A Conversation about (The) Conversations

On the front of the book The Conversations, a joint project of Walter Murch and Michael Ondaatje, There is a quote from the Los Angeles Times Book Preview that reads (for those of you who haven't picked it up yet) "Should be required reading for anyone working in film." My first thought was "Well if you call a two-minute video working in film..."

However after cracking the sucker open I've realize that The Conversations is comprised of a heck of a lot more than the simple art of film. Murch and Ondaatje delve into the creative techniques of not only what makes a good movie, but what makes a good editor, a good actor, a good scene etc. 

The interesting style of the manner in which the information was presented to the reader was what struck me first. Reading an interview, especially when conducted for the purpose of seeking the creative intelligence behind a finished product, is not only insightful but enlightening. I have never seen a single one of Murch's movies but I now have a strong desire to watch, if only to see if I can catch all these seemingly minute details he keeps discussing. 

As I continued to read, I began to have a new found appreciation for the art of film. I enjoy movies as much as the next girl, but I never stopped to contemplate the endless steps that must be taken to create a two-hour piece of entertainment, and how this could become someone else's true passion. Murch puts his passion into words so eloquently when he says "You're the person doing it, yet the feeling is that you're not the origin of it, that somehow "it" is happening around you, that you are being used by this thing to help bring it into the world." 

Finally, I found the comparison Murch made between reading a book and watching a movie to be interesting and somewhat confusing. I've always preferred reading a book to watching a movie because reading leaves much more up to the imagination; essentially none of your senses are being used other than your sight to read the words off of the page. You must then form your own images, sound, etc. On the contrary, Murch advocates for having all of your senses utilized at once while watching a movie. I am now unsure about which I prefer. 

Regardless I have been brought over to the dark side of religious movie-watchers or have been enlightened to my true calling in the art of film, I found The Conversations to be thought-provoking and relevant to our class.

"Putting a film together is, in an ideal sense, the orchestrating of all those patterns, just like different musical themes are orchestrated in a symphony. Its pretty mysterious." - Walter Murch

Am I Usable?

Needless to say, I pimped my blog out a little bit before taking this usability test to see how "user friendly" Steve Krug thinks my blog is to websters. That's not cheating, right?

The first category of the test is titled Use of Media. After much thoughtful consideration, I give myself a B+. I've used as much multi-media as possible in my handful of posts. I have not "trackbacked" to any other sites or blogs yet because I do not believe I have quoted any, but other than that I'm in pretty good shape. For future blogs my goal is to try to incorporate more videos and pictures for your viewing pleasure.

The second category is Scan-ability. I definitely bestow upon myself an A for this category. I will continue to separate paragraphs/ideas so my blog is easily scanned...although I do expect my readers to read the entire entry, ehem.

The third and final category is Design. This is the area I feel needs the most work throughout my blog. Right now I'd have to give myself a mediocre C+ (the plus was generous). My overall design is a bit generic, but I am working on it. The same goes for my colors and fonts; I don't find them overwhelming or uncomplimentary, they just aren't all that exciting. One upside of my blog is that I am not "noisy." Simplicity works for me. I am however, longwinded. My apologies Mr. Krug, I will try to eliminate (minimize) my use of unnecessary words, although I do thoroughly enjoy them. My site navigation is reliable (there is little navigation necessary) and I consider my blog titles to be at least engaging if not ingenious. As far as my "about section" goes, I have major work to do. When I first began "blogging" I had no idea which direction I would be taking, not now that I have a better sense of how I will be presenting my information to cyber space I will be re-vamping my "About Me." 

I can't tell you what the average of a B+, A and C+ is (B maybe?), but I can tell you that I am definitely still an amateur blogger...amateur going on Webby Award winner that is.

"There's always room for improvement, you know - its the biggest room in the house." - Louise Heath Leber

Awards That Are Webby

Better late than never, especially for some thoughts on the internet's "webbiest" sites.

The Webby Awards are a concept I was unfamiliar with until last week's class, but the concept makes perfect sense. We have awards for TV, movies, books and all other forms of entertainment, so why not the dub dub dub? It would be interesting to see a broadcast on these awards though...imagine all of the creators emerging from behind their computer screens and making an acceptance speech. 

While the SAAB test drive website held my interest, I decided to search the Webby's for a topic that interested me. I checked out a few categories but I think the one worth mentioning is the People's Voice Webby Award under the category of humor...failblog.org. It not only qualifies as one of the funniest websites I've ever laid my critical eyes upon, but it is also one of the newest blogs I will be adding to my list. I cannot believe I didn't find it in my search for blogs (maybe because it is completely devoted to people's mistakes? I'm laughing with you, not at you. I swear.)! Regardless, failblog.org is quite literally devoted to the failures of the world which, come on people, are some of the time none other than laughable. 

Exhibit A. 

The hilarity of the fail blog is only one small reason of why the people chose it to win a coveted Webby award. It involves multi-media blogs that appeal to all the senses, and it is user friendly to even the most amateur website goer. The only aspect of this website I did not like were the endless ads that monopolized the top and right side of the page, but those are a small price to pay for endless entertainment.

