Working alone, or working in a group?

I think that working alone and working in a group are equally challenging. Finding which one works better for you really depends on the type of personality you have. I tend to be more of an introvert so working alone doesn't bother me at all. I like to be in control of everything, but I'm not a control freak (I swear). When working alone you don't have to worry about pleasing anyone else, and when you don't have to please anyone else you don't have to worry about letting anyone else down but yourself. You also don't have to worry about other group members not pulling their weight.
Now this is not to say that working in a group doesn't have its advantages. It surely does. Group work, especially when working in a big project, makes the task a lot easier. You can divide up the work among the members so you're not trying to do everything yourself. You also have a bigger variety of ideas and knowledge to draw from. Learning how to work in a group is an important life lesson. You won't be successful in anything in life if you don't know how to compromise.

Id, Ego, Superego

If our blogs were the id section of Sigmund Freud's theory of the psyche, then they would definitely be a lot less "polished". Freud classifies the id as the area that contains basic human needs and impulses. The id does not worry about anything other than instant gratification. For the most part, the id is something that humans try to suppress. If our blogs were made up of strictly the id part of us, then they would be a lot more impulsive, without much thought for the repercussions of what we might be writing. They would simply be an example of whatever we were thinking in the moment. Tumblr is more like the id. Its full of basic human needs. You don't have to search very hard on Tumblr to find something to do with food or sex.
 The ego however, represents what may be called reason and common sense, in contrast to the id, which contains the passions. If our blogs were made up of the ego part of us, they would still be about fulfilling what you need, however the content would be a little more polite. Those basic human impulses would be a little more managed.

Martha Graham- my reaction

Due to my incredibly artistic semester I've been exposed to a lot of new artists. My appreciation for art of all types has really exploded. Up until this year I've only really been exposed to the "old masters" of art, and I had almost no idea about artists in the 20th and 21st centuries. There are so many ground breaking artists who have done amazing things in the last 100 years. In class we learned about Martha Graham and her work with modern dance. I have to say I was a little skeptical at first. Her dances have a lot going on. Because I was so confused by her work, I went out of my way to expose myself to more of it. I decided to look at her work with a more open mind. Okay first of all, the sheer athleticism of her dancers is amazing. That is something to be admired at in itself. But the way she really captures emotion through movement is beautiful. It may seem a bit confusing at first but when you actually think about why she chose choreographed each movement, it seems to all make sense. Take this clip for example;

This dance is called Lamentation. I'll admit that I had to look up what lamentation meant.  To lament is a passionate expression of grief. Knowing that definition, you can absolutely see thats why Martha is trying to express through her dancing. Its chilling.

I admire her for breaking the norm of what dance is expected to be. Her vision has changed dance forever. 

POV/Duration Assignment - We Don't Belong In The Wild

I am extremely pleased with the way my video We Don't Belong In The Wild turned out! In the beginning, I was extremely intimidated by this project. I think my group really struggled with trying to narrow down one idea. We definitely didn't lack creativity, ideas were flowing, but trying to figure out what one would really work for us took longer than any of us expected.

Narrowing down an idea was really the only part we struggled with however. We had really similar ideas when it came to filming. Despite my being away for a large portion of this project (thank goodness for my amazing and understanding group members) on the day of filming things went pretty smoothly. Shout out to Rachel Leers, who is a natural at filming and editing, and Jessie our oh so cooperative wolf. I've never been a fan of filming videos but after this project I've completely changed my mind. I really enjoyed it and would definitely do it again. I'm not much of a techy, so the editing part does't appeal to me. But I loved being in front of the camera. The thing I loved most was coordinating props and costumes and scoping out settings. I would love to do this more (hmmm... possible career idea?) I love focusing on the small details. I think having an eye for detail is the key to success in anything in life, especially in the creative process.

As for content, I think we really did a great job. Our video was our own twist on a classic fairy tale. I think our attention to detail was great. Rachel's editing was spot on. Her use of the hazy filter was was perfect for the dreamy fairy tale feel. As for costumes and props, they helped give our video timelessness. After all, aren't fair tales timeless? Instead of focusing on duration as "a set amount of time", we focused on  the aspect of "how long something lasts". We wanted to make our video feel timeless and classic.

