Comedy of Errors

Describe the Theater, sets, and costumes:

Drayton Hall is actually located in the same complex as Wardlaw College, which is where the college of education is located.  It was very easy to locate and when you walk into the building, it does not look like there would be a theater just a few steps into the entrance.  There was a lot of cool art to look at while you were waiting in line to get tickets which gave me an artsy feeling and got me excited to watch the play.  There was an usher outside of the door handing out brochures.  When you walk in, you see an auditorium that is a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be.  Drayton Hall is a proscenium theater with stepped seating that can house up to 440 people.  All of the scenes were set in the center of town.  The set was composed of 3 houses, each 2 stories tall.  The houses on stage right and stage left have balconies.  The middle house has a large window instead of a balcony.  There was also a church that was in between the middle house and the house on stage left.  There were 3 tables set up with chairs surrounding them on stage left.  Throughout the play different props were carried in and out.  The costumes were very bright.  All of the characters in the play had bright colored hair, each a different color of the rainbow.  The color of the character’s outfits matched the color of their hair with a bright color to complement it.  The belly dancers wore the same belly dancer type outfit with beads and sparkles but each was a different color.   There was also a maid whose costume was made to make her look overweight, and it looked like under the dress was a tutu that made the dress and character look oversized.  The policemen’s costumes looked like the outfits that nutcrackers would wear.  The 4 main characters dressed the same and 2 of them were both orange dressed in a suit that looks almost like the suit that the “Mask” wore.  The other 2 main characters had yellow hair and dressed in a purple nerd-like outfit.  I thought all of the outfits were very bright and fun, which made the play fun.  

In what period does this play take place? Who is the author? What period did the play write live?

“The Comedy of Errors” was written by William Shakespeare and is one of his earliest plays as well as his shortest.  When Shakespeare originally wrote the play, the time period took place during the wars of succession in France which could be any time from 1589 to 1595.  It is also believed that Shakespeare based his play off the Roman playwright Plautus (254 BC – 184 BC).  The director of “The Comedy of Errors”, Robert Richmond, which I watched in Drayton Hall, used Shakespeare’s play but added on a modern twist as well as added on songs sung by a “Greek chorus” of belly dancers.  The songs have Shakespeare’s lyrics, but used tunes that are based off of modern pop songs.

Discuss the plot:

The play performs the story of two sets of identical twins that were mistakenly separated at birth. They live their whole lives not knowing about the separation until one day they both show up in the same place.  One day Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant, Dromio of Syracuse, decide to venture off to Ephesus.  Once they arrived to Ephesus they come to find that they are mistaken for Antipholus of Ephesus and his servant Dromio of Ephesus who have the same names and exact same features.  This causes a series of mix-ups in identity by the town people, the twin’s family, and friends.  The mistaken identities cause major chaos and commotion in the town as the two sets of brothers do not realize that they are long lost identical twins.  The family and friends then spend the whole day figuring out why all of the madness is occurring.  Egeon, the father of the Antipholus twins, also travels to the city of Ephesus to look for one of his son’s, Antipholus of Ephesus.  As soon as he arrives, he is accused for entering enemy territory and is sentenced to death.  When it is time for Egeon’s execution, he sees his son Antipholus of Esphesus and calls out to him only to find that Antipholus does not recognize him.  At the same time Antipholus of Syracuse and Dormio of Syracuse enter the scene which causes great confusion but then leads to the discovery that they are long lost twins.  Egeon is then pardoned for entering Ephesus and a huge feast is prepared to celebrate the family’s reunion.

Phantom of the Opera

Describe:The stage musical “The Phantom of the Opera” was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1986.  In 2004, the stage musical became a movie directed by Joel Schumacher and produced and written by Andrew Lloyd Webber.  The movie is rated PG-13 and is 143 minutes long.  It was filmed at Pinewood studios in Buckinghamshire, England as well as in London, England and was nominated for 3 Oscars.  The roles of each character are played by Gerard Butler as the Phantom of the Opera, Emmy Rossum as Christine, and Patrick Wilson as Raoul.  This movie is a musical thriller based on drama and romance. 

