4/27/17 Reflection

My inspiration for creating this video definitely stems from my experience in this class. Throughout the semester, we have been focusing on how technology has changed society. We started off with writing and then expanded into other facets. Throughout my blog as a whole, I have researched, examined, and shared my own opinion on the effects of this revolution. What fascinated me the most was seeing how technology has, in many cases, completely reshaped the way we do anything and everything. For my third portfolio, I wasn't sure at first what to use as my medium or genre. All I knew was that I wanted to entertain the viewer to the best of my ability. This is when I started to think of the entertainment industry and how it too has been transformed by technology. And it doesn't just affect how we watch movies and television. Technology also affects how we make them. What I was interested in most was the storytelling aspect of this. Movies used to be about horses and carriages. Today, they are about robots; which is ironic because technically robots help create movies. At the end of the day, my argument throughout the blog has been that technology has basically sent society into metamorphosis. For better or worse, it has changed everything we do. I wanted to create a visual representation of this change which is how I arrived at this decision. Planet Earth, the documentary that I talked about in one of my recent blog posts, was another inspiration of mine for choosing to make this video. It showed me that a visual argument is much more powerful than something with purely text. I tried to line up the clips with the background music to the best of my ability to make it as pleasing to the eye as possible.

Narrative between my projected audience and I:

Ryan: Technology has truly changed society (shortened pitch) blah blah blah

Dr. Palfai: (no response) 

Hopefully, when Dr. Palfai sees this project, he will respond. In my video, I tried to make it as nostalgic as possible to evoke more of a sense of time. I did this in order to deepen the meaning of my message behind it. Technology has already changed things this fast, what is next? And more importantly, should we be worried? The clips that I used were from movies and TV shows made within the same thirty or so years. However, the technology depicted looks light years different.

Comment:

I really liked how this almost sounded like you were having a conversation with the reader. You could hear your voice actually coming out too, like when you mentioned "season 1, season 2 is a pile of shit." This writing style make your reflection easy to read. 

I chose this comment because it was actually the only one that commented on my writing style. I tried to write in an entertaining/conversational style as much as possible because I know how grueling it is to read something that is written like a 9th grade persuasive essay. Especially since it is a blog, I thought it was appropriate. One place where this comment influenced my writing was in my Planet Earth review where my first sentence was "When our professor told us to watch a documentary in class the other day, I just so happened to be drifting off, with visions of waterfalls appearing in my mind as I daydreamed." Writing in a slightly satirical manner made creating a blog much more enjoyable than an essay or paper.

4/27/17 Technology in Entertainment

https://vimeo.com/214902961

4/13/17 Ruins: a Graphic Novel

This graphic novel by Peter Kuper is about a couple who are on a sabbatical year and they decide to travel down to Oaxaca, Mexico. Graphic novels definitely keep readers more engaged than normal books do. I find that when I try to read long passages in traditional books it is difficult to stay focused. Reading this was definitely more engaging. And this relates to one of the focal points of my thesis throughout the blog. Technology makes things easier. A graphic novel is a form of technology in and of itself, even though it may not seem like it. Going back to Dennis Baron's argument in his article, the pencil may not have seemed like a form of technology either. However, it accomplished the goal of making something easier. In this case, a way of recording speech. Graphic novels make telling a story easier and more innovative. Especially if the author is skilled in an artistic manner, as well as a story-telling one. "Ruins" was about 300 pages long and I was able to read through 50 pages while also staying engaged, which is harder to do with a traditional book. And without technology, I would have never found this novel. Why? Because we had a class online, in which our teacher told us to go find one. The lady in Bird wouldn't have been able to tell me where to find graphic novels without her computer. Finally, the elevator helped me get there. Who needs stairs anymore, right? We're so lazy that we decided stairs were too much work. So we made it easier with technology. Point in case.

4/6/17 Planet Earth: Review of a Review

When our professor told us to watch a documentary in class the other day, I just so happened to be drifting off, with visions of waterfalls appearing in my mind as I daydreamed. When I heard the word documentary, I immediately thought of Netflix because they are no stranger to a good-old fashioned doc. As I scrolled through their site on my computer, I spotted the documentary section. The first option? Planet Earth baby. I was hyped. I always wanted to watch it but the opportunity never presented itself. Until now. It certainly did not disappoint. It really makes the viewer appreciate the world around us and its diversity, as well as the patience and effort that was put into capturing it. I would definitely recommend watching it. However, I am here to review another review of the series. And it comes from the New York Times. It is titled "In the Animal Kingdom, the Wild Bunch Rules" by Susan Stewart. Off the bat, I could tell it was going to be a positive review. It was almost impossible to find a negative review of Planet Earth. I think this is because it is less of a documentary that makes an argument and is more of one that takes you on a visual journey. And this review explained that perfectly, without completely defining what the series is. That's  what a movie review should accomplish in my opinion. Let the potential viewer know what he or she is about to get into but don't let them know too much. Additionally, your opinion is less important than you think. Touch on what it is, then move on to more pertinent information.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/24/arts/television/24plane.html