This poster focuses on many main aspects that should be seen in a movie poster. It uses depth to draw the readers eyes to the center of the screen. This was done using a dark contrast between the hole and the rest of the poster. It was darkened through layers, to give it the depth of a hole. Also focused on is the rule of thirds, where the name Depp and the eyes of the Cheshire Cat are located. This immediatley draws the audiences eyes. The realism of the grass is relevant to the movie as this is not a cartoon version of the film, and this is the main focus of the poster- to create realism. The title of the movie is another aspect that is immediately noticed, due to its depth and colour. The drop shadow of pink was chosen for the thickness and weight it adds to the poster. The poster focuses on drawing a large audience. It maintains a low level of reading level, while at the same time makes it an enjoyable poster to read for an adult. The catchline would appeal to readers of the novel, due to its infamy, but also is something that would catch a childs mind. The small little characters, however relevant to the film, add to the appeal to children.
As stated earlier, the main catch of the poster is its realisms and depth, there are key symbolic elements that give information about the movie. Such symbols are the burnt red heart, and the sad flower. Both showing the twist in a normally happy childrens movie. The walt disney logo, is somewhat hidden in the grass, as it is not the main focus of the poster, but there for someone if they want to read it. The poster does a great job of catching you eye, with the big star Johnny Depp, and then sealing it with the cheshire cat and Alice in Wonderland. We know Alice would already have a big following, and by focusing on this it is possible to sell big.
This movie as it turns out was not as good as it was intended to be, in my opinion, but the advertising campaign that went along with it was marvelous. The actual posters were very appealing, and drew me in to watch the movie, and this rendition was intended to have the same effect.
This next Tuesday, Hurley will be released by Weezer to the worldwide public. Having the luck of it already being leaked to Myspace and other sites, I had the privilege of already listening to it. This album is reminiscent of a period in Weezers discography when Rivers Cuomo was doing too many drugs and was in a serious depression. However, the album that came out was, in retrospect one of the best of all time and influenced an entire new genre of music. Of course, the album was Pinkerton, and although it did not have the commercial appeal of the Blue Album, it was a masterpiece in its own. It contained songs of deep emotion ( Falling for You, Pink Triangle) and just plain awkward songs (Tired of Sex). This was the basis of Emotional rock, or Emo, and influenced such bands as Taking Back Sunday and Jimmy Eat World.
This new album evokes the same emotion of awkwardness, but now on a more refined, produced scale. Rivers voice is more forced than usual with strains of angst on songs like lead single "Memories". This has only been done on one other Weezer song, which was Tired of Sex on Pinkerton. The first half of the album is loaded with perfect songs such as Memories, Trainwrecks, Ruling On, Unspoken and Where's My Sex? ( A play on the word Socks). The album almost falters on weaker tracks like Run Away, Hang On and Brave New World- with Run Away sounding more like a demo from the Alone series released by Rivers. The album ends with a beautiful song that reminds one of more classic rock and a nice addition to their catalog- Time Flies. On the deluxe edition of this album there is another great song called All My Friends are Insects, which is a short song , but makes a large impact. Also included is a cover of Coldplays "Viva la Vida" which in my eyes seemed like an odd choice, but never-the-less comes across as well done- minus the awkward sounding violins.
Overall, this album is cohesive and tight, with strong production and instrumentation. The aspect that is weak in my eyes in the lyrics. They come across as too simple at times, with very little development in the verses. Although this is not true in all the songs, it is a common theme throughout. However, this album is wonderful, and some of its songs will be on my end of the year lists. It is a strong pick-up from the dissapointing Red Album, and although Raditude was great, this is an improvement still.
This poster screams excitement with symmetrical position of the actors. Made to market in a time of depression and stress. This poster would catch anyones attention of the time.
Number Four
This poster screams action. This movie already had a huge following, but they wanted to reboot the series. Boy, did they do it. This poster is part of the reason for its success.
Number Three
Shows adventure and excitement. The floating head feature is similar to Star Wars. It shows the whole movie in the poster, very effective.
