Fireside Chat

The fireside chat was by far the most moving and the most incredible of anything we have done so far. I can honestly say that some of the pieces truly touched me and spoke to me. I think I loved the entire process more than any of the other assignments as well. I think part of it was the performing, there’s a sort of terrifying thrill of performing that I find exciting and invigorating. But even that being said, there was so much more to the meaning of this assignment than the performance. For me, it was mostly in creation.

I decided that since the whole point of this class is to stretch ourselves, explore new mediums/inspirations, and to even put ourselves out there, that I would perform a rap. It combined my natural skill of rhythmic rhyming with a form and culture I have little to no experience in. I was going for a sound and style like Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”, which though I haven’t heard since high school, it still stuck with me and reminds me that not all rap is crap. I knew that my lyrics would need a song to start with, so I rummaged through my spotify and found one of my particular favorite instrumentals-- “Palladio” by Escala. I find it so powerful, moving, and exactly the kind of style that I was hoping to emulate. However, I will confess I was really scared, because I was worried that such a heavy form would create misunderstandings about me and my classmates. I didn’t want everyone to think that I was this heavy, angsty guy, but I decided to go through with it anyway. I’m so glad I did.

The subject matter: Why did I pick standing up for/defending yourself? No, I haven’t really had a problem with it in my life, at least not in that way. I did it because it was the first thing that came to my mind because it is something I believe in, and I thought I could put it across in a unique way, especially with this form, because of the same ideologies I have in my decision to join the Army. So, I created a narrative. I picked a story of a young man that formed in my head and put it to rhyme in the rhythm of the song. I was pretty proud of the lyrics when it was finished, but I wanted to check how I sounded...such a bad idea. I listened to myself and almost swore then and there that I would completely change my piece (this was the night before). However, I decided to go for it for the same reasons I came up with the idea: I wanted to stretch myself and put myself out there.

So, I went all out. I dressed to fit the occasion, especially choosing clothes with a military theme or feel, because that relates directly to the subject of my belief: Defending and standing up for oneself and what you care about/believe in. I was so scared, my hands were shaking really bad, but as the music came on and the words came out, though I stumbled a few times, I actually really enjoyed it.

Concerned Citizen

http://soundcloud.com/dancermlee/concerned-citizen-tma-112

Artists’ Statement

We decided to focus on someone who is a part of the armed sources. A song which inspired us to pursue someone in this field is the song “Citizen Soldier” by 3 Doors Down, even though its talking about the National Guard, it applies to all men and women in the service. They are all citizens and everything they do helps provide us with a better tomorrow. We decided to film Lieutenant Colonel Boberg, who is the Professor of Military Science over the Cougar Battalion (includes BYU, UVU, SUU, and Dixie) because he is concerned over the development of the next generation of leaders and firmly believes that what is learned in the ROTC makes better people as wells as better soldiers and officers. In the reading there was a quote that said “The antidote to despair is to remember the world to come.” LTC Boberg is always talking about the future of his cadets in the ROTC program. He strives to build better people by training them today. What better way to gain hope than to help provide the hope for everyone else?

When editing the interview which we had with LTC Boberg we focused on what the ROTC strives for as a whole, what LTC Boberg personally strives for in regards to the ROTC, and how the ROTC affects the community, and how the members of the ROTC affect the community. Also, originally we were going to have the piece be a film but upon examining the interview we decided that it was best to focus solely on LTC Boberg’s words. We have included about 15% of the interview and because of what we decided to focus on from the interview it was impractical to include the footage we had captured from his personal training session and from practice at the range with some cadets as cut-aways during the interview. Therefore, we decided to focus solely on his words and have the piece be audio only. 

Overall, piece seeks to demonstrate and celebrate the role which LTC Boberg has in teaching future leaders of armed services as well as future leaders and contributors of our community and how they give priceless service to this country and community. 

Protest Poster

Artist's Statement:

     When I listened to the video, as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talked about having “a single story”, of uninformed perceptions, or rather only having one incomplete idea that forms a whole perception, I immediately thought of Disney. I love Disney, and they are wonderful, wholesome family films, however as we’ve spoken of many times in multiple film classes and discussions, they are not accurate or conducive to realistic perceptions (if Disney films are all that are consumed by an individual). I decided to use a Disney reference for that very reason. Now I needed a medium, a style that was both effective and recognizable. It didn’t take me long to think of the Demotivational posters, the “You’re Doing It Wrong”, etc. They are short, but like Haiku poems, they say a lot with just a few words. I found a generator online that had the font and layout to make my own Demotivational poster, or in this case, Protest Poster.

     Now that I was armed with an idea for a Disney reference and a medium, all I needed was a subject matter. As I contemplated, looked for, and considered multiple topics, I remembered a Youtube video call “After Ever After” where a guy sings a few very clever renditions of Disney songs about the main characters ‘after’ their ‘happily ever after’. One was Ariel, and everything that would happen to her fish friends, especially oil spills. Perfect! Now, there are a lot of politics when it comes to oil spills, but regardless of your stance on any of them, one thing remains the same: we as a species need to be careful, mindful, and dutiful in our stewardship of this earth and the animals that inhabit it. Yes, there are those who take that to an extreme, but just because there are extremists does not make the ideology false. In this case, I wanted to simply show the horror and extremely sad effects of oil spills so that when anyone has a chance to make a difference, they will remember “Oil Spill” in big caps with the pitiful photo I found. Hopefully, it will inspire them to make a difference.

