#the editing is all over the place because i'm experimenting. it's not cohesive at all

[sealrock]

the four horsemen.

[clementineofmine]

I'm sitting here rewatching Tua S3 for reasons, and one interesting thing I picked up is that the entire season is really just each of the Umbrellas struggling to define and searching for family in their own way. Here's me laying down some thoughts for y'all:

Luther - For him, family has always been about the team. That's part of the reason he's so drawn to the Sparrows, bc at first they seem to have the cohesiveness that the Umbrellas lacked. Remember, Luther was the last one left at the Academy, then Reginald sent him to the moon alone. So of course seeing a "functional" team is going to be compelling for him, and he desperately wants to be part of it. And then he and Sloane quickly fall in love and for the first time in his entire life, someone wants him for him. It's intoxicating and utterly consuming NRE that is more powerful than anything he's ever felt.

Diego and Lila - For these two, it's about figuring out how to be a family. Both together, but also a little bit with the other Umbrellas. Diego looking out for Allison and Klaus and Lila and Five coming to a truce are part of this - more about Lila and Five in a sec.

Allison - In her mind, her family is Claire and Ray. This one is obvious, but I also think that the writers did us a disservice by not letting us into Allison's perspective. If you think about it, it's completely normal for a parent to put their child above all. While I don't defend her actions, her motivation could have been more compelling and it would have strengthened her character. But sadly she's the character on the show that is most "othered" (which is bad for many reasons)

Klaus - he really dug deep into individual relationships w family, starting with Five (e2 and 5 Five and Klaus bonding are still some of the best bits of the season imo), Diego, Reginald, Sparrow Ben, and then Luther in the afterlife.

Five - Five remains a pragmatist. His bar for family is very low - success for him means the Umbrellas being alive, no matter what the personal cost or sacrifice to him or to some extent others. It is somewhat depressingly delightful to see how he makes his peace with the end of the world as the season progresses. Before that, however, I'd like to meander back to e3 and 4 where Lila convinces him to electrocute himself and then they go on the Commission mission. Both of the actors do a fine job here bouncing back and forth between witty banter and genuine emotion and I love it. It's a quick and subtle piece of dialogue when Five explains how he saved Lila from the Handler. The undertone is that they were both abused by that woman in a similar way - ultimately, she developed and kept them both as pawns in her own game. And I think Five, starting in S2E10 and fleshed out through S3, develops genuine empathy for and eventually acceptance of Lila as family, as one of them, because of this shared experience.

Viktor - Like Viktor in all seasons, he continues to feel out of place with the Umbrellas and compensates by over-prioritizing his relationships with others. Don't get me wrong, I do empathize with him that he lost real love with Sissy and Halan, but I also think Allison was 100% valid to call him out on his lying in E6, and it was on point to verbalize how the constant focus on Viktors pain minimizes her (and everyone else's) experience. (Edit to add: Viktor finally seems to get the message on this, after being called out by Allison, then subsequently both Sparrow Ben and Five, and spends the last few episodes trying to make amends. Real character development here and I like to see it)

Reginald - Well, his overarching motivation since S1 has always been bringing back his dead wife, so I won't belabor that, but also it's interesting to see how he interacted with Klaus particularly - esp in E7 when he sobers up it seems he is experimenting with remembering his role as a father. Now we don't get a ton about his internal motivation here, but you can tell there is some mild curiosity, if not affection, for Klaus, despite the fact that he ultimately is cool with sacrificing him.

Some of these are more obvious than others, but when you tie them all together, the idea that they are all desperately looking for family and the blind spots that that creates for them, some of the messiness of S3 starts to make a bit more sense.

[infinitebrians]

Favorite Games of 2023 Part Final: Pokemon Crystal Clear Clown Edition

Pokemon Crystal Clear is a romhack for the Gameboy Color game that mainly advertises itself as Pokemon Crystal modified so now it is entirely playable as a free roaming open world. Clown Edition is just what I called the rom of the game after creating and injecting a pokemon trainer sprite sheet into the game so I can play as my own character, Clown. I played the whole game on my New 3ds XL, it took a quite a bit of effort to get this exact version of the game working on my 3ds. It was incredibly worth it, this is not just my favorite game, but favorite 'game experience', and even easily my new pick for all time favorite pokemon game in the series.

