Globalization

Globalization is a process in which people are connected around the world where cultures, nations and people are networked together. Usually Globalization is greatly connected to new technological changes, such as the internet and other improvements.


Hybridization is an idea that was successful in one area of the world and other places adopt that idea to have that same success. A example can be American Idol, other nations seem to have created their own 'Idol series'. For example there is Canadian Idol, Australian Idol, Pop Idol (UK), Idolos (Brazil), Pinoy Idol (Philippines) and etc. (wikipedia) Hybridization is important because cultures have merged and mixed to create another culture, "Culture A meets Culture B --> Culture C" (Straubhaar Lecture). So that is what Globalization and Hybridization. 


American Idol


Canadian Idol


Philippine Idol


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSBosoQA904
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZctORq2p4qI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea2fd7kLejI&feature=related

Mayhem

In advertising I would say that there is various ads which are powerful and persuasive but some of the ones that stick out are usually the Apple, Allstate and GEICO ads. These are all powerful and persuasive because people tend to remember them and they catch peoples attention by ether using humor or a feeling of "coolness". I believe that Allstate Insurance is powerful and persuasive because it its current series of "Mayhem" ads shows people how everyday accidents can happen in a matter of minutes and that they are there to help you. GEICO in the other hand uses characters like the piggy or the woodchucks that have nothing to do with insurance to prove that they are a good insurance company.

Allstates advertising appeals include safety. Allstate IS an insurance company so it would only seam logical for them to advertise "mayhem" and disastrous situations so that people will feel in danger and go out and buy their insurance. The advertising appeal "Safety" is perfect for all insurance companies, Allstate uses this technique to get consumers attention in a way that is meant to shock or surprise people.

"Dollar for Dollar Nobody Protects you From Mayhem More Than Allstate" is their motto and they wish to convey to people that danger is everywhere and that they have the solution and protection which will help you in any situation of that sort.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-Sjld5yy3Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFVpaQGltrI

Toy Story 3 Film Structure

In class we learned about the different structures films have. There is the Hollywood 3-Act, 5 Act and others. Usually Hollywoods 3- Act structure follows a certain system, for example Act 1 is usually 30 minutes give or take, 30 to 60 minutes for the second act and 30 minutes for the last act (act 3). Each one of these acts also has a mini plot within, for example there is a small climax on Act 1, 2, and 3, but its not the big overall plot.

Toy Story 3 for example has the typical Hollywood 3-Act structure. In this 3rd part of the Toy Story franchise Act 1 starts with recapping parts from the other 2 movies like when Andy was just little kid and even a make believe scene that shows how kids would imagine the toys would be played with. Little by little the toys realize that Andy is not going to take them to college with him. He doesn't have the heart to donate them to a daycare center so puts them on a bag to put in the attic, only his sister calls him and leaves the bag of toys on the hallway. Thats when the mother finds them and puts it with the rest of the stuff to donate to the daycare. The toys feel hurt that Andy does not care about them so they feel happy they get donated. Woody tries to explain that he was going to put them in the attic yet the rest of the toys do not believe him.

In Act II (the longest section) the toys realize that the daycare is not what they expected and also realize that Andy was looking for them since Mrs. Potatoes eye stayed behind. The bear Lotso turns out to be evil and even turned Buzz against all his friends by resetting him. Woody is stuck in a little girls house and whats to go home to Andy, but the toys at that house tell woody that Sunyside Daycare is a horrible place. Thats when woody realizes he needs to save his friends from the torture they are going through.

Act III consists of woody is in the Daycare helping his friends out of the daycare. He fights a crazy monkey, Barbie tricks Ken, and they all work together when just about they were about to get out they get intercepted by the evil bear. They fall in the trash and later get taken to a furnace. This point would be considered the turning point because the bear seems to have been destroyed, but he doesn't he gets picked up by a garbage man and put in front of the truck. The resolution consists of the toys getting back to Andys house, they take another garbage truck back home and they make it in time before he leaves. Andy takes another look at them and decides to donate them to the little girl (bonnie) to whom his mom had known, Making this a very happy ending for everyone and a closure for the series.

