Mockumentary, the final presentaion

If you missed the premier of Mockumentary in class tonight, there is no need to worry, you can see it here. Pop some popcorn, turn down the lights, sit back, relax, and get ready for the best final presentation on Mockumentaries that you have ever seen ...



Great, wasn't it? And, the good news is, if that left you hungry for more information on mockumentaries, all you have to do is visit this website. And you will learn all you ever wanted to learn and more!

And now, because I am a wee bit behind in my posting, the criteria I would use to study a student's study of my final presentation.

1. The first criteria would deal with humor. Creating this video helped me to see how hard it is to make something that multiple people think is funny. I would grade students on their understanding of what makes something funny and why mockumentaries are funny. They could demonstrate this understanding either in a traditional paper or by making their own clip from a mockumentary.
2. The second criteria that I would look for is the ability to distinguish between a mockumentary and a documentary. Students would need to answer the questions: What makes them different? What different/similar purposes do they serve?
3. The third, and final, criteria would be an understanding of satire. Mockumentaries are an excellent way to help students understanding satire. Students will demonstrate their understanding of satire by making connections to examples of satire in a mockumentary and satire in an assigned text.
   

Music, and not of the protest variety

In light of last nights multiple presentations on protest music, I am going to pass on that topic (despite the fact that I was part of one of those presentations). Instead I am going to talk about my musical obsessions of past and present.

To begin my musical journey I must first mention Ben Folds Five, for it is this band that I credit with saving my musical soul. When I was in high school I was very much a fan of Top 40s and Pop music. Now, there is nothing wrong with these genres of music, but they lack the depth that I so greatly enjoy in the music that I listen to today. So, I was a big fan of KDWB and KS95, until my brother bought the Ben Folds Five CD Whatever and Ever Amen. I heard him listening to it and immediately fell in love. I walked the mile plus to Cheapo Records in Uptown and bought my own copy of the disk. I listened to it over and over and over. Ben Folds Five opened new musical doors to me. Ben, and Darrin, and Jesse taught me what real music was. And then they broke up before I ever had a chance to see them live. I remember when I heard the news, I was in detention and my history teacher told me. My little musical heart was crushed. But, I moved on and found many other artists just as awesome.

The band that I am most recently obsessed with is Cloud Cult. Hailing from around Minnesota (now mostly living in Duluth) Cloud Cult is an eclectic band. Their music encompasses electronic, alternative, folk, and more. Each song has a different and catchy sound. I first heard them on the Current. They were covering Mr. Tambourine Man. The song sound so surreal and calming that I immediately logged onto the Currents website to check the playlist. Lo and behold it was Cloud Cult. That night I downloaded the CD the Meaning 8. After listening to CD once it was clear that I was in love.

I recently got to see Cloud Cult in concert and it was awesome. Not only does their music sound better in person, but they also put on a great show. During the concert there were two artists on stage painting. They each had a blank canvass at the beginning of the show, and a work of art by the end. It was neat to see how the music influenced the art.

My Media Week

There are a few primary sources of media that I interact with in any given week, they are:


















I spend the vast majority of my time interacting with media either online or through the radio. These are the two sources that I have the most contact with. I am almost always near a computer, whether at home, work, or school. This makes it easy to constantly check for updates to my favorite websites. When I am not near a computer, I am either near a radio (in my car) or my iPod (where can't you take an iPod). My iPod listening is very much influenced by my by what I hear on the Current (bless their online playlist) and MPR (thank goodness for podcasts).

I think that I feel a special bond and affection for both the Current and MPR because I am a member of public radio. I very much enjoy knowing that I supporting a service that I use so much. I also like the feeling, that in someway MPR is responsible to me. They are responsible to create the best and most accurate programming possible. Their journalists and DJs must be of the highest standard, otherwise people like me will discontinue our support.

I very rarely watch television, at least not when it is broadcast originally. One of my splurges every month is a subscription to Netflix. I absolutely love Netflix because it fits into my busy schedule. I can rent movies and watch them when I want to. I don't have to worry about late fees or about getting to the movie store (any mailbox will do!). But, the real reason I love Netflix is for the T.V. shows. I like watching T.V., but I hate watching commercials. Netflix has allowed me to watch T.V. without commercials. It also allows me to watch T.V. without being made a slave to the schedule of a network. I love it!

