David Rendall's Freak Factor Article
This article written by David Rendall is very insightful. Rendall gives 9 really valid suggestions for overcoming weakness. I chose to analyze 3 suggestions that hit closest to home for me.
#5 Foundation: Build On Your Strengths
The point Rendall is making here is to work hard on your strengths.You have the greatest potential to succeed in the areas you are strong, so keep working on those areas and you will have a better chance at success. Your strengths will make up for your weaknesses and eventually make them irrelevant.
I could incorporate this idea into my creative life by focusing strictly on the things I'm good at. For example, I am very good with Photoshop. So instead of trying to get better at Garageband I could simply just focus on Photoshop.
#4 Forget It: Don't Try To Fix Your Weaknesses
What Rendall is trying to say here is working on your weaknesses is a waste of time. No one likes working on their weakness so it is usually painful and slow.
I however don't agree with David here. I believe that we should work on our strengths more then our weaknesses, but I don't think we should completely ignore our weaknesses. Some day we may need to use one of our weaknesses and if we have no experience with it , it will only make us weaker.
#7 Fit: Find the Right Spot
Here Rendall talk about matching talent with roles. He uses the example of Rudolph the red nose reindeer to get his point across. Basically what he is saying is we all have flaws, but we just need to find the right fit for them.
I also agree with this suggestion. I think everyone has someplace where they fit in and we should really look for that place. This could be translated into my creative life by when we worked in groups. Everyone had their own weaknesses and strengths and the key was finding the right combination of people to get that perfect fit where everyone worked well and made good work. I noticed this the most with my first lab partner. We were a perfect fit for each other, we both had ideas and we were able to work them together and shine where the other person couldn't.
When people think of themselves they like to think that they are perfect and that they don't have any flaws. I however have realized over this quarter while taking this class that I actually do have quite a few. My greatest two weaknesses are procrastination and originality. I often procrastinated through out the quarter and spent many late nights finishing up projects. I'm not sure that originality is the right word but I often through out the day come up with good idea, but I will forget to write them down and I eventually end up forgetting them. So when it came to crunch time to finish a project I had no original ideas. Despite the weaknesses I do also have some strengths. I would say my main strength is working well with a group.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
This American Life - Superpowers
This American Life - Superpowers
I found this episode of This American Life to be very interesting. After listening to the first act it really got me thinking about what kind of superpowers I would want. Normally if you were to ask a young kid what kind of superhero or superpowers he would want, it would be an easy answer. However after listening to this it got me thinking deeper and more in depth as to what power I would want.
For me selecting a superpower was hard. I began to think of all the pros and cons of each power and then weighed them against each other. I finally came to the conclusion that my superpower of choice would be shape shifting. The only superhero I know with this power is actually a super villain, and her name is Mystique. I am not particularly drawn to her mainly because she is a villain and probably because she is blue. For me this power would have so many uses.You could obtain almost anything you want. For instance one of the most powerful people in the United States is the president. Being able to shape shift into the president would give you so many benefits. You could easily take the presidents place in office and no one would ever notice. You could run the country however you want and reap the benefits that the president gets. If running the United States isn't your cup of tea you could easily replace any person in the world and benefit from their situations.
I found this episode of This American Life to be very interesting. After listening to the first act it really got me thinking about what kind of superpowers I would want. Normally if you were to ask a young kid what kind of superhero or superpowers he would want, it would be an easy answer. However after listening to this it got me thinking deeper and more in depth as to what power I would want.
For me selecting a superpower was hard. I began to think of all the pros and cons of each power and then weighed them against each other. I finally came to the conclusion that my superpower of choice would be shape shifting. The only superhero I know with this power is actually a super villain, and her name is Mystique. I am not particularly drawn to her mainly because she is a villain and probably because she is blue. For me this power would have so many uses.You could obtain almost anything you want. For instance one of the most powerful people in the United States is the president. Being able to shape shift into the president would give you so many benefits. You could easily take the presidents place in office and no one would ever notice. You could run the country however you want and reap the benefits that the president gets. If running the United States isn't your cup of tea you could easily replace any person in the world and benefit from their situations.
