very different.  The hero gives off a very happy mood and makes it seem like everything is ok.  The villain gives off a very angry mood and makes it feel like something’s not right.  Peter also uses contrast and affinity in his animation.  The contrast comes when Larry the Lawyer tries to make an appeal for Charles Manson and Mr. Doctor and Larry the Lawyer start fighting.  The affinity comes when Mr. Doctor eventually wins.  There is also contrast and affinity in the colors of the two characters.  There is also irony in the animation.  The irony is that a doctor is fighting a lawyer.

Hero and Villain

Hero

Has the ability to make money trees instantaneously.

Strategically places the trees in places of high poverty.

Has a “magic stick” that can become whatever he wishes.

Wishes all to be as stylish and smooth as he.

Villain

Has super-human abilities of calculation & taxation.

Wields the Axe of Justice to battle Moneybag$ and chop 

down his money trees.  Takes exceptional pride in 

taxing the poor and poverty stricken.

Audio response to This American Life

You can find a link for what I am talking about here

Reflection on Joke Video Assignment

The videos that I will be reflecting on come from Chris Rushes blog “Rush Delivery.”  I thought this groups videos were the best in the class other then my own groups videos of curse but that should go without saying.  As soon as Big Blonde Women and Blondes and Puppets hit the film festivals we are going to clean up, but as much as it pains me we are not hear to talk about me we are hear to talk about Rushes groups videos.  The first joke video, that will from here on be known as the star wars video because it had no title, was one of my favorites in the class.  I liked the way they used space.  In the scene where they are sitting up against the fence drinking it was very flat space, which focused the audiences attention on the interaction.  In that same scene they use the lines of the fence to point towards the subjects on the screen, which directed the audiences attention towards the action.  The star wars video also made use of tension and release.  They did this by making you think that the guy is going to get in trouble for the wreck when it wasn’t his fault.  The release comes when he sticks the girl in the car with the alcohol and pins the whole thing on her.  The second joke video The Bicycle Accident makes great use of irony.  The whole movie is ironic in a way because it is a bicycle accident and they play it out like it was a car accident.  Although I enjoyed all of the videos from class I thought Rushes group did the best job besides my group of course but I already said that.

Joke Videos

Audio commentary critiquing video game imagery

Video response to How to Be Creative

Here is the article How To Be Creative

Audio commentary critiquing a scene

Reimagining Visual Framing

The image I chose to reframe was from Dali.  I was originally drawn to the image because it is awesome.  There is so much going on in the picture you have to look close to see everything.  One would think I would be tempted (like what I did there the painting is called “The Temptation”) to choose the naked lady in the doorway as the area that I would zoom in and focus on but no I’m much classier then that.  I chose to reframe elephant in the back with the mansion in the sky.  The original image, as well as the reframed image would both be considered a Long Shot.  There is a lot of depth in the original frame with images in the foreground like the naked guy on the ground with the cross.  Images in the middle ground like the parade of elephants with naked women and buildings on them, as well as, images in the background like the elephant that I reframed that is a little bit lighter then the others.  All of this gives the frame deep space.  There is lots of contrast in the original image.  The lighter elephant in the back that I have reframed contrasts the dark elephants in the parade of temptation.  The picture affects the conscious.  When you look at the picture you are actively thinking that this guy is being tempted.  I think the artist framed the picture the way he did because there is more to it then just the little part I focused on.  If he just drew the part that I zoomed in on the picture would look incomplete.  I think the original image is an awesome picture there is a lot of detail and things you don’t notice at first glance.  

48 hour shootout video

Audio Reflection on the Music Assignment

here are the links to the songs that I am referring to

Dylan Brown

Will Krepop

Peter Fumosa

Response to Brainwashed

You can find the link that I am talking about here

Acknowledging The Lizard

The first part of the reading that I am going to talk about is acknowledging the lizard.  This is talking about the part of our brain that doesn’t like to be laughed at.  When it gets laughed at it shuts down our art.  It also talked about the resistance.  The resistance is a little voice in your head that keeps your head down and encourages you to follow instructions.  It basically says that we need to know about the lizard brain and the resistance and ignore or get passed them.

Fail

I think it is pretty obvious what they are talking about here but let me break it down for you anyway.  The article is saying that the reinvention of the marketplace demands that we have the ability to fail.  Without failure there is no growth.  People need to fail to see what works and what doesn’t. 

