Pink Medusa

I wrote this song last year for my band which is called Pink Medusa; more or less it's about how lust and promiscuity look appetizing but are horrible monsters and can consume you in the end. I always had the idea for an image in my head but I've just now decided to begin it's fabrication. There are some nudsies, so click responsibly. Here is the initial sketch.

R Rated Policy

Huntingtons R rated policy is...a little off in my view. Some movies are incredibly profane, sexually explicit and only rated PG-13. Even though some R rated movies are the same way, many are only rated that because of violence and language. But is language really an issue? In my view, crap and shit are exactly the same, but for some reason society has made them out to be worse than they are. And violence, is that an issue either? What is morally wrong with watching war? I believe that many R films are more moral than many PG-13 movies because of this factor. As long as we keep our own moral beliefs in mind, I believe that their should be no problem with watching R rated movies.

Aladdin

So this movie still rocks, even now, for a college freshman, I still have to sing along. Disney movies arent what they were anymore though, why is that? My belief is that Disney has succumbed to what is cool or trendy, and not on good storytelling. Yes there are definitely some good Disney movies still being made but not near the caliber of what they used to be. It seems like its a common theme among movies today actually, people worrying about what society thinks about the film instead of simply making a film that their proud of.

DMA rascism?

A few times on campus, I've gotten the feeling that there are many negative stereotypes about DMA majors that arent necessarily correct. Many have stated that DMA majors are lazy bums that don't do anything and ultimately, wont "impact their world for Christ". First of all, I think that the media is one of the most influential forces in todays society and I think that if we DON'T affect the mainstream media that we have done a horrible job of proclaiming Christ. And we must create QUALITY media as well, if our work is less than average than people won't hold us in respect or believe anything we say. We also have to be careful not to treat secular film makers as if they are nothing and are in the wrong, because thats definitely not the way Christ did it. In the book The Gutter, it talks about how two guys started a site, xxxchurch. com, which is a resource to help guys with their porn addictions. Because they were different, and didnt criticize the porn industry for their work, they successfully got on the inside with many of societies most perverse and dirty characters, those that need Christ the most. And as for laziness, yeah, maybe we do get it a little easy, but if you have ever made your own film, you would understand how trying and difficult our job is.

Christ in Media

One aspect that has always angered at least some branch of the church is the issue of what is Christian music and what is not. Many have argued that it is defined by the instruments used and the style implemented. I've listened to some "christian" songs that do an absolutely horrible job of proclaiming what Jesus has done through us. And I've listened to some hardcore music that speaks of a man dealing with despair and conflict but in the end cries out to God in the most emotional and humble way. Even some artists who don't directly mention God or Christ in their music are better influences than most because their music is uplifting and moral, but what sets them apart from anyone else is that they profess Christ in interviews and their statements, backing up their music and filling it out. I would encourage everyone to look deeper than what the church says is "christian" music and find out what really lifts Christ up.

Gears of War

Wow....simply wow, this game blew my mind completely. I'm a pretty big Halo fanboy...but this game definitely blew away my expectations with all of its aspects. Gameplay is always interesting with the games heavy use of cover and blindfire, something that not even Halo has. And the graphics...wow, every cutscene, even though it uses in game graphics, is beautiful and makes it seem like theres a real live war photographer following you around, getting blood splattered on him and being jostled around. The game feels much more like real war because instead of just running out full speed, guns blazing, you have to ever so slowly advance on enemy position and sometimes even retreat to avoid being blown to pieces. And OH, the most amazing feature of the game, this is what sets GOW apart from every other game out there....if the game didnt have this aspect it just might not be the beast it is.......you ready?.......CHAINSAW BAYONET......nuff said.

The Birth of Ideas

It's interesting the random times that film or music ideas pop into your mind. I've had my fair share come from when I have a fever considering I can't really form rational thoughts and usually random scenarios play through my head....maybe I'm crazy. Dreams seem to be another good source for material, many films, plays and songs have originated from dreams and the interesting thoughts they bring. One of the main reason that dreams bring about such intriguing material is that they make your mind deal with problems and things you don't understand, resulting in abstract interpretations of problems, that which art is made of. This brings up something interesting about music today, are artists expressing themselves anymore and their deep problems? I would argue that many are not, considering the amount of songs dealing with things like ho's and bling nowadays.....

