Patton

            The movie Patton (1970) is a World War 2 movie from the perspective of General Patton. The scene chosen does get more action later on, but we will cover the first 5 shots where the men are discussing air supremacy. The 3 rules of filmmaking were followed. These rules are the 180 degree rule, Rule of Thirds, and 30 Rule.

            This scene follows the 180 degree rule closely by establishing a very obvious line between Patton and the further gentleman. The camera proceeds, never crossing that line in the scene while in the room. The camera does move around quite a bit, but it never crosses the line established at the beginning of the scene.

            The rule of thirds was broken somewhat. In the first 3 shots, one can easily see that the points of interest, on the man talking about air support and on Patton, are indeed on the intersections of the 1/3 dividing lines, which is what the rule of thirds is all about. But the last 2 shots are not exactly on the intersections. Rather, the points of interest are closer to the center of the screen than what the rule of thirds would tell us. But the points are still off center and make sense. Putting the actors too far over would seem odd, since they are the only things on screen that are interesting and dynamic. Therefore, the actors are placed closer to the center (but not exactly) to keep this odd shot from occurring.

            The 30 rule means that to avoid a jump cut, the camera must cut at least 30 degrees or 30%. This was strictly followed in this scene. The 30 degree variant was used more, cutting from establishing shot to close to the 180 degree line, then to the opposite side, not crossing the 180 line, then cut to face away from 180 line, then cut back to Patton. The zoom variant was not needed, since the angle of the camera covered the 30 rule already.

Brendan and the Secret of Kells

Brendan and the Secret of Kells is a beautiful animated film, combining advanced animation techniques with Gaelic art style. The theme is a children’s story (also ft for adults) that shows that with enough effort, anything is possible. This story is told actively for anyone who does not speak Gaelic. Even then, symbolism is hard to keep up with. The scene shown has lyrics that foreshadow the later events, (in Gaelic) but still show subtle hints visually. The story is not told directly.

The shapes in this movie are based heavily on geometric designs, exactly like shapes in Gaelic symbols. These simple shapes also have appeal to younger children. The simplicity is easy to follow, since the characters generally stand out from the background, and sometimes many characters make a new shape. The symbolism that is within and around these shapes appeals to adults. For example, the window Aisling climbs to has a distinct shape, which becomes a theme in the scene. The bed and door have this same shape. This affinity helps to tie the scene together better for adults looking into the symbolism of the movie, as there is an incredible amount of it (cannot catch everything even in second watching). The movement in this movie is also very interesting. The animators utilized the classic animation techniques, like follow through and weight. The execution, however, fits in very well with the art style. For example, Aisling suddenly appears near the beginning, but her hair continues moving. Or when she jumps down, her hair spreads out to the exact width of the window, which was a small detail that fits in perfectly with the art. Most of this is consciously noted, but many small details like this pass unnoticed, but are picked up subconsciously. These small details really are what make this movie so beautiful, and the scenes flow very nicely.

Animation Lighting and Physics

The two images I have selected are both from the movie Wall-E. The first image, where Wall-E is playing with a paddleball, is from the beginning of the movie, and the second image, where he is in the escape pod, is about halfway in.

            The first scene is on earth, which is a post-apocalyptic world full of pollution, and Wall-E is the only remaining robot operating, still cleaning up. The scene is set outdoors, in broad daylight. The lighting is yellow, with some red. The source is the sun, so all the angles for the shadows are the same, due to the parallel rays. The color of the light, combined with the constant haze in the background show that there is a lot of pollution. It looks like a smoggy day, but much worse. Wall-E does not stand out very well, due to being in this environment for 700 years, so this is normal and the mood is calm.

            The second scene is in space, more specifically, an escape pod launching. The lighting here is very blue, from multiple sources. This lighting is very similar to what high tech devices, fluorescent bulbs, and LED’s emit. The stark contrast between Wall-E and the pod show that he does not belong in this environment. The mood is stressful, since this is not lighting that one would normally encounter.

            The movement for each of the scenes is accurate to what would happen in reality. In the case of the first, Wall-E sinks a little into the dirt, and when he moves in response to the paddleball, he has inertia, so it takes a moment to start moving, and when he does, other parts move as a reaction. While doing this, he is overlapping this action by continuing to move his hand and play with the paddleball. The second scene shows Wall-E pinned against the door while the escape pod is accelerating. Since he was not strapped down, Wall-E was thrown against the door, a phenomenon that can be seen riding in a car. Once the pod stops accelerating, Wall-E falls to the floor.

