White collar pt.2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiitPfEQuaM

The damaging effects of office stress that white collar jobs may bring( Or any job that stresses you out to the point where you lose it)

hamlet'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGkB9cQzbFs&feature=related

To really capture a play you need to capture the emotions of the play. This is done through the music, images, and actors and actresses. But to add even more emotion to the play it is possible to surprise the audience. What we are doing at our event will definitely surprise the audience.

Changing Audience

As the audience changes the performance must change as well. What worked in the old days may not be suitable now. Where an audience member can sit back and watch a long, drawn out play would leave them empty. Nowadays the audience needs to be enticed, aroused, and drawn in to the performance. The main difference between the present and past audience is the focus. With technology advancing and being used more than ever, a person’s focus is very diverse. To maintain an audience focus on the play or performance itself, it has to adapt and appeal to the audience’s nature and interest. If applications and mobile devices are the audience’s main focus, then the performance must incorporate these elements into its piece-J. Ramsey

Animaniacs Hamlet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KGF3Tap94k

Very funny. This is in response to the suggestion of changing the dialog of the play.

Oedipus comparison

This weekend I planned on making a video using the different scenes and images. I went to my mother’s house in Albany and on the bus ride home I recorded the different places we passed. Stores, cares, old buildings, farms, etc. Eventually I had enough recorded to make the movie on my computer. Then when I got home it was nothing but problems with my mother- problems that resulted in her kicking me out for good. As this was happening I was thinking to myself “I can use this for one of my blogs if I can’t think of anything else to write. So I’m saying that perhaps my getting kicked out is representative of fate. As corny as that might sound I believe that it has been time for me to leave the house- it was inevitable. Although I didn’t like THE WAY it happened, I believe it was meant to happen. In comparison to Oedipus, even though the fate was not exactly what we wanted, it was meant to happen.-J. Ramsey

Textures

Textures are an expression of many things. A texture can express the mood or emotions of a scene or moment in a play. A texture can also express the changes and progress that the characters may go through. The use of textures is common in art and design but can be implemented in any aspect of a play as well. To change scenes there is often a set change that includes the backdrop and props being switched out or rearranged. Using different textures in the actual performance will only benefit the actual performance. The audience can watch the performance and also see the textures as they correspond to the performance.-J. Ramsey

society

R.U.R. is the state of society today. Artificial beings who behave as normal humans are very prominent in the world today. In my opinion it seems as if some people are “programmed” to do certain things that others tell them to do. While that is a part of life, I feel that real humans have the ability to make decisions and choices on their own without fear and pressure of public disapproval. Similar to R.U.R. the “robots” in society look and behave like real humans and it is actually not easy to tell differentiate them from humans. Also like R.U.R. I think that if left unchecked these “robots” will eventually end up taking over the world- in the sense that if you don’t behave in an artificial way you will not be able to succeed in the world. -J. Ramsey

Audience

The audience has become more than an audience. Now, it is not just enough to sit in the seat and observe the action. This is not engaging or beneficial to the spectators. For a play or performance to be effective it needs the audience to be a part of it. Using technology is a great idea because it is so readily available and popular in the world today. Just as Microsoft made new user interface programs for people, the same can be said for plays. It is much easier to understand and appreciate something when you are involved with it. Not only with technology, but music, dance, humor and applications can be incorporated as well.-J. Ramsey

R.U.R.

The people in R.U.R. weren’t smart in my opinion. As many of the classic science fiction stories go, you have a scientist who wants to create artificial intelligence for mankind. I felt like the story was leading to destruction from the beginning because the robots were too similar to humans. Even Helena couldn’t tell the difference at first, and I think that lack of discernment led me to believe that the robots would end up replacing humans. The funny part about it was that in the end the robots ended up being the new Adam and Eve.-J. Ramsey

music

Using comic life is interesting. My original idea was to take various pictures of Hamlet and the other characters to make a satirical comic of the entire story. While I still may do this, now I’ve become more focused on the music part of the final project. I’ve been working on a song that changes speed and loudness at random times. Using this song with the program the professor has will be great for the audience to see. A good idea would be to have a large screen behind the performance that projects the pictures as they respond to music. In turn, the music will respond to the actors and actresses depending on the mood of the scene.-J. Ramsey

Background music

After hearing Andrea playing the piano and hearing about the flute player I think music would be a good idea for the final project. Using the program the professor had that show different images based on different tones is a perfect idea. Using music for different scenes (slow music for peaceful scenes, fast music for action scenes) and also different pictures will be a great audio and visual for the audience. Perhaps using the portable keyboard and even some other instruments to assist in the group that is acting will be good as well.-J. Ramsey

comic life

Power outage in my dorm last night prevented me from finishing Are You Are. I’ll get to that later. But today I’m going to look at and possibly use Comic Life/Book Creator to work on my final idea project. Telling Hamlet’s story in a humorous and satirical manner can offer a different outlook on the story. This can also be used in the game to help to alleviate some of the more serious moments of the story- the final battle being a perfect example. I’m trying to use comic life or something but it’s a slow process…pictures, dialogues, etc. Plus another idea for this final project would be a “choose your own destiny” part of the game. This could be after you’ve played the first game through successfully; you can get a choice to make decisions for some of the characters. This would give the player a deeper understanding to impact of each decision that is made throughout the story.-J. Ramsey