The game itself was fun and a refreshing new way to experience a pokemon game but the overall experience of getting the game working on a hacked 3ds and playing with my own created sprites was in itself a very fun bit of hobby work. It has revived my love for playing older games on real hardware, something that I have found myself continuing to do this year. Also, seeing my own art in the game and said art feel cohesive with the world ruled and I want to experience that more in some other way. This game made me more into pokemon than I have felt with official releases in a pretty long while, and I even liked my time playing Scarlet. I loved playing on a handheld, I loved seeing the really well made art from gen 2, and I loved being able to put a bit of myself into the game as well.

Apologies for how rambley this gets, I really liked the game but still somehow found it hard to really organize my thoughts on why exactly.

I wanted to revisit this hack after briefly trying it in 2018 because of this excellent Hazel video (https://youtu.be/96YimpRHQHs). The video details various life stories while talking about favorite locations in the games getting me to think about my own favorite spots in the games and where I was personally at the time. The video also got me to start realizing that Porygon might be one of my favorite pokemon in the series and caused me to make drawings of them that I'm still quite fond of. This then made me recall Crystal Clear which contains a feature of surprisingly deep character customization including a wide selection of possible starter picks one of which being Porygon. So, compelled by the allure of having a fun adventure with a cyber duck, I picked up my hacked 3ds and started the game again.

Crystal Clear is a game that allowed for me to be even more creative about how to approach building my team and creating my own adventure out of playing pokemon. It's not for everyone, it wasn't even for me the first time I tried this game back in 2018. Crystal Clear definitely lends itself much more to the idea of creating your own fun than typical linear pokemon games where if you're not interested in that more free form exploration, the game would feel aimless. I even felt this when starting this playthrough, but the goal of pokedex completion was what encouraged to explore and discover Crystal Clear's world. The game was always surprising me in both the number of quality of life features it provided as well as fun new areas to explore or to better make the world more connected. Over time, the game felt more at home to me from getting more familiar with locations and developing a new sense of fondness for several towns in Johto I frequented. The change from a linear progression to that open ended one gave me a better sense of the world and towns had a bit more life to them as places felt more inviting to hang around in.

I love this game's implementation of the pokedex. It has been designed so it will display just about every piece of information about a pokemon, where to find them, when they evolve, what moves they learn, and so on. While the presentation is definitely clunky due to having to have all of that information on a GBC screen, I found this such an invaluable tool to have in game that for the first time in the entire pokemon series I was heavily making use of the in game pokedex for its intended purpose. Being able to look up relevant information for pokemon all entirely in game without having to have a phone/computer nearby with bulbapedia open all the time is just greatly appreciated. While the desire to keep some mystery around pokemon and how they evolve or what moves they'll learn can be part of the fun with the series, I think I just prefer being able to tell quickly if this is a stone evolution pokemon or not.

This was the first time I ever completed a pokedex in any pokemon game, something I've always wanted to do but never fully committed to the whole process. This is because of my own laziness toward how challenging that always was in proper releases due to so many pokemon being obscured behind multiple games and others being locked behind real world timed events. That or the fact that later games in the series just outright make the the act of getting a truly complete pokedex feel almost impossible. Instead, I finally accomplished a completed pokedex in a romhack that was made to make that sort of challenge feel reasonable with modified drop pools and changed events so everything within that one game is catchable. While now possible, I still found myself challenged with a game world spanning adventure of looking behind every rock, tree, and patch of grass to find every funny little guy I could. One particular memory was me spending maybe a week insisting on finding a dragonite in an encounter to catch which has a 1% chance of happening rather than spending the time leveling and evolving one instead. A very, very long process of hitting a tree over and over but made hilarious when later repeating the process for a tyranitar, another 1% chance encounter rate, was done in minutes. It was really fun having a plan ahead with how I was going to get every pokemon, constantly using expshare and other things to level guys to get them to evolve while try catching other guys. The ultimate reward of that certificate is still a pretty hilariously small, though I still kind of want to figure out a way to print mine out.

What made this game so special to me was simply just adding Clown to it. A simple change that was a surprisingly complicated process of getting a crash course on how GBC color palettes and size limitations worked and getting my hacked 3ds up to date on its software. Creating the various Clown sprite drawings was fun, I always liked working in those sorts of strict limitations. Then finally getting the injection to work and seeing my own art in game on real hardware felt surreal, something in this handheld game console I've had forever, on a game I loved for years has something I made in it. Even the process of getting all of this working, as tedious as it was moving game saves and getting color values just right, made this whole experience more special to me.