"We live on the leash of our senses" - Diane Ackerman

TED is the Man

Was I the only person who had never heard of these TED talks before? They are so incredibly interesting!

After being delighted by the TED Talk of Sir Ken Robertson (who shares not only my opinions about creativity but also my last name) I was left feeling uplifted and even inspired. I thoroughly enjoyed Sir Ken's British humor, especially the joke about a man in the forrest. More importantly though, I respected his opinons on the presence, or lack thereof, creativity in school systems today. His story about the dancer responsible for the musical CATS was delightful and so relevant. "I must dance to think." Although I did enjoy his talk, I believe that there must be a balance of both creative exercise AND structure to properly nurture a young student.

Elizabeth Gilbert's TED Talk was similarly enlightening and somewhat deeper than Sir Ken's in my view. As an aspiring writer, her ideas struck a chord with my tentative creative genius not to mention my fear of failure. I thought that her idea of our creativity being separate from our person was interesting and thought-provoking. If the two are indeed separate, we can mold and change our creativity as well as our creations without the lasting affects on our minds and sometimes spirits. I feel for Gilbert. To be 40 and to have already created your life's work must be daunting, but she seems to be handling it very well. You go girl.

During the talks I was also reminded of my grandmother, whom I will refer to as my "Nonna" which is the Italian word for grandmother and the name my sister and I have called her for all of our lives. My Nonna helped to raise my sister and I and before I could even hold a pencil this woman was nurturing our creativity. I believe she is largely responsible for my writing "talent" in addition to my ability to step outside of the box in almost every endeavor I encounter. So here's a shout out to you Non, thanks for everything!


"Creative thinking may ,mean simply the realization that there's no particular virtue in doing things the way they have always been done" - Rudolph Flesch

The Follower is Becoming the Followed

Let me preface this by saying that in my search for blogs, I am looking for entertainment, I'm not a mindless idiot.

Even though I was never a blogger myself until now, there is one blog that I constantly read and I mean constantly. Perezhilton.com might be one of my most guiltiest pleasures and a side of me that not many people have any knowledge of whatsoever, purposely. It is a blog started by a celebrity-watcher extraordinaire known as Perez Hilton. Every day there are posts about the personal lives of the celebrities whom we all know and love (to hate). I am actually pleasantly surprised that this blog, which is usually a waste of time and a useful procrastination tool, will finally be of use to me since I will be reading it for a class. 

Another site that I visit sometimes when I need a good laugh is icanhascheezeburger.com. I had no idea that this site was considered a blog, but according to technorati.com's top 100 blogs, it is, and a good one at that. How a site of strictly cat pictures with silly words became so popular is a mystery to me, but kudos, people. I don't even like cats but the captions are absolutely hilarious. 

My boyfriend sent this to me from icanhascheezeburger.com...he's exaggerating.

Although I did warn you about my silly blog following habits, I feel like I should be open to new blogs, which is why I will commit to one "serious" blog that actually benefits my intelligence and knowledge about what is going on in the world. Unfortunately I cannot subscribe to one specific political/news blog, although I do sometimes follow cnn.com (is that considered a blog?)  so I chose lifehacker.com. I like it because, as far as I can tell, the posts are about EVERYTHING. It does not focus on one specific topic although it has been heralded for tips about how to save money during the recession (what college student doesn't need those?). I'm excited to broaden my blog horizons and will continue to search for new blogs that I find interesting.

"Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic" - Anonymous

A Whole New World

Both of the videos we watched in class last week scared me. Although I frequently enjoy the convenience of the "dub dub dub," the ever-evolving technology of the internet is a force that I do not wish to reckon with nor suffer the consequences. 

Both Epic 2015 and The Future of Communications revealed prophecies that I do not want to be fulfilled. The thought of a completely virtual world where people will never have to step out of their homes is not only terrifying, its disappointing. I prefer actually living my life to mastering it via remote control thank you very much. While it is true that newspapers and other forms of communication have become "paperless," which is better for the environment, I do not want Google to be able to calculate my exact location on the planet. Privacy has already become a fleeting notion of the past, so I cannot imagine the implications of the technologies to which both videos allude. The thought of one company essentially controlling our economy is also not the most comforting idea. 

After managing to move past the inaudible narration of "The Future of Communication" and the eerie style of Epic 2015, I came to the conclusion that Epic 2015 was more believable. The videos predictions about the major companies of this technological era competing and being eventually bought out seemed correct, I wonder what the effects of such a merge would be. Also, the idea that everyone would eventually be contributing to the internet and being paid for it seemed like a great plan to me, especially since we're all doing that already.

No one knows for sure...see you in 2015 (possibly as an avatar?)

"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is an absurd one." - Voltaire

Here Goes Nothin'

I'm personally not a fan of blogging, but as a result of my "learning test" I've discovered that I am a transitional learner who is open to anything, which means I should be open to blogging, right? 

I've also decided that this means my audience should be open as well. Whomever is interested, feel free to read.