Sitcom

Some characteristics that would be given to a TV sitcom include that they are based on a 30 minute schedule instead of 1 hour, and have their own theme/lesson . TV sitcoms usually also consist of being comedic, sarcastic and episodic. Episodic means that each episode within the sitcom has its own conflict and resolution within the 30 minutes, usually they try to portray a lesson or theme in each episode differently, and most of the time these Sitcoms will not show how the characters change or how they develop. They definitely show a family environment and  most of the issues that go on in the show are family related as well.

Family Guy is the perfect example of a sitcom. Each episode has its own conflicts that are usually resolved at the end of that specific episode, if not they put a "to be continued" sign at the end. For example in one of the recently aired episodes, (shown below) Carter Pewterschmidt is found to be cheating on his wife but by the end they get back together. Also, obviously Family Guy is extremely sarcastic comedy and the characters are the same as when the show started in the 90s. Again, each episode in Family Guy has its own mini plot with a climax and resolution which is significant with the sitcoms.

These characteristics of the sitcom function in that writers have the ability to create an all new storyline for each new episode and also the ability to talk about day to day family issues in a very humorist way. Many times the audience like the sitcom because they can relate to what they see. 

http://www.hulu.com/watch/184047/family-guy-welcome-back-carter

Its Kind of A Funny Story - Camera Shots

Prof. Ramirez-Berg talked about different camera techniques during his guest lecture. There are Long Shots (LS), Medium Shots (MS), and Close Ups (CU). Different camera angles also show and represent what is going on in the film. For example an eye level shot indicates that they both are power neutral and it is used as an identification shot. A low angle shot would typically mean that the person, or character that is shown has power in the film. And finally a high angle shot means that the character has less power and is vulnerable. I recently saw Its Kind of a Funny Story and noticed that it contained many of these techniques.

A Long Shot is usually used when a director is trying to portray a gloomy, lonely, or sad feeling. Usually they tend to show the subject far away and tiny in the scene, sometimes they have something with the opposite feelings in the background to emphasize the feeling it is meant to portray. At the end of Its Kind of a Funny Story they show a scene where they are on the top of the hospital looking out towards New York City, this can be an example of a long shot

A Medium Shot is the information shot. Usually the Medium Shot is used so that the audience can see what else is going on in that scene, for example to see what else is there in a room, or where exactly the characters are located. In It's Kind of a Funny Story they use a series of Medium Shots in this "Under Pressure" Scene to show the relationship information between him and the other patients of the hospital, he then imagines himself as the lead singer of Queen meanwhile all the shots are Medium Shots so people can see the relationship forming.

Finally a Close Up is when the director is trying to show you specific details more likely to portray feelings and emotions. In It's Kind of a Funny Story and this scene came into mind when thinking of a Close Up because both characters are shown in a personal space that specifies the feelings they have for each other.

Picture:
http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2010/07/have_some_indie_comedischmaltz.php
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmWijEbozWI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkiBBmrWhHU

The Studio System

Why do some films get more attention then others? Simple, even if the film has an amazing story it wouldn't be as successful as one with an actor/actress that people have come to know in many other movies. The Studio System had several steps of production, Factory-based / mass production system, contract talent, star system.

By the 1930s only five major studios survived The Great Depression, Paramount, Loews/MGM, Warner Brothers, Fox, and RKO. How the Studio System (Star System) worked was that each studio "relied on teams of stars and directors who made several movies together" (Media Now p195). This means that each studio had certain stars that made it known for, or that "they were the best representation of what the studios did." Most of the time these stars were also associated with the studios because they had contracts with them. Today stars may not be directly associated with the studio, but they are known for their work with certain directors or producers. For example a lot of people went to go see Alice in Wonderland because of the soul purpose that  Johnny Depp was in it. Depp is also known to work with Tim Burton in his numerous films such as Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and even Sweeney Todd.


