It seems the general theme running through my three interests in progression.
Within the progression of these areas, there are some pretty interesting things to point out.
First, music has grown from what started in the 60's as a rebellious, loud, aggressive medium. Music was a way of pure expression and formed around current society and culture, and reflected the opinions of musicians on areas such as government.
Nowadays, although music is still considered a form of expression, it seems to have winded down on the chaos and anarchy it used to hold. Most popular bands now refrain from swearing, they maintain an approachable appearance and hold back on any form of aggression. Music in current times seems to be aimed to please a much younger generation than before. Ages as early as 8 will listen to newly released mainstream music, so artists must cater the style of lyricism to this, cutting out any swearing or anything which could be considered offensive.
In a way music is now more restricted, despite censorship laws being much more lenient than ever before.
On the other hand, both video games and film have gone the opposite way.
Games started very basic, and very innocent. Games such as Tetris and Donkey Kong needed very little effort to play and visually were very basic, but the addictive gameplay and need to beat high-scores lead their success.
Many modern day games pride themselves on the level of realism, or in some cases, ultra-realism. Violence in certain genres of video games has undoubtedly escalated. Street Fighter (1987, Arcade) had two characters fighting, but there was no blood. Fighting games released to date such as Soul Calibur V (2012, Multiple Platform), consist of weapon combat and involve a lot of slashing and hacking style fighting, spilling pools of blood and gore across the arena. As explained in a previous post, Mortal Kombat features a 'fatality' which rewards the player with an ultra violent kill is a particular button combo is pressed. This could feature head ripping, spine pulling, rub cracking ect., very violent visuals.
Film has followed a similar path.
Psycho (1960) is still considered one of the greatest films. The most memorable scene in this film is the shower death, where the killer stabs a female character to death in the shower. However, the knife penetrating flesh is never shown, only the impression of it.
Film has progressed to show more violent and controversial. Final Destination (2000) and it's several sequels are films based on how many ways a person can brutally die. Head cut in half with saw blade, nail gun to the face, trapped inside a sun bed, squashed with gigantic sign, you get the picture.
I think this is going to be the way I am going to approach my first presentation; How these areas have progressed through time and why.
Thursday 26 April 2012
Wednesday 18 April 2012
Research: Film - Effects
We are capable of creating effects to a much higher detail than we were years ago.
These effects range from costumes, to environment, to CGI.
I noticed the drastic change when watching the new 'Planet of the Apes' film.
These stills show the advancement in our digital technology to the point where these 'apes' become genuinely believable creatures. Development in motion capture have made it much easier to create CGI creatures that walk realistically.
These effects range from costumes, to environment, to CGI.
I noticed the drastic change when watching the new 'Planet of the Apes' film.
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| Planet of the Apes, 1968 |
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| Planet of the Apes, 2001 |
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| Rise of the Planet of the Apes, 2011 |
Because every year that goes by, we see a new blockbuster feature released which is full of new CGI set pieces, our expectations in films are rising higher and higher, meaning less impressive looking films go straight to DVD, or worse, Syfy.
Research: Film - Animation
I'm going to start by looking at how film has progressed in my specialism.
Animation has had a huge boost from new digital technologies. Many animated films are created mostly on computers using advanced software packages.
But these resources haven't always been around.
Disney's retelling of 'Snow White and the seven dwarfs' in 1937 is considered the first full length fully animated feature. As technology was not as advanced as it is now, most of the film had to be drawn and painted out frame by frame. In total, around 1.5 million frames were drawn out to create the film, which took about 3 years to develop.
Although it did win awards for best animated feature, I don't think it would attract a young audience like it did back then.
The young audience today are attracted to likeable characters, not necessarily proportionally accurate, bright colours and a sense of humour which doesn't patronise them.
Animation has had a huge boost from new digital technologies. Many animated films are created mostly on computers using advanced software packages.
But these resources haven't always been around.
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| Snow White and the seven dwarfs, 1937 |
Although it did win awards for best animated feature, I don't think it would attract a young audience like it did back then.
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| Monsters Inc. 2001 |
Research: Film - What do I find interesting?
I'm a huge film fan. When coming to university, I was on the fence whether to study Graphic Design or Media/Film. Obviously I chose Graphic Design, but when the chance came to choose Motion and Interactive design as a specialism I jumped to it, as it was the closest thing between the two you can get.
What I find interesting about film is similar to games, how we can relate to and feel emotionally involved in a film. How films can make us feel things, whether that is adrenaline and energy or sadness.
I also, like gaming, admire how they are made. As I have had experience filmmaking, I know how much effort it takes to get a shot look how you want it.
I will be looking into a little bit of the history of film, and how it has changed over time.
What I find interesting about film is similar to games, how we can relate to and feel emotionally involved in a film. How films can make us feel things, whether that is adrenaline and energy or sadness.
I also, like gaming, admire how they are made. As I have had experience filmmaking, I know how much effort it takes to get a shot look how you want it.
I will be looking into a little bit of the history of film, and how it has changed over time.
Research: Gaming - Living Another Life
As I said in an earlier post, gaming is a gateway to another world, or another life. This is in no way suggesting gamers are sad lonely people, on the contrary I find that gamers are some of the most interesting and creative individuals due to their broad minds.
But some games do allow players to live an alternate, digital life, and I myself have succumb to them.
