Learning More in Maya

So far, for our game art essentials module we have been working a lot in Unity and exploring its features. Unity obviously works as a game engine, and is also useful in the design process for blocking out level designs. The software however does have its limitations. With the ability to only place basic polygon shapes, Maya is an essential tool for immersive level design. For this reason, we have spent the last three weeks or so working with Matt (the tutor from our animation module), who has been showing us more interesting features in maya.


Firstly, we received an introduction to rigging. Before our maya tutorials, I had a very vague understanding of rigging and its use for character animation, but wasn't aware of the applications for it that were shown. We were shown the joint tool (along with binding and weight painting), the IK handle tool for inverse kinematics, and also the hair dynamics tool in order to create a waving flag animation, which required baking in maya to achieve an animation as oppose to a dynamic polygon plane.


We also looked at advance UV mapping. Using planar projection, we cut edges the of a tree model and unfolded the planes. Here is my UV snapshot:

I also created leaves and branches for my tree. Because Unity uses backface culling, I had to find a solution to make a flat image visible from both sides. To achieve this, I created a cube, vertical projected the image on the polygon shape using the planar mapping function, deleted the unwanted sides and scaled the vertical planes close together. However, Matt shared with us a more efficient solution, using the 'Nature > Tree soft occlusion' shader in unity. This eliminates backface culling, meaning it was also useful for my waving flag plane. After creating both an advanced UV textured tree and a baked flag animation, I created a test room in unity. Unfortunately, I built my level on my free version of Unity I have at home, and the real time shadows feature is only available in Unity Pro. This means that my assets do not cast shadows.

Unity Web Player | Tree_and_flag

« created with Unity »

Social Media & Communication

We recently received a lecture which discussed new media. This is the idea of media through interaction and involvement, as oppose to the old media model which involved persuasion. We were reminded of the lecture we received on creative advertising and the Lever brothers. Their strategies embraced the idea of speaking to the masse through images of british royalty, suiting both the national and international market as oversees the products bared an exotic vibe. New media breaks from the past and attempts to involve the audience both emotionally and creatively. We were given an example of a campaign launched to promote the game 'Halo: Reach' where online users sign up and are assigned to a small light, of which is combined with other user's lights to create a light figure in commemoration of the fallen 'spartans.' By adding this sense of involvement, users are given insight into the fact that the game will bear themes of war and conflict. There is also this theme of viral internet campaigns. Whereas old media simply transmits information, new media encourages the sharing of adds, again involving the audience. With the internet, we have the option of watching a video, voluntary viewing as oppose to forced media presented on roadside billboards and bus shelters. The 'Kony 2012' viral campaign shaped their plan of action with the idea of 'sharing' the video on social networking sites, and the average person having a collaborative voice. By 'turning the system upside down,' the campaign suggested that internet users perhaps hold a larger if not equal voice in comparison to politicians and leaders.  An xbox video ad was pre-tested by being uploaded to the web. Although it was eventually rejected and banned from television, it became a successful viral video in the eyes of the people:





It seems that media has changed drastically with the introduction of the internet. We can see this third layer has emerged, where we can almost virtually sample some element of the actual product itself before purchase. Were advertises once felt superior, in the sense that we were fed emotive information and sometimes brainwashed into consumption, the users now have the bigger voice, and advertises work hard to involve and captivate their audience. As potential workers in the creative industry (or in fact any industry), we must understand how to utilize this new platform. The internet can be used as a vehicle to share and promote our work. We can also contact potential testers for our products, and gain an idea of how they receive our work. In conclusion, the idea of the social network, where new ideas are shared and interacted with is an exciting prospect. Through networking, a whole new age of creativity has begun. A company can exist without any of the members being in one place at one time. Many of the creative barriers, such as simply getting your work to be viewed, have become virtually obsolete.

Revising my Essay

After receiving feedback on my essay from the module tutor, I made a few adjustments to hopefully ensure a solid grade. I corrected a few spellings, and also sought out another quote backing up the section of my essay on the collaborative force in film. It was suggested that I find a quote to actually elaborate on what this 'collaborative' force is referring to. I added a quote regarding the role of the film editor to my essay, and revised both my harvard reference grid and bibliography.

