Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Animation Deconstruction

I will be contrasting the Color and Lighting of these two images.  Both are from Aqua Teen Hunger Force but represent two different styles of art. The first shows them all in the backyard, it is not very sunny outside and the big thing that stands out with a strong saturation is what appears to be a giant floating jukebox. Also the characters that first draw your attention are directly under two lines and are in white, the only two white things in the picture. The bright hue of the jukebox grabs your attention to what is happening in the picture, the other things in the background don’t seem as important because they are blurrier, less colorful and do not have direction lines to lead you to them. In the second picture the core characters are in their living room. The colors are more saturated and focused on shading and detail with in the characters eyes and faces. The brightness of the character in the middle of the room is overbearing and is surrounded by the other two characters who are in a deep saturated red and reddish brown. The shadows of the characters in the second picture are much more detailed, showing what the characters are thinking with having any words in the shot. There is more symbolism in the second picture as well in that the middle character is smiling in white, while the other two are sad and angry and in red.  This connects red to sadness and anger.

            The mood reflected in the first picture shows a kind of surprise because all of the characters are wide eyed and there is lots of what appears to be blood on the two characters that the directional lines point you towards.  The mood in the second picture displays two things: Triumph in the middle character and disturbance in the other two characters.  Possibly the mood is more like  anger and stress and happiness depending on the character, the detail and shading on the face affects the mood of the characters compared to the first picture where the shadows are minor and light; whereas in this picture the characters are all more heavily shaded yet still the hue is bright and the colors are saturated more than the first one. The second picture is heavily shaded, has deeper colors and therefore creates more feelings and mood without depending on extraneous events to create mood, such as blood in the first picture.

Blogger Cassidy and The Storyboard kid

 

 

            While this scene was directed, the director did a really good job with direction and with using the 180 degree rule.  In every scene the camera stayed to the left of the characters as they moved left.  The characters are fleeing to the left away from some unseen aggravation, in this case police. On the second shot they are above the camera and then jump down, and when they pass the camera it changes to the next screen shot that shows them falling from right to left.  This is consistent with the direction, showing that they are not going back the way that they are apparently fleeing from.  If he did this then it would disorientate the viewers. 

            The rule of thirds is also used well. On the opening shot they are far away to the right, then they approach closer and closer until they get as close as they will get and they are in the middle of the shot.  Once there they continue their way to the left and get smaller entering the left third of the screen. Although the next screen the characters both fill the screen, on the third shot the director returns to the rule of thirds. Both the characters once again are in the right third at the top of the screen and as they fall they go to the middle and then a new shot takes place and the characters are on the left, showing their continued movement.  In the last shot they start on the left and it pans with them as they get to the middle of  shot. The camera holds them in the middle although it still has the dolly follow them until they reach the end of the cliff and it zooms out dramatically, still keeping them in the middle third, making it seem as though they have nowhere to go but to the right, from where they were fleeing. This keeps your attention on the characters.

          

          The director also uses the thirty rule, to an extent but not totally. From the first shot to the second shot the camera moves to the left and rotates to the right. The next shot also uses the tendency of the thirty rule for the third shot moving the camera back to the right at least 30% and then keeps that angle for the rest of the shot.

            

          The director does an excellent job following the rules.  This was a major film and the director showcases his talent for building and moving the story through proper camera use.

-Bill Ivan

BUDDY V BUDDY

These are a few songs for the Blog 4 in MDIA 203.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQnHlS_3pRQ

Buddy Guy- I love the life I live

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezMLB4nQlAw&feature=related

Buddy Holly- "Bo Diddley"

 

LISTENING FRAMEWORK for Buddy Guy's "I love the life I live"

LISTENING PHASE 1 

Tempo [slow, medium, fast]                                                

Buddy Guys, “I love the life I live” has a slow tempo.

Source [where is the rhythm coming from?]

The rhythm is created by the drums and the voice of Buddy Guy also creates a rhythm.

Groove [describe how the personality of the rhythm]

The groove of the song is a bluesy beat, that is slow and comes to a peak when Buddy Guy says the main phrase, “I live the life I love and I love the life I live” at the crescendo of the song.  This songs personality is smooth.