The Role Playing Game (RPG) has been around for a very long time, but until development meant that games developers could introduce a deep enough story and an incredible amount of variables and in-game options, they were pretty basic.
One of the latest RPG's to grab the attention of a huge audience is 'Skyrim'. Players create their own fully customisable character, choosing a race (including elves, orcs, humans etc), gender, and appearance. The game is then played out depending on how the player chooses to play. If they prefer to use magic, they can level their character to cast spells to defeat enemies, or they can use ranged bow and arrows, or old school sword and shield combat.
Despite the missions being pretty much set, it is very unlikely that any two people wold have the same experience playing this game, which creates a unique bond between player and character.
The Sims puts the player in control of the lives of a number of characters. Whilst the player doesn't physically control the characters, they can tell them what to do, such as cook, eat, get a job, dance, ect
Mass Effect, my gaming weakness. Mass Effect follows the story of Shepard, a human who must save the galaxy from a race of synthetic beings called Reapers. I'll not get into the story, because i'll waffle on forever because all three games are HUGE.
But some games do allow players to live an alternate, digital life, and I myself have succumb to them.
The Role Playing Game (RPG) has been around for a very long time, but until development meant that games developers could introduce a deep enough story and an incredible amount of variables and in-game options, they were pretty basic.
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| Skyrim, 2011, Multi-Platform |
Despite the missions being pretty much set, it is very unlikely that any two people wold have the same experience playing this game, which creates a unique bond between player and character.
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| Sims 3, 2009, Multi-Platform |
Players must look after these characters, otherwise they can die. The player must also build and decorate the house the characters live in using the money they earn from their jobs.
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| Mass Effect 3, 2012, Multi-Platform |
Again, the player can customise Shepard; gender, appearance, equipment and class are all variables. However, Mass Effect is heavily based on giving the player the driving seat. Everything the player does has a consequence to the story. If the player wants to save a civilian from a burning building and risk losing an escaping enemy they can. Or, on the flip side, they can be a renegade, and leave the civilian to die for the good of capturing the escaping fugitive. All actions have consequence, and the way the player interacts with NPC's (none-playable-characters) decides how they will react towards you. What is amazing about the series is that such consequences from the first could have reactions not only in the same game, but the next (or third, ect).
This whole ideology enforces an emotional bond with all the characters. Without giving anything away, I was so upset when my favourite characters died (which again, depending on play-style they could live or die).
It is games such as this which allow gamers to escape reality and enter a world where they are in charge, they decide what happens, and they feel they can really do something important.
Research: Gaming - Violence
WARNING: THIS POST INCLUDES IMAGES SOME MAY FIND DISTURBING
There is a lot of speculation about whether video games make us more violent. Over time, we have been subjected to more and more violent scenes in video games.
The beat-em-up genre of games spans from the likes of 'Street Fighter' where there was little-to-no-blood to Mortal Kombat, where the player is awarded a cutscene of an over-the-top violent finishing kill if they press the correct button combo.
Clearly there is an aspect of violence involved in these games, but I would argue they are fighting games after all. Someone not wanting violence wouldn't buy and/or play a fighting game.
It is not just fighting games where we find violence.
Arguably the most popular genre of game to hardcore gamers is the FPS (First Person Shooter). This has evolved from shooting people to close-quarters mutilations when a player gets close to an enemy.
The added functionality of video games lets us 'melee' enemies, should they get too close. Some games such as 'Gears of War' take it a step further, and reward the player for getting up close. As seen in the image above, a close-up chainsaw kill is available to those brave enough the run into the fight.
Call of Duty is a huge FPS franchise. At the end of Modern Warfare two, the final scene forces the player to throw a knife into the eye of the main antagonist. Although he is a threat, it's pretty shocking to see.
Games such as 'Splatterhouse' and 'The Darkness 2' (seen above) force players to perform kills in the most violent manner possible. The more violent their kills are, the more points they earn to spend on upgrading their character, and regaining lost health.
There is a lot of speculation about whether video games make us more violent. Over time, we have been subjected to more and more violent scenes in video games.
The beat-em-up genre of games spans from the likes of 'Street Fighter' where there was little-to-no-blood to Mortal Kombat, where the player is awarded a cutscene of an over-the-top violent finishing kill if they press the correct button combo.
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| Mortal Kombat, 1992/93, Arcade |
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| Mortal Kombat, 2011, Multiple-Platform |
It is not just fighting games where we find violence.
Arguably the most popular genre of game to hardcore gamers is the FPS (First Person Shooter). This has evolved from shooting people to close-quarters mutilations when a player gets close to an enemy.
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| Gears of War 2, 2008, Xbox 360 |
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| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, 2009, Multiple-Platform |
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| Splatterhouse, 2010, Multiple-Platform |
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| The Darkness 2, 2012, Multiple-Platform |
Again, I would say it is shocking, but we are becoming more used to seeing this sort of thing due to the violence we see coming from real life situations such as war.
Research: Gaming - How has it evolved? Continued
I have looked at how games started very basic animations and inputs, and how narratively they were very innocent.
But we know that over time they have progressively become more complex and graphically detailed.
On the previous post are images of the first appearances of Mario and the latest. This image is from 'Super Mario 64' on the Nintendo 64 (named so due to its 64-bit graphical capability). We can see even with cartoon-like graphical styles such as Mario, advances in technology have vastly opened up new possibilities.
