Representation post

 

Representation Post

For this post our teacher made us post a blog about our favorite shows, etc. Im going to be talking about my favorite show The Walking Dead, and my two favorite characters Michonne and Daryl.

Daryl Dixon, portrayed by Norman Reedus, stands out as a fascinating example of non-traditional masculinity. Early on in the series, Daryl is introduced as a rough-edged, volatile character, heavily influenced by his abusive brother, Merle. Daryl initially embodies a stereotype of toxic masculinity: emotionally distant, solitary, and prone to violence. However, as the series progresses, we witness his transformation into a protective and emotionally complex leader. He builds close bonds with the group, especially with Carol and Rick, showing a softer side that contrasts his tough exterior.

Daryl's arc illustrates the complexity of masculinity in crisis. Rather than relying solely on physical toughness, he becomes a nurturer and a protector, revealing how vulnerability and care can coexist with traditional survivalist strength. His evolution challenges the simplistic "lone wolf" archetype often portrayed in post-apocalyptic fiction.

Multimedia Integration: Below is an image of Daryl in a rare moment of tenderness, illustrating his softer side as he cradles Judith, symbolizing his growing emotional openness:

Michonne, portrayed by Danai Gurira, represents a revolutionary take on the female warrior archetype. From the moment she enters the series, wielding her katana and accompanied by two armless, jawless walkers, Michonne is a visual embodiment of both strength and autonomy. However, what makes her character more than a mere action figure is her layered personality and backstory. Michonne's strength is not limited to her combat prowess; she is also a mother, a lover, and a leader who grapples with profound personal loss and trauma.

Michonne’s journey redefines what it means to be a strong woman in a world that constantly challenges her morality and humanity. Her relationship with Rick shows a balanced partnership where she is not merely the sidekick but an equal, both in terms of leadership and emotional depth. In a landscape where strong female characters are often written as overly stoic or one-dimensional, Michonne’s vulnerability and love for her adopted family provide a refreshing and nuanced portrayal of femininity in the face of devastation.

Multimedia Integration: Here’s a short clip of Michonne’s iconic first appearance on the show, showcasing her fierce independence and unique visual identity:

Click here to watch Michonne's entrance

Both Daryl and Michonne, as well as other characters like Rick and Carol, serve as vehicles through which The Walking Dead explores larger themes of identity and community. The series consistently challenges its characters—and by extension, its audience—to redefine notions of family, leadership, and moral responsibility in a world without traditional societal structures. Daryl and Michonne’s development, from isolated survivors to integral members of a chosen family, highlights the series’ emphasis on collective survival and emotional interdependence as key to navigating a post-apocalyptic world.

In conclusion, The Walking Dead provides a compelling commentary on the fluidity of identity and the complexities of human relationships during times of extreme crisis. The evolution of characters like Daryl and Michonne shows that survival is not just about physical strength but about adaptability, compassion, and the ability to forge new bonds. The show’s diverse representations push beyond simple archetypes, offering a rich tapestry of human experience in the face of existential threats.

Sound Usage

 Hey there everyone, it's Vicente again

For today's post I wanted to share what we recently learned in class these few lessons. This one was a pretty cool lesson I wont lie, we learned about how sound is used in videos and movies. Specially the adding of special sound effects in movies, which is called "Foley". Its the process of adding sounds to a scene after its recorded, for a better explanation think of a scene of a movie where they are riding horses, the sounds you hear are not from the actual shot. They are sent to foley artists, people that specialize on sound creation, what they basically do is use props to add into the scenes, so the footsteps or running of the horses is actually made with metal objects hitting dirt or grass. It's a pretty cool but long process, as you need to record these sounds perfectly and also edit them to fit the scenes correctly. It's amazing how much of these movies need to go through foley studios to be able to be produced, and the way that they make them so accurately is truly a beautiful form of art.

So our teacher in class decided for our next project to be just about Foley. Which we had just learned about, and so we had to team up with a random partner, and create a video with only sounds. We first had to create a story board with all the little sounds and scenes of our story and we had to include every type of sounds, SPECIALLY environmental sounds if we did an outdoor scene, as those are important overall to add ambience to the scene.

