This semester has had an abundance of twists and turns one could consider confusing however with the the correct amount of guidance it came at an informative and rather easy pace. Movies such as Reel Injun, Dancing with Wolves, Ceremony, Pres Pause Play, Seven Pounds etc. These movies have cemented many lessons across as they do send a message which is understood. however there are five key messages that have stood out among the rest.
  The First being Communication, although it doesn't always seem apparent the evolution of communication it has paved the way for the future not matter how over looked it is. It could be argued that true communication is dead, however that is more pointed toward the fact of face to face communication which has been slowly evaporating throughout the years. But looking at the underlying substance that is social networking one can see that communication is alive and growing. Massive social tethers such as the internet, phone bandwidths of 3g, 4g, 4gx, etc have been developing even today to bring more people together. For instance on the Thinglink image, there is a embedded video of the evolution of communications evolution and it shows the origins of fire and smoke signals to what is now the wireless world we live in. Easy sharing context with Press Pause Play as the was this notion during the films, "A young Hitchcock or a young Scorsese wouldn’t make it into the movie business today. They’d slap up their film onto YouTube and it would get lost in the ocean of garbage. [ANDREW KEEN]".  In this film the large argue was that communication is waning which is inherently false, as the improvement of technology and social interaction is giving people more of a chance then they had previously found possible.
    Following this there is a very obvious problem with the infrastructure of the Educational System. The curriculum, the scheduling, the classes, the amount of information thrown at a student with the expectation that they are to know all of it. This became largely realized with the short RSA film with Sir Ken Robinson called Changing Educational Paradigms. Robinson  talks of the dying American dream as it doesn't pertain to modern day realities, such as education not guaranteeing a job.  Also looking at the countless names of lesser educated people following the innovative ideas they have create million as the spend there money getting wealthy as opposed to getting in dept for learning how to make money. There is a saying that if your good at something then don't do it for free, the relevance of this today is more important then ever with this wretched assembly line that is the educational system. As the constraints by which we are taught change, it opens the possibilities for the unknown as people will not have the constant nagging of how people do not think things to be possible. This will change to the much needed truth of anything is possible.
    Innovation is huge within modern day society although it is slowing down due to the archaic educational system. However there is a large portion of companies making many innovation to further improve daily life or to push technology to the next evolution cycle. This brings up a correlation between Craigslist Joe and Seven Pounds. The connection between Craigslist Joe and innovation is due to the fact that Craigslist is largely based of off the internet, along with the fact that is is revolutionizing the way things are sold and much more. Providing much more then simple inanimate objects, one can find jobs, assistance, and more. With Seven Pounds, there is a correlation with Ben's old job, seeing how he was an aeronautical engineer who's company assisted Nasa with there designs for space craft. Leading to the his wealth along with the later tragedies he has to over come.
    Reel Injun is a very innovative take from Hollywood, it took decades for them to produce a movie where they had been portrayed as the good guys. Now although it doesn't have much in the way of technological innovation, innovation is broad with what it defines and in film, it was very innovative with how it is the first real movie to give a good portrayal of Native Americans. Taking inspiration from Dancing with Wolves and other such films, however it adds humanism to the Native American instead of defacing them as some of the other films have done. This also ties in with Smoke Signals as well were there is mention of all the most famous Native American movies to make it known how they were being poorly portrayed. 
    Another key point is First comes Tragedy then comes Farce where Zizek talks about the addition of positive connotations that companies add to a product in order to bring more people to buy what they have. Zizek threw out an example of Toms shoes and making it clear that just giving one kid a pair of shoes doesn't do enough. It takes much more then one pair of shoes to help people, as if people would take shoes over food when they are starving for example. But none the less people believe this to be all they need to do in order to help people in impoverished countries when in fact it take much more then that I takes building schools, teaching, hospitals, farming, and much more infrastructure.
    Just as a taste of what is happening between the three main points learned through the semester being; Communication, Collaboration, and Innovation. All of which being crucial to the evolution of the society if it is to continue in an advancing fashion.

