Wednesday, December 3, 2008

2nd Autobiography Object

First there were record players. Then came tape cassettes and compact disc players. None of these things hardly exist anymore among teenagers. Technology has advanced so much that thousands of songs, pictures, and even videos can be stored in a credit card sized object. These unbelieveable advances of technology are called the Ipods, made by Apple.

The type of Ipod that I received for Christmas is a fifth generation, Ipod video. It features a 2.5 inch color screen that can vividly display photographs and even videos. It has 80 gigabytes storage, enough to store up to 20,000. songs. The ipod is a shiny metallic color in the front, with a shiny mirror-like metal on the black that reflects. There is a spinning wheel or dial on the front that allows me to scroll through all my various songs very quickly. The most fascinating feature about this ipod is the width of the actual device. It is crazy how thin it is, small enough to easily fit into my pocket. The Ipod video is approximately .5 inches in width. It is amazing how such an object so small can contain so much information and capacity.

Without my Ipod, I would not be the same person. It is like another part of me. I take my ipod wherever I go, whether just walking to class or during a workout. It's such a versatile object and can be taken anywhere. The Ipod is very convenient to have, for I am able to enjoy myself and my love for music through the Ipod. Bringing out my passion for music in a very easy and convenient way, the Ipod is a very successful advancement in technology.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

1st Autobiography Object

Anyone who has ever had the privilege of competing in the sport of football knows the significance of the helmet. Serving as a saftey feature and requirment in the sport of football, its meaning to previous players is indescribable. Any athlete that has had the opportunity to play football has a lot of pride in the helmet they wore. Ultimately, it the most important piece of equipment and protects the most important part of the body, your brain. By enabling safety, the helmet allows the athlete to compete at their highest level and use their their abilities.

As a child growing up, playing sports, especially football, has also been a passion and a huge part of my life. Strapping up fragile plastic helemets as a kid with the rest of my friends allowed us to imagine ourselves as superstars and our favorite athletes. The helmets gave us hope for our future high school days of football and wanting to play on the varsity field. Having the helmet as a child allowed me to appreciate the sport of football and enjoy the sport for the right reasons.

Once my my high school football days came, my appreciation for the football helmet grew even more. Now my football helemet was sturdy, powerful, and durable. It was a strong helmet that glistened with paint. The helmet gave me the opportunity to represent my school with the paw print logo on the side. Furthermore, it gave me the privilege of representing my community and all the people in my hometown. Everytime I put on the helemet, it was like a second identity. I was not the same person once I had the chinstraps buckled. Comparable to a warrior going out to battle with armor, the helmet gave me a mission and a goal I had to strive to achieve. Playing in those football games with created memories and friends I will have for the rest of my life. Looking back at my high school days and as a child, the helmet always reminds me of the pride and passion I have for football.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Music Video - Rhetorical Response


Throughout the music video "Can't Believe It" by the artist T-Pain, there is a variety of rhetorical strategies used. The most obvious use of persuasion of appeals is through the use of pathos. His lyrics begin by using narration to tell the story of how is he involved with a girl and how he is attracted to her. The affection or attraction between sexes is a use of pathos because it appeals to the emotions. In the video, T-Pain and Lil Wayne are dancing with girls and showing a connection with them throughout the video. As a viewer, you are more receptive to the message and actions of the singer because it puts the audience in an emotional state. Today, sex is a very exploited subject and it often used as a method of persuasion. As you can see in the video, the women are not wearing much clothing at all, a use of pathos once again, because it is noticed by the audience and impacts their feelings.
Furthermore, the use of pathos are used in the video by what T-Pain is "offering" in his lyrics. Directed toward women, he is saying he can put them in a log cabin, or buy them a mansion. Additionally, he mentions being on the front page of a magazine and driving in expensive cars. These are shown throughout the video because these are all materials that are highly praised in society today. They are material objects that apply to emotions because people have strong feelings toward them. They make seek or desire these materials for they may think they may receive happiness from these objects. In a sense, this is a cause and effect strategy used by T-Pain in his video, for if these women choose to engage with T-Pain, he can reward them or give them these desires. Through the use of rhetorial appeals, pathos are highly used in the music video to put the audience in a particular state of emotion to become more receptive so the singer's message.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Music Video - Reflection


T-pain's music video "Can't Believe It" is a very unique video in my opinion. It is different from a lot of other music video because it has such complex editing skills. The video kept me very entertained the very first time I saw it because I was intrigued and interested what the next scene was gonna be. It was very fast paced which was interesting because the song is fairly slow. Each scene was very short and I felt the transitioning was the very best part about the music video. I thought it was very impressive how each image was zoomed in on and altered into a different kind of image. The contrasting of colors was very effective because since everything was mostly black and white, certain images or objects were really highlighted and brought out. I think the style of the video also fits the style of the song very well. T-Pain's music is definetely music that is meant to be enjoyed. His music never talks about any problems or issues in the world. His music is always meant to be danced to and be fun. The video is very entertaining and enjoyable which is very important because it relates well to the song. I also liked the video a lot because I thought it was really funny how they were dancing with puppets at the end and dressed as clowns. There were a lot of random events in this video but I chose it because I felt it was very entertaining and unique.

Music Video - Observation


This music video is called "Can't Believe It" by the artist T-Pain featuring Lil Wayne. The video contains a very large amount of computer editing all throughout the movie and lots of different scenes. There is a variety of animations and editing skills within this music video. The music video begins with T-Pain in black and white colors, and a "mini-version" of himself appears in his hand. The screen then transitions very quicky and zooms in on the "mini-version" of T-Pain and he is much larger. A girl is in the background with a pink silhoutte around her which the camera then zooms in on and focuses on her. The outside of the screen is shaded in black and everything is black and white. A small picture frames appears in the background, which is then zoomed in on again very quickly. There is a pattern of objects appearing in the screen randomly and then focused on. The picture frame is focused in on and a a log cabin in a snowy area. The cabin appears to be animated but T-Pain and the girl are very realistic and human-like images. The camera seems to be rotating and times and never staying still and constantly moving. In this cabin scene, the colors are very distinct and bright. Then cabin is then porportionally down-sized and placed in a "snow-globe" and placed once again on the black screen. Through this whole music video there are very fast transitions which relate back to the lyrics. There is a definite pattern in images appearing and focusing on the images that randomly appear.