Feb 22. 2011 - Prep for the test

For the Test This Week:
You will be doing 2 music review assignments.
One will done in class as a test, the other will be done on your own time (maybe with some class time) and posted to your blog.
PS Some people are already failing this class because they don’t have up to date blogs. Ouch. Why is this? I have no idea.
Why not send email to thelabcoatguy@gmail.com and then you will pass this course?
Doing Review 1 – in-class review
You will listen to a song. You should listen once without writing, then once with note-taking.
What will I write?
Marks will be given for rough notes -> observations
First Part of Observations:
Parts of a Song – what instruments, what are they doing, what does the song structure do?
(remember those pieces we described)
Lyrics – what are they? What do they mean? What is the point? Is there story?
Read into it like in English class
Comparison – what does this sound like, if anything?
What genre is this? What other bands/performers do this kind of thing? How does this match up? Looking for originality?
Some songs twist existing ideas and formats.
Looking for the difference and saying whether it’s good or not.
Need to have a reason.
Effect and Response on you.
What is your response and why?
What works, what doesn’t?
What pops into your head and why?
What do you see or remember? Take me to the same place.
Moving out of simply music and into thinking about putting pictures to music.
Therefore, you want to be making music that evokes memory or thoughts or ideas or can be put to a feeling very clearly

Feb 24, 2011 - Lobb is away

Okay, so today is your music response/review in-class test.

You need to follow the patterning we've been discussing for these many days. Be thorough and try to imagine that you are being marked on your quality and depth. Because you are...

The first song that you will be listening to is More Than a Feeling, but Boston.




The second song, and you can feel free to COMPARE the two songs if you wish as part of your review, is Cornflake Girl, by Tori Amos.



Here are the lyrics:

Never was a cornflake girl
thought that was a good solution
hangin with the raisin girls
she's gone to the other side
givin us a yo heave ho
things are getting kind of gross
and I go at sleepy time
this is not really happening
you bet your life it is

Peel out the watchword just peel out the watchword

She knows what's going on
seems we got a cheaper feel now
all the sweeteaze are gone
gone to the other side
with my encyclopedia
they musta paid her a nice price
she's puttin on her string bean love
this is not really happening
you bet your life it is

Rabbit where'd you put the keys girl
and the man with the golden gun
thinks he knows so much
thinks he knows so much
Rabbit where'd you put the keys girl

So, why did I choose these songs?

I chose them because they are both very appealing, catchy songs that attracted audience, "made" each of the artists, and they are very different.

They are recorded 20 years apart. One is written by a man, the other by a woman. One is classic rock, the other not so clear.

Be thoughtful, take some chances, dig in and try to knock this out of the park.

Salud,

Mr. The Lobb

Feb 23, 2011 - Lobb is away

Hello friends,

I hope this finds you well.

Remember today's task? You are to write your own review of a song that you enjoy. In your own words, as you can best do. It is to be posted to your blog as soon as you can get it there. I will be checking next week. Try to embed the song in your post, so I can hear it.

Basically, you are going to be talking about a song that is, as of right now, your favourite song.

Use the pattern we discussed yesterday, and over the past several days.

Begin this as an opinion piece, on paper, right here in the class. Be sure to choose a song that you are very familiar with. If you need to go get an iPod or other MP3 player, go ahead and ask to do so, but listen to it quietly, please. 

Some of you can work on that, while some of you can switch back and forth off the iMacs, to get into Garageband and get making a song.

Aim for somewhere around 45 seconds to a minute.

Be sure your song isn't repetitive and boring, which means you want to have transitions and changes in it, following the song structures we've discussed in class.

Think also about how building it into a song that would be suitable for a slideshow. That is coming up soon.

Be thoughtful of your supply teacher, who may not be Mac-ready, and use your time wisely.

Thanks,

Mr. The Lobb

Feb 18, 2011 - More on Music Review

I am a Music Reviewer

(building towards the dual music review assignment – blog and in-class review test)

Three Components in the reviews upon which we will focus

1. The parts of the song

- chorus, bridge, intro, outtro, verse, solo, breakdown, refrain (repeated vocal part)

- these are the structural parts of a song

- why would we talk about these in a review?

