Cinderella Play

I was able to attend the Cinderella play at the Pleasant Grove Community theater on Monday night. My wife and daughter were able to come with me and I think that my daughter was the only one who enjoyed the play. I guess you can’t expect much from a community theater but this was the first time I have ever attended a community put on play so I was unsure as to what to expect. There were a few descent actors involved in the play but most of the individuals definitely were hard to watch or even listen to when they were singing such as the actor who played the step-mother. She was just horrible all over the place but I really have no room to talk because I have never attempted to be in a play. What was cool though is how they attempted to involve the audience in the play. During the part of Cinderella where they are using the slipper to find Cinderella, they would let the little girls in the audience also try on the slipper. I thought that was neat and so did the little girls that tried on the slipper. The only good actor of the play was the individual who played Cinderella. She had a great voice and knew how to involve her body movements and facial expressions to involve the audience members and pull their attention to the action of the stage. Besides the bad acting, it was a descent experience especially since my daughter really enjoyed the play. It was a rather long play however and we didn’t get out of the playhouse till about 9:30 which made it a late night for my daughter. The actual set up of the playhouse was also something different that I have ever seen personally in a theater like setting. I know we talked about it in class and I don’t recall the name associated with this type of staging but it was the type were the audience surrounds the stage on all sides. This allowed for the actors to interact with the different sides of the stage that held audience members. This also made it hard of hearing when the actors where on one side of the stage speaking directly to the audience, especially since there was no sound equipment to amplify the actors voices.

Cinema Lecture

What a way to end the last week of the semester. I thoroughly enjoyed the discussions we had concerning cinema and it was fun to be able to discuss the elements of cinema and then see examples of how those elements are used in film. Of the elements that we discussed, I feel that the camera shots and angles of used in the film make up the meat and potatoes of the film. First off, camera angles seem to be used the most in film and seemed to be used to add dynamics to the film. Films use specific shots in order to give the viewer a certain feeling or point of view. One type of film that comes to my mind when I think of camera angles are horror films because they seem to accentuate the use of camera angles to give that scary or eerie feeling to viewers. In horror films, you often see a close up of an individuals face after they hear a strange noise to show their reaction to the sound. Usually, their facial expression give the viewer the idea that the character is horrified and yet they still venture out to determine what the noise was only to end up eaten or cut in half. Horror films also like to use the high angle and low angle shots to indicate to viewers which characters hold the power or authority over the other characters. One scene that comes to my mind that uses this idea comes from the scenes we viewed in class from the movie the omen. We could see that the nanny standing at the top of the stairs obviously held the authority over the mother standing at the bottom although the mother was barking orders to the nanny. Although the nanny eventually gave in to the nanny, it is obvious that the nanny new more than the mother about the boy and held a higher stewardship over the boy than did the mother. Obviously the nanny knew more about the boy than the mother giving the nanny even more power over the mother. It was also interesting to see how the high and low angle shots were used to portray the boys vulnerability to the church. The film showed shots of the church as if the boy was looking up at the church and then shots of the boy as if the church was looking down at him. Films uses these concepts to give you the feeling that they want you to have. What I appreciate most about the lecture on cinema is I now have a better understanding of films use of these concepts. This will aid me in my own interpretation of cinema as well as to have a better understanding of what is occurring in the film. Sometimes films use these elements to give away little secrets about the characters throughout the film without giving away the ending. I mean, look at the scene from the omen where the mother is at the bottom of the stairs and the nanny at the top. This scene is totally giving away what is occurring in the film or what is about to occur in the film. Therefore, as we have a better understanding about how these concepts are used in film, we can have a better understanding of the characters and how interact with one another.

Amadeus Movie

For those of you who were unable to attend the movie night on Thursday you really missed out. We were able to watch Amadeus, which obviously is a movie about Amadeus Mozart. I have seen the movie before and I had forgotten how long the movie really was. I was expecting to be done by 9pm but I was surprised to find that we didn’t get out of there till 9:40. Boy were did the time go because it sure didn’t seem that long. I thoroughly enjoyed to movie the first time I watched and I enjoyed it just as much at this viewing as I did when I first saw it. Although Amadeus is portrayed as a drunk and a bit of a pervert, I admire the drive he had to keep pushing through the hardships that he had to endure. Obviously his work would have succeeded immensely if it wasn’t for the core composer always working to push Mozart’s work down or not giving Mozart the credit that he deserved. But what impressed me the most about Mozart is he didn’t seemed to get so discouraged as to quick composing altogether. Mozart was aware of his talent and knew that one day his work would be considered among the great. Even on his death bed, Mozart was creating miraculous works of music that even the core composer wished he could compose himself. At some parts of the movie, I actually felt sorry for the core composer. I mean, Mozart seemed to obtain everything that the core composer wished to have. Mozart received a talent from God that the core composer seek to receive his whole life. Mozart also had a sexual relationship with the girl that the core composer hoped to one day be with himself. Even with all this, you see how the core composer prevents Mozart’s work from becoming what it could have become as well as how the core composer messes with Mozart’s emotions that feeling of remorse for the core composer quickly leaves. Another interesting aspect of the movie was how the priest in the movie slowly transforms from a man who truly believes in God and is confident about his faith to a man who looks as if he had seen the devil. When the priest first comes to the nut house to visit with the core composer, he approaches the old man as if he is there to help. He has a feeling of peace and happiness about him but as the old man tells the story of Mozart you can slowly see his expressions change. Even at the end of the movie, the Priest looks scared. His facial expressions look as if one of his own family members had just died and his skin appears pale. I think the priests transformation also goes along with the idea that the core composer had also transformed from a God fearing man to one that had contributed to the death of a famous composer. As I watched the movie, I also tried to pay attention to the use of the cinema elements that we had discussed in class. It was hard to do this as the movie progressed because I became so involved in the movie. But I did see the use of a match cut when the scene showed Mozart using his hands to direct his music and then it cut to the core composer in his old age who was also conduction the music in his head with his hands. All and all, this was a great event. Amadeus is a great movie and it is unfortunate that not everyone in the class was able to attend.