But what about games that are supposed to look 'real?'
I've looked at the 'Tomb Raider' series as an example, as I have played the majority of them.
But we know that over time they have progressively become more complex and graphically detailed.
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| Mario 64, 1996 Nintendo 64 |
But what about games that are supposed to look 'real?'
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| Tomb Raider, 1996, PlayStation |
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| Tomb Raider: Underworld, 2008, Multiple-Platform |
I remember playing the first 'Tomb Raider' game on my PlayStation and thinking the physics and the graphics were amazing. When we compare that to what we have now, it doesn't look very pretty. 'Tomb Raider: Underworld' is the latest of the 'Tomb Raider' games released to date (not including spin-offs). We can see in this image the textures are of much higher standard.
One reason we now have access to hold so much texture in a game is due to the media it is stored on.
'Super Mario Bros.' was stored on a cartridge. These cartridges could hold about 8mbit of information. That means the coding, graphics, everything had fit on 8mbit of hardware. This increased in advancements in consoles such as the Nintendo 64, but was still a fairly low amount of data.
When CD-ROM was used as a storage media in the likes on the PlayStation, the size of data available upgraded to about 600MB, around half a Gigabyte. Although this was much more space available, the results of the space are seen in the 'Tomb Raider' image above.
DVD-ROM was introduced in next-gen consoles such as the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. This gave game developers 4.7GB to play with, 8 times as much data as was previously available.
DVD-ROM evolved to dual-layer allowing double the data (8.5-8.7GB) which is currently being used in the Xbox360.
Blu-Ray Disc is only used in the PlayStation 3 (in the games industry), and is most commonly used to hold high-definition films. This does give an advantage to the graphics capabilities of PS3 games, allowing a huge 25GB of data to play with. However, most games are released and multi-platform, and rather than create graphics packages for each console, games developers tend to create one and allow the consoles graphics capabilities to power the visuals,meaning most games look very similar on each console. The exception is games created exclusively for the PS3, then you get graphics like this:
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| Uncharted 3, 2011 PlayStation 3 |
Research: Gaming - How has it evolved?
I remember to this day playing Super Mario Bros. on my NES when I was just a kid and how entrancing it was.
The NES only ran at 8-bit graphics, meaning most game characters were built from a small number of coloured blocks, which ended up just about resembling what they should look like.
I am going to use Super Mario Bros. as an anchor point for some of my investigation.
In Super Mario Bros. you play as Mario (or Luigi with two players) attempting to rescue the Princess Toadstool from Bowser. Enemies include Koopa Troopa's, which are essentially tortoises, and Goomba's, which are walking mushrooms. When 'killed', the Koopa's go back into their shells when jumped on, and the mushrooms are squished. Although the latter does sound horrific, there is little-to-no violence at all. When Mario is touched by one of these, he doesn't get hurt, a simple animation of him flies down the screen.
Mario games today are the same.
Take away the fact the image above is graphically superior (I will get onto that soon), and the fact Mario is huge (due to collecting a power-up) it is essentially the same. Koopa's and Goomba's present, the world looks the same, Mario looks the same, and the innocence is still there.
The NES only ran at 8-bit graphics, meaning most game characters were built from a small number of coloured blocks, which ended up just about resembling what they should look like.
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| Super Mario Bros. 1985 NES |
In Super Mario Bros. you play as Mario (or Luigi with two players) attempting to rescue the Princess Toadstool from Bowser. Enemies include Koopa Troopa's, which are essentially tortoises, and Goomba's, which are walking mushrooms. When 'killed', the Koopa's go back into their shells when jumped on, and the mushrooms are squished. Although the latter does sound horrific, there is little-to-no violence at all. When Mario is touched by one of these, he doesn't get hurt, a simple animation of him flies down the screen.
Mario games today are the same.
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| New Super Mario Bros. 2009 Wii |
Research: Gaming - What Interests Me
As a Gamer myself, I would say I know a fair amount about it. I have played video games for around 15 years, playing games all the way back from the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). I even had an old Atari console which played Pong!
But I do consider myself a little different from most gamers. Although I love playing games and getting stuck in, I do admire how they are made, and the audience reaction to them.
Games are just another escape into a different world. I don't mean this is a negative way, and in no way at all am I suggesting that gamers have bad lives or that sort of thing. Games allow us to escape reality and enter a new world, where you can be something you cant in real life. I could go on my Xbox 360 now and play the role of a soldier in a war on terror, or a dragon slayer in a medieval realm, or a race car driver. Anything is possible.
I am also interested in looking back at how games have developed and what we as a gaming audience expect from the latest video games.
I will start by looking at a bit of the history first.
But I do consider myself a little different from most gamers. Although I love playing games and getting stuck in, I do admire how they are made, and the audience reaction to them.
Games are just another escape into a different world. I don't mean this is a negative way, and in no way at all am I suggesting that gamers have bad lives or that sort of thing. Games allow us to escape reality and enter a new world, where you can be something you cant in real life. I could go on my Xbox 360 now and play the role of a soldier in a war on terror, or a dragon slayer in a medieval realm, or a race car driver. Anything is possible.
I am also interested in looking back at how games have developed and what we as a gaming audience expect from the latest video games.
