I think that we had made various changes in this performance from the runthrough last week. First of all, we incorporated slapstick, which the children arguably found the most humorous out of everything in our performance. In addition, we modified our introduction so that we could first introduce ourselves individually, which solidified both of our characters.

How was the audience and how did you interact with them?

I was pleasantly surprised about how enthusiastic the children were, and reacted to every one of our actions, whether it be a laugh or something that they said. However, they did try to ‘trick’ the antagonist in each routine, and in this case, I was somewhat of the antagonist in the routine. In the case that they did try to ‘trick’ me, I simply asked a classmate of mine, and they would usually direct me to where Noonoo (Masaki) was.

Name one thing that was AWESOME/LAME in this experience?

AWESOME – The audience actually laughed! I never considered myself to be a funny person, but I found out that it is possible to make a large amount of people laugh.

LAME – Honestly, the paint that we had to draw on our cheeks stunk badly.

In order to determine the success of my mashup, I made a list of attributes that embodies a successful mashup in my design specification. At the end of the ‘Create’ stage, I would have to review this list and decide how well these ten attributes described my product, and then ask five friends to do the same for me. Since the majority of you do not have access to my design folder, I have listed ten questions that allow us to determine the success of our mashup below, and have answered them in full honesty:

1. Does it include a substantial portion of the original piece(s) of work?

   Answer: Somewhat, but a lot of the content is simply repeated, so in actuality, I only included roughly thirty seconds to a minute of each song.

2. Does it alter the visual/musical elements of the original piece(s) of work?

   Answer: Yes, I modified the musical elements of the original pieces of work by either only using parts of their songs, or mixing them with other songs to create a different overall vibe and tempo.

3. Does it entertain a variety of viewers?

   Answer: Yes, all five of the friends that I had asked told me that they had found it entertaining. In addition, the group that I had interviewed represented a total of four nationalities, and both males and females.

4. In the case of an audio mashup, are the songs possess a similar BPM?

   Answer: No, the songs do not possess a similar BPM, but I found that it sounded good even though I skipped this step, which would have been too time-consuming and troubling anyway.

5. Is the length of the mashup appropriate?

   Answer: Yes, the mashup is around the average length of all four songs.

6. Does it affect the market of the original piece(s) of work?

   Answer: I do not think that this mashup will have a dramatic effect on the market of the original pieces of work, as all four songs have attained a high level of fame already, and because I have most likely not imprinted a bad impression of any of the songs, and do not think that I left the viewer completely speechless either.

7. Does it alter the meaning of the original product(s)?

   Answer: It minimally alters the meaning of the original products. However, all four songs were meant to be motivational to the listener, so besides the new combination of lyrics from the four songs, the meaning does not change much.

8. Does it show that I have been creative in the production of this mashup?

   Answer: Yes, I think that my mashup shows that I have been creative in the production of this mashup, because I have incorporated four different songs, and have combined them in a way that amuses a variety of viewers.

9. Has it been created for educational purposes?

   Answer: Yes, it has been created for educational purposes, but I would’ve definitely considered creating a mashup in my free time.

10. Is it a mashup or a remix?

    Answer: It is a mashup, because it incorporates the musical elements of not one, but four different songs.

To my relief, all five of my friends responded along the lines of my answers. In addition, I also planned to post a link to my mashup on a popular DJ Forum, and ask for their professional feedback. However, I could not upload my mashup to YouTube due to copyright violations, which eventually led to me uploading my work to my blog. I did not feel comfortable about random strangers on a DJ forum being able to access my school blog, so after further contemplation, I decided not to do it.

In terms of the impact that my mashup will have, I think it will be fairly minimal if you put the size of the music industry into perspective. I do acknowledge that my mashup is far from spectacular or professional, but do think that it is impressive for a first-timer. In addition, I have not marketed my mashup in any way, so it would be difficult for viewers to look for my mashup even if they knew it existed. I do not think that anyone would respond badly to this mashup, so a negative effect on the market of these four songs would almost be impossible. If the majority of the viewers believe that this is indeed a decent mashup, they may purchase the songs, in which case, the artists, and anyone associated with the artists would be affected. Even if they choose not to purchase the songs, I could be indirectly marketing their products by leading them to the music video on YouTube, which would increase the views of the video, and appear on the homepage.