Oldham, G. (1992) First Cur: Conversations With Film Editors University of California press.

“The film industry and audiences in some ways have become incredibly sophisticated in the last three or four decades. Simplistic views of editing, however, have mot changed much. Only practitioners of the craft, and those in the industry, audiences, and classroom who understand the full filmmaking process, have begun to appreciate the complex nature of editing.” The process of editing is very skilful, yet praise for the film editor is unsung.

When mentioning the collaborative force.

Hopefully, this small edition to this academic piece of text backs up the collaborative force argument with further evidence of other important roles in film as well as the director.

UFO Colour Tests

In my last post regarding concept art, I had the idea of removing the tentacles from one of my designs. I also considered the idea that the alien pod grounds itself like the trees within the forest. I really wanted to expand on this idea, so I replaced the tentacles with tree-like roots with in my opinion the most successful design from my UFO concepts:

The design itself is simple yet distinctive. The simplicity also seems like a sensible choice when considering my 3D modelling abilities in Maya and also when limiting the polygon count. I also took this opportunity to run some colour tests. The second image uses a green and brown colour scheme to test the idea of the craft fitting in more with the environment. Although I initially said I was going for contrast between the craft and the environment, perhaps the craft could instead compliment its surroundings using a camouflage mechanism. With the middle two images, I was going for an experimental approach, seeing how the use of strong contrasting colours would hold up against the brown background. I like the strong red and blue carrier. Fitting with the idea that this is a living transport, when I see the red and blue intertwining, I think of veins and blood depicted in many diagrams of the human heart. The blue colour scheme works okay and seems fairly balanced, but in my opinion doesn't stand out as striking. Perhaps one of the most successful new colour combinations is the bottom image. Taken from one of the creatures from my sea life moodboard, the orange and grey colour scheme to me seems very strange and alien. Along with the idea of a translucent pod, the bottom craft has a lighter weight quality in comparison with the others. Perhaps by using this colour scheme however, my scene be less like a 'crash' sight, and more like the location where this craft has floated down and began consuming the forest around it.

Working Towards Refining the Organic Spacecraft.

I have recently been exploring further how the UFO in my scene will look. The first element I began to consider was how the tentacles will look, and also how they will appear to consume the trees. At this stage, I also began some loos colour tests to see if any ideas would emerge. I initially had the idea of a purple spacecraft, and I thought a touch of orange might help blend the tentacles into the brown soil. The touch of green slime also helps bring the tentacles into the gloomy scene I produced previously with the light green colour pass. I also attempted a combination of pink and purple, inspired by the 'Covenant' from the 'Halo' game series. The bottom two images consider complimentary colours. The left image still incorporates the purple along with a complimentary yellow. I also reapplied the pink to the suckers, which I were inspired by the octopus tentacle from my sea life moodboard. I have always enjoyed using the warm orange to cool blue colour bridge when painting. This colour scheme is usually effective when showing artificial or candle light against a blue moonlight setting. used simply as the colour scheme for a spacecraft, perhaps the complimentary colours are too bold, and I cannot imagine them within a forest setting. I also attempted adding scattering to a custom brush to create a speckled pattern:

I also considered more craft designs:

With these designs, I stuck with a purple and pink colour scheme, as I believe that this is the most effective I have tried so far. Studying my moodboard further, I aimed to achieve new interesting shapes. As you can see with third pod-like image, I opted to take out the tentacle idea. The tentacles in my opinion add to this idea of the carrier being a living creature, as I imagine they would require some thought when manoeuvring around the trees. By removing them, this particular design appears more like a static shuttle, rooting itself into the surroundings like the trees themselves. This offers a slightly different approach, yet keeps with the idea of the spacecraft consuming the area around it.

(Covenant 'Ghost' from the Halo series showing pink/purple colour scheme).

