I remember when I was younger, my dad used to listen to the radio when he went to bed. Sometimes I would creep into his bed at night and listen to it. Twilight Zone was always on at 11 pm. I found it captivating, and in the darkness with the amazing sound effects, I could visualize each scene perfectly. And although at my young age each program would leave me scared and unable to sleep, I thought they were so cool to listen to.
For this class, I listened to the old time radio program, "The Man Who Was Tomorrow." It is a science fiction show that was very similar to Charles Dickens' Cristmas Carol in that a man was shown his future in order to get him to change his ways. In this program, a man broke up with his girlfriend and thought nothing of it but the man who was tomorrow talked to him and showed him that this girl was his future and by being with her he would have an amazing life. The man then got back with her to have a happy life.
I thought this form of entertainment was very cool. There were amazing sound effects that made the "action" seem real even though there were no visuals. The voices were really good too and each actor conveyed the correct emotion very well.
Overall, I thought this was an amazing radio show. I really enjoyed it and I can see why people used to listen to these all the time. You can have your hands and eyes free while having some good entertainment. While reading a book, you have to look at it and use your hands to hold it, and with the TV you have to look at it. However, with radio you can do just about anything and have great entertainment.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Pandora and Spotify
I use both Pandora and Spotify regularly and love and hate them both. I love the aspect of Pandora where I can choose one song or artist and the website creates an ongoing playlists similar songs. I really enjoy how I can stumble upon songs that I have never heard of before but like. I have even made playlists based on new artists that I have discovered from Pandora. It is amazing how the playlists can be even more fine tuned by me "thumbs-up/down-ing" the song.
I use pandora a lot when I want a very specific genre of music. For example, Pandora can create a playlist of just Disney songs or just songs from Les Miserables if I type in a playlist based on Tarzan or the famous musical. I can make it even more specific by typing in a certain performance. I have two Les Miserables playlists; one "Les Miserables (Original London Cast)" and another "Les Miserables (2010 Cast)." Both of these playlists give me music that is mostly from that album. I use Pandora a lot when I am painting or creating an artwork. I love to listen to film score when I paint, so I usually listen to score from How to Train Your Dragon or Lord of the Rings.
I do really love Pandora, but I really don't like how I cannot pick a specific song. In Spotify though, I can. In fact, I can skip around from song to song often. The downside of this is that I need to find a particular playlist that has these songs, but the good side is that you can see all the songs available and choose them. Spotify has many pre-made and good playlists that I like to listen to. I can also choose a playlist based on my mood. I listen to Spotify a lot when I go for runs. I really like the playlist "Songs to Sing in the Shower," which I listen to when I run. It is just a compilation of songs that make you happy and can sing along to.
I use pandora a lot when I want a very specific genre of music. For example, Pandora can create a playlist of just Disney songs or just songs from Les Miserables if I type in a playlist based on Tarzan or the famous musical. I can make it even more specific by typing in a certain performance. I have two Les Miserables playlists; one "Les Miserables (Original London Cast)" and another "Les Miserables (2010 Cast)." Both of these playlists give me music that is mostly from that album. I use Pandora a lot when I am painting or creating an artwork. I love to listen to film score when I paint, so I usually listen to score from How to Train Your Dragon or Lord of the Rings.
I do really love Pandora, but I really don't like how I cannot pick a specific song. In Spotify though, I can. In fact, I can skip around from song to song often. The downside of this is that I need to find a particular playlist that has these songs, but the good side is that you can see all the songs available and choose them. Spotify has many pre-made and good playlists that I like to listen to. I can also choose a playlist based on my mood. I listen to Spotify a lot when I go for runs. I really like the playlist "Songs to Sing in the Shower," which I listen to when I run. It is just a compilation of songs that make you happy and can sing along to.
Monday, February 16, 2015
Modern Lartigue
I was on tumblr today and I saw this picture of Skrillex that was featured in Time magazine. It reminded me of one of Jacques-Henri Lartigue's jumping photographs that we learned about in class a few weeks ago. It is awesome how Lartigue's style is still utilized today.
While I'm on this subject, Lartigue's photo also reminds me on one of Edward Gorey's works. I hope we talk about him in class. He's one of my favorites!
While I'm on this subject, Lartigue's photo also reminds me on one of Edward Gorey's works. I hope we talk about him in class. He's one of my favorites!
