4th blog: Reflection On This Class

This course has definitely been very interesting and new in many ways for me, especially for the dynamic works we have been doing within the whole semester. Both, the lecture and lab classes were well developed by each assigned professor, I really appreciate the work by both of them because I have learned many new concepts about Media and likewise more about programs like Photoshop, text wrangle and even to use Mac computers, which I'd never tried before. Even when I was kind of lost at the beginning and disorientated because of the still lack of complete understanding on English, Film 150 was a course that caught my entire attention, and I think this was what helped me to don’t give up the course.

I have to admit Film 150 is not an easy course that one can pass only by assisting classes and paying attention, it requires reading a lot and to memorize terms in some cases, there is a bunch of things to learn about Media, I had no idea how little I knew about design and composition, HTML, notions of aesthetic, etc. I was always more focused on what it has to do with realization or production of video, but not so related with computer programs actually, but with camcorders and cameras.
Film 150 is the course for those who want to continue film or media studies, it is fundamental for both of them. Now that I have a wider knowledge upon the field of Media studies, I have much clearer the road to take on what I really want from Film studies. For instead, before I take this course, I only imagined myself working as cameraman or photographer, and later directing my own projects, shorts, films, documentaries, etc. But now I realize it is not only about production, but also the information that is behind the artistic work, the means by which I decide transmit, advertising to help me to get people want to see my work, etc.

To conclude, I would encourage students to take this course even if they are not going to Film or Media studies, because media is all around us, and we use it through different devices all the time. It should be a good idea knowing more about what we so much use.

Design I Like (Blog Entry #3)

Walking on 5th avenue, I wanted to pass and to take a look inside of Moma’s building to see if I could choose from the many artistic designs that are exposed in the museum, something to talk about it in my third blog assignment. Between all the interesting stuff I was observing, looking for something especial and unusual caught my attention a particular ad posted on a wall that was behind the information desk.

The phrase the ad said Moma membership: Belong to something …” The word “something” is followed by a bunch of words that described how great the Museum of Modern Art is; from there the reason for becoming a member of the Museum. First off, I liked its design because of the large amount of colors the ad uses and because the main point is explicit, clear and understandable.

This informative ad complies with several of the aesthetics and communication rules that we've seen throughout this second period in class on graphic design. For instance, the Moma membership flyer, as the poster that is stuck on the wall, has a one visual unit form that organize the information giving a better notion of where start reading the message. In this case, the word “MoMA”, which mean the museum, is located on the top in black letter with a white background. Below it, with a smaller size and in capital letter is the word “MEMBERSHIIP” with a black background. Finally the phrase “Belong to something brilliant, beautiful… satisfying”, sharing the same black background with “MEMBERSHIP.” Who made the design of this ad was aware of the using of proximity in the designing and the grouping of similar elements like the many adjectives the ad has to highlight the beauty of MOMA as well as a good logical and well distributed alignment to make all the word fit within the capacity of the space. Thus, as the flyer as the poster encourage the public to become members of MOMA. The most important is that all the pieces of information are logically connected and that the readers realize which is the most emphasized phrase or world in the ad. Already having the logical message for a good understanding, and a attractive design to call the attention, the flyer and ad comply its purpose, inform. So, the perceived affordance of the flyer is to inform readers about the membership that Moma offers to anybody. That is the main relationship.



This is a simple regular flyer which complies its function as informer. There is no much to do beyond of reading it; however, I really found the first face of the flyer kind of garnish, like a piece of printed paper that I might use to make a collage along with other traces of colorful papers. According to Donald Norman affordance meaning, it dependents not only on the physical capabilities of an actor, but also the actor's goals, plans, values, beliefs, and past experiences, so it should be clear that flyers only work for informing. Cultural constraints and cultural conventions have influence and relation with affordance as well. For instance, physical constraints are nearly related to real affordances and that is why designers strive to create meaningful relationships between people and the products and services that they create for the consumer. There won’t be much to do with this flyer anyway, I could be likely I decide to join the membership, and then I’ll see what I can do with this colorful flyer on my free time.