Film Trailer

The above timeline shows how I structured my movie trailer. Below is the finished media artifact:

The editing process itself was fairly simple. The only real transition I used was the white colour fade to take the shot of the camera from 'Raising Arazona' into the operating theatre scene from 'City of Angels.' Other than that, I was mainly just considering the order of each shot. I began the sequence by setting up a romantic theme. This then carries in to a family comedy approach where Nic has to raise a child in which he is well out of his depths. Again I tried to convey a this idea of a learning curve and  a personal transformation. This allowed me to make the transition in to an action movie, where Cage must become an action hero to protect his child from  'a world ridden with danger.' Referencing the seemingly increasing popularity of vampires in modern film, I used clips from the 'Vampire's Kiss' movie trailer. This was blatantly added in out of place to emphasize that this theme has been crammed in to reach wider audiences, despite not being particularly relevant to the general plot of the movie trailer.

Overall, I feel my trailer satires a very predictable Hollywood movie. Evidence of individual style is almost obsolete in this piece of media, as it has been alienated by the need to tick all the boxes when it comes winning over gullible mass audiences. I created this media artefact to communicate the common Hollywood approach in modern popular cinema. Although I do believe auteurship still exists even today, film as an art form is often lost in high budget productions marketed at towards the masses.

Nicolas Cage

To make my video feel grounded, I want to in essence cast a lead role. Although I personal am a fan of some of his more off-the-wall films (Vampire's Kiss, Bad Lieutenant), some might argue that Nicolas Cage accepts any mainstream Hollywood movie that floats his way. To give my trailer this effect, I have been collecting some of Nic Cage's film trailers to edit together. He was a useful actor to choose as his career spans over many genres. This means that I can be ridiculous with my trailer and make it feel that the script writers have truly attempted to cram in as many popular genre conventions as possible. The film trailers I have collected are 'The Knowing' (Apocalyptic action), 'Gone in 60 Seconds' (Action), 'Drive Angry' (Grindhouse style action), 'Raising Arazona' (Comedy), 'Vampires' Kiss' (Comedy), 'City of Angels' (Romance). 

I have an idea for a timeline which I will produce before creating my video. My goal is to fuse these genres into what appears to be one singular film, poking fun at the manufactured throwaway approach in some modern film.

Visual Communication: 'The Rhetoric of the Image.'

We recently were given a lecture on visual communication. In my opinion this was a very different yet interesting presentation, where instead of being presented with lots written information, there was more discussion considering particular images and their possible meanings.


We were introduced to the french theorist Roland Barthes, as he studied whether images contained messages. When we look at an image, it can be analyzed on two levels. When we talk about the 'denotations,' we are referring to the literal qualities of the image. What exactly is in the frame? What does the heading read? The 'connotations,' are the deeper messages being conveyed. What is the composition trying to tell us about the product? What are the rhetorics of the image? The 'sign' is what is there, and the 'signifiers' contain the meaning.


We were shown this image of American president Barrack Obama:

If we consider the  connotations we have the president wearing a suit, standing confidently in front of a tall building. Breaking down the image further, the building in the backdrop actually reflects classicism. This is an architectural approach inspired by the classical buildings of the Greeks and the Ancient Romans. The building connotes two thing, power and democracy. The Romans where known for their powerful empire and democracy emerged from greek politics. The Greeks believed in their laws being decided by a committee, and the classical building symbolizes this. We can tell that this building is inspired by classicism for a few reasons. Firstly, there is a large dome structure which derives from Roman architecture. Pillars were also common in both Roman and Greek architecture.

Another famous building reflecting classicism is the Reichstag, which was famously occupied by the Nazi party. The building was likely chosen as a result of its connotations of power. The building contains an large dome and portico, reflecting Ancient Roman buildings. To eliminate the Nazi connotations, environmental artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped the building in silk. To me silk connotes grace and elegance, portraying the building in a more positive light.

