10A

FREAK FACTOR

            David Rendall’s FREAK FACTOR basically talks about what makes the everyday person a normal human. It does not come out and say that but that is the interpretation I gained from it. His primary point he tries to get across in the manifesto is, there is nothing wrong with you. Weaknesses are important clues to your strengths. You find success when you find the right fit. You need to match your unique characteristics to situations that reward those qualities. Your weaknesses make you different. They make you a freak and it’s good to be a freak. I really agree with this manifesto and find it empowering. I am tired of everyone trying to fit in and be what they think they should be and be afraid of being weird or different. If the world did not have any weird or different people the world would be so immensely boring it is unbelievable. If enjoying himself or herself makes someone out to be “weird” or a “freak” just because someone does not understand or appreciate the activity this certain ‘weird’ person is doing makes the rest of the people a disgrace. People feel the need to title and demean and belittle people because they do not understand them and do not agree with the things they do. They do not try and understand their activities or ways of life or even appreciate them they just decide to label them freaks.

            His first topic I am going to discuss is flawless: there’s nothing wrong with you. He starts off by saying “there is nothing wrong with you. each of us has unique characteristics. these characteristics have both positive and negative features. these features, which we usually refer to as strengths and weaknesses, cannot be separated. they come in pairs. the positive and negative elements are inextricably linked.” This makes so much sense to me and I wish the entire American culture would see the world like this. If they did I feel that life would be so much more interesting and exciting. Also there would be less people taking needless drugs like aderall or zaynex to fix their ‘problems’. This drugs are prescribed to people who think they need them because doctors have told them they do. There is no way to prove someone has these specific mental problems to ensure they need the drugs but I feel many people are just convinced they need them when they really do not. Not to say everyone does not need them because many people do have diseases that require them but I feel not as many people need them.

            The next point that I found interesting was Foundation: build on your strengths. The first three points he mentions are…

1. It feels good. It is enjoyable and energizing to work on your strengths.

2. You have the greatest potential in your areas of strength. these are your natural gifts and provide you with your best chances for success.

3. Your strengths make up for your weaknesses. Well-developed strengths often make your weaknesses irrelevant.

I liked this part because it is a very motivational and self-motivating. It shows that even your weakness can be strengths and that everything can be made benefitial.

         The last point I enjoyed was freak: the power of uniqueness. I like this because it made being unique an empowering quality not a negative one.

             The last thing I will discuss is my own top strength and own top weakness. My top strength I believe is my versatility. I believe if I am in any situation in any circumstance I would be able to handle myself. I also feel like I could accomplish any task if I put my mind to it enough no matter what the task was.  My greatest weakness must have to be my overconfidence. I always am pushing my limits and expecting I can do more and more. Sometimes this is good but others it can end up with hollow promises or hurting myself.

            Overall I believe this was a very good passage and really made me think and appreciate the ‘freak’ within everyone.

9B

Here is a link to Collapsus
And here is the link to my audio critique of Collapsus.

9A

          What I believe was our weakness in our presentation was conveying our mechanics to our audience. I believe our game concept was really cool and interesting but I do not believe our audience understood the mechanics of the game or how it was played. If we could have better explained the game play and how it worked and what it was like I believe our presentation would have been extremely better. I also believe our rules were unclear. Our rules seemed to be more of guidelines not rules so if we re-made this presentation in the future to make it better I think we could make some clear cut easy to follow rules. This would be instead of the softer more debatable guidelines/rules we originally had.
           The concept I feel that we made very clear and presented well was our games goals. It was very obvious that we have been shrunken and the main goal is to un-shrink yourself. Also another clear goal is too not get squished. I feel as it is pretty obvious if you are a tiny charter and and angry cat is coming after you, you would not want to be squished, and I feel that our audience understood that.
         The concept I feel like that is the easiest to discuss with other is the objectives. I think this because objectives are so clear but and to the point. Our objective was plain out get back to being full size and do not die. I mean there are more aspects but in a nut shell that is the gamers objective. I feel that they are the easiest to discuss because you can usually some up objectives in one or maybe two clear concise easy to understand sentences. 

8B

Essay Number One Nathan's Hero/Villain 

          For Nathan's hero he chose to use a worm. And what I have chosen to talk about for his worm superhero is the color. The worm was drawn in a warm bright pink color which obviously shows he is very friendly. I mean who could be an evil villain and be a bright pink color? Secondly he was drawn with a bright hue which also led to his sensitivity and his conveyance of being a good guy. Lastly the characters saturation was extremely low because the colors used for the character were very bright and warm colors. Due to the colors used it is very obvious the worm is a hero and also his smile helps too.
          For Nathan's villain he conveyed the image of a crow. First of all crows are always used for negative connotations so that was the first hint he was the evil villain. Then the color covered the rest. The crow was drawn in a very dark black with no brightness at all. Because the color was black this means it had a very high saturation which conveys the negativeness of the crow and how it is evil. Also to show how it is evil the character is drawn with a very dull hue which makes him look dark and mean.

