Reflections on Sound Design

Movie clip from "The Thing": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtgFKdWcKXY&feature=fvwrel

     The scene I chose to transcribe is from the 1982 film, “The Thing”. In the scene, the Norwegian crew of an Antarctic research station discovers an alien creature inside the station. I think that the sound design is done well in this film. The Gestalt Principles are applied to The Thing in the film. According to figure and ground, the most prominent sound stands out. The Thing’s screeching, squealing, and screaming are definitely the most prominent sounds in this scene because it is so much louder than everything else. The sounds are also strange, but this brings us to the next principle of proximity and similarity. The intensity of the Thing’s sound is much louder than anything else for most of the scene. The pitch of the Thing’s “voice” varies as well. Sometimes it makes low growling noises and sometimes it makes high pitched screeching noises, which I think contrast nicely and also give it a creepy, other worldly feel.

     Listening modes are also used differently in the film. Some sounds are causal and some are semantic. Causal sounds are literal sounds. In this scene some of the causal sounds include the shotgun, the flamethrower, and the people’s voices. Semantic sounds are representational sounds, or sounds that are used to represent a sound of something that normally don’t make the sound.  The Thing’s sounds are semantic because a creature like that does not actually exist. Therefore, different sounds were used to create what the want the Thing to sound like.

Brainwashed

Link to Seth Godin’s “Brainwashed”: http://changethis.com/manifesto/66.01.Brainwashed/pdf/66.01.Brainwashed.pdf

            In Seth Godin’s article, “Brainwashed”, he talks about the seven layers of reinventing ourselves. Three of these layers are: Acknowledging the Lizard, Make Art, and Learn. Godin describes Acknowledging the Lizard as being able to recognize our lizard brain (the prehistoric part of our brain) exists. The lizard brain doesn’t like being laughed at and so it shuts down our ability to create art, for fear of our art being laughed at. We need to acknowledge it so we can ignore it. Making Art is creating something new that changes everything. Art doesn’t follow rules, but is simply creating the uncreated. Learning is a constant process. We used to go to school to learn a trade. Now we need to learn constantly every day so we can know the things we need to know.

            I think that these layers of reinventing ourselves are connected to the blog we are creating this quarter. Our blog in itself is an example of Making Art. By creating this blog we are participating in creating something that is new and uncreated. By creating this blog we are also practicing Acknowledging the Lizard. We have to submit our blog entries for other people to read and judge. We have to acknowledge the lizard in order to brace ourselves in case our blog (our art) is laughed at. Our blog is also helping us to Learn. On the surface it has helped us to learn how to make a blog. However, through the assignments giving to us we are also learning other things as well. For example we learned how to analyze and deconstruct characters into their basic forms of color, light, and shape. So our blog is constantly helping us to learn things.

            I think that learning about these seven layers of reinventing myself have helped me. If I start to put them in to practice I’m sure they will help me to become a better student and creative person. Acknowledging the Lizard would help me to be more creative. I have always enjoyed writing, drawing, playing music, and creating other things. However, I have experienced the “lizard brain” and how it makes you scared that people are not going to like your work. I am not like this all the time, but when I feel it, I hate it. If I can practice acknowledging the lizard then I can become a better artist so I can create what I want without fear or worry of what other people think. Making Art is very important. It’s basically where people need to start because without art the creative process doesn’t really work. However, making art can be difficult sometimes. People get writer’s block and sometimes I am just too lazy to sit down and create something, even though I enjoy creating art. I think if I just start creating things to get in the habit without worrying how good it is, that it will help me in the long run of my creative career. Learning is also an important thing to do. We should always be trying to learn something new. Learning is how we get better and keep up with, or surpass, everyone else in the creative world. Even after college we should still try to learn while we are in our careers and throughout our lives to help us become better creative people.

            I think that all of these layers of reinventing ourselves are connected to our blog. I also think we need to practice these in order to become better creative people and stay ahead in the creative world.

Finding Your Howl

Link to “Finding Your Howl” by Jonathon Flaum: http://changethis.com/manifesto/51.01.YourHowl/pdf/51.01.YourHowl.pdf

            In Jonathon Flaum’s article, “Finding Your Howl”, he references a story by Robert Frost about how the nearly extinct species of red wolves were brought into captivity. The wolves produced offspring that were released back into the wild. However, they didn’t know how to howl, and were lost and scared. Many of the wolves wanted to go back to captivity, but one wolf strived to find his howl instead of go back there. Flaum uses this story as an example of how we can find our one of a kind authentic voice, just like the wolf eventually found his howl.

