One of Crystal's questions about Shipka's work is about your own experiences with a multi-modal project.
Personally, I had to do a project for a Shakespeare class freshman year, involving designing a web-page sort of thing for a production. What we ended up doing was making a Facebook page, to apply most easily to the students, since Facebook is so popular. We created pictures and wrote on them, in order to refer to the play, and then posted a couple videos of the scenes we'd performed.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Questions
1. Shipka talks about how the choice of particular words/ideas affects what is produced. How do you change your style of writing when you're putting a post on your blog?
2. The project of "Oblivious Ed" was one student's method of pursuing a "cool" project with advice from his peers. If you were going to follow their advice, and create a project based on something you love, what do you think you would try to take from the class?
3. What styles of media do you think you would choose to model your hypothetical project on? More to the point, what specific examples (particular shows, books, etc.) would you like to use as a frame of reference?
2. The project of "Oblivious Ed" was one student's method of pursuing a "cool" project with advice from his peers. If you were going to follow their advice, and create a project based on something you love, what do you think you would try to take from the class?
3. What styles of media do you think you would choose to model your hypothetical project on? More to the point, what specific examples (particular shows, books, etc.) would you like to use as a frame of reference?
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Further Reflections on Slideshow Projects
HK's Slideshow: I took this as a look at the mockery that modern society is. The images of real protests, real struggles against oppression, are contrasted with images of sarcasm and mindless pursuit of fame and fortune. It really hits on the insensitivity of the present.
Dan's Slideshow: The difference between the random and ordered versions of this slideshow was really interesting. Watching the random one first, I had sort of gained the impression that it was about watching the Main Stacks open in the morning, or possibly shut down. Afterward, watching the ordered view, it was more obviously of a person searching through the stacks for a book, but I still had this sense of it being an opening. I liked it, but I felt like some of the blurred images were pointless; at least, I didn't really gain much from them.
Crystal's Slideshow: Honestly, I was a little lost when watching this slideshow. There were a lot of possible topics covered, and I wasn't sure what the theme was (or if there was one). The only things I could think about were the "signs" we're shown in everyday life, that give us contextual clues, but that seemed to blur as the pictures progressed.
Aaron's Slideshow: At first glance, I took this for just a simple walk-along-the-beach sort of narrative, but then I realized that it was really looking at objects in the context of a beach setting. I really liked the different things that were there; it did a good job of highlighting the things you see and take for granted.
Dan's Slideshow: The difference between the random and ordered versions of this slideshow was really interesting. Watching the random one first, I had sort of gained the impression that it was about watching the Main Stacks open in the morning, or possibly shut down. Afterward, watching the ordered view, it was more obviously of a person searching through the stacks for a book, but I still had this sense of it being an opening. I liked it, but I felt like some of the blurred images were pointless; at least, I didn't really gain much from them.
Crystal's Slideshow: Honestly, I was a little lost when watching this slideshow. There were a lot of possible topics covered, and I wasn't sure what the theme was (or if there was one). The only things I could think about were the "signs" we're shown in everyday life, that give us contextual clues, but that seemed to blur as the pictures progressed.
Aaron's Slideshow: At first glance, I took this for just a simple walk-along-the-beach sort of narrative, but then I realized that it was really looking at objects in the context of a beach setting. I really liked the different things that were there; it did a good job of highlighting the things you see and take for granted.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Podcast Analysis
I listened to an episode of “This American Life,” one called “The Cruelty of Children.” There are three passages going on about that subject. One that I noticed, in particular, for its use of sound was a piece of original fiction by Ira Sher called “The Man in the Well.” It tells the story of children speaking to—but never helping—a man trapped in a well. The narrator's voice stays somber throughout, as serious as the subject matter entails; moreover, he has a quality of depth and reflection in his voice and tone. Throughout the telling of the story, very little emotion is ever displayed—only the sad reflection and pauses of a person emphasizing certain events, without necessarily being caught up in them.
