Comment Reference List

Here is a list of other media arts/comm. tech students' blogs I have commented on:

1.  Logo Parodies That Speak the Truth, by Andrea C.

http://andreanicolemedia.blogspot.com/2011/02/logo-parodies-that-speak-truth.html?showComment=1303148111804#c4618588271678715169

2. Digital Actors by Jercy D.

http://mwcmstuff.blogspot.com/2011/01/digital-actors.html?showComment=1303148544826#c6018701993938090628

3.  From Spray Can to Light by Olivier S.

http://olivierseeyou.blogspot.com/2011/02/normal-0-false-false-false-en-ca-x-none.html

4. The Age Game. by Amber D.

http://ambersmediaarts.blogspot.com/2010/10/age-game.html?showComment=1303238423568#c1882737347614278105

5. Halo be thy name by Bea M.

http://egamrots.blogspot.com/2010/10/halo-be-thy-name.html#comments

6. Mashups and Copyright Law by Emily T.

http://emuhleetee.blogspot.com/2011/01/mashups-and-copyright-law.html

Blog #6: Logo Parodies That Speak The Truth

1. Describe the logo using the language of the Elements and Principles of Design.

I think this photo was the best logo parody for it's portrays the oil spill British Petroleum has caused with accuracy. The logo of BP is created with different tones of green and yellow with white parallelograms intertwined to look like a flower. This logo contrasts with the black background of the planet and space. It sticks out of the image of the planet creating some sort of balance. Green and yellow was also used for the text. The headline is comprised of the company's initials within a new slogan of "black planet". It fits the point they are trying to get across about the company creating a black planet. It's ability to communicate a lot about the company with simplicity crates a sense of harmony within it. 

2. Describe the symbols used in the logo. Why did the graphic artist use such imagery?

The original British Petroleum logo was used to represent the company. It links the company with a black planet and implies that the company is to blame for a planet with oil all over it. The clever use of the company's initials with a black planet slogan associates the company with an oil covered planet. Through this the artist states what he/she thinks the company represents. The artist adds an image of the planet in black to represent and emphasize the oil all over the earth's water, and land. All of the symbols point to the biggest accidental oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. 

3. What does this logo say of BP's coroporate identity?

This logo depicts the cause of a black planet which points to the faults of BP. Oil and chemical leakage is dangerous to our planet and all life in it, especially for marine animals. This logo antagonizes the company.

Blog #4: From Spray Can to Light: Graffiti Revisited

Street Graffiti Illusions

By Julian Beever

I chose this particular street graffiti because of the illusion of what it looks like to be people trying to get out of a dungeon-like hole. It has that 3-D effect that makes it look realistic. Even seeing it in person, it would make you think it was real. There are many more street graffiti that create illusions by talented artists like this one. It uses a variety of elements and principles of design such as line, shape, tone, and balance. Lines and shapes were used to create the dungeon and the bodies within it. These lines and shapes varied from size and colour. There is shading within the dungeon to show shadows of both the bodies within it and the dungeon itself. The shading suggests that the sun is coming in from the east. This was a clever incorporation of tone and value. Colours used were different shades of brown and some black and yellow for the sun. The size of the bodies and windows in the dungeon was well planned out in relation to the size of the dungeon. The artist. The size of the windows and bodies allows us to get a sense of how large the dungeon is. It was a well use of space of the area as it fills up enough of the floor and extends out which is shown by the rope. The space of the floor was used well as a 3-D illusion. Principles used include balance, emphasis, repetition, unity, and harmony. The dungeon was created symmetrical as shown by its rectangular shape and the two windows on both sides of it with one in the middle of the back wall. The is an emphasis on the man reaching out of the dungeon as his hand is reaching toward you. This man grabs your attention. Repetition was also used in the bricks. However, some of them do vary in size, shape and colour to add variety. This piece is visually satisfying as it combines similar, related elements such as colour, shape, size, and lines within the dungeon. This enforces unity throughout the piece. 

