User:AndrewReynolds

=Freshman Seminar=

Always Wanted To Schedule

 * Topic

I have always wanted to create a full mixed party mixtape/album.
 * Research Component

I will research mixtapes, mashups and DJs. My focus will be on techniques used, other DJs who have made full mixtapes, and the history of mashups/remixes. Another topic of this research I am going to get into is the legality of sampling when creating mashups/mixtapes. This is a hot issue in the music industry right now.
 * week 1

I will begin gathering ideas/songs for my mixtape. Gather study topics and resources.
 * week 2

I would like to have 15 minutes completed of mixtape. Document progresses and start researching.
 * week 3

I should be at about 22.5 minutes in the mix. Listen to other works as much as possible this week and maintain inspiration.
 * week 4

I should be at 30 minutes or more (about halfway done). Render and distribute to some friends for critiquing.
 * week 5

I should be at about 37.5 minutes. Begin working on cover, and CD front. Have all resources, spend time at the library.
 * week 6

I would like to have 15-20 completed of the mix. This week I will have all my sources gathered and will put them in MLA format.
 * week 7

Keep moving forward with the mix as best as I can. Start working on presentation part of it and begin to prepare what I will be showing the class. Continue researching the art of mashups and mixing along with the history behind it.
 * week 8

Finish up what I have done, make any edits needed, complete cover and make copies. Complete presentation. celebrate.

Midterm Assignment 1: Taste & Aesthetics
I decided that one of my least favorite was a sculpture called [“Schubert Sonata”] by artist [Mark di Suvero]. It is painted and unpainted steel created in 1992. I learned a lot about Mark and his works. I honestly didn’t think I was going to find many more sculptures or art he has done, but I was very wrong. Apparently, Mark is known and accepted as one of the world’s top modern sculptors. When looking for examples of his other works, I was able to find similar sculptures all around the world. He’s got works in many of the nation’s well known locations and museums. Although many were very similar in style, I learned quite a bit about it. I picked this one because my High School (Mt Spokane HS) had 5 statues in the courtyard, and I was very frustrated back then that the school district had spent so much money on these (what I thought were stupid at the time) statues instead of on programs in school. I couldn’t find out the artist who did those sculptures, but I did look at other metal works (such as the horse sculptures at Vantage which I have seen all so many times) and after looking at all the varieties, I did find them a bit more interesting. After doing this research, I do appreciate the sculpture quite a bit more. Mark uses the shapes to draw on shadows that they cast, and uses materials that are common place in construction. I do think it’s very cool that he can take something so common and make it into something we can recognize and appreciate as art. One thing I did learn is that this is not his only statue at Seattle’s Sculpture Park. Yes, Paul “Bunyon’s Chess” is also his (The one we were not allowed to choose). And even after this research I do not like that one. It is interesting that we can develop a liking for something (or even a deeper dislike) by educating ourselves on it. I don’t think that it’s us not being able to control our brain, but a demonstration of how we create harsh opinions so quickly with just “surface information”. All in all I have developed a better liking for this sculpture thanks to learning about it, the artist, and his other works. Seeing it after the research was most definitely different the second time.

Midterm Assignment 2: Manipulation
 False Dilemma  This ad I found is an example of false dilemma. It attempts to make you believe that your only options here are to either be miserable and take your time looking for an apartment, or use their web site and start living. There could actually be many other options. Also they are implying that you are "living" once you have an apartment. This many also be a slight bit of oversimplification.

 Truth By Humor  This video from Jack Link's is a great example of truth by humor. In no way does the activity or things mentioned in the ad actually have to do with jerky. It depicts something that's very funny to watch, then presents their product along with it, making you feel an immediate association with it.

Midterm Assignment 3: Always Wanted To Progress Report (100 words or so)
My "I Have Always Wanted To" project is going well, however I think I may have looked beyond my reach for this quarter. So far, the section of my mashup mixtape I have sounds good, but I don't think I will reach 60 minutes by week 9. I have found some good resources and am looking forward to completing as much as I can. I will be modifying my topic to reach toward being half way done with the mix itself (bout 30 minutes or so). I would still like to come up with a cover for the CD case and be ready to let the class listen to part of what I have during the presentation.