Media in the Classroom

How would I use media in the classroom? Who knows ... I honestly have no real answer for this question. I am not up-to-date on what books have been made into movies, what movies were inspired by books, and what is appropriate to use in a classroom. I feel as if I should have a way better answer for this question (especially after taking this class), but there is so much out there that I don't know where to start.

I know that I really want to incorporate media into my classroom. And I know that I want to do it in a very specific and engaging way. When I was a student, movies in the classroom often meant nap time. I want to find a way to use movies without putting my students to sleep. One way to do this is to use clips of a movie. If I only show five or ten minutes of a movie, students have little time to get bored. This will also force me to make sure that the clip I want to show is valuable to the class. If students want to see the entire movie they can rent it or stay after school to watch it.

Besides movies, I want to bring in music and other forms of media into my classroom. Music is such a vital part of everyday life, no matter who you are. It is almost impossible to go through a day without hearing music. Whether it is on the radio, mp3/CD player, on T.V., or in a store, music plays a part in life. I would like to explore music with my students. How does it influence them? What parts of music do they pay attention to? Is it related to reading or understanding a text?

Documentary

If I were to make a documentary about anything in the world, it would be about the lives of reality T.V. stars after they are no longer on T.V. (Let us write this topic off to the rash of reality T.V. that I have watched as of late. I am normally not reality T.V. fan, but once and a while it is fun to indulge myself.)

Once, when I lived in Boston, I was waiting for the T and I saw a cast member from MTV's Road Rules. My friend who I was with immediately recognized this person. Once it was noted that we (we meaning all of us waiting for the T) and small commotion was created. The Road Rules star was quickly encircled and buried with questions. What was it like to be on the show? How did it feel to watch yourself on T.V? Did they portray you accurately? What are you doing now?

These are all questions that MTV and other networks try to answer. They want their viewers to feel well informed about the shows that they are choosing to watch. They also want their viewers to feel good about the television choices that they are making. However, I do not feel as if we can trust what a company has to say about their own show.

I want to make a documentary about how being on T.V. really affects a "real" person. Are they able to find work afterwards? Does it affect their personal life? Their romantic life? How are things different from before? Is post production/stardom what they thought it would be? For how long do you get recognized? Were you fairly portrayed on T.V.?

A movie about me

I was poking around my hard drive and found a movie that I made for a class this past summer. I find it pretty entertaining, so I thought I would share.

Rainbow Church of Love

For class we were assigned to make a fake commercial. This is what my blog partner and I came up with.

News Broadcast

Chris, my blog partner, and I have been working together this week. Not only did we create a really cool fake advertisement (see Rainbow Church of Love), but we also needed to analyze a local news broadcast. To see the breakdown, minute by minute, of channel 5 news, please see Chris' post. To read my analysis, continue on my friend ...

I, like Chris, do not make it a habit of watching the local T.V. news. I get most of my information from a paper copy of the StarTribune in the morning, NPR throughout the day, and a smattering of news based websites (nytimes.com and startribune.com). Its not that I don't like the local news, its just that I have better things to do with my time.

The biggest downfall to televised news is that I am forced to learn about certain news storied in a certain order. Reading the news paper, or going on-line allows me to pick and choose the news stories that I am interested. I can also chose how in-depth I want to dive into each story. We live in such a fast paced world that I just can't justify wasting time with the local news.

Analyzing An Advertisement - I Admire Alliteration

Humor is something that works well in advertising ... at least it does for me. If an ad makes me laugh, there is a much better chance that I will remember it. Because I think that humor plays such an important role in effective advertising I have chosen a few humorous ads to analyze.

Scratch and win - The first ad that I found when I Googled "funny advertisement," was the Verizon Yellow Pages with the headline "Scratch and win." It took me a second to get what the headline was referring to (I was looking at a tiny version of the image), but once I got it I couldn't help but to laugh. This ad was a unique take a on an old phrase. It puts together two images that I am familiar with in an unfamiliar way.

