QC Mixtapes (Media Meditation #3)

QC MIXTAPES

QC Mix tapes is a music website that was created by a former Champlain College student. I find that QC mix tapes is a new way to listen and view music. When you look at the website it presents its self-different then most music websites. It streams rectangle photos of a DJ’s cover for their mix tape. I feel it invokes my limbic brain because instead of searching for music by browsing artist titles, I’m trying to find music though images.

QC mix tapes allows you to be connected to Facebook, RSS, Twitter, and Myspace. QC mix tapes shows a personal shift in music because it allows you to search in many different generas. What makes QC mix tapes different then other music downloading websites is that the music is in one long track that flows together. Even though its one track there are multiple songs all on it. QC mix tapes helps you find other mix tapes that you might like, and you can even use it on your I phone. (Aesthetic shift)

If you check out QC mixtapes you will find that the pictures that stream use beautiful people, humor, testimonial people and warm and fuzzy to get people to check out there mix tape. Another awesome part of QC mix tapes is that while a mix tape is playing you can hover over the song with your mouse and see the artist and song. QC mixtapes also allows people to leave comments on any mixtape. (Discursive Shift)

Maddox (Media Mediation #2)

It's not very often that you come across a person like "Maddox." He's a programmer for a telemarketing company. However, during his free time he operates the "the best page in the universe." What I really like about Maddox is that he gives such a great new perspective about all different types of media. He’s brutally honest, incredibly sophisticated and never is fearful to hold back on what he truly thinks. In one article called “9 things I learned about the world according to anonymous stock photo models,” it shows how advertising companies use the idea of group dynamics, warm and fuzzies and plain folks to target a certain audience. To give an example of “plain folks,” Maddox makes fun of Ron, a customer care consultant.



“I don't know Ron, but I guarantee you that Ron has never said "allow us to provide you with excellent customer service." In fact, I'd be willing to bet that Ron provides satisfactory, but not excellent customer service, jerks it to manga, gets in heated arguments over Battlestar Galactica, and hates his job because his boss doesn't appreciate him enough. But some day Ron will get his degree in computer science, quit his job, and then his boss will be sorry for not paying Ron more! Until then, he's an undersexed shill. Unless the beefy, goateed computer programmer look is making a comeback, and based on personal experience, it hasn't.”- Maddox

Maddox is one of the greatest media writers I’ve come across. If you wan't to see the rest of the article portraning to Ron, check this out...If you’re interested to see more of his writing, check out his website
MADDOX

Maddox article on the “Swine Flue,” uses many of the different power tools that we are taught in class. He first uses a testimonial aspect by referring to his mother panicking after she watches a “CNN special about how swine flu could kill everyone.” I feel that CNN uses the swine flue as emotional transfer because people seem to be hooked on fear. Maddox goes on to give scientific evidence of why the swine flu is no different then any other flu by showing duplicate pictures of the symptoms. He includes diagrams that expose the swine’s flues big lie.

I like also how Maddox uses nostalgia when he says, “Remember SARS… Fewer than 800 people died form it worldwide. Yet the news networks prattled about it for months.” Maddox uses both humor and strength in his writing really well. He likes to swear, but at the same time he uses perfect grammar and is often intellectually enlightening.

Overall, I enjoy Maddox writing because it has many value messages. It push’s my neo-cortex to think through a different perspective while my limbic brain keeps me focused because he presents information in such a interesting way. He often explains many different topics by symbolizing himself as a pirate in his own hand drawn cartoons. Maddox isn’t really that

warm and fuzzy but he knows how to get a good point across.

9/11 News Story Scripting

Scene #1: ESTABLISHING SHOT- WORLD TRADE CENTERS
No music
Women Reporter: This just in, you are looking at a very disturbing live shot. That is the world trade centers, and we have unconfirmed reports this morning…

Scene # 2: CLOSE UP-WORLD TRADE CENTERS
No music
Women Reporter: A plane has crashed into one of the towers of the world trade centers. CNN center is just starting to work on this story. Obviously calling our sources and trying to figure out what happened. But clearly something relatively devastating happened on the south end of the island of Manhattan. That is once again a picture, of one of the towers, of the world trade center. Scene #3: CLOSE UP- WORLD TRADE CENTER ON FIRE
No music
Male Reporter: When you can see these pictures it’s obviously something devastating has happened and again, unconfirmed reports that a plane has crashed into of the towers. We are efforting more information on this subject as it comes available to you.Women Reporter: Right now we got Sean Merton a CNN producer on the telephone. What can you tell us about what you know?
Male Reporter: Sean, were on the air right now. What can you tell us about this situation?

Scene #3: ZOOM OUT-WORLD TRADE CENTERS SMOKING
No music
Sean Murton: I just witnessed a plane that appeared to be cruising at lower altitude, and it appears to have crashed into, I don’t know which tower, but it directly hit into one of the world trade towers…
(End of one minute segment.)

Jen Hudak “Back :02 Practice” Under Armour
(I know that this commerical is over thirty seconds, but I've known Jen since I was born because we went to day care together. Thought it would be fun to break down her commerical.)

