As promised I am going to start a new blog, mainly based showing off media from myself and my peers. I believe I kind of screwed myself and did not care as much of this blog as I would have liked to, to keep this going. So hopefully you'll check this out!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Freak Factor!
Freak Factor Link!
This is a really good article for me especially because I am always trying to fix my fallacies. It is something I shouldn't do according to David Rendall. I should be noticing my weaknesses and realizing my strengths. He also states to focus on one single thing, such as focusing on your strengths but not on your weaknesses since they are directly linked. You should never group those two and try to do them at the same time. We all have limitations for ourselves, and we should not try to change something we cannot change. We have to realize that some things cannot be resolved. We are all freaks in his sense, and we are better for it.
One point of his I found to be interesting is number six, Focus: You Can't Do Both. It is interesting to me because it is exactly what I do on a daily basis. I try to fix my weaknesses, which are directly related to my strengths, instead I should be building my strengths up. My weakness of caring too much, can be a good thing because I could go on and be a good HR manager, or in my case as I want to be a screenwriter, I could use the caring to volunteer around my city and hear stories that I could write about or just base off of my experiences. As I am writing this I am realizing how good of point this is. How can I try to fix myself when in reality I should not need to fix myself. It will put me in a good place to get creativity in the end.
Another point I found valid is number five, Foundation: Build On Your Strengths. As stated before I have to take my weaknesses to find my strengths I do not realize I have yet. Once I realize my strengths, I can start building them. So if I care too much, I go out and volunteer, or I can make myself open to people for their problems, or I can show how good of a guy I am that people will want to hire me because they can work with me. No one wants someone they cannot work with to work with them on a project, no matter the high skill level because personalities will clash and cause problems to the work that everyone is working hard to make the best. So no matter what my weakness is, turn it into a strength and just start building up from there.
The third point I want to talk about is his number two on his manifesto, What's My Problem? It's a recurring theme of how I try to fix my weaknesses when I really shouldn't. It is like Rendall says, there is nothing wrong with you, you find success when you find the right fit, your weaknesses make you different. There is nothing wrong with any of my weaknesses, and because there is nothing wrong with them, I am able to overcome whatever it is that is bothering me about myself. I should never think down on myself because I have weaknesses like any other person. It's just a simple part of life that every person has a weakness. We are all freaks. We are all different. So what? We can't change something that makes us unique, or we start seeing the same things over and over again, and who wants that monotony in their lives? Not me and I wouldn't expect you to want it either.
To answer the question on whether or not I have found all my strengths and weaknesses as a creative person, I have not and to be honest I will probably take a look at it here soon, because that could be a problem in creating the best work possible. So let's take a break on this blog because I need to start over, so once I set up a new one, I will post the link on this one. Thanks for reading everyone!
This is a really good article for me especially because I am always trying to fix my fallacies. It is something I shouldn't do according to David Rendall. I should be noticing my weaknesses and realizing my strengths. He also states to focus on one single thing, such as focusing on your strengths but not on your weaknesses since they are directly linked. You should never group those two and try to do them at the same time. We all have limitations for ourselves, and we should not try to change something we cannot change. We have to realize that some things cannot be resolved. We are all freaks in his sense, and we are better for it.
One point of his I found to be interesting is number six, Focus: You Can't Do Both. It is interesting to me because it is exactly what I do on a daily basis. I try to fix my weaknesses, which are directly related to my strengths, instead I should be building my strengths up. My weakness of caring too much, can be a good thing because I could go on and be a good HR manager, or in my case as I want to be a screenwriter, I could use the caring to volunteer around my city and hear stories that I could write about or just base off of my experiences. As I am writing this I am realizing how good of point this is. How can I try to fix myself when in reality I should not need to fix myself. It will put me in a good place to get creativity in the end.
Another point I found valid is number five, Foundation: Build On Your Strengths. As stated before I have to take my weaknesses to find my strengths I do not realize I have yet. Once I realize my strengths, I can start building them. So if I care too much, I go out and volunteer, or I can make myself open to people for their problems, or I can show how good of a guy I am that people will want to hire me because they can work with me. No one wants someone they cannot work with to work with them on a project, no matter the high skill level because personalities will clash and cause problems to the work that everyone is working hard to make the best. So no matter what my weakness is, turn it into a strength and just start building up from there.
The third point I want to talk about is his number two on his manifesto, What's My Problem? It's a recurring theme of how I try to fix my weaknesses when I really shouldn't. It is like Rendall says, there is nothing wrong with you, you find success when you find the right fit, your weaknesses make you different. There is nothing wrong with any of my weaknesses, and because there is nothing wrong with them, I am able to overcome whatever it is that is bothering me about myself. I should never think down on myself because I have weaknesses like any other person. It's just a simple part of life that every person has a weakness. We are all freaks. We are all different. So what? We can't change something that makes us unique, or we start seeing the same things over and over again, and who wants that monotony in their lives? Not me and I wouldn't expect you to want it either.
