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.

Dr. Strangelove

We watched a clip form Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove in class today. I really enjoy the film so I was excited to watch the telephone scene in a different manner than I am used to. Prof. Jenkins was very intent on us seeing how well the dialog moved the story and scene. One man talking on a phone was able to give us the personalities of two men but the way the dialog was paced and phrased.

Selling with Dialog

Dialog moves the story forward. It helps us to show instead of tell the audience. Dialog can help make a short story seem to contain boatloads of information. By having the characters make implications about the universe the live in,, the audience is exposed to more information in less lines by making them do the thinking them selves. We have to realize that we are writing for the audience, so why not at least make them help once and a while.
We discussed a few of the flaws commonly found in dialog; “monologging”, sounding too real or fake, contractions, and using names too often. Prof Jenkins strongly, and repeatedly advised us to read our work aloud before turning it in. After reading a few of my pieces aloud, I saw that these problems were the same as the ones I was having with my writing.

Abstract/ Concrete

Abstract words are words that tell. We were given the example “love. Concrete words show. Words like fluffy, tiny, and happy could be considered concrete. The benefit of concrete words is that they contain dual coding. By showing instead of telling, it is more memorable.

We were also shown the ladder of abstraction, and were shown the example beginning with “asset”. From asset we went to investment, to security, to equity, to stock, to common stock. We went from something vague, to something very specific. These specific terms make stories flow better, make them seem more believable, and use dual-coding to spark emotion in the audiences’ mind.

Language

In some of the books I have read, language is discussed as this strong yet holey thing that we use to interpret and share our experiences with others. In class we discussed how it can be used to draw emotion from past experiences of our audience. By using strong adjectives, we can make the audience feel nostalgic by simply mentioning a certain product. Once we start the chain, the audiences mind wanders and they end up feeling the emotion they have tied to that product.

Soft Language

We watched a couple clips of George Carlin’s stand up today in class. It was hilarious, kind of sad to see though. He was so damn funny and used language so well. I will always remember him as Rufus in the Bill and Ted movies. So good. So good.

The clips were focused on his terms of “soft” and “hard” language. Things begin as hard language. He used “shell-shocked” as an example. Shell-shocked began to frighten people though. It had many negative connotations because of how awful people would be when they came back suffering from it. After many years of transformation it is now known as post traumatic stress disorder. He mocked the addition of so many syllables and how it now attempted to lose the audiences attention by being so long. He mentioned the use of “pass-away” over “die”, and the use of “automobile accident” as apposed to what it really is, a wreck.

At the end of class we were asked if it is possible to advertise without lying. It is a weird thing to think about. I often notice that car commercials don’t actually say anything about the car. They only show it driving on mountains and show some character using it to their full advantage. I think it is possible to advertise without lying, but that doesn’t mean they have to tell the truth.

Brands

We were told to make a list of brands that we use in a day. I realized that I don’t have a very consistent brand in my life. I use colgate tooth paste, because it was on sale. I have Levi jeans and sketcher shoes. The jeans a from a good will, and the shoes were 50% off making them affordable. Sketcher was the first brand the I could immediately draw an ad to. I remember silly animated commercials would come on saying “It’s the S.” Seeing that slogan written down reminds me of the slogar for a place I used to get my hair cut at. Fantastic Sam’s has ads in their waiting area that have “It’s gotta be the hair,” written all over them. Maybe I am drawn to ads that have a strongly confirmative message about the success of their product. Maybe I appreciate confidence, but that doesn’t sound like me.

I noticed that my music equipment is the only portion of my possessions that has a repeated brand. I have many effect pedals from Boss, and my last purchase was a Fender as well as the purchase before that. I don’t look for brand in guitars. I often spend way to much time at a Guitar Center playing around with all of their guitars before making a decision. I will then check forums online to see other people’s opinions, see how they last over time, and see if there are any upgrade suggestions made by others online.
I do seem to have an attachment to Boss brand pedals. They are generally affordable and I do like how they are all the same dimensions. What’s strange is that I know there are better pedals out there right now, but I can’t remember if I did much research before buying them. I know I played with them at a store before buying but I can’t remember if I did the whole online investigation process.
I kept recalling the scene about product placement in Wayne’s World. In one shot, Garth is wearing nothing but Reebok clothing I believe, and he says something about people accepting corporate sponsorships being very sad. I am glad I don’t buy only one brand for everything. I think the only way that would be possible is if you bought all Best Choice of Great Value things.