This ad was posted in a subway station in New York City. Most people who saw the ad were probably passing quickly through the subway station. For an ad to be effective in this environment it needs to be big, easy to understand, and eye catching. "Scratch and win" meets these three categories, but goes above and beyond this. So often the same ad is posted over and over in subway stations. Repetition is what helps the ad stick in the consumer's mind. This ad uses humor to accomplish this feat. A commuter walking by this add will read it and laugh. Because they are laughing and engaging with ad they will be more likely to remember it later in the day. Humor helps make this ad effective.

BMW vs Audi - The second ad that I want to look at is for BMW. Upon first look, this ad appears to be for Audi. It mentions Audi in the first line of text leading the reader to assume the car is an Audi. After a more thorough reading of the ad, the consumer learns that the ad is really for BMW. BMW is poking fun at Audi for winning a lesser award than the one presented to BMW. The ad is effective because BMW is putting themselves above Audi. They are clearly telling the consumer that, "Audi is good, but BMW is better."

This ad makes me laugh for different reasons then the "Scratch and win" advertisement. This is funny for the same reason that many comics are funny, poking fun at someone is funny. Human nature draws us towards items that will lift us above others. We all want to be the best. BMW is making fun of Audi (in a humorous way) proving that they are better, and people will buy BMWs to prove that they are better than Audi owners.

Screaming Child - The last commercial that I want to look at is a T.V. commercial from France. I recommend watching this commercial before reading the rest of my post. At the beginning, it is unclear what this commercial is advertising. It was my desire to find out what the commercial was advertising that kept me watching until the very end. Throughout the commercial the tension between the child and the man continued to grow. You could see the man's discomfort building as the child continues to scream. The climax of this commercial comes at the end when the consumer learns that it is selling condoms.

This commercial is aimed towards the sexually active single male. In a humorous way it is letting guys know that they better use a condom or they are going to end up like the guy in the movie, thus ending their single male life that they have come to love so much.

Place Holder

I am a little behind in my blogging. As of late, I feel like I hardly have time to breath. This post, which will be about Mockumentaries, will soon be posted.

UPDATE: It has been decided that Chris and I are going to do our final project on Mockumentaries. Therefore, I am going to defer this post to my final project. There will be a video posted later (on this very blog) and a website will be created. Links to the website can be found in a post closer to our final presentation. Get excited for it. It is going to be great!

Facebook vs. MySpace

I have a friend who, if it was socially acceptable, would prefer to communicate only through online social networking websites. She spends hours every week updating her profiles, browsing through the changes her friends have made, and searching for new friends. At least eighty percent of her time spent online is spent on social networking websites. And of the time spent on social networking websites, at least two-thirds of it is spent on Facebook.

My friend, let us call her Tina, signed up for a Facebook account almost four years ago. She quickly built her Facebook page: uploading pictures, answering profile questions, and requesting people to be her friends. She enjoyed Facebook so much, and the opportunities that it afforded her, that she didn't even think about creating a MySpace account. She enjoyed the privacy that Facebook provided, only people with email addresses affiliated with a University were allowed to join. And of those who were allowed to join, the only people who were allowed to view Tina's profile were the people who she accepted as friends and those who were at her affiliated with her University. Tina also enjoyed the simplicity of Facebook. Once she learned how to use Facebook it was like riding a bike, she was a pro.

And so, for a couple of years Tina was content with Facebook. Then she decided that she was going to study abroad and wanted to blog to keep her friends and family at home abreast of her travels. So, she signed up for MySpace because it offers a blogging option on its site. She was reluctant to sign up for MySpace, for she was a loyal Facebook user.

Soon after Tina signed up for MySpace, Facebook began to change. Facebook opened up so that any person with an email address could join. Advertisements also became much more prevalent on Facebook. Applications from outside companies were incorporated within Facebook. There were so many changes, Facebook almost seemed like a different application. Facebook had lost some of its appeal to Tina. She slowly began to use MySpace for more than just blogging.

Currently Tina still uses Facebook more than MySpace. She has an established routine and set of friends on Facebook.