Analyze: “The Phantom of the Opera” is about a disfigured musical genius, the phantom, who falls in love with a young woman, Christine, whom he has been training to become an amazing opera singer.  Christine always believed the she was the “angel of music” and never knew who her opera teacher was. Little did Christine know that the Phantom was sabotaging the Paris Opera House just so that she could be the star.  After the Phantom finally gets rid of the lead opera singer, Christine comes in and becomes the star of the show.  During the show, one of her childhood romances remembers the times they shared and immediately fell back in love with her.  This turns the Phantom’s love, Raoul’s love, and Christine’s love into a love triangle.  When the Phantom sees the love connection between Raoul and Christine, he kidnaps Christine to marry her.  While she is with the Phantom she realizes that he is her musical tutor and falls under his trance.  She then removes his mask to see his disfigured face which angers the Phantom and he brings her back to her room.  After that experience Christine tells Raoul about the Phantom and Raoul promises to protect her and gives her a kiss. This angers the Phantom and he kidnaps her again and says that if she does not marry him then he will hurt Raoul. Christine accepts his offer and kisses the Phantom. There was no feeling from Christine in the kiss which made the Phantom realize that she will never love him and he lets both Christine and Raoul go. Christine realizes that she has the Phantom;s ring and goes to return it.  The phantom begs for her to stay with him but she refuses.  The Phantom then masks himself with his cape and when his cape is removed all that’s left is his face mask.

Interpret: The Phantom of the Opera was a love triangle with a lot of lust. In a love triangle there is always someone that gets the short end of the stick, and in this Opera’s case it was the Phantom.  The Phantom put all of his time and effort into making Christine fall in love with him, but Christine already had her heart set on Raoul who was in love with her too.  In the end the Phantom realizes that there is nothing else he can do to make Christine love him and that he has to let her go with Raoul and move on himself.  This movie is all about how actions affect where love goes.  The Phantom did bad things to try and make Christine love him, which in the end led to his downfall and Christine said that it was his scars that turned her away but it was his bad actions.  Christine gave her heart to Raoul because she knew he was a good guy and had a good heart.  

Evaluate: After watching this movie, I put it on my list of favorites because it was so good.  It kept me on my toes the whole time, making me guess what was going to happen next.  I loved how the movie unfolded in the beginning with the present day auction of the opera house chandelier and then the chandelier lit up signaling a flashback to where the whole movie was to be taken place.  I also loved the grandeur costumes and the amazing music.  The movie had an awesome flow to it and the plot was such a twist, you never knew who Christine was going to love.  One downfall of the movie was that it was a little lengthy in time which gave you parts that were more boring than others.  Despite the length of the movie, it was amazingly written, directed, and played out.  All of the actors and actresses did a great job performing their roles.  I would definitely recommend this movie to someone who is in the mood for a musical thriller.

Assignment #8 Opera

1. Describe the difference between opera, light opera, and musical theater
Opera is a western musical art form that is a blend of music, dance, and drama. The dialogue of an opera performance consists solely of singing and no spoken dialogue and is typically performed in an opera house.  Light opera is a short amusing musical production that usually has a happy ending and mixes in spoken dialogue along with song.  Musical theater is a combination of of songs, spoken dialogue, and dance.  It is often referred to as a "musical". The major difference between musicals and the operas is that it gives equal importance to the music as well as the dialogue and movement. In operas, the main character is usually a singer and only a singer with a secondary singer. In musicals the main character is usually an actor first and then becomes a singer and a dancer.

2. How long does it take for someone to have a fully trained operatic voice?
To be able to sing opera takes a lot of time and practice.  It takes a major toll on your voice as well as your body because of all the effort you put into becoming a trained opera singer.  You can start training your operatic voice at a young age and then work until you have succeeded in getting a musical education.  Most opera singers have a musical education.  An opera singer must also learned the proper vocal techniques to prevent themselves from getting any damage to their vocal chords.  You can learn how to sing opera at any age and  and it takes many years in actually succeeding in becoming a fully trained opera singer with a lot of devotion.


