Blog 2: Caricaturing Reality...or Realistic Exaggeration

            A caricature is, by definition, "a picture, description, or imitation of a person or thing in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect.”  In animation, this applies to a character, background, or object that takes its real-world properties and effectively stretching them to make them unreal or largely out-of-proportion to its real-world counterpart (for example, a standard butter knife in reality could be stretched to be an unwieldy sword).  This, in turn, gives the work a more interesting and original feel to it that otherwise would go unnoticed by the audience or by the creator himself.

            What is interesting to note, however, is that caricature and realism are both opposites of the same coin in a sense.  On one hand, caricatures focus on the absurdity and out-of-proportion features that differ them from realistic properties and equivalencies.  Realism, though, differs in that it takes what we perceive to be real and keeping those proportions within the same boundaries.

            To compare, think of a sword from an animated short or film and then think about a sword that you would see in a museum.  While we perceive them to both be swords, the animation version will differ greatly from the real-life counterpart.  For instance, the caricature version of the sword might focus on a larger hilt or the blade will be comically longer or heavier looking.  In that sense, caricatures are - depending on your view - truer than realism in that the creator has more freedom with how to carve these objects out than he would if he based them exactly like their realistic versions down to the most minute detail.

Blog 1: Communications - The Basics of Conveying Ideas

            One of the basic fundamentals of communication stems from the idea of two or more beings interacting with each other.  With this in mind, the same basic principle applies to mass communication, albeit on a larger scale.  Whether it be through speech, text, or motion, communication is the prime outlet with which we, as humans, convey a wide range of ideas and emotions between one another.

            This also applies to animation, as communication between the creator and the audience is a bond that relies solely on being able to convey any idea, thought, or emotion.  Just as the creator brings these things to life, so too must the audience be able to understand the creator's manifestation of his or her ideas.  This back and forth "conversation" between audience and medium heavily relies on the creator's ability to convey such communication in an easily understood way, otherwise the message being conveyed will be lost.

Maus and the Comic Triangle Concept

Throughout the first chapters of the book Understanding Comics, many concepts are brought up regarding comics and how they can convey not just ideas and concepts, but also convey messages of differing meanings.  One such concept, a chart that appears on page 51 of the book (also on pages 52 and 53 for a better understanding of the chart), connects pictures, realism, and language into a triangle that represents the "pictorial vocabulary of comics or of any of the visual arts" (51).

To give a brief summary, the triangle works like this:

- The closer to language, the simpler the art becomes
- The closer to realism, the more realistic the art becomes
- The closer to the picture plane, the more that each individual line, shape, and color can be themselves and not pretending to be something else.

For the purposes of this reflection, we'll be ignoring the the picture plane part, as that mostly deals with art being art and not to convey a narrative or idea.

This concept lends itself very nicely towards Maus.  One of the most noticeable things is that, art-wise, the comic centers around generally stylized (but still simplistic-looking) anthropomorphic animals, each one symbolizing a different nationality/race/religion - the most notable being that the Jewish people are represented as mice while the Nazis are represented by cats.  While still having mostly detailed backgrounds (with the occasional panel dark and detail-less background), the characters themselves lend their simplicity to give the illusion of realism while not being real.

Language-wise, the story is told through the eyes of a Jewish survivor from World War II.  Going back to what I said earlier, the fact that the art of the story is told using anthropomorphic animals lends itself to the dire and bleak times facing the Jews during the war.  Not only does the cat-and-mouse visual idea lend itself well to the story, but it also gives the reader a sense of the visually horrifying nature that Jews faced during WWII.

Maus' WWII narrative roots and the artistic anthropomorphic style of cat-and-mouse gives the reader a more visual idea of the horrors of WWII that befell the Jews.  Using this chart's concept helps give the reader a better understanding of Maus' mature theme.  When used correctly, as in the case of Maus, the chart can be the best weapon a person can have in creating a comic that best suits its focus - both in visual and narrative sense.