I will start by looking at a bit of the history first.
Research: Music- 90's to Present Day
Although some great bands have come since the 80's, personally I don't think music has much to say anymore.
Probably the best band from the 90's was Nirvana (who actually began 1989). Nirvana was one of the biggest grunge metal bands to come from that particular scene, playing a mixture of slow and fast paced rhythms. Their popularity sprung from their truthful lyrics, reaching out to the underdogs and the insignificant people, troubles in school and modern life and the likes.
This has grown into a form of indie music which exists today, still ever-changing, but built on the same disciplines.
Pop music reigned over the 90's, throwing Dance and RNB at youth culture as it became more popular for the young generation to go to night clubs until the early hours.
It all began from advances in technology available to musicians. Music now is much more digitally manipulated than ever before. Even live albums are put through software on computers to remove sounds which make them artist sound too 'human'. The likes of the Suicide Demo's of Guns N' Roses, which is purely a recording of the band playing live, no editing involved, is not heard of anymore.
Due to the software being easily available online, there are new artists emerging all the time, and many are found online on sites such as YouTube. This could be a good thing. Take Journey for example, when they needed a new lead singer due to Steve Augeri suffering throat infection, they found footage of Arnel Pidena singing with his band The Zoo on YouTube, covering Journey songs, as well as other bands such as Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin. They got in contact and they are becoming as popular as they were in the golden ages again.
However, and this is a BIG however, positivity is not always the case. A lot of music that the youth of today listen to stems from the 'High School Musical' and 'Glee' genre of happy, colourful dance/vocal acts.
Rebecca Black. Yeah I know right, makes you sick doesn't it? She pops up online singing a ridiculously terrible song through AutoTune, and over night she is a star. Seriously? What happened the the years of playing gigs to empty rooms, the nights crashed out on a strangers couch because you couldn't afford a room, the rejection from record companies until one day your song is played on the radio because you blackmailed the radio show host and they all come throwing contracts at you?
There's no drama in music anymore. There's also little talent, and very limited skills in songwriting.
Take Justin Beiber for example. Fits the current musical situation perfectly. Lets do the checklist for what makes a superstar now: Do little girls find him attractive? Yes. Does he have ridiculous hair? Yes. Does he wear ridiculous clothes? Yes. Can he dance? Possibly. Can he sing? A little bit. Does that matter? Nope, he can just use music software!
Probably the best band from the 90's was Nirvana (who actually began 1989). Nirvana was one of the biggest grunge metal bands to come from that particular scene, playing a mixture of slow and fast paced rhythms. Their popularity sprung from their truthful lyrics, reaching out to the underdogs and the insignificant people, troubles in school and modern life and the likes.
This has grown into a form of indie music which exists today, still ever-changing, but built on the same disciplines.
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| Nirvana |
Pop music reigned over the 90's, throwing Dance and RNB at youth culture as it became more popular for the young generation to go to night clubs until the early hours.
It all began from advances in technology available to musicians. Music now is much more digitally manipulated than ever before. Even live albums are put through software on computers to remove sounds which make them artist sound too 'human'. The likes of the Suicide Demo's of Guns N' Roses, which is purely a recording of the band playing live, no editing involved, is not heard of anymore.
Due to the software being easily available online, there are new artists emerging all the time, and many are found online on sites such as YouTube. This could be a good thing. Take Journey for example, when they needed a new lead singer due to Steve Augeri suffering throat infection, they found footage of Arnel Pidena singing with his band The Zoo on YouTube, covering Journey songs, as well as other bands such as Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin. They got in contact and they are becoming as popular as they were in the golden ages again.
However, and this is a BIG however, positivity is not always the case. A lot of music that the youth of today listen to stems from the 'High School Musical' and 'Glee' genre of happy, colourful dance/vocal acts.
Rebecca Black. Yeah I know right, makes you sick doesn't it? She pops up online singing a ridiculously terrible song through AutoTune, and over night she is a star. Seriously? What happened the the years of playing gigs to empty rooms, the nights crashed out on a strangers couch because you couldn't afford a room, the rejection from record companies until one day your song is played on the radio because you blackmailed the radio show host and they all come throwing contracts at you?
There's no drama in music anymore. There's also little talent, and very limited skills in songwriting.
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| Justin Beiber. Unfortunately. |
One of his hit songs, 'Baby' (no, its not about himself), goes as follows:
'Baby, baby, baby, ooooh' Repeat x 4.
And who wrote that song? 5 artists! It took 5 artists to write that!
'Bohemian Rhapsody', a fantastic song performed by Queen.
"Is this the real life? Or is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality".
How many people wrote that? 1: Freddie Mercury, the singer.
'Stairway To Heaven', beautifully constructed song and lyrics.
"There's a feeling I get when I look to the west, and my spirit is crying for leaving. In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees, and the voices of those who stand looking."
How many wrote that? 2: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, the singer and guitarist.
Like I said, songwriting is only getting worse.
But why is that?
Our culture is changing with the technology available to us. We all own mobile phones, and the majority of us use a smartphone. We are starting the day checking our text messages, our emails, Facebook and the likes, and it is breeding us into a digitally reliant race.
