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.