The theorist Rudolf Wittkower wrote a collection of essays that focused on how different cultures adopt images and communicate them in different ways. The example that our lecturer shared was the use of a dragon in both a 'World of Warcraft' piece of artwork and also in the Welsh flag. The dragon is a very powerful and recognisable piece of imagery. The game artwork reflected fantasy and a sense of scope and narrative. Although people who play the game most likely will read the image differently to someone who knows nothing about the narrative of the role playing game, generally we can tell the image suggests a fictional story. The dragon on the welsh flag is used more like a national emblem. The dragon used on the flag is presented very flat and two dimensional. We can image this dragon being presented on a flag of on a coat of arms. For this reason, it bears a very traditional celtic feel.

There are also further aspects of understanding an image to be considered. Barthes raised a number of interesting arguments. He posed the question whether the author places the messages within an image to be decoded, or whether we who look at the image carry baggage from our experiences that result in how we understand it. Images also contain values and believes of the societies which we live in, meaning understanding may vary among different societies and cultures. In this sense, the media we create is an expression of our cultural surroundings, not of ourselves. By considering this, we can try and understand how the messages we try and place in our work could be interpreted and decoded differently. One could argue this gives evidence supporting the importance of a focused target audience. Whereas a piece of media may visually engage one audience of a particular cultural upbringing, the same piece of media may alienate another. Although we have enrolled in a creative course, the film game and animation industry is a commercial industry. For this reason, it is helpful be aware of Barthes' theories on visual communication.

Stereotypical Conventions in Modern Hollywood Film

I have decided that as a response to my essay findings, I want to produce a ridiculous Hollywood film trailer. I want the trailer to act as a spoof, appearing as if trying to cram in every popular genre we see today in Hollywood to target a fictional mass audience. To achieve this, I have been considering the stereotypical approaches in modern film.


One popular style of directing we see emerging is the found footage approach. Seen in films like 'The Balir Witch Project' and 'Cloverfield,' the use of shaky handheld cameras is a stylized approach incorporated in many films today.





Although chronicle doesn't seem to market itself as a found footage film (real life, usually a hoax), it mimics this jerky home-video style most likely due to the fact that viewers associate it with the popular 'Paranormal Activity' franchise. The film could probably have been directed using a traditional approach and had the same effect, whereas other found footage films often find a relevant use for the shaky approach (group of friends shooting a documentary, man documenting a mysterious monster's rampage through the city on a home video camera).


Another popular theme we can see in film is the alien invasion/ disaster movie. Impressive visual effects showing some of man's greatest architectural marvels crumbling to the ground seems to market well to the general modern filmgoer. The theme of cities falling and mankind coming to end has been repeated countless times. A recent film I saw which seemed to follow these safe conventions was 'Battle: Los Angeles.' Likely due to a raised interest in the American armed forces due current conflict in foreign countries, and the 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare' franchise, the film tracks a team of american marines readying themselves for duty. When supposed astroids turn out to be alien invaders, the team are sent to defend the city of LA. The character backstories were weak and Cliché, making it hard to relate to any of the characters. The film simply seemed to show a lazy safe approach to producing a movie for the mass market:





Romance is also a popular theme in modern film. Twilight seems to be to take classic horror conventions such as Vampires and Werewolves, and add a theme of romance and teen angst. Although I have not seen or read anything from the Twilight series, here is a trailer:





There is also the hearty family comedy. With this genre, we often witness some sort of transformation conveying a message. Perhaps a heartless villain is forced to watch over a child, developing a fatherlike bond as a result and causing him to change his evil ways. Perhaps there is a coming of age plot line, where a group of friends must accept that they are growing up and must move on from their childhood traditions to support a family. Perhaps a father sets out to teach his children to value family and health as oppose to money and material products:





These are just the few genres that I could incorporate in my trailer. Hopefully, by working to these obvious genres, I can create a ridiculous Hollywood film trailer, outlining the receptive style in mainstream modern film as oppose to the individual style of the auteur.

Communication

Communication theory can be genralized by Lasswell's Maxim: "Who says what to whom in what channel with what effect." In a context of practice lecture, we were introduced to the idea of thinking how we communicate to others.


