Police Corruption Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Police Corruption - Research Paper Example There is a wide range of police jurisdictions and considerable costs are paid by the society in general as well as the police services as a result of such misconduct. Herman Goldstein defines it as â€Å"acts involving the misuse of authority by a police officer in a manner designed to produce personal gain for himself or others.† It is a larger systematic problem which is due to the lack of overall transparency, no check and balances, weak rule of law and insubstantial institutions. Police Corruption generally occurs at two levels: In the office i.e. behind the scenes or on the streets such as bribery or involvement with criminals. The backroom corruption activities involve irregular practices such as negligence in enforcing internal discipline, stopping of investigations, payments for transfers or appointments and contracting. All these unethical and mischievous acts involve very large transactions and are committed by officers having command authority (mid or senior-level o fficials) and access to the privileged information. Officers avail such opportunities in pairs or alone in the absence of supervisors or any higher authorities. The extent may vary from petty corruption to large scale criminal acts which are endowed by the extra ordinary powers given to the police officials. In the 1980s and 1990s, corruption cases occurred on a very large scale involving and later charging police officers for drug dealings, robberies, batteries and even murders etc. It can be observed that there are two major elements of police corruption namely misuse of authority/power and misuse of personal attainment. At each level, these elements are misused in one way or the other posing a great hindrance in the efficient and effective working of the police department. It can be said that police officials have been a part of encouraging and creating crime rather than deterring it. In this report the causes of police corruption will be discussed and ways such as increased sala ries, training, education incentives, health and insurance benefits and policies that focus on such issues will be identified to eliminate or reduce corruption. Types of Police Corruption: Some major forms of police corruption are discussed below: Gratuity: This refers to the illegal or inappropriate use of power by police officers in order to arrest, coerce, harass, intimidate or assault people. It is a serious crime because the society in general relies on police to safeguard their social security and rights. They are given power to use it for the right purpose and intention but wrongful use of this authority has resulted in many unjust incidents. Police brutality, sexual harassment, illicit use of weapons, fake encounters are the most common ways of misusing the authority. Brutality is a form of physical abuse which occurs when officers want to teach a lesson to any citizen or unnecessary force them for the intended action. Police officers also engage in crimes that has nothing t o do with their professional duty such as insurance of fraudulent activities. It is very difficult to get the accurate statistics of police misconduct and abusive behaviour as they normally don’t release any detailed information on disciplinary issues. Kickbacks: It is a secret payment made to the police officers in the form of contracts or transactions in order to change the course of action and support a wrongdoing/ illegal action. They are considered as fringe benefits of the job by the officers. The

Ipad Mini Review Essay Example for Free

Ipad Mini Review Essay 1.Remarkably thin and light, the iPad mini is the perfect size for holding in one hand. The iPad mini also fits comfortably in the pocket of a coat or a handbag, making it ideal for use on the move. Its also beautifully designed, with obvious influences taken from Apples iPhone 5. Finally, its Apples cheapest iPad starting at like 270. The iPad Mini supports the LTE networks of ATT, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless (no luck, T-Mobile!). This means it has access to 4G mobile broadband in hundreds of markets around the country. Even with LTE on board, Apple says the iPad Mini will still get about 10 hours of battery life. Thats an incredible amount of uptime when considering the productivity needs of todays mobile professionals. 2.Its no surprise that Apple is charging a HUGE price for its smaller tablet when compared to other 7-inch models. With an introductory price of $329, it costs a full $80 more than the 16 GB Nexus 7. Of course, the Nexus 7 is thick, heavy, and made of plastic, while the iPad Mini is thin, light, and made of aluminum. It also has a slower processor than iphone 5 or the regular ipads. Its comes with the dual core A5 when iphone 5 has A6 chips and ipad has A6X chips. 3. Through advertising and marketing. Word of mouth is the best advertisement, so when people get this item, the first thing they do is tell their friends how cool it is and all good and bad things about the product. That’s adds value to the item through societies eyes.