Essay Number Two Scott's Hero/Villain
          For Scotts hero he chose dolphin man and his villain hammerhead. Within the color between the two they use the concept of contrast and affinity very well. They contrast the two by having dolphin man in a very bright color with a strong bright hue which makes him appear very friendly. Then in contrast Hammerhead is drawn in a very dark color with a high saturation and low huge which makes him a dark evil mean character. Also they use affinity well by making them both part creatures from the sea. The color of dolphin man is also very bright with a high hue and low saturation. This shows that he is a friendly superhero and not a mean super villain. This is in contrast to the color used on Hammerhead. To show that hammerhead is a mean villain he is drawn very dark with an extremely low hue and high saturation. 

Essay Number Three Ian's Hero/Villain
          Ian's hero and villains appear unnamed on his site so I will refer to the villain as black(because he is drawn in black) and the hero as yellow (because he is drawn in yellow). Yellow is obviously a super hero because he is drawn in a very light, bright color with a high hue and low saturation. This is in contrast two his nemesis black who is drawn in a very dark black color with an extremely high saturation and a low hue In their movie with these two characters they really used the concept mood and tone well. They made black kill people and fight off what appear to be innocent people not doing anything wrong. This sets a very unsettling mood and give a very negative tone toward black. In contrast the mood toward yellow is much happier because he doesn't kill he protects. He is also drawn in much lighter tones which shows he is a superhero not villain which also helps add to the more friendly mood.

8A

Here is a link to This American Life 

Here is the link to my reasoning for choosing magnito

 

7

          Our joke the S.H.I.T joke was taken in two very similar ways but the way it was produced was extremely different. In our first video the rhythm and movement were very slow subtle and calm like a normal elevator occurrence between two people on an average day would be. In contrast in our second video it had a very upbeat rhythm and sharp hast movements to give it the genre of the old school silent films. That is also another huge contrast that our two videos had. Our first video had dialogue and conversation and was shot in normal common day color. In contrast our second video had a instrumental played over the whole movie and had no actual dialogue. There was text to be read on the screen but there was no actual speaking within the movie. Also the second movie had the old fashion black and white scratchy film effect added to it.

          The two movies also contrasted in line and shape. The lines in the first movie were very scare but all pointed directly at the main two characters to show the audience exactly where to watch. Also the shape in the first movie was much more simple squares and rectangles the whole time which I feel made that movie less interesting. The second movie had lines everywhere going all directions, which made it harder for the audience to know exactly what to focus on. As well as the extreme diverse amounts of shapes used due to the art in the background of the second movie gave it less of a focal point. 

       Lastly the last contrasting aspect of the two movies was the space. The space in the first was limited and one-dimensional majority of the time. The second movie had deep space, which added a bigger feel to the movie and more lines and shape.

5A

Here is the link to my video breakdown of the game Assassins Creed Brotherhood

5B

I could not get my 5B video posted directly onto my blog but if you click here you can watch it on youtube. The Movie clip I am discussing in the video is from Reservoir Dogs by Quentin Tarantino and the scene is the "ear scene".

6A

http://changethis.com/
Use this link to read read Hugh MacLeod’s HOW TO BE CREATIVE

   

5A

          I was drawn to this original image due to how bizarre the picture is. Also it just is so serene in the same way. I love the use of the black and white and despite the young girl is smoking and the strange body in the background the picture brings about some sort of calmness. I chose to re-frame the image and cut out all the excess information ex. the other little girl the cigarette and the strange figure in the background to see if the picture still had the same feeling to it.
          By changing the shot from a Long shot to a close up it really does change the feel of the picture. The picture to me still feels sad but in a separate way. In the original I felt sad for the little girl because she is smoking, now I just feel an eerie feeling toward the picture because the girl just looks disappointed.
        The original picture uses space far better than my reformatted one. Deep space is still used in them both because you can see the blurred person in the back, but not nearly as much in the reformatted version. It is actually unapparent what the blurred image in the background of the second photo is due to the cropping and zooming in of the photo. Also it could be argued that the second photo uses flat space and not deep space because there is not a great line for the eye to follow into the background of the picture. This is in contrast to the great line used for deep space in the original which is the line created by the road that leads your eye far into the distance. Overall i still enjoy the picture after it had been cropped and zoomed but it changes the feeling of the picture and definitively loses a lot of its luster and character.