Collapsus Response
Collapsus
Collapsus is a kind of interactive movie/game. It tells a story through video clips and allows you to interact with parts of the story. However, this game for me was kind of a miss. I might have gone into this experience with a little bit of a closed mind but regardless I gave it a fair try. I felt like this idea was very gimmicky and I don't know who the target audience might be. Some of the interactions didn't work on my computer or i couldn't figure out how to do them. I felt like the acting in the videos was very sub-par. However I did enjoy the art style that was used. For me I didn't find the story very interesting and this might have been why I didn't enjoy the game so much.
My work over the quarter with trans-media has not really changed the way I envision my own creative work. But however being a digital media major I can see how it might effect my future work
Collapsus is a kind of interactive movie/game. It tells a story through video clips and allows you to interact with parts of the story. However, this game for me was kind of a miss. I might have gone into this experience with a little bit of a closed mind but regardless I gave it a fair try. I felt like this idea was very gimmicky and I don't know who the target audience might be. Some of the interactions didn't work on my computer or i couldn't figure out how to do them. I felt like the acting in the videos was very sub-par. However I did enjoy the art style that was used. For me I didn't find the story very interesting and this might have been why I didn't enjoy the game so much.
My work over the quarter with trans-media has not really changed the way I envision my own creative work. But however being a digital media major I can see how it might effect my future work
Reflection on Gaming Presentation
I felt that today our gaming presentation went pretty well. However I felt like it was a little unorganized so maybe some people may not have been able to follow what was going on with our story. The main thing driving our game was the story, and Yuxi had a very creative story that I found really interesting. The game is about Lilith who is Lucifer wife. Some of the demons in hell grow jealous of Lilith and put a curse on her that splits her soul into seven pieces. So the goal of the game is to recover the seven pieces of your soul and return to hell to your husband Lucifer. Another weak point might have been the rules. Being that this a game based on real life physics and laws of nature, their are many rules to the game. I think in our presentation we only touched briefly on the rules and we did not go very in depth with them.
I think that mechanics is the hardest things to discuss with others. When you create a game that is like nothing like another game it is hard to compare the mechanics of this game to another. Although the game is considered an RPG we compared the mechanics to Call of Duty because it is pretty well known.
The easiest concept for me to grasp is Objectives. The best way I have found to look at it is that you have many objectives in a game to reach your goal. So for example in our game in order to return home to Lucifer, the goal, you have to complete several objectives which in this case is collecting the 7 pieces of your soul.
I think that mechanics is the hardest things to discuss with others. When you create a game that is like nothing like another game it is hard to compare the mechanics of this game to another. Although the game is considered an RPG we compared the mechanics to Call of Duty because it is pretty well known.
The easiest concept for me to grasp is Objectives. The best way I have found to look at it is that you have many objectives in a game to reach your goal. So for example in our game in order to return home to Lucifer, the goal, you have to complete several objectives which in this case is collecting the 7 pieces of your soul.
Hero / Villian Reflection
Jordan's Hero / Villain
The first Hero/Villain reflection I did was of Jordan’s. Her hero and villain were both brilliantly made. Her hero is a night light and the villain is what looks like a combination of a clown or jester, with a ghost like body with leaves on it. The lighting really created a nice contrast to show you which character symbolized the good guy and which one symbolized the bad guy. Her hero, the night light, is brightly lit to create a positive good mood. On the other hand the Villain is kind of in the shadows and lit very dark giving it an evil feeling.This hero villain combination worked really well for me. Every kid at some point in their life was afraid of the dark and I feel like this was a clever recreation of that stereotype. In Jordan’s animation she also did a really good job demonstrating tension and release. At the beginning the hero is sleeping and then begins to wake up and turn on as the villain starts to appear. The tension is really built as the clown slowly pops up over the side of the bed. The release point is when the night light scares the ghost clown and it begins to make a sad face. Over all Jordan’s hero and villain were really well drawn and had a cool concept driving them.
Cameron's Hero / Villain
The next Hero/Villain I was to reflect on was Cameron's. He only had one of his characters posted so it was little harder to review it. I believe this was the hero and his name was Frat Star. Frat star outfit consists of very light green and yellow hues. I'm not sure if it is because of the scanner but Frat Star appears very bright and saturated. I also found this character funny because it does a good job of playing off the "frat boy" stereotypes. The name Frat Star is kind of a double-entendre. I believe this because the "Star" part of "Frat Star' is poking fun at the often cockiness and negative stereotypes of frat boys and at the same time saying he is a "star" in his own eyes.