In the future, I would like to practice more of the editing side of things. I think I've always kind of avoided editing because I never thought I would be good at it. But I want to make a conscious effort to try it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KrfgpGJLgk

STRESSSS

I'm so out of inspiration. I have so much work to do but I just can't come up with any ideas for any of it. This is one of the most frustrating feelings ever. Sometimes lack of inspiration is perceived as laziness, but its not. I'm just stuck in a rut. Summer could not come fast enough...

Nakida Catches the Light; My best shot

After many unsuccessful attempts to catch her in the air I suddenly stumbled upon this shot. I love this shot because of the lines she created with her body, the framing of the light behind her, and of course the way it looks like she is throwing or catching a ball of light. Through the off centre position of her body and the long stretching lines it created you can definitely tell she is moving. It looks like she is gracefully guiding a ball of light across the stage. It reminds me of the star, and Nakida is the centre in which is moves around. I like how you can only see her silhouette and not defined features. This is created by the large amounts of back lighting. The glowing behind her frames her shape beautifully. The only thing I would change about this picture is that I didn't get her feet in. Although this shot was a bit of a happy accident I am really happy with the way it turned out :)

Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" - Assignment

#1) This section of screenplay is almost identical to the finished movie. This demonstrates that Hitchcock had a very clear vision of what he wanted even before they started filming. It shows how much detail and planning went into every minute of the movie. The choice of music adds the the suspense of the scene. It reinforces the fact that something bad is about to happen. If Hitchcock had kept the camera stationary while filming the suspense would have been lost. If someone who had never seen any other part of that movie watched that clip they would know that Lila sneaking off to meet some sort of impending danger. Change the camera work and they might just see a girl walking up to a house.

LONG SHOT- NIGHT
The Bates house standing against the night sky.

CLOSE UP
Shadowy profile of Arbogast against side of motel.

LONG SHOT
Arbogast begins to climb stairs of Bates house, slows when reaches top.

LONG SHOT
Arbogast reaches creeps up to porch, glances back, then opens front door.

CLOSE UP
Filmed from inside of house, Arbogast enters through front door then stops.

LONG SHOT
View of the vacant Bates front hallway/staircase.

CLOSE UP
Arbogast closes front door, walks past camera.

#2) Shower Scene

1. From underneath shower head
2. Underneath shower head looking up at running water
3. Underneath shower head
4. From the nearest side of the shower (where shower curtain would be)
5. From war wall opposite shower curtain
6. From middle of tub
7. Back to same side as shower curtain
8. From the shower drain looking up (under shower head)
9. Back to same side as shower curtain
10. From far wall opposite shower curtain
11. Birds eye view from wall opposite shower head looking down on shower
12. Middle of shower
13. Shower curtain side looking down at Marion's feet
14. From shower looking into open door leading to Marion's room
15. Inside shower closely facing far wall
16. Shower curtain side
17. Birdseye view from shower head side
18. Inside shower looking up at shower curtain
19. From floor opposite toilet
20. Inside shower looking up at shower head

The camera crew would have first had to deal with fitting an entire film crew into such a tine space. The would have had to build the set with moving pieces so they could fit the camera in and get shots from different angles of the shower while still leaving enough room for the actors. While filming at those different angles they would have had to make sure they didn't get any shots of Marion in the nude. They also would have had to worry about the camera equipment getting wet and damaged. 

#3) First off the music helps to build the suspense leading up to the stabbing. As the pitch gets higher and speeds up the suspense intensifies. The high pitched shrieking sounds also correspond with the short choppy stabbing motion and help understand what is being implied since Hitchcock couldn't actually show it. 

#4) Character Emotions

1. Money on the bed

-feel guilty

2. Marion sees her boss

-feel guilty

-feel worried

3. Marion's view of police man

-feel uncomfortable

-feel like our actions are being scrutinized

4. Norman's peephole view

-fell the scandal of Norman watching Marion in private

-notice her beauty

5. Norman's view of newspaper

-feel the continued guilt because the audience know's what is hidden in that paper

6. Norman's view of car failing to sink

-wonder for a moment what Norman will do if car won't sink

-will this lead him to be caught for his actions?

-watch all the evidence of the crime slip away

7. Lila's view of Mrs Bates' bed

-assume its Mrs Bates' bed

-audience wonders if this is a proof that Mrs Bates is real

8. Lila's view of Mrs Bates

-creepy setting

-wonder why she's not moving

-could this be the real Mrs Bates?