People began considering the importance of communication during the 1940s. It was believed that a poor understanding of how other cultures communicate, led to the atomic bombs being dropped on Japan at the end of the second world war. Although Japan were actually agreeing with the notion of bringing the conflict to a close, it was believed they were refusing to withdraw. This was the main reason people began to try and analyse how we communicate to each other.


There are two main types of communication: 


Transimitonal communication considers simply the sending and receiving of information from one mind to another.


Constitutive communication considers how a message's understanding may be limitied by a difference in cultural background or upbringing. Basically, the constitutive approach looks at how levels of understanding can differ due to various reasons.


The information or cybernetic communication theory is based the simple idea of information being sent out and then recieved, with noise becoming a factor in distorting the message. The theory can can depicted by a common diagram showing how a communication system works. The problem with this theory is that it doesn't really consider any limitations in understanding, for example a differing cultural or social background between the sender and the receiver.


The Systems theory begins to catagorize different audience and consider how they may receive information differently. The theory focuses on different classes, and develops strategies to reach specific target audiences. The main advantage of this theory, is that it considers all frames of reference such as maths and science, and believes they can be understood by all classes if communication in different ways.


Another way to consider how ideas or communicated is through understanding semiotics. There are three main kinds of semiotics:


Semantics simply looks at what a sign stands means.


Syntactics considers the relationships between signs, and how they fit under codes.


Pragmatics studies the effect signs have and how to put them to practical use.


Baywatch was a programme that was watched by over one billion people a week in nearly 150 countries. For this reason many have tried to analyse the semiotics the television show contains to find the reasons for its success. Diane Stevenson looked at David Hasselhoff from a semiotics point of view. She believed that he achieved such a high status in popular culure due to his 'physical signifiers.' Everything from his hight and his age to his wavy hair and the sound of voice had a positive effect on the audience of the show.


We were also given task to pick 'text' and use semeiotics to analyse it. I chose this old 'Cola' add:

Firstly, we can identify some of the dominant codes used in this image. We have the product itself, along with a red badge containing the 'Coca-Cola' logo. We also have the use of type to communicate a clear message to the audience about the product. Finally, we can look at the composition of the image, the Cola bottles forming a huge line towards the foreground of the poster. Focusing firstly on the inclusion of the product itself, we can assume this is to encourage product recognition. The bottle containing the Cola is very distinctive, making the product stand out from the rest. The red badge containing the Coca-Cola logo communicates authenticity. The company are proud to 'big up' their product and attach their name to it. Although this is in essence self-praise, this red stamp makes the audience feel the product has been awarded some kind of seal of approval. The type at the top of the banner emphasizes this sense of authenticity, and that this product is the real deal. Notice the repetition of 'quality,' in an attempt to further sell the product. If we combine the idea of composition with the placement of the product itself, we turn our focus to this long production line of Cola bottles. In my opinion, this forward looking motion symbolises progression. The perspective of the line of bottles and how the nearest product appears huge and dominant, furthers this sense of growth and success. Overall, the poster echoes a theme of the company 'moving forward.' A feeling that we can trust the quality of this established product is strongly communicated.

The phenomenological tradition suggests that the human body is at the core of how you understand things. The idea suggests understanding comes first with an awareness of  the body. Perhaps one of the earliest forms of understanding we experience is face recognition. How we go on to understand things is a result of human experience.

We also have rhetoric techniques. This is known as the art of persuasion, subcategories of this being synecdoche, hyperbole and irony. A problem with this idea is no-one can actually be sure that rhetoric techniques actually have an effect on an audience. Another technique is the metaphor, which is the method of comparing language to seemingly unrelated things. For example, a ladder is often used to symbolise a climb to reach set goals.

The socioculture tradition is useful when studying the development of a relationship. It considers factors which come under body language like: posture, head movement, eye contact etc. It also considers cultural understanding and context as being crucial to how communication should be formed.

The critical communication theory looks at how media produces encoded messages, and how these messages are decoded and recieved.