3. Choose an Opera by Puccini? Describe and interpret.
Puccini started learning opera at a young age and for his first opera he chose the subject of Manon Lescaut, which ended up making him famous in Italy as an operatic composer.  After that, he continued working to compose La Boheme, which is considered his masterpiece.  Today, La boheme is one of the most popular operas internationally, and is the second most frequent opera performed in the United States.  The opera's plot is based off of a novel, "Scenes de la vie de Boheme" written by Henri Muger. The story of the opera is set in Italy, where two young people meet, one a seamstress named Mimi and another a poet named Rodolfo.  When they first meet, they immediately fall in love.  But later on Rodolfo wants to end it because Mimi had such flirtacious behavior.  But Rodolfo comes to find that Mimi is deathly ill and feels guilt towards her because she became increasingly ill from their lives together.  At the end of the play, Mimi and Rodolfo reunite with each other right before her death.  Puccini had composed this opera with characters that live realistic lives based on love, envy, and loss.

Assignment #7 Theater

The difference between a thrust stage and proscenium stage:


A thrust stage is an open stage that extends (thrusts) into the audience and the audience surrounds the stage on 3 different sides. The globe theater was a thrust stage, which is also where many of Shakespeare's plays were first performed.  A proscenium stage is usually noted by its large open frame at the front of the stage.  The audience sits in the auditorium which is called "the house" and directly faces the front of the stage which is raised a few feet above them. The major difference between the two stages is that the thrust stage is surrounded by the audience and the proscenium stage has the audience face directly to it with no audience on wither side of the stage.

Proscenium Stage

Thrust Stage

The fly gallery:


The fly gallery is where the stagehands for the theater work during a play.  The stagehands work the ropes and control the equipment to help put on the show.  The fly gallery is a narrow raised platform that is located at either one side or both sides of the stage and provides a good view of the stage and the fly loft.  If there is a fly gallery on both sides of the stage, then it is often connected by a catwalk.

Stage Hands on Fly Gallery

Scrim:


A scrim is a finely woven lightweight fabric that reflects and transmits light.  It is used as a panel or backdrop in theatrical performances provides a variety of special effects. If you shine a light onto the front of the scrim, then both the scrim and everything behind it will be lit and opaque.  If you shine a light behind the scrim then the scrim becomes translucent and the audience can see the action taking place and the props being used.

Scrim use in Theater

Big Apple - Art Event

Dancer count for the shag:
When dancing the shag, the dancer counts in their head "1 & 2" "3 & 4" "5" "6".  It can also be counted as "quick" "quick" "slow" "quick" "quick" "slow" "slow" "slow" where each syllable represents a step.

The Big Apple:
The Big Apple is anything but big, it looks like an old little house on the outside and on the inside it is one big room with a balcony overlooking the big room. It was not always the Big Apple, it used to be known as the House of Peace Synagogue as a house of worship.  In 1915 the House of Peace synagogue was destroyed by a fire and then 21 years later the congregation decided to sell the building in 1936 to move to a bigger building. In 1937 the building became the Big Apple Night Club. The club was in business for a year and then was closed and sold in 1938.  We learned that the Big Apple building was not originally built on the spot it is currently located on.  In 1979 the building became abandoned and in 1982 the building was moved from 1138 Park street to its location now on the corner of Hampton and Park streets. 
The steps walking up into the house were very narrow and hard to walk up, you tend to see narrow steps in old houses because that was the architectural design back then.  The windows of the building are two-stories tall and reflect natural light into the building. As soon as you walk in you notice a large domed ceiling above your head that is stained glass and has the star of David in the center from the synagogue days.  There is also a neon moon and stars that remind you of when the building was a night club.  The floor is all hardwood miking it perfect for dancing on. 

The Shag:
The shag was originated in the late 1930s in Myrtle Beach South Carolina where the dance was created involving roots from the Jitterbug and was danced to fast paced swing music.  Billy Jeffers is accredited with being the early originator of the dance, and he is from Florence South Carolina.  About 10 years later the term "shag" came about and was danced to the tempo of rhythm and blues music.  The shag is danced with smoothness and only uses the lower half of your body, requiring tight footwork and turns while making it look smooth at the same time.  What is great about the shag, is that it can be danced to fast "beach music" or it can be danced to slow rhythm and blues music. Now-a-days the shag is typically danced to the blues music.  I am from Virginia and I have never really heard of the shag until I came down to South Carolina.  I now shag at all my sorority functions as well as major events.

