Today we began our new project, which is animation. As an introduction to animation we were taught a brief history of it, and asked to make a small, thirty-frame flip-book.

For our blogs we have to give an example of each style of animation. The example must be current.

Drawn:
Probably the most famous animated TV show of all time, The Simpsons uses drawn images for its animation...


Cut Out:
Another highly successful animated series is Southpark, which uses the Cut Out method...



Model:
The popular British show Wallace and Gromit uses Model Animation...



CGI:
Star Wars: The Clone Wars uses CGI as its style of animation...

Layout Editing

Today we looked at sites that can be edited by the user at any time.

The first was BBC.co.uk, which is mainly for news and updates on just about every subject from world politics to sport and celebrity gossip, as well as having things like "the joke of the day", games, factoids, and some famous quotes.



The other site I looked at was iGoogle.com, which is similar to the BBC, although it doesn't have the same news content it does have most of the same user-friendly applications, including open links to major websites such as Youtube.com.

Linkin Park

Background

Originally formed in 1996 by three high-school friends, Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson and Rob Bourdon the group, then called Xero, was later joined by Joe Hahn, Dave “Phoenix” Farrell and Mark Wakefield.

With limited resources they did their work in the make-shift recording studio that was Shinoda’s bedroom. Their lack of success prompted tension in the group, which led to Wakefield and Farrell leaving for other projects.

Their next vocalist was Chester Bennington who was a stand out choice amongst all other applicants due to his unique singing style. He had been referred to the band by Jeff Blue, who was, at the time, the head of Zomba Music and was friends with the band. Blue later became the vice-president of Warner Bros. Records where he helped to get the band, now with the name Linkin Park, a record deal. And on the 24th of October, 2000, they released their first album, titled Hybrid Theory.

Linkin Park combines nu metal, rap, and rock. And judging from their first album, it looks like they are going to be a big name in the music business.

Hybrid Theory

Half a decade of work has gone into their first album, and with the success it is receiving both critically and financially, their hard work has finally paid off. Selling 4.8 million records and winning a Grammy, Hybrid Theory was the highest selling album of 2001.

Along with their own tour Projekt Revolution, the band also toured at major events such as Ozzfest, Family Values Tour, and KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas.

With the return of Farrell, the group released their first DVD: Frat Party at the Pancake Festival, and the remix album Reanimation.

In The End
The nu metal song, first released in Hybrid Theory, is about one person’s failure and is considered symbolic of an ending relationship, or of loss of trust in a friendship.
Will it make the charts? Definitely, and it will be remembered for a long time afterward.

Hits

Their other hits include “In the End”, “Crawling”, and “Papercut” and many more…

Malwina.

Malwina is from Poland, she’s 20 years-old and has come to Forth Valley College to explore her interests and improve her English.

She has experience in cosmetics, which is plainly shown by her manicured hands and well-cut hair. So, judging solely on her outward appearance, she appears to be a fashionista, in actuality though, she’s something completely different.

One of her favourite pastimes is playing online video games, and she confesses to spending hours upon hours of playing them. She also reads Manga, and watches Anime, not the usual fare of girls her age.

She enjoys the music of bands such as Linkin’ Park, and Green Day, and her favourite movies are The Butterfly Effect and Requiem for a Dream, which could indicate that she leans towards the darker side of the arts, although, she does enjoy a bit of House MD, indicating a wry sense of humour. But then, she also enjoys some other, more traditional hobbies, such as photography and dance.

She wouldn’t tell me much about her past or her personal life, saying, simply “You don’t want to know”, and I thought it would be rude to probe any further.

All in all, she is a very intriguing girl; good looking, shy, quiet. And yet, she comes across as being very self confident.