Customers

I was able to relate to todays lesson strongly. Prof Jenkins briefly spoke about customers taking advantage of your business, and of you the worker as well. I have customers who come to my work and lie straight to my face. They lie about coupons. They are either too lazy to print them, or they forget. Instead of saying,"I forgot my coupons" they say,"No I had them when I dropped off." The thing they are failing to realize is that I am the one they always drop off to. I am also the same person they usually pick up from. It's almost insulting how often these same people will do this. I like to convince myself that man-kind is on a path towards good.

LLC

We had an interesting discussion and lesson about how much it costs to wake up. The lesson eventually led to talking about LLC's. It was an interesting thing to look at from a musician stand point. If one is able to claim anything that relates to the functioning of the company, would that include gas? Gas is the thing that makes touring expensive. If a group became a LLC by paying the small fee, would we pay able claim...everything? It seems like a sleazy way to get money from the government,(which I would rather them give to artists then spend it on war exports and unrightful invasions...sigh)but it would completely change the possibilities of touring.

McDonalds

Let's throw it out there, I am a little afraid of clowns. I'm not sure if it was from seeing Pee Wee's Big Adventure too many times while growing up, or if I have always been suspicious of people. While watching the old McDonalds commercials, I could not believe how horrifying the old Ronald was. I wouldn't let my kids eat with that maniac, with the dixie cup on his nose full of spray paint, and his "make up" which I can only assume is taken from the bodies of his past victims. McDonalds had a way of cycling through the focus groups in their commercials. It would begin with the kids, then move to the parents, then to breakfast, then back to kids, then to the late nighters. The cycle would often go back to children, which made me realize that I, as a 22 year old man, have been eating childrens mush for many years. It's not that I never thought about how awful the food actually was, or how it doesn't seem to be real meat. Seeing, I guess, why I have always been craving it is what made me a bit sick. I hate how much control the media can have. They are always talking about someone who just got married. Usually, well always, the person deserves no such praise at all, and instead should be stripped of all their belongings and put in a glass box in the earths mantle. They bombard people with useless information 24/7, so that the people go on to believe that what they are hearing is actual news. Do people know that right now Tokyo is under a massive threat of needing to be evacuated? Does the news tell about Uzbekistani women having their uteris' removed with out consent? NO http://adonis49.wordpress.com/2012/04/21/uzbekistan-doctors-ordered-to-cut-out-womens-uterus-without-knowledge-or-consent/ But I'll be goddamned if you can't walk down the street and find out the latest celebrity gossip or who won the damn ball game.

Jorb

Today class was all about our cover letters. Prof Jenkins reminded us that we can still use all of our techniques and skill learned throughout the semester in many ways. When discussing the cover letter, he mentioned that we can still use a hook and that we are basically still selling an experience. He said "You are selling the hole, not the drill." By that he means you need to sell what you are going to do, not yourself as the one who will do it. It seemed like he was pretending the job was already said and done. Acting in this way gives off a real sense of confidence. It may come off as cocky even, but he said its' not. We have been conditioned to be humble and quiet, not to run about yelling our skills, though some people will do that. I totally agreed with the fact that we have been preconditioned. All through out elementary school I was a talkative kid. To the point that it would get me in trouble some times. What's strange is that, I was actually quiet. I had many friends who would always talk during class; 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, up until 7th grade. I would constantly get told that if we didn't stop talking we would get in trouble. I would always sit and stare at my thumbnails. Noticing the lighter arch in both of them near the cuticle. I never said anything because I grew up in a house where there was a final word. Even today I will simply drop conversations because I know it will only lead to anger and yelling, and it's been this way forever. We never have any sort of debate or deep conversation at my parents house. I have tried before;politics, gay rights, immigration. There seemed to be an undertone that schools were at fault for this submissive generation. I believe it is a combination of the school system, government, and parenting styles of the past.

Fear

Today we touched briefly on fear. I never thought about how ridiculous home security commercials are. They usually show some white woman, home alone at night, lying in bed or reading a book. All of the sudden a man smashes her window and she springs to life. Luckily the thief has some sort of auditory infection, so he must flee the scene immediately. I usually would see these commercials when I was younger. Sitting at home with my mother after kindergarten watching soap operas, they would come on pretty frequently. I don't see them anymore, or perhaps I am just watching at the wrong time. The only people who would see the commercials are people staying home during the day. Be it they are old, taking care of children, or simply out of work, the commercial plays on the vulnerability of the target audience. If they are able to stay home during the day, that must mean someone else is often absent from the home. Which means they are likely alone at night sometimes too. It's a little sad that they scare people into buying a false sense of security, but also a little sad that people assume certain products totally remove certain risks.

Shots in Narratives

In class we discussed the three most commonly used shots in narrative film and commercials. They consisted of Wide shots, medium shots, and close ups. After taking film classes for nearly 8 years now, all of this information was simply being retraced in my head. We then were given a few examples of the order of the shots. When ever I think of establishing shots I think of Home Alone. In my memory, at least half of the scenes begin with a wide exterior shot of the house. I was reminded of a website I frequent after Mr. Jenkins drew the story board. These Rage comics consist of basically the same visual organization and order as what we were shown in class.

http://imgur.com/1tQQ8

http://imgur.com/GjOen

As you can see, both of them have the main action taking place in the second to last frame. If the action had taken place in the second or first frame, the entire comic would have been different, and probably less funny.

On monkeys and wolves

We focused on our rewriting of the three pig story today. We decided that the monkey was a sort of puppet master, that the pigs weren’t so smart but were indeed a family. We also decide that the wolf was facing an addiction, had failed, and was being manipulated. In my tale of the wolves and pigs, the wolve calls out the monkey for his actions and leaves him to his own fate. Our class discussion was focused on character influence. If we can feel the characters drive, his reason for being in the story, then we(the audience) will attach emotions to theses characters and be hooked in the story.