An Attempt

Well, I made a slideshow movie of sorts. This was created using Windows Movie Maker, but I haven't figured out all of its features yet. In iMovie, I'm able to change the duration of each image, sync them to the music, and create "Ken Burns effects" to zoom in on specific images. Can anyone tell me where these features are found in Windows Movie Maker?

Dove - Evolution Commercial

This is one of the latest Dove commercials, part of their "campaign for real beauty." Even though this is a short clip with no dialogue, I think it can be effectively analyzed from a number of different lenses.

From a feminist perspective, this ad is quite interesting. Dove assumes that their audience has become familiar with the typical gender images portrayed in advertising-- that is, that females are often sexualized and that there is defined norm of how females must look to be attractive. In this commercial, and in their entire campaign, Dove works to overturn that stereotypical media representation and highlights the fact that a defined norm for what is beautiful is a myth. This commercial is geared towards a female audience, but, more specifically, it is aimed towards females who are tired of seeing their gender represented in the typical way. As the viewer sees the actress in this commercial undergo an unnatural transformation, there leaves no room for doubt that media has skewed society's understanding of "beauty." It is also interesting to note, though, that another underlying assumption of Dove commercials like this one is the cultural construction that females want to be viewed as beautiful. Furthermore, these ads make it easy for the viewer to forget that Dove is, in the end, a company that wants to sell their products-- products such as lotion, hair spray, and make-up that all are intended in some way or another to alter one's appearance. On the one hand, this ad breaks the mold of the typical media portrayal of women and beauty, and I applaud it for that. On the other, though, it continues to buy into the construction of female beauty in the first place.

On a related note, this is an interesting commercial to consider in terms of a semiotic analysis. As the actress is "made-up" to mirror the stereotypical image of female "beauty", take note of what is being altered and how. The skin is smoothed, the make-up is put on, and the hair is curled and blown-- but then, the image is captured into a computer for further manipulation. One of the changes that stood out to me most was that they enlargened her eyes. I had never really thought about it before, but that highlighted to me what a symbol eyes are in our society. Even though it's sometimes hard to figure out what color someone's eyes are even by looking directly at them, eye color is nearly always used in a description of someone's appearance. In regards to beauty, eyes definitely get a lot of attention. Eyeliner, eye shadow, eyelash curlers, mascara-- what other facial feature has as many different types of make-up devoted to it?

What Dreams May Come, with score by Sean Motley

This is a short clip from "What Dreams May Come" starring Robin Williams. I thought this would be a fitting clip to analyze because there's no dialogue. All of the emotion expressed in this scene, then, is portrayed through other means-- namely, film and editing techniques. The beginning of the clip is really interesting, as we see a splotchy image of the main character with his back turned towards the camera. Eventually this fades to white, which then fades into a close-up of the main character's face against a colorful patch of land. The use of fading is quite effective at portraying a big change. It's clear to the viewer that a significant shift has occurred, and that the main character has left his old life and entered a new world. The clip continues to show close-ups of Robin Williams and alternates these shots with wide angle views of the incredible colorful and vivid environment in which he has found himself. I think this works to highlight one of the themes present in this scene as well as in the movie at large, which is the idea of size and space. Williams is small in comparison to the vast land that surrounds him, but the close-ups suggest that the space isn't overwhelming.

Also, one of the greatest moments in this scene is when the camera moves us through the painted land, making the viewer wonder "where is this going?" That question is soon answered when we see a shot of the dog leaping through the air and landing right into Williams's open arms. We see the two wrestle and step together into the painted ground, and the music also reaches a climatic point at this point in the score. These techniques really work to establish the idea of a relationship and the happiness that results from the two reuniting.

I Am Man - Burger King

Response to "Mad Scientist" Vlog

I just viewed a video from the Scratch Video vlog entitled "Mad Scientist." It seems like the Scratch Video vlog is aiming at an audience of people who will create their own videos and who are interested in having their own vlogs. There are a wide variety of videos, and most are centered around a very narrow topic and seem to be personal in nature. The Mad Scientist, for example, shows a young woman vaguely reflecting on life. What really appealed to me about this video was that the woman wasn't portrayed directly; instead, the viewer saw her image reflected in what seemed to be a toaster. I thought it was fitting to combine a non-traditional, reflective view of the speaker as she voiced her reflective thoughts. This combination was really effective in relaying a reflective tone, and I think it encourages the viewer to adopt that frame of mind as they watch. Moreover, the speaker's comments are very vague and general-- even contradictory at times. This works to show that even though it's clearly reflective, each individual could interpret the statements in different ways and apply her thoughts to different areas of life. I like how the video ends when the appliance get plugs in. Usually, an event, activity, or video begins when it is "plugged in"-- in the case of this video, though, "plugging in" marks the end.