When we speak about the author's voice, it's more apparent in this genre than that of films or movies. Their voice becomes more obvious and distinct and is far easier to tell apart. The artistic style in Asterious helps the reader understand how each of the characters think or how they interpret the world, allowing us to better understand them. For example, Asterious is shown in a more bland and rather box-like nature (increasing so when he is arguing with Hana), while Hana is shown with more color and more free forms. The way these characters are drawn allows us to know how they feel without them needing to constantly pour exposition to the viewer, the opposite of a book (written) where the narrator has to tell you what they are feeling.
Similar to a director of a film that performs certain cinema tricks, an author's artistic style with a graphic novel is the same. For example, what we see in Asterious stylistically is much different from something like a superhero graphic novel. A graphic novel artist's style is much more obvious than other media, and it can even clue in the viewer for what the author typically writes about. If the style is more fine and detailed, they probably prefer more serious and action oriented content, but if it's done in a more cute style, they may enjoy the more humous sections of it. In short, the author's art style can support not only the character's voices, but the author's voice as well with only a few words.
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Monday, March 20, 2017
Dead Man, Mystery Train, and Down by Law
The most striking similarity between the films that immediately caught my attention was that they all featured main protagonists that have had or are having trouble with the law. In Dead Man, our lead character is falsely accused of killing and a price is placed on his head by the head of the factory. In Mystery Train, mainly in the third story, Johnny ends up robbing a place and to lay low from the police for the night, he and some others, hide out at a hotel and by morning are fleeing from cops who aren't looking for them. In Down by Law, two of our main characters are set up for a crime they didn't commit, and are sent to prison.
All three films also focus more on the characters interactions between each other, rather than what should be the prior issue. William in Dead Man focuses more on his interactions with Nobody, Zack and Jack in Done by Law, and Johnny and Charlie in Mystery Train. Each film also seemed to skip over information in order to give more time to the development of characters, with events sometimes feeling shoehorned in. The overall direction of the films seems unclear, with no concrete plot in place. Each also features traveling in some way, whether it be William fleeing with his head or Zack and Jack escaping from prison. Women tended to fall in love almost instantly and aren't given a lot of screen time.
The Auteur Theory ~ Akira Kurosawa
Kurosawa's films, or at least those I have watched this past week, display certain similarities that make them stand out. All three of the films I watched (Yojimbo, Throne of Blood, and The Hidden Fortress), take place in the feudal Japan era, featured a sword-wielding expert, and dealt with manipulation.
Taking place in Japan seems simple enough to understand. The director seems to focus on the feudal era, which suggests that he is fascinated with that era. It's likely he may use or reference subjects and ideas from that time period in his work, although I cannot say for certain as I do not know his every work. In addition to the era, each film featured a highly regarded sword master. While all three are different, they are undoubtably the most interesting character featured, and usually given the most screen time (the exception would be "The Hidden Fortress," where the Princess is another interesting character, and the others hold up their ends as well).
All three films also dealt with the subject of manipulation. In Throne of Blood, Washizu ends up being manipulated by his wife into believing everything in the prophecy and to try and cheat fate, which becomes his undoing. In Yojimbo, Sanjuro tries to manipulate two quarreling sides of a town in order to rise the tension and goad one of them into hiring him. This doesn't go quite as plan, as he gets caught performing an act of aggression to one side. While he gets put in a sticky situation, his situation didn't end up as grim as Washizu. In The Hidden Fortress, Makabe manipulates two peasants into smuggling his princess across borders without their knowledge. In all three films, greed is the central catalyst for the manipulation in each one.
So what I understood so far on Kurosawa's style is that greed is not a virtuous ideal, and those that get enticed by it will eventually have it come back in full force. This is shown in Throne of Blood when Washizu finally dies after the prophecy comes to fulfillment, in Yojimbo when Sanjuro gets captured after he slips up when he kills Ushitora's men, and in The Hidden Fortress when the peasants constantly try to abandon the group and take the gold for themselves. Of course these are only my thoughts on his work that I have seen. It is quite possible that his other films may not even have any of these commonalties, and I just happened to choose the only three similar films. Either way, I enjoyed watching these films and seeing these similarities presented.