The Star System directly affected the certain kind of films the studio made. For example if an actor is known for musicals the studio would have usually shaped the film to fit a musical even though the genre of the movie was a western for instance.  MGMs star actress was Judy Garland appeared in so many of their films, most known for the Wizard of OZ, but sometimes she would make a film, and the studio would mold it around her style. They would often do this because they realized that people were attracted to the star not what studio made the film. Sometimes a studio even advertised and promoted another star actor/actress within their own films to get more of their stars popular.

*Media Now textbook
*(class Power Points)

"Family"

It has been a couple a decades since people were more openly racist and discriminating. "All in the Family," (a show from the 1970s) is a perfect example of how society in general and the era itself acted as a whole. Todays shows may not act the same as they did back then because they take a softer and more cautious approach, but they do try to convey a moral.

A perfect example is that in the "All  in the Family" episode we watched, the main point had to do with homosexuals and how its unethical and abnormal they are. Yet if we compare it to "George Lopez" (a modern family show) there is an episode where George had to deal with his daughters (Carmen) boyfriend (Noah). The supposed boyfriend ends up being gay when George and his mom follow him and sees him kiss a boy. Yet the episode is not about him, its about how Carmen is pretending Noah is her boyfriend because she is still seeing her ex-boyfriend. In "All in the Family" Archie Bunker makes rude remarks such as "fairy" and "he's as queer as a $4 bill" to Roger (which he thinks is gay) but it ends up that Roger is not gay, but one of his true friends is. (See videos below for examples.)
Another example that makes "All in the Family" different than "George Lopez" is that in "All in the Family" Archie bosses his wife around all the time, while George never seems to boss or tell his wife anything along those lines.

Both of these shows are the same in that they use racial humor. "All in the Family" talks briefly about a lot of races and cultures and what they are stereotyped as (2:01 on the video), while in "George Lopez" he seems to make fun of and mock his own race.

Lastly, it seems that "All in the Family" talks about issues that were going on in politics and society around that time and "George Lopez" seems to talk about problems at work or typical teenage problems with his daughter, and even problems with his mother. In other words "George Lopez" talks more family related problems while "All in the Family" did not. Some of the things they both do and talk about is race, even if it's both in different ways. Also they both poke fun at, and use humor for different issues.

"All in the Family"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dKpHtc9F9M

"George Lopez"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N9LLJRl9bA

'It Was a Time of Great Social Change'

Early in the century America had just entered a new era in time, the oh so famous 1920s. Many consider this the most perplex and astounding decade. Fashion, music, dance, and inventions all powered the Roaring Twenties; in fact "It was a time of great social change". 1 The creation of radio only made this decade better in that radio was in everyones lives. They gathered around the box as a family and may have listened to music, the news or even comedy and live shows. Technological change is one of the main forces that shaped the radio industry.

Technological change was big in the 1920s, many things such as traffic lights, hair dryer and even the first cars with a combustion engine. Radio slowly changed from Marconis transmitter to a radio that the general public can use to listen to music. It was 1916 when David Sarnoff proposed to his boss (Marconi) "a plan of development which would make radio a 'household utility' in the same scene as the piano or phonograph." 2 (Media Now, p 161). It wasn't until 1926, 10 years later, that this idea finally came true. This force (Technological Change) influenced the formation of the radio industry in that the technology went from something that ships had, to a box every single household should have.

The Technological Change affected the evolution of the U.S. radio system in the 1920s in that the radio helped revolutionize the new "Jazz Age", an era of music that the youth started to rule. Without the radio, the 1920s would not have had that 'bang' that they did. Thanks to the radio, later in time there were things such as DJs that dominated the airwaves in the 1950s, even with the introduction of television. Later on another medium (the internet) might have completely killed the radio but it managed to stay alive because of the radio systems in cars where people do most, if not all, their listening of the radio today.