Billy Jeffers

Columbia Museum of Art

"Who Shot Rock & Roll" Exhibit:

The photograph: "Walter's Bar-B-Que"

This photograph is of the band R.E.M. eating at one of their favorite places, Walter's Bar-B-Que, in Athens Georgia in 1984.  Laura Levine is a good friend of the band and she was the one who shot this photo.  The band did not have enough money to pay a photographer so they asked Laura to shoot photos of them after the release of their second album. She would take photos of them everywhere and any chance their was to take a photo, she would.  The photograph is black and white, it is also a mid-sized photograph (about two standard pieces of paper put together).  The photograph is a gelatin silver print.  The gelatin silver process that was done to develop this photo.  The process was used more in the 1850's-1880's and uses black-and-white films and printing papers.  Silver salts are extracted from gelatin to make a coating that is used on a support like glass, plastic, and special printing paper.  Once the photo is developed, the excess silver salts are wiped off and then the print is washed off with clean water.  The final print looks metallic silver from the gelatin coating and must be properly taken care of to reduce the chances of deterioration. 

The photo is about the band R.E.M. enjoying a meal at one of their favorite restaurants in Atlanta, Georgia, Walter's Bar-B-Que. The band loved this restaurant so much that they wrote a song about it, "Walter's Theme". Laura Levine was traveling with the band taking photos of them and one day they decided to eat at their regular spot, Walter's BBQ, and while they were eating Laura saw a photo their and just took it without any staging.  Even though the photograph was not staged, i noticed little things like how all of the coke cups were turned the same way and that the picture was taken from behind the counter.  My favorite part about the photo is that all of the band members are eating except for one who is smiling at the camera.  The photograph reveals that not all of the members of the band were meat eaters.  The lead singer of the band, Michael Stipe,  (the only member smiling at the camera) is a vegetarian eating at a BBQ restaurant.  You do not typically see vegetarians eating at a meat restaurant, which makes part of this photo so funny.  The excerpt of the photograph did say that the lead singer does like the restaurant's cole slaw.  

All of the band members have long hair which is the style that most popular back in the day.  You do not normally see hair that long on guys their age now-a-days. Their clothing looks very casual but one of the members is wearing a jacket/blazer to a bar-b-que restaurant.  Another interesting accessory to their outfits is their glasses.  Their glass are so much bigger than the modern day glasses now.  It seems like the glasses are almost a fashion statement.  I wear glasses and I know I would never wear the glasses that they are wearing in this picture.

Assignment #6 Dance

The baroque period of dance:


The baroque period of dance was from 1600-1750.  The baroque dance was performed by the upper European classes as a social event, ballroom dancing, and was performed theatrically, ballet dance.  This period of dance derives from classical music mixed with dynamic movement.  This period did not last very long and to this day it is being reconstructed in Broadway shows, plays, and operas.   The roman catholic church was mainly responsible for the encouragement of the baroque style because they thought that the arts should promote religious themes through movement.  

Why people dance?


People dance for different reasons.  Some people dance to express themselves, others dances to have fun.  Dancing makes someone become loose, and they use it as a form of exercise.  Like Zumba, an exercise dance routine, many people use this method as a way to get their weekly fitness in.  People also dance at big events/celebrations like weddings and parties.  At weddings it is a tradition for the bride and groom to share a dance before everyone else starts dancing and it is symbolizes their love for each other.  There are also many different forms of dance and some people dance because it is a part of their ethnicity or religion.  I am Irish, and I used to Irish dance up until I was a sophomore in high school.  The types of dances vary throughout the different cultures.  People can dance whenever they feel like, it is a way to let their intellectual side out and a way to just have fun.

Non western dance art form: The Cha Cha


The cha cha is a type of ballroom dance that derives from Latin America and was laid down by Pierre and Lavelle and then became developed later on by Walter Laird.  The cha cha that is danced in the ballroom uses energetic music with a steady beat. The authentic style cha cha is danced to cuban music or latin rock. The basic foot step count in one's head is "one, two, cha, cha, cha" "three, four, cha, cha, cha".  Along with the footwork, the dancers have to include the swaying of the hips to make the dance more exciting, and it also makes it fun too.  The cha cha is a basic dance that is taught to many beginner ballroom dancers.

