My Creative Manifesto

Check out Karim Rashid’s Creative Manifesto http://www.karimrashid.com/manifesto_fr.html and then read mine!

My Creative Manifesto

1. Do what you love.  Fuck the rest.
2. Be open to criticism.
3. Don’t judge yourself too harshly.
4. Try new things.
5. Be confident in your ideas.
6. Value yourself and others.
7. See the beauty in everything.
8. Realize that everyone has potential, even you.
9. Nobody’s perfect.
10. Find out what makes you, you and be yourself!

10A. Written Response to FREAK FACTOR

Read David Rendall’s “FREAK FACTOR: Discovering Uniqueness by Flaunting Weakness” http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/45.02.FreakFactor and read my summary and critique below!

In Freak Factor, David Rendall states that we all have flaws and weaknesses, but we need to embrace them.  Weaknesses are really just indicators of strengths and if we try to fix them, we will lose the strengths that go along with them.  These weaknesses also make us unique or freaks, but a freak in one situation can be a hero in another, so we need to find where our freak fits.  I think that each and every one of Rendall’s nine suggestions are valid.  We each to need to learn the value of our uniqueness and weaknesses, as well as those of others, if we do not embrace these qualities, we won’t find where we fit.  This is a fantastic article, and I think it so important to learn the value of ourselves and our apparent weaknesses.

6. Focus: You Can’t Do Both

I think is one of the most important and valid points in the whole article, and one that I have found to be true in my own life.  When we try and do too much and do it well, we end up spreading ourselves too thin and ultimately do none of it well, or we are cranky when we do it and we don’t enjoy even the things we normally would enjoy.  Like Rendall says, “We have limited resources,” and we don’t have the time and energy to do it all, so we should do things we enjoy, that we are good, things we can exceed at.  Why do things you can’t do well and spend so much time focusing on those that your strengths suffer?  Focusing on both strengths and weaknesses leads to mediocre results across the board.  We can’t do anything really well if you don’t have the time or energy to spend on it and if focus solely on fixing your problems, you might end up diminishing your strengths in the process.  In my creative life, I think I need to focus on film because that is what I love and it what I enjoy doing and I’ve been told I’m pretty good at it.  I love focusing on details and sometimes miss the bigger picture, but they need people to look for the smallest things, because they have other people to look at the bigger picture, so I should just do what I do and do it well.

7. Fit: Find the Right Spot

This is an incredibly important point, because so many people feel lost and confused and like maybe they are not doing the right, all because they haven’t found the right spot to do what they are doing.  It is so important to find the right and places to let your ideas grow and flourish and become the creative person you are truly meant to be.  We need to celebrate our flaws and see that everyone has different strengths and weaknesses and in different situations and at different times we need all of these different abilities to get the job done and do it well.  Rudolph would never have become the hero he is today if he had given up, he stuck it out and kept trying until the situation changed and he found his fit.  “You need to choose situations that fit your natural strengths,” not adapt to fit the situation.  We have all tried different ventures that turn out to be busts, and it can become very disheartening, but then that one perfect group, or hobby, or experience comes along that makes it all worth it.  Just keep trying until you find your fit, it might take a while, but you will find it.

8. Freak: The Power of Uniqueness

I love this suggestion, when you really think about it, the people you admire and keep in your lives are the people that make it interesting, the people that are different from you, that do different things, and bring new and unique ideas to the table.  No one wants to stick around if you bring the same things that everyone else is bringing to the table.  That one flaw could be the thing people love about you, the thing that they come to see, and fixing that flaw could destroy your uniqueness.  Anyway efforts to fix a so-called flaw usually fails, but it is worth the effort to maintain the flaw.  “People will always try to get you to straighten up, to be normal, to stop being a freak,” ignore them, they are not going to be around if you are normal, your uniqueness is what draws others to you, people are going to make the effort to see or hear the same old thing.  Don’t be normal, be the exception.  Make what you want to make, do what you want to do.  Wouldn’t you rather be remembered for making something weird, than be forgotten for making something that has been done a hundred times before?

As far as the creative process is concerned, I have found my strengths to be focusing on details, remembering specific facts, and seeing the little things that make a film what it is, and my weaknesses are being so focused on details that I forget the main objective or big picture, I am also really hard on myself and get really down if I make a mistake, I also have a hard time sharing my creative ideas and thoughts with other people, even though it is a necessity in the creative world, otherwise what would be the point?

9B. Audio Response to Collapsus

Check out this trans-media piece directed by Tommy Pallotta  http://www.collapsus.com/ and then listen to my audio response below!

9A. Reflections on the Gaming Presentation

I just want to start by saying that the video game project and presentation was the hardest project for me that we have done all quarter.  I’ve never played a video game other than Frogger and I really have no background, experience, or knowledge in gaming.  So thank goodness I got an awesome group who spent a few hours explaining everything to me.  I think they did an amazing job on the presentation and idea behind our whole game concept.  And considering that it took them hours to explain all this different stuff to me, for the fifteen minutes we had to explain it to the class I think we did a darn good job.

I think the hardest parts of our game to communicate or get across to the audience was the objective of finding the safe haven because people didn’t really understand what the point of finding it was.  We were trying to explain that they had the capabilities to mass produce the vaccine and the character had the information to make vaccine, so they needed to come together and save the world from the zombies.  I think our group also had a hard time getting the whole vision across to the audience because we had two very talented digital media majors with strong and sometimes differing opinions about the game, so when we were trying to explain it to everyone else it came across a little jumbled and contradicting in some areas.