A video of the Jazz Age in the 1920s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJSdk44gWIE

1: http://www.angelfire.com/co/pscst/
2: Madia Now Textbook
3: http://www.kyrene.k12.az.us/schools/brisas/sunda/decade/1920.htm
4: Video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJSdk44gWIE
5: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/inventions-of-the-1920s.html

Priming Theory

Have you ever seen an ad, or some sort of show and it makes you think of something else that is closely related? Well in fact there is a theory which states that a thought will set of other related thoughts. People may not figure that what they do might be caused by what they see on tv, especially children. The Prime Theory is the motivation of what we do.

The Priming Theory is an effect from television that people tend to have. Of course it is connected negatively in that it may cause violence. The General Aggression Model suggests violence learned beforehand can be provoked by feelings or emotions associated with negativity and violence. The Priming theory may affect children and toddlers the most because of the cartoons they watch and also because they tend to keep "'scripts' about how to respond with violence they learn from the media"1 (Media Now- pg 417)so when a real life event comes up they may use what they saw on television.


A great example to the Priming theory may be that a child who is watching Tom & Jerry follow their examples of hitting and punching. Even though they my see sarcastic and cartoony they still impact kids. This video of Rocko's Modern Life shows how cartoons react to a real life event, so kids may be inclined to do the same.




1- Media Now textbook
2- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaHWoloyMLw&feature=related

Framing

Media is everywhere in our lives, TV, Radio and Internet. If it is everywhere in our lives how can it not influence us in basically everything we do or even how we think? Every form of media out there has its own views and opinions, that they may blind us of the general view. People, for the most part, do not realize that what they read or view is is up to the writer; they decide what you get to see and what you dont. This is called Framing. It influences how you think.

Framing is the idea that the creator of a certain type of media can influence and change the way you think of something and they can even alter how it is presented. Its up to the creator what type of tone he/she is conveying, typically his or her word choice set the tone therefore making you the reader feel a certain way about the subject. In some instances the creator can leave out facts that are not beneficial. Basically Framing is how a writer projects or presents a story, they are able to decide which view they will take.

A great example of framing may be the fact that Fox News and MSNBC have both been accused to be bias to ether the liberal or conservative parties. Studies suggest that during the Iraq War the White House had control of framing news that included "foreign policy and war" which indicate that the Bush Administrations positive effect of Fox reporting stories from Iraq. 1 MSNBC has also been accused of focusing more to the left side (liberal). One example is that on MSNBC's "evening lineup" of shows have been moving to a more liberal side in recent years.2 “The basic problem is the way news organizations assemble stories. You don't report on a dog that doesn't bite”1 Even though both news sources lean to a certain side, they each word their stories and report certain things that the competitor may not so that their "party" may be beneficial.

Finally we'll see a video where we clearly see the different sides of Fox and MSNBC during Michelle Obama's speech. A great example of framing.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2Pjudf0810

1: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2009.01472.x/full
2:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/27/AR2008052703047_pf.html

Why am I taking RTF?

Hello my name is Edgar Garcia, a Radio-Television-Film major from South Texas. I enjoy everything media and technology related, its just my passion. As a hobby I like to edit photos and videos and I'm an avid reader of tech blogs such as Gizmodo (which by the way is my favorite) and Engadget. I also watch FILM RIOT videos on YouTube which help people be filmmakers.

RTF is a course part of my FIG (Reel to Reel), but I am glad to say that as an aspiring Director/Producer I am enjoying the the class. RTF will be very useful because it will help me get background information on everything media. In fact it's a portal to what I would love to do as a career. I believe I'll learn many skills and techniques that will be essential in my future.

Overall I am excited to be taking this class and what can I say UT is the best!
Edgar Garcia

Favorite blog: http://gizmodo.com/
FILM RIOT: http://www.youtube.com/user/filmriot