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Honeymooners
I recently watched "The Man From Space," a funny episode from the show Honeymooners. This episode brought back memories of when I was a kid and watching this show with my dad, as it is one of his favorites. It is very interesting watching it now with a different perspective. Although I haven't seen that particular episode before, it is still similar to all the other episodes I have seen.
In this particular episode, the main character, Ralph wants to win best costume at the annual costume party to win money. He and his best-friend-turned-rival, Norton, come up with the same plan of buying a professional costume to win; however, Ralph does not get permission to borrow $10 from his wife to buy a costume so he is forced to make one himself. Using random objects from around the house he creates a garbage costume that only he recognizes as the man from space. At the costume party, his Norton is unable to show because a plumbing emergency calls him to work, so Ralph becomes one of the finalists in the contest. Just as he is about to win best costume as a pin-ball machine, Norton suddenly enters in his work uniform, consisting of a gas mask and rubber pants and boots, and ends up winning best costume as the man from outer space.
This is such a great show because it is filmed in front of a live audience, so there is a genuine "laugh track." The jokes are classic and actually funny; some are even improvised. This show probably inspired many other modern shows because today's comedy TV consists of the same elements: a not-so-smart main character with a feisty wife and a comical best friend. Countless shows use these old ones as reference, as technology changes and brings color and HD to our screens, because the entertainment of the Honeymooners and other classic TV shows is timeless.
In this particular episode, the main character, Ralph wants to win best costume at the annual costume party to win money. He and his best-friend-turned-rival, Norton, come up with the same plan of buying a professional costume to win; however, Ralph does not get permission to borrow $10 from his wife to buy a costume so he is forced to make one himself. Using random objects from around the house he creates a garbage costume that only he recognizes as the man from space. At the costume party, his Norton is unable to show because a plumbing emergency calls him to work, so Ralph becomes one of the finalists in the contest. Just as he is about to win best costume as a pin-ball machine, Norton suddenly enters in his work uniform, consisting of a gas mask and rubber pants and boots, and ends up winning best costume as the man from outer space.
This is such a great show because it is filmed in front of a live audience, so there is a genuine "laugh track." The jokes are classic and actually funny; some are even improvised. This show probably inspired many other modern shows because today's comedy TV consists of the same elements: a not-so-smart main character with a feisty wife and a comical best friend. Countless shows use these old ones as reference, as technology changes and brings color and HD to our screens, because the entertainment of the Honeymooners and other classic TV shows is timeless.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
How Disney Made Snow White
The video about how Walt Disney made Snow White was very enlightening. I had no idea, nor did I even think about how much work it takes to make an animated movie. I thought it was really cool how the artists used layers to change the scene and move it along and to keep the background scenery and still have characters moving around. This clip made me appreciate animations a lot more. The narrator mentions that there was more than 250,000 slides and it took over .5 million shots to get each scene flowing perfectly. I think everyone just did a splendid job on this movie and it makes me want to watch it again.
I do have to mention that I thought it was hilarious how the narrator was talking about the conditions that the pretty female painters and tracers were working in (comfortable, air conditioned, etc.). I thought that was an unnecessary detail that sounded like one of those farmers that talks about the treatment he gives his livestock! That segment was probably not thought of as rude and sexist at the time, but he just seemed to be looking down on women's jobs.
I do have to mention that I thought it was hilarious how the narrator was talking about the conditions that the pretty female painters and tracers were working in (comfortable, air conditioned, etc.). I thought that was an unnecessary detail that sounded like one of those farmers that talks about the treatment he gives his livestock! That segment was probably not thought of as rude and sexist at the time, but he just seemed to be looking down on women's jobs.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Le Voyage dans la Lune
The Trip to the Moon (1902) by Georges Melies was excellent! The set design was so good. It was very intricate and detailed, which made the lunar land of Melies so much more enjoyable to see. The background paintings looked very realistic, and some of the set even moved. The mountains on the moon as well as the earth moved down. Also, the editing was excellent. You could tell that the film strips were cut and pasted back together, but it was not a big difference, so it looked natural. It was also really cool how they were able to overlap scenes, for example around 8:10, when they were on the moon, the women on the stars and crescent moons were not on the same film, but they overlapped. My favorite parts were when the lunar travelers returned to earth, they landed in a fish tank! That was really clever to film an underwater scene in a fish tank. Also, you got to love the iconic scene where the moon has a bullet in his eye. Overall, the film was really cute and it look very fun to make. Melies probably really enjoyed making this.