Reading blog- video art article

I read the article on video art but I am unsure of who the author is of the article. In the article, the author discusses some concepts of cinema and one argument that is presented is the fact that cinema must stop using a storyline or narrative and fully develop the concepts of film images and techniques. I have actually had the chance to view video art before. In fact, the artist took clips of scenes of already produced movies and removed the sound from the film. One that I remember included a scene from Top Gun in which they show the interaction between Tom Cruise’s character and the female instructor in the movie. Although I am sure that this piece of artwork was not used to show how film can fully develop the different elements of cinema but more to show how human interactions can occur without speech. Nevertheless, what was interesting was how the scene would cut back and fourth between the two characters in close up shots to show the facial expression of the characters as they interacted with one another. Everything about this piece of work has some form of artistic value from the interaction of the actors themselves, to how the scene was film, to how the video was viewed on the video screen. We often don’t think of the movies and videos that we view as art. As the article states, we often think of our TV’s as pieces of furniture and not as a medium that can be used to view artwork. I really appreciate the cinema lecture as well as this article because now I am able to see how much more valuable a TV set is in the artistic world. Along with this, having an understanding of the basic elements of cinema allows me to place more artistic value on the films that I view.

BYU dance competition

I was able to attend the BYU dance competition this evening for abut an hour and a half. It was definitely interesting and was my first dance competition that I have ever attended. My first impression was the dress and the makeup that both dancers were wearing. Since this was a ballroom dance competition (at least what I saw), partners seemed to coordinate their dress at little. Most guys though wore mostly dark to black outfits with a little color that corresponded to their female partners dress. The females dress were however more extravagant. Most of the dresses were very bright or exotic colors that also contained lots of sparkles and glitter on them. The women partners also wore lots of makeup, at least most of them did. In fact, some looked as if they were wearing face paint, especially around the eyes. It was interesting to see how the dance competition was conducted. It must have been difficult for all the dancers to be dancing all together in such a small dance floor. I kept looking for any collisions but was disappointed with only near collisions. This must make it hard for the dancers to completely focus on the competition because the must also try to avoid other dancers as well as impress the judges. It was interesting to see how the dancers interacted with one another. Now, I am no dancer, but the dancing partners seemed to more as one object. Most dances that I saw the couples moved very quickly and their feet moved quickly as well. I kept checking to see if I could determine which dancer was leading but the couples moved so well with each other that this was very difficult to determine. The couples also remained very prim and proper as they danced. They kept their hands and arms very straight, the men had their necks and back straight up as well. The women bend their upper backs slightly out away from their partners as well as their heads. Although I am unsure why they did this but it looked like it would be very difficult to hold during the dances. Another interesting thing was that most of the dancers always had smiles on their faces however, I did see some interesting facial expressions. It was also neat to see how fast the female partner heads turned as their bodies moved throughout the dance floor. It was neat to see the traditions of ballroom dance. Like I previously mentioned, this was my first time ever going to a dance competition. Although I didn’t know what to expect, it was a good experience to see how the dance world competes. To me, it just looked like organized chaos but all the dancers and spectators there seemed to be having a great time.