Frida Kahlo and Tracey Emin: Psychoanalytic Approaches

Frida Kahlo and Tracey Emin: Psychoanalytic Approaches Case Study One: Frida Kahlo 2000 The intention of this dissertation is to define links between psychoanalytic theories and fine art. In this chapter the artists Frida Kahlo and Tracey Emin are discussed and compared to see how psychoanalytic approaches differ when employed with contemporary and traditional art. Frida Kahlos work is associated with Surrealism, an art movement first written about by Andre Breton; it was founded in 1924 developing from Dadaism and was inspired by the psychoanalytic works of Freud. In the surrealist manifesto Breton identifies the movement as a means by which the subconscious could be expressed, verbally, written or painted. The surrealists believed that our conscious mind interferes with the subconscious part, which is heavily based on Freuds theory of the ego and the id. The surrealists believed that this is why we have dreams; when we are asleep the reasoning mind cannot control the subconscious. Surrealism used a method called free association, originally Freuds theory, whereby Freuds patient would automatically say what they are thinking, in the case of an artist they would paint without thinking. Consequently, it seems surrealism is not necessarily a style but a method of painting. By looking at the both Kahlo and Emin, the two can be compared to distingu ish the ways in which psychoanalysis differs in the opposing styles of work, one of traditional movement and the other a contemporary style. Kahlos work deals with a diverse range of subjects, from her own identity and pain to politics, the Mexican artists work has been deliberated over by many critics and art historians as her oeuvre covers many aspects of art. It is hard to place as surrealist as it mixes a world fantasy with surrealism while also dealing with sexuality, race and gender. However, it is contended that Kahlos work does support psychoanalytical theories as there are many connections between her work and Freuds work which is a factor that the surrealist movement was heavily based upon. In contrast the work of Tracey Emin does not use symbols for her audience to guess at, instead her work has a very clear and concise in meaning, through her highly personal work she leaves her audience unquestioning with no ambiguity surrounding it. However, it would be interesting to look at the psychological effects that the production of this type of work may have on the artist and to investigate how the process creating art work of such personal nature has any psychological impact. This will enable understanding of the intentions behind such personal art work; she articulates details about herself that a majority of people would rather keep to themselves. In a similar way to Kahlo, both artists draw on their own experiences to produce art work. In Kahlos painting, Tree of Hope (see figure one), she presents the audience with a definite divide between night and day. This use of this strongly imply a state of dream, to explore R.D Laings theory of the unembodied self where the individual experiences him self as being more or less divorced form his body(Laing1965:69) this applied to Kahlos work suggests that the severe act of cutting the image into two halves defines the feeling of separation from her conscious body. The spectator is aware of the false self being portrayed within the image. According to Laing such separation denies the unembodied self of any actual interaction with everyday life. The theory suggests the unembodied self becomes a spectator of the life in which the actual body lives, so therefore does not connect with any experience the physical body encounters. This psychoanalytical process occurs due to stress within ones life that the ego cannot deal with, the disassociation is the ids way of protecting the e go. In Kahlos piece Tree of hope the painting is not clothed in the prosaic language usually employed by our thoughts represented symbolically by means of similes and metaphors (Freud, 1953:633) The image renders narrative, through the day harsh reality is awakened; Kahlo collides with a profusion of pain, while at night she is set free from her anguish by her dreams, the subconscious mind allows her to escape. The use of colours and choice of composition has allowed her to deliver her innermost anxieties and fears to the audience. These anxieties, according to Freud, are unpleasant inner state that people seek to avoid, it can act as a signal to the ego that things are not going right, as humans we suffer from neurotic, reality and moral anxieties, in order to deal with these Freud states that we therefore go into defence mechanisms that protect the ego from conflicts caused by the id, the id being the unconscious part of your brain, the ego is the conscious rational mind. The stress caused by daily lives is relevant to Freudian theory of sublimation. In Freuds book The ego and the id (1923) he established the theory of sublimation through superior recognition and puts forward that the superego is an internal moral agency of the parents (Wright: 1995). He assumed that there are two separate sets of drives, both contained within the mind. The instincts consist of self-preservation, which is associated with the ego; the second is sexual instincts which are associated to the libido or id. These instincts direct all human conduct until he generated the existence of narcissism. These theories differ over the various writings due to the topic and their affiliation to each other. To further this, if Freuds theory about anxiety is applied to Tracey Emins work it can be suggested that she goes through the process of sublimation; her work is a healthy redirection of an emotion which is mainly found through art, it is the process of transforming the libido into a chievements that are accepted by society. Emins work is similar to Kahlos in the way that her own personal stories of her body reiterate stories in the media. Emin expresses graphic descriptions of her most intimate feelings as her work is based solely on her life experiences. For example, in Emins work The last thing I said to you was dont leave me here the audience is confronted with a photograph of a vulnerable girl, who is tucked in a corner of some small shack, suggesting she has been some sort of victim of abuse. Lacans theory of the gaze is a theory that can be tested on this photograph, as the set up of composition makes the audience feel as if they are standing behind this naked, vulnerable person, so the viewer is made to feel as if they are gazing upon her, the spectators take on the role of the voyeur. Emin poses the question, is she the object of desire? There is a certain amount of irony within the photograph as a majority of viewers are hardened to the image of naked women due to media; mediated imagery is usually of very confident, provocative women, this perplexing view unsteadies the viewer due to the uneasy ambience. This is because photography can in a literal sense turn the depicted person into an object, which will distance both the v iewer and the viewed. With her back to us she unaware of who is looking, which creates a sense of naivety within the work, so therefore the viewer becomes uncomfortable with the role of the voyeur. This work has subtle implications that are more suggestive compared to a majority of Emins work which has a great sense of immediacy