            Some of my favorite lyrics are in the song “Fix Me” by the band 10 Years. The lyrics in the chorus go: “I’m fine in the fire, I feed on the friction, I’m right where I should be, don’t try and fix me.” This speaks to me in general but it speaks to me as a creative person as well. I’ve always been a creative person and even since I was young I have loved to draw and write. About 3 years ago I took up playing the drums. Now that I am in college my creative side is still with me as I am earning my degree in audio production. I think these lyrics speak to me now more than ever.

            Life is hard. You can argue this point all you want but eventually you will lose because life is hard, especially adult life. That doesn’t mean that it’s not worth it, because it is. All the effort you put into your education or career is going to benefit you one day and you will be grateful if you do put forth the effort. The first few lyrics of the song: “I’m fine in the fire, I feed on the friction”, help to put this into perspective for me. Fire can burn you, friction slows you down, and life can do these things and more to you. However, I’m fine with that. Of course I don’t like it, but I know if I work hard to get a good education and get a good career then I will be fine. I’ve started to realize that school is a lot of hard work and there is a lot of competition for jobs these days, especially in the field I want to get in to. But the fire is here to stay and I must brave through it to get to the good things in life.

            The second part of the chorus: “I’m right where I should be, don’t try and fix me”, speaks to me as a creative person as well. As I’ve said, I have always been a creative person. I’ve always known that I’ve wanted to be in a creative and entertainment media type of career. Even when I would have doubts I eventually came back to realizing that this is what I want to do and it is what I’m meant to do. My mom told me that she didn’t think a creative career in media would be very stable, and that if the economy got really bad, entertainment would be the first thing to go. She said it might not be the best option career wise and I know she was just trying to help me. For a while I listened, but I realized that this is who I am. I am a creative person and nobody should be trying to “fix me” or change me from who I am and what I want to be. Once I chose audio production she seemed a little happier, so I guess everything worked out.

            That is why those lyrics speak to me as a creative person. I know the path to my career is going to be filled with hard work and I may struggle now and then. But I know the rewards are going to be worth it. I also know that this is who I am, this is what I want, and this is what I am meant to do. Tying back in to what Jonathon Flaum says about finding our howl, it may take us a while and be filled with challenges, but in the end it is worth it to find our own unique, one of a kind voice that defines who we are.

Deconstructing Characters

Protagonist: The Stinger

Color-

   

     For the color of my protagonist I chose yellow and black, which is a monochromatic color scheme. The hue is yellow and then the value is darkened all the way until you get black. I chose yellow as the primary color because it is a bright color that creates a warm and sunny disposition. Even though black is usually associated with evil or danger I still chose it as the secondary color. One reason is because yellow and black match the color scheme to the creature my character is based off of. Black can also represent fear as well, so it also matches my character's fear for the danger he is about to face.

Light-

     I chose the sun to represent the lighting for my character. The sun represents brightness and happiness, and usually stands for good things. My hero is cast in the sunlight to show that his intentions are good and that he fights for justice. The Stinger may be scared, but he does not hide in the shadows. The sun is in the background and it also is a connection between my character and nature. The direction of the light is vertical as it shines down upon my hero and the light is very intense. The hardness of the light is diffused everywhere but also the most intense light is focused directly on The Stinger.

Shape-

     For the shape of my protagonist I chose a triangle. Triangles represent speed and agility to show how fast and agile my hero is. More importantly his shape is an upside down triangle, which shows that he is rising up against all the injustice in the world. His wings are what help to give him the triangular shape and the source of his speed and agility. The triangle is a dynamic shape and while my character is strong, the triangle suggests that he is not extremely powerful or an over imposing force.

The Antagonist: The Mauler

Color-

     For the color of my antagonist I chose brown and black, which is a monochromatic color scheme. The hue is black and then the value is turned up to the hue brown. I chose black as the primary color because it normally represents evil, monstrous and death. I chose brown as the secondary color because it is still a dark color to represent the darkness of the character. It also represents earth and nature which are what my characters are based upon and the brown and black color scheme matches the creature my antagonist is based off of.

Light-

     I chose this dark picture for the lighting for The Mauler. Darkness represents his evil intentions and that he wants to destroy everything good in the world. The light being far away shows that the antagonist is far from every returning to the light of goodness. The light casts everything around it in shadow and there is only a small amount of light compared to the darkness, showing how much stronger the dark force is than the light. The intensity of the light is very low and the direction of the light is horizontal towards the viewer. The light is far from the viewer as well and is diffused, but it is over taken by the darkness around it, causing it to fade away.

Shape-

     For The Mauler's shape I chose a square. Squares are solid structures and represent stability. They also represent strength and the shape gives my character the appearance of a formidable foe. The square is also less friendly than other shapes which fits his role as an antagonist. His shape also gives the impression of a big hulking character and this could possibly be frightening to those who see him. The Mauler's square shape also suggests he will be a difficult enemy and it will take a lot to bring him down.