These two layers I just summarized are connected to the blog I am writing because they are talking about this new age of media.  Today we are connected like never before, and we are trying to find ways to navigate this new age of media.  I think these types of exercises are helping more then they are hurting.  I’m not the biggest fan of blogging but I did have an interest in it and wanted to see what it was about, and without this class I probably never would have started this blog.  So I don’t think this blog is a waste of time, however I do think are time would be better spent in class watching The Wizard of Oz synched up to the dark side of the moon or watching awesomely bad movies like Killer Clowns From Outer Space or Troll 2.  We have two hours every class we could knock out a bunch of these.

Audio Reflection o the Soundscapes

Here are the links to the soundscapes I am referring to

Joe Byeat
Logan Hayes
Jason Butler

Exploration of Cover Songs

I have heard many great cover songs throughout my short time on this earth so far, as well as many bad ones.  I have also heard some very bad ones like William Shatners version of Lucy in The Sky With Diamonds or this gem we got from Hillary Duff who if your reading this in the future was a product of the corporate machine known as Disney.  Hillary and her sister were both equally unimpressive as singers and actors.  But this post isn’t about the Duff girls, as much as that pains you to read, and me to write.  No this post is about great cover songs

The song that I am talking about specifically is a Nine Inch Nails song called Hurt

The Lyrics are the main thing that stands out for me.  The lyrics are the main driving force behind the song.  It also has a very slow Speed throughout the song for the most part he its speeds up a little in some spots to help build the Tension and Release, but lets not get ahead of ourselves I will talk about that in a later sentence.  Another way the singer adds depth to the song is by going from soft to loud which helps build the songs Intensity.  The song is sung in a low Pitch for the most part but the singer switches the pitch throughout the song.  The lyrics, speed, intensity, and pitch all help build the tension and release, in the song and does this very well.  The song builds tension by speeding up a little bit getting louder and singing at a higher pitch and then releases the tension by slowing down getting quieter and singing softer.  The song uses Conscious and Sub-Conscious.  The lyrics of the song affect your conscious and play on your sub-consious.

The cover of Hurt was done in 2007 by the one and only Johnny Cash.

The main difference between the two songs is the Pitch.  Johnny Cash sings the song in a lower pitch then Nine Inch Nails.  The Lyrics didn’t change at all when Mr. Cash did the remake and they remain a driving force behind the song.  I think Johnny Cash’s voice fits the song.  It is a perfect song for him to remake.  Johnny Cash also uses Speed to build the tension, as well as the Intensity that comes through in his voice.  Johnny Cash also the pitch, lyrics, speed, and intensity to create Tension and Release in the song, and he does this in the same way going from soft to loud and so on.  I think that Johnny Cash does a better job at this just because of the way his voice sounds.  Once again the song uses Conscious and Sub-Conscious with the lyrics by affecting your conscious and playing on your sub-conscious.

I like both the songs a lot, but I would probably say I like Johnny Cashes version a little bit better.  I herd his version first and I thought that it was one of his own songs.  The song was meant for him, and when he sings it you can hear the hurt in his voice.

Song

Here is a little ditty I made in garageband so get out your hairspray and enjoy!

Soundscape

Audio response to Find Your Howl

You can find the link here so you know what I am referencing.

Response to Reading 14 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas

Here is the reading that I this whole post is based on.

14 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas

At first I didn’t think I would like this reading.  I thought it was going to tell me a bunch of different ways to brainstorm.  I thought it was going to tell me to think outside the box to come up with brilliant ideas.  Instead it was very logical ways to get ideas.  Ways to get Ideas that make cense.  They seem so easy but they make sense. These are ways that many brilliant people use to get good Ideas, people that ended up with a lot of money off of their great ideas.  There are a lot of examples of these people in the readings.  I thought all of the fourteen ways to get ideas were good but here are three that stood out to me.

1. Follow your Fascination

Lets start out with the very first one follow you fascination.  He is basically saying exactly what it says in the title follow your fascination.  Fascination is nature’s way of getting our attention.  It is a clue that something is worthy of our engagement.  I think this is a good suggestion.  It makes sense, I don’t think everything that I am fascinated with will be a great idea but I think I should start looking at the things I am fascinated with a little closer.  As far as implementing this into my own creative life this could mean making a documentary about something that fascinates me, or even making a movie in a certain style that is fascinating to me.

