Submitted by seanmck on Thursday, April 20, 2006 - 18:36

---

So after spending several days simply trying to find a topic, I have finally decided to do my video collage on various aspects of the AIDS problem in Africa. Now that I've started, I've realized that it was a far more daunting task to decide the topic than it was to beging creating it. I was stuck on the idea that I should provide a solution for the problem in the video, and couldn't get past this. As soon as I realized that we really needed to produce a video that was touching and provided some insight into our topics, I chose AIDS as it is a topic that has always bothered me. When I started working, the project has seemed really to guide itself.

read more

Submitted by seanmck on Thursday, April 6, 2006 - 23:24

---

This represents the completed portfolio of my best work from the class.

Hitchcock Paper

For my film analysis paper, I chose to look at North by Northwest and Rope, both of which were directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It was a great experience to compare the two films in an academic context, as the majority of the papers analyzing and comparing two works has been with novels. It was also interesting because it led me to look at film in a new way, as more than simply a work of entertainment. It is far too easy to simply get carried away in the action of a film, and ignore the techniques used to create it or the messages implied by the director. In writing the paper, I really managed to learn the similarity between literature and film; each is an outlet for artistic expression much more complex than is visible at the surface. The paper is attached at the bottom of this portfolio.

read more

Submitted by seanmck on Tuesday, April 4, 2006 - 20:24

---

"Fraud In The '80s" : Mates Of State

YING YANG TWINS

In my opinion, it seems that as well as suffering from a stratification of wealth, America is suffering from a stratification of intelligence. In other words, while the rich are getting richer, it is not only the poor that are getting poorer, but also the smart getting smarter and the dumb getting dumber. The two videos I have chosen to discuss illustrate this point wonderfully. The first is the music video of the band Mates of State for their song "Fraud in the 80s". This clip shows genuine artists producing genuine art. The camerwork is impeccable, from the stop action recording of the anonymous hand invading the screen to trim down the pictures and deposit the scissors, to the slightly haunting movements of the band members once they have decided to lay down in their respective drawers. This video has not made it to the mainstream. This video will not make it to the mainstream. This fact shows the nature of the band, one that is concerned with the quality of the product rather than the success of the sales. To me this video is proof that at least some parts of American culture are becoming more cultured.

read more

Submitted by seanmck on Tuesday, April 4, 2006 - 15:38

---

The MacGuffin is a device in film that, in essence, has no real importance to the story itself. Usually, a MacGuffin serves as a chief motivation for most of the characters in the film, but could essentially be replaced by a number of other items, as long as they would motivate action. The point of a MacGuffin is to provoke the characters, possibly for the entirity of the film, though the audience may never really know what it is, or why it is so important to the characters in the film. Often, many of the characters do not even know anything about this object, except that it motivates their behavior.

read more

Submitted by seanmck on Thursday, March 9, 2006 - 17:15

---

My Photoessay is coming along. Right now it's just pictures and formatting, but here is the link anyway.

Submitted by seanmck on Thursday, March 9, 2006 - 04:14

---

Hey Dan, or anyone else...

Is the photoessay due by the end of class on thursday? I am confused about exactly what our assignment was for the last few days. Any help would be appreciated.

Sean

Submitted by seanmck on Thursday, March 2, 2006 - 05:16

---

For my photoessay I am going to examine the different aspects of the cultural acceptance of homosexuality. I will focus primarily on the United States, but will likely use a few examples from other cultures to relate back to the situation in this country. It should be fun; I'm excited to get started.

Sean

Submitted by seanmck on Monday, January 30, 2006 - 23:27

---

Since this is a class about computers and the internet, I figured I'd share some of my favorite cyber-finds from over the years. All are entertaining, most are absurd, and some are a little bit graphic.

Rejected

A series of cartoons that this guy had sent to various companies in hopes that they would use them in their productions. All were rejected. They are all cartoons, and the guy is really talented, especially toward the end, but some of them are pretty graphic and weird.

read more

Submitted by seanmck on Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - 20:25

---

The posting on The Bachelor got me thinking on the nature of us as a generation addicted to reality TV. I am just wondering what everyone else thinks about the current state of television - dominated by "reality" shows that are often some of the most ridiculous depictions of real life imaginable. I am not saying the shows are not entertaining, I am hardpressed to find anything funnier than watching women try to avow their true and undying love for Flava Flav on the new VH1 show. I just think it is an interesting dynamic that we have shifted from watching sitcoms to jumping into the lives of others.

read more

Submitted by seanmck on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 03:42

playlist

---

For my playlist, I am telling the story of a young man who has gotten tangled up in addiction to drugs. The first song in the list delivers the background, and the listener is immediately immersed in the pain of addiction and the hallucination of a trip. From here the listener hears the struggle of quitting, and realizing what is really important in life. The last song of the playlist shows the protagonist drug free, having found something else to give him satisfaction.

N*E*R*D - Bobby James

read more

Submitted by seanmck on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 17:11

---

ESTHER!

Submitted by seanmck on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 02:00

---

When I began thinking of an idea for the playlist assignment, I thought it might be fun to simply start by using the song that I already wrote about in my last post. For that post I focused on Esther by Phish, a song which tells a story in itself - a long a crazy journey. I thought this an interesting challenge as it doesn't easily fit in as a piece of the greater puzzle of a story. I thought about the nature of the song and realized that it has a dreamlike, hallucinatory nature, so I decided to incorporate that into the story I tell. I think I may create a story around a person addicted to drugs, who tries to escape the harsh reality of his life by slipping into a dreamlike world such as that of Esther.

read more

Submitted by seanmck on Monday, January 16, 2006 - 21:16

---

I don't know how many a-PHISH-ionados there are in the class, but I'm sure that if anyone is familiar with their music, there is a good chance that you would have heard Esther from the first disc of the album Junta.  This gem is a perfect example of musical narrative at its unadulterated best.  It satisfies all criteria of a narrative, with a wonderful hallucinatory plot, a shifting setting, and an anonymous third person narrator. 
 
As the carnival music-esque intro to the song begins, the listener hears tell of Esther, a young girl at a fairground near town, who receives the gift of a doll from a mysterious Armenian man.  As the song progresses, Esther is chased by an angry church congregation, out the doors an into the street.  Because of the storm that has begun, Esther's skirt fills with air, and she flies off "above the houses and the people and the chimneys".  When she returns to Earth, she is again chased, this time by an "angry mob of joggers, coming up to knock her down".  Naturally, she realizes that the only option for escape is to swim away.  As she enters the water, however, the tiny doll springs to life, and drags her under, where "she drifted away to a tranquil and motionless sleep". 

read more