I believe that there are several ways in which my product could have been improved. First of all, I wish I would have researched on how to separate the vocals and instrumentals in a song, because I later was told that it was possible to perform this task on Audacity. I think that this could have allowed me to integrate each song into each other, rather than mainly transitioning into different songs. Second, I should have attempted more ways to creatively transition between songs. Third, I believe that my mashup would have been significantly better if I had chosen four songs of different genres, to create a unusual vibe that will amaze the viewer.

Lastly, I believe that I was able to utilize each section of the Design Cycle to my greatest advantage, and I would not have been able to create a successful mashup if I hadn’t completed each section with optimum quality in mind. In the ‘Investigate’ section, I was able to learn about whether or not copyright cultivates or hinders creativity, what makes a successful mashup, and see various examples of these attributes implemented in successful mashups that I had seen or heard before. Without this stage of the Design Cycle, I would have minimal fundamental knowledge and skills would help later on, as the entire project is mostly based on these foundations. In the ‘Design’ portion of the unit, I created three minor mashups, and determined their positive and negative aspects, by comparing them to the Design Specification that I had made in the previous section. In the ‘Plan’ stage, I created an incredibly detailed plan that outlined the number of steps that it took to complete the mashup, a description in each step, the resources needed, and the time I would need to allocate in order to finish the mashup. I believe that this allowed me to have a clear idea of what exactly I wanted my finished product to look like, and the chances of failure were guaranteed to be dramatically reduced if I followed the plan accordingly. In the ‘Create’ section of this unit, I was able to apply newly acquired knowledge and skills to create an audio mashup on GarageBand, that combined the musical elements of four popular songs.

In Tech class, I created a musical mashup that consist of the following four songs:

Amazing – Kanye West

Wings – Macklemore

Till I Collapse – Eminem

Don’t Let Me Fall

Please click the link below to access and listen to my motivational mashup:

Don’t Let My Amazing Wings Collapse

Enjoy!

Believe me, I am no expert when the subject of girls come up. However, I do believe that some, not all girls tend to follow up on trends, and try to prove themselves to be cute, which is apparent in the photos that are posted. An example of this is the typical ‘duck face’. I do not have any clue of who created this trend, however, making the face of a ‘waterbird with a broad blunt bill’ is definitely not the definition of, ‘cute’. I do, though, respect their decisions and would not like any of those who do post these kind of pictures to be offended, as I should not be ‘judging’ first of all. It is also necessary to note that I have not once in my life, have seen a single girl’s profile picture without any compliments on them. I find that it is nice when girls compliment each other, but when they go over the top and possibly even talk trash behind their back, it is highly debatable to whether or not anyone is being truthful.

2. Are there certain ideas, or social messages, that influence the kinds of photos that guys typically post? How might these attitudes affect the kinds of photo comments guys post amongst themselves?

Not really. If there was a statistic for this, I would post it. Unfortunately, there isn’t. I estimate that approximately two to four in ten males that have a Facebook account do not go on it regularly, which basically means infers that they do not prioritize their virtual online identity in any way. I do believe that a girl has higher expectations from society to look good on Facebook, but I personally think that it shows inner strength to deviate from their so-called social standards, because they really don’t matter when it comes down to it.

3. Are people aware of their online images? Do they try to make themeslves look certain ways? Why or why not?

4. Do we have different expectations for how girls and guys should look or act online? If so, where do we learn these attitudes? If not, why not?

5. How aware are you of how you comment on other people’s photos? Do you think this differs for guys and girls?

And remember: Think before you post, before you comment, before it’s too late..!

8A Drama: Persuasive Speeches from YIS Arts on Vimeo.

I believe that the persuasive speech that I had delivered regarding the flaws of modern day grading systems, was significantly better in terms of delivery.