To answer the question on whether or not I have found all my strengths and weaknesses as a creative person, I have not and to be honest I will probably take a look at it here soon, because that could be a problem in creating the best work possible. So let's take a break on this blog because I need to start over, so once I set up a new one, I will post the link on this one. Thanks for reading everyone!
Gaming Reflection
Game Design -
So I was really ill to be able to stay during our entire presentation, but I did talk to others about what all we did well and what we received points off for. Two points I did not believe came across would be the objectives of the game, we could have gone deeper into the main goals and what could be done. Another thing would also be the visuals we used. We needed something more elaborate and interesting, but since we did not actually make the game, it was very difficult to actually do.
I know what we did wrong was not actually pitch our game, we just told everyone about it, like a presentation. I honestly did not realize we needed to do that at the time, so that would've been a quick fix. Another thing we did not do too well in is how we weren't as well as prepared as we should be if we were pitching our game to a big gaming company. We knew what we were talking about, but we were not enthusiastic about it, and did not do a big eye catching thing to keep attention to us. If time had permitted we should have made a quick video about the game showing off some gameplay or something of that sort.
The objectives I believe were one of the harder things to actually discuss with the audience because explaining any objects to any game some one has not played is going to be difficult. It will be especially difficult if in the objectives of the game, you have to use words that are only used in the game, not in every common day life. You cannot say to someone who has not played the game, 'to go to Laureltown and pick up the fluxychunk' as an objective in the presentation to someone who has not played the game. There is a way around it with that example, but there is bound to be something you cannot avoid to bring up in the objectives.
As a gamer, I enjoyed getting my imagination and creativity flowing with this project. It was quite fun and if I had known to sell this game during our presentation I'm sure I could have had fun doing that also.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Character Creation!
Matt's Character - Peggy
Kyle's Hero/Villain
Okay let's start these critiques off with Kyle's Hero/Villain combination. I am going to be looking at the lighting for this. In affinity with one another they both used shadows for their drawings, but the shadows on the villain are noticeably darker and easily seen. I am able to tell the drawings apart especially from that. As for the symbolism, I have noticed that the lighting for each drawing have shown the symbol for what it represents, such as the hero it is known it is fighting for justice and to keep peace, while the villain shows itself as being mischievous and wanting to create chaos. As for the mood part of lighting, we are instantly put into a mood that we know who the villain and the hero are and know who can save us and who will hurt us. In summary to this, we actively are searching for what the two characters are going to do, while didactically we know which one is the hero and which one is the villain.
Also with the stated before contrasts, I noticed simply the quality of the drawings we know who has a better drawing, while both are not bad at all, one is drawn quite well. Also, I notice the colors are different to show differential between the two characters. The size of the characters being a big difference two on paper is interesting because the villain is smaller and the hero is larger. This could be a representation of how the hero is more powerful then the villain. All in all, very well done
Max's Hero/Villain
Secondly, I will take a look at Max's hero/villain combination. I am going to talk about lighting again and starting off with the affinities between the two. Again both use shadows. The shadows of the drawings again show really quick who the villain and who the hero is. The villain is drawn with deeper shadows to show darkness to the person. The hero is drawn with little shadows almost showing a light on it. The symbolism for this is the fact that we know that the hero is well revered and well liked, showing again it is a hero. The villain on the other hand is almost lurking in the shadows hiding from people symbolizing the character is the villain. The mood of the pictures do create this mood of heroism for hero by the lighting and darkness and anger almost to the villain.
Along with the contrasts from above, there aren't a whole lot more. They both use the colors of blue and gold/yellow, but they aren't the same hue of those colors. The shadows create this differential use colors. They both use different weapons also with the hero using a pitchfork, while the villain is using a hammer looking tool. Again both are done very well, I actually do not remember seeing bad images for any member of the lab.
Madolyn's Hero/Villain
This seems to be a recurring theme to use lighting, especially the shadows in the drawings to show who exactly is the hero and who is the villain. The deep shadows of the villain obviously show the darker side that is shown mostly in villains, while the lighter shadows of the hero show the shine of the hero, giving off the mood of goodness. The mood of the villain is to show the darkness and evil within itself. As for the symbolism, the hero is really showing off it's motivation and what it stands for, because it looks exactly like a water drop or a soap bubble that wants to clean something. The hero also is quite obvious for what it's motivation is, simply because it looks dirty, and just pretty much looks like a monster made of straight mud and dirt. So it obviously wants to make things dirty.
As for the contrast and affintity, there isn't too much in common between the two, they are polar opposites, which is a good thing for heroes and villains. One wants to keep things clean, the other wants to dirty things up. The hero is a bright blue color of clean while the villain keeps a dirty, dark brown color with everything around it dark also, probably leaving a trail of mud behind. All in all, very well done.