Board Game Ads and Gender/Sexuality

For this post I have decided to examine the role that gender plays in advertisements for board games. The first example that I have is an Ouija Board ad from 1968. Even though this ad is dated, and it is possible that the gender roles portrayed in the ad have since changed, I have chosen to use it because it sets the stage for discussion about more recent advertisements. In order to find out where we are, we must first find out from where we came.

The ad for the Ouija Board is a picture with one male and one female, both white, using the board. I think that it is safe to assume that these two people are friends of about the same age. Words have been superimposed over the ad. These words represent questions that the players might ask of the Ouija Board. The first question is about the car and if the kids will be allowed to use it. This question is floating over both kids. The next five questions are clearly associated with either the boy or the girl.

Girl questions:
Should I become a model or fashion designer?
Who's Debbie's date to the prom?
Are flying saucers for real?

Boy questions:
What college will accept me?
Should we go steady?

There is a clear difference in the types of questions that the girl is asking and that the boy is asking. The boy's questions are oriented around education and romance (sexuality). The girls quetions deal with subjects opposite of education: fashion, dating, extraterrestrial life. This ad makes the boy seem smarter and has strong heterosexual tendencies.

The second example that I have is for The Cd-Rom Game of Life. In this ad a man and a woman, again both white, are driving on a game board in a car. Anyone who has played this game can make the assumption that within the world of the game, the couple is married. The man (who is driving) is giving the audience a big suggestive thumbs up. He really enjoys this game and being married to the beautiful blond sitting next to him. On the other hand, the wife is sitting beside her husband in the passenger seat. Her happy smile is directed at her husband, not at the audience. This ad, like the Ouija Board ad, has a strong sense of male dominance and heterosexual sexuality.

The third ad that I will examine is for the game twister. All who have played this game know that it involves close physical movements, often leading to sexually suggestive moments. The ad for Twister does not stray from this common impression of the game. There are four people in the ad, three who are playing the game and one who is the "caller," dictating the moves the players must make. Of the three players one is make and two are female, they are of different racial backgrounds. The male player is the dominant person in the ad, with the female caller farthest in the background. The three players are entangled in what looks like a very fun game of twister, especially for the male player. The male player is looking directly at the audience with a small smirk on his face. The two female players are looking at the male player. The females are also smiling. The ad has a strong sense of heterosexuality of the strongest type: one male with two females. The male, as in the other ads, appears to be dominating the situation in which he finds himself.

I have looked at only three ads for three different games. I am not suggesting that all board game ads are sexist and homophobic. However, I do think it would be an interesting study. How do board game advertisements aimed at children and teens portray gender and sexuality? Are they fair in their portrayals?

Fist Bump, an analysis

The commercial that I have chosen to analyze is for Bud Light:


Rhetorical/audience analysis: This commercial is interesting in that the product is only mentioned by name twice, once in the beginning and once at the end. The product can also only be seen twice, at the same time it is mentioned. Instead of repeating the product name over and over, the commercial is attempting to be funny and thus make an impact through humor. Although the commercial promoting the face slap in place of the fist bump, I do not think that the marketing department at Bud Light really thought that the face slap was going to catch on. As a viewer, this commercial is memorable because it is somewhat humorous, at least it was the first time I watched it.

Critical discourse analysis: This commercial reminded me of the Burger King Kid's Club from my youth. The Kid's Club was the BK equivalent of a McDonald's Happy Meal. Each Kid's Club meal came in a bag with pictures of the cartoon Kid's Club on the side. This cartoon/ideal image of the Kid's Club included a child from every race and one child with a disability. The marketing department at Burger King did not want to leave anyone out. I think that Bud Light had the same idea. This commercial features people of all different races, and potentially different classes. The three guys in the bar at the beginning could potentially be anybody. Almost any male viewing this commercial could relate to those guys, especially if the viewer is in his 20s/30s. Throughout the commercial we see different people in different settings: golf course, car lot, restaurant kitchen, and office. I think that Bud Light intentionally picked these varying locations to appeal to the many male viewers that might see this commercial.

I made a movie!