For this project me and my partner felt to do something that included a bunch of sounds but that was calming. It might have been a bit boring but we decided that somewhere outdoors in the rain would be a perfect match as we could include a bunch of environmental sounds to it. We used our outline to guide the way our sounds were used so that we could properly lay them over each other and make them sound that they were happening at the same time, so that you could make out what was going on during the audio. As well for this project I used Premier Pro, as I previously mentioned I'm already familiar with so I just knew how to use it.

I think I used a pretty good sets of sounds that came together to form a pretty good audio, I think the way I also balanced the sounds for my part is something that made it much more satisfying to listen to it. As some environmental sounds needed to be louder and others lower so that you could hear whats going on nonetheless while having sounds in the background. I think I might need to manage the time of the sounds or the time in general to be able to fit more sounds, as I did go off a bit offscript from some of the sounds in my outline.

If you are interested in hearing my project here it is!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dVLubs4EprEvO3bNgi87IGk6KTeKEtPJ/view?usp=drive_link

One Word Film

 Hey there Blog! It's Vicente again

I wanted to share a bit about what I recently finished for my class. It was a video project named "One Word Film" a little overview about this project, is basically our teacher made us pair up with anyone in class. I choose my friend David since I already knew him and he's pretty fun to work with. Anyway the project consisted of our teacher assigning us a "word" out of her list, with this word we had to make a silent video project that had to reflect or be the theme of the word we had, it had to include a variety of shots and angles to make it a really good project. But one important factor was we couldn't use any sound in the project, only music if we wanted to.

Firstly, we had to brainstorm, we had the word "serious" and honestly we were a bit lost on what to do for it since it's kind of a complicated word to use for a video. But we came up with the idea of having this guy getting ready for a interview, and he's pretty serious through the film barely showing any other sign than determination for this interview.

We also had to create a story board, we weren't that good creating it since it was a bit hard to describe but it really helped us set up our shots and everything else to put in order. It was basically the whole canvas for our project.

Also I've had some past experience with editing due to a CBTV class I took freshman year so it wasn't so hard, and I went with the program I know the most about, which is Adobe Premier Pro. Which was pretty easy to use and it didn't take too long to get used to again and finish my project.

I think we took some good shots overall, I really liked the outcome of the project and how it turned out. Maybe it might be a bit too boring due to no music that I added because I couldn't find anything that would suit it's "serious" theme as it is quite hard to find music as such. I think I could have improved some of the shots and the camera movements as it might seem a bit too stiff at times, and maybe could of made the story clearer. 

Thank you for reading my new blog post! If you want the link to see my project I'll leave it here for anyone to read if they want, hope you guys like it!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1INwFoB7cViaenHUOypXzFE_YZzLt3LgN

Camera Angle Quiz Overview

This assignment in particular was pretty interesting. Our teacher had us doing a 15 picture project where we had to use various different types of shots that we had learned from class.

I felt inspired to do a certain little short story. I saw a lego piece that was chained into a backpack and felt that I could make a short inspiring story of a inanimate object come into life and explore the world around it. 

Honestly I feel very proud with the work of my classmate and mine. I feel that the shots we took really encaptivated the meaning of the story, and it helped create a sense of human feelings and notion unto an inanimate object like a lego. I got inspired from those no-motion movies or videos that some people would make, along with the lego movie that made me want to do a theme like this one. I think that of all the work I did, my favorite shot by far was the long shot where the lego man is standing far away from the camera, it gives a sense of enlightenment as the lego man realizes that there is more to the world than he realizes. We used a bunch of different shots that I believe really captivated the conscious feeling of an inanimate object coming to life. I think that maybe we had used our time better, as we did it almost last minute in class we could of possibly got better shots/angles for the story, and perhaps plan out the story in a more intricate way. But either way I'm proud of how the story came to be and how it turned out.

PPT of Quiz

First Time Post

 Hey everyone, this is my first time using Blogger. Im excited to see what I can do here and the things it offers, I created one for the sole purpose for the work that I have to do in one of my classes. 

A little about me, my name is Vicente, I'm from Santiago, Chile and I grew there for about 10 years before coming to the US. I love music and enjoy all types, and I really like going out and just doing stuff with friends or my family. For me new experiences are something unique and that I really appreciate.

I hope that using Blogger for my work will be fun.

Thanks!