Flying Turtle!
Kyle's Hero/Villain
Okay let's start these critiques off with Kyle's Hero/Villain combination. I am going to be looking at the lighting for this. In affinity with one another they both used shadows for their drawings, but the shadows on the villain are noticeably darker and easily seen. I am able to tell the drawings apart especially from that. As for the symbolism, I have noticed that the lighting for each drawing have shown the symbol for what it represents, such as the hero it is known it is fighting for justice and to keep peace, while the villain shows itself as being mischievous and wanting to create chaos. As for the mood part of lighting, we are instantly put into a mood that we know who the villain and the hero are and know who can save us and who will hurt us. In summary to this, we actively are searching for what the two characters are going to do, while didactically we know which one is the hero and which one is the villain.
Also with the stated before contrasts, I noticed simply the quality of the drawings we know who has a better drawing, while both are not bad at all, one is drawn quite well. Also, I notice the colors are different to show differential between the two characters. The size of the characters being a big difference two on paper is interesting because the villain is smaller and the hero is larger. This could be a representation of how the hero is more powerful then the villain. All in all, very well done
Max's Hero/Villain
Secondly, I will take a look at Max's hero/villain combination. I am going to talk about lighting again and starting off with the affinities between the two. Again both use shadows. The shadows of the drawings again show really quick who the villain and who the hero is. The villain is drawn with deeper shadows to show darkness to the person. The hero is drawn with little shadows almost showing a light on it. The symbolism for this is the fact that we know that the hero is well revered and well liked, showing again it is a hero. The villain on the other hand is almost lurking in the shadows hiding from people symbolizing the character is the villain. The mood of the pictures do create this mood of heroism for hero by the lighting and darkness and anger almost to the villain.
Along with the contrasts from above, there aren't a whole lot more. They both use the colors of blue and gold/yellow, but they aren't the same hue of those colors. The shadows create this differential use colors. They both use different weapons also with the hero using a pitchfork, while the villain is using a hammer looking tool. Again both are done very well, I actually do not remember seeing bad images for any member of the lab.
Madolyn's Hero/Villain
This seems to be a recurring theme to use lighting, especially the shadows in the drawings to show who exactly is the hero and who is the villain. The deep shadows of the villain obviously show the darker side that is shown mostly in villains, while the lighter shadows of the hero show the shine of the hero, giving off the mood of goodness. The mood of the villain is to show the darkness and evil within itself. As for the symbolism, the hero is really showing off it's motivation and what it stands for, because it looks exactly like a water drop or a soap bubble that wants to clean something. The hero also is quite obvious for what it's motivation is, simply because it looks dirty, and just pretty much looks like a monster made of straight mud and dirt. So it obviously wants to make things dirty.
As for the contrast and affintity, there isn't too much in common between the two, they are polar opposites, which is a good thing for heroes and villains. One wants to keep things clean, the other wants to dirty things up. The hero is a bright blue color of clean while the villain keeps a dirty, dark brown color with everything around it dark also, probably leaving a trail of mud behind. All in all, very well done.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Le Bar & What's Your Number W/ Comparison and Contrast
Alright, so we had to do a joke video based on the same joke. Our group chose this joke:
"A very shy guy goes into a bar and sees a beautiful woman sitting at the bar. After an hour of gathering up his courage, he finally goes over to her and asks, tentatively, 'Um, would you mind if I chatted with you for a while?' She responds by yelling, at the top of her lungs, 'NO! I won't sleep with you tonight!'
Everyone in the bar is now staring at them.
Naturally, the guy is hopelessly and completely embarrassed and he slinks back to his table.
After a few minutes, the woman walks over to him and apologizes. She smiles at him and says, "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you. You see, I'm a graduate student in psychology, and I'm studying how people respond to embarrassing situations."
To which he responds, at the top of his lungs, 'What do you mean $200?!'"
So each of us wrote a script based off this joke, and Erin's and my script were chosen to be filmed. In regards to affinity between the two videos, we both used character movement in our videos, mostly because we were not allowed to move the camera around with the person. We had to use this to keep the audience's interest and show reality. We both used the same type of space by using limited space to show the context of the situation and to keep true to the joke. Thirdly, we both also used tension and release by showing him being rejected in an awful way, but then being able to get back at her at the end, ending with a good release of the tension.
As for the contrast we both had different genres. Mine was more slapstick comedy, as for Erin's her's was film noir. We used the same joke as a basis, but we both took spins off of it with mine adding in different jokes added to the jokes, and her's was more on a serious note besides the actual joke. Erin did use more shapes because of the hats and the subtle differences on how she showed the characters.
In the end we made the decision we all liked Erin's video better, due to it stayed truer to the original joke, and was put together well. It was one of the funnest projects and probably the most time I spent on one of the projects with a group that large.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Reimagining Visual Framing (cont'd)
I'm back with another continue due to for some odd reason blogger is not allowing me to write below the pictures or videos I post unless it screws up the alignment of them. But anyways, I will continue to the reason behind this post.