Music Lecture

I don’t have much of a music background so I found it harder to connect and be more involved in the music lectures. However, I was impressed with many classmates and their knowledge of music. I always wished I had learned to play the piano or another musical instrument and rock band does not count. What I did find interesting that we discussed in the lecture is the use of Gregorian Chants. While on my mission in South Carolina I was able to attend a Mepkin Abbey hear the use of Gregorian Chants used during one of their worship meetings. When I first hear it I actually found it to be enjoyable. It was interesting to see how much they would fluctuate between different notes and sometimes you could hear how one syllable would be sung my many different notes. It was definitely Neumatic or Melismatic. There unison chanting or singing echoed through the hall in which we were sitting in and continued for at least 10 minutes, or at least if felt like 10 minutes. Although their singing was interesting at first, I do remember getting restless having to sit there and listen to their way of music. Their chant seem to all sound the same as if there was no diversification and all the notes began to sound the same. You also could not understand what the heck they were saying. I remember not knowing if they were even speaking English. I also remember the priest sitting on opposite sides of the room facing each other. They therefore looked as if they were singing to each other across the room. Having experienced a chant being used in worship, I found it interesting to learn of how those types of chants came about to be used in church services. I could only imagine how hard it would be for those in the congregation to understand, yet sing along with the chants. What I would like to see is a piece of sheet music for a melismatic chant or even a polyphonic chant. I can only image how difficult a piece of music like that would be to read because of the many notes that belong to a single syllabi let along the numerous pages of music because of how long the chants lasted. Even through my little experience with some chanting, I can see how difficult it would be for members in the congregation to understand what is being sung in the chants, especially since the chants consumed the majority of their church. For this reason, it made since for clergy members to gather and decide to change they way music was sung in services. I mean, I have a hard enough time understanding what is going when the congregation sings in the church I attend, so for Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina to come and reform the way music was sung in Mass must have answered the prayers of many clergy and congregation members. To sum things up, I do have to say that I enjoyed the music lectures given in class. I appreciated the examples that we were able to listen too. I mean, it would be kinda pointless to learn of something about music and then not hear it in action. This also helped me to comprehend the differences between the music styles. I am just glad that I have had the opportunity to be able to listen to a Gregorian Chant being performed during a church services. How many people can say that? Probably more than I think!

Impressionism Music Style

The styles of music and art have been developed in parallel with each other through the different stylistic periods and impressionism has been found to follow this same trend. As with impressionistic art, impressionistic music sought to create descriptive impressions using the elements of music in a manner that could have been described as unusual compared to other styles. Impressionistic music develops the idea of impressionism by using almost every aspect of music including melody, harmony, color, rhythm, and form. The melodies tend to be short in nature and often repeated in different context to give different moods. The melodies also tend to serve no purpose at all in impressionistic music or used to gives us an impression. Notes are often drawn from scale systems other than traditional major and minor scales. Impressionists did not use chords in the traditional way and this misuse of harmony was a major part of impressionism. These chords are often used to set the mood or joyfulness of the piece of music. One part of impressionism that really goes against the mechanism of music is the absence of using chords to build and relieve tension, thus the music has no sense of direction. In Mozart’s work such as in his Sonata in A, he uses cords to build up to a climax and then relieves the tension by using the appropriate chord system. In impressionism, music does not need a build up and relief. A climax or an intense moment in the music can be used randomly throughout the music without any introduction. A perfect impressionistic example of this is Claude Debussy’s Lisle Joyeuse. In the very beginning of the piece, an intense moment is felt and there is no use of chords to build up to this intensity. One of the biggest aspects of impressionism was the weakening of the use of tonality or the use of non-functional chords. This was one of the biggest feats of impressionism because it paved the way for many other musicians who have done away with tonality all together.

Musical Event

I was able to attend the organ recital held daily in the tabernacle on temple square and let me tell you it was impressive. I was expecting to hear hymns only but was surprised as to the diversity and contemporary of music that I was able to hear. My favorite part of the recital was the very last song that was played. This song was a very diverse and dynamic song. The organist moved his hands and feet very quickly to move with the quick tempo of the song in which he was playing. The last song in which the organist played was also very dynamic. He quickly moved from one side of the organ to the other as well as up to the higher keys on the organ (I am no musician so I am unsure what the difference is with the multiple keyboards). As the musician moved through the keys, all the notes harmonized together perfectly which was very impressive considering how fast he was moving through the music piece. Although I am sure the tabernacle organ has undergone a lot of modification from when it was first installed in the tabernacle it was still impressive to hear the beautiful sounds or temper that was produced out the pipes of the organ. It was interesting, as I listened to the music I felt like it was the type of music that you would maybe hear in a Phantom of the Opera because of the fast tempo of the music as well as the diverse notes played. Although I have no formal training in music, I was impressed by the organist ability to keep such a fast tempo while moving through so many keys on the organ. I would not be surprised if the organist would be out of breath after performing such a difficult piece, at least I know I would have been. It was a good experience to be able to be in the tabernacle, to feel the spirit and listen to both spiritual and secular music. What was also impressive was the architecture of the tabernacle building. It was neat to be able to see all the wood in the building because wood is hardly used in most large buildings for architectural support or is just covered up like in most homes. I think the tabernacle has a more natural feel as to most modern buildings. The building itself is a unique style with the large dome as the roof. Its amazing that the building and organ are both in great conditions that we are able to enjoy both of these masterpieces today. This is a testament to the quality of the craftsmanship of both the building and organ. I have never attended any sort of performance on temple square but after attending this performances I hope to go to a few more performances there before I leave Utah. I would recommend attending the organ recital to anyone who is looking appreciates Mormon culture or just enjoys listening to this type of music. The best part about the recital is it is free and only last for thirty minutes. I would rate this performance as a 9 out of 10.