Tonight in class we learned how to use iMovie. I made mine about T-Rex, the second coolest dinosaur (Stegosaurus wins hands down). Without further ado, the international debut of my iMovie:

In other news that is exciting for me... The front page of this morning's Minneapolis StarTribune held exciting news. The percentage of male teachers in Minnesota has fallen since 1980, mirroring the national trend. Maybe, after I graduate, I will be able to find a job and pay of my loans!

An Eye for Editing

At the beginning of the music video for Feist's "1234," the scene is immediately set in an warehouse. However, this warehouse, with purple, yellow, and red walls, is more colorful then the average warehouse. Feist then walks out of a door that is in the center of the screen. The echo of her footsteps can be heard before she is seen (an interesting choice by the sound editor). The music then begins in the background as Feist continues to walk towards the camera; her footsteps can still be heard. Her sequined blue outfit is the next object that appears to the viewer. Her face and other small details appear last as Feist walks closer to the camera.

When Feist finally reaches the camera, the camera begins to move to keep the walking Feist the center of the shot. From this moment on the camera remains focused on Feist for the rest of the video. The scene never changes, neither does the wardrobe of the cast. This was a nice juxtaposition to the many music videos that are flashy and use a lot of editing and cutting to impress the viewer. Instead, the simple editing techniques (or at least they appear simple to the viewer) allows the viewer to enjoy the impressive and entertaining choreography of Feist and her fellow dancers.

Very near the beginning of the video Feist is joined by a slew of dancers dressed in a wide array of colors. Despite all the is now happening in the video the camera remains fixed on Feist. It moves in circles, up and down, and in a spiral motion, yet always follows the same person. The video also appears to have been shot in one take. Whether or not this is true, the image that it gives is strong. By never cutting away, and always focusing on Feist, the video really gives the viewer a sense of how big the warehouse is. I enjoy that as a viewer I am allowed to explore the set of the video for myself. I often times get frustrated with music videos the focus only on dancers or singers, not allowing my to experience the sometimes massive sets.

The end of the video includes some very nice editing. The choreography is such that all of the dancers end up in a V formation behind Feist. Feist then walks towards the camers and the dancers move in behind her and vanish. We are left with a scene very similar to the beginning of the video: Feist alone in the warehouse. She bows (a moment that allows Feist to speak to the audience, thus inviting viewer participation) and the video ends. It is a great video. But if you don't believe me, watch it for yourself:

Happy Feet - Movie Clip Review

The scene that I picked is one of the trailers for the movie "Happy Feet." Because what is better then penguins singing Frank Sinatra in Spanish. Nothing, nothing is better than that.



This clip begins with a shot of the peaks of a snow covered mountain. There is music in the background accompanied by rhythmic singing. The camera begins to pan across the mountain tops as names appear on the screen. The names begin in the upper left corner, working their way to the lower right corner, forcing the eye to follow a path across the screen that is in direct opposition of the direction of the camera movement. The names disappear as audible words begun to be sung in the background. It is apparently clear that the singing is an a language that is not English. The camera continues it's scenic pan, while at the same time beginning to focus on one spot. As the camera continues to zoom in on the same spot a object begins to come into focus. As the camera gets closer it is apparent that they object is a singing penguin. The penguin's movements and the singing/music are now synchronized.

We are allowed to watch the singing penguin for a moment before four more penguins appear in the background. These penguins are clapping their wings in rhythm with the music. As they appear the camera begins to move up, giving the viewer a better view of all five penguins who are now moving and singing along with the music. The camera then begins to move in a circle around the lead penguin. It rotates around him while continuing to move higher, allowing the viewer to look down on him. The camera suddenly picks up speed and moves high above the penguin as he sings the word "My" in English. Before the penguin can finish the note the camera suddenly dives into his mouth and the words "Happy Feet" are seen on the screen. The Penguin can still be heard singing outside his body. The camera then comes back out of the penguin's mouth to it's previous position. The penguin finishes singing "My Way" and then looks up at the camera and speaks directly to the audience, "Hello, I know size can be daunting, but don't be afraid, I love you. I love you!" The screen then cuts to a black backdrop with the words "November 2006" in bold white writing.

