Blog Assignment 4A

Brainwashed Link

Acknowledge the Lizard

This article is about our fear of our work being rejected. I believe this is especially true in group projects, as nobody can truly express their visions confidently without fear of ridicule. It is important for us to recognize that this happens, so we can suppress the urge to back down at the slightest ridicule.

Learn
I never really thought of learning in the same way outside of the classroom. We've always been conditioned to only believe we are truly learning while a teacher drones on and on about material we are likely to forget after the test/exam. I really have learned most of what I know outside of the classroom.

Class Analysis
The first aspect doesn't seem to apply as much, as many students will comment or view our blogs, but they will likely not know us by name, so we have no need to be embarrassed about our work. The second aspect I have highlighted applies to our outside-of-class creations. I really enjoy these, although the word requirements on some of the responses make them seem very dry and dull, as we usually have to stuff the reply with useless filler words that add nothing to the overall comment, just to make the word requirement. That is my only complaint.

Cover Song Assignment - 3A

Beat It was originally released in 1983 by Michael Jackson on the Thriller album, which is the #1 selling album of all time. In 2008, Fall Out Boy covered the song without changing many of the original aspects. Personally, I like both versions equally, which does not usually happen with me. Normally, I will like either the original or the cover song significantly more than the other.

The melody of both songs nearly the same as well. The only variation comes in the form of the vocals being different ever so slightly based on the singers' separate styles.

The lyrics for both songs are identical, and the musical quality varies only ever so slightly. Beginning with the rhythm, the original song had a tempo of 132 beats per minute and the Fall Out Boy version has a slightly faster speed of 150 beats per minute. I consider the cover song to be more intense than the original as a whole, but parts of the original are indeed more intense. The pitch of the cover song is higher in many areas that the original, if you can believe that. The guitar part played by John Mayer is higher in some parts, and the vocals of Patrick Stump surpass even the high range of Michael Jackson. The timbre of both songs is pretty much the same as well. Lastly, the organization of them is really the only area other than tempo in which they differ. The introduction for the original is much longer than the Fall Out Boy cover, and then the main part of the songs match up when the original reaches 40 seconds.

Overall, I am very pleased with both productions of the songs. It also helps that Fall Out Boy is one of my favorite bands.

 Fall Out Boy - Beat It


Michael Jackson - Beat It

Blog Assignment 4B

 Blog 1

Blog 2 

Blog 3

Garage Band 2-Minute Song Assignment

Soundscape - Affection

BLOG ASSIGNMENT 3B

Blog Comment 1

Blog Comment 2
Blog Comment 3

Finding Your Howl

Flaum's Story

This story presents the issue of a wolf facing the extinction of his species if he doesn't do something. He needs to find how to howl in order to save them. He trusts in his inner instincts and self-determination to ultimately succeed in his mission by overcoming odds stacked against him to reveal his true nature. The main point that Flaum attempts to convey is that we must persevere to achieve our goals, no matter how frightened we are, no matter how much it will ultimately alter us, or how much it will set us apart from others. We are all unique, and we must strive to prove it to the world.

Quote Reading Audio

14 Ways to Get Ideas

Mitch Ditkoff's Article

The first suggestion of Ditkoff's is that we need to let our fascination in an idea take hold and grow, no matter how insignificant or impractical they may seem at the onset. Next, he suggests that you cut off focus to everything but the subject that interests you most for several hours a day. Then he goes on to unfold the idea that confusion is necessary to the early stages of development. Ditkoff's fourth idea regards the forming of new connections between seemingly unrelated subjects, thus fostering innovation. Fifth, he encourages us to fantasize, because every idea known to man was originally just a fantasy, such as flight, space travel, or electricity. It is also very important to pose the correct question to a problem. That is half the battle, and it kicks off the process. Your subconscious is a powerful weapon when problem solving. If the challenge is initially too tough, it is a good idea to take a pause from actively working at it, and let your subconscious take over, or simply take a break altogether from the task. Next, it is a good idea to break down old patterns and ideas and reform them to your current needs. The tenth and possibly most important topic is that of diversity. You need to obtain views from a very wide range of the population to push your idea forward in an efficient manner. When all else fails, a good old-fashioned brainstorm list might be the key to your troubles. It is often beneficial to experiment with ideas in which you expect no result, because you might be pleasantly surprised. You will often need a spark of innovation to get the ball rolling. This can come in whatever way you see fit. Lastly, it is important sometimes just to let go--throw caution to the wind and revert to more basic instincts.

~IDEA #1

Ditkoff's idea that encourages us to follow our fascination is some of the best creative advice that I know of. At many points in my life, I find it much easier to be involved in a certain topic if it truly interests me. For example, I wrote a research paper on medieval warfare back in the 12th grade, and I had a very easy time with it because that was a topic that I could really dive into. The same goes for my creativity nowadays. I tend to shy away from things that don't interest me (opera music, abstract art, etc.), and gravitate towards things that do interest me (dramatic music, shirt design, video game modification, etc.). No matter what your profession, you will have a much better experience if it is something you truly are interested in. Turn your work into play. That is my objective.