LISTENING PHASE 2 (Arrangement)

Instrumentation [which instruments drive the song?]

The guitar and drums drive the song. The vocals are also key in driving the song.

Structure/Organization [how is the song built? Order, patterns, etc.]

The song is structured around the verse, with each one ending with the main phrase. This repeats through the whole song.

Emotional Architecture [Draw how the song build and drop?]

The song builds around the vocals and drops after the main line.

LISTENING PHASE 3 (Sound Quality)

Balance

- Height [high and low of frequency]

The frequency is low throughout the song, the guitar rhythm part is the highest part of the song.

- Width [stereo panning left/right]

The song is not wide and has most things panned in the center.

- Depth [layers of instruments - via loudness]

The vocals and the drums are the main layers and the guitar comes in after the songs shifts verses.

LISTENING FRAMEWORK for Buddy Holly's "Bo Diddley"

LISTENING PHASE 1 (Rhythm)

Tempo [slow, medium, fast]

Buddy Hollys 50’s rocking classic has a medium to fast rhythm. 

Source [where is the rhythm coming from?]

The rhythm is coming from the guitar and drums.

Groove [describe how the personality of the rhythm]

The groove and personality of this song is that it has a classic sound. The song pops up and down and Buddys voice gives it that particular 50’s rock sounds along with the shuffling rhythm guitar.

LISTENING PHASE 2 (Arrangement)

Instrumentation [which instruments drive the song?]

There are a good variety of instruments in the song, the lead guitar and drums along with the shakers/percussion stands out the most.

Structure/Organization [how is the song built? Order, patterns, etc.]

The song is built on a recurring pattern with a burst coming through on guitar and has consistent vocals.  The vocals follow a simple pattern and Buddy uses his voice in a unique pattern.

Emotional Architecture [Draw how the song build and drop?]

LISTENING PHASE 3 (Sound Quality)

Balance

- Height [high and low of frequency]

The song stays in a basic range and occasionally travels up to a higher frequency and then returns to the original range.

- Width [stereo panning left/right]

The song is completely centered and recorded in mono.

- Depth [layers of instruments - via loudness]

The song has good depth and creates the depth with multiple layers of guitar. Although the bass is quieter it still plays an important role.

The two songs I have chosen are “I love the life I live” by Buddy Guy and a song called “Bo Diddley” played by Buddy Holly.  These songs are different genres, as “I love the life I live” is a blues song with mostly vocals and “Bo Diddley” represents early rock and roll. The Buddy Guy song represents a blues song that has a slow, consistent beat. The two songs are comparable in the fact that they are similarly vocally driven and follow a similar vocal pattern.  Early rock and roll songs often had a blues style vocal pattern. The slow guitar playing of Buddy Guy directly contrasts the guitar playing of Buddy Holly that is much faster. Buddy Guys plays with an acoustic guitar that is mic’d whereas Buddy Holly is playing an electric guitar.

            The two songs contrast each other in style and speed.  They both feature full bands and both songs are cover songs.  I would say that each of the songs would be the most popular versions of the each relative song, although it can be argued that Muddy Waters has performed both songs with as much or more renown.  Bo Diddleys original version of the self titled song is also well known. Hollys version is cleaner and well done and Guys version is a little grittier.  Both songs display a sense of deepness and fullness.  Both songs also have the recurring guitar rhythm to back the song but neither guitar is necessarily the featured track on the song, both songs focusing more on the rhythm of drums and vocals.

The guitars are large parts of both songs.  Particularly the bass guitar drives the song from the background.  The vocals on both tracks distort not because of any special effects but merely the way that they change them. These artists specifically are well known for defining their genres, Holly’s Rock and Guy’s Blues, they are both staples in their respective genres. This is because they are unwavering from the things that make those genres.  Holly’s vocals and electric guitar have been attempted to be copied but no one did it better.  Also Buddy Guy’s style of blues is clear and follows the blues pattern to the end and this is what makes him stand out. These two artists both stand out as genre defining and these songs are good examples. I personally enjoy Buddy Guy as an artist more than Buddy Holly, but I would argue that Holly did more for modern rock and roll.  Based on that I would say Buddy Holly because the song has more roots than Guy's bluesy number and I like the rhythm of it. 

-Bill  Ivan