As digital film, games and animation students, we are dealing with target audiences when approaching a brief. For this reason, it is important that we are aware of how certain visual information may be received differently based on the context of our audience. Also, as aspiring workers in the creative industries, it is important that we communicate successfully to potential employers reading our blogs. When we are posting, we must consider the tone in which we write and how it will project us as individuals.

Initial Ideas For Game Level.

Project Brief: The UFO crash site. Title: Case 141. Audience: Teen Mood/atmosphere: Eerie Isolated.


Scene description:


The location will be set in a pine forest, where the player will stumble across an organic looking spacecraft. The UFO will appear almost living, consuming the forest with its tentacles. The craft will not be threatening, but sluggish and vulnerable, like a fallen giant. The tentacles coming from the craft will span out across the map, wrapping around certain tree trunks. The craft will appear slimy with specular bump mapping. The alien aesthetics of the organic ship, drawing from deep-sea life forms, will contrast extremely with the calm static forest.

Time of day: Midday, exterior.

Explanation/ Backstory:

The player is taking a stroll through the forest, when unexpectedly; he stumbles upon a strange alien creature. The creature is actually an alien carrier, yet bears a mind of its own, and with its crew dead it is struggling for its life. With its tentacles it reaches out and desperately clutches at the trees around it, hoping to extract nutrients to prolong its life. As the player, you simply marvel at this dying beast.

These are the points I made while filling out my scenography brief. Although I aiming for a slight sense or unease with the eeriness, I also want to generate a sense of fascination and curiosity with this seemingly non-threatening beast. Imagine being isolated in the middle of a vast ocean, in the presence of a large whale. Although the creature most likely intends no harm, I believe the sheer scale of the creature would probably cause some sense of unease. This is the kind of mood I want to convey. Although the carrier will seem slow and vulnerable, the player will still wonder whether the beast is capable of suddenly lashing out with its tentacles. Still, without any immediate threats, I will likely rely a lot on sound to create this sense of unease. Perhaps very deep breathing with occasional high pitched shrills could help keep the player on edge.

Even now as as I write about my scenography form, I am elaborating more on possible ideas. As my ideas develop and I begin to see them becoming more focused, I will likely re-visit the scenography brief and refine it more thoroughly.

Before I approached my scenography brief, I had to undergo some very early development. I began first by creating a series of mood boards. The first mood board pinned down some possible approaches I could take:

Two of the ideas I thought I could perhaps take further were the organic sea life approach, and the Mayan link between ancient monuments/ artefacts and contact with aliens in the past. The mood boards themselves are very descriptive, and I aimed to explain how all of the images could inspire my project:

Mayan approach.

Organic approach.

Out of the two mood boards, I felt the organic concept would be the most original and exciting approach. The Mayan approach would generate a typical 'Indiana Jones' approach in my view with the involvement of artefacts and hieroglyphics. By basing my craft on the strange oranisms that live deep bellow the surface of the ocean, I hope to create a unique and unexpected vision of Alien life. I created some rough initial sketches: 

The top idea shows an organic life-form consuming a pine forest. This was the first concept I approached, and the UFO was based strongly on one of the sea creatures from my mood board only with added tentacles to coil around the trees. After reading pages from the 'Computer Game Design Course,' I was intrested by the idea of 'morphic' organic source material into mechanical vehicles. You can see that just to the right of the first image (based on the same creature) There is a shuttle, which uses pannels to stabalize itself and navigate along its chosen path. The head-like structure towards the bottom of the vehicle is based on this image form my organic mood board:

You can also see another two original mood board images in comparison with morphed spacecraft responses. The central image generate a kind of walker, which I can imagine touching down on its feet and navigating across the ground. The other image below generated a flying craft which I can imagine gracefully gliding to achieve stealth.