    Seven Pounds is one of he best movies I have ever seen. Having so many elements that make the film so personal. The film centers around a man named Ben Thomas and his quest for redemption after the tragedy that had befallen him. This tragedy being the demise of Ben's character after a car crash he had caused which had killed seven people including his wife. Leading Ben to change his life, leaving behind his money, property, and even body. Now the creation of the film has had several points of view about how the movie was portrayed, what made it unique. These seven perspectives or points of view being: The Writer, The Producers, The Director, The Location Manager, The Designer, The Editor, and The Composer. Could these seven points of view all have the same response and reaction to what is a heroic and beautiful film?
    The Writer, the origin of the story the righter is foundation to what is the movie as the writer is the one who brought the story to people with a deeper meaning. Being based off of a true story the author (Grant Nieporte) believed that a story such as this needed to be shared. Now making no mistake that the movie made no direct association to this persons events, Nieporte did mention it in the perspectives video. Grant Nieporte made this story the depth and emotion that it is, taking more care with the emotion and the experience as opposed to a fictitious actors embodiment.
    The Producers are the second view of the movie. Taking the view of the actors, director and writer as a whole. These Producers look at it as a finished product and how the execution of the film is handles. Reminiscent of a critic, Producers not only keep a scrupulous look at the actors along with both the script and the emotion within the scenes. They talk of how the story is not over written and how love stories are not very common within Hollywood, and this being a very unique take on a love story even thought it is not the focus of the film.
    The Director Gabriele Muccino chose to direct the movie because of the script even saying that after the script he started crying. With the story being so unique and strange compared to other films that he found that the only person he knew who would delve into such a unique role. To add to this with their already prior experience with one another in the film Pursuit of Happiness, their was already a connection between Will Smith and Muccino. Muccino gives a sense of clarity to the emotion that the movie needs to portray, and giving solid feedback and advice to help the actors.
    Location is crucial to making the setting of a scene, to "sell it" so to speak. They set the mood, the lighting, and the overall them of the scene. Lending to the emotion and the feeling that the director wants to portray to the audience. The location allows for other things to take place in order to amplify what is the main point of the scene. Such as when Ezra was in the restaurant and there were happy couples all around him and he was eating alone just as he lives, alone. This giving the location manager an important job of giving an emotional supplemental backdrop to the scene.
   Similar to the location manager the Designer creates a look that can invoke a response from the audience thus helping make the characters who they are. In Seven Pounds the character Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson) is dying, she looks like death physically. But the way the designer had portrayed with her outfits is full of life along with a look as though she believe she will live her whole life. Or how Ezra (Woody Harelson) dresses very casual to very classy.
    Following the actual raw creation of the movie the next step is for the Editor to refine the film and make the movie the final product that it is. Clipping various scenes and finding the best footage to be put together in a way that is not only smooth but gives the best result. The result being the way the audience reacts to the film. This is because if he or she were to chop the film up then the message would be unclear thus it is very important the Editor revise the movie along with music and all.
    On the subject of music, the last thing to be chosen is the music of which again helps make the scene by setting a mood in the background of the various scenes. They chose for a sound track that was very orchestral with a slight electronic rythem in the back from an electronic keyboard. There was a very light tone in the background of this movie that would give a slight rhythmic and slightly sad and upbeat melody depending on the scene.

    This picture of the Watchmen is my visualization for costumes. The reason for this is because as you look at all the super heroes with their "in your face look", Rorschach in the center the man with no power dresses the darkest. Wearing a dark mysterious trench coat along with a no part of his body showing, even wearing a mask that moves and changes when he wears is so even the mask does not look the same.

    This is my second shot about lighting. So in Hot Fuzz after Sgt. Nicholas Angel had been assigned to the country side to help with the crimes as he's been making the police Metropolitan Police Service look bad. When he arrives, it not only is raining but it is very dark in its lighting with only three street lights which hardly illuminate him along with no help at the hotel.

    This picture from the Avengers is my choice for the Angle of the Filming which is belittling the battle worn Captain America and the Demi-God Thor. This was part of the ending scenes when they are fighting off Loki's unstoppable Army.

    Star Trek Into Darkness is the king of close up shots to bring the gravity of the situation to viewers as it is an immensely stunning film. Now the reason why I chose this scene when they found Kane was because this shows more of the film that is the fear of the unknown as they are facing a ruthless and unseen enemy that they don't entirely understand.

   For the crane shot I had used the D-Day scene from Saving Private Ryan which by the way is an incredible film. The reason why this shot fits the film so well is because of how it portrays the battlefield so well. Along with the deaths that went with the initial invasion of he film, which went very roughly although somewhat successful.

    For the decor I'm taking a page from the shining and using this shot of the kid (forgot his name) playing in the hotel. Now looking at the decor of the hotel one can see how generally boring they are with the bland carpet and flat white walls. Probably one of the most dismal places a person can stay without committing some crime or what have you.Also if you look at the chairs along with the very little plants along with one chair and those strangely colored doors.

    I didn't have the best way of showing over lap editing for sound but I found this which can show the idea. As you can see the top of the film sound bits are connected directly to the scenes, the bottom of the clip split second clip with the man. There is a sound clip embedded in the background of that clip which starts at the of the woman to emphasize the conversation of the two people.

    We've all seen this movie, its sad as hell! But it is the best example of a voice over as it is entirely narrated by Morgan Freeman to add depth and sadness to the film and bring it to the attention of the audience. The voice over tells you whats happening in a scene you don't quite understand.

Andre Ramirez

S.L.C.C. Mrs. Cawfield

Period 4

Is Communication Waning? 

    The Internet, the life blood of our modern culture, something that once it was created we could not live 

without. Starting with nothing but one or two websites when it was conceived, it soon became the growth 

that is society. This new development allowed for information to be shared throughout the nation and the world within a matter of seconds. This later lead to the giant Google which now owns many other internet booming websites. One such website being YouTube. Quite possibly one of the largest and most successful community hubs. Millions of people go on YouTube to either watch videos other people have uploaded or their own videos they've uploaded. Anything from comedy to tutorials can be found on YouTube; and with so much talent being thrown out there among the junk that is other websites, videos, etc...is communication being lost. Seeming as though people, talent, ideas, and possibly the future is being lost in the mass media that is the Internet. But is this all this talent and ideas really being lost out there in the internet or is it an opportunity to make themselves seen.