LMFAO, a newly emerged duo have popped into the new music scene, and are becoming increasingly popular. The fact that 'LMFAO' is text abbreviation for 'laughing my f*****g ass off' proves that our digital culture is invading the music scene too (although in this case LMFAO stands for 'Loving my Friends and Others. Yeah, right....)
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| LMFAO |
The appearance of new musicians is changing with the culture also. There are no bands wearing make-up, leather and zebra skin tights anymore (other than the surviving acts of the 80's, keep on rocking!)
Most artists now brandish bright colours, colourful glasses and other gimmicks to grab attention. And nearly all of them, as I have already mentioned, use computers to create their music and/or manipulate it.
This begs a new question? What defines an instrument? Before keyboards and synthesisers, music was created from the physical act of making sounds with musical objects. If we can create these new techno beats on a computer, does that mean a computer is an instrument? How far can that go? What if i use the app on my iPad to mix music, does that mean my iPad is an instrument?
I'll leave it at that for now before I go on a rant about dub-step sounding like my old dial-up internet connection.
Research: Music - 80's
My favourite era of music!
The 80's grew from punk into new genres of pop and rock music.
Pop music saw the likes of Huey Lewis and the News and the reinvention of Michael Jackson, and Madonna. Although they did have a major impact on music in the 80's my interest lies in the Rock scene.
I could sit here all day and write lists of bands that emerged from the 80's which I listen to day in day out. Queen, Bon Jovi, Quiet Riot, Skid Row, Ratt, Twisted Sister, Whitesnake, Van Halen, Lynch Mob, really, I could go on for quite some time! But i'll look into some of my favourites.
First off, I really admire the bands which came from an evolution of Punk.
Possibly my favourite band of all time, Mötley Crüe, came to power in the LA Heavy Metal Glam scene. They began by taking on the famous Sunset Strip in LA, playing sell out shows at clubs such as The Whisky A-Go Go and The House of Blues before they were even signed to a record label. Living on a shoe string budget, they were all about living wild and partying hard.
As seen in the picture above, they took obvious influence from the punk scene. In Nikki Sixx's (bassist) autobiography, he describes how they based their image on his heros The New York Dolls (talked about in the previous post), and Mad Max. They, like the punk rock bands before them, were loud and aggressive, and are known for their troublesome antics, copious drug and alcohol abuse, getting sent to jail and womanising.
Although they are off drugs and alcohol abuse now, their live shows are still very much the rebellious Motley Crue which found them fame.
They enjoy theatrics and entertainment during their live shows, and have had strippers, dancers, circus performers, midgets, and much more on stage during their songs. In particular, many fans go to their huge live shows in anticipation to see Tommy Lee's drum solo. He tries his best each show to do something new and unique during his solo so you will never forget seeing it.
Tommy Lee has flew over the crowd on a hanging platform, flown to the ceiling, spun around, you name it he's probably done it during a drum solo. One of my favourites is the roller-coaster (which I have seen him do!), where he goes upside down, round and round on a loop track while playing his solo. Lately he has developed this further, and even gets a lucky audience member to sit in a seat behind him whilst he does it. Maniac! As a drummer myself, he is without a doubt one of the greatest drummers of all time.
The 80's grew from punk into new genres of pop and rock music.
Pop music saw the likes of Huey Lewis and the News and the reinvention of Michael Jackson, and Madonna. Although they did have a major impact on music in the 80's my interest lies in the Rock scene.
I could sit here all day and write lists of bands that emerged from the 80's which I listen to day in day out. Queen, Bon Jovi, Quiet Riot, Skid Row, Ratt, Twisted Sister, Whitesnake, Van Halen, Lynch Mob, really, I could go on for quite some time! But i'll look into some of my favourites.
First off, I really admire the bands which came from an evolution of Punk.
Possibly my favourite band of all time, Mötley Crüe, came to power in the LA Heavy Metal Glam scene. They began by taking on the famous Sunset Strip in LA, playing sell out shows at clubs such as The Whisky A-Go Go and The House of Blues before they were even signed to a record label. Living on a shoe string budget, they were all about living wild and partying hard.
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| Motley Crue |
Although they are off drugs and alcohol abuse now, their live shows are still very much the rebellious Motley Crue which found them fame.
They enjoy theatrics and entertainment during their live shows, and have had strippers, dancers, circus performers, midgets, and much more on stage during their songs. In particular, many fans go to their huge live shows in anticipation to see Tommy Lee's drum solo. He tries his best each show to do something new and unique during his solo so you will never forget seeing it.
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| Tommy Lee's Roller-coaster Solo |
To add to the bands rebellious and shocking image, Tommy Lee also regularly hooks up 'Tommy Lee's Titty Cam' to the big screen behind him and films the audience and eggs the females to....well...im sure you can guess. I won't post pictures, after all this is supposed to be a uni project!
Another of my all time favourite bands are Guns N' Roses.
From the same place as Motley Crue, they found fame on the Sunset Strip in LA. Most of the band are actually good friends with Motley Crue (other than Axl Rose, who Vince Neil publicly knocked out after a show together).
In their early years, Guns 'N' Roses were very much a punk band. Their first, self published, album consisting of a few of their demo songs is very gritty and loud. They were not signed to a label to publish their music, so they created their own label called Uzi Suicide. This first album was provocatively called 'Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide'.