- to refer to something specific that maybe made that part of the song stand out, or was special or interesting

eg – long intros might mean that building anticipation is more important than getting to a hook or a melody, OR it could be setting a tone or atmosphere

these parts are about the structure of a song, not the content

1b) – the parts of the content of the song (in a way) – riffs, hooks, melodies, harmonies, rhythms, layers, transitions, groove, etc

-      different instruments contribute different elements to a song

-      piano – often melody – the tuneful element that you can hum or sing

-      vocals = melody

-      pop usually is all about melody – Beyonce – talking about melody means assessing the catchiness, the hummability, etc – sticks in your head – (earworm) – girls really respond to melody

-      riffs, hooks, licks, etc – guitars and sometimes pianos or keyboards – repeated musical parts that push forward, driving a song – looking for power and teeth gritting – linked to aggression, strength, motion, moving your blood – not always rock

-      hook – less often, more space in between them, every bit as catchy – could be almost any instrument (The Buggles – Video Killed the Radio Star – OH, OH, OH, OH, OH) – OH is a common vocal hook

-       groove is the bass and drums, usually – could be horns as well – this is another sense of motion, but it drives a different part of your body (hint: your bum bum) and sometimes, other “down there-y” kinds of place (groiny, gutty, belly feeling music) – knees to chest feeling

-      locking in – rhythm instruments play a pattern that drives through a “walk” or up and down structure together with layering of percussion, but musical

-      complexity might be good, or maybe you prefer to be straightforward

1c) lyrics – the “other content” in a song

-      we look at lyrics like a poem – we can analyse like we do in English class

-      eg backstory – Miracle Drug – U2 – the handicapped kid and his mom, etc

-      this is Level 4 stuff

2. Comparison and Reference

- what is it like or not?

Feb 17, 2011 - What Do You Owe Mr. The Lobb

What Do You Owe Mr. The Lobb?

-     You made a blog with an intro to you
- You sent me email to thelabcoatguy@gmail.com

-     You made a movie poster that encapsulates your life (you thought deeply about the photo you used, you named it with thought and care, you used some aspect of your own trials and tribulations)

-     You posted about a song that you liked and you tried to convince me that I should like it (because of the hook)

-      You experimented with Garageband and you will be ready to make a song

-     You are learning how to do music reviews for 2 review assignments that are coming momentarily

Feb 15, 2011 - Intro to Garageband

The Music Studio and Recording

-     Apple’s Garageband is a little example of how music is recorded in a studio and how The Beatles started rejigging the industry

-     We need to think of music as separate tracks, each track working together to create whole thing – a song is a band of tracks, a big collection of separate pieces that all work together

-     Old music had fewer separated tracks, new music has computer tech, so we can have endless numbers of tracks

-     After The Beatles, other bands began to mess around with tracking in the studio, with experimenting and with different effects (which were/are electronic distortions and changes to the sound) and bands started to play more interesting, weirder music – you have a lot of room to do whatever

-     Music literally changed to fit some of the new technologies available – sounds and songs that couldn’t happen before – eg Jimi Hendrix

-     In the 70s technology goes crazy in music and a whole bunch of totally new, unbelievable types of music can now exist

-     Progressive Rock

-     Technologically advanced music.

-     Bands tries to get classical and rock together – strange, big complex music

-     Yes, Rush, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Pink Floyd, Genesis, these bands made very strange, ornate, overly challenging, bizarre music

-     Coheed and Cambria

Feb 14, 2011

Some Brief Music History

-     We will start by looking at genres

Classical Music –

-     usually instrumental

-     orchestra or symphony music

-     analog and acoustic

-     woodwinds, brass, strings, percussion, piano

-     the height of musical performance, writing and structure

-     eg – Beethoven, Mozart, Bach – 1700 and 1800s

-     used to these in soundtracks

-     John Williams – the most famous modern classical (soundtrack) composer

-     Right now it would be mostly for relaxing, study, etc

Jazz –

-     particular instruments – sax, trumpet, piano, guitar, smaller bands called combos

-     a very complex kind of music at times, can be challenging to a listener

-     associated with black Americans – it started with them in New Orleans

-     became a huge trend for dancing and the pop music of much of the 20^th Century

-     can be linked with clubs, night events, these days older, wealthier people

-     at point, jazz was the rebel music – the first kind of music to link drugs and creativity

-     solos, huge talent, really complex and usually more mature music

Rock and Roll

-     this is a HUGE category and one that needs some examination

-     1956 is the Ground Zero year for rock and roll

-     rock and roll is what it is because of the Master Equation

-     black music (R&B) plus white music (country), with a taste of more, blacker music (blues) plus white faces and kids to dance = Rock