Something I figured while playing this as well as also from now having also played Dragon Warrior 1+2 and also currently Final Fantasy 5, I really love playing things on a handheld. Playing games on a handheld device has been so much more compelling of a thing to me than ever than playing on a proper TV/computer. The aspect of being able to just let the console sit on my desk and simply open and close it when interested made the feeling of investing myself into a game so much easier to approach. I want to just keep playing more old games on a handheld now, I'm already planning on other games to play and how I should definitely hack my Vita. My friends keep tempting me with one of those emulator handhelds and I don't even need one but they look really cool though.

I have so much respect for people who make fan works, hacks, and other unofficial projects it has been just amazing to see passion projects happen all the time in the gaming community. Playing this romhack that's been a years long, ongoing project in two different eras (2018 and then again in 2023) of it's existence has only further cemented my admiration. People wanting to be creative and open about their love for this form of art is such a wonderful thing to behold. These moments of creative passion being shared to everyone feels so important, reminding that the projects with the biggest budgets and names are not the end all be all of the medium, despite their desperation to be so. Thank you so much for wanting to share such lovely things with the world.

[silverfoxphil]

Hi :)) I love your edits and song choices. They always seem really cohesive, like strong theme. I want to make an edit for the first time but I'm kind of overwhelmed by the scope/not sure where to begin. I'm curious if you have any tips for getting into editing, and also wondering what editing software you use. in other words: editing tips?😳

omg editing tips 🫣 under the cut because they got too long 😳lololol

first of all thank you so much :)!! I'm happy to know that you enjoy my edits<3!!!

answering the software question is easy: I recently started using capcut, it's free and I like it a lot! (I used to use clipchamp which has less features, but is maybe a bit more straightforward)

getting ideas is the hard part lol. I think I only have lame answers :/

for normal compilations I usually have a clip (or a few) and a theme/joke/vibe/meme I really want to use and i do some research(search it on Tumblr) or rewatch the videos (or look through the clips I have already saved) to find other moments that follow the same theme. (I try to make them funny, I'm not sure it works, but they are funny to me lol)

for song edits i usually have the song and at least one clip that are already linked in my brain lol like rush by Troye Sivan and the poppers jokes, they just go together lol. sometimes I read the lyrics and try to remember or search for clips that work with them. idk it's something that just clicks in my head lol. this sounds so 💀💀💀 I'm sorry lolol.

so idk the only advice I have is:

1.if you're using a song, working on it first makes things so much easier (cut it/choose the parts you want/read the lyrics) and then add the clips

2.adjust the audio levels (even if there's no song) (especially if you're using clips from dystopia daily lol it's super quiet for some reason)

3.try to build some kind of database of clips, so you don't have to go back and rewatch the videos a million times to find a 2 seconds clip (speaking from experience) (save them or make a list idk) (also I screen record and don't download, I know someone from another fandom that says that screen recording is bad but personally i never had any issues w it lol)

4.follow your heart, follow your brain, look at the software's filters, transitions, effects and sounds and text and use them all lol. I think ultimately most people have their own style and their own humour and sensibility. there's no right or wrong, so try to find what works for you, what you find funny or pretty or interesting, you know? it's kind of a bad answer but that's all I can think about, you need to find what you enjoy first and then build on it

I'm sure phil was better at giving editing tips lmao, but I hope this helped in some way! I never get to talk about editing, so my thoughts are all over the place lol.

let me know when you start posting or if you need help with the software!

[ovaryacted]

hi nic!! any advice on how to start writing on tumblr? i have so many ideas for Leon fics (like, i swear, my head is about to explode) but this place terrifies me sm, i just want to write cheesy stuff about that man and give him a break

Heyyy anon! I know you sent this a couple of days ago but I hope my answers will be able to give you a guide. I also may not be so proficient on this since 1 - I started taking writing seriously in late August of last year and 2 - I'm sort of an inconsistent writer when it comes to fanfics lol. But regardless, I'll give you some tips that helped me along the way. This also may be a tad long so I apologize but I will try to make this cohesive lmao.