Although the morphs has potential to be developed, I was drawn back to the idea of a forest being consumed by a living carrier. To capture this image, I produced an early piece on concept art:

With this digital piece of concept art, I wanted to communicate some of the possible textures which may be involved with my level, and also aimed to show atmospheric lighting. After adding initial colours and textures I used a green pass, fading in and out around certain areas with a non-destructive vector mask layer. With a very soft brush, I then created a layer to emphasize the gloomy light source bursting through the trees at the back of the carrier. I also included a human figure for scale, looking on in awe at the large creature.

So far, I am working with the idea of a forest location being consumed by a living carrier which has crashed into the ground. However, this is only the product of very early initial ideas. I now must refine and build on my ideas by producing more focused concept art. I must consider different possibilities for colour, and also explore the actual environment more.

'KONY 2012,' a Viral Internet Campaign

Admittedly, I am no politics buff, especially on issues outside of our government. So from a neutral standpoint, I recently came across a viral short film. The film, titled 'KONY 2012'  focused on a rebel movement in Uganda headed by a man named Joseph Kony. This rebel leader is known for kidnapping children, turning the boys into gun wielding soldiers and exploiting the girls as sex slaves. The internet campaign has been created by an organisation named 'Invisible Children.' The goal is to raise this dictator to a celebrity status by getting 'culturemakers' (actors, television personalities, athletes) and politicians to 'tweet' about Kony and raise awareness. This is where I believe the subject can really be contextualized in relation to our course. The 'Kony 2012' campaign runs on the basis that the average person can make a difference through online networking. As our course is concerned with digital media, it is important that we are aware of this online 'Facebook' and 'Twitter' culture when considering new marketing techniques.

First of all, we have the video:

Generally, the video focuses on the efforts of the 'Invisible Children' organisation, and also how we can help. By quoting popular sights such as 'Facebook' 'Twitter' and 'YouTube,' this theme of the online network is quickly established. The video also seems to use lots of emotive techniques, perhaps the most potent being the focus on the director's son. The inclusion of a child symbolises innocence and blissful unawareness. We can see this clearly when the director explains who Koney is to his son for the first time. When shown a picture of Jacob (a Ugandan boy who the director developed a friendship with after pledging to avenge his brother's execution), the child recognizes him instantly as you would a family member. To me, this clip is included as it created this idea of a shared bond across international barriers. It creates a sense of family outside of our blood relatives, to other humans around us. The child does not recognize Koney, so the director explains that he is the bad guy. Extending on the notion of innocence and naivety, the boy explains that real life villains are like the villains from 'Star Wars.' I do not speak opposingly when I say this small boy is used almost as an emotive ploy. He is included as a tool, so that the director can explain to the audience exactly who Koney is, without addressing us in a direct patronising manner. At the same time, we can relate this innocent child to the children who's lives have been shattered by the Ugandan rebel leader.


We see a further use of rhetoric techniques with the way that the video depicts Kony as a truly evil man. At one significant point in the short film, we are shown clips from man's dark history. We see the infamous dictator Adolf Hitler and a pile of dead bodies in one of the World War II concentration camps. This suggests that the evil doings of Kony are of a similar calibre, and perhaps on an even deeper level, that his power and influence could eventually threaten our wellbeing.


What really sells the video as a viral internet campaign, is the use of the semantic first person. 'You' can help. What steps 'you' can take. This generates strongly the idea that we are a large global community connected through the internet. It reflects this new attitude that what we broadcast is presented to a huge worldwide audience, meaning that essential by sharing the link to the video, we are making a significant change. Again, this emotive style means it is hard not to simply click the share button to show support. Building even more on this idea of networking, supporters are influenced to contact the culture making celebrities on twitter, urging them to talk about the Kony situation. These big celebrity personalities are seen as influential figures as they boast huge amounts of followers on their Twitter accounts. It is interesting to note how this sense of popularity translates across to an online platform. It means that celebrities are able to instantly broadcast their thoughts or current activities to their many fans. You could say it has massively changed how we receive information. Perhaps we do not rely as heavily on television broadcast news, which is likely why the 'Kony 2012' has targeted this internet mass culture.