It's just a movie

How many times have we said the phrase, "It's just a movie"? Many times people forget how true this is and it directly affects them, and most of the time negatively. Romance films especially set us up for unreal expectations, a few times I've seen people that try to handle relationships like it is in the movies, with more dramatic behavior than is needed. In the horror genre, people develop irrational fears because of what they have seen go on in films. Children especially are susceptible to the effects of films, as a child I was scared for a week straight that a raptor was going to come screaming out of my closet because of the movie Jurassic Park. Numerous friends have told me that after they saw The Grudge that they were terrified of anything that remotely looked like long hair and refused to go into small spaces. I'm definitely not saying that films shouldnt contain dramatic, graphic, and unrealistic scenes that are unlikely in real life because thats what makes many films interesting. I think people just need to be reminded now and again that it is "just a movie" and that they shouldnt take it too literally.

The Holiday

When I saw that Jack Black would be in The Holiday, I was immediately hooked. This film portrays two women who feel the need to get away from their current situation because of some sort of problem with the male gender. One has found out that her husband has been cheating on her and the other has found that a man she loves has gone and married another woman. One woman, who lives in England in a cottage, sets her house up for house exchange, which is basically swapping houses with another person for two weeks. The other woman, who lives in a elaborate house in L.A., goes searching for a house to exchange with and finds the other womans. The two end up finding exactly what they need to, one who needed to cry and feel for a man, the other who needed friends and someone to love. All in all, the film is a romance comedy but theres something a little deeper than that, maybe its the fact that both find companions in people that they never would expect to and end up living life.

Man on Fire

Recently, I bought the DVD Man on Fire. When I first saw this movie I was simply stunned at the amount of artistic value contained in the film. The camera was incredible, intricate and gave a grungy feel to the whole movie with high contrast shots. When the main character, was intoxicated and emotional, the camera jumped shots and scenarios incredibly fast, giving the viewer the same type of confused and distorted feeling that he experienced. Not only did the film incorporate an intricate and raw storyline, it included just the right amount of action which kept you on your toes. Some scenes were very graphic, including a man getting his fingers chopped off, a man being blown up via a bomb planted in his rectum, and another man having his hand half blown off by a shotgun. All these images however contributed to the enraged feeling of the main character at the loss of a little girl whom he loved and had shown him that he could live. Many films today have lost the meaning behind violence, violence and gore have now taken a central role in what a movie is about. It's all about who can think of the most deranged way to kill someone in a film because it will cause audiences to react and thereby selling more tickets.

Musical Inflation

As me and Peter Ahlersmeyer were walking back from F-lot, which you know is quite the walk if your a freshman, we discussed this new phenomenon of music inflation, a term I've coined to describe a current trend in todays music scene. Many new advances in technology and availability have come about in computers and audio editing software and it is now incredibly easy for the average Joe to write his own CD. Now that there is an abundance of music however and its so easy to make, the value of it has declined noticeably. Companies have taken over the industry and have begun making CD's simply as a flare for celebrities or generic copies of every other CD out there. Previously, you could only make it in the music scene if you were extremely talented and had the drive to strive for the title of a musical artist. Am I saying that we shouldnt have these easy ways of making music? Of course not, there are many quality artist that have come out of the unknown much easier because of these advances. However, I do believe that music has lost much of its value do to these things along with film, which also relies heavily on mainstream driven and generic ideas nowadays. It seems to me that music has become just a status, "look what I did, I'm a music artists now because I made this techno song". I guess the quality of music hasn't gone down, it's peoples understanding of what music is and what it stands for that has gone down. Its no longer given respect or time in its production and is many times thrown together and slapped on a CD with generic art work of the band standing in a warehouse or a close up of the "artist" holding his guitar and looking hott for the ladies (you know what I'm talking about, the I'm-so-hott-and-I-make-music-that-makes-girls-go-aww-thats-so-cute-and-romantic! kind of guy). All in all, I don't think that this state will reverse itself, but I hope that people will better understand how sacred music is and how it is ART, not generic accessory.

