Last midterm

Just realized that tomorrow’s midterm will be my last one for my undergrad degree, which I’m happy about. Only six more weeks to go…

So very tired

Has anyone done any research into how university fucks up students’ sleep and the long-term effects? I’m getting more and more tired these days…

Evan Munday is just plain cool.

Imagine my surprise when, after posting the first audio score for The Dead Kid Detective Agency on youtube, I get an email from the author, Evan Munday himself, complimenting me on my project!  Not to mention I think he’s a pretty awesome and funny guy, so that was a pretty cool day for me — and a fellow Canadian author too!  He’s even posted a little mention of me and my project on his blog! (I realize I’m blogging about another blog about a youtube video… but I don’t care)

Everyone should read Dead Kids.  It’s a funny, entertaining novel not just for young adults (though I was forced to read it as part of my English class curriculum but am very thankful for it).

http://www.idontlikemundays.com/2012/07/05/scoring-the-dead-kid-detective-agency/

Dead Kid Detective Agency — Ch. 7 audio score

Here’s the second piece I wrote for Ch. 7 of The Dead Kid Detective Agency.

The Dead Kid Detective Agency — Ch. 1 audio score

I’ve been meaning to post this for a long time (since I completed it last year), but haven’t gotten around to it until now.  I took a Children’s Lit class in college, and our final project was one we created ourselves.  It was left very open to what we wanted to do; I decided to write some music for one of the novels we had studied in class.  Here is the description of my project, and a link to the music on youtube.

All the text is from Evan Munday’s book, The Dead Kid Detective Agency, and obviously, I do not claim to own any of it, although I would certainly like to claim to be able to write so wittily.

“Think Like a Child” Independent Project

As a fan of movie soundtracks, I thought it would be fun to write some music for Evan Munday’s The Dead Kid Detective Agency.  I found that the book had a good mix of emotions and moods (ie. scary scenes were still humorous and light) as a book for young readers, which could be reflected in a diverse sound.  A movie soundtrack is, I find, largely underrated in the effects it has on the audience: it can enhance the atmosphere of scenes, making the film feel creepy or funny or whatever the desired mood.  Music can also manipulate audiences’ emotions; we cry when we hear a lamenting violin over a break-up scene, or feel scared at the sound of low murmuring instruments.  Music can even increase our adrenaline during a high-speed car chase with loud horns, like in Inception.  Since movies have the advantage of a soundtrack to enhance the film, and since readers imagine characters, settings, and actions while reading a novel, I thought having music playing while reading or being read to would also enhance the reading/storytelling experience.

Although I intended this project to be played in the background while someone would be reading to a child, I also realized that the readers of Dead Kid might be of an age where they may no longer be read to (ie. between nine and fourteen).  However, the music would still work even for those reading the book silently, as it would play in the background, and would, hopefully, enhance their reading experience.

I picked three scenes for which to write the music: the beginning, in the middle (when October meets the dead kids for the first time), and the end.  I thought the beginning and end of the novel would serve as good bookends musically, where I could use the musical theme in two different ways, to show how October changes throughout the novel.  Therefore, I had the opportunity to pick another chapter in the book on which to write, and ultimately picked a scene that I thought was supposed to be the spookiest, yet one of the most interesting and revealing chapters in the novel, which contrasts with the other two scenes I had picked.  As such, I tried to incorporate the spookiness and fear which October feels when she sees the ghosts by, first of all, writing the music in a minor key, and second, by accelerating the tempo of the music until it climaxes and slows down again, just as October realizes the dead kids are actually kind of cool and that there is no need to be scared of them.  The tone of both the chapter and the music changes when October wants to be friends with her new acquaintances, which I thought would also be a good contrast between the previous spooky scene.

Lastly, I decided to narrate some of the story as a guide to where the music was supposed to follow.  This incidentally made the project seem more like an audio book with music, which was an interesting revelation, and another possibility for the use of this music.

The end of things to come

Perhaps you are wondering about the conclusion for Good Morning, Heartache.  Well, don’t fret.  It is in the works and will be posted shortly.  Frankly, I’m not even sure how it ends.

I realized earlier today that my two exams that I have to write tomorrow and Wednesday are potentially the last two exams I will ever have to write.  Even if I get accepted into the Creative Writing Program at UBC, I wouldn’t have to write any exams (I think).  So hurrah!  This is the end of things to come.

Research essays are the death of me

Well, not really.  Due to my natural Asianness and thus having high expectations about everything that I do, I now see that I’m just not that great with research essays.  I got my essay back for American Cinema class and yeah, I knew handing it in that it wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever written, but I got a B and I am disappointed.  Yes, I am not an essay writer but I have gotten many A’s for take-home essays in the past; however, those ones were focused on the text itself and not involving outside sources.  Maybe the research is what throws me off… or maybe I’m just not an essay writer.

Thank god I only have one more research essay for Canadian Lit. class left to do.  Then it’s final exams (2 more essays under a damn time limit) and hopefully I will never have to write another academic essay in my life.  One can only hope, anyway.

Will post something special soon.

But not tonight.  Have to get some sleep as the last two weeks of school will probably be hectic, not to mention being a part of the Programming Committee again at the Queer Film Fest.  It’s strange, but I never thought my life would ever be busy.  I guess I never thought I would ever find that much to do in life.

 

Looking forward to the week– er, Wednesday…

And thenI will finally be rid of this research essay.  Why is this causing me so much grief?  Ugh.  I mean, it’s an interesting subject and all, but holy crapola, there’s so much information.  Perhaps but essay is too broad… I think it might be.  My thesis is quite direct but I’m summarizing a lot of info and that’s taking forever to do because there’s so much to say and sources are so wordy sometimes and now I’m just rambling instead of doing it so I will go now…

On a side note, according to wikipedia: “In 1979, a number of people in Sweden called in sick with a case of being homosexual, in protest of homosexuality being classified as an illness.”

I think this is super cool.

Blabbity blah

I finally watched The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan tonight and it was really eye-opening and a very well-made documentary.  I’m glad I got the chance to see it despite missing it at the Queer Film Fest.  Will post a review of it and the other films I have yet to review sometime.

I’ve already complained about school but I’ll do it again briefly here.  Next term, I will not take so many courses, or at least such intensive ones.  Must try and have a life outside of classes to write, play music, and make films.

Lastly, research essays will be the death of me.  Curses.