Blog Six: Animation Deconstruction

Image One

Image Two

For this assignment, I chose two still images from the animated movie, Despicable Me.  The two topics I focused on within these images were color and lighting.

Within image one, the colors are completely split, giving it two different focuses.  As for image two, the colors are more evenly distributed, even though there are many.  Image one has dark, gloomy colors on the left, while on the right everything is bright and stands out.  The hue within image one is darker shades of gray and purple along with the yellow shade of grass, along with less saturation.  These colors are complimentary to one another.  On the other side of the yard, the hue is a split analogous color scheme.  This is because the yellow, red and green all manage to blend very well.  Also, the saturation is very high.  While looking at image two in regard to hue, saturation and value…there is a lot more to look at with a more even distribution.  Purple is prominent throughout the image.  Some of the purple stands out and some is dark and gloomy like normal, representing the villain.  The yellow wall compliments the purple distributed throughout the picture.  There are other complimentary colors like red and blue on one of the woman as well.  Between image one and image two, I noticed complimentary colors like purple and yellow were used in both.  Purple is also a very common hue used.  The value of the purple is used in a similar way with the darker shades in both images.  Both images have use of high saturation in some areas.

As for lighting within these images, the largest difference would be the natural lighting in image one versus the fluorescent lighting in image two.  You’ll notice harsher shadows in image one contrasting with image two where the shadows are more subtle.  In regard to the direction of the light, that is also different between these images.  The sun in image one creates a vertical direction of light, while the lights in the second image are going in a horizontal direction.  Both images have a nice, even diffusion of light for the most part.  Even though in image one, the shadows are harsher, the light is still quite even because of the sun.  Each image tries to create a happy emotion mixed with a gloomy emotion through use of darker colors and brighter colors.

Overall, I noticed that Despicable Me did a nice job of sticking to a certain color palette and using it affectively.  It is an enjoyable animation that I would suggest to watch.

Blog Five: Storyboard Imitation

This scene from, The Big Lebowski, is very intense with a decent amount of movement at the beginning.  It is a chaotic moment in the movie that establishes the beginning of its story.  After watching the scene carefully, I paid attention to the 180-degree rule, the rule of thirds and the rule of thirty. 

Focusing on the 180-degree rule first, I could not find any shots that transitioned into the next that broke the 180-degree rule.  Directors, Ethan and Joel Coen, along with the Director of Photography, Roger Deakins, played it safe.  They made some transitioning shots that were close to being 180 degrees, but nothing broke this rule.

Every shot that was broken down from this scene stuck to the rule of thirds.  There were a couple shots that purposely messed with the rule of thirds a bit to provide more symbolism within the shot.   The second shot kept the focus on the two characters in the middle of the frame.  This is within the borders of the rule of thirds, but makes it so your eyes go against your nature of usually looking to the left.  You focus on what is in the middle instead.  The last shot did the same exact thing with a separate character.  Its purpose was to show the dominance of this character.  The audience should feel a bit of a threat when watching this shot.  Again, the Coen Brothers chose to play it safe.

Lastly, comes the rule of thirty.  As each shot transitions from one to the next, none of them broke this rule.  Every shot was changed by well over thirty degrees.

The Big Lebowski provides the audience with an affective scene.  Ethan and Joel Coen, along with Roger Deakins, chose to stick to the rules that have been used by many professionals for years.

Blog Four: Song Deconstruction

Bon Iver-Skinny Love

LISTENING FRAMEWORK

                                              SONG: Skinny Love by Bon Iver

LISTENING PHASE 1 (Rhythm)

Source— The guitar and later the bass drum along with stomping and clapping.

Time/Tempo— Somewhere between Adante and Moderato

Groove— Light, flow

LISTENING PHASE 2 (Arrangement)

Instrumentation— Guitar, bass drum, stomping, clapping

Structure/Organization— Intro/Verse/Verse/Chorus/Verse/Repeat Chorus/Verse/Finale

Emotional Architecture— Builds overtime by adding something other than guitar and his voice by adding in bass drum, clapping and stomping.  Adds more than just a simple guitar riff and becomes louder on the chorus along with stronger singing.

LISTENING PHASE 3 (Sound Quality)

Balance

 -        Height— Low chords mixed with higher chords to create nice balance. Has a higher singing voice.

 -        Width— Longer bass tone of chord on guitar and most prominent in left ear (panned left). Quite balanced overall.

 -        Depth— Makes guitar loudest at points to keep bass in background and sometimes reverses.

Childish Gambino- I Got This Money

LISTENING FRAMEWORK

SONG: I Got This Money by Childish Gambino

LISTENING PHASE 1 (Rhythm)

Source— Bass drum, bass guitar, synth

Time/Tempo— Allegro

Groove— Pulse, behind the beat (the synths  are mixing behind the bass in the beginning and throughout piece)

LISTENING PHASE 2 (Arrangement)

Instrumentation— Bass drum and general drums, bass guitar, synths, guitar, chimes

Structure/Organization— Intro/Chorus/Verse 1/Bridge/Chorus/Verse 2/Bridge/Chorus/Finale

Emotional Architecture— Builds up to verse two and then afterwards goes back to a less climactic song, but then builds back up after the last chorus in the finale.

LISTENING PHASE 3 (Sound Quality)

Balance

-     Height— Chimes high, voice is high and some synths are high while the bass drum and guitar are very low, along with some of the synths.

-     Width— The guitar part on the bridge is a bit more panned to the right. Overall, the song has a natural panning sound due to the synths, but it is actually quite balanced between the right and left.

-     Depth— The bass drum is most powerful at the beginning and then the pulses of the synth become louder. Later on the Synths layer over the chimes. Also, the guitar is most prominent in the chorus and then the drums layer over the guitar. There are some vibes on the last chorus that are strongest and suddenly the synth and drumset take over. A lot of depth was given naturally through the synths as well.

“Skinny Love” by Bon Iver and “I Got This Money” by Childish Gambino are extremely different from one another.  There are a couple comparisons that can be made between the two.  They relate to each other when it comes to melody.

Each melody sounds different overall, but when you break them down into components, there are similarities.  Both songs are very catchy.  I have found myself walking around singing them more times than I can count.  Along with being catchy, they are simple to sing.  The melody is something you can hum along to or sing to if you know the words.  These songs are very simple in regard to the melody alone.  They have higher range melodies for the most part.  “Skinny Love” is a bit lower, but they are not at a low range. 

In every other regard, I find the songs to contrast a lot.  The lyrics in “Skinny Love” are meaningful with a strong message behind them.  Bon Iver requires the listener to give it some thought, while Childish Gambino sings about the fact that he has money and wants to spend it on a woman.  “I Got This Money” is repetitive whereas “Skinny Love” is more complex.

Both songs have almost opposite musical quality.  “Skinny Love” is a slower-paced song with regular and simple rhythm.  The intensity is soft during the verses, and loud during the chorus.  The pitch of the song is pretty moderate.  It has moments where it is higher, but is something I would consider to stick within the middle range.  The timbre of the song is very simple and balanced.  It has normal pitches and not much panning.  “I Got This Money” is opposite of these qualities.  The speed of the song is fast, allegro.  The rhythm of the song compliments itself.  The bass in the song is regular, while the synth sounds are irregular.  It is very loud for the most part.  The pitch of the song is high overall, but the bass drives the song forward for the most part.  Its timbre is complex.  The synths allow for a natural panning between right and left and the pitches of the song are high and low.  As for the organization, it is pretty sporadic, but can be followed lyrically.

“Skinny Love” and “I Got This Money” are on two sides of the spectrum.  Not to mention they are different types of music.