Karma's a Bitch

Singing in The Rain, Then and Now

Aside from the happy, upbeat nature of the 1952 song, Singing in The Rain was culturally the reflection of the world of art. People were not used to sound and now sound existed in the biggest form... musical. The premise of the initial idea of musical was to make people happy because of the global fear of communism and the fear of the rekindling of the issues that had been "resolved" at the conclusion of WWII. People needed happy, positive thoughts and Singing in the Rain was a sort of propaganda for that way of thinking. The plot seemed to reflect the idea that there was no mold for what a superstar was, everyone could be a Hollywood actress if they possessed the talent as well as the idea that humility and respect should be given to all.
Fast forward, nineteen years later and we have Stanley Kulbrick's A Clockwork Orange was a complete 180 of what the original Singing in the Rain was. The character who sung it was not the good guy and was no where close to being good whilst singing it. It was pretty bold of Kulbrick to have the famous piece in his movie but even more brave for him to utilize it while raping the woman in the film. Musically the song was out of context and outdated considering the 1970s were more of a progressive rock, pop era. The song made a point to me, I think the message was that in the light of everything new we tend to forget what the old things meant.

Mind Pictures

I really think this article was amazing. I enjoy art don't get me wrong but I also enjoy the trial and error of art. I really hate the fact I can sometimes visualize things in my mind but then when I want to execute them, there is a huge void in my vision versus what I actually produce. Art is a trial and error thing and sometimes mistakes make art that much more groundbreaking, sometimes a mistake makes you fall into a new realization. Its difficult to determine if visual art created by the brain is truely art at all due to these things.
I mean its a bit scary that we possess technology to read an individual's thoughts but I doubt we will ever get definitive results from the technology so we won't have a Minority Report type situation in the near future.    

Still Frame Animation

1. Nicki Minaj drawing made into still frame
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxNy9h2zI_s
2. Fight sequence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo3zHjo8T_w
3. Music Flipbook
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AslYxmU8xlc

Stage Door Blog

1. So Long, Farewell @ 0:16
 The use of the lights and stage balances the scene with the stairwell. The stairs serve as a great focal point for the scene as well as practical. The actors managed to all remain on stage while singing but not take away from the solos of the other performers. The stairs also served as a visual direction for the choreography as the children slowly proceeded to the stairs from left to right.
2. Anything Goes @ 2:16
The double stairs and the inset doors made the set have visual depth and symmetric quality. The rounded windows makes the audience understand that the event is taking place on a boat. The tiled floor also adds detail to the scene to add complexity to the scene because without it the scene would be entirely too plain.
@2:30 the introduction of the shadowed balcony adds to the grandeur of  the ship and the complexity of the environment.
3. I rather be Blue @ 0:44
The use of lights to frame the windows gives the stage the look of a stage/theater. The fact that Barbara Streisand is on skates is an interesting element to the set. The fact she manages to convey her nervousness by shifting her skates to make it seem as if she is uncomfortable adds to the meaning of the song, as she becomes comfortable the skates add to the performance by making all her moves appear graceful and effortless. The way the spotlight movement and her movement are flowing give the performance a really well planned out vibe.
4. Supercalifragilisticexpiladocious
The tilted camera shooting style adds to the playfulness of the song and the performance as well as the rounded edged rectangles in the background. The whimsical curve in the center of the stage (1:52) with the hands of the performers up adds a sense of playfulness and shows the general fun nature of the song. The color choice of the set also makes the song more delightful.
5. Younger than Springtime @0:15
Leading lines of the shadows leads the audience's eyes to the female performer and add a nightfall feel to the stage. The blue lights denote night time and give the performers the appearance of starcrossed lovers almost.
6.Big Spender @ 1:17
The point of view given at the above time makes the piece seem as the audience is the big spender. The presence of the lights above the female burlesque dancers also add to the visual balance of the frame by not having a ridiculous amount of negative space in the frame.
7. La Cage Aux Folies @0:02
The use of spotlights emphasizes the dancing of the figures as well as accentuates the height variations.

Retinal Persistance

This concept really explains why humans are able to digest films and motion. Pretty much the theory is that anything we see, remains in our sight of vision for one twenty fifth of a second. In 1912 Wertheimer bunked the myth that still exists in art where most artist still believe that films are not necessarily in motion but are a secession of still images that appear to be moving due to our retinal persistence to remember the preceding image. This sounds like the flip book project will really be difficult for me especially if we have to choose which we accept because I really hate questions without definitive answers.

Abe M.

This guy is a BOSS! The money collection was so cool to me..... who can say they can just photograph 7 million like it was nothing? The whole message behind it seems like " I'll let my money speak for itself". I liked the $60 picture, it really looked seamless.
The bars of gold and platinum were pretty sick too..... men lie women lie, numbers don't.