BLOG ASSIGNMENT # 8 Scene Deconstruction

A scene from the movie Mr. Nobody.

    The scene linked above is meant to evoke the emotions felt by the characters toward each other in the audience themselves. The surreal way Jared Leto begins to float in the air breaks traditional story-telling in that it occurs for no reason in the movie itself. His floating is meant to represent his rising hopes and dreams as his lover is nearby.
 
     The scene is set conveniently in a park with fences, gates, trees, a planked boardwalk, and vertical architecture. All of these shapes do an excellent job of creating vertical affinity which directs Jared Leto's body as he floats up. While not much goes on throughout the course of the video, a little says a lot as the director allows the actors emotions to speak for themselves. When Jared Leto's love interest walks on screen, she is out of focus, not really there. This depth gives the audience a feel for the space between the characters. This is given strength when the scene is cut to Jared Leto waking out of the dream and circling the location where the girl was and we also see the girl waking up on a train. The girl waking up on the train is meant to close the emotional gap between the characters even as they are so far apart.

BLOG ASSIGNMENT #7 Animation Deconstruction

     The images above are taken from the TV shows The Boondocks and South Park, both of which are incredibly controversial. However, they both take extremely different approaches when it comes to the animation style. The characters in The Boondocks take a more serious stance on how its characters view the world's problems and tries to have more realistic animation. South Park often has extremely crude and silly humor and the animation reflects that content by being minimalist and goofy.

     The color scheme in The Boondocks is very subdued and natural. The saturation levels are low and don't 'pop' as much. The colors aren't meant to be vibrant (this distracts from the characters reactions; which are vital to the show) and the brightness is relatively low. The background hues are even more subdued and causes the characters to stand out more. 

     South Park takes a different approach as each color has a lot of intensity and gives it a more classic 'cartoonish' look. Each character uses matching hues when is comes to their outfits. The background in the show has similar levels of brightness to the characters making it seem like a more interactive environment. The colors have a dark value and gives the characters a definitive outline.

     The Boondocks has very complex movements and a lot of work is put into animating the characters. Generally speaking, the characters are meant to move as realistic as possible; the exception being cut-away or surrealist scenes which happen occasionally. Overlapping movements create a sense of realism as if something is always going on in the scenes. Characters given an appropriate amount of weight when it comes to how they move. A large character is given more animated weight than a smaller character.

     South Park on the other hand, is very simple. When characters walk, their feet don't move. Characters will  hobble side to side like they vibrate to get around. Although this accomplishes a sense of silliness when it comes to the topics and people being parodied. There aren't many overlapping movements when it comes to typical situations but sometimes characters are introduced with a lot of complex action such as demons or other massive characters. Nearly all of the characters in the show are given a similarly animated weight have an apparent affinity to how their environment will effect them.

BLOG ASSIGNMENT #6 Storyboard Imitation

First five scenes from the Requiem for a Dream clip

     This clip is tricky to define as to whether not be described as 'successfully' following the 180 degree rule, rule of thirds, or the 30 rule. The surrealist and unconventional style in the movie effects and bends the rules and make jump cuts actually work. The first shot has Jared Leto aligned along the right vertical third with his head lying on the top third. The next shot is simply an establishing shot of where Jared Leto is going to look, however, it seemingly breaks the 180 rule by making a complete turn around. The shot again turns around to face Jared Leto who is now standing up, his eyes rest on the top third. From there the camera is now facing Jennifer Connelly who is dead center but in an establishing shot and switches back to Jared Leto and his reaction.
    The scene generally does a good job of not breaking any rules. Some of the shots are questionable, like the ones of the bedroom and Jennifer Connelly standing at the edge of the pier in terms of breaking the rule of thirds. Although, they can be defined as establishing shots and can get away with bending rules. The 180 degree rule, however, is broken. The transition from Jared Leto's face to Jennifer Connelly is exactly 180 degrees. The scene does follow the 30 rules, its shots change at an angle of more than 30 degrees and when size is changed, it is by more than 30%.
     The scene is much greater than the sum of its parts. The individual shots are beautiful and the director purposefully transitions from each one to the other in a manner which accentuates the emotions meant to be felt, and obviously took care when it came to the rules. Shot transitions sometimes bend and break the rules, but only in ways which accomplished something more than basic cinematography.

BLOG ASSIGNMENT #5 Song Deconstruction

Peter, Bjorn, and John - Nothing To Worry About

vs.

Peter, Bjorn, and John - Amsterdam

Nothing to Worry About
Listening Framework

Listening Phase 1-
Tempo-Medium
Source-The Percussion
Groove-Matches the pace of the lyrics, Heavy, Hard,

Listening Phase 2
Instrumentation-Tin drums, various percussion, Asian Strings instruments
Structure/Organization-Catchy marching beat, relaxed beats farther apart but on pace, repeat
Emotional Architecture-Driving tone, mellow tone, driving tone, mellow tone, beats fade out

Listening Phase 3
Height-Low driving beats, high background taps for contrast
Width-different instruments on either side
Depth-Very layerd


Amsterdam
Listening Framework

Listening Phase 1
Tempo- slow
Source- Loud drums, slow,
Groove- Very mellow but concise

Listening Phase 2
Instrumentation- Drums, tambourines, whistling
Structure/Organization- Progression and plateaus
Emotional Architecture-starts slow, layers more, carries evenly throughout song

Listening Phase 3
Height-Low
Width-Alternate instruments on either side
Depth- A Few Distinct layers

     The songs written performed by Peter, Bjorn, and John are almost always incredibly mellow. These are no exception. While Amsterdam and Nothing to Worry About are laid back, their power hides behind the minimalist music. The songs each have about four distinct layers which causes the catchy lyrics to pop and get themselves stuck really deep in your head. The lyrics both have apathetic stances on depressing situations.
      Amsterdam and Nothing to Worry About have very similar melodies. Amsterdam is slower and very rigid in beats, Nothing to Worry About has harsh beats which decline in speed and repeat
     Both songs have a catchy rhythm and similar intensity. Amsterdam has a low pitch opposite of Nothing to Worry About. Nothing to Worry about it faster paced but maintains a calm feeling with its consistent lyrical pattern. Amsterdam is mellower lyrically and in singing tone which has greater affinity with the instrumental pacing.