I had come across this light graffiti piece and I thought it was quite appealing. It is a light graffiti of a Porche 918 Spyder. I was impressed by the amount of detail the artist included. Just like the traditional graffiti piece, it uses elements and principles of design. However, in a light graffiti piece like this, the elements and principles focus mainly on lines. Lines are used to create the outline of this car. Different thickness was used to contrast the shading of the car. Colours are also used, but it is limited to the colours available with the light source. In the traditional graffiti, coulours and lines help us identify the difference in shape, as opposed to light graffiti which only uses lines. Colours used are just white which I assume is from a flashlight or LED light, green, and yellow which could be from a glow stick. The tone was light in contrast to the darkness of the space used. The artist must have studied the car's size very well as it looks quite accurate from an actual car. The front was created bigger to show the direction the car is facing. Size is equally as important in both traditional and light graffiti to the appearance of the subject. 

Blog #5: Digital Actors

Digital actors are character created using computer animation and CGI. They look like real actors, they walk like real actors, they talk like real actors. Through advances in technology digital actors are making their way to Hollywood, getting roles in movies such as Avatar and TRON: Legacy.

Animated young Jeff Bridges as Clu (on the left) and Kevin Flynn (on the right) in TRON: Legacy

1. Is this acting or is this animation?

I believe it is both. Behind every CG character is a team of dozens, if not hundreds, of people as well as real actors the director works with. The facial expressions and actions done by the digital actor was acted out by a real one. Some digital character do take the mold of real actors. For TRON, Jeff Bridges had to wear a helmet with four tiny cameras pointed at his face when he was acting out scenes for Clu. Dots in his face were used as reference points for the computer.

2. Do you think that animated character should be eligible for acting awards? 

The actors playing these characters should be eligible as well as animated characters themselves. Characters that do not use the full capabilities of an actor, I feel these characters shouldn't be eligible for acting awards.  Animated characters that put an actor's physical acting and their voice into relative use deserve to have their hard work recognized and thus should be eligible for an acting award. Acting awards go to actors that deliver outstanding performances while working within the film industry. An actor whose acting was used for an animated character that delivered an outstanding performance should be recognized through eligibility for acting awards.

3. Do you think that human actors will ever become obsolete? Why or why not?

I don't think human actors will ever become obsolete because they are an integral part of Hollywood. We as an audience connect with actors that we can get familiarized and connect with. It is much easier to do this with human actors. It is easier to relate to humans than digital actors and makes a film or show much more realistic. Even with technology improving, actors must still play a role in the filming process as digital actors are not able to portray emotions that only humans can. Behind every digital actor is a human being, voicing it, or being used as templates. 

Blog #3: Mashups and Copyright Law

The popular television show Glee first introduced mashups to the show in the episode titled "Vitamin C". In this episode the Glee members participated in a boys vs. girls competition on which group could put on the best performance of a combination of two different songs. The video below shows the boys performance of their mashup of Bon Jovi's "It's My Life" and "Confessions" by Usher.

1. What is this mashup trying to communicate? Is it technical experiment, social or political commentary, a comedic parody, or an abstract work of media art?

In my opinion, although mashups generally communicate an idea or commentary, this mashup isn't trying to communicate anything. It's just a technical experiment by the shows producers. They introduced the shows audience to mashups, to try to incorporate a new concept (although not new to the world) of involving music in the show. They took Bon Jovi's "It's My Life" and Usher's "Confessions", two hits respectively, and combined them to create a great performance. This mashup is somewhat an abstract work of media art much like a collage of photos. Essentially, the show took these two songs apart, and put them back together in a unique and cool way. 

2. Did its creator follow or break copyright laws in its production?

The creator did not break any copyright laws in this production. Glee's music, which are covers of other artist's music, must have gained permission from the all the artists who's songs they do a cover of. Otherwise, they would not have even been allowed to release the episode. Glee does have copyrights to their own music.  It gives the show the right to sell their songs and have them performed on the show.

