KOYAANISQATSI documentary review!

«Koyaanisqatsi» means life out of balance. This documentary is a well photographed series of images captured of nature and man’s impact on the planet. The juxtaposition of the music with the scenic imagery causes confusion. The juxtaposition of the decaying cities and detonations/demolitions with the nature scenes of canyons, waterfalls, vast unsettled uncorrupted land. One of the most striking series of visuals is of the demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe housing project, derelict in fashion. Overpopulation and overcrowding and overstimulation is displayed. Traffic and rushing of people and cars are contrasted with images of natural serenity. The entire film is scored by Philip Glass, containing atmospheric bleeps and discordant melodies and rhythms. The music is awkward, to be completely honest, and gives off a strange and uncomfortable vibe throughout the movie. However, the documentary flows smoothly with majestic scenery and ambience and gorgeous emotion and portrayal. Koyaanisqatsi is strange, beautiful (the images, at least), shocking and (unfortunately to say) not enjoyable at moments. However, shining moments stick out, like when the beautiful skylines are shown. Also, the film seems to try too hard to be haunting, when it is truly confusing in its portrayal of “haunting.” The music is so jaded and dull and even creepy; something more melodic would contribute to the beauty of the video track. Even though the music is what makes the documentary “experimental,” it would be an overall better production if the music actually fit the mood of the differently emotional-charging videos.
The title accurately fits the entire documentary because it means a life out of balance. The videos are unbalanced, with most being strangely colorful. Even though the movie is considered a masterpiece and is listed as one of the great documentaries of all time, it barely seems interesting and catching to this audience.

Even though I have completely mixed feelings about this film, it is all for the viewer to decide

Seventh Blog Post

My next blog post will be about co-writing in music.

Many popular songs have been edited and fixed various times by co-writers. Co-writing helps songs be more spot-on and more polished. Co-writing also helps songs be more professional yet quickly written, so no time is wasted to go ahead into the recording studio. 

at 1:16 they start talking about how Kerli helped write a popular song sung by Demi Lovato, "Skyscraper"

Capture the Fall -- "Late Fall"

I made my Capture the Fall in my front yard and my two side yards. I used a flip camera to film overall 13 separate videoclips, each ranging from 5 to 14 seconds in length. I edited with iMovie, in which I used transitions such as dissolves. I found the music on ccmixter and I used the video stabilizer setting on YouTube.

Sixth Blog Post

This blog post will be about edits on explicit music.
A radio edit for a single typically is a truncated version of the song, and it sometimes means making the song "clean."
If a single is edited with a "clean edit," the original version must have been considered "explicit" or containing dirty lyrics.











The above sign is typically placed on the cover of the single that is "explicit" rated.
Albums and singles can display the Parental Advisory sign.
When the clean edits are made the sticker is gone. On iTunes, downloading an explicit song or album not only includes the Parental Advisory sticker on the cover, but also includes a red box marking explicit lyrics.

the explicit sign above a non-explicit song

however, if an iTunes song is edited from explicit to clean, a gray box will indicate clean

this label exists too, when an album or song (whether it be on iTunes or not) is edited from explicit to clean

Fifth Blog Post

Leaking is a major problem for some, and a stellar opportunity for others. Generally, the artist and their companies find that leaking is a problem, which reduces the want for customers to actually purchase the soon-to-be-realeased ablum. When an ablum is originally leaked, it is leaked in LQ typically first, and then a more quality version. The leaking process is...

The ablum leak is very stressful. It is also practically inevitable. Like the above chart says, the album will always find a way into the customers' hands. The leak is stressful because the artist and the companies have worked hard on keeping the album a secret to-be-revealed present to the fans.

Leaking is also unlawful. The copyrights to the music either belong to the companies or the artist, and therefore the leaker violates a legal right. 

Fourth Blog Post

This blog post will be all about music release. It is always an exciting process for the artist, but mainly the audience. Here is a rough chart of the TYPICAL details of release:

ANNOUNCEMENT >>>>> 1st SINGLE >>>>> 2nd SINGLE OR PROMOTIONAL SINGLES >>>>> CONTINUAL ANNOUNCEMENTS OF ALBUM >>>>> ALBUM RELEASE >>>>> RERELEASE (?)

The hype is usually centered around the pre-album released singles because it is revealing of the best of the album and what is sure to come with the album. High anticipation can result from an artist who is inconsistent with releases or has changed styles. Anticipation is always expected from fans and critics of a certain artist or genre. Universal anticipation arises from international music stars upcoming releases, such as Lady Gaga's or Beyoncé's.

Music rating is also an important aspect of release. Releases are subject to judgment of quality, style, lyrics, overall sound, tempo, originality, and any other musical aspect/component that the reviewer wishes to comment on. Criticism of music is sometimes directed toward artists "losing their style." Losing style means losing uniqueness and individuality in music. Critical acclaim of music represents continuous rave reviews by various critics. Universal acclaim means that there will only be a rare review displaying disapproval.

Taylor Swift's new album was highly anticipated based on two released singles that were almost polar opposite in terms of meaning.
The first single from "Red" was:

...and the second released single (which ended up not being on the album) was:

After Swift's album was released, mixed reviews arrived. Certain critics complimented the change of style, but some did not approve.

This is an example of album process and ratings.

Third Blog Post

For my third blog post, I decided to write about music production and quality.