    Communication is an integral part in how the world develops and how it changes socially. Ever since it was created in the late 1960's to early 1970's with a variety of communication protocols. But when the Internet started to hit a growth in popularity and use was in the 90's where it began to explode in use. This later lead to the creation of YouTube as mentioned above on February 14, 2005. This lead to the present now and the explosion of ideas and of talents on the Internet as YouTube is the largest media site in the Internet. YouTube seeing more than 1 billion views in a month, those being people just visiting the site not the number of videos the watch while they are on YouTube. Thus leading to the first topic of discussion which has been enthralled by the film set on YouTube called Press Pause Play. This movie brought the attention of an idea as aid in the movie, "...that's why everyone now is buying camcorders and throwing their videos up on YouTube..." (Press Pause Play, Andre Keen). In this second interview with Andrew Keen, he began to talk about how the Internet has allowed people to make themselves known to people by throwing their stuff around on the Internet. The idea that they will be capable of achieving this level of stardom and wealth so easily. But on the other hand the people of whom have achieved or are achieving that level through their talent and skill are struggling as their work begins to get lost within the excess that is the internet. Starving for a chance to achieve more as their music is pirated or struggles to reach the masses that people can provide for their publicity. This in turn lead to something that was said in a short clip called Changing Paradigms by Sir Ken Robinson of which Robinson says this, "..academic and non academic, smart people and non smart people, and the consequence with that is that many brilliant people think they are not because they are being judged on this particular view of the mind..." (3:06-3:42). Robinson in agree with Keen in the way that the brilliant or talented are being shunt out with this rudimentary ideology that there is a dissociation or a lack of communication between society and what is that future. The message here is that communication is both alive and dead, between the people it is alive and well; but it has been waning with the dominate factor of society most of which being the government.
    Communication has a large role in society then one would think as it has a two part meaning, government and everyday society and the people that fill that demographic. Taking a page from First as Tragedy then as Farce. In this, Slavoj Zizek says this, "...more and more in today's Capitalism is to bring the two dimensions together in the same cluster..." (1:44-2:20). What he is trying to say is that there is more and more separation between the Consumers and the Anti-Consumers. By clustering these two groups of people cause a disassociation between them again going back to the communication that is within society in this case. Again is communication dead or is it just split among society and other areas such as government. Upon further scrupulous research, in a movie called Craigslist Joe, in which is entirely based off of societal communication. This Man Travels across the United States in an experiment to see if people are really out there and can provide help to other, the capacity to help other. Along the way he finds odd jobs to work, people who give him food shelter rides, ad other such means to live all across the nation. Now this movie is showing the communication between people in society is alive and well however, there have been times where this man in Craigslist Joe was in fact very lucky and could not make the communication with others for a place to stay or something to eat. Along those lines also he never once could get any government assistance thus showing the dissociation noted above with that communication, that interaction.
    It appears as though there is no clear deciding factor as to whether or not communication is alive or dead, however it is apparent that communication is ever changing. Whether or not that will change is undecided however there are no clear markers to suggest anything is happening, primarily underlying the obvious disassociation between society and the government of which guidelines that particular society. Thus all the videos an readings leave an unclear divider that is whether or not communication is waning?

The most memorable motion of last week is our involvement with this documentary of which is called Press Pause Play. This movie is taking a dive into the idea that art, culture, media and technology have been dehumanizing what is the creative and talented process of the world. One of the largest points being that whether the democratization of the  of the music and artist (broad) culture is a good thing, is it the evolutionary step to the creative process or is the cultivation of these ideas leading to the developmental steps or towards innovative collapse. With the growing disassociation of an artist and the fans or in this day and age, the growing artists of the general consensus of people due to technology.

Last week was a solid mash of P.T.S.D. and . An infusion of not only a real life contemplation of an Ex Navy Seal its like going to planet smoothie and having the most amazing strawberry banana smoothie...maybe even throwing some blueberries or raspberries if your feeling fruity! Well for a little more specificity, there were two days of study time which by I am extremely thankful for! Also we met the Ex Navy Seal, Clayton of which is not his native name. Not only by being a certified bad ass his commitment to putting his life on the line is incredibly admirable, choosing a path that few of us dare to follow. Well all I can say about that man is he deserves respect and I hope to fight alongside him one day.

Alright, as a of last week, we were on that ceremony train! All week it was just completely going over our quotes/annotations. Doing group or sometimes solo seminars as to understand what has been happening throughout the chapters. As you subdivided the book into sections of which we had to have read along with a way to guide ourselves through the book as there are no definitive chapters. Also there was much in the way of figuring out Silko's straight nonsense as her writing is so ridiculously trivial.