SICK AWESOME COOL VIDEO!

Sound Scape Critiques

My First Critique
My Second Critique 
My Third and Final Critique 

Brain Washed

http://changethis.com/
 - This is the link to read Seth Godin's Brain Washed. 

          Acknowledging The Lizard 

          This is an explanation of the emotion of being afraid to be creative to due the fact of embarrassment. That we are limiting our minds in fear of being laughed at. A term to better explain this feeling is "the resistance" we have. This resistance is your inner self that tells you to stay just follow directions and do what you are told. This voice is closely linked to brainwashing. 

Learn

          This pillar is the seventh pillar and to me the most important. It is also the key pillar to the other six. It explains that "school" is not over yet that "school" is now. You need to discard what you think you know and instead learn what you need to know, every day. 

      Both of these pillar's are very key to being successful as a creative person. Acknowledging The Lizard is not a problem for me at all. I have always done what I feel is necessary as a creative person and not skewed my attitude according to how I feel people will react to it. Also Learn is a very important pillar, arguably the most important. This is very important in the creative process because there is always something new you can learn and should learn. It shows you to keep an open mind and be willing to learn about everything. And that you do not need to be in a formal school setting to learn but learning happens everywhere, at anytime.

Michael Or AAF

          For my comparison of songs I will be comparing Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal compared to Alien Ant Farm's cover of the song. You can get to the songs by clicking on the artist's names.
          I really enjoy both of these songs but would have to favor Alien Ant Farm's cover of the song over the original by Michael Jackson. Both songs are very well made but I prefer the rhythm Alien Ant Farm adds to the song. Alien Ant farms cover also has a faster speed and higher tempo. Not that I do not enjoy Michael Jackson's song I just feel as if Alien Ant farm took a great song and made it spectacular. The lyrics of the two songs are basically identical which I encourage when songs are remade. I do not like when bands just take a songs chorus of a song then recreate the rest. If you can create 3/4 of a song and just steal the beat and the songs chorus I feel that, that is just taking away from the original. In contrast cover that keep the same lyrics as the original song is a better way of honoring or showing appreciation for the song.
           Alien Ant Farm did use the classic opening for the song then they added their on touch to the beat. Even though they kept the same classic opening they added more of a deeper pitched rock feel to it. This is compared to the original which has more of a skewed electric sound to it. I actually prefer the opening to Michael Jackson's version despite preferring Alien Ant Farms song over all. Also in Michael Jackson's version the song is more based around the lyrics and singing. As you can tell by the instruments are more of a background noise in his version compared to Alien Ant Farms. In their version the instruments are loud and apparent and not just background adding a beat.
          Another contrast in the songs is how the singer actually sings the song. In Alien Ant Farms version the singer really makes the song vocal and loud. He really yells the song which gives their song a high rough melody. This in contrast to the original by Michael Jackson has a much more smooth melody and subtle feeling to it. Michael more or less whispers the lyrics of the course at the begging the leads it up slowly and at the end brings in the loud "punch".
      Overall both song are very good and I enjoy them both very much. I appreciate how Alien Ant Farm made their song in the way of honoring Michael Jackson's song and not just ripping off his beat and chorus. However I do prefer Alien Ant Farms cover but the original by Michael Jackson is still an amazing song.

 

My Song

Not sure how to get my song directly to my blog so here is the link to get to the PodSnack for it hope it works!

Soundscape and powerpoint explanation

Find Your Howl

Jonathon Flaum describes finding your howl as an intense and difficult process. Finding your howl is a process of finding your individual voice and there is no way to do it easily. No matter what it is going to be a challenge and the only way to find your howl is too use "every square inch of our imprisonment must be touched and lived through before it can be abandoned" (Flaum 51-01)

