Blog Entry #6: Logo Parodies that Speak the Truth

I'm sure all of you can remember the April 20, 2010 explosion of British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon oil rig. After the initial explosion, the oil continued to gush for 3 long, destructive months, causing extreme damage to the ecology and economy of the Gulf coast. Approximately 4.9 million barrels of crude oil were released into the ocean! This will continue to have detrimental effects to the environment for decades to come.

This henious example of corporate negligence lead environmental activist organization, Greenpeace to organize a logo competition that called for the redesign of BP's pretty yellow and green floral graphic ID. With over 3000 submisssion from around the world, the response was overwhelming. Many of the results are witty, well-designed, and reveal the horrible truth of the dangers of off-shore drilling and BP's deadly legacy left on the planet.

Go through the submissions and choose the one logo that you believe is the best new graphic identity for British Petroleum. In your blog entry, address the following points:


1. Describe the logo using the language of the Elements and Principles of Design.
2. Describe the symbols used in the logo. Why did the graphic artist use such imagery?
3. What does this logo say of BP's coroporate identity?

Be sure to post your selected logo and credit the graphic artist. 

Blog Entry #5: Digital Actors

Recently, my cousin showed me the official trailer for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. At first, I thought, "WOW! They got real actors to do this thing!" I soon found out, that what I thought was a live action scene being played out before me, was in fact, an animation! The figures, from afar, moved with convincing human-like grace. It was only during close-ups that the animated reality became apparent to me. 

We don't have to look very far to see evidence of animated characters starring side-by-side with human counterparts. In Avatar, the use of "performance capture" is one step towards the fusion of animation and real-life actors. Read the following article, entitled Do the ‘Avatar’ actors deserve recognition? and respond to the following questions:

1. Is this acting or is this animation?
2. Do you think that animated character should be eligible for acting awards?
3. Do you think that human actors will ever become obsolete? Why or why not?

Blog Entry #4: From Spray Can to light: Graffiti Revisited

In this blog entry, you will select and post your favourite example of light graffiti and your favourite example of street graffiti (street art using spray paint).

Write a brief description of each image using the language of the Elements and Principles of Design. Finally, you will compare and contrast light graffiti with traditional graffiti. How are they different and similar?

FYI: It's now possible to look like a real graffiti artist using a spray paint can that emits light. Check it!

Blog Entry #3: Mashups and Copyright Law

As personal computing and access to audio and video editing software became popularized in the 1990s, so too did the phenomena of mashups.Mashups are, in the words of journalist LiliAna Andreano, the “digital lovechildren of two or more songs.” Over time, the meaning of mashup has expanded to include digitally manipulated creations resulting from two or more pre-existing works.

In short, a mashup is the creative recombination of text, music, or video to make a new work of art. We see and hear mashups on the web, on TV, and on the radio. Mashups can be considered multimedia collages, which repurpose content to create a new media art work for art's sake, for parody, or for a political or social purpose. They are an emerging form of media art that has been made possible by the accessibility of digital technology. Take a look at the list below of mashup examples:

1. The widely popular television show Glee brought mashups to the mainstream in its Vitamin C and Mashup episodes, which featured the musical melding of Bon Jovi and Usher, along with Sisqo's Thong Song and a tune from the musical My Fair Lady.

2. A Fair(y) Use Tale, a video created by Professor Eric Faden of Bucknell University, is a mashup of various Disney cartoons used to illuminate American copyright law in a comedic and ironic way.

3. In 2004, DJ Danger Mouse released The Grey Album, a mashup of vocals from Jay-Z's The Black Album and instrumentals from The Beatles' White Album (if you know your colour theory, the album's name makes perfect sense!). The album gained notoriety and popularity when EMI (the music label that holds copyright for The Beatles) threatened DJ Danger Mouse with legal action for the unauthorized use of the Fab Four's music. This controversy spurred a debate about the current state of copyright law and contemporary creative culture. 

In your blog entry, choose one of the three examples above and answer the following questions as they apply to your example:

1. What is this mashup trying to communicate? Is it technical experiment, social or political commentary, a comedic parody, or an abstract work of media art?
2. Did its creator follow or break copyright laws in its production?
3. Do you think that mashup like this requires copyright permission? Why or why not.

Blog Entry #2 : A Critical View of Music Videos

A Look at Music Videos



In 1979, the English New Wave band The Buggles released their chart topping hit, Video Killed the Radio Star. The song laments the fall of a radio singer's career caused by the rise of television. The video for this epic song was the first to be broadcast by MTV (Music Television) on August 1, 1981 at midnight, securing this song and video's place in pop music history. Without a doubt, the lyrics of the song foreshadow the new age of music videos.

With the dawn of MTV, audiences were able to appreciate the song, not only for its melody and lyricism, but also for its visuals. From that moment on, music was no longer simply an auditory experience, but also a multi-sensory one. 

You will use the critical analysis process to formulate your assessment of your chosen music video. Ensure that your choice is appropriate for a high school audience. When in doubt, consult. The Critical analysis process involves:

Initial reaction: What are your immediate thoughts and observations when you view the music video?

Analysis and interpretation: Describe the Principles of Media Arts as they appear in the music video. Why do you think the musician, musical group, or director created this music video? What themes are promoted in this video? Are they aligned with Gospel Values, or do they counter them?

Consideration of cultural context: What events may have influenced the musician, musical group, and director to create this music video?

Expression of aesthetic judgment: How does the cinematography, acting and performance, choreography, storyline, special effects, lyrics, and musicality work together in the music video? How do the visuals affect your admiration or disdain for the song?

Ongoing reflection: How has your chosen music video influenced your reception of the song?

Blog Entry #1 
Facebook on the Big Screen

The new movie, The Social Network, is a drama based on the founding of the popular social networking site, Facebook. The movie chronicles the early struggles of founder Mark Zuckerberg as he and his colleagues were establishing the billion-dollar business that we know today.

We often don't think about how Facebook is a business. Have you ever noticed how the advertising along the sides of your profile page somehow relate to your hobbies, education, or interests? There is sophisticated programming that picks up on personal information and matches it with advertisers. Although Facebook may seem like a playful social networking tool, there are BIG corporate interests in your profile, not for your social calendar and friends' list, but as a consumer to whom to sell! Earlier this year, Facebook instituted new privacy setting which gave uninvited people, including advertisers, privy to personal information and photos. This was worrisome to many users and caused the formation of groups in protest to this breech in personal privacy.

In a 200 to 300 word blog entry, discuss the ways in which you protect your privacy on social networking sites, such as Facebook. Why is it important to protect your information from uninvited eyes and advertisers? Create an image that illustrates your response.

Blogging safety 101

Here is a list of blogging safety tips adapted from Microsoft's Online Safety tips:

- Don't divulge personal information: use your FIRST NAME ONLY, don't give any details with regards to contact information, home address, phone numbers, last names of friends or relatives, instant messaging names, age, or birth date.
- No questionable photos of you or anything else: If you wouldn't show it to your grandma, don't post it on the web! Avoid posting photos of yourself.
- Remember the internet is permanent! Anyone on the Internet can easily print out a blog or save it to a computer.
- Use blogging provider sites with clearly stated terms of use, and make sure they can protect the actual blogs, not just the user accounts, with password protection. (Even so, it's better to assume anyone can see it.)
- Avoid trying to "out-do" or compete with other bloggers.
- Keep it clean and positive: Our blogs are reflective of our Catholic values. Sexist, racist, homophobic, or any type of oppressive and offensive language will not be tolerated!