Despite the similarities in volume, I personally think that the persuasive speech, rather than the impromptu speech, sounded less shaky, which resulted in a slightly more confident, and impactful speech. In addition, I managed to vary my pitch, not only in circumstances where inflection was required, but also in order to emphasize specific points within the speech, and simply not to bore the audience, as I know that for some (not for me), grading systems are the least of their worries. It is, however, obvious and expected that I would not have any occasions that I would stop to think about the words I would blurt out next, as in the previous speech, and I believe that the success that I had attained in this aspect contributed largely to the success of the entire speech, as it forced the audience to listen, because it signified that I possessed a thorough understanding of my topic. I was also able to emphasize specific points by speaking louder, slower, and with more power on certain words or phrases, which enhanced the quality of my speech. I incorporated several dramatic pauses, mostly following large, conceptual questions, in order to capture the viewer’s attention, and encourage them to ponder about the questions asked. I also utilized inflection in the case where I would ask the audience a rhetorical question, and I think that this had help captivate the audience.

I believe that the physical aspects that were present in my speech could have definitely been improved upon. The cause, however, to all of this, originated in the type of note cards that I had chose to utilize the week prior to the speech. As a matter of fact, the only stack of note cards that I had, to be honest, were incredibly miniscule in size. Due to this inconvenience, I was forced to shuffle in between cards, at literally every twenty seconds. As a result, I would have to refer to my note cards to check whether or not the note card that I would be on, is relevant to the material that I would be speaking about at the very moment. Therefore, I was not able to maintain an excellent, confident posture, which would undoubtedly be an aspect of my speech that I would like to improve on. In addition, facing toward the audience more have resulted in a better speech overall.

I strongly believe that the structure of the information presented enhanced the quality of my speech, as it showed absolutely no signs of irrelevance to my topic. I ‘hooked’ and interacted with the audience to introduce my topic, and presented information that could be supported by pure logic and reasoning to the audience. I believe that the ways in which I had attempted to persuade the audience had worked, especially because it was a topic that was somewhat relevant to their everyday lives. I assured myself that my speech possessed a unique beginning, middle, and end, in the speech plan that I had written prior to the summative task.

8A Drama: Persuasive Speeches from YIS Arts on Vimeo.

Masaki delivered a speech regarding the proposed prevention of tax increase in Japan, and the negative results that it would produce for this country. Overall, I believe that his speech was fairly successful in a variety of aspects. The information he presented was not only supported by logic and reasoning, but also statistics from other nations in similar situations. In addition, he was able to ignore any mistakes or errors that he made throughout his speech, and continue as if nothing had occurred. In addition, his passion in resolving this problem was evident in the volume, emphasis, and pauses that he utilized throughout his speech.

‘Johnny B Goode’ by Chuck Berry – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ofD9t_sULM

‘Let It Be’ by The Beatles - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajCYQL8ouqw

The Beatles were an extremely popular band which was formed in Liverpool, England, in the 1960′s decade. Though the group was initially based on 50′s rock and roll, however, they began experimenting with different genres, with psychedelic rock and  pop ballads, while still retaining the classical elements that were present in their earlier times. Not only were they arguably the best group of musicians of their time, they were also fashion icons as well, popularizing the ‘mop top’ hairstyle.

On the other hand, Chuck Berry is best known for his contributions as a premier pioneer of rock and roll music, and was credited for setting rock and roll music apart from other genres. In addition, he also based many of his song lyrics off of teen life, as he developed an great interest in music in his high school years in St. Louis, Missouri.

Despite the countless aspects in which these two musical pieces differ from each other, the five different qualities that we will focus on, are the following: instruments, tempo, story of lyrics, musical elements, and form. Provided below, is a back-to-back comparison of the different instruments used in the original versions of the respective songs:

‘Johnny B Goode’

Chuck Berry – Main vocals, guitar.

Lafayette Leake – Piano.

Willie Dixon – Bass.

Fred Below – Drums.

‘Let It Be’

Paul McCartney – Main vocals, piano.

John Lennon – Six-string bass.

George Harrison – Lead guitar, backing vocal.

Ringo Starr – Drums.

It is interesting to note that although the instruments that are used do not vary much between the two songs, ‘Johnny B Goode’ and ‘Let It Be’ do not sound similar in any way. We can conclude that both bands had utilized five different instruments, but perhaps a few uncredited artists had contributed to these tracks as well.