Film Art Event: "The King's Speech"

Describe and interpret the Establishing Shot of the film you viewed at the Nickelodeon. How did this set the stage for your experience with the film?


The film's opening establishing shot was of a microphone at all different angles, and then it switch to many people preparing for what I thought out to be the speech broadcast.  The film then switched to the main character himself and showed him looking nervously at his speech while his wife comforted him.  The establishing shot then ended with the main character being prompted that it was time.  From this establishing shot, I perceived that the main character was preparing for a major speech and that it seemed as though he had never given one before.  The preparations being made by the other actors were all for the one speech that the main character was about to give.  As soon as one of the characters said that it was time, I knew that the main character was not ready to handle public speaking and that that the speech may not turn out well.  The establishing shot introduced us to the main character, "King George" A.K.A "Bertie", and his wife, "Elizabeth".  It also introduced us to some of the King's mentors that guide him through out the speech process. 


Describe any interesting camera angles that were seen in the film.


Throughout the film I noticed that when switching the scenes the camera would create another establishing shot by giving the audience a zoomed out view of the scene's stage and then zooming in on the characters so that it gives the audience a feel for where the scene is taking place.  They did this type of camera angle a lot, especially when Bertie and Lionel were practicing in the church, the camera zoomed out and gave the audience a view of the beautiful church and its art and then zoomed in on Bertie and Lionel's conversation.  The director seemed to start out new scenes with a shot of something artsy and interesting for the audience's eyes.


Describe and interpret the story line of the film. What scenes moved you, drew you in, made you feel uncomfortable, etc? Did you view any Mise-en-Scene or staging in the film?


"The King's Speech" is about the Duke of York, "Bertie", being the son of King George and how he developed a speech impediment from the events of his early life.  He now faces the hardship of giving live speeches to his country while trying to overcome his speech impediment.  His stutter causes him a great deal of stress and his wife, Elizabeth, hires many doctors to help him.  None of the doctors that Elizabeth hire work and as Bertie was about to give up, Elizabeth saw an ad in the newspaper about Lionel Logue, a speech therapist.  During Bertie's first session with Logue, it did not feel like the usual speech therapy session, Logue did the best that he could to make Bertie feel comfortable and used a different technique than what the previous doctor that we saw use before.  I knew from this scene that Bertie would develop a different kind of trust for Logue.  The scenes that made me feel uncomfortable were the scenes when Bertie had to give his speeches, it made me feel embarrassed for him and was hard to watch.  Another scene that made me feel uncomfortable was when Bertie's older brother turned on him and started to make him feel worthless and Bertie could not fight back and it made me feel sad for him.  The scene that drew me into the movie was when the movie flashed through Logue's and Bertie's therapy sessions and we got to see Bertie's progress being made. My favorite scene of the movie was when Bertie finally delivered a speech with out stuttering.  I could feel a sense of accomplishment for Bertie as well as the friendship aspect of Logue's and Bertie's relationship.


Analyze the roles of the actors. Were they convincing in their depiction of the character they played? Why or why not?


I thought that every actor in the movie hit their role perfectly, especially Bertie played by Colin Firth.  Firth did a great job in targeting Bertie's lack of confidence and played a character with a speech impediment very well.  Lionel Logue was played by Geoffrey Rush and Rush did a great job as a supporting actor.  He had a great serious side mixed in with a sense of humor.  He threw in funny jokes while keeping a straight face, he did a great job of taking a serious situation and turning it into a friendly comical one.  Bertie's wife was played by Helena Bonham Carter.  Carter played a great supporting wife to Bertie and she acted with a lot of passion and did a great job at playing a queen.  She played a nice soft side around her husband and then when she was around other people she used the perfect manners of how a queen should act.


How did the music orsoundtrack of the film influence your interpretation and experience of the film?


The music during this film had a very classical theme.  You could always hear an orchestra playing in the background which gave me the feeling of old times as well as set the stage for the specific time period that this movie takes place.  During an intense moment in the film, the orchestra would speed up their play and when their was a sad part of the movie the orchestra music seemed more mellow.  During the exciting parts of the movie the music was more upbeat and the orchestra used the high pitched instruments.


Describe the genre of the film.