I think explaining or discussing the mechanics of the game was the easiest because most people have a general knowledge of how controllers and different consoles work or operate.  A lot of people have played games before and even if they couldn’t understand our game, they knew and could appreciate how the controllers worked.  Goals were also pretty easy to communicate because they were pretty standard and self explanatory, it was all based on survival, basic human needs.  Find food, water, shelter, weapons, and ammo.  These self-created objectives were ones that almost everyone had seen before and understood because we are all humans.  The objectives were probably the hardest to communicate and discuss because the audience did not understand the reason for the final winning condition of finding the safe haven.  It was the main non-optional condition that must be met to achieve the outcome of saving the world, so it was key to communicate this, but it was difficult.  The rules also seemed to be pretty easy to discuss because they have been done before and made sense to gaming in general and specifically to the world we had created.  Completing missions and delimeters provide context and structure, while also displaying procedural elements.

Video Game PowerPoint

  

 

  

 

 

 

 

8B. Written Reflection on the Hero/Villain Assignment

Critique of Rainbow Dude and Villain by Andrew Kellogg and Kyle Miller

http://awkellogg.blogspot.com/2011/03/sorry-that-image-of-villain-is-on-its.html?spref=bl

I loved this hero/villain pairing.  I thought it was a great idea to contrast the colorful world of Rainbow Dude with the black and white of the villain.  The lack of affinity between the characters really added to tension of their rivalry.  Tension and release are used to lull the audience into a false sense of security and then bring it back to the fore.  The idea of living in a world without color is terrifying and they played on this tension very well.  The contrast between the characters is very apparent based on the use of opposing colors, line and shape, and shadow, but color is the best indicator of their differences.  Rainbow Dude is full of different hues, including yellow, orange, red, blue, and green, while the villain in a colorless world except for his red cummerbund.  Kyle really explores brightness in his image of the villain, he uses varying levels of darkness to define the character.  Andrew also uses brightness in some the detail work on Rainbow Dude.  Saturation can be seen in both the hero and the villain.  It is especially visible in the orange background of Rainbow Dude’s sky, the intensity or whiteness of the color varies.  The backdrop to the villain also experiments with saturation, it displays multiple levels of intensity.

Critique of Bubble Bath Man and Dr. Dirt Nasty by Meng Li and Madolyn Nianouris

http://meng27.blogspot.com/2011/03/blog-assignment-8-written-reflection-on.html?spref=bl

This was also an awesome pairing of hero and villain, and the name Dr. Dirt Nasty makes me laugh every time.  The contrast between the characters and their motivation is apparent as soon as you seen them, Bubble Bath Man is a happy-go-lucky little guy who wants to keep the world clean and safe for everybody, while Dr. Dirt Nasty is an evil and filthy thing that is willing to do anything to make the world gross.  The affinity of the characters’ shape in the drawings makes it believable that these two would be well matched in a fight.  Lighting is used to great affect to show the differences between the two characters.  Bubble Bath Man is shown in the bright, light of day, with no shadows, as he has nothing to hide, as opposed to Dr. Dirt Nasty who lives in the shadows of his junk yard, which symbolizes that he probably has something to hide.  Bubble Bath Man’s surroundings symbolize his openness and honesty and willingness to do good.  Each of their environments create their own unique mood, Bubble Bath Man is happy and good, he is doing the right thing, while in the mood created by Dr. Dirt Nasty’s world is one of fear and the unknown, unsafe, and unsanitary things going on in the world, the underbelly so to speak.  The use of text and subtext is done very well, as it is literally said that Bubble Bath Man lives in a bright and happy world, and Dr. Dirt Nasty lives in dirty, industrial area, but when compared we see the underlying meaning of each of their worlds.  We learn what they are each fighting for and their motivations. 

8A. Audio Response to This American Life

Check out this link http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/178/superpowers and then listen to my audio response about my own superpower!

7. Written Reflection on the Video Joke Assignment

For our video joke assignment we chose two very different scripts, one a silent film and the other a mockumentary.  Since there was affinity with the actual material of the story between the two scripts, we wanted a contrast in the approach and look of the videos.  In our first approach to the train joke, the silent film, our writer/director Dan really focused on using the rule of thirds to direct the viewer’s eye where he wanted it to go.  By using the rule of thirds, he developed a point of interest, which is used to create movement.  Movement was tricky in both videos, as camera moves were not allowed, so creating any type of movement was vital.  The visual framing used also created a distinct rhythm in the piece.  Throughout the video, the boy is on the left, which contrasts the mom who is always shown on the right, this further highlights the differences between the mother and the son and their battle of wills.  In our second video, writer/director Max chose a mockumentary style, which was a stark contrast to the silent film feel our first video was going for.  Though the style and format of the video were very different, the requirement to use non-synchronous sound resulted in both video didactically telling the audience the information, as there are screen cards in the silent film and a narrator in the second approach.  At first, it seems that the audience will have to actively figure out the plot and story line for themselves, but then the narrator or cards come in and hand the information to the audience.  Movement, and especially character movement is also used in the second video.  Max did put as much focus on the rule of thirds and but did pay a lot of attention to the primary and secondary movement of the characters.  The son plays with his train, kicks his legs and is thrown into his room, while the mother washes dishes, grabs and throws the son, and snaps the belt.  The mockumentary focused more on space, both deep and flat space were explored.  The mother was dressed in cooler colors so she receded and the son was in warmer colors, so he advanced and became the focus.  Size and horizon line were also used to demonstrate the authority of the mother.