Webspinna Artist Statement

The webspinna was really fun! I really enjoyed perusing the internet for sounds. I didn’t know anything about soundboards, or those sound games, or the free mixing sites because I’d never come across them. Now, after having done this I’ll definitely be using them in the future. The mixing was really fun too. As I found fun sounds, especially the soundboards on Newgrounds, I couldn’t help but smile as I tried making rhythms and beats with bizarre soundboards. I knew that I didn’t necessarily have to have a rhythm or beat, but I thought it would be more fun, and make it all the funnier, especially the gunshots on titanium and “I am not a Ninja” from Sub-zero. I wanted to take these sounds that before had nothing to do with each other initially, but make it enjoyable, kind of like Pitch Perfect’s mix of “Titanium” and “If I could walk 500 Miles”.

The performance was a good mixing of fun and nerves as I experienced what DJ Spooky referred to as “haunted by the way things could have turned out”. For the most part it all went according to plan, except for the gunshots, I didn’t quite get it like I wanted to. The first couple times I practiced I had it down and it sounded great (to me, anyway) but stage fright got the better of me and I choked a bit. However, that was a very valuable experience. I know have a great respect for those that mix and remix, Dj’s are really impressive. Since the Webspinna I guiltily admit I’ve been nerdily indulging in Zelda Remixes and they are so impressive! I actually have a few songs I would like to juxtapose and infuse with sound effects because it would be fun.

The best part of the night was hanging out with my new friends of 112. Now that we’ve all got to know each other really well, we were all able to enjoy chatting and eating (so much junk food! It was gluttonously enjoyable), and going beyond getting to know each other—just enjoying each other’s company. I’d definitely do this again. 

WEBSPINNA YO!!

DJ Brando's Mix: NOS-talgia

Incredibox 
Invader ZIM!!!
Sub-Zero
Grooveshark
Guns

Medium Specificity

Haiku--succinct sonnets

Just five syllables

Two more for the second line

Five more syllables

It does not take many

Words, syllables or phrases

To say quite a lot

In fact,

You can change the rules

To fit.

Artist's Statement:

                     Both the Rankin photos and McCloud’s “Show and Tell” take their respective mediums (photography and comics) and use the basic core elements to describe/illustrate how the medium works. Having considered these ‘readings’, there was a wide world of mediums from which I could choose, though within bounds of time, reason, and budget. It was a welcome challenge, and originally I was going to explore the medium of CGI. However, while I was brainstorming ideas for this project, a friend jokingly suggested using haiku. At first, I laughed along with them, but then I realized that there was a lot to be discovered with haiku. Yes, they are short, but they are also beautiful, and they use that succinctness to say so much more than the 17 words they use. So, in order to capture the spirit of haiku, I read over 50 different haiku online, both contemporary and classic, from a few different sites, as well as did some light research into the history and form of haiku as well. Their whole purpose is to make brief, beautiful statements that act like a picture (in that a ‘picture is worth a thousand words’). Not only is it an art form, but it is a way of looking at the world.

I wrote three haiku to use for this particular assignment, each one exploring a particular element of haiku. The first is a humorously frank explanation of haiku structure. Just like the Rankin photos and McCloud’s “Show and Tell” comic, it simply lays out ‘how’ to write a haiku. However, it lacks a lot of the spirit and poetic nature of the haiku form. To remedy that, I wrote the second haiku. This explains and illustrates the beauty of the form, showing one of the greatest and most valuable effects haiku can have. However, I noted that not all haiku fit the 5-7-5 rule exactly, so I wrote the third for a more complete illustration of the concept. The serial haiku was in part inspired by serial art such as Andrew Grassie’s serial paintings known as Windmill. Individually, they all say something about haiku, collectively they are designed to embody haiku. 

Textual Poaching

I am Brandon, And I'm a Dreamer

Artist's Statement:

This assignment was helpful for me personally, because as I’ve mentioned in previous pieces my search of self has always been a struggle. So to have to identify a part of myself, then explore it through art was a welcome challenge. The moment in class that we had to say “I am a ______” first drew the blank as written, but then immediately I thought “a dreamer”. I am a dreamer. That has been a constant since birth, I think.

So, how do you illustrate being a dreamer? At first I thought about taking clips from my favorite “Dreamer” characters, such as Will from A Knight’s Tale, and D’Artagnion from The Three Muskateers, and doing something with that…but I realized I had no idea how to rip the clips legally. So, then I thought of Inception, and how the dream sequences were inspired by surrealist paintings.

So, I picked some surrealist paintings I found online to insert my personality into. Although I don’t have the incredible skills of Tibor Kalman, who took two seemingly opposite things and created a whole, incredible image from it, I figured that a Duchamp style was more in my grasp. I decided I would simply “paint” myself into these in what I dub a ‘dream-ish silhouette’, which I thought fit the surreal/dream theme. The silhouette is shaky, childlike, and I used Gimp’s paintbrush (rather than pencil) tool, because it creates a less distinct figure. That shade of blue is my favorite color, and the color with which I identify myself. It’s a really simple addition, but it goes from being a surrealist statement to being illustrations of my dreams, which is metaphorical in a couple of different ways. It shows the magnitude and strangeness of a lot of my ideas, as well as the improbability of a lot of my ideas. In this assignment, I’m acknowledging my talent as well as its weakness.