~IDEA #5

As Ditkoff explains, fantasizing is a very important process in the development of ideas. I often picture an idea at the absolute optimum quality, regardless of whether it is possible or not. From that, I will remove the absolutely impossible aspects and drive the ones that are even remotely plausible forward. Usually, the majority of these emerge as a finished product that I am very happy with.

~IDEA #7

I often act on the talents of my subconscious when I am frustrated with a problem. I will leave the problem at the back of my mind, as Ditkoff's article suggests, and when I have that "light bulb idea moment", I will return to finish solving the issue. I make use of this when I'm stuck on the exact way I should piece together some programming code or finish a simple sudoku puzzle. It is a very satisfying experience when I act on this great idea to move forward in my creative process.

~PROMPT 1 ACTIVITY
What new idea is fascinating you? What new possibility has captured your attention?
In what ways can you honor this inspiration today?

The new idea that is fascinating me is one that combines many of my favorite aspects from different games. I want to combine aspects from an RPG (Role-Playing Game), an RTS (Real-Time Strategy) game, and a FPS (First-Person Shooter). No specific new possibility is pushing this, besides my future knowledge of game programming and animation. I have a booklet of ideas specific to the game that I continue to write in each day, so that once I obtain the knowledge to act on them, I can do so. This booklet is going to prove to be a great asset by that point in my career.

The Last 3 Minutes

Cinematographer Shane Hurlbut shot this very dramatic video as a showcase to a new model of Canon camera that shot movie-quality shots. This particular short film uses few explicit textual references, but a slew of subtextual ones. It plays out several events in reverse order, suggesting the idea that one's whole life flashes before their eyes as they are dying. The individual is a janitor who seems to have a heart attack near the beginning of the film. As the film progresses, it is suggested that his wife leaves him because he becomes an alcoholic, and leaves other events open to speculation as well. The video is targeted at the emotions of the viewer, and Shane Hurlbut makes it do so in a very effective manner. I believe that all media creations are much more effective if they affect the user/viewer on a personal level. That is, making them relate to it to events that might have taken place in their own lives. I generally add in elements like these wherever possible to generate excitement, sadness, awe, etc. This always enhances the consumer's experience by adding a connection on an emotional level.

Michael Bublé is Definitely Feeling Good

Michael Bublé truly has an excellent way of bringing up the listener's spirits with this amazing song. Originally performed by Nina Simone, he doesn't change much as far as the song goes, but he adds essential elements that really make the song "pop". At the 2:15 mark in the video, the song uses the tension and release technique, as the audio is forced into complete silence for a couple of seconds before it moves to the most powerful progression of the song. Throughout the rest of the song, there is always background music, even if he is not singing all of the time. That method breaks the trend of constant sound, and makes the listener wonder what is coming next. I enjoy this song because it is an excellent cover song of a less-than-spectacular one. All of this is opinion of course. Feeling Good always brings me up when I'm down, and that is what matters. The symbolism in the words is extremely meaningful, as it expresses one's overcoming of obstacles and starting with a "clean slate", if you will. As a creator, I always try to tie the meaning of my creation into my values, ideas, and the things I hold dear. By doing this, the creation is much more meaningful, and it will always make me take pride and satisfaction in my works.

MINECRAFT - Taking the Gaming World by Storm

Minecraft...the creative game developed by Notch, as he is known on the internet, whose real name is Markus Persson has recently exploded with popularity. The simplistic graphics, unlimited terrain, and endless creativity truly create a very satisfying experience for me as I play this game. I enjoy the ability to break down my surroundings (mountains, trees, lakes, deserts, etc.) to build impressive constructs with my friends. The game takes on an absolutely active approach, apposed to a didactic approach. Being a game, this doesn't take form in suggested material or a storyline, but it rather allows the user to be one-hundred percent actively engaged in the construction of their surroundings. This is a great game for anyone who has even the slightest shred of creativity. THEY get to decide exactly what they want to build, whether it be an airplane, fort, forest, or a simple mine deep underground. This game truly represents my passion in building from the ground up when I am creating something. I rarely like building on others' ideas, but rather have a start-from-scratch approach. This game is radically different from any others I have seen thus far, and I plan to develop brand new ideas for video games that I will program in the future.

Trumpet Seniors at Meigs High School

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Introduction

Hi! My name is Ian Bullington and I am a Freshman at Ohio University. My major is Digital Media. I enjoy video games, running, racquetball, and ping pong, among other things. This is my first blog for MDIA 203. I am very glad it is now springtime, and cannot wait until it truly warms up!