Number Two
This poster is very interesting. Once again the floating heads, which remind me of Mt. Rushmore with the American flag just dripping and bleeding downwards onto the lake. Visually appealing- this is a masterpiece.
and....
Number One
This poster is just plan awesome. Made for the cold war era. I find it commical, political and vivid. It gives the point across, and its satire is easily seen. The colours stand out, it is symmetrical, not too busy. This is just an all-around fantastic poster.
Who I amis important to the type of media that I listen to. Around the world media and technology is influencing the thoughts and actions of people. I am no exception to any of these things and what is around me, automatically influences what I enjoy. If I was erased from existence in a physical form and all that was left was a digital imprint - my sole form being the type of media I consume regularly- what would be left would still be interesting. From this imprint you could still define my entire personality, because the type of person we are also influences the media we consume.
Instead of me blabbing about how I came about being who I am, lets get down to the hard cold facts. I am young, but I work hard. I do all I can, for as long as I can. I want to go places, and believe that the only way to succeed is through hard work. I have had to work to get where I am today, and have no intention of ever letting up.
I have a select set of interests that are usually somewhat different from the average persons. They are specific to me and shade me a different colour than anyone else. Like I said, who I am can be defined through my interests.
Sports
I have a strong interest in certain sports. My favourite sport to watch (but not play) is Hockey. My favourite hockey team is the San Jose Sharks.
Why do I like this team ? This team has never won the Stanley Cup and has only advanced to the Western Conference Finals twice but still I like them. Well, they are the underdogs, with an immense talent pool. They have, consistently for the past 6 years, been one of the best teams in the NHL, and sometimes its more exciting to be on the brink of something great rather than actually being there. Plus they have an awesome logo.
Work
Before we continue, lets talk about where I work. I work for the large lumber company (and the only real lumber franchise in town) Rona. I do a lot of physical labour there. As of recently, I have started driving the trucks.
Books
Moving back onto the interests part of my life, I enjoy reading books and am heavily into the sciences. I am trying to make a career in the medical field with a leaning towards radiology or family practice. More likely, however, I will specialize. Books have played a large part in this and currently I am reading "This is your Brain on Music" by Daniel Levitin . This book focuses on the cognitive and psychological aspects of the brain when listening to music. Questions like why jingles are so catchy are answered. I am currently investigating a new side project for myself which me and a friend are going to enter into a science fair. This is called the "theremin". Essentially, it generates new frequencies by mixing two oscillating waveforms. In the theremin there is one oscillator and the other is your hand (which is grounded to the floor), and you manipulate the frequency expressed by moving your hand. Its an interesting project and my interest in science has sparked an interest to experiment further.
Music
This project leads into the biggest interest of my life-Music. Music is everywhere I go. It makes me who I am. I listen to a wide variety of music and have a vast Itunes library that spans every different genre. I can appreciate almost any song, but there a few different types I do dislike. In general, I do not like the genres of death metal or country. They are, obviously, vast contrasts to each other, and I find them generally to be disliked by myself. Death metal I find invokes too harsh of an angry emotion, whereas I find country to be generally too much of a "poor man's ballad" for lack of a better term.
I do enjoy many other different types of music though.
Before I continue, I should tell you my favourite band.
AFI is my favourite band and consists of four different musicians; Davey Havok, Jade Puget, Adam Carson and Hunter Burgan. They have been on the top of my list since grade 5 when I first was introduced to the song "Girls Not Grey" from the album "Sing the Sorrow". I heard it on the radio station 89x from Windsor/ Detroit ( I am originally from the Chatham-Kent area). I was amazed at its originality while still maintaining the essence of a mainstream single. Considering I was only 10 at the time being this was a young age to start listening to mainstream music. Most kids at this age are still listening to their parents music. I did do this, but I also started dipping my feet into the music stream. Anyways, back to AFI. They have a long discography from 1992 until the current day with their own genre constantly changing. They have ranged from Hardcore Punk to Alternative. My favourite album is the influential "Sing The Sorow", but my favourite song is Love Like Winter. Although it is not the epitome of AF's discography it is unique to my life.