The genre of "The King's Speech" is a historical drama. The events during this time period were depicted accurately and the stage that the movie was played on made the audience feel like they were actually in the old times. 


Describe, analyze and interpret the context of the film. What message or meaning did you derive from the film?


This film presents a historical yet inspirational context about the King of England overcoming his speech impediment and coming out with a remarkable speech that was beautifully presented to his country about going into World War II.  This movie also presents how important it is to maintain a friendship.  Bertie's speech therapist not only help him overcome his stutter but also became his best friend too.  Logue helped Bertie out in a way only friends can do.

Assignment #5 Music

1. Describe Jazz music. Where did it come from, and what makes it particularly unique to Americans?
Jazz music was first widely seen in New Orleans but was also seen in other parts of America like St. Louis, Kansas City, and Chicago.  Jazz music is a combination of backgrounds from all races, mostly from American black folk music mixed with European instruments. Jazz is unique because it is a form of music that is based off of improve and a major theme of jazz is individualism.  Jazz artists start out their music with "I have something to say.." and then from there they play music that shows their individual personality and soul.

2. In Peter and the Wolf, what instruments play Peter, the duck, the wolf, the bird, Grandfather and the Hunters?

Peter: The strings instruments; Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass
The Duck: Oboe
The Wolf: French Horn
The Bird: Flute
Grandfather: Bassoon
The Hunters: Timpani

3. Discuss Classical music. Who are some of the composers that are considered classical musicians?
When I think of classical music, I think of my high school's orchestra, elementary music class, and the opera.  I think listening to classical music is a great way to relax while I am trying to study.  It is not distracting like other types of music but soothing and helps me concentrate.  I never listen to classical music by choice for fun, only sometimes when I am studying.  Classical music is simple and is well harmonized and started in the 19th century.  The instrument that compose classical music are ones in an orchestra, the strings instruments.  Classical musician writers are known as composers. Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven are considered some of the greatest classical composers of all time and made the classical era a golden age.  Beethoven is a particularly great composer, he composed nine symphonies and the one I can always remember is Beethoven's fifth symphony, which is considered his "greatest" symphony.

Assignment #4 Architecture

The Strom Fitness Center
One of my favorite pieces of architecture on the USC campus is the Strom Fitness Center.  I feel like there are a bunch of different themes that go into the design of this building, and it presents an aesthetic feeling to people that work out at the Strom as well as to the people that commute around it. The dome at the top of the building is what sticks out the most to one's eye.  The mix of rounded edges and square edges gives the building an international architectural style. The dome shape comes from the paleolithic constructions where the ceiling forms a semi-spherical shape. Another point to look at is the large white columns that surround the front of the building which give off the Greek revival architectural style.  The combination of the white trim and columns with the yellow exterior gives the building more of a peaceful Zen look. Another major architectural part to this building is the long curved walkway that connects the parking lot to the building.  This walkway gives the building a more modern theme.  I especially like to walk across this bridge at sunset because it has the best view.

Assignment #3 Aesthetics and Movies

1. Aesthetic Experience

Every morning I walk down my apartment stairs and walk through the two great big doors of Olympia Mills.  As I take my first steps outside I always get a refreshing feel of a new start.  I wake up for classes before most of the student population at 8 am and it is always so calm outside like an ocean without waves. I never know what the weather is going to be like. Some days I go outside and the sun's rays beam down onto my head and make me feel warm and makes my body feel like the energizer bunny. Other days I walk outside and it's raining and the rain makes me feel like the earth is getting as clean as a whistle while I'm getting soaked running to my car.  These are the days that feel long, lazy, and relaxing. When its cold outside I walk out and my nose turns as red as Rudolph the reindeer's nose and I get the chills all the way down my body.  Making those first few steps out the door in the morning is the start to my day, a new day. Every morning is different, and the feeling of having the whole day ahead of me is exhilarating.

Cold Morning

Warm Morning

Rainy Morning

2. Pavarotti's "Nessum Dorma"

At the beginning of the song the singer sounded like he was making a reflection of what was going on almost as if he were telling a story, he sang like he was very relaxed which made me feel relaxed and I started drawing a yellow background because yellow is mellow.  The singer then sang like he was on a mission and he became more upbeat and which made me draw a shooting star because I felt like he was trying to make a point of accomplishment.  Then as the song progressed you could tell that the singer's emotions were growing stronger and stronger almost sounded like he had a feeling of anger. It made me think about fire and I used orange to depict the color of fire.  The song gave the sense like the singer needed something and was not going to stop until he got it.