-     Elvis Presley is the first prototypical rock star

-     White kid, good looking, good dancer, nice boy, dressed in black style, singing black music in a black style

-     In racist America in 1956, where black music is WAY better than white, this was the only way good music for kids could get out there into the mainstream

-     Collision of “race music” and smart business decisions

-     A ton of southern, white trash, hick boys started recording after Elvis and there was mini-boom of this early rock

-     Weird thing – a bunch of black artists also started making more money and cutting records

-     Chuck Berry – breaks the pattern

-     He was a black guy who played white music – great business decision

-     He was a hot guitar genius with an idea to sing and play country style

-     Over in England a huge impact was felt from Chuck Berry – kids go nuts for Chuck Berry, including John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Pete Townsend, Eric Clapton, etc

-     A giant effect on these kids created a huge wave of powerful British rock that was American Black influenced

-     The Beatles totally reinvented Rock and Roll

-     Also the Rolling Stones

The Beatles

-     they were pioneers in the studio, making rock songs that were really complex and filled with layers and weirdness that had never been done in pop music

Feb 10 Let's Review Music

How Can I Be A Music Reviewer?

(we always start with this assignment)

in order to do this, we need to be able to think about music in a specific way

we can’t just like or dislike something, we have be able to figure out why or why not

even hipsters have to figure the reasons why they hate everything you like – there has to be a pattern or some logic to deciding what’s a good song and what isn’t

Steps in Listening to a Song For Review

1. Listen to the song. But, we don’t just listen to the song, we think about it whilst we listen.

2. Think about what we’re feeling – what is the response? Question your response. You have to know what you like and don’t like in general – you need to know yourself

examples – some like chilling music, some like hyping up before something, some like work out music, some like dance, etc.

Break away from our prejudices.

3. Genre – what style of music is this? What tells me that? What are the elements of that style? eg Sugarland – acoustic guitars, twangy singing, fiddles, just at the start

Gives people a baseline to think about the song.

We need to be able to identify those elements that categorize a type of music.

We usually know the type and the identifiers but we don’t really discuss them or think about it.

4. Describe what you’re hearing – there are a number of ways to do this

a) Instruments and vocals – you need to dig deep and not invent things that aren’t there, and not miss things that are

- and they we need be able to say what is working or good and not –it’s not easy to break music into pieces, but reviewers need to do it.

b) parts of a song – intro, chorus, bridge, verse, solo, outtro, breakdown,

- parts of all songs – we see patterns in songs and these patterns can be isolated and identified and qualified

- hook, riff, groove, etc

A riff is a repeated musical phrase that carries through a song – “ACDC” uses them like crazy

A hook – riff that repeats and is designed to catch the listener’s ear – these can get annoying and they often work against the song after a while – could be an instrument on a vocal

Women in particular will respond to melodic hooks, esp. in pop music

Men, in particular will respond to guitar hooks, esp. in harder music

Rap uses sampled hooks as the whole song

Feb 9, 2011 - What? Even on a snow day?

Yes.

Even on a snow day.

Just because you aren't here, that doesn't stop me. At least not today.

I got the following handy article from Lifehacker

How To Tell a Story Through Photos

Chris Gampat - B&H

For years, photos have been used to tell stories in photojournalism and documentary-type photography. Newspaper and magazine editors have sometimes told their staff that they can only accept one image for a story. So there has to be one image that gets it all right. Here are a few different and important features that every photo essay should have.

My mentor used to tell me that the strongest photo in your essay should be your cover shot. This photo should summarize the point of the entire story. It can encompass one or many elements of photojournalism-the newsworthy, the emotional, the intimate and the unusual.

Now, let's put this into practice. If you're shooting a 50th-birthday gala, consider which items are the most important to capture. Images that come to mind are the birthday person cutting the cake, portraits with their family, etc. The cake will perhaps have a candle on it saying, "50." A carefully composed image of the cake will be more than strong enough to serve as the cover shot for documenting a 50th birthday party that the family hires you to shoot.

Think back to Hurricane Katrina. What were the photos on the cover of every single newspaper? They showed the disaster, people in despair, aerial views of flooded areas, etc. These photos were strong enough to stand on their own, and tell us that there was a natural disaster in the area.