Hannah's Blog
Hero/ Villain was not posted
The first Hero/Villain reflection I did was of Jordan’s. Her hero and villain were both brilliantly made. Her hero is a night light and the villain is what looks like a combination of a clown or jester, with a ghost like body with leaves on it. The lighting really created a nice contrast to show you which character symbolized the good guy and which one symbolized the bad guy. Her hero, the night light, is brightly lit to create a positive good mood. On the other hand the Villain is kind of in the shadows and lit very dark giving it an evil feeling.This hero villain combination worked really well for me. Every kid at some point in their life was afraid of the dark and I feel like this was a clever recreation of that stereotype. In Jordan’s animation she also did a really good job demonstrating tension and release. At the beginning the hero is sleeping and then begins to wake up and turn on as the villain starts to appear. The tension is really built as the clown slowly pops up over the side of the bed. The release point is when the night light scares the ghost clown and it begins to make a sad face. Over all Jordan’s hero and villain were really well drawn and had a cool concept driving them.
Cameron's Hero / Villain
The next Hero/Villain I was to reflect on was Cameron's. He only had one of his characters posted so it was little harder to review it. I believe this was the hero and his name was Frat Star. Frat star outfit consists of very light green and yellow hues. I'm not sure if it is because of the scanner but Frat Star appears very bright and saturated. I also found this character funny because it does a good job of playing off the "frat boy" stereotypes. The name Frat Star is kind of a double-entendre. I believe this because the "Star" part of "Frat Star' is poking fun at the often cockiness and negative stereotypes of frat boys and at the same time saying he is a "star" in his own eyes.
Hannah's Blog
Hero/ Villain was not posted
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Reflection of Video Joke
For the video joke assignment my group took two very different approaches. The joke we chose to do was the S.H.I.T. and T.G.I.F. elevator scene. I liked this joke out of all the jokes the best because of its irony. The first script we chose was a spoof of a Hispanic Soap opera and the second rendition we did went for a futuristic robot theme.
The style of most Mexican soap operas come off as very cheesy. In order to recreate this stereotype we had to recreate the same type of rhythm that they use in these programs. We created this rhythm by using quick cuts, close ups and a couple 3 shots. Like most soap operas the close ups give you a sense of how the characters feel and in this case it helped create the tension between the two men in the elevator and eventually the release when the other man figures out that it is only Thursday. Due to the restrictions put on our groups the movement in the Mexican soap opera is very limited. However, there is movement in the point of interest. When the first actor is talking you are focused on him and then when the second actor begins to speak the point of interest moves to him. Also as the two men are having their dialogue the point of interest is also shifted to the girl in the back of the elevator as she gives her reactions.
The next video we did was a black and white short about two robots on an elevator. The rhythm of this video was a lot smoother than the Mexican soap opera version. Being that it was the same joke the representation of tension and release was still there. However I felt like it was better represented in this version because of the long pauses and awkwardness between interactions. The movement in this video was also mostly with points of interest. Since the one character was significantly taller than the other the point of interest shifted from the bottom left to the top right of the screen.
The style of most Mexican soap operas come off as very cheesy. In order to recreate this stereotype we had to recreate the same type of rhythm that they use in these programs. We created this rhythm by using quick cuts, close ups and a couple 3 shots. Like most soap operas the close ups give you a sense of how the characters feel and in this case it helped create the tension between the two men in the elevator and eventually the release when the other man figures out that it is only Thursday. Due to the restrictions put on our groups the movement in the Mexican soap opera is very limited. However, there is movement in the point of interest. When the first actor is talking you are focused on him and then when the second actor begins to speak the point of interest moves to him. Also as the two men are having their dialogue the point of interest is also shifted to the girl in the back of the elevator as she gives her reactions.
The next video we did was a black and white short about two robots on an elevator. The rhythm of this video was a lot smoother than the Mexican soap opera version. Being that it was the same joke the representation of tension and release was still there. However I felt like it was better represented in this version because of the long pauses and awkwardness between interactions. The movement in this video was also mostly with points of interest. Since the one character was significantly taller than the other the point of interest shifted from the bottom left to the top right of the screen.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
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