The Great Train Robbery
The Great Train Robbery is a short ten minute film by Edwin Porter in 1903. It is a silent film with no subtitles, but there is music in the background that I think was added a while after the film was made. I thought this mini-movie was interesting because there was not much cinematography; there was no camera movement, only scene change. This made the film seem like the action was on stage like a play.
The makers of the movie colored some of the character's clothes, like the little girl and the dancing women. This might have been added to represent the good people from the bad people. The robbers wore black, while the good women and little girl stood out because they were beautifully colored. Also, some of the explosions were painted, especially the gun shooting. This made the action seem more dramatic because the shots stood out more.
At around 3:10, the guy on the train changed to a mannequin, which I didn't really catch at first, but I knew that he was fake because they threw a limp body off the train. They did a pretty good job editing for that part. I'm pretty sure the original viewers thought it was real.
The viewers in the 1900s probably thought the gun shot at the very end was real too. They must have reacted similar to the short clip of the train in the station, where the viewers thought they were going to get run over by a train.
Compared to modern film, this lacked a lot of action and a good story line, but I'm sure the people of the 1900s really enjoyed it. The makers did a good job with the tools they had.
The makers of the movie colored some of the character's clothes, like the little girl and the dancing women. This might have been added to represent the good people from the bad people. The robbers wore black, while the good women and little girl stood out because they were beautifully colored. Also, some of the explosions were painted, especially the gun shooting. This made the action seem more dramatic because the shots stood out more.
At around 3:10, the guy on the train changed to a mannequin, which I didn't really catch at first, but I knew that he was fake because they threw a limp body off the train. They did a pretty good job editing for that part. I'm pretty sure the original viewers thought it was real.
The viewers in the 1900s probably thought the gun shot at the very end was real too. They must have reacted similar to the short clip of the train in the station, where the viewers thought they were going to get run over by a train.
Compared to modern film, this lacked a lot of action and a good story line, but I'm sure the people of the 1900s really enjoyed it. The makers did a good job with the tools they had.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Die Zauberflote
I watched the opera Die Zauberflote by Mozart which was done really well in a colorful and beautiful way in 2006 at the Salzburg Festival. I decided to watch this opera because the Queen of the Night seemed really cool. I ended up to enjoy this opera very much.
Mozart's music is very nice. I especially love the Queen of the Night's solo, and the bird guy, Papageno's main theme song (which has been stuck in my head for two days now). I thought it was really interesting how the characters had their own theme song, for example, whenever Papageno came on, his little flute music would play. At times, though, the music did get boring. Many times the singer would repeat what s/he said multiple times as well as draw out a sentence for a few minutes. I wanted to tell the singers to get on with it a few times. I think the point of the repetition is to show how much whatever they are saying is in their thoughts, or because it is something really important. It is strange though how a character can sing for 7-10 minutes and say around 5 sentences. In today's musicals and films a character's thoughts can be conveyed in a 3 minute song or less.
I also liked how this opera was a love story and not a tragedy. I agree with Mozart on his notion that people enjoy watching things with a happy ending. This was a story where two main characters actually found their soul mates.
As much as I enjoyed this opera, I hated it at some parts. Most of the characters were sexist towards woman and thought that only men were strong and brave and woman were just there to look pretty and start a family. Tamino, the main character, had to go on a whole journey just to prove he was manly enough. It just really annoyed me that they made women seem weak and incapable of doing anything, while portrayed men as strong and earning and possessing women. The opera was also racist when there was the only black character (portrayed by a white man and looking like a Black Face) portraying the ugly and unwanted moor that stole the main character Pamina away. I'm fine with a black character, but they made him an ugly villain in this opera.
On the contrary, this opera was excellent because there was a lot of cool technology involved. There were flying birds and an airplane of three boys. There was also a giant monster. At the end, there was a fountain with both water and fire coming out! I was amazed that the fire did not extinguish. The coolest fire part was towards the end when some of the guards had fire coming out of their helmets. It was not fake blowing orange paper either, it was real fire. It looked amazing, and all the fire and flying gave the opera more of a reason to keep watching. Another thing that caught my eye was the costumes. The Queen of the Night had the most beautiful dresses, especially the green one she wore in her solo. I liked Papageno and Papagena's look too. It was interesting how they had messy dreadlocks and raggedy clothes. I thought each character's outfits matched their personality perfectly.