3/19

We were discussing an ad campaign made up by the class about corn. We were discussing the views of three different age groups; College folk, Family folk, and retired folk. The collegians we decided, from experience, were lazy, young, busy, had a lot of energy, and were curious and tempted to rebel. The family folk were thinking about budgets, appreciate together time, and are thinking about more than one person at a time. The retired people are concerned about their health. They have money likely saved up from the past and are looking for something to tell them they will live to see another day. (Last part is a little grim). I laughed to myself when thinking about the needs of college aged people and applying them to an ad for corn. I pictured a slurpable tube of creamed corn that came in a bright yellow box with 6 tubes in it. They need something portable, check. The ad would have a kid studying and slurping on the tube, another running and slurping the tube, and have another shot of a whole group of people slurping the tubes. I figure the whole slurping part would remind them of their childhood, bring a whole nostalgia thing to the product.

Attention

We focused mainly on the Attention part of A.I.D.A. today. Every day we are subjected to thousands of advertisements. Each one trying to grab our attention more than all the others. Trying to get everyone to buy it’s product, even though more than likely it serves no function at all. The billboards along streets are like all seeing eyes, piercing down at the petty mortals below trying to use their powers to control our brains. Okay, maybe they aren’t that bad. However, walking below them I always feel a little weary. I can hear the wood snapping in my head and then picture my body disappearing to a loud thud and dust shooting out in all directions. I have that same fear of trains. On I-70, just W of the Noland Road exit, there is a railroad bridge that crosses above the highway. I drive under it two times a week. I go out to my parents for dinner each Sunday. Returning home, there is usually a train crossing this bridge as a approach it. I can always imagine it tipping over as I go underneath and smashing my car.
I guess if an advertiser really wanted to get my attention fully and quickly, all they would have to do is put a train whistle in their ad. Not only would they have my attention immediately, they would have started a crazy chain thought reaction in my head. And knowing me I would likely end up tracing my thoughts back to the ad. I drink a lot of Coke around Christmas time.

Class on March 23rd

Class on March 23rd

A.I.D.A stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. It is a little acronym that sort of sets the structure for most advertising styles. It begins with getting the attention of the audience. It can be anything from bright colors to a loud noise. “Hey you!” was what we were given in class. The second part is addressing their needs. (“You want”) I couldn’t help but think of infomercials during class. It reminded me of someone selling a cheap closet organizer. I use cheap knowing how Prof. Jenkins feels about it. I could imagine a voice saying “HEY! TIRED OF HAVING A MESSY CLOSET? HOLY CRAP! LOOK AT THIS THING! NOW ALL YOUR CLOTHES WILL BE TURNED INTO ORGANIZEABLE ONE-INCH CUBES! TO THE POWER OF 3! STACKABLE!” The next stage in the acronym is Desire. It involves letting them know that you have the answer to all of their problems. Now they can relax and not have to worry about silly problems like life. “I’ve got”, we were told to remember. The last letter in A.I.D.A, is in fact an “A”. This “A” stands for action. Telling the audience to buy now. It was stressed that we persuade them to buy immediately. We talked about “limited time offers” and how people feel more inclined to buy something when they feel like now could be their only chance. It is sad to think that people would actually believe that they are getting some sort of rare memorabilia or item from a TV station or store. I was reminded of watching the first four minutes of infomercials on Saturday afternoons. Every week the same one would come on and the same timer would always be on the bottom left hand of the screen. It’s strange to think that people still believe these things.

Ladder of abstraction 2

We made some more ladders of abstraction today
Engine Food
Car Engine Spicy food
V8 Cajun food
Audi V8 Popeyes
1940 V8 Engine Popeyes spicy chicken wings

It makes sense that being so specific would have its obvious narrative and descriptive functions. I suppose I am used to doing this process in my mind, so having it written down is a bit weird.
We were told a story about a boy losing a dog in hurricane Katrina. The story was especially sad, or so we were told, mainly because the narrator gives the name of the dog. When dog’s have names in stories, we as humans can’t help but feel a bit attached. It reminded me of a lesson in my Hitchcock class. Sir Alfred Hitchcock has a famous scene with a dog. The dog is one of the main reasons the scene is so infamous. In the scene a boy and his dog are delivering a package, however only the audience knows that he is carrying a bomb the whole time. The bomb ends up going off killing the boy and the dog. Hitchcock is quoted on the scene saying that you can’t kill the dog, because the audience gets mad!

Class on April 2nd

Today we talked about the sort of wave like value change of people over time. Those born in the 1920’s began life in a depression. At time when homes were being taken away, and a time when coffins weren’t an uncommon site to see on street sides. Disease was taking lives and many of these 20’s born would go on to fight and die in wars. When WWII ended, they were ecstatic and returned to…well, become known as baby boomers. (Tugs at collar) Their values at this point took a swift change. We were told they turned conservative around the 50’s. This was the time when many of their children were growing up. According to the wave like pattern we were given in class their children would be totally opposite as them. Naturally it seems, the children would be in a sort of rebellious stage of life at a time when their parents aren’t going to be in the mood to tolerate it.