The previous image by Sally Mann I was originally drawn to because it's an image I have seen before. Also, the image itself is quite interesting because of a little girl smoking a cigarette with other children near, including one on stilts. It was such a random object in the background.
But to tell you why I framed the image the way I did, was to focus more on the girl. I changed the shot type from a medium shot to a more of a medium close up to take away the background of the child on stilts, because I honestly don't need it. I also kept in mind the rule of thirds when re-framing it, to put more focus on her face. Her face tells a story and automatically you are drawn to her face. Also, because of depth cues, the little girl who is smoking in the image "pops" out in the picture, because darker tones recede, while lighter tones advance.
In contrast, the two pictures show almost two different subjects, because of the way it was framed. The child on stilts hits part of the rule of thirds area, and the subject of my re-frame is in it completely. The affinity of this is the fact that it is the same exact picture, just zoomed in to focus more on the girl smoking. There are the same colors, same people, same everything, just zoomed in, in the re-framed image.
There seems to be some text and subtext in the image. For instance, the picture's text shows mainly how a little girl is smoking a cigarette with a girl standing next to her, and a person in the back on stilts. In the subtext, it can mean many different things. Two things mainly pop out to me, is the feeling the girls and the person on stilts is part of a circus, or for some reason, it almost feels like it's war time, such as World War II, I think due to the fact that it's in black and white and a little girl is smoking a cigarette.
Whatever your opinion is on this picture, it can be correct, it's just up to you on whether or not you believe yourself. The way a picture is taken, is creating differences in the story it tells, so think about that next time you take a picture at a party or at a family gathering.
The previous image by Sally Mann I was originally drawn to because it's an image I have seen before. Also, the image itself is quite interesting because of a little girl smoking a cigarette with other children near, including one on stilts. It was such a random object in the background.
But to tell you why I framed the image the way I did, was to focus more on the girl. I changed the shot type from a medium shot to a more of a medium close up to take away the background of the child on stilts, because I honestly don't need it. I also kept in mind the rule of thirds when re-framing it, to put more focus on her face. Her face tells a story and automatically you are drawn to her face. Also, because of depth cues, the little girl who is smoking in the image "pops" out in the picture, because darker tones recede, while lighter tones advance.
In contrast, the two pictures show almost two different subjects, because of the way it was framed. The child on stilts hits part of the rule of thirds area, and the subject of my re-frame is in it completely. The affinity of this is the fact that it is the same exact picture, just zoomed in to focus more on the girl smoking. There are the same colors, same people, same everything, just zoomed in, in the re-framed image.
There seems to be some text and subtext in the image. For instance, the picture's text shows mainly how a little girl is smoking a cigarette with a girl standing next to her, and a person in the back on stilts. In the subtext, it can mean many different things. Two things mainly pop out to me, is the feeling the girls and the person on stilts is part of a circus, or for some reason, it almost feels like it's war time, such as World War II, I think due to the fact that it's in black and white and a little girl is smoking a cigarette.
Whatever your opinion is on this picture, it can be correct, it's just up to you on whether or not you believe yourself. The way a picture is taken, is creating differences in the story it tells, so think about that next time you take a picture at a party or at a family gathering.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Brainwashed!
Brainwashed! Download it! It is not a virus I promise! Have I failed you before?
Alright so, I was actually quite interested in this manifesto right from the beginning of reading it. There were quite a few points that were more influential points in what he calls the seven layers. Two of them, Acknowledging the Lizard and Make Art. Both of them almost spoke to me.
The author, Seth Godin, made good points in these layers. For Acknowledging the Lizard, the main point is to realize that you have a voice in the back of your head telling you to take it safe, and to not put yourself out there. But you have to resist it. In Make Art he explains how art is creating the uncreated. Anything that you create that hasn't been created is art, and that is an extreme risk to a lot of people.
Both of these layers Godin tells us about really applies to me in my creative journey. I am always worried about money, and how the future will look. I have to take risks, acknowledge I have a lizard that's telling me to run, run, run, but not listen to it. Because when all is said in done, this is what I want to do, and the risk is worth it.
Making art is just so simple that it should be common knowledge, but so many of us forget about it. We are always taught to think logically, and that is my fallibility, not everything makes sense in life. This blog has almost become my voice, my creative voice, though not necessarily the best way to do it, everything we have to blog about have so many guidelines, it almost feels like we don't have a creative process. We can't just talk about our favorite band and explain how our band is the best using audio terms, or why we think our favorite movie deserves and Oscar, but I think this is one of the best ways to be at least a little creative, especially when logic is still in our education system. These blogs have made me think and become a better artists, and hopefully, this is the beginning of a new life with art, creativity, and life in general.