Music Comparison

I'm the Scatman

Scatman's World

Scatman John is a late artist that combined techno and jazz ‘scat’ (quickly pronouncing meaningless syllables) I chose to compare “I’m the Scatman” and “Scatman’s World”. The lyrics for the songs are both inspirational; I’m the Scatman talks about how everyone stutters in some way, but if you keep going it looks like nothing ever happened. Scatman’s World talks about the world and how people can make it a better place. Both songs use repetition and frequent segments of scatting.

            The melody for the songs are somewhat similar. I’m the Scatman spoken more than sung, though at a very fast pace. Scatman’s World does have some parts that are spoken, but mostly it is singing. The range is wider on Scatman’s World, and there is a key change near the end, while I’m the Scatman does not. The instrumentation for both is from techno of the time; basic midi instruments, drums, bass, etc. This was revolutionary at the time, as nobody would have considered putting the good old jazz in with new electronic music.

            The rhythm of the songs is based in jazz. There is a lot of syncopation all over the score, and a lot of off beats in the bass. Yet the instruments do feel like early techno. It is an interesting combination.

The intensity is the same for both songs; driving and fairly loud throughout. The pitch, however is different. The basic key for Scatman’s World is higher than it is for “I’m the Scatman”, and the key change makes it go even higher, at least for the sung parts. The spoken phrases are similar in pitch.

            The timbre of the songs is also similar. The spoken lyrics have a slight grumble to them, and the sung parts are clear and loud. The instruments are early techno instruments, so they can be compared to basic midi instruments.

            Finally, the speed of “I’m the Scatman” is much faster than for “Scatman’s World”. Just listening to the spoken parts of the songs shows this clearly.

           I really like this fusion of two seemingly unrelated genres, and I'm sad that Scatman John died before I discovered his work.

Character design

Protagonist

My first character is John. His basic color is red, as shown below. This color represents his love of family, those related by blood. He has a monochromatic scheme, which will help with the contrast with his antagonist.

The way John is lit is by a softer light. This light is stronger than the ambient light, but not by much. This shows that John is a regular guy who wants to do good, but he is not going to show it off. He wants to do what is right and move on. He is more in the background, but those paying attention will notice his actions, but he will not flaunt them to impress others.

The basic shape for John is circular. This will contrast with his antagonist, and show that he is more flexible, and tolerant. He respects those with other beliefs, but will not tolerate wronging others. To keep with the theme, John is a bit big in the waist. His head is a bit round, and he has a bit of a slouch. He looks like a normal guy.

Antagonist

Mordecai is the antagonist. His color is a monochromatic green, which is opposite of John's red. This color represents his greed, due to being from a poorer family and becoming successful by his own hand. This color also represents jealousy, mostly from being alone most of his childhood and seeing others having a good time with each other and being excluded from the festivities.

The lighting that would be used for Mordecai is a harsh, fluorescent light with deep shadows somewhere on him. his shows his dark deeds, and desire to let everyone see him and what he is doing. For most of his childhood, he was basically forgotten or ignored, so now he wants to show everyone what he is actually capable of. But he is very businesslike in his actions, hence the fluorescent, somewhat blue lighting.

Finally, his shape is very square. Taking a business like approach, his outfit, a suit, naturally is square. But to fit better, his facial structure is very angular. Due to coming from a messy past, he wants to prove that he can become better. To him, this means cleaning himself up and making things perfect and orderly. Thus, corners and straight lines are preferred over curved, natural lines.

That Superhero Post

Superheroes. Those that often have powers that are never possible by physics or decide the best way to fight crime and rescue the damsel in distress is by putting on a ridiculous costume.

That's what most people have in mind.

My favorite would probably be Solid Snake. He is a genetic experiment who doesn't afraid of anything.

I am a fan of Metal Gear Solid, obviously. Snake is a guy that has been genetically engineered to be the ultimate warrior, in the attempt to continue the legacy of Big Boss from MGS3. His story is incredibly complex and telling about it here would give away spoilers for the games. In lieu of the HD collection, I will leave these details out. However I can show you this bad assery.

That awkward feel when...

You know those times when you just start out on a new site and you have no clue what the hell you are doing?

Probably having that feel now.

Anyway, this blog is meant for universitying. Specifically, Media 203. This blog will cover a wide range of media fields, from sound design (which is what my major is) to video, to script writing and stuff like that.

If you stumbled in randomly, congratulations! You need a life.