1 - For one, write what you want, not because it's popular but because you want to write it. In the beginning, I was always somewhat anxious about how other people would interpret my writing especially when it came to my understanding and experience of kinks, and as a result, I burnt myself out and stopped writing for a while. I also grew detached from the very thing that I enjoyed (Leon), and it made being a part of the community less fun even if it's crazy. Write what you want because you want to, not because it's popular or trendy but because it will make you happy. Don't do shit for clout or popularity either, especially if you're not interested in writing smut, because believe me you will start hating your comfort character and you don't want that to happen. The right people who like your content will find you and stick around, believe me. It's easier said than done to not get discouraged, but it's not impossible. KEEP GOING!

2 - Develop a style or aesthetic. You don't necessarily have to do this part, it's more of a personal preference thing, but I think finding a specific way to organize moodboards, pictures, or fonts will make your work stand out. It took me a while to figure out how I like setting up my posts in the certain way that I do, but it pays off because it feels more like I have ownership over my own work. Plus, it's fun making your posts cute, all the more reason to do it.

3 - Write things in the way you can best describe it. What I mean by this is don't feel discouraged that you don't use big extravagant words and metaphors in your writing. Sometimes, people will use very descriptive language that authors use and it can be hard to consume for people who want to come online and destress, now they have to figure out what words mean. (No hate to authors who do that either, very appreciative of them actually and they're very inspiring). All I'm saying is that you don't need to write like you're writing a thesis from Oxford, write how it comes to your head, and edit it after, no pressure. Writing is supposed to be fun, not stressful, so don't stress yourself out more by using words you don't need. Writing is a skill, which people often forget. So the more you do it, the more it will come naturally to you and you will develop your "writing style" on your own. What you should take away from this, is to just write what's on your mind anyway.

4 - When writing, have a plan. You don't always need an outline, and some people can write full pieces on the fly or just blurbs of small ideas that come to mind, but some brainstorming really helps. Usually, once you actually sit with an idea and plan it out a bit longer, you can find out other things you want to add to the piece you're putting out. It also just makes things more concrete, but then again, everyone has different ways to write. There's nothing wrong with testing out a few ways before doing it in the best way you understand.

5 - Follow creative writing pages for inspiration on prompts or writing tips. There is nothing wrong with seeking out material for inspiration or at least a start, or even following other writers and getting inspired to do your own twist or take on something they wrote (with credits obviously). There are so many pages out there that are meant to give creators a guide on how to strengthen their writing and ideas they can use for themselves. People don't own tropes or ideas, the world is your oyster, don't be scared to choose one thing and get that extra push you need to create what you want.

6 - Last thing I'll say is don't be scared to interact with other people. Tumblr is literally meant for interactions, without that we have nothing. I know this site is scary sometimes, but there are people on here who are in the same position as you right now, wanting to get started but don't know how. Sometimes, you just have to start and worry about all the other "professional" shit afterward. There is no right way to manage a blog, you do what you want to do on your space. Be weird! Be crazy! Be different! As long as you're having fun, that's all that should matter.

7 - And another thing, don't be afraid to use the tags. That's what they're there for, use them. You're not spamming the tags or being annoying, use them to give your posts visibility and keep it pushing.

Also big note: don't worry about other people, block who you need to block, and stay out of the drama. Believe me, it will make your time on here much easier to digest and less scary. The discourse is never worth it, because you don't know these people, and they don't know you. It's the internet, shape your own experience and what you want to do on here.

[thelogbookproject]

Heya! Unless you've already answered this, I'd like to hear your thoughts on why Monsterhearts 1e's Shut Someone Down is better than 2e's! I haven't read them in that great detail to remember how they differ, and since you've clearly thought about it I'd like to hear your analysis! (Monsterhearts is one of my favorite PbtAs, if not favorite RPGs in general)

So I do think both are great, and this is a matter of personal preference.

The core of the move remained the same in the edition shift -- the trigger and stat are the same, and it's a way to reduce a target's Strings on you (and gain one if they didn't have any on you).

My opinion comes in for two elements that changed: the option to select +1 Forward and the new 7-9 result, and how both of these elements lean toward a short-term focus over a long-term focus.