Taking place in Japan seems simple enough to understand. The director seems to focus on the feudal era, which suggests that he is fascinated with that era. It's likely he may use or reference subjects and ideas from that time period in his work, although I cannot say for certain as I do not know his every work. In addition to the era, each film featured a highly regarded sword master. While all three are different, they are undoubtably the most interesting character featured, and usually given the most screen time (the exception would be "The Hidden Fortress," where the Princess is another interesting character, and the others hold up their ends as well).
All three films also dealt with the subject of manipulation. In Throne of Blood, Washizu ends up being manipulated by his wife into believing everything in the prophecy and to try and cheat fate, which becomes his undoing. In Yojimbo, Sanjuro tries to manipulate two quarreling sides of a town in order to rise the tension and goad one of them into hiring him. This doesn't go quite as plan, as he gets caught performing an act of aggression to one side. While he gets put in a sticky situation, his situation didn't end up as grim as Washizu. In The Hidden Fortress, Makabe manipulates two peasants into smuggling his princess across borders without their knowledge. In all three films, greed is the central catalyst for the manipulation in each one.
So what I understood so far on Kurosawa's style is that greed is not a virtuous ideal, and those that get enticed by it will eventually have it come back in full force. This is shown in Throne of Blood when Washizu finally dies after the prophecy comes to fulfillment, in Yojimbo when Sanjuro gets captured after he slips up when he kills Ushitora's men, and in The Hidden Fortress when the peasants constantly try to abandon the group and take the gold for themselves. Of course these are only my thoughts on his work that I have seen. It is quite possible that his other films may not even have any of these commonalties, and I just happened to choose the only three similar films. Either way, I enjoyed watching these films and seeing these similarities presented.
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Set Design Thoughts ~ Ringu
If I were to look at this screenplay through the eyes of a set designer, I would give the objects that appear in all caps more presence in the scenes they are portrayed in. Above all else, these must be the things most viewers should be able to identify in the scenes. Such as in the beginning of the screenplay when Tomoko hears a noise from living room, the script mentions the light given off from the TV, therefore the lighting would be built in a way that enhances the TV's presence on screen over the other objects in the room. The same goes for objects the actors interact with. They need to be distinguishable from the environment in which they are placed, but at the same time they need to look like they belong there.
As for the lighting of the screenplay, I would avoid bright and warm colors as I would want the viewer to remain somewhat on guard. This story is anything but happy, and it's important that the viewers would remember that. The lighting of a film can determine the mood of it, having bright a warms colors makes it more friendly and safe. While having darker and more grim colors increases the sinisterness too it. I would use a more evened out desaturated lighting, but I would make sure I'm not making the scene to dark either. The lighting I would use would give of a more ominous feeling.
Essentially, I would design the sets in the same way I would make an environment for Game Art. I would make sure the objects of note are easily discernible, and construct the lighting to make the viewer feel the way I want. I don't know too much about making films, so I would probably approach like I was making a game environment.
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Hitting Budapest ~ Worldbuilding
What are the precise strategies that are used by its creator to convey the world to us and us to the world?
Rather than giving us bland visual descriptions of everything in the story, the author uses the characters and their interactions to convey information about the world. This allows the reader to visually perceive the world where the characters dwell without needing to much description. There is also a good use of contrast at play, where a standard neighborhood from our perspective seems to be on a much grander scale from our characters. When the author does use physical description, it is never plainly stated out what the object is at times. Such as when the tall, thin lady was eating the food the characters wanted. It's never stated what that is, but it leaves it up to the reader's imagination (I for one thought of poptarts). The author describes this as a mystical food, and this also reveals more about the world and how that area is more high class and fantastical than the world our characters grew up, which is completely left to the reader's imagination. The author also plays with the contrast between their world and the reader's world, and they make use of this contrast to make the world seem more surreal, which allows the reader to have a more imaginative view of the world, which also makes the world seem more connected to the reader.
Rather than giving us bland visual descriptions of everything in the story, the author uses the characters and their interactions to convey information about the world. This allows the reader to visually perceive the world where the characters dwell without needing to much description. There is also a good use of contrast at play, where a standard neighborhood from our perspective seems to be on a much grander scale from our characters. When the author does use physical description, it is never plainly stated out what the object is at times. Such as when the tall, thin lady was eating the food the characters wanted. It's never stated what that is, but it leaves it up to the reader's imagination (I for one thought of poptarts). The author describes this as a mystical food, and this also reveals more about the world and how that area is more high class and fantastical than the world our characters grew up, which is completely left to the reader's imagination. The author also plays with the contrast between their world and the reader's world, and they make use of this contrast to make the world seem more surreal, which allows the reader to have a more imaginative view of the world, which also makes the world seem more connected to the reader.