5. Fantasize

This is saying that many great ideas come from fantasizing.  It says that we are not encouraged to fantasize enough even though bosses want their employees to come up with fantastic ideas.  This is true, and I don’t think we are encouraged to fantasize enough.  I fantasize all the time in my life.  I always tell people that I am going to be the head of a major movie studio some day.  This could be implemented into my own creative life in many ways.  When coming up with movie ideas it is good to fantasize especially if you want a fantastic movie (you like what I did there).  Movies are made to make you fantasize.  I know after I saw Iron Man I wanted to be Tony Stark for weeks.  I still do but I don’t think I will be inheriting billions of dollars any time soon and I don’t want to be one of those guys on youtube that try to build their own iron man suit.

8. Take a Break

This is one of my favorites for oblivious reasons, but it really does help.  It helps to take a break when your trying to work on something.  I do this all the time when I’m studying for tests.  I can only work on something for so long before I start to not be productive.  It helps to take a break to get your mind a chance to reset.  This is defiantly something that I put into practice in my every day life.  I do this when I am studying for a test or doing any sort of schoolwork.

The question that I am choosing to answer comes at the end of the ninth suggestion Notice and Challenge Existing Patterns and Trends.  The questions are.  What trends in the marketplace most intrigues you? In what ways might these trends shift in the coming years—and how might your most inspired idea be in sync with this imagined shift?

As far as what trends in the marketplace most intrigues me I would have to say the way that the Internet and TV are merging.  With the rise of youtube more people are getting their entertainment from the Internet now a days.  Google just came out with there form of Internet TV, and TV is having a hard time keeping up.

I think the trend will be that TV and the Internet will merge into one thing in the coming years.  You will watch TV through the Internet on your TV.  I don’t really have any inspired ideas about this but hopefully will come up with something that will make me millions. 

Three people who influences me as a creative person

There are many people out there in the world of film, television and music that influences me as a creative person.  Sometimes I think that the best influence on myself as a creative person is myself, but if I have to pick three it would probably go a little something like this.

Quentin Tarantino

            I have been a fan of Quentin Tarantino for a while.  I love how all of his movies are filled with blood and violence.  He is always pushing the envelope.  He always keeps you on the edge of your seat.  This is especially true in Reservoir Dogs.  He always keeps you wanting more.  His movies take you on a ride, and make you ask the question what just happened.  Most of all Quentin is a master at using Tension and Release in his films.  He does this through the score, the dialog, and the framing of the shots.  This is a common theme throughout all of his movies but is never more present then in his film Inglorious Bastards.  There is Tension and Release right off the bat when the dairy farmers is Hiding the Jews from the Jew hunter.  Below is a trailer for the film.

Eric Roth

            I can’t say that I am a huge fan of Eric Roth. I know he wrote the screenplay for Forrest Gump, but I couldn’t tell you anything else that he did.  However, I love that movie, and don’t need to know anything else he did because that movie alone proves what a creative person he is.  I think it won something like six academy awards.  The script has many examples of Irony in it.  When Forrest Gump was talking about Lieutenant Dan he said “he had a relative die in every single American war, I guess you could say he has a lot to live up to.”  There are examples of irony like that throughout the script.  Tom Hanks does a great job at making the script come to life.  I couldn’t find that exact scene on youtube but here is the trailer for the film.

Darren Aronofsky

            I love Darren Aronofsky films even though I haven’t seen Black swan yet.  Requiem for a Dream is one of my favorite movies.  The way that Aronofsky makes films is very unique.  You can always tell when your watching one of his movies.  I love the way he uses sound like the pop pop when the grandma is taking pills in Requiem.  Not just sound but the visuals help you know its an Aronofsky film.  He has a unique look to his movies.  I cant really know exactly what  it is but I think its mostly a cobination of the way he frames and lights the shot.  He does a great job of using Conscious and Sub-Conscious.  In Requiem your watching the people’s lives get destroyed on screen and its affecting the Sub-Conscious.  All of his movies tend to affect you on different levels.  Here is a trailer for Requiem for a Dream.