Scene # 1: TRANING IN GYM - RUNNING, WEAVING, AND LIFTING WEIGHTS- JEN HUDAK
Intense sounds
Jen Hudak: Theirs times when I don’t feel like doing all the work I have to do

Scene #2: CLOSE UP-RESTING IN THE GYM
Swoshhy sounds
Jen Hudak: And I think once I see that’s the way. That’s when I say no. I don’t take the easy way out

Scene #3: RIDING BIKE IN WOODS
Muffled woods noises
Jen Hudak: The hardest things I’ve ever done is come back from injuries

Scene #4: CLOSE UP SHOT OF JENS FACE AND AIR OUT OF SUPERPIPE
Muffled sounds and a small glass shatter
Jen Hudak: It was the first world cup

Scene #5 JEN BACK IN GYM
Muffled underwater noises
Jen Hudak: And the moment I crashed

Scene #6: JEN CRASHING ON SUPERPIPE AND BACK TO GYM
Muffled underwater noises
Jen Hudak: I couldn’t believe it that wasn’t in the plans. That wasn’t supposed to happen
Scene#7: RUNNING ON INDOOR TRACK
Jen Hudak: That kinda lights a fire under you. It pisses me off.

Scene #8 ALTERNATE FACE SHOTS WITH PIPE SHOTS
Up beat music
Jen Hudak: That’s why I keep going back, cause the feeling when you’re in the air
Scene 9: FALLING INTO FOAM PIT
Upbeat music
Jen Hudak: Every trick is just this release

Scene 10: FACE SHOT, PIPE SHOT and JEN WITH DOG
Music becomes more upbeat

Jen Hudak: You have that feeling of weightlessness and control
And then it’s just art.

Experience Technical Difficulties

My favorite form of media has always been music. I originally first started playing music around the 2^nd grade. My mother told me if I were to start playing music that I would have to start with piano because it’s the basis of all musical instruments. Deep down, I know all I really wanted to do was play electric guitar, but that wasn’t an option during the time.

As time went on my music progressed. I moved on from piano and started playing acoustic guitar, electric guitar and bass. After playing for many years, I really started to get into recording my own music. I took the time and figured out that it was a little more complicated than I thought. I had to get a condenser mic, which I found to be pretty expensive. Then I found out that in order to power a condenser mic you need an external power source called “phantom power.” Now, in order for you to record digitally you need an M-Audio box with a copy of pro tools in order to record and edit your own music.

I’ve found that whenever I’m recording music something always goes wrong! My mic doesn’t work, I can’t find the key for pro tools, my receiver head phone jack won’t work, or half my necessary cords are missing. I’m so tired of dealing with so many different things just so I can record music.

So, the other day I had my friend who plays drums over and I had another friend who brought over a synthesizer. I thought it would have been an awesome time to record some stuff but I found that I had blown out my mic once again and would have to send it back to be fixed. However, instead of just not recording anything I decided that I would use my friend’s Nano to capture the media experience. I was happy to find that the quality wasn’t that bad. It started to make me think that maybe one day I could even get a studio sound simply from a small device like a Nano. What if Nanos in the future had tiny condenser mics in them with HD video recording?

LOLA

Scene #1: ESTABLISHING SHOT- OUTSIDE LOLA'S MANSION- DANICA,
LOLA, FANCY CAR.
Cheesey keyboard music
Danica: Meet Lola
Lola: Mmmm. Hmmm.

Scene #2: WIDE ANGLE SHOT- ROOM WITH MODELS
DANICA: The day he retired from football, Lola started chasing his biggest dream

Scene # 3
FACE SHOT OF LOLA-
DANICA- A business of his own, Lolas first step built his website at go daddy.com

Scene #4: COMPUTER SCREEN CLOSE UP- SHOWS WEBSITE
DANICA- Lola will soon be selling his own line to the world

Scene #5: LOLA CLOSE UP
LOLA-Ohh weee

Scene #6: DANICA AND LOLA- POOL SHOT
DANICA-"Lola dreams big,"
LOLA- Uh huu
DANICA- And whose to argue?

Scene #7: GO DADDY- GO DADDY LOGO
DANICA- See more now at godaddy.com

The Real Deal with Obama

1. I know that
when Obama speaks my limbic brain is supposed to feel a sense a hope. However, I don’t feel this hope when my Neo cortex realizes that Obama is speaking to a bunch of millionaires, all with jobs, health care, and possibly multiple houses.


2. When considering the eight trends the most obvious one I notice is the technological trend. I am able to see this because for the first time the White house has it’s own YouTube channel. This idea also ties along with the Aesthetic shift because I am able to access and share this video clip using iPods, Myspace/Facebook, blogs and web 2.0.


3. I noticed a couple of the seven principles in the State of the Union. The first would be a number of the different production techniques that consisted of different camera angle shots. For example, mid shot, close up and another thing that I never knew was that the camera people get a copy of the scrip. This allows them to zone in on different people who are affiliated with certain topics that are addressed. The fact that Obama is speaking to senators that are millionaires about being poor can be considered a form of Reality Construction.


4. The first persuasive technique that I observed was group dynamics when Obama would say “My fellow Americans.” The second was plain folks when he would reference different towns that he had visited to discuss how people are losing jobs. For example, Allentown Pennsylvania. The third one was humor when he referenced the bank bail out to a root canal because it was something he hated to do, but he did it in order to prevent a complete economic downfall. The forth one I saw was when he talked about the letters he gets from struggling people, this could be considered warm and fuzzy. The 5th one would be big lie because Obama gives the impression that “all Americans are destined to succeed.” The 6th could be a combination of both strength and maybe, because Obama knows that he isn’t sure about where our country is going, but he knows that he is a strong leader and that Americans can be people that are dedicated to achieve success.


5. Obama came into the office at the worst possible time and the only way to bring America out of this recession is to stimulate the economy by getting jobs back.


6. Ten percent of the American population is unemployed. ""We cut taxes for 95 percent of working families," he said. "We cut taxes for small businesses. We cut taxes for first-time homebuyers."