Alright so, I was actually quite interested in this manifesto right from the beginning of reading it. There were quite a few points that were more influential points in what he calls the seven layers. Two of them, Acknowledging the Lizard and Make Art. Both of them almost spoke to me.
The author, Seth Godin, made good points in these layers. For Acknowledging the Lizard, the main point is to realize that you have a voice in the back of your head telling you to take it safe, and to not put yourself out there. But you have to resist it. In Make Art he explains how art is creating the uncreated. Anything that you create that hasn't been created is art, and that is an extreme risk to a lot of people.
Both of these layers Godin tells us about really applies to me in my creative journey. I am always worried about money, and how the future will look. I have to take risks, acknowledge I have a lizard that's telling me to run, run, run, but not listen to it. Because when all is said in done, this is what I want to do, and the risk is worth it.
Making art is just so simple that it should be common knowledge, but so many of us forget about it. We are always taught to think logically, and that is my fallibility, not everything makes sense in life. This blog has almost become my voice, my creative voice, though not necessarily the best way to do it, everything we have to blog about have so many guidelines, it almost feels like we don't have a creative process. We can't just talk about our favorite band and explain how our band is the best using audio terms, or why we think our favorite movie deserves and Oscar, but I think this is one of the best ways to be at least a little creative, especially when logic is still in our education system. These blogs have made me think and become a better artists, and hopefully, this is the beginning of a new life with art, creativity, and life in general.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Ohh Song Covers (cont'd)
So, unfortunately, for some odd reason, I was not able to post my compare and contrast of the previous videos on the same blog. So some quick thinking, why not just create and new one with the same title, and say it is continued!
But I digress.
Song cover's can be just another way to either establish a band more or take the success of another song and try to impose it to themselves. But more often than not, I enjoy both songs, and sometimes even like the cover more.
In this particular example, A Day to Remember has already established itself as a successful band in the pop-punk/hardcore music scene, and was asked to do the cover for a CD that offers covers from rock bands across all genres. A Day to Remember used The Fray's song, "Over My Head (Cable Car), and put their own spin on it. They did keep all the lyrics the same, but the intensity of ADTR's version was louder than The Fray's, using the double bass drum, and the use of screaming/singing, creating an automatic loudness. Along with intensity, the speed of the song was increased greatly with the use of the double bass drum. Again, the organization is quite different due to the screaming and singing use in the same song. So much is different and the same because of the type of band they are.
Back a couple of posts ago, I mentioned some binary terms in the blog entry about who influences me. Well here I go again with mentioning it. With A Day to Remember's use of tension and release in almost all their songs, but in this song in particular. They were able to use tension in their music, by just having a nice relaxing melody, then all of sudden, here comes the "breakdown" with the double bass, screaming, and loud guitars. How can you not be surprised from this song? They just keep building up the melody and the niceness of the song, and they throw out the screaming and anger almost on a song that has nothing to do with anger. Also, their contrast with the song by using the intensity, speed, and organization of the song cover is by far a pretty deep difference, while their affinity with The Fray's version with the lyrics staying true to the original, keeps one knowing it is The Fray's song, which is widely recognized by anyone who has ever listened to mainstream music.
Now as I discuss all this, I do have some bias in me. My favorite type of music, and the band that put me into liking this type of music is A Day to Remember, so everything they put out, I automatically love. Although this may be true, I did like The Fray's version, just not as much as A Day to Remember's version. I remember seeing them live and seeing thousands of a male-prominent fandom yelling at the top of their lungs to Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone". Their use of the front-man's amazing voice to the screams and breakdowns in this song, has me awestruck, and to put it bluntly, just badass. It's been my favorite type of music for a long time, and I don't see it changing.
But I digress.
Song cover's can be just another way to either establish a band more or take the success of another song and try to impose it to themselves. But more often than not, I enjoy both songs, and sometimes even like the cover more.
In this particular example, A Day to Remember has already established itself as a successful band in the pop-punk/hardcore music scene, and was asked to do the cover for a CD that offers covers from rock bands across all genres. A Day to Remember used The Fray's song, "Over My Head (Cable Car), and put their own spin on it. They did keep all the lyrics the same, but the intensity of ADTR's version was louder than The Fray's, using the double bass drum, and the use of screaming/singing, creating an automatic loudness. Along with intensity, the speed of the song was increased greatly with the use of the double bass drum. Again, the organization is quite different due to the screaming and singing use in the same song. So much is different and the same because of the type of band they are.
Back a couple of posts ago, I mentioned some binary terms in the blog entry about who influences me. Well here I go again with mentioning it. With A Day to Remember's use of tension and release in almost all their songs, but in this song in particular. They were able to use tension in their music, by just having a nice relaxing melody, then all of sudden, here comes the "breakdown" with the double bass, screaming, and loud guitars. How can you not be surprised from this song? They just keep building up the melody and the niceness of the song, and they throw out the screaming and anger almost on a song that has nothing to do with anger. Also, their contrast with the song by using the intensity, speed, and organization of the song cover is by far a pretty deep difference, while their affinity with The Fray's version with the lyrics staying true to the original, keeps one knowing it is The Fray's song, which is widely recognized by anyone who has ever listened to mainstream music.