Of all the genres I listen to I listen to a select type of music more than others. This is has been classified stereotypically as "Emo". Emo has been given a label that is untrue. Emo is a derivative form of hardcore punk that was mixed with deep emotional feeling, switching heavy guitars for lighter sounding acoustics and electrics. Emo has been classified to bands such as Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco due to their aesthetics over their music. Actually they are closer to punk and alternative than anything else. Bands that I absolutely love usually fall under the "emo" category. They include : Jimmy Eat World, Motion City Soundtrack, Say Anything, Saves the Day and Taking Back Sunday.
I do, however, vary greatly and my tastes can change depending on my mood. I will vary from classical to techno. I do enjoy other bands especially in the punk rock genre (alkaline trio, AFI) as well as in the Indie genre (Metric, Tokyo Police Club). Depending on my mood I will listen to the ambiance of the Alchemy Volumes of Thrice and the mystery of Radiohead. I love everything about music, the way it falls into my head, the way it is so easily remembered. It is this type of media that has changed my life forever.
Movies
Movies are a huge part of my life. What I love about them is the ambiance and sometimes surreal emotions they invoke. When you watch the planet earth fly by, its like your almost in space. Certain movies just seem to catch me quicker than others, they just draw my eye. Movies like this are Lord of the Rings, The Watchmen, The Spirit, Scott Pilgrim vs The World. These are just visually appealing movies. I love the aesthetic of movies and the organization that is seen in their frames is unreal. It's like ordering a world of chaos.
I do love older movies, but have not experienced a full background in film yet. I like movies usually from the 50's up. I love movies such as Blazing Sadles and older actors like Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Martin Mull, Tim Curry and others. There are so many actors and actresses whom I also admire (Morgan Freeman.) but the list could go on forever. If I had to pick a favourite movie though, just for the sheer fun of it, instead of normally saying Lord of The Rings, I would have to say it would be Alice in Wonderland ( Original Disney Cartoon Edition). It is a masterpiece mixing harsh lessons of the real world into a child's theme. Although it is roughly (movies never follow the book) following Lewis Carrols version, it is fantastic. The animation is another visual masterpiece with such a unique use of language, I will always admire it.
Television
Moving into the last of the types of media I commonly use, it is the television. I watch a wide variety of shows but most of them relate to science, or other odd concepts. I have religiously followed shows like V, Fringe, Eli Stone and Flash Forward, but my favourite show is Lost.
Iam a Lost fanatic, I have tched every show that was made, up until the interesting ending this year. I loved the fact that everything was connected. It related well to the real world that everything can be connected in one way or another. Lost had so many subtle plot lines, hidden innuendos, pop culture references, it was not just a plot line. If you looked into every line that was said and every plot aspect you would be surprised. An example of this is the "numbers"- 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42. They appeared in every episode randomly, and often multiple times. It connected to the plot, but it was these little Easter eggs that kept me glued to the tube. It is a modern day television masterpiece.
Other shows that I watch are science based, but not fiction based. An example of this is Genius of Britain, a five-part television show on British television stations. Its layout is brilliant and the facts accurate as well as interesting. I highly recommend watching it. Here's the start.
This is just about a small fraction of all the things I really digitally consume. I could continue on to talk my cell phone, my favourite websites, but I feel as though in time you will come to learn of all these things and more. Throughout the semesters I will post more things, and together these will create a media collage of my personality. It is through the things we associate ourselves with, that creates and shows who we are.
A huge band that originated from France is Pheonix. They went huge with their latest album "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix". Charting on mainstream U.S. Billboard charts, and reaching an audience they had never before been exposed too. Although it is not a huge mainstream hit in terms of mass appeal, it was still a huge crossover album for them. With high critical appeal, it is an album of great influence and musical importance. The album itself was the bands fourth and contains some of their catchiest songs yet. This album is a must for indie collectors.