3. Do you think that mashups like this requires copyright permission? Why or why not?

I definitely believe mashups require copyright permission, particularly this one. Glee is very popular television show that broadcasts to various parts of the world. This mashup gained profit from the single under the cast of the show. It isn't right not to give credit to the original artists and not get copyrights to do their songs because it isn't right to gain a profit from someone else's original work. 

   

Blog Entry #2: Facebook on the Big Screen

Why is it important to protect your information from uninvited eyes and advertisers?


It is important to protect your information from random strangers. We post a lot of things on Facebook. We post personal information and pictures. Strangers can access this information and use it. These days there are people out there who cyberstalk. You might have posted your phone number or your e-mail. Strangers now have access to that information and are able to use it. They will also have access to pictures that you don't want strangers to see. Once the picture is posted on Facebook, people can save it on their hard drive and the picture is out there forever. Note how easily I obtained the pictures of the people on the photo below. Even if you delete anything you post, someone could have printed it or saved a print screen. Phishing is a very popular way of gaining information and committing computer crimes. Phishing involves sending links that are not real and making them appear like they are from a reputable company, like a bank. Facebook gives people the opportunity for crimes such as phishing. It is very important to be aware of sites that may randomly appear and not to enter any personal information on them or else they can use the information to steal money from you.



In what ways can you you protect your privacy on social networking sites, such as Facebook?

There are privacy settings for users to protect their profiles. These settings allow only your friends on Facebook to see your profile and anything you post on Facebook. The best way to protect yourself is to tweak these settings so that only friends may see your profile. If you don't want strangers to see your profile, then don't add strangers as friends on Facebook. Only accept friend requests from people that are your friends. Once you have changed your settings to allow only friends to view your profile, make sure you only accept friend requests from people you know and trust.

   

Blog #3: A Look at Music Videos

This is an analysis of Kardinal Offishall's music video for The Anthem. Here is the music video.

Initial Reaction: I think the video accompanies the song very well. It definitely represented Toronto.

Analysis and Interpretation: I think Kardinal Offishall created this video along with the song to show his pride for Toronto. But like all music videos, the purpose of the video is to promote the song. Through this video, Kardinal shows us around his hometown Toronto and his perception of it. The theme of the video is hometown pride. In his lyrics and video he shows the diversity within Toronto and that we see past our differences even though we are multicultural. This video does align with gospel values such as loving our neighbours and living as a community, and equality. 

Consideration of Cultural Context: The director was definitely influenced by Kardinal's song to make this video as shown by the literal interpretation of the lyrics. Well it may not have been a single event that influenced Kardinal to write the song and put out a video for it, but attending a festival or event in Toronto could have been one event that influenced him. Just going around the city and seeing Torontonians and feeling a sense of pride was probably his inspiration for this song and video. Kardinal wanted to share this to fellow Torontonians and create an anthem for the city.

Expression of Aesthetic Judgement: The music video was a documentary rather than one with a storyline and and acting. Some of the visuals were on point with the lyrics. The flashing of images of the city were beautiful. They had some great shots of the CN Tower to the Scarborough Bluffs and everything in between. They also had shown a variety of Torontonians from different cultures. The video showcases life in Toronto. All this creates a somewhat familiarity for those who consider Toronto their home. With the music video and song well put together, they made me proud to live in such a great city.The visuals along with the entire music video was a celebration of Toronto, which has increased my appreciation of the song.

Ongoing Reflection: The music video has influenced my reception of the song. I loved the song when I first heard it because it was catchy and it was about Toronto. But seeing the music video allowed me to see the song was more than just catchy and about Toronto. It forced me to look at the lyrics and the true sense of pride behind it. It just gave a greater appreciation of the song. Whenever I hear this song, I see images of Toronto and its people and I think of what a great city it is.