Mother Courage

Mother Courage was a Brecht play that showed how damaging wars are. I read the summary of the play and didn’t understand it that much so I started reading the actual play. I actually skimmed across the a few parts and I personally don’t like the play that much. I like the fact that it wasn’t written to engage the reader in the story but rather keeping us aware it was a play. I also like the song the cook and Mother Courage sang, asking for food. The whole play was a statement against war and the hardships people faced during that time. I also read that the play was written around World War I so it made sense. This play reminds me a little of my aunt because the way Mother Courage’s kindess and caring actions carried out to others she met. -J. Ramsey

ideas

I didn’t have ideas in class today because my mind is not where it needs to be right now. But I was thinking about doing the story of Hamlet from a different POV. I heard in class another group already talk about doing something like that so then I began to think about having an alternative view on the story of Hamlet completely. For example, the story could be retold in a comical or animated POV, with added elements of humor. One specific example I was thinking about was the final battle scene Where Hamlet kills Claudius and then himself. That scene could be made into an animation short movie within the game with some added humor to it (because death is a serious thing). I feel the story can be understood better if it’s told in a humorous or satirical way.-J. Ramsey

Hamlet

Hamlet was a patriarchal madman. Him taking Ophelia’s virginity and not respecting her wishes to be her husband. Maybe from his late father, but his actions are a direct indication of the “male bravado”. In class we discussed how Hamlet is very much like a whining baby, feeling that he is entitled to certain things from certain people. Personally I feel like “entitled” is a judicial term, like those used in contracts and agreements. As far as life is concerned, there are no agreements or certainties, so I feel that the only thing we are entitled to is death. Hamlet took his belief of self pride and self worth to the point where he ended up going against his friends, family, and country. Until this class, I’ve never paid that much attention to the story of Hamlet and always been told he was the good guy. But after reading the story for myself and listening to some of the discussions in class I feel that Hamlet was the one who may have been wrong. Perhaps Claudius was doing the right thing for his family and his country, Gertrude found the man she’s really needed, and Ophelia definitely deserved better treatment from Hamlet.-J. Ramsey

Experiment

For the experiment professor had us do last Thursday. I wasn’t there but I heard what happened. Honestly I thought the whole idea was interesting and I knew someone would either go rogue or do something to make sure they would win. I didn’t think Chris would go as far as changing the password but all’s fair in love and war- or at least when it comes to getting an A or F. I figured that it wasn’t going be for a real grade but that was a good test. The professor had a good point in saying that the main goal was to satisfy what he wanted and i can see how when it comes to winning it can be easy to forget that. I just want to say good job to both teams.-J. Ramsey

Don Juan

Don Juan…….an interesting story. I have to say the funniest part was the ending. I felt for Sganerelle on having everyone else get what they want except for him. I also liked how Elvire’s brothers were out looking for Don Juan’s head for screwing their sister over. I would have done the same thing for mine. One thing about this play that I didn’t understand was the whole “Heaven” concept. I didn’t know if it was a person or a thing then near the end it might have been a statue? Other than that I enjoyed the play for the most part because I felt the whole story was leading up to something.-J. Ramsey

Old Aristotle

Aristotle’s Poetics described his view on tragedy. He viewed tragedy as a serious representation of actions and speeches done by the characters of the play. This was done to portray emotions of pity and terror. I agree with his interpretation of tragedy in most aspects. By using a characters speech it shows their emotions in an oral form. The same can be said for what a character does. Actions speak louder than words and for an author, delivering the emotions of your story or play is done best by a characters actions. In addition to this I believe an author can use a character’s thoughts as an even more powerful tool. Thoughts express what both words and actions express. In fact, I think of thoughts as a combination of both speech and actions. When a character expresses their thoughts it gives the reader or audience a deeper insight to their emotions. In fact, I believe Aristotle knew this as well but decided not to include it in his poetics.-J. Ramsey

oni baba

After discussing Oni baba in class I only have a few responses. First, I felt the story did a good job of showing female prowess and power. From them tricking and deceiving the samurai to them killing and disposing their bodies, these women took the initiative to do what they needed to do in that society. Also I liked the mask used in the film because it resembles the mask used in Avatar: The last Airbender series. I noticed how despite the two womens prowess and power they still were consumed by love, lust and jealousy. The young woman having sex with the man while the older woman got jealous was an indication of how certain behaviors and actions are not limited to only one sex. In relation to Hamlet on how his mother used sex, lies and deceit to maintain her position as queen, woman and men have evils in them that can lead to their demise. Also I did not care for the ending that much. Although some cliffhangers are good and imaginative, leaving the audience on the edge of their seats, I felt the same way I did about the season finale of the Sopranos with this story. Although its a good cliffhanger, I myself wanted to know the fates of the two women.....-J. Ramsey