In-Class Assignment - Frames

During class today, we discussed how frames work in comics/graphic novels and how their layout can subtlety convey messages that our subconscious recognizes.  

The image above, found in issue 46 of the comic 'Transmetropolitan', demonstrates this concept precisely and cleanly. In it, the main character (named Spider Jerusalem), reflects on his current predicament after the events that occurred in the issue preceded this one.  He eventually concludes that he is in a coma after realizing that he is still alive (which he references when he alludes to God "giving up his throne to" Spider).

The layout of the two panels brings this image together of Spider's comatose isolation. The thin, white line between the two panels subconsciously brings up the feeling that the balance between Spider's life and a vegetative state is fragile, almost as if ready to crumble at a moment's notice.  The excessive use of black ink surrounding Spider also helps convey his imaginative self suspended in a mental space devoid of everything but his own mental likeness.  It projects to the reader that in this state, Spider is surrounded by a darkness that has resulted from his coma.  This darkness, along with the shading of Spider's face accenting his grim but self-philosophical reflection, adds itself to this image of being trapped within one's own mind.

VALS Assessment and Thoughts

Striver/Experiencer

     These are the two words that stare back at me after completing the VALS assessment test.  To be honest, I actually think these two words really reflect my interests and my personality to almost a T.  It's...also rather odd, all things considered.  Most of the questions asked mostly about life things and about faith, ideals, and the like instead of asking about aspirations, life goals, and things I would normally assume to be on things such as this.

     However, I do realize now that, after taking this assessment, I learned that I always feel like I need to experience new things, as well as being told flat on my face that, as a Striver, I have a problem with impulse buying (which isn't too far from the truth, as I sometimes have the urge to purchase a bar of Laffy Taffy every time I go through the checkout at my local grocery store or at least buy a booster pack of Magic: The Gathering cards from the nearby hobby shop).  However, I also know now that, as an Experiencer, I tend to love new things - video games and books, especially - that give me a sense of adventure and a certain freedom to travel the world that I, as I am now, cannot and are unable to do.

     If I was asked how my interests would be used to appeal to me as a consumer, I'd ask to be directed to the either the local Books-a-Million or GameStop store, as these are probably the only two ideal places in the world where I would literally have to be escorted out of the building at closing since there would be about half the store that I would love to own or purchase, despite my lack of income.  Throw me a good video game with an interesting cast of characters and an engaging, interactive story and gameplay, or a book that sounds less like a bad Twilight fan-fiction and more like an original work of fiction, and I would practically throw my money at you with due-haste.

     That reminds me.  I must start writing video game reviews again.  I have been too terribly bogged down with a collection of games I have yet to play and not enough time to really sit down and play them.

Digital Storytelling Project - This is How Singers Are Born

The Future of Music Podcast

Podcast Title: The Future of Music


Release Date: Feburary 18th, 2013 (tentative)


Podcast:

Summary: This podcast is aimed at briefly going over music and its interaction with technology throughout the years. Also quickly delves into the range of music genres that have spawned from said technological advancements and quick quips on both points of view on whether technology has affected music positively or negatively.


Resources:

Baran, Stanley J. Introduction to Mass Media: Media Literacy and Culture

Asahi TV - Hatsune Miku (Vocaloid Technology)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBZOlipfjkQ

Auto-tune Technology History

http://www.antarestech.com/about/history.shtml

Guardian Magazine

www.guardian.co.uk/music/interactive/2011/jun/11/history-modern-music-timeline

Timeline of Sound & Broadcast Technology
http://www.classicthemes.com/technologyTimeline.html

Sponsors: Shepherd University, Comm 203 - Comm and New Media

Host: Kevin Wohlrab

Co-Hosts: Mark Eberhardt, Emily Turner

Team Members: Mark Eberhardt, Kevin Wohlrab, Emily Turner

Editor: Mark Eberhardt