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| Guns N' Roses |
After their initial success from their debut album 'Appetite for Destruction' which of their major hits comes from, they continued to take on the Rock scene with growing popularity.
They too had run-ins with the law, drugs, alcohol, women and the likes Motley Crue did. However, the original line-up (of which two actually existed) broke up when Axl Rose (vocalist) became too much to work with. The only album released since the departure of the rest of the band took Axl Rose 15 years to write, proving what a perfectionist he is. And after all that, it was terrible (in my personal opinion), and recieved mixed reviews. Compared with their debut album which gained 18xPlatinum certification, it managed only to squeeze a single platinum certificate, which is still note worthy, but was probably just from original die-hard fans buying the album and telling their friends not to buy it.
Research: Music - Punk
During the 70's, a rebellion against anti-authority began. Punk was born as an aggressive, anarchist no-holds-barred movement, defying anything which told them what to do. Punk does not conform to rules, or to establishment, and cannot be controlled.
In terms of music, bands emerged primarily throughout the USA and UK.
Punk Rock music rejected typical rules for songwriting. Why does there have to be a beginning, middle and end? Why does the singer have to be able to 'sing'? Why does rock and roll music have to contain lengthy solo's? Typically, Punk Rock songs are shorter than other genres, lasting around 2 minutes long. Most consist of gritty, three chord riffs played loudly or out of tune. Singers don't usually sing to a standard most would call acceptable. Punk bands were vulgar, outspoken, wild, and the young generation went crazy for them.
The Ramones were founded in the USA, were a punk rock band which actually related to the pop music they grew up listening to. They took on the pseudonyms, and all used the same surname 'Ramone'. One their first self titled album 'Ramones', their longest song lasted only two and a half minutes. They are gritty, fast paced and energetic.
Ramones drummer Tommy Ramone said 'In its initial form, a lot of [1960s] stuff was innovative and exciting. Unfortunately, what happens is that people who could not hold a candle to the likes of Hendrix started noodling away. Soon you had endless solos that went nowhere. By 1973, I knew that what was needed was some pure, stripped down, no bullshit rock 'n' roll.'
The New York Dolls came from the USA Punk scene. The original line-up, lasting only 5 years, only released 2 albums, but were enough to inspire many future rock stars in the glam scene with their outrageous attitude, make-up and unique appearance.
Arguably the biggest punk rock band to emerge was England's own Sex Pistols. Provocatively named, they were unchainable. They were loud, aggressive, threatening and hated authority, especially the government and the royal family.
Their slogan 'No Future' shouted at the government for their strict law which punk thought was too much like a dictatorship.
In terms of music, bands emerged primarily throughout the USA and UK.
Punk Rock music rejected typical rules for songwriting. Why does there have to be a beginning, middle and end? Why does the singer have to be able to 'sing'? Why does rock and roll music have to contain lengthy solo's? Typically, Punk Rock songs are shorter than other genres, lasting around 2 minutes long. Most consist of gritty, three chord riffs played loudly or out of tune. Singers don't usually sing to a standard most would call acceptable. Punk bands were vulgar, outspoken, wild, and the young generation went crazy for them.
The Ramones were founded in the USA, were a punk rock band which actually related to the pop music they grew up listening to. They took on the pseudonyms, and all used the same surname 'Ramone'. One their first self titled album 'Ramones', their longest song lasted only two and a half minutes. They are gritty, fast paced and energetic.
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| The Ramones |
Ramones drummer Tommy Ramone said 'In its initial form, a lot of [1960s] stuff was innovative and exciting. Unfortunately, what happens is that people who could not hold a candle to the likes of Hendrix started noodling away. Soon you had endless solos that went nowhere. By 1973, I knew that what was needed was some pure, stripped down, no bullshit rock 'n' roll.'
The New York Dolls came from the USA Punk scene. The original line-up, lasting only 5 years, only released 2 albums, but were enough to inspire many future rock stars in the glam scene with their outrageous attitude, make-up and unique appearance.
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| The New York Dolls |
The original popular line-up only lasted 3 years, and only released 3 albums, one of which was their early demo recordings, the other a live set with other artists.
Some of the Sex Pistols iconic antics are aimed at the royal family. As a publicity stunt, they performed their song 'Anarchy in the UK' on a boat called Queen Elizabeth on the river Themes as it sailed past the houses of parliament. They were arrested when the boat docked.
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| Sex Pistols |
One the cover for their single 'God Save The Queen', artist Jamie Reid disfigured the iconic image of the queens coronation to create a cultural uproar.
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| God Save The Queen |
Research: Music - 60's
The 60's saw the origin of many new musicians, some similar, some quite different.
Known as the swinging 60's due to culture becoming more relaxed on matters such as racism and sexism, music related to what was happening. People were experimenting with new things such as drugs and sexuality.
Psychedelic rock was a new brand of music becoming increasingly popular, and was a reflection of mind-altering drugs such as LSD.
A huge number of musicians and bands grew to popular success during this time.
One of my favourite musicians to gain popularity was Jimi Hendrix, considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
Many of his songs referenced drugs or drug use. Purple Haze is considered one of these, however Hendrix did deny this allegation, claiming it to be a love song.
Jimi Hendrix headlined Woodstock in 1969, an iconic music festival which described itself as 'three days of peace and music. Although the festival was built to hold 150,000 to 200,000 people, 500,000 turned up, as the line-up had very attractive musicians set to play such as Credence Clearwater Revival, the Who and Santana.