One of the options you can choose in 2e is to take +1 Forward. I have a lot of entirely separate opinions about incorporating +1 Forward into my own PbtA designs, and they mostly involve avoiding it, but in particular my complaint about SSD2 including it is that it's kinda a copout to choose it. It abandons the fiction of the moment, and I think the idea is that you walk away from the encounter feeling stronger and more confident, but it's simultaneously the flimsiest fictional result but also the most obviously beneficial. Both Strings and Conditions are stronger generally, but it requires a degree of system mastery to recognize why you would do those instead, so new players will tend to go for the +1 Forward. It's a newbie-friendly choice that is less interesting than the alternatives. This mirrors a problem I have with MH2's Turn Someone On.

The 7-9 result of SSD2 ALWAYS winds up with the roller suffering a Condition for coming off bad. Also, 7-9 is the most common result of rolling, just generally. This results in a rapid proliferation of Conditions, and especially if you've done it a few times, those Came-Off-Bad Conditions start overlapping and becoming redundant. Proliferating Conditions is a concern because of how Conditions are actually mechanically incorporated. You are under no obligation to play to your Conditions -- they're public perceptions of you, not inherent to you, so you can collect a bunch without significant change to your play. Mechanically, when opponents take advantage of a Condition it brings +1 against you -- but for 1 Condition at most. Expansive Condition lists increase opportunities to take advantage, but redundant ones really don't. SSD1 could cause this too on a 7-9 if you choose to trade Conditions a lot, but it's not mandatory, and the situations are much wider. That's another of my issues with the SSD2 7-9 -- it defines the situation for the counter-Condition, instead of leaving it open, and it results in the aforementioned redundancy, which clouds the Condition lists pointlessly. All of this is built upon MH2's prioritizing of the one-shot experience over the campaign experience. You rarely encounter the issues with the Condition system in one session, and it adds a fictional element that Strings can lack without a mastery of the system as they're more abstract. I prefer the depth of the String system when mastered, and the emotional experiences of a campaign (even 4-5 sessions) over a one-shot. This twisting of the game toward more defined situations ("you come off poorly," "get embarrassed and act awkward"), more Condition-focused, and less String-focused, are the core places where 1e interests me more than 2e.

I don't want to say 1e is outright better. SSD1 is clunky and incomplete. 2e's changes, in general, all are pretty cohesive in creating a more one-shot-focused experience. That's just not the direction I'm as interested in exploring, and SSD2 s very emblematic of those differences.

Thanks for the question, I love the opportunity to explain these thoughts! :3

[likeadevils]

hey! for your post about sun moon and rising but with taylor albums, can you list out the characteristics of each album? i'm having a hard time associating them and it'd make it a lot easier, if you could do that :)

oh totally! Its really all about your personal association, so i’ll give vibes for the era and the album. a good rule of thumb is to read the prologue if you want the tone for the era quickly. honestly, there’s no set system, go wild

taylor swift (2006) “debut”

era: blue and teal and brown. cowboy boots and sundresses, wild curly hair, trucks and mud and wildflowers. very 2006, very high school, very country

album: swings between pining from a distance and wanting to destroy a boys whole ass life and feeling like you have no friends and no one understands you in the whole world. like I said, very high school, but also full of whole ass bangers

fearless (2008)

era: yellow and white. 24/7 prom. she’s got the fairy tale aesthetics set in high school, she’s got calling your ex boyfriend out on national television, she's got so many headbands. god to be 8 years old when the joe jonas/taylor swift drama was going down

album: again, fairy tale set in high school. lots of crushes, lots of realizing men aren’t shit. it’s about the pull between childhood ideals and real life tearing them down, and deciding how much you should cling to your dreams and how much you have to let them go. it’s also a pull between knowing that these little moments are kinda ridiculous but also taking everything so goddamn seriously

speak now (2010)

era: purple purple purple. she’s starting to grow up! her look has evolved out of sundresses and prom dresses and into a more preppy style. she’s moved out of fantasy and into this like. circus aesthetic? 30s movie type thing? watch the mean music video, idk how to explain it. her hair is still curly and but under control, and she’s solidly Famous at this point. the idea that she can’t sing is Big, and the man-eater stereotype is starting to get popular 

album: she’s starting to grow out of country. she’s experimenting with rock, but her pop sound is starting to take off. it’s all about Dramatics: she’s experienced her first heartbreak, broke someone else’s heart, and was in an emotionally abusive relationship all within two years. she’s moved out of her parents house and is both infantilized and forced to grow up to fast by the media.