Think of any major motion picture. When a new scene begins, there is always an establishing shot telling us where we are and what time of day/night it is. When telling a story through photos, we'll need to see where certain events are taking place. Are we at the church where a wedding is about to happen? Maybe we're at the house of the bride.

These are typically wider photos, and combine apsects of architechtural and landscape photography. With that said, wide angle lenses are usually best for these types of photos. The key to these is that you'll want to have much of the area in focus so that we can get a true feeling of where we are.

Detail shots are photos that focus on a very specific detail that help to tell the story. They can be very difficult, as these details need to stick closely to the theme of the assignment.

One example of a detail shot is a photo of the wedding rings for someone's special day. In more photojournalistic terms, a photo of steelworkers' worn hands is a detail that shows just how hard they work.

Typically, these images are tightly composed. They also tend to focus a particular subject.

Fillers are the other photos that contribute to telling the story. Usually, filler shots are comprised of many candid photos. From shooting events, I can tell you that clients love seeing candids of everyone. Great examples of these are two relatives embracing one another after not seeing each other for a long time.

Your closing shot is the photo that ends your story. It doesn't necessarily have to be the last photo that you take, but it does have to give the story a sense of closure. If you're shooting a story on the recovery process of an abused dog taken into a shelter, then the final photo could be the photo where it is adopted and goes onto living with a new owner.

This post originally appeared at BHInsights.

Feb 8, 2011

More on What is Good?
Recap:
1. Emotional Content – like Bruce Lee says
- it doesn’t have to be sadness, it can be babies laughing, or whatever
- UNIVERSALITY – common to all people – things that are universal are generally understood by all people
- common universals – love, war, loss, family, fear of isolation, loneliness, sickness, etc
2. Honesty – people can identify phoniness and it turns us off – we respond to things differently when we think they’re real
- video game violence vs real violence – even a kid knows the difference, although the line can blur
- a form of art that has this sense of honesty is much more likely to appeal to us
- eg Rachel McAdams screen test – she got the part because it was real
A Look at Acting
- Method – (Stanislavsky)
- This was a kind of acting that shocked movie watchers in the 50s and it became a kind of standard –
- When we judge movies now, we are looking for actors who can do the things that this method was known for
- sense-memory
- they anchor a real memory to the scene and if they have to cry, the actor cries for real – if it’s rage, it’s real rage, etc
- eg James Franco’s cat
- can this work with laughing? Being scared? Not so much.
- It works best with darker emotions – acting coaches would say it works for laughing, but I would be surprised
- For comedy, what does the trick? – improv – top film comedians bring new tricks to each line
- Going off the script and doing what the character “would do” or feels, this is also a Method strategy
- Research –
- Some actors will spend time learning about some job or skill or whatever and then bring that into the part they play – the most insane person to do this is Daniel Day Lewis, who went into the woods and hunted with a bow and learned to skin animals and make clothes and everything for a role in Last of the Mohicans
For some actors, it’s not acting – it’s real.
This makes a movie better (or scarier) or whatever
3. Techniques (this is much of what the course is about)
- sound
-story/script – writing
- picture (still or moving, or drawn)
- post production (editing, layering in whatever else we use)

We Will Start with Sound
Music (you will make some music)
Sounds Effects (you will create a soundscape_
Vocals – in the context of a story or scene, or narration (you will do a narration/radio play type of thing)
Build an interest-based podcast

First Ass. In Sound
Collect some music and post the videos or sound tracks on your blog for me to enjoy.
Over the semester, if you can get some sounds and songs that hook me, you will get bonus marks.
Ie Keep posting tracks to your blog and keep reviewing them

Feb 7, 2011 - How to use Photoshop, etc

This may be really handy for making posters, etc.

Watch and learn, my friends.

Feb 7, 2011 - What is good?