3. The Establishing Shot

The establishing shot gives the movie viewer the main storyline and provides some background of the movie's location, characters, and the atmosphere. The establishing shot gives the viewers a visual on what they should look forward to and movie directors often use this to show a change in location. Movie directors will zoom in on one point that shows the location and then zoom out and show what the characters are doing.  An establishing shot can also show a theme to the movie by using a concept, like opening up with someone cooking in a restaurant kitchen can lead the reader to assume that the storyline of the movie revolves around cooking. It is important for the movie directors to provide an establishing shot because it helps the viewers determine which movie sequence belongs to which location and it helps to clarify what is going on and the overall theme of the movie.  

  

Assignment #2

Describe the 4 domains of creativity:

-Fluency is generating many ideas.  Artists are so used to using a paint brush that they have artistic fluency where they don't have to think about the paint and what colors to use because their ideas just flow directly onto the paper. 
-Flexibility is the ability to move from one idea to another and generating ideas from different perspectives.  It is important for artists to be flexible.  They need to be able to transform things and be able to see potential in anything.  Artists have to be flexible in their method, their materials, their approach, and to interpretation.  They should always be up to change. "Flexibility is the evolution of a finished piece" as said by Tony Calderone.
-Originality is generating unusual ideas from anything, for example in class we were given cups, a paper bag, and fabric and had to come up with ideas about what you could make from the materials.  Our class said that with the cups you could make horns, binoculars, and ear muffs.  Originality is something that you create without influence from others, it's your own. 
-Elaboration is the process of adding to ideas.  In class we did an activity where you take the last 4 digits of your phone number and create a story from it using the words that match up with the numbers.  My last 4 digits are 6988.  The 4 words that match up with those numbers were Picasso, Falling Water, Building, Find a magic lamp.  Then we took the 4 words and elaborated by creating a short story out of them. I came up with: After building a bridge that had falling water, Picasso found a magic lamp.  Artists need to be able to elaborate on their ideas to make one great idea into so much more.

Describe the Feldman Method of Art Criticism:

In class we were asked the question; "on average, how many seconds do you think someone spends looking at each piece of art in a museum?" and I was surprised to find out that on average people spend 3 seconds looking at each piece.  If people were to take in the Feldman Method of Art Criticism, then that average amount of seconds would increase.  The Feldman Method says that when critiquing art, one should take into account 4 steps by asking themselves these questions;
-Describe: Who is the artist? What is the medium? How big is the work of art? What are the characteristics?
...After describing the piece the critic should then move onto;
-Analyze: How is it balanced? What is the composition? What is the emphasis on? Does the piece have harmony? Think about every aspect of the painting.
...When you're done analyzing then you start;
-Interpret: Be open to what the artist is trying to say.  Think about what the main point the artist is trying to make.  Be open to the meaning of the painting.
...After you have completed the first 3 steps, then you can finally move onto;-Judge or Evaluate: What is your opinion?  Do you like the artist's flow of colors? Does the piece have any meaning for you?  Do you like the piece? How does it compare to other pieces?  You come up with your own opinion on the work of art.  What you think of it is for you to decide.

Blog Assignment 1: Biographical Statement

§  Have you ever made art? What kind of art do you like?

I have been making art ever since I picked up my first pencil, at least it was art in my parents eyes, and have been making art ever since. I started actual art class in elementary school and took art classes all the way up to my senior year in high school. My art class senior year, ceramics, ended up being my favorite art class ever.  I like the kind of art that you can make out of things, any random things. But my favorite type of art is pottery.  I like to make sculptures and especially like to make pots and paint them all sorts of different ways.

§  Have you ever made a drawing? A painting? A sculpture?