Music production is a crucial detail of the overall sound of music. Production can be professional or amateur, in which case it is produced at home or by the artist. Music quality is also a very important aspect of the overall sound of music. Many songs are considered of "overproduced"quality, in which dramatic autotune or pitch correction is used and the sound is too perfectionist, which means it is too robotic and lacking emotion. "Raw" music is often considered superior and emotional. If the goal for a song is to be dancey and exciting, more production is usually preferred.

Second Blog post

I have decided to talk about emotional music this week.
After an emotional experience or sadness erupting in life, it is always good to calm and cool down to some slower, softer and more simple music.
In sadness for some people, however, sad or angry music is actually helpful. Relating emotions in musical work helps to connect with such an audience/(audiences)
For some reason, when music connects with the audience, it lessens emotional stress and soothes the audience by basically saying in music "it's alright, a lot of people relate and can understand."

Music and it's impact (intro to music posts)

Now that the assignment for Ms. Cullen and Mr. Mayo is changed, I can make a music blog!

I love music. Even though it is a widely used expression, "music is my life" is accurate for me, to say the least. I write songs, I find inspiration in music of all genres and popularities. I find that most impactful music comes in forms of world and power pop singers who receive attention from international audiences. Impactful music can come in any different form, from a crossover hit that draws attention from wide ranges of audience, no matter what age or genre interests (this year's major crossover hit "Somebody That I Used To Know" is a great example) to songs that stand out because of lyrics (Lady Gaga's hit "Born This Way" comes to mind). Unfortunately, a lot of possibly inspirational and impactful songs such as 2012 songs "Spirit Indestructible" by Nelly Furtado and Ellie Goulding's "Anything Could Happen" or 2007 track "Many Moons" by Janelle Monáe (one of my personal favorites, ever) remain unrecognized and ignored by many listeners. Impactful music is defined differently based on the opinions of different people, but some songs are undeniably powerful to large populations of listeners and become hits regardless of genre. I will be weekly updating this blog on music.

--Joe A.

Dystopian poster

https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1vyulP9B_5xCNF9Vy-cJtqLQm52hSNWzMaG-qP5caBE8/edit

The poster for my project group is currently in progress. The thinking behind it is that creativity is highly disregarded and unappreciated, so it says to keep things normal by demonstrating with a straight line. We are not yet sure whether to put it in our trailer or not.

5x5

1. walked toward hallway
2. look at camera, scared
3.walk slowly further
4. look even more scared
5. slowly walk more

I used a Kodak camera to compose my 5x5. I edited using iMovie, my clips were all originally longer and there was an extra.

I am pleased with the result, I feel like even though it was quickly filmed, it is quality work.

I do not have any ideas for our next project.

Personalized learning assignmenttttt

This article is about the personalization of technology with education and therefore making school easier for any given child. To personalize makes work more interesting because it connects with the specific student and lets them do their thing. School children need to be independent and learn in their own way, that is of their speed, comfort level and interesting for them.

I found it surprising that personalized learning was not already a plan for students until this era. I would think that people would wonder about education for separate students.

"Yes, I think he could. That's not to say that he wouldn't need good teachers to help him make sense of those concepts along the way. But now more than ever, Tucker (along with the rest of us) lives in a moment when personalizing the learning experience is not just a possibility—it's almost an expectation. We personalize our playlists through Rhapsody and iTunes, our reading through Amazon and Twitter, and our search results on Google and Bing."

I think that personalized learning IS important because every student needs to have an education adapted to their needs and I think in our class, the blog is a good idea to explore our own individual interests in our own blogs.

I would like to learn more about connected/personalized learning.

my link

Dystopian Trailer Critique - Ms Fillman

Gattaca . Andrew Niccol . PG-13 . 1997

In the future, genetic makeup determines everyone's specific role in society, but Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) does not qualify genetically to be an astronaut.  When he finds a way to circumvent the system, police start investigating his secret. 

http://youtu.be/ZppWok6SX88

      This trailer succeeds because the director provides dystopian elements of a scientifically manipulated society in the future, where the individual is at the mercy of the state.  Each person's fate is predetermined by DNA, and everyone is born into a specific social class based on his or her genetic code.  The dystopian element in the trailer is conveyed by the groups of people acting in unison and dressed uniformly, creating the impression that they are components of a machine, lacking free will and identity.  The protagonist's dilemma is clear as he works to overcome his classification and escape his assigned role.  The director flashes a series of images on the screen that convey the scientific tyranny of the society.  The narration accompanying the trailer raises questions to instill anxiety and suspense in the audience about the uncontrollable nature of Gattaca.   

      In my own dystopian trailer, the cacophony of background battle sounds and martial music, along with archival footage of soldiers marching will suggest the horrific nature of the story.

SOooooo o.o

for the movie review, we should be able to pick from a provided list of movies or on own own because we could have a hard time finding movies. oh yeah AND we need to clear up EXACTLY what color highlight=what it represents. that is all.

Hey

Look...it's me. I so pretty. Like yeah. #AINTNOBODYGOTTIMEFORTHAT

First post

Hey!! My name is Joe! I enjoy editing on iMovie and filming outdoors. In the past, I enjoyed certain filming projects last school year including the "News Opens" and the media interdisciplinary. My roles in these projects were filming, editing and acting most of the time. Sometimes I help write the script and storyboard. I enjoy media a lot because I think it is interesting.

My blog can be a tool for:

• My change project on music
• Any media-based project in CAP
• Updating about myself or CAP itself for me