The 60's was also the start of the careers of the likes of Ritchie Blackmore, an English guitarist who is most well known for his part in Deep Purple and Rainbow. Eric Clapton also joined psychedelic rock group Cream and helped drive them to popular success.
The Beatles also emerged in the early 60's, following a theme of psychedelic rock, mixed with pop music.
From Liverpool, England, they became popular as a four piece band with their debut album 'Please Please Me', which rose to number 1 in most music charts.
Many of their songs had references to love, sex and drugs similar to other current bands. Songs such as 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' aroused speculation as the letters spelled LSD, although John Lennon also denied these accusations. Despite this, it is widely believed it is a song about a trip on hallucinogenic drugs.
Known as the swinging 60's due to culture becoming more relaxed on matters such as racism and sexism, music related to what was happening. People were experimenting with new things such as drugs and sexuality.
Psychedelic rock was a new brand of music becoming increasingly popular, and was a reflection of mind-altering drugs such as LSD.
A huge number of musicians and bands grew to popular success during this time.
One of my favourite musicians to gain popularity was Jimi Hendrix, considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
Many of his songs referenced drugs or drug use. Purple Haze is considered one of these, however Hendrix did deny this allegation, claiming it to be a love song.
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| Jimi Hendrix |
The 60's was also the start of the careers of the likes of Ritchie Blackmore, an English guitarist who is most well known for his part in Deep Purple and Rainbow. Eric Clapton also joined psychedelic rock group Cream and helped drive them to popular success.
The Beatles also emerged in the early 60's, following a theme of psychedelic rock, mixed with pop music.
From Liverpool, England, they became popular as a four piece band with their debut album 'Please Please Me', which rose to number 1 in most music charts.
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| The Beatles |
'Beatlemania' took over popular culture, and in their 10 year reign, they released 12 core albums, as well as 15 international versions.
Research: Music - Rock and Roll
As people became tired of the repetitive sounds of Jazz, blues and Big band, music needed to evolve into something fresh and upbeat.
Enter new genre Rock and Roll.
The biggest name of Rock and Roll was Elvis Presley.
Elvis wasn't the first rock and roll singer, but was certainly the most successful, being branded 'The King of Rock and Roll'.
Teamed with Sam Phillips from Sun Records, he wanted to bring the sounds of african american music to a much wider audience, something which jazz and big band had not. Adding a more upbeat tempo and pop-related lyrics, he took the world by storm, starting in America.
Elvis was known for his energetic performances and appearance, particularly his costumes and hair.
It was this energy which found him success and popularised rock and roll.
Enter new genre Rock and Roll.
The biggest name of Rock and Roll was Elvis Presley.
Elvis wasn't the first rock and roll singer, but was certainly the most successful, being branded 'The King of Rock and Roll'.
Teamed with Sam Phillips from Sun Records, he wanted to bring the sounds of african american music to a much wider audience, something which jazz and big band had not. Adding a more upbeat tempo and pop-related lyrics, he took the world by storm, starting in America.
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| Elvis Presley in one of his iconic costumes |
It was this energy which found him success and popularised rock and roll.
Research: Music - Jazz
To begin my research on music, I started looking at its history. Where did it come from? How old is it? What defines music?
The oldest form of noted music was found carved on clay tablets dated from around 1400BC, but instruments have been discovered from as early as the prehistoric age. A flute made from a cave bear femur was discovered, and it thought to be around 40,000 years old. See, even the cavemen partied after sundown!
However, I am not necessarily interested in the oldest instruments found. I am particularly interested in the evolution of music through the 20th century to present day.
The first genre of music which I looked at was the 1920's Jazz.
Jazz was born from the Ragtime music of the early 1900's consisting of 'ragged' riffs. It pulls together aspects of blues, pop, and swing, and relies heavily on repeat patterns mixed with improvisation.
By the 1920, Prohibition in the United States led to the 'Jazz Age', where Jazz became popular genre to host show tunes, novelty and dance songs. Jazz musicians would play in clubs to liven the atmosphere and to get the audience dancing due to the strict no-alcohol laws. Despite this, the economy at the time was at an all time high, as soldiers returning from World War 1 had their pay packets to spend, and many wanted to cut loose. This made a lot of the older generation frown upon Jazz, as it was promoting the 'new decadent values of the Roaring 20's'.
The 1930's saw jazz develop into Big Band, throwing in a whole concerto of musicians together, saxophone, trumpet, bass, drummers, singers, all put together to create huge brass bands of around 10-25 members.
The oldest form of noted music was found carved on clay tablets dated from around 1400BC, but instruments have been discovered from as early as the prehistoric age. A flute made from a cave bear femur was discovered, and it thought to be around 40,000 years old. See, even the cavemen partied after sundown!
However, I am not necessarily interested in the oldest instruments found. I am particularly interested in the evolution of music through the 20th century to present day.
The first genre of music which I looked at was the 1920's Jazz.
Jazz was born from the Ragtime music of the early 1900's consisting of 'ragged' riffs. It pulls together aspects of blues, pop, and swing, and relies heavily on repeat patterns mixed with improvisation.