My grandparents are artists, they paint pastels and water color paintings.  They have really pushed for me to take many art classes and have even give me art lessons themselves. I make drawings all the time, especially for my mom and dad's birthday. My very first successful painting was a pastel in 2nd grade that was chosen to be in the school art show.  I still have that painting now, hanging up in my bathroom at home. I have made sculptures through out my school years in the school art classes, my parents keep all of my sculptures along with my sibling's sculptures on a shelf at home, and its always fun to go back and look at what we have created.

§  When was the last time you went to a museum? Gallery? Artist studio?

I live right outside of Washington D.C. which is a major area for museums.  I think the last time I went to a museum was the summer before freshmen year of college, I saw an I-max movie at the Smithsonian museum. I don't exactly remember what I saw but I know I thought it was good! 

§  Have you ever been to a play? Opera? Art Film? Do you dance?

I have been to a few school plays and was even in a middle school play, but was too nervous to have a big role.  I also went to the Broadway show, "Legally Blonde", which was a great show. I've never been to an Opera though, I've never really had the urge to attend one because I think about the stereotype of them being really boring.  I'm not really sure what an art film is, so no i have never been to one of those, although they sound interesting. Dancing is one of the most fun activities to do! I play dance central on the Xbox Kinect game all of the time! I also used to Irish dance. I Irish danced for about 9 years until I thought that soccer was something I enjoyed more, and I really wish I had stuck with it.

§  Under what conditions do you learn the most?

I learn the most when I am studying with my friends in an atmosphere that is conducive to learning.  My friends and I study all together all the time, and for me the best way to learn the material is by trying to teach it to someone else.

§  Why are you taking this class?

I have to take an art elective, and I had options to take classes other than ARTE 360.  I ultimately took this class to get a better understanding of art, its history, and why its made.  I also wanted to experience different types of art that I have never really looked into before. I also think that art is a good way to relieve stress and I thought that this class would be fun!

§  Has any of the arts ever moved you in any way? How? §  What inspires you?

Art has definitely moved me in some ways.  My grandfather is an amazing artist, but he also suffers from Parkinson's disease which has taken a major toll on him and his lifestyle.  He is progressively getting worse and there is not much he can do, yet he can still paint.  I look at all of his paintings and think that he can create such beautiful work even with his disease which really inspires me.  He inspires me to keep going even when I feel down and has shown me that you really can do anything you put your mind to.

§  What is art?

Art is anything that you create your hands.  It's an outlet for all of your minds creativity and it can represent anything you want it to represent.  Art also doesn't need to represent anything, it can just mean whatever you want it to mean.  It is for your interpretation. 

§  Do you consider movies art? Music? Video games? Comics? Television?

I wouldn't necessarily classify music, movies, and television as art because you aren't really using your artist type of mind.  I think that you are using a creative mind but not the artsy creative mind. I do however think that video games and comics are art because so much creativity and drawing comes into play when you are creating them.  Especially for video games because the art and graphics that go into creating those are insanely hard but awesome.

§  Who decided what is good art? How do they know?

I think that anyone can decide for themselves what good art is, because if they like it then that's all that really matters.  Good art in my eyes is something I can look at all the time and still enjoy. 

§  When you debate music or movies with your friends, what critical elements or standards do you hold them to?

When I debate music or movies to my friends, I tend to think about how I felt while I was listening to the music or watching the movie. The 2 subjects differ, because with songs I will tell my friend that I don't like it after I first listen to it because it didn't do anything for me, but after I listen to the song a few times, it grows on me and then I begin to love it.  With movies it is a little different.  If I felt bored/uninterested at all in the movie the first time I saw, then I wont watch it again and I'll probably tell my friends its not worth their time.  The movie really needs to be able to keep my attention the whole time or else it loses points completely.  

§  What was the best movie of last year?

When it comes to movies, I like action movies.  I have a hard time choosing one favorite movie because I like a lot of movies.  I would have to say the movie "Taken" was the best movie of last year, it kept me on my toes the whole time.

§  What is an “Art Film”?

Like I said before, I have no idea what an "Art Film" is, but if I were to guess I would have to say that an "Art Film" would be any animated movie.  And if an "Art Film" was that, I have seen too many too count. 

§  What CD or MP3 is in your player?

The MP3 that I am currently listening to is the soundtrack to the new movie "Country Strong", specifically the song "Give into Me". The movie was so good! One of my favorites for sure.