Overall, this opera was really good and entertaining. I didn't think i would enjoy opera, but I am thinking of maybe watching another one sometime because I really enjoyed this one.
Mozart's music is very nice. I especially love the Queen of the Night's solo, and the bird guy, Papageno's main theme song (which has been stuck in my head for two days now). I thought it was really interesting how the characters had their own theme song, for example, whenever Papageno came on, his little flute music would play. At times, though, the music did get boring. Many times the singer would repeat what s/he said multiple times as well as draw out a sentence for a few minutes. I wanted to tell the singers to get on with it a few times. I think the point of the repetition is to show how much whatever they are saying is in their thoughts, or because it is something really important. It is strange though how a character can sing for 7-10 minutes and say around 5 sentences. In today's musicals and films a character's thoughts can be conveyed in a 3 minute song or less.
I also liked how this opera was a love story and not a tragedy. I agree with Mozart on his notion that people enjoy watching things with a happy ending. This was a story where two main characters actually found their soul mates.
As much as I enjoyed this opera, I hated it at some parts. Most of the characters were sexist towards woman and thought that only men were strong and brave and woman were just there to look pretty and start a family. Tamino, the main character, had to go on a whole journey just to prove he was manly enough. It just really annoyed me that they made women seem weak and incapable of doing anything, while portrayed men as strong and earning and possessing women. The opera was also racist when there was the only black character (portrayed by a white man and looking like a Black Face) portraying the ugly and unwanted moor that stole the main character Pamina away. I'm fine with a black character, but they made him an ugly villain in this opera.
On the contrary, this opera was excellent because there was a lot of cool technology involved. There were flying birds and an airplane of three boys. There was also a giant monster. At the end, there was a fountain with both water and fire coming out! I was amazed that the fire did not extinguish. The coolest fire part was towards the end when some of the guards had fire coming out of their helmets. It was not fake blowing orange paper either, it was real fire. It looked amazing, and all the fire and flying gave the opera more of a reason to keep watching. Another thing that caught my eye was the costumes. The Queen of the Night had the most beautiful dresses, especially the green one she wore in her solo. I liked Papageno and Papagena's look too. It was interesting how they had messy dreadlocks and raggedy clothes. I thought each character's outfits matched their personality perfectly.
Overall, this opera was really good and entertaining. I didn't think i would enjoy opera, but I am thinking of maybe watching another one sometime because I really enjoyed this one.
Pjotr Sapegin's Madama Butterfly
This video was beautiful. It is a stop-motion animation with the score from the opera Madama Butterfly by Giacommo Puccini. I thought the stop-motion choice was perfect in this short film. If the clip was made with real people, it would look cliche and some of the effects (like how the women and her daughter were flying and the woman taking herself apart) would not be possible. Also, a cartoon or drawing would not be as interesting to look at. This clip is successful because its art is so interesting to look at you cannot take your eyes off of it.
I loved the part when the woman had her baby. There was just a glass sphere for her swollen stomach and then the glass breaks and a fish flows out when she has her baby. I thought that was so cool because it was such a creative idea to show her having a baby through a breaking marble rather than the standard way.
Another one of my favorite parts was at the ending when the woman was so distraught that she took herself apart and became a butterfly. The music and the way she unmade herself conveyed her emotions perfectly because the love of her life and his girlfriend took her daughter away, so all she wanted to do was whither away. The ending was hopeful, though, because she ended up changing into a butterfly.
I think the whole meaning behind this short film is that change can be good, even though it may hurt. Change turned the woman's new-born fish into a wonderful daughter, change made the woman love the man more when she waited for him, and finally, the change of the man's heart compelled the woman to morph into a beautiful butterfly.
I loved the part when the woman had her baby. There was just a glass sphere for her swollen stomach and then the glass breaks and a fish flows out when she has her baby. I thought that was so cool because it was such a creative idea to show her having a baby through a breaking marble rather than the standard way.
Another one of my favorite parts was at the ending when the woman was so distraught that she took herself apart and became a butterfly. The music and the way she unmade herself conveyed her emotions perfectly because the love of her life and his girlfriend took her daughter away, so all she wanted to do was whither away. The ending was hopeful, though, because she ended up changing into a butterfly.
I think the whole meaning behind this short film is that change can be good, even though it may hurt. Change turned the woman's new-born fish into a wonderful daughter, change made the woman love the man more when she waited for him, and finally, the change of the man's heart compelled the woman to morph into a beautiful butterfly.
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