By the 1920, Prohibition in the United States led to the 'Jazz Age', where Jazz became popular genre to host show tunes, novelty and dance songs. Jazz musicians would play in clubs to liven the atmosphere and to get the audience dancing due to the strict no-alcohol laws. Despite this, the economy at the time was at an all time high, as soldiers returning from World War 1 had their pay packets to spend, and many wanted to cut loose. This made a lot of the older generation frown upon Jazz, as it was promoting the 'new decadent values of the Roaring 20's'.
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| Louis Armstrong - singer/trumpeter |
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| Dolphy Boys Big Band |
However, tastes in music change with each new generation, and by the 1940's people were starting to like new genres.
Why am I interested in these things?
I have written my 100 words about my three subjects: Music, Gaming, and Film. This should give an understanding of what I find interesting about them, and why I would like to research them further.
My next step is to begin some research on these subjects, look into their history, and how they are changing. The posts from here may jump around from subject to subject, but i'll try to keep it nice and organised!
Music
Music is a pure form of expression. It is easy to get lost
in the beats of your favourite artists as they play our emotions.
I am interested in the way music follows cultural and social
changes. In the 70’s we had the Punk movement, and band such as the Sex Pistols
and the New York Dolls reigned. The 80’s saw birth to a new breed of musician
from the Rock and Metal scene, sprouting the likes of Motley Crue and Guns ‘n’
Roses. Since then, other genres of music have arisen, succeeded, and been
topped by something new. Music is ever changing, but there will always be
golden moments that will never be forgotten.
Gaming
Games are a gateway into an alternate reality where the
player can be someone or do something they can’t in reality. We can be soldiers
fighting wars on terrorism, or a knight fighting dragons in medieval forts.
What is most important about gaming is it allows us to forget about reality for
the duration of the time spent playing, relax and relieve stress.
As a motion student, I admire how much effort goes into
creating video games. Not only is there the design process, but the ‘what if’
situations which could arise as the game is played.
Film
I am interested in the way technology is allowing the film
industry to progress to the point where they can make us believe anything is
real. Films such as Transformers place huge high detailed robots into a real
world setting, fooling us for those two hours that this could be real.
On the flip side, an in-depth story can allow us to relate
to the characters on screen, creating an emotional bond with them. We feel the
same emotions that the character does, and start to see ourselves in the story.
Filmmaking is about getting the audience to
believe what they see is real.
My next step is to begin some research on these subjects, look into their history, and how they are changing. The posts from here may jump around from subject to subject, but i'll try to keep it nice and organised!
My List of Interests
I have created my list of things which interest me. These words had be something that genuinely interests us, not just something which we like. I couldn't add KFC because I like their delicious finger licking chicken, I would have to be interested in the brand (which I'm not, that was just an example).
So heres my list, created to be visually interesting, so you can see my order of importance:
The next step is to write 100 words on my top three subjects to give an understanding of what I find interesting about them.
So heres my list, created to be visually interesting, so you can see my order of importance:
Preparation for Level 6
First, this blog will be arranged in what might seem a very rushed manner. Thats because it is. I originally created this blog a few weeks back on tumblr, but it appears to have deleted itself due to corrupt data. Thanks Tumblr!
So I have to re-post everything here. I don't know why i didn't use blogger anyway, its much better :)
Anyway, this blog poses as my research pages for one of my final projects this year, Preparation for Level 6. This project is aimed at getting us ready for the workload next year (yay more work!), in particular, the dissertation (yessss, I love writing thousands of word essays!)
Although the future may seem bleak, this project could be pretty interesting.
We are first to write a list of things that interest us.
(bear in mind, like i've said, i've already done this, and I am much further already, just play along)
This list also needs to be visually interesting.
From this list we take our top 3 words and write a short 100 word text about them. This will give us a basis to begin research on these subjects.
Once we have done our research, we must give two presentations in the style of Pecha-Kucha. This is a style of presentation where we are not in control of the slideshow. We set up 20 slides/pictures which play for 20 seconds each then move to next, meaning a good structured script will be in order to keep up with the screen. In total, the presentations will last 6m40s each.
Our first presentation is based on our research into our three words, and our second is how this will direct our dissertation choices next year.
It does sound pretty intense, but I am looking forward to doing some research on subjects I am interested in. So lets begin!
So I have to re-post everything here. I don't know why i didn't use blogger anyway, its much better :)
Anyway, this blog poses as my research pages for one of my final projects this year, Preparation for Level 6. This project is aimed at getting us ready for the workload next year (yay more work!), in particular, the dissertation (yessss, I love writing thousands of word essays!)
Although the future may seem bleak, this project could be pretty interesting.
We are first to write a list of things that interest us.
(bear in mind, like i've said, i've already done this, and I am much further already, just play along)
This list also needs to be visually interesting.
From this list we take our top 3 words and write a short 100 word text about them. This will give us a basis to begin research on these subjects.
Once we have done our research, we must give two presentations in the style of Pecha-Kucha. This is a style of presentation where we are not in control of the slideshow. We set up 20 slides/pictures which play for 20 seconds each then move to next, meaning a good structured script will be in order to keep up with the screen. In total, the presentations will last 6m40s each.
Our first presentation is based on our research into our three words, and our second is how this will direct our dissertation choices next year.
It does sound pretty intense, but I am looking forward to doing some research on subjects I am interested in. So lets begin!
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