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Story of an Hour ~ Relationships
How are relationships between men and women (or characters assuming male/female roles) portrayed in the story?
In the Story of an Hour, we see how the author interprets the roles of men and women in the world, or more particularly, in marriage. The story deals with a wife receiving the news that her husband had died. At first she grieved for the loss, but after a while she came to the realization that she was free. This tells us what the author thought about a woman's role in marriage. How she is not free with a husband, and that the husband in some way controls the wife. You get the feeling that she did love him, but at times it feels like it suggested that she was conditioned to feel that way. Such as when they mentioned that the wife tried to beat down the "horrific" thoughts of freedom. As if it suggested that she was conditioned to feel love for her husband or that she should never act independently from him. In that sense, the husband from this point of view is a jailer, while the wife is the prisoner. When the wife accepts these thoughts of freedom, she begins to wish life would go on, as opposed to when her husband was alive and she feared a long life. In this way the author is stating that a woman is tied down by her husband, and thus is not "free." This reveals the stance the author has on their views of marriage. The irony was that her husband wasn't dead, but the wife ended up dying in a sort of retribution for having these thoughts, which suggests that women shouldn't think like that.
I find this story interesting because it shows up how much has changed since this story was created. I am not discounting that some marriages may feel like prisons, but woman have certainly gained a lot more ground than previously, especially in cases of divorce settlement and child custody. Many of the strides made are from our more recent decades, and it reflects how much is changing in the world today. More people are supportive of woman's right than ever before, especially since the past few hundred years. A scenario like this in today's society would favor the woman in a more sympathetic light than the people of the past would have. The relationships between men and women have vastly improved since then, and will probably continue to improve in the future.
In the Story of an Hour, we see how the author interprets the roles of men and women in the world, or more particularly, in marriage. The story deals with a wife receiving the news that her husband had died. At first she grieved for the loss, but after a while she came to the realization that she was free. This tells us what the author thought about a woman's role in marriage. How she is not free with a husband, and that the husband in some way controls the wife. You get the feeling that she did love him, but at times it feels like it suggested that she was conditioned to feel that way. Such as when they mentioned that the wife tried to beat down the "horrific" thoughts of freedom. As if it suggested that she was conditioned to feel love for her husband or that she should never act independently from him. In that sense, the husband from this point of view is a jailer, while the wife is the prisoner. When the wife accepts these thoughts of freedom, she begins to wish life would go on, as opposed to when her husband was alive and she feared a long life. In this way the author is stating that a woman is tied down by her husband, and thus is not "free." This reveals the stance the author has on their views of marriage. The irony was that her husband wasn't dead, but the wife ended up dying in a sort of retribution for having these thoughts, which suggests that women shouldn't think like that.
I find this story interesting because it shows up how much has changed since this story was created. I am not discounting that some marriages may feel like prisons, but woman have certainly gained a lot more ground than previously, especially in cases of divorce settlement and child custody. Many of the strides made are from our more recent decades, and it reflects how much is changing in the world today. More people are supportive of woman's right than ever before, especially since the past few hundred years. A scenario like this in today's society would favor the woman in a more sympathetic light than the people of the past would have. The relationships between men and women have vastly improved since then, and will probably continue to improve in the future.
Sunday, February 12, 2017
My Female Heroine
As someone who wishes to create video games for a living, I believe in equally representing characters in said games. So for this week, I'll discuss a female heroine that I first began developing since my time in high school, and a character that is still being developed. Her name is Marelda.
Since her creation, I've always envisioned Marelda as a strong character, cast as the central protagonist and the would-be playable character. Marelda acts a bit tougher than most people she knows, she wears this facade to ease the people around her and make them feel secure, even when she could be struggling to keep it together. That being said, she is not internally fragile and is cable of making tougher decisions for the good of everyone. Even if she is prepared to make those decisions, she takes every precaution she can think of to prevent those choices from happening. She desires the strength to protect everyone and does physical training everyday to ensure her body doesn't fail her in her time of need.
