Self Storage

A collection of things that have resonated with me and have made me think.  It is here they are stored.

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Forget | Pogo

Pogo Bandcamp: https://pogomix.bandcamp.com/ Contact: http://pogomix.net/contact/ SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/pogomix Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nic...

Though he’s been making music for years, I recently discovered Pogo via a mutual friend.  He’s become one of my favorite artists.

His music tends to focus on prioritizing visual and syllabic rhythm rather than on the context of the snippets of words or sentences used.  This is not limited to words either.  He does the same with short runs of sound effects or blips of melody from any particular medium he choses to include, which are usually old films or disney movies, sometimes video games. His way of showing his work may be jarring, as he puts rhythm almost completely ahead of visual.   However, because he finds a way to cleverly include melodic runs from familiar movies and repeats those patterns it eases that feeling over time. If you like his work, check out his other stuff.  Also he has a new album coming out.  Check it out here at his youtube channel.  Buy it on Bandcamp or Redbubble if you want to support him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJSoZa2aTrE Much <3 for this first song on it, Sky Heart.

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By chance I heard Cameo Lover playing in the background of a different youtube video, which lead me to Kimbra's music video.  Previously, I had never heard of this artist.

In terms of editing, the coverage is pretty simple and standard.  It's not flashy and it doesn't need or want to be.  And it's used to support the two things that ARE emphasized.

1. Kimbra's confident, powerful, positive, encouraging persona and...

2. The progressively building narrative that all the elements point to and that connect Kimbra to the man in the desk (all 5 represent the 1 man).  On that note, even the focused, non-cluttered draw to Kimbra's persona is, in a way, an element that points to the narrative.  (if you are curious about this, compare this to another of her music videos in which edits don't emphasis a focused person to person relationship nor any narrative but instead feels cluttered with no strong point, not that there's anything wrong with that).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0yi8D15r7o

Push-ins and pull outs reflect the emotion of the music, shot-reverse shots reactions show relationship and in some cases, hoping, waiting, and wanting.  Shot sizes effectively draw us in to personas and bring us out along with the ebbs and flow of the music.  And while people may say that it is mainly the music that controls the ebb and flow, you never realize how effective the edits can be until you view something mismatched for no purpose.

Another note about the video's progressive narrative, while some may find it to be a bit on the nose and cheesy, I tend to enjoy obvious HINTS towards messages as opposed to obvious messages themselves.

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The significance of plot without conflict

In the West, plot is commonly thought to revolve around conflict: a confrontation between two or more elements, in which one ultimately dominates the other. The standard three- and five-act plot...

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Very interesting, especially when it gets to the part about what the frontal lobe is used for.

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MBTI Basics

Great explanation of the individual pieces of the MBTI Personality type.

1. What world do you live in?

2. How do you prefer to gather your information?

3. How do you prefer to make your decisions?

4. Which type of closure do you prefer for those decisions (structure)?

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Going a step further.  This piece is interesting because of the various layers of mediums being used.  It's a remix of a "lets play" play-through based on a melodic sound blurb from the video game, Wind Waker.

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This guy, Tom Jackson, aka liltommyj, does remixes of N64 games using their own sound clips.  And he's got a really keen sense of rhythm in everything he makes.

This one is from Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

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Created by Shadowplay Studio

It's rhythmically interesting.  It guides your eyes via a combination of movement and shape.  It has variety of scenery.  And it is full of maps, or the concept of a map, which naturally hold complexities, details, and an informative, whole perspective on what you're looking at.

And it's punchy.  From the manufactured borders, to how it's cut right on rhythm, to the brass blurting and snare.

I like all these things.

What's more, these things ease the viewer into the character of George Clooney, who shares a similarity with this punchiness.  He's confident, doesn't mess around, precise, and also has complexity etc.  Watch the first 6 minutes of this film.  This intro serves it's purpose by setting up this particular tone and feel.

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It's adorable and old-timey.  

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More open space.  More ellipsis and foci.

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Open space.  Ellipsis, Geometric focal points, secondary discoveries.

The eye is drawn into and takes in the obvious before noticing and comparing the secondary.  It happens in an instant but the order in which it happen contributes to the meaning of the piece.

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I remember feeling a clear sense of consequence when I got this.  Not of individual actions such as incorrect battle decision but one of larger trying and failing.

Chrono Trigger is unique in that it allows you to play the ending of the game before the ending is complete.  And in failing, it does not remind you that your "game" is "over" but rather that the world you have experienced, weather you want it to or not, persists.

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I don't normally enjoy anime but the constant zooming in in this title sequence was really interesting to me.  Always moving closer and deeper and further into a new context that has no end, but yet is so much fun you don't really want it to end. The show itself is pretty funny as it depicts normal life's oddities in an off kilter and humorous way.

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I like how the the overlapping footage creates new associations, such as the highway over Woody Harrelson's face looking like a skeletal jaw. There are a few things that happen during the show that are subtly hinted at by some of these associations.

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