Mark

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