Animation Deconstruction

These two pictures come from one of my favorite animation series Rocket Power.  In the first picture it shows the characters doing what they do best which is riding their bikes or skateboards around on the boardwalk.  The second picture is something they are not as familiar with, cave tubing.  The colors in these pictures are very different, as well as the lighting.  First off, the main colors in the top pictures are much brighter then the bottom, and have a much warmer feel.  As for the lighting, the bottom picture is darker considering they are in a cave, while in the top picture the sun is setting on the beach.  The reason it is so much brighter is because the yellow and red hues on the top picture are overpowering compared to the blues, blacks, grays, and greens on the bottom picture.   The movements in the pictures are very similar however, because there is a lot of action in both shots.  As usual for the show, the character squid is always awkward and not able to keep up with the intense movements of the other three athletic kids.  The green strings/worms on the top of the cave are very contrasting lights that give the picture energy.  The  top picture gets more energy from its beautiful sunset and intense biking.  Either picture you choose, the animator took a lot of time to put extreme detail into these pictures.  I would say that the top picture is more dominant because it is brighter and over powering.  The top picture was probably taken near the end of an episode because it feels right and the characters look relaxed.  Comparing the top to the bottom, the lower picture is most likely in the middle of an episode where they are climaxing in action sports, and are running into some trouble.  The darker the picture, the more likely it is that it is either nearing night time or something bad is about to happen, while the brighter pictures represent peace and harmony.  These pictures seem very similar, but in reality these characters are in completely different situations, and are just living their regular crazy lives.

Storyboard Imitation

In this scene from Billy Madison the director did follow the 180 degree rule.  This rule states that after a line of action is established, the camera cannot cross over that line except under certain circumstances.  There is a lot of movement in these shots so the camera does pan back and forth to whoever is doing the talking.  The scene is rather simple and the camera did not seem to move very dramatically, therefor all of the shots are very similar and seem almost the same, and as if you were right there.

The director definitely used the rule of thirds well in all of these shots.  Weather it was a solid distance to give people room to speak or putting a character in a certain place to provoke emotion.  Especially when the two men are talking is when it was used the best.  The bus driver is place on the right side while the teacher is on the left when he looks up her skirt, this demonstrates rule of thirds very well.

The rule states that you should change the size of your image by 30 percent—or two size levels—when switching views.  This was somewhat relevant because in the first shot it was a medium shot, while in the rest of the scenes it was a close up shot.  Changing the size of these characters keeps the viewer interested.  The shots switch when the two men start talking, creating a more dramatic scene.  I think that this director clearly knew what he is doing, and it shows it in all of these Happy Madison productions.

I am a huge fan of Happy Madison production and enjoy almost all of their films.  The way the director sticks to the rules such as 180 degrees, rule of thirds, and the 30 rule.  Clearly this director is very talented, and chose very funny talent for his movie as well.

Song Deconstruction

For this blog I have decided to use two songs that have the same beat therefor one is a cover, and they are in different genres. The original song I am using is called Walking on a dream by empire of the sun.  The artist that took the beat and made his own song was Wiz Khalifa and the song is called The Thrill.

For Empire of the Sun Click Here

For The Thrill Click Here

Although both versions of this song use the same instruments, and general melody, they end up being pretty different songs as finished products. I think this is largely, first and foremost, because of the different lyrics and attitude of the singer in the songs: in Empire of The Suns original version, there is more of a fantasy feel, whereas in Wiz Khalifas version it has a hip hop vibe because of what he raps about.   However, both songs rely on the usage of drums and guitar to drive the song and create the tempo. The varying qualities of Empire of The Suns voice and Wiz Khalifa's voice differentiate the songs, too.

The partying attitude, and original lyrics making this song hip-hop results in a very different feel to the verses of the song—unlike in Empire of the Suns version, this version’s verses is more fantasy like because of the voice modifications. The choruses make these songs similar because Wiz Khalifa still used the original with a few overdubs layering the lyrics.  In the original, the song has no extra lyrics, it is simply the original.  In Wiz Khalifa's verses they are very different because Instead of relying on increased tempo in the drop, he relies mostly on his raw talent of raping fast and saying what his listeners want to hear.  Empire of the Suns version of the song has a bit of a filter on the voices of the singer, therefor; it is hard to hear some of the things they say. This is what helps compare the fantasy compared to hip-hop feel.

The tempos of the songs, overall, are exactly the same.  Both of these are classified as a moderato tempo, I think the original song by Empire of The Sun is much more groovy, but I enjoy both. Like I said the panning is not a problem or a differing factor in either of these songs because they are both central. The high and ow pitches in this song are created by the bass(deep) and the lyrics(high). The tempo and emotional architecture in these songs are the same. I honestly am a fan of both of these songs and if I were to try and pick which I like better, I would not be able to.