Perhaps naively, I shared the video instantly and headed over to the website to sign an online pledge. It was later on the same evening that I found this:


http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/post/18890947431/we-got-trouble


This 'Tumblr' post poses a counter argument against the 'Kony 2012' campaign, implying that the Ugandan army which it funds is known for rape and looting. The post agrees that Kony is an evil man who deserves to be brought to justice, but aims to look at the issue as a whole, announcing:

'Is awareness good? Yes. But these problems are highly complex, not one-dimensional and, frankly, aren’t of the nature that can be solved by postering, film-making and changing your Facebook profile picture, as hard as that is to swallow.'

It seems that the blog has taken a step back and looked at the Ugandan situation from all angles. It is suggested that a link to the 'Visible Children' Tumblr post should be shared on any 'Kony 2012' link to counteract the movement.

It is interesting to see this viral approach to a political campaign. This idea that we are all connected echoes strongly throughout the online video. The campaign embodies many key elements in how culture is changing as a result of the internet. Television, it seems, is no longer the key source of information. We can communicate up to 5000 friends at once through simply sharing a video or link on Facebook. We no longer have to leave the house to shop, we can simply add products to a virtual 'basket' and have them delivered to our doorstep. For this reason, one dispatcher can run an online store making products available globally, which 'Kony 2012' are useing to sell t-shirts deploying their logo and message on the streets of towns and cities. We also see this response in the form of a blog post, which has also received recognition because of its topical content. One could even argue that this response is an example of networking across different internet platforms, the Tumblr post almost a reply to the original comment made by the 'Kony 2012' 'Vimeo' and YouTube campaign. 

I think what my post has mainly explored is an approach to viral campaigning. In communication and marketing, the internet simply must be considered as a platform for reaching an audience. We could apply this idea of 'sharing' content to our digital media to hopefully reach out to wider audiences. We can already see this tactic used in online games that coincide with Facebook. Popular games like 'Farmville' encourage the sharing of gifts and the ability to send out gift requests. This 'sharing' acts to further promote the game itself and entice new users.

Paul Morricone

Recently, an optional talk was organized from a freelance director and editor. Although film is not one of my key interests (at the minute I feel my interest is moving more towards concept art, 3D modeling and animation direction), I thought I would go along and gain an idea of what it's like working freelance within the industry. 

Paul Morricone explained to us that he works in every area in film apart from media for broadcast (television). He expressed an interest in mainly music and also business videos (instructional/ corporate presentations). For this reason, he showed us two separate showreels form his website he had recently produced. He explained how he felt it was a good idea to have two different showreels, one showing his music video work and one his corporate work, so that he could sell himself as a corporate video director when appropriate. Still, he also told us how people in the industry like the idea of a music video director as well, as it shows that likely a creative approach will be taken.

Morricone has gathered twenty years of experience. He began as an editor where he gained an understanding of how production processes work. He eventually went freelance, setting up his own website under the stage name he uses as a musician. Interestingly, when I first imagined Morricone's role I imagined him as a self shooting director. He actually employs his crew which consists of cameramen. Essentially, his role is to be creative. I also found it fascinating that a production team comes into small independent freelance work. Perhaps this reflects the level of professionalism within the industry today, even when considering small independent film companies and freelancers.

It seems Morricone's talents offer great diversity. Sometimes he simply is the creative element in a project, directing the shots. Some times he applies his editing skills to shot footage. On occasion, he even sometimes produces, directs, and edits a project, in essence making him the equivalent of a production team. From this knowledge, I can take away the idea that in the competitive industry it is good to be diverse. On top of this, Morricone has an organized website with a memorable profile picture. If he is  momentarily has no work booked, he will go out and produce a music video for recreation, which can be used to build on his portfolio. Also, he will take on a wide range of projects rather than restricting himself to one genre.

So far, we have heard from some inspiring small companies and freelancers, who have been able to create a living by applying skills learned form their personal hobbies. Sometimes the industry can seem so competitive, the idea of building a local reputation as a freelancer and then expanding on it doesn't seem so unrealistic.