The aspect that I most like about this clip is the humor. Singing penguins are funny! I also liked how the director used what was happening to help dictate the camera angles and shots. For instance, at the very same moment that the four back-up penguins appear, the lead singer penguin sings the word "amigo," or friend. This is a Spanish word that many English speakers recognize, and I can't help but imagine that this word was intentionally highlighted. I also appreciate that clip appears to be shot in one take. There is no cutting between different penguins in the same shot. It is the camera's fluid movement that helps to dictate the focus.

"Happy Feet" is a good movie. If you haven't seen it, you should.

Rocketboom!

All week I have been attempting to keep up with Rocketboom. This shouldn't be so hard because they only post once a day, but I am still trying to figure out this whole RSS thing. Over the past seven days, while attempting to begin my adventures in vlogging, I have surprised myself. I always thought of myself as a tech-savvy person, a child of the so-called Dot Com Generation. It looks like I have some catching up to do, which is why I am glad that I am taking this class. I would hate to show up at a generation reunion, or for my first class as a teacher, and realize that everyone knows more than I do. That would be embarrassing.

Back to the matter at hand ... Rocketboom. It is a highly entertaining, visually and mentally stimulating, daily vlog. Hosted by former MTV Europe VJ Joanne Colan, Rocketboom is presented as a three minute news broadcast, only it is so much more. It is the type of news broadcast that your buddy forwards to you in an attempt to brighten an otherwise gloomy work day. It is the type of news broadcast that makes you laugh and then makes you do a Google search because you want to know if it is true or not. It is the type of news broadcast that just kicks butt.

Each episode starts with the vlog's theme song, Zoom a Little Zoom, played over a modge-podge of pictures and video clips. The colors, shapes, and sound, which are all constantly changing, caught my attention right away. The show then continues with its assortment of daily news. The short yet captivating segments, and unique focus, is perfect for a someone with a short attention span, like me.

My favorite segment today was about a website devoted entirely to the longest stuff in the world. Abbreviations, CD Title, Cell Phone Throw, Traffic Jam, if it was long it was on the list. I could whittle away many a rainy afternoon on this website, filling my brain with trivial information about length, including the longest domain name which just happens to be: The Longest List of the Longest Stuff at the Longest Domain Name at Long Last Dot Com. It took my clumsy fingers a couple of tries to type the exact URL into my web browser. To save you the time and frustration, I have linked to it here.

This has been one of my frustrations with vlogs. It is hard to embed a link within a video. And I, being an only slightly motivated vlogger, find it somewhat annoying to have to type in the URL of a site that I might learn about from a vlog. It is much easier to simply follow a link that is provided for me. However, this will not stop me from enjoying Rocketboom.

Rocketboom is a highly professional looking vlog. Producer/director Andrew Baron and his crew must spend a lot of time and thought putting it together each day. I imagine that their time is well spent. Rocketboom is geared towards those who are at least somewhat tuned in to the World Wide Web. I imagine that it attracts a wide variety of viewers spanning generations and from around the globe. Indeed it seems to have an international flavor. The uniqueness of each episode must be what keeps the customer satisfied. At least that is what worked with this customer. Check it out for yourself and you will see what I am talking about.

1 in 70,000

According to the book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for the Classroom by Will Richardson, there are 70,000 new blogs created everyday. Given our large world population and the exploding popularity of the internet, I believe this. However, this does not make me feel very special, as today, the very first day of my foray into blogging, I am only one in seventy thousand. Nevertheless, I will forge ahead with the goal to be better than each and every one of those 69,999 other blogs that were also created today.

This blog was created as an assignment for CI 5472 Teaching Film, Television, and Media Studies. It will be used in multiple ways: as a tool to respond to topics brought up in class, to discuss relevant information with my fellow classmates, and to bring to light any other pertinent information.

This post is pretty special because it is my first time using a blog. (Well, almost my very first time using a blog. I once created on for a creative writing class that I took. I posted on it about twice and then lost interest. There is no need to scour the internet looking for it, my creative writing blog has long been deleted. You wouldn't have wanted to read it anyway.) I am hoping, in fact I'm pretty sure, that this blog will be fascinating. It will be filled with all sorts of interesting information pertaning to the art of Teaching Film, Television, and Media Studies. Check back often, I will update as the course syllabus and the discovery of new information dictates.