Now as I discuss all this, I do have some bias in me. My favorite type of music, and the band that put me into liking this type of music is A Day to Remember, so everything they put out, I automatically love. Although this may be true, I did like The Fray's version, just not as much as A Day to Remember's version. I remember seeing them live and seeing thousands of a male-prominent fandom yelling at the top of their lungs to Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone". Their use of the front-man's amazing voice to the screams and breakdowns in this song, has me awestruck, and to put it bluntly, just badass. It's been my favorite type of music for a long time, and I don't see it changing.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
14 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas
All anyone has to do is go here : http://changethis.com/, than search "14 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas". It's quite an interesting piece of literature. Mike Ditkoff made several good points to almost motivate people to get out there and do what they want to do. The only problem with it is the fact that it proves a point of some one with an actual good idea.
For instance, he states to follow your fascination, and believe your idea is a good one. The only problem is with the way things are today, more often than not, your idea is actually a quite bad one, and there is a chance you didn't come up with the "original" idea. So many times have I seen companies go after one another over some copyright infringement or any copyright issues, just because something is similar to theirs. It's getting to the point where it's the first person to obtain rights on the idea is the winner of it all. Examples : Apple's copyright of the "App Store". How can something so generic and thrown around be copyrighted, I'm not sure. Paris Hilton tried to copyright "That's Hot", but was denied, thankfully, but somehow Apple got away with it. Honestly, I don't believe just believing your idea is a good one will help anything.
Ditkoff continues on his list with how people should immerse themselves in their work that they love, that it's beneficial to themselves. From there, he states how everyone should be able to tolerate failure. This is a good point to make. Every single time you fail, it is always a learning experience. Even though everyone hates to fail, you have to be able to pick yourself up from the wreckage, and learn from each mistake. Failure is not failing. In my own life, if I had failed multiple times, I normally would just be dejected, and not want to do anything more with the idea. This is not how I should go about this, because no matter how many times you may fail, you are only going to learn something more valuable than if you succeed in the first place. I must tolerate the ambiguity just like Ditkoff says, to learn what works, and what doesn't.
As you dive deeper into the list, Ditkoff continues on what he believes will help people by stating how they should make new connections in the world. How something so simple could put together with something else simple, to create an amazing idea. This idea to think of ideas leads into his next point of how we should all fantasize about what we want. It's something we have lost as we grew up, that we need to reconnect with to create ideas.
Of course, another great idea Ditkoff has, is the point to define the right challenge. We must all understand that to get breakthrough ideas, we must find a problem in life, than look for a solution. We cannot just look for a solution because what are we solving when we don't even know it ourselves? Every person in this world knows of something they have a problem with, and they even want to solve it themselves. I say go for it! I, myself, need to realize that instead of just seeing the problem, I must realize why and what it is exactly, than create a solution.
We can't always just assume we are going to find those problems just like that. We sometimes have to reach into our subconscious to find a problem and solution, which is the next point Ditkoff writes. He gives examples about how many people have developed something that helps them reach into their own subconscious and pick out the answer. This point goes along into Ditkoff's next one: take a break. We must all realize it is indeed hard to work all the time, even if we sometimes enjoy it, but we can't keep doing the same exact thing forever. He states that we must trail off the beaten path when we get stuck to keep everything going.
As we delve deeper into his fourteen points, Ditkoff's next is to define and challenge existing patterns and trends. He says we must find already existing patterns in life, than reconfigure them. From there he goes on to state how we must hang out with diverse people. We must delve into the diversity around us, gain knowledge from them, than use that to create bigger and better ideas.
Number eleven on his list is brainstorm. He states how we must be able to brainstorms with others and not be afraid of it. We must not think of it as group think, but only furthering the creative process. A common theme of this list seems to be accidents. It's almost like no idea happens on purpose. This is his twelfth point on this list, to look for happy accidents. He states the normal accident turned amazing idea of penicillin by Flemming, although I'm allergic to it, so it doesn't help me too much.
He moves on to say we must use creative thinking techniques to delve into new ideas. Make sure to check out this point to see links he gives us to help out with our thinking process. Last but not least, we must suspend logic according to Ditkoff. We almost have to return to our childhood. We don't necessarily need everything to make sense, and he states that will help with creating breakthrough ideas.
I think now I should put into place one of his questions he puts after each point. For instance, "What is the topic of your next group brainstorm? Who will you invite? Who will facilitate? When?" is at the end of his topic of brainstorming. So let's begin. The topic of my brainstorm? I would have to say the commonality of the increasing amount that is spent on films. I would invite head leaders of film production groups, and some members of the actors guild. The facilitator would be me, because I don't want two groups to go head to head, and not want anything to get out of hand. I would do this as soon as possible, although i know it is very hard to do, but within the next month for sure.