In addition, another attribute of a musical piece that sets these two songs apart, is tempo. While ‘Johnny B Goode’ aims to add enthusiasm to the crowd, ‘Let It Be’ discusses the problems that we face in life, and a spiritual way in which we can approach solving these problems. Naturally, ‘Johnny B Goode’ possesses a fast tempo, while ‘Let It Be’ has a slower, slightly more melodic tempo.

The variation of these two songs in terms of meaning also sets these two piece apart greatly. While Chuck Berry makes autographical references to his childhood (about a colored country boy who wants to escape the country to attract fame), ‘Let It Be’ refers to a dream that Paul McCartney had about his mother, who passed away due to cancer, where his mother had told me, ‘It will be alright, just let it be.’

It would also be necessary to note the difference in the hooks/choruses of the two songs. It is definitely of no doubt that both songs possess hooks, but it seems that ‘Let it Be’ incorporates the three main words of the song, ‘let it be’, in the verses a little more than ‘Johnny B Goode’. I believe that this adds to the emphasis that is put on the meaning of ‘Let it Be’. In addition, the hook in ‘Let it Be’ is fundamentally shorter than that of ‘Johnny B Goode’. ‘Let it Be’ alters each repetition of the hook, while Chuck Berry uses the exact same hook on every occasion to make the song ‘catchier’. Below, are the respective hooks:

Let it Be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

Johnny B Goode

Go go
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny go
Go
Go Johnny go
Go
Johnny B. Goode

Part 1

Handball (also known as team handball, Olympic handball, European (team) handball, and/or Borden ball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven total players each (six outfield players and a goalkeeper on each team) pass or dribble a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team. A standard match consists of 2 periods of 30 minutes, and the team that outscores their opponent wins. Modern handball is usually played in an indoor gym, but outdoor variants exist in the forms of field, Czech, and neach handball. The game is quite fast and includes body contact, as the defenders try to stop the attackers from approaching the goal. Players can dribble the ball like in basketball and can take 3 steps. They can also pass using, chest pass, bounce pass and overhead pass. Players that are positioned stationary are only allowed to be in remain in this position with the ball for 3 seconds before either passing or shooting at goal. The game has different phases. Firstly a team needs to gain possession of the ball and this usually occurs with the goalkeeper or a steal from an opposing player. The objective is to turn defense into attack. The next phase is moving the ball away from your own goal, and to advance closer to your opponent’s goal. The next phase is to get into a scoring position, and to shoot the ball into the opponent’s goal. Only goalkeepers are allowed inside the D zone. Fouls occur when players use excessive force and play is re-started with a jump ball. Players are allowed an unlimited number of faults (defensive contact that impedes the opposing team from scoring, but fouls are present in handball, when excessive force is applied in defensive situation, and as a result, the opposing team may be rewarded a free-throw, a seven-meter throw, or possibly a 2-minute suspension for the other team.

Part 2

Handball-Suited Warm-Up – UltimateBall

The aim of UltimateBall is simple; to either hit as many people you can with one of the three dodge balls, or ‘dodge’ these balls that are thrown at you. This warm-up requires three dodge balls, a large area which you can play the game in, and at least ten people. Two people will start off as ‘its’, and will pass the ball among themselves (the three step rule also applies) to hit any of the ‘non-its’. If one that is not ‘it’ is hit, s/he must take off the bib that s/he wore at the start (which signifies that s/he is not ‘it’), and will join the ‘its’ in trying to accomplish the goal of this warm-up.

Skill Exercise – Pass, Dribble, and Shoot

As inferred by the name, the skill exercise, ‘Pass, Dribble, and Shoot’ aims to improve one’s ability to perform these three basic tasks in game-alike situations. In order to set up this warm-up properly, you will need to prepare four lines of at least two people in each line, as well as two handballs in the first and third lines. Line 1 will pair with Line 2, while Line 3 will pair with the fourth line. When a signal to start the warm-up is provided, the people in the front of their respective lines will pass and dribble their way to the D-Zone on the other side of the court/field, and attempt to score, with their partner from the lines adjacent to them.