Final Presentation

 * Topic (10%)

My final topic for the, “I’ve always wanted to” project was to get a solid foundation created for a full length mash-up album.


 * Research (20%)

I researched various aspects of mash-ups, the legality surrounding it, the “big players” and contributors to the genre, and its development as an art form. I am bias toward the “fair use” side of the legal argument, but one way or another it’s definitely a hot topic that I will continue to educate myself on. I look forward to continuing my research as I see this project to its end result. :1) Internet site: Levine, Robert. "Steal This Hook? D.J. Skirts Copyright Law." Nytimes.com. 6 Apr. 2008. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. . :2) Book: Miller, Paul D., ed. Sound Unbound. Cambridge: The MIT, 2008. Print. :3) Scholarly Journal: CROSLEY, HILLARY. "Mashing Up ‘Purple Rain’." Billboard 118.26 (2006): 34-34. Wilson Web. Web. 1 Dec. 2009. :4) Other (Documentary): Good Copy Bad Copy. Prod. Rosforth. Dir. Andreas Johnson, Ralf Christiansen, and Henrik Moltke. Perf. Girl Talk. Goodcopybadcopy.Net. 2007. Web. 1 Dec. 2009. .


 * Your accomplishment (20%)

It’s hard for me to determine if I have completed my goal or not. My original guidelines stated that I wanted to have the full 60 minute album mixed by the end of the quarter. Throughout that time I realized that was not a realistic goal and modified it to 30 minutes completed. I also started to focus on other aspects of the album other than the music itself; such as a title, album cover, and a vision of what I want the music to reflect. I’m glad that I didn’t just focus on the quantity (time alone) of the mix and really got down to focus on the quality of it and what I wanted it to be. I had many peer evaluations of the project as it progressed and changed things accordingly. So all that being said, I’m not sure of the cumulative length of the pieces I have created, thus I don’t know if I have achieved my original quantitative goal. I can say for certain that I have come a long way on this project that I have always wanted to do and have a genuine drive to finish it. I am also very satisfied with what I have accomplished so far. Success.


 * Project Review (50%)

I believe that I really underestimated the time it will take to put this together. Many times I sat down and mixed for hours on end to complete anywhere from nothing I liked to only a couple minutes I felt good about. There were also times where I would just work on my current material thus not adding any new time (part of my original goal). I believe my biggest downfall in this project was my original expectation and idea of what could be accomplished and when I would do it. Now that I have spent time doing this, I have a better idea of goals I could set. :3)Future strategies Since I plan to complete this album, I will be putting my future strategies to action. Instead of setting goals like, “I want to have 42 minutes completed by Tuesday” I will be setting goals like, “I want to find something that inspires me today and spend 1 hour trying new things.”  Also I want to have a more diverse group evaluate my progress beyond my girlfriend and very close friends.  Since I have realized that quantitative goals are less productive that I thought, I am not sure how long this album will take to complete.  But I will keep the momentum going that I have created this quarter.

Self-Assessment
This class was very enjoyable and educational for me. Learning more about critical thinking versus information literacy is a valuable topic for college. The day we “dove into” the criteria for critical thinking and created a list on the board of what it meant to us was greatly helpful. I rather enjoyed the assignments in this class. The Sculpture park assignment is something that can be applied to just about anything. It’s not often we take something we don’t like and research it to see if it changes our viewpoint. This is something that I will do in the future to give myself a more educated opinion on things instead of accepting initial judgment. I have taken college logic before so I previously knew about logical fallacies; however this was a great thing to go over. I really enjoyed it the first time around and think it’s an important topic to cover to better understand and evaluate our surroundings. As for the final project I am glad this gave me the push I needed to get this album going. “I’ve always wanted to” is a project that should be continued on for future classes. I really feel I have gotten a lot out of this class and am happy with what I contributed to it. I am glad I didn’t miss any classes and satisfied with my participation in discussions. I feel I did very well on the final project and presentation and look forward to seeing the project to its end in future months. Thanks for a great class!