Most of these questions are quite easy to answer, so no problem should be faced with any questions at the end of one of the ways. So go ahead and try it. You may be able to find the next solution to one of the many problems that exist in this world.
For instance, he states to follow your fascination, and believe your idea is a good one. The only problem is with the way things are today, more often than not, your idea is actually a quite bad one, and there is a chance you didn't come up with the "original" idea. So many times have I seen companies go after one another over some copyright infringement or any copyright issues, just because something is similar to theirs. It's getting to the point where it's the first person to obtain rights on the idea is the winner of it all. Examples : Apple's copyright of the "App Store". How can something so generic and thrown around be copyrighted, I'm not sure. Paris Hilton tried to copyright "That's Hot", but was denied, thankfully, but somehow Apple got away with it. Honestly, I don't believe just believing your idea is a good one will help anything.
Ditkoff continues on his list with how people should immerse themselves in their work that they love, that it's beneficial to themselves. From there, he states how everyone should be able to tolerate failure. This is a good point to make. Every single time you fail, it is always a learning experience. Even though everyone hates to fail, you have to be able to pick yourself up from the wreckage, and learn from each mistake. Failure is not failing. In my own life, if I had failed multiple times, I normally would just be dejected, and not want to do anything more with the idea. This is not how I should go about this, because no matter how many times you may fail, you are only going to learn something more valuable than if you succeed in the first place. I must tolerate the ambiguity just like Ditkoff says, to learn what works, and what doesn't.
As you dive deeper into the list, Ditkoff continues on what he believes will help people by stating how they should make new connections in the world. How something so simple could put together with something else simple, to create an amazing idea. This idea to think of ideas leads into his next point of how we should all fantasize about what we want. It's something we have lost as we grew up, that we need to reconnect with to create ideas.
Of course, another great idea Ditkoff has, is the point to define the right challenge. We must all understand that to get breakthrough ideas, we must find a problem in life, than look for a solution. We cannot just look for a solution because what are we solving when we don't even know it ourselves? Every person in this world knows of something they have a problem with, and they even want to solve it themselves. I say go for it! I, myself, need to realize that instead of just seeing the problem, I must realize why and what it is exactly, than create a solution.
We can't always just assume we are going to find those problems just like that. We sometimes have to reach into our subconscious to find a problem and solution, which is the next point Ditkoff writes. He gives examples about how many people have developed something that helps them reach into their own subconscious and pick out the answer. This point goes along into Ditkoff's next one: take a break. We must all realize it is indeed hard to work all the time, even if we sometimes enjoy it, but we can't keep doing the same exact thing forever. He states that we must trail off the beaten path when we get stuck to keep everything going.
As we delve deeper into his fourteen points, Ditkoff's next is to define and challenge existing patterns and trends. He says we must find already existing patterns in life, than reconfigure them. From there he goes on to state how we must hang out with diverse people. We must delve into the diversity around us, gain knowledge from them, than use that to create bigger and better ideas.
Number eleven on his list is brainstorm. He states how we must be able to brainstorms with others and not be afraid of it. We must not think of it as group think, but only furthering the creative process. A common theme of this list seems to be accidents. It's almost like no idea happens on purpose. This is his twelfth point on this list, to look for happy accidents. He states the normal accident turned amazing idea of penicillin by Flemming, although I'm allergic to it, so it doesn't help me too much.
He moves on to say we must use creative thinking techniques to delve into new ideas. Make sure to check out this point to see links he gives us to help out with our thinking process. Last but not least, we must suspend logic according to Ditkoff. We almost have to return to our childhood. We don't necessarily need everything to make sense, and he states that will help with creating breakthrough ideas.
I think now I should put into place one of his questions he puts after each point. For instance, "What is the topic of your next group brainstorm? Who will you invite? Who will facilitate? When?" is at the end of his topic of brainstorming. So let's begin. The topic of my brainstorm? I would have to say the commonality of the increasing amount that is spent on films. I would invite head leaders of film production groups, and some members of the actors guild. The facilitator would be me, because I don't want two groups to go head to head, and not want anything to get out of hand. I would do this as soon as possible, although i know it is very hard to do, but within the next month for sure.
Most of these questions are quite easy to answer, so no problem should be faced with any questions at the end of one of the ways. So go ahead and try it. You may be able to find the next solution to one of the many problems that exist in this world.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Oh, the influences in my life.
I may be a Video Production major at Ohio University, but more often than I find myself finding my creativity from musical influences. I see myself listening to some of my favorite artists, such as A Day to Remember or Conditions, and automatically getting into a very creative mood or even a more proactive mood. Of course, as mentioned before, I am a video major, so I do have influences in that field. As of right now, Christopher Nolan, is one of the most influential people in my life right now.