red (2012)

era: its 2012 hipster style. her hair is Straight and she’s wearing vintage dresses everywhere, and she’s posting sketches of red lips and quotes from fitzgerald about heartbreak and finding yourself on instagram. she is dating and breaking up with harry styles Very Publically, and its the last major relationship she’ll have for two more years. the idea that she dates to much is everywhere, and she’s being slut shamed to an insane degree, while also being dismissed as a goody-two-shoes

album: it’s designed so each song has the opposite emotions of the song before it. it’s dramatic and it’s heart wrenching and it portrays these relationships that were toxic and messy and captivating. has the last vestiges of country, some more rock, and the first pure Pop songs, all nestled against each other to give you the epic highs and lows of being 22

1989 (2014)

era: its the height of her stardom, and she’s more beloved then she’s ever been and (probably) will ever be again. she’s cut her hair and moved to New York, she’s wearing high waisted stuff and taking polaroids, and she’s been single for two years and it’s has given her the freedom to find a “tight” group of friends and herself. shes talking about third wave feminism all the time, she’s papped every day, and she started dating c*lvin h*rris; they date for a year, he was the first boyfriend to be posted on social media, and the one she was with the longest (until her current bf). publically, she’s the happiest and most successful she’s ever been. personally, it’s more complicated, especially by the last few months. “she lost him, but she found herself and somehow that was everything” and “from the girl who said she would never cut her hair or move to new york or find happiness in a world where she wasn't in love”

album: single handedly brings 80s pop into the mainstream. (like seriously, her only contemporary influence is lana del rey, and even that is only on a few tracks. listening to this when it came out was a religious experience). it sounds basic now but only because she influenced all of the pop music that came after her. its also her first sonically cohesive album since fearless. subject matter wise, its very 80s movie. it’s the first album without a break up song that ruins a man's whole career— no cold as you, dear john, or all too well type. the relationship is on and off again, but more muted and mature then the tumultuous ones portrayed on red. its very star crossed; two people who just can’t find the right time. she’s also writing about how fame has affected her— blank space, shake it off, and i know places all directly reference it, but the idea that the whole world is watching is woven all throughout the album

bleachella (2016) 

this isn't an album but its definitely an era

taylor has become so oversaturated that people are starting to turn on her, and her mental health is suffering. her relationship with c*lvin h*rris is falling apart, she's changing her hair every couple of moths (most notably she bleaches it, and goes to coachella. so like bleachella), and then all of a sudden The Phone Call happens. kim and kanye release edited footage of a phone call that makes it seem like taylor swift is a liar who intentionally plays the victim to stay in the public’s good graces, and the world pounces on it. between that and the idea that her friend group is super cliche-y and exclusionary, her reputation is ruined and she goes in hiding for months. before going into hiding though, she breaks it off with c*lvin (he throws a FIT on twitter) and starts a whirlwind romance with tom hiddleston that includes them flying all over the world on vacations and meeting each others parents super quickly. this all happens in one summer.

reputation (2017)

era: black and white and gold. very edgy, very rich, lots of snakes and casual wealth. there’s the aesthetic of her being very hurt and defensive and lashing out, but the reality of her being the happiest she’s ever been. she’s still famous, but she’s learned how to have a private life and healthy relationships. the tough times have shown her who and what’s important to her

album: pretty much that. the first half is brash and bombastic and playing off what people expect her to be like, how they expect her to fall in and out of love quickly and manipulate those around her to see her as a good person (while exploring sounds that no one expected her to explore) and the second half slows it down and shows her falling in love more explicitly and sweetly and under cover. “in the death of her reputation she felt truly alive” and “finding love through all the noise”

lover (2019)

era: bright pink and pastels and bright colors and happiness and butterflies!! she’s in love and beloved by the general public again, but all of her past albums have been stolen from her by a man she thought she could trust. sadly cut off short by covid. “step into the daylight and let it go”

album: her messiest album (sonically) since red. a popular saying when it first came out was that it had the writing of speak now but the sound of 1989, which is... understandable? its the kind of thing you have to form your own opinion on. it’s on the surface all bubblegum pop and being in love, but it has some of the absolute saddest songs of her entire discography. a 18 song long rollercoaster

