Reflection on Hero/Villain assignment

Our group had two villains and one hero, because we were a group of 3

Here's Minuteman, our hero:                            Hi-Hat, our villain:

And our second villain, Silver Spoon:

This is animation depicting the motions of my villain, Silver Spoon

Audio response to This American Life

Joke Videos

Here are my groups joke videos for our project in Media 203

Other Joke Video

Joke videos reflection

In the first joke video, we used lines in order to create tension. The lines of the table, and the walls were all situated at slanted angles. The result was a frame with diagonal lines running across the scree. Using diagonal lines rather than perfectly horizontal lines creates disorder and uneasiness, resulting in a feeling of tension and anxiety. When coupled with the music, the diagonal lines keep the visual tension high, until the end when the music changes and we finish with less diagonal lines for a little release. The level of visual chaos in the first video contrasted the very orderly lines used in video two. In joke video two, we used horizontal lines that reflect the organization of a standard office or school. The organized lines set a feeling of monotony and dreariness. The organization is reminiscent of times at work or school, the familiar line setup reminds us of monotony that we encounter in our daily lives. The tension is significantly lower in the second video.

We also used movement in both videos. In joke video one, we used movement in order to quickly define each character. The boss moved very little for most of the video, showing his stoic attitude. He only moved when he was angry so his actions were faster and more aggressive. The Economist also showed his character through his movement. He moved confidently and swiftly indicating his character was cocky and sure of himself. These large movements contrasted that of the first two applicants, as they moved slowly and in small motions to show timidness or shyness. The two featured affinity in their meeker movements. In the second video we used movement in a similar fashion.  In the video, we capture how each applicant enters the room, this is when their character is displayed. Once again the first two applicants have movement that is associated with weakness and the economist remains confident with every motion. The boss moves like a robot with very precise and repetitive actions.

How to Be Creative

Audio Commentary on Lighting in Amnesia: The Dark Decent

Another audio critique, this time on a videogame. I analyze the lighting used in Amnesia: The Dark Decent and how the creators used the lighting to give the game a very specific feel. As with last time, please ignore the ads and play the video (muted) once the narration has started for best results.

Audio Commentary on Watchmen

Hey, today I have recorded an audio critique of one of my favorite movie scenes. I explain some of the techniques used in the opening to Watchmen and how they are used together. Once again please ignore the ad the plays before my audio upload. Enjoy.

(for best results, wait for narration to start, then play the video in sync)

Watchmen Intro from Hanz Meier on Vimeo.

(Edit: I just caught something at the end of the video, note how in the new hero portrait the action is sped up to show that it is indeed in the present.)

Re-imagining Visual Framing

This work of art, titled VIP, is by Ben Goossens. I have re-framed the image in a way that changes the visual structure of it quite a bit. The re-frame is more objective, because it is simply a hat. The original was subjective, featuring what appears to be emotive or contemplative characters.

One visual component which I have altered is the shot type. In Goossens' original,the picture is an over the shoulder wide shot. The over the shoulder shot with the car facing forward creates a sort of tension between the two figures. In the re-framing, the picture is a close up on just the bowler hat, no emotion, no tension. The objectivity of the bowler hat creates release when placed next to the emotion of the car.

The images feature different visual rhythm. The original work has several parallel horizontal lines, the light plane, the dark woods, the light sky, the dark sky. The visual rhythm of the reframe is much more simple, a horizontal line of light sky layered with dark sky on top. The dark light layering of the original rhythm makes the scene more expressive and dark, in comparison the simple skyline gradient of the re-frame seems upbeat or hopeful.

The depth of the image has also changed. In the original, the smaller figure to the left contrasts the size of the larger and creates depth between them so a large plane is perceived. The two figures also have some affinity because they both are vertically standing up and have similar hats. In the new image lacks depth, it is a flat image of a hat against the sky, with no background figure to compare it to, the image no longer has depth.

Although it is just a simple re-frame, the result is an entirely new image with a very different message.