A Day to Remember - All I Want
I highly recommend to anyone who is reading this right now to click on the link above and listen and watch the video for the song. This song by A Day to Remember, or ADTR for short, is one of their newer songs, from a recently released LP. This song is very creative with their mix of genres from post-hardcore to pop punk. They've finally began to get wide coverage of their music, and about a week ago were featured on Jimmy Kimmel. When I begin to listen to their music, I am consciously thinking of what they are saying getting pumped up, but their lyrics subconsciously puts me in a very creative and proactive mood. I can never listen to them and not be creative. Actually it's who I am listening to as I type this.
Conditions - When It Won't Save You
Again, I highly recommend to click on the link above. They do not have a music video like ADTR does for this song, but it is still worth to click on it. They have a different style from ADTR also, but again their songs get my creative juices flowing. Actually, if you look to the right on my main page, you will notice their lyrics from this song in my "Words" section. Their lyrics always seem to keep me actively trying to figure out the meaning behind every song, even though it seems they are always didactic, and it is simply what is said, is the meaning. Because of this thought process, I am always thinking and it encourages me to be creative more and more often. This band is one of the few bands I can constantly listen to their old and new songs, and I am never nervous about a new song they put out because I know it will be good.
Inception - Trailer
The first time I saw this movie, I was absolutely amazed. I had heard mixed reviews from people who had already seen the movie, but I went in thinking it was going to be a good movie. It actually surpassed my expectations. The entire storyline, all the camera angles, the editing, the soundscapes, everything about this movie, absolutely amazed me. This is all thanks to Christopher Nolan. The writer, director, producer of Inception, and directed and produced other movies such as The Dark Knight and The Prestige. Inception was one of the most creative movies I have seen in the longest time. I am absolutely amazed at it's ability to amaze someone who is very hard to amaze by a movie. His use of tension and release throughout the entire movie. For example, when Dom (Leonardo DiCaprio) and the group is trying to escape the dream world, and used anxiety inducing action scenes, to make every one worry, than relieve them of the tension when they land in the plane and he steps off to go to his family. Everything about this movie, that Christopher Nolan created, with the help of other talented people such as Lee Smith, is a masterpiece and makes me want to be just as creative as him. His attention to detail, is amazing, and I can't wait to work as hard as him, and maybe even collaborate with him.
I am influenced from different people, but I think it only helps me be a better person creatively, broadening my horizons to not just only have one view. Gotta love music and film.
A Day to Remember - All I Want
I highly recommend to anyone who is reading this right now to click on the link above and listen and watch the video for the song. This song by A Day to Remember, or ADTR for short, is one of their newer songs, from a recently released LP. This song is very creative with their mix of genres from post-hardcore to pop punk. They've finally began to get wide coverage of their music, and about a week ago were featured on Jimmy Kimmel. When I begin to listen to their music, I am consciously thinking of what they are saying getting pumped up, but their lyrics subconsciously puts me in a very creative and proactive mood. I can never listen to them and not be creative. Actually it's who I am listening to as I type this.
Conditions - When It Won't Save You
Again, I highly recommend to click on the link above. They do not have a music video like ADTR does for this song, but it is still worth to click on it. They have a different style from ADTR also, but again their songs get my creative juices flowing. Actually, if you look to the right on my main page, you will notice their lyrics from this song in my "Words" section. Their lyrics always seem to keep me actively trying to figure out the meaning behind every song, even though it seems they are always didactic, and it is simply what is said, is the meaning. Because of this thought process, I am always thinking and it encourages me to be creative more and more often. This band is one of the few bands I can constantly listen to their old and new songs, and I am never nervous about a new song they put out because I know it will be good.
Inception - Trailer
The first time I saw this movie, I was absolutely amazed. I had heard mixed reviews from people who had already seen the movie, but I went in thinking it was going to be a good movie. It actually surpassed my expectations. The entire storyline, all the camera angles, the editing, the soundscapes, everything about this movie, absolutely amazed me. This is all thanks to Christopher Nolan. The writer, director, producer of Inception, and directed and produced other movies such as The Dark Knight and The Prestige. Inception was one of the most creative movies I have seen in the longest time. I am absolutely amazed at it's ability to amaze someone who is very hard to amaze by a movie. His use of tension and release throughout the entire movie. For example, when Dom (Leonardo DiCaprio) and the group is trying to escape the dream world, and used anxiety inducing action scenes, to make every one worry, than relieve them of the tension when they land in the plane and he steps off to go to his family. Everything about this movie, that Christopher Nolan created, with the help of other talented people such as Lee Smith, is a masterpiece and makes me want to be just as creative as him. His attention to detail, is amazing, and I can't wait to work as hard as him, and maybe even collaborate with him.
I am influenced from different people, but I think it only helps me be a better person creatively, broadening my horizons to not just only have one view. Gotta love music and film.
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