What Is Good?
- this is an important thing to know in order to succeed in life (and in this course)
- objective and subjective are good to know
Objective – what we should aim for
- to see something from a neutral perspective – you see things for what they are without having too much effect from your own BIAS
- what is BIAS? – an opinion that affects how one sees something
- eg – some people are biased to believe that teenagers are all stupid and that they are doing things bad for the town
- some who has bias, can be said to be PREJUDICED – that person is PRE-JUDGING
- to be objective is to consider the elements and facts about something and making that be the point, not your feelings or prejudices
- we need to learn HOW to see things in an objective way
- seeing from the outside. Not the inside

Subjective – the opposite
- uses their opinions, their feelings, their pre-existing beliefs, gets personal, etc
- all about YOU
- this is how MOST people are – esp. young people
- insecurity feeds this- I AM what I like
- careful thought can’t work in this kind of mindset as well
We need to avoid (for this class) being personal about our thoughts and opinions regarding the media
How does this improve me?
- better consumer – spend smarter – example – dealing with advertising
- you become better equipped to deal with problems – you have perspective
- you get a better life – you know some key things – you can accept things that others cannot – ie sickness, tragedy, hard fact that is unavoidable –

We Need to Learn How, Why, and What about the things that we consume
- we question some things, but others that we consume, we question not at all
- this is concerning
- there is a lot of bad stuff getting into our bodies (and our brains) and we can literally get hurt from it
One of the things that makes something good, ironically is EMOTION
- when we invest our feelings into something, or when something can pull our feelings out, then maybe that it one sign that it is good
- it’s the kind of thing you may not even realize you’re responding to –
- could be funny, could be sad, could be scary
The second thing we can point out as a “good maker” is REALITY or HONESTY (not the kind that you see in reality TV)

Feb 4, 2011

Ass. 1

Making Your Blog

-     You need a gmail address

-     this gives you a google account

-     also an advantage in a few other ways

Then, you start in on blogger

Make an address that makes sense – complex not always good

Your profile (Ass.1a)

Ass. 2

Make a movie poster of your life.

Movie Poster Structure

-     one thing we notice is that many have the big head or two on them

-     why?

-     Stars are selling tickets

-     Main character might grab attention (super hot), giving me info about the picture, still selling tickets

-     Dominant image or element – some image or symbol may take up the space on the poster

-     There’s a job they have to do –

-     1. Sell the tickets

-     2. Give the form or genre 

-     3. Create a feeling in the viewer

-     4. Grab the attention of the passerby

-     5. Compete with other posters

-     6. Give something you take away

-     7. Satisfy the composition and art design rules

-     8. Be clever or interesting or original

-     9. Give specific info – names, titles, maybe company, etc

Some movie posters use something called a “tag line” – a catch phrase eg No Humans Allowed from District 9

Feb 3, 2011 - Welcome to the Mind of Lobb

Greetings.

My name is Mr. The Lobb, and I am here to make you smarter.

The following paragraph is what the Ontario Ministry of Education says about this course:

Communications Technology, Grade 11, University/College    (TGJ3M)

• This course examines communications technology from a media perspective.
• Students will develop knowledge and skills as they design and produce media projects in the areas of live, recorded, and graphic communications.
• These areas may include TV, video, and movie production; radio and audio production; print and graphic communications; photography; digital imaging; broadcast journalism; and interactive new media.
• Students will also develop an awareness of related environmental and societal issues, and will explore college and university programs and career opportunities in the various communications technology fields.

Is that confusing enough for you?

How about we break it down into pieces, and examine those pieces one day at a time (weekdays only) until June or something.

Wouldn't that be a lot easier?

And so, here on Day 1, we can start with this:

Who is Mr. The Lobb?
What does he want from me?
Why am I here?
Do I want this?
How do I win this game?
What do we study?

And more fun yet:


This will help you with your first assignment:

What Do We Do, Mr. Wolf? Feb 3, 2011 (GHD+1)

We make a blog at www.blogger.com

To do that: We need a google account, a gmail address and the ability to get online on a computer

We add some pics, some vids, some music

We show Mr. the Lobb who and what WE are by showing him some of the things that WE like and enjoy – music, movies, TV shows, people, things, stuff, places, etc

Make a blogified, multimedia scrapbook of yourself – and that is not only your first assignment, it is your intro to introing you to me

THEN send thelabcoatguy@gmail.com an email in which you say HEY, this is me, this is my scene, love it, live it, get it on.

How Will I MARK it?

Do you have pics, vids, musics

Do you at least 500 words of info about yourself?

Do you have actual photos you took or that are of you? (scan, upload, etc)

Do you go into detail and give me a sense of you as a learner as well as a person?

Maybe, you could tell me about your habits, interests, hobbies, etc as well.

You have a mix of material.

You have a good writing style.

You don’t have a ton of errors.

You checked your work with a peer.