Ways to Get Ideas/ ChangeThis.com

http://changethis.com/

In this article it discusses the 14 ways to get break though ideas. "There’s a lot of talk these days especially in business circles about the importance of innovation. All CEOs worth their low salt lunch want it. And they want it, of course, now. Innovation, they reason, is the competitive edge." For this reason alone it shows why we have to have innovation and create new break through ideas. These ways of making break through ideas first include, following your fascination. If you are fascinated by an idea you probably can find something meaningful about it. Second, immerse or become totally involved with the subject matter. The third way is to tolerate ambiguity, which is basically to try and try again until you figure out what you originally desired. Fourth is to make new connections such as combining two separate ideas into one main idea. Next is the sixth way, which is to fantasize and really think about your topic. The seventh way is define the right challenge, and what this means is to make sure you are always working toward the correct goal. The eighth way is listen to your subconscious, which is basically a fancy way of saying to stick with your gut feeling. The ninth way to get break through ideas is to take a break. The tenth way is notice and challenge existing patterns and trends. What this means is to not go with the daily norm and change how you do things. The eleventh way is to hangout with a diverse group of people, and by doing this it can help broaden your thought process. Twelfth is to brainstorm, which is writing down ideas on paper. The thirteenth way is to look for happy accidents, or find the positive aspects of a negative outcome. And lastly the fourteenth way is to use creative thinking techniques. All of these techniques have their ups and downs with some being more useful than others. Overall I believe most of these can be very useful. The three ways to get break though ideas I am going to further discuss are, to fantasize, take a break, and follow your fascination. First i will discuss fantasizing. I believe fantasizing is a huge part of creating a break through idea. When you fantasize you think of things that normally would not cross someones mind. This sometimes can create amazing creative work that is very unique. The next topic I will discuss is taking a break. I strongly believe in taking breaks when trying to get a break through idea. If you just continue to struggle and try and force yourself to create an amazing idea chances are you will not. Now if you take a break and rest your mind when you come back to working chances are you can think of something new, now that you have had time to rest your mind and get new ideas flowing. The last, and in my opinion most important topic is to follow your fascination. I think this is so important because if you are trying to write about something you are not passionate about it shows. You are less likely to research the subject as much and you will most likely talk less passionately about it. That is why i believe following your fascination is so important. The more you care about a subject the better the chances are that you will think of a breakthrough idea. Now I will discuss the different prompts about "following your fascination". Right now the new idea that is fascinating me is creating a video. A new possibility that has captured my attention is the chance to send a video to the television show Tosh.0 in order to get him to come tour at Ohio University. This clip can be anything from a video of our campus to shooting hoops at our ping recreation center. This opportunity gives a lot of room for creativity, and using these 14 ways to getting break through ideas will most definitively help me in the process. I can honor this inspiration by making a video to send to Tosh.0. Using these 14 techniques will greatly help me in making this video. I plan on making the video about my fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon and showing how interesting Greek life at Ohio University is. I will film the upcoming "Greek Week" events and interview individuals in my fraternity and in other sororities and fraternities. That is how I will use my fascination of being Greek along with my fascination for creating videos.

My Biggest Influence

My biggest influence on my work would definitively have to be all of the creators of the television show Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. These people include Rob McElhenny, Charlie Day, and Glenn Howerton. They inspire me because their comedy meshes perfectly with the kind of creative person I am. In my work I always try and push the limits and do and say things in my work that shock people.This is exactly how Its Sunny in Philadelphia is. They will make jokes about anything from putting babies in tanning beds to rape and abortion. One of the styles of work they use is tension and release. This link will show you some examples of their uses of tension and release and just a little about the creators themselves. My favorite use of tension and release in this clip is the one with Dee interviewing the "white boys" about their dancing. She is obviously being an extremely awkward character and it is almost unbearably to listen to her....then she gets blasted in the face with a volleyball and the tension is released and it turns into a hilarious scene. The next concept the creators of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia use well is text and subtext. They use this a lot mainly with the plot of their shows. Such as the episode "The Gang Solves the Gas Crisis". The main point of this show is that the Gang is trying to make money off of the gas crisis by, buying gas storing it and then later selling it once gas prices have raised. The the main text is that the Gang is trying to raise money. Then the subtext is that they are actually making a mockery of how expensive gas prices are becoming. The show uses this technique numerous times concerning different popular issues within America. Not only do they cover the gas crisis but they talk about the overall economy in an episode, the abortion debate, they discuss religion, and much more. When the shows talks about these highly debatable issues they usually always use text and subtext to convey it through their work. This benefits them by it makes the issues less serious so you do not focus on the negative sides of the issues as much, but see the humor in them. The last method I will discuss is contrast and affinity. Just like the other methods this method is used multiple times throughout the many seasons of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. One of the more interesting uses of contrast and affinity is through one of the main characters "Mac". Most of the time Mac is portrayed as a strong tough guy in the gang. He always wears muscle shirts does karate and works out. He even buys a samurai sword in one episode because he considers himself the bars main security. Then other times they make Mac very sensitive and almost as a child whenever he is with his father or talking to someone he looks up to. Such as his infamous letter to Chase Utley. Overall Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia uses many great methods within their work, which makes their show so good. 

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