Lola Rent: What I see (second blog assignment)

Lola Rennt, a Tom Tykwer’s movie, from Germany, called my attention since one friend suggested me watching it. I have already heard about this German director before and his particular way he works in his shorts and feature-length. Lola Rennt has a super dynamic plot used in almost all its scene. It uses several shots with split screen, flash forward, freeze frames, animation, much dolly camera movement because of Lola's running, and framing and composition changing all the time. Personally, I felt Lola Rennt movie makes viewers feel certain thrill and acceleration in the blood as they follow the movie sequence. Animation in the movie makes it a more kind of ludical game, a more attractive plot, bustling and inevitably elusive. There are also very striking colors in the production of the character of Lola, her clothes and her hair. The stressful background music plays also a great complement of the exciting plot, put while Lola runs and in the uncontrollable Manni's anguish by waiting for Lola's arrival.
Most of the use of framing in the movie is in full shot and long shot, only in the scenes of facial expressions like when Manni, Lola’s boyfriend, is waiting for her into the phone booth, camera is set in extreme close up to highlight the sweat of Manni’s forehead. About the composition, most shots are establishing angle because the camera movement goes always close to Lola while she is running, using dolly movement. Of course, throughout the move one can see low and high angles as well as over head angles in some shots taking more field in the place where Lola were running. Camera movements are used in the diverse forms all the time. Using all these techniques, Tom Tykwer accomplishes that viewers get involved and attracted to the movie spot. As I describe at the beginning, the several shots with split screen, flash forward, freeze frames, animation, dolly camera movement in Lola's running makes Tom Tykwer created a very attractive plot. A very good combination of all them.
The scene when a Dinah Washington’s song “What a Difference a Day Made” was my favorite, when after that all the previous scenes were accelerated, Tom uses slow motion for Lola and Manni’s scape taking the money robbed from a supermarket, polices surround them, Lola and Manny run to another direction and they see themselves complete surrounded, Manny throws up the bag of money, one police accidently shoot on Lola’s chest and she falls down on the ground. That slow motion started as a happy escape and ended up in a tragedy; it starts as a rest after all the stressful race but ended up sadly. Totally unexpected, then starts a flash back Lola and Manny talking in a bed about love, then she recovers and returned to the first scene of the movie to start another new run to resolve Manni’s problem.
To finish, I just can recommend this movie, I loved it and I hope to learn to mix all those techniques in one feature-length.

Where is Media Going And Where is it Coming From?

Media are everywhere. It's very probable that now-a-day, there is no place in the world where Media cannot reach; in fact, the Internet, one of the sophisticated broadcasts Media, has made that anyone can know what's happening on the other side of the globe, and can receive and give information from and for anywhere and anyone. The man has seen how Media have evolved throughout history starting through the most primitive form of communication: talking and drawing (writing). As time passed, Print was created with the intention of finding a faster way to inform and to be informed. Media started getting a better quality of diffusion, and thus, since the late 19th century to the present, new electronic machines and devices were being built, one better than its previous. Media's technology never had a single purpose anymore; no merely to inform News. As new technologies of Media were increasing through the time, more business was put in practice in it. Entertainment programs for all type of audience; News started covering not only local and national, but also international matters; Politic propaganda, social events and showbiz started getting attention of people; a new market for selling by credit-card, etc. In some cases, Media also worked as a medium to create identity, nationalism, and, on other hand to create hate and segregation. A clear example of this were political propagandas hidden in cartoons that kids saw post War World II like "Superman",whose enemies always were Japanese, Russians, or any type of character that reflects socialism. Another example is the 50s film " The Bird Of A Nation" for promoting white supremacy and positively portraying the "knights" of the Ku Klux Klan as Heroes (Wikipedia, "Bird of A Nation"). Media has an incredible influence onto the audience that are us.

Internet, not far from what people from the 80s already knew about Media, has the same purpose, to facilitate the diffusion of information or data faster and massively. This is certainly possible; if one person can turn on its laptop anywhere, and if it gets signal or wifi Internet, this person can surf in the net like any other one being in Manhattan. In addition, Internet let us experience New Media, and we experience a new dynamic with it, in where one user can interacts with any one else in anywhere place having different culture and different interests, it doesn’t matter anymore, it’s not a barrier for communication anymore. Throughout of using of Blogs, video-sharing websites (youtube), social-network service (facebook), website email (hotmail), or simply chatting, we already are part of the New Media world, where we can say, watch, select, create, or even find out more than in real life about the affairs of other people’s lives whenever and wherever one wants to.

Media has been created by a need, for informing people about events that concern us primarily; secondly to make us feel closer one to another. Media has turned into a business game where now we all are part. We consume Media, and Media make we consume more; Media created a culture of consumerism. We now interact with media, and Media interact with us, updating its technology from time to time to make consumers update along with it. Media is a business, la largest business we all have experienced ever, and Media is going to keep it up being it for a long time.