Monday, March 28, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
I'll Psych You Out in the End!
Everyone likes a good joke, or mystery, or drama, or crime, or romance, or obscure eighties and nineties references. Well, for me at least, more of the latter.
Psych is a television show about the adventures (and often misadventures) of Shawn and his friend Gus. After calling in a tip (for reward money) after viewing a newscast, Shawn is brought in for questioning by Carlton Lassiter, a hardball detective, who is convinced that Shawn must be involved with the crime he solved. Shawn, who was trained by his father (a career cop) to be the perfect detective, using his hyper-observation and photographic memory to convince the authorities that he is in fact psychic. One 45 minute adventure (plus commercials) later, Shawn is running a psychic detective agency with his unwilling partner in crime, Gus.
There are various steroetypes and tropes present in the series, often for comedic effect. Shawn Spencer is the classic screw up. He's charming, brilliant, but lazy and unmotivated. Burton Guster acts as the perfect foil to Shawn's inanity. Gus is reserved, responsible, and a little stuck up and humorless at times. There is a great cast of supporting actors too. Juliet is a part time love interest part time fem fatal. Carlton Lassiter is the egotistical, alpha male cop who is just as dedicated to his job as he is socially inept. Shawn comes from the stereotypical divorced and dysfunctional family. His father is authoritarian and always disaproving of Shawn's actions. After all, he spent all of his time trying to make Shawn follow his footsteps into being a cop, only to have Shawn rebel against him. Shawn's mother is as brilliant as she is removed and distant.
One of the great things that the cinematography of the show captures is the back and forth of the characters. As seen in the link, the focus of the camera is on the eyes. This is before the viewer even realizes that they are engaged in a staring contest. The shifting back and forth between each person only raises the drama. There are other various small touches that add up. Close ups of fist bumps and other body language, shifting to a profile shot for the delivery of snide comments, and highlighting objects in a closeup that are key clues to the story. There are several layers of self referential humor ("I solve a case about once a week and another around Christmas and Thanksgiving" -Shawn) and running gags.
Overall what makes the show work is the quirky humor and the strength of the actors.
Psych is a television show about the adventures (and often misadventures) of Shawn and his friend Gus. After calling in a tip (for reward money) after viewing a newscast, Shawn is brought in for questioning by Carlton Lassiter, a hardball detective, who is convinced that Shawn must be involved with the crime he solved. Shawn, who was trained by his father (a career cop) to be the perfect detective, using his hyper-observation and photographic memory to convince the authorities that he is in fact psychic. One 45 minute adventure (plus commercials) later, Shawn is running a psychic detective agency with his unwilling partner in crime, Gus.
There are various steroetypes and tropes present in the series, often for comedic effect. Shawn Spencer is the classic screw up. He's charming, brilliant, but lazy and unmotivated. Burton Guster acts as the perfect foil to Shawn's inanity. Gus is reserved, responsible, and a little stuck up and humorless at times. There is a great cast of supporting actors too. Juliet is a part time love interest part time fem fatal. Carlton Lassiter is the egotistical, alpha male cop who is just as dedicated to his job as he is socially inept. Shawn comes from the stereotypical divorced and dysfunctional family. His father is authoritarian and always disaproving of Shawn's actions. After all, he spent all of his time trying to make Shawn follow his footsteps into being a cop, only to have Shawn rebel against him. Shawn's mother is as brilliant as she is removed and distant.
One of the great things that the cinematography of the show captures is the back and forth of the characters. As seen in the link, the focus of the camera is on the eyes. This is before the viewer even realizes that they are engaged in a staring contest. The shifting back and forth between each person only raises the drama. There are other various small touches that add up. Close ups of fist bumps and other body language, shifting to a profile shot for the delivery of snide comments, and highlighting objects in a closeup that are key clues to the story. There are several layers of self referential humor ("I solve a case about once a week and another around Christmas and Thanksgiving" -Shawn) and running gags.
Overall what makes the show work is the quirky humor and the strength of the actors.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Sell it to Me
Some times what makes an advertisement effective is doing one thing and doing it well. That is what makes this particular advertisement stand out. There are no characters, an nondescript setting, and the only actors are the mechanical pieces of the Rube Goldberg Machine. Like looking at a clock, what grabs the attention of the viewer is the complexity and movement of the pieces.
What sells the product is the one line asked by the narrator at the end, "Isn't it nice when things just work?" and the text "Honda" at the end. These two small things tie into several cultural biases with just a few claims. It is implied that just as everything perfectly worked in the Rube Goldberg, so too does a Honda. Hondas are known for their reliability amongst consumers and this commercial conveys this cultural bias. This simple and direct message is effectively conveyed in this commercial.
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