folklore and evermore

preface: these are definitely two separate albums and there’s a definitely a difference but this girl has so many albums and it’s taken me an hour to answer this ask and it’s 1am right now so i’m gonna smush them together. go listen to them, and we’re in the era right now

eras: it been covid so all we’ve got are a couple performances and the album visuals. cottagecore, a return to the small town setting of her first two albums, very understated and timeless. one noteworthy element is that both albums were surprise releases (especially after lover had almost a year of build up that kinda worked against it). she’s reached a level of artistic respect that she’s never had

albums: folklore is a level of sonic and thematic cohesion comparable to 1989, as well as having a similar feeling of like. oh god we’ve been waiting for you to make an album like this for years and you’ve still exceeded every exception and made it surprising. evermore is mostly a continuation of its sound, though it’s a bit more experimental. both albums are incredibly mature, and move into non-autobiographical storytelling for most of the songs. it’s easy to build your own world based on one or both of the albums. their main themes are also mostly divorced from relationships, and more tied to personal identity and mental state (though there is quite a bit about divorce and heartbreak in both)

[brooklyn-design-storytelling]

Week Ten

Concepts and Learning

This week I presented my first draft of a sleep therapy diegetic prototype to my group and Mojan to get some feedback. I think everyone had come up with some really interesting prototypes and we all stayed on a similar track which is good because all our prototypes look pretty cohesive. During the week we brainstormed some different ideas for business names in our group chat such as WeCare, and Acuity ended up deciding that Eudaemonia best represented our ideas. Bella designed some different logos for this and it was nice to finally see them on Miro.

I felt a bit anxious presenting my prototype because I wasn't sure if others would like it but all the feedback was positive. Mojan brought up that we should make sure our diegetic prototypes are realistic and create descriptions that back up our products and ideas. After talking with my group I think I need to change my prototype slightly so the colours and iconography are more cohesive with everyone's prototypes and our logo.

After seeing everyones work I can now understand where I can improve and the type of images I should be creating for my prototype (posters, photoshopped pictures of people using the product). I think we did well at giving constructive feedback to each other and identifying where everyone could improve but we could have been more decisive about what method of designing everyone should use so our work would be finished to the same standard. I can use this new knowledge in my work over the next week to develop my prototype further. If the same activity happened again I would consider having everyone write down some feedback for each prototype on Miro sticky notes first so no one was nervous about critiquing others work. I can use this new knowledge and experience in my Spatial Design Studio because it is important to give others feedback and discuss your own work so we can improve.

Diegetic Prototype Development

Product Posters:

Product photos (no background or writing):

Person Wearing Headband:

Note. Profile of Girl Sitting. From Pexels by Graboska, K. 2021. (https://www.pexels.com/photo/profile-of-girl-sitting-7281590/)

Note. Woman Holding White Smartphone. From Pexels by Graboska, K. 2021 (https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-holding-white-smartphone-7283621/)

Includes photoshopped sleep therapy headband for both images above

Product description: The Sleep Therapy Set tracks sleeping patterns, heart rate variability, and blood oxygen levels through the sensors on its headband to create a better sleep plan for you. The Sleep Therapy Set tracks heart rate variability (HRV) instead of average heartbeats per minute gives us a more accurate picture of your stress levels. HRV represents the time between each heartbeat and a higher viability means you’re calm while low variability indicates you’re experiencing more stress. By being able to identify your stress levels and what triggers these emotions the sleep therapy set can create a plan to reduce stressors and help you learn to manage them effectively. Your doctor and/or therapist can upload any important information to your Sleep Therapy dock that can assist in creating a better plan for you.

Dock Description: The Sleep Therapy Dock displays the time along with all the information that your headband sensors have recorded. It has a profile, search, home, health and doctor/therapist contacts. The headband can be placed in a slot on top of the dock to charge the headband after each use.

Price: $350.00

This week I developed my prototype further by editing the prototype using photoshop so it was more refined and futuristic looking. I created posters with backgrounds and information, basic product photos for the wix website and photos with the product photoshopped on someone. I made a product description that backs up my ideas and makes it seem more realistic. I'm excited to show my group what I have done this week and look forward to adding it to our wix site.

References

Graboska, K. (2021, March 27). Woman Holding White Smartphone [Photograph]. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-holding-white-smartphone-7283621/

Graboska, K. (2021, March 27). Profile of Girl Sitting [Photograph]. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/profile-of-girl-sitting-7281590/