Stranger Than Fiction

I recently saw the film Stranger Than Fiction starring Will Ferrell. I went into it with a certain mindset that it would simply be another funny Will Ferrell film, with ridiculous dialogue and situations galore. After the first 20 seconds of the film however I knew it was going to be different. It began with a the main character rising and going through his daily routine, but it was accompanied by stylish diagrams showing his methodical method of counting and precision which gave the feeling that you were just as bent towards OCD as he was. The effect was artistically phenomenal and resembled graphic advertising, filled with lines and diagrams showing count, distance, and other factors. The rest of the movie was just as intriguing, with an incredibly interesting plot ranging on the supernatural but touching on such simple concepts as love and sacrifice. The movie culminated with a very edge-of-your-seat situation that is very uncommon of anything other than action films, but it didnt require cliffs, explosions, or guns...just a choice. An excellent movie in my book, funny, emotional, and intriguing, all seemlessly woven together to create a movie that engages the viewer very well.

Treasure Planet

Michael Spooner's concept art for Treasure Planet was incredible. I've always loved concept art, the way it influences the final build of the project and the small minute changes that are made. It has it's own style even, with the use of black and blue for shading and its sketchy feel, yet still retaining precision and concept value. I found it very sad that they didnt use his final ideas for the moon harbor and I would be even sadder if I was in his place and all my concepts and drawings that I had worked and slaved over for so long were simply discarded and a simpler idea was implemented. I could seriously consider a concept artist as a legitimate career choice for myself because I love drawing and coming up with concepts, and even more so in helping them transform into finished pieces. All in all, an awesome show which I enjoyed extensively.

The Rise of the Short Film

I've noticed latel that the short film has begun to make a name for itself. many different cultural fads and advances in technology have allowed for a number of different medias to arise, of which, the short film is one. Almost a seperate entity from any other film works due to its way of presenting ideas and commonly controversial issues in under eight minutes or so, they are easily accessible and fit our needs for short concise, and fast information intake that is so common to our culture. IPods and fast streaming allow for easy distribution of short films and were until now, usually free. The changing market for short films however could, in the future, hold its own as an income because so many people love short films these days and are willing to pay for them. Anyone can create short films in this current age with all of our different artistic programs and equipment now made available to the common man, lets just hope that we don't become jaded and begin to start pumping out generic trend-whore films to which Hollywood has so succumbed.

Computer Science and DMA

I think personally that DMA and Computer Science are interlinked to a great extent. Many programming concepts that Maya and other animation programs use are directly out of a computer science textbook and can be used just as effectively. Another obvious benefit that was mentioned today when Professor Lehman spoke was that animators can create their own tools for their specific needs instead of spending money on people to come in and do it for them. I think a DMA major should be well versed in both worlds, with a solid amount of programming knowledge and all the creativity and skill that comes with DMA study.

Hedgehog in Fog

I thought the film shown about the hedgehog trecking through the fog was spectacular. The animation techniques worked perfectly for all sorts of moods including carefree, ominous, and frightening. I think that many current children shows and movies are too numbing and they have no sustanance or meat to them. Children need to be introduced to differing emotions and scenarios so that they can begin to understand them. The scene where the hedgehog is laying in the water thinking that he may die, is a perfect example of what childrens media should look like. All in all, I think that children these days are having their minds deprived of complex thought, and are instead having their minds filled with visions of bouncing colorful poof balls that make noises....

Entertainment Value

I've been thinking alot lately about what, if any, do films that have not been created with any artistic ability and are complete carbon copies of their predecessors have to offer? It's been argued that there is no such thing as entertainment value but I believe that entertainment value is alive and well. Some of the films that my friends and I made had no purpose except to bring back inside jokes and to laugh at ourselves. These films had no artistic value, they werent scripted well or particularly well filmed, but they made us laugh like nothing else. We also used to watch the worst movie we could find once a week at a friends house for the sole purpose of making fun of it and laughing our heads off. It would be a shame if these films ceased to be made because then it would mean no more Crappy Movie Night for us and no entertainment value...and that is a sad sad thought.