The key concept in her character is that a woman can also be strong, not just physically, but emotionally as well. She appears as one of the strongest women in her world, and can make tougher decisions if she needs to. There are times when she will be emotionally challenged and she'll have to overcome those challenges in order to do what's right. When she first received her power, she was disinterested and wanted nothing to do with it, believing that she wasn't worthy of such power. It wasn't until the loss of her parents that she decided to master this power in order to ensure that nobody else would need to experience a loss like that. Even if the goal was inconceivable, it spurred her into action to reduce the despair in the world. However, because she was afraid of losing others (namely her little brother), she cut herself of emotionally from them and it would take time for her to finally open up again.
In her world, Marelda possesses the ability to use a regna, a weapon I've designed for the world, named Harbinger. This regna allows Marelda to manifest weapons that reflect her soul, and the more diverse the soul, the more variety that regna can manifest. Marelda's weapons in particular take more larger heavier shapes, representing her resilience and inner strength. Marelda isn't the only one who possesses this power, however her power is so great that she limits its flow of power in order to preserve balance in the world. The reserved power is held back by twin markers on both of her shoulders, and she only releases the seals during more riskier situations. The flow of power is also influenced by her emotions, where more agitated emotions can cause her weapon's forms to fail (like anger or sorrow). It isn't until later that she discovers that more positive emotions can strengthen her weapons.
If I were to choose what attributes I think women of today could learn and look up to, it would definitely be that one's determination at something can help and benefit those they care about. Women should be able to be strong in the face of adversity, whether it is a physical threat of an emotional one. I feel that woman can be the protagonist of their story without sexually exploiting them, and they can have their own drives and motivations for why they fight. I would like Marelda's more positive aspects to shine, but at the same time I want to show her changing over the course of the story, where she has to open up to people and to overcome her challenges to be the hero she wants to be. There will be times where she will be wrong, but that's fine, after all she is human. I would like that to pass on as well, where you don't need to be perfect, you can make mistakes and learn from them to move forward.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my heroine, and hopefully one can see her in a video game one day leading the charge. Til next time.
Since her creation, I've always envisioned Marelda as a strong character, cast as the central protagonist and the would-be playable character. Marelda acts a bit tougher than most people she knows, she wears this facade to ease the people around her and make them feel secure, even when she could be struggling to keep it together. That being said, she is not internally fragile and is cable of making tougher decisions for the good of everyone. Even if she is prepared to make those decisions, she takes every precaution she can think of to prevent those choices from happening. She desires the strength to protect everyone and does physical training everyday to ensure her body doesn't fail her in her time of need.
The key concept in her character is that a woman can also be strong, not just physically, but emotionally as well. She appears as one of the strongest women in her world, and can make tougher decisions if she needs to. There are times when she will be emotionally challenged and she'll have to overcome those challenges in order to do what's right. When she first received her power, she was disinterested and wanted nothing to do with it, believing that she wasn't worthy of such power. It wasn't until the loss of her parents that she decided to master this power in order to ensure that nobody else would need to experience a loss like that. Even if the goal was inconceivable, it spurred her into action to reduce the despair in the world. However, because she was afraid of losing others (namely her little brother), she cut herself of emotionally from them and it would take time for her to finally open up again.
In her world, Marelda possesses the ability to use a regna, a weapon I've designed for the world, named Harbinger. This regna allows Marelda to manifest weapons that reflect her soul, and the more diverse the soul, the more variety that regna can manifest. Marelda's weapons in particular take more larger heavier shapes, representing her resilience and inner strength. Marelda isn't the only one who possesses this power, however her power is so great that she limits its flow of power in order to preserve balance in the world. The reserved power is held back by twin markers on both of her shoulders, and she only releases the seals during more riskier situations. The flow of power is also influenced by her emotions, where more agitated emotions can cause her weapon's forms to fail (like anger or sorrow). It isn't until later that she discovers that more positive emotions can strengthen her weapons.
If I were to choose what attributes I think women of today could learn and look up to, it would definitely be that one's determination at something can help and benefit those they care about. Women should be able to be strong in the face of adversity, whether it is a physical threat of an emotional one. I feel that woman can be the protagonist of their story without sexually exploiting them, and they can have their own drives and motivations for why they fight. I would like Marelda's more positive aspects to shine, but at the same time I want to show her changing over the course of the story, where she has to open up to people and to overcome her challenges to be the hero she wants to be. There will be times where she will be wrong, but that's fine, after all she is human. I would like that to pass on as well, where you don't need to be perfect, you can make mistakes and learn from them to move forward.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my heroine, and hopefully one can see her in a video game one day leading the charge. Til next time.
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