Interestingly, the background has a sort of relatively high-pitched tribal-sounding music. I'm not sure what the meaning of that is, but it lent an unearthly quality to the piece, and effectively brought out an eerie sense of funereal dirge that went well with the story. In fact, I think maybe my perception of the narrator as so somber and somewhat sad is that music, which only starts about a minute into the tale.
Interestingly, the background has a sort of relatively high-pitched tribal-sounding music. I'm not sure what the meaning of that is, but it lent an unearthly quality to the piece, and effectively brought out an eerie sense of funereal dirge that went well with the story. In fact, I think maybe my perception of the narrator as so somber and somewhat sad is that music, which only starts about a minute into the tale.
Reflecting on Slideshows
Susmita's Slideshow: I took the slideshow as a narrative of a night playing poker. The clock pictures showed time passing, and the multiple pictures of the chips detailed that this was a big tournament.
Rasheena's Slidesow: This was like an exposition about the different perspectives between an adult and a child; not only is there a size difference, obviously demonstrated by taking pictures of objects before hand and then with both herself and the kid, but also a difference in use. Rasheena drank from the glasses, the toddler played with them. Also, the black-and-white emphasis on the "adult" pictures (that is an awkward phrase) shows a sort of grown-up feel, to me.
Raquel's Slideshow: I was really intrigued by this, because I did something very similar. I take this to be a show of how the city of Champaign, especially the campus area, is constantly updating itself, importing the new at all times.
Megan's Slideshow: I liked the style here, because it seems like an attempt to escape the interior, the inside, and find the way to nature. The exit signs really emphasized a desire to get out, go outside, but I think some of the Allerton Park statues were a little distracting from that, but that's just my take.
Rasheena's Slidesow: This was like an exposition about the different perspectives between an adult and a child; not only is there a size difference, obviously demonstrated by taking pictures of objects before hand and then with both herself and the kid, but also a difference in use. Rasheena drank from the glasses, the toddler played with them. Also, the black-and-white emphasis on the "adult" pictures (that is an awkward phrase) shows a sort of grown-up feel, to me.
Raquel's Slideshow: I was really intrigued by this, because I did something very similar. I take this to be a show of how the city of Champaign, especially the campus area, is constantly updating itself, importing the new at all times.
Megan's Slideshow: I liked the style here, because it seems like an attempt to escape the interior, the inside, and find the way to nature. The exit signs really emphasized a desire to get out, go outside, but I think some of the Allerton Park statues were a little distracting from that, but that's just my take.
Response to Crystal
Crystal's blog today has some interesting questions, especially the third one, about music. It seems to me that we listen to music that captures our mood because it creates an easily expressible outlet for emotions that aren't necessarily easily expressible. When we're upset, over a break-up for example, it's not always easy to think to ourselves about what emotions we're feeling or the situation we're going through; playing music that deals with that situation, however, eases that tension about releasing the emotion, because someone else has already done it.
To me, the idea of expressive music is especially summed up in classical music. The composition "Flight of the Bumblebee" is perfect in this way: there's a busy, high-speed tone to the music, that sums up an expression of industry, of acting quickly.
To me, the idea of expressive music is especially summed up in classical music. The composition "Flight of the Bumblebee" is perfect in this way: there's a busy, high-speed tone to the music, that sums up an expression of industry, of acting quickly.
Questions
1. How do you think, looking at McKee's piece, that sound would have affected your slideshow and pictures? Specifically, what would you have added, in the audio sphere?
2. McKee's piece further mentions work by Van Leeuwen, on page 340, detailing the various aspects of speech (tension, roughness, breathiness, loudness, pitch, and vibrato). Which of these do you think you most utilize consciously? If you listen to someone else speak, which do you think you pay the most attention to?
3. Which plane (sensuous, expressive, and sheerly musical) do you think is the most commonly used?
2. McKee's piece further mentions work by Van Leeuwen, on page 340, detailing the various aspects of speech (tension, roughness, breathiness, loudness, pitch, and vibrato). Which of these do you think you most utilize consciously? If you listen to someone else speak, which do you think you pay the most attention to?
3. Which plane (sensuous, expressive, and sheerly musical) do you think is the most commonly used?
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