and provocative substance; she makes strong statements that judge the gaze of society that is put upon women. In contrast Kahlos works show the audience how she gazes upon herself, in theory Kahlos paintings are able to talk to the viewer as they express something about the artists emotions which people can relate to on many levels, through their personal attributes. This supports Derridas theory of deconstruction, where by deconstruction of a body of text is not just one, it can have several different meanings, and this theory can be applied to artwork because artwork itself can have more then one interpretation. In the essay Derrida two paintings in paint: a note on art, discourse and the trace, Jeff Collins argues that Derrida indicates a certain failure of discourse in the face of artworks (Holdridge, 2006:213). Collins contends that Derridas theory suggests art is a confrontational method which challenges anything that refuses to accept or surpass it; the author denotes artwork that does not have a dialogue to deal with this theory. Kahlos work can be contradictory in meaning for each viewer; which can be associated with the notion of death of the author; according to Barthes, the viewers own beliefs can change the authors original intensions, the layering of meaning can only be derived from the viewers point of view, as they will see the work and interpret it according to their own context, beliefs experiences or personal attributes. The viewer needs to be able to set apart the artist from the work to release the interpretation from any prejudgment. Barthes believe that this is dependent on the spectators experience of Kahlos work, being a renowned artist many people will be familiar with her histories and will derive an interpretation from that in itself. However, many audiences are not familiar with the work will read it in an entirely different light. Kahlo also uses messages and paradoxes within her work. In The little wounded deer (see figure four) she portrays herself as this wounded animal, which has been shot at by numerous hunters. The arrows are metaphors for the pain she feels, in my opinion this could symbolize her injuries from her accident or it could represent suffering from numerous disappointments in her life. She appears calm, tranquil and relaxed while she is watched by, what we assume is a hunter and dripping with blood. Kahlo was Mexican and they believed that a newborn human has an animal counterpart and that persons fate was tied to that of the animal that represents the calendar sign of the day of their birth. So she could be suggesting that her animal counterpart is dying and therefore metaphorically she is going to be rid of the animal that matches her and through her rebirth she will gain a new one. This painting it therefore a representation of her thoughts, which is her subconscious, by using dream logic strategies of displacement and condensation, Kahlo sets out to create a fabled identity for herself; the self-portrait consequently becomes a format for a parody of her own individuality. In my opinion, surrealism and representing the mind is difficult because it is the unknown, questioning it and giving possible answers through painting. Through her art Kahlo is attaining control of herself, she portrays her emotions which attain psychological relief. Emin also has a need to attain control would, in Freudian terms this would be classified as a form of hysteria. Hysteria in current psychological terms is described as two categories, one being somatoform whereby mental problems such as stress can cause brain to feel physical pain. The second is dissociative which occurrs when a persons psyche cannot handle a particularly traumatic event. However, in Freudian terms this hysteria created by the subconsious part of the mind, which was protecting the ego from the id. This is also relevent when looking at Kahlos work, the subconsious creates this form of unreality which is evident in the paintings. The straight lines and defined edge to objects of natural enities creates an order, an element of control over something which is not controllable. This can be tested with Deleuzes theory of percept. According to Deleuze, art requires simple modulations whereby the artist is consciously thinking and making decisions about the evolution of the piece of artwork; percepts are a psychological imprint of something, for example, the way an individual artist sees one thing will be varied from another. Percepts represent more than decision, they symbolize how the artist is feeling about that piece of art at the moment in time, or the subject which it is based on. According to Deleuze the making of the decision is not as important as modulations, MÃ ¼nter has put boundaries around the manmade objects, the modulationsreveal the forces that populate the world, that affect us, that make us become' (Sutton, 2008:75) Kahlo keeps her images separate, in Tree of hope (see figure one) she has a definite divide between night and day, by doing this she accentuates definite boundaries that the colours alone would not achieve, this establishes a ha rsh boarded image with restrictions. It shows a definite division between the human and the natural, while addressing this we may also consider that the artist may feel the two cannot be combined. These percepts also occur in the works of Kahlo, What Water Gave Me (1938) is a painting of Kahlos that is particularly relevant to Derridas theory, other then her many self-portraits, within this painting, Kahlo has painted her legs from the baths viewpoint, her legs are partially obscured by the bath water, and her toes stick out at the end, the painting has an uncanny aspect to it, we have all see this viewpoint so there is a familiarity to the work. Kahlo is allowing her audience to see things from her perspective. Through the composition we are able to see her thoughts swimming about as she contemplates everything that has occurred in her life. The modulations in this piece are life and death, something that is uncontrollable yet is inevitable. Everything moves according to one law-li feAnguish and pain, pleasure and death are nothing but a process in order to exist. (Kahlo) Her written views are contrasting to that expressed in her paintings. This painting is affective because it invites the viewer into the work; in affect the spectator completes it. Through this image Kahlo displays herself bare for every one to see; which adds a certain irony to the painting, as it is almost a nude portrait. In addition, this painting fits the classification of Surrealism because she utilizes imagery, which combines dream imagery with reality. In this chapter, the discussion of Kahlos and Emins work have given insight into the way in which psychoanalytical theories can be used in conjunction with artworks. It defines how the use of these theories can induce more depth into a painting which may not have had much substance to begin with. This in itself comfirms Deleuzes theory of percept showing how the artists mind is both in the real wold in which the body exists and in the world of the self, this theory will be challenged further in correlation with Cindy Shermans work in the next chapter.

Shakespeares Macbeth and Euripedes Medea :: comparison compare contrast essays

Shakespeare's Macbeth and Euripedes' Medea  Ã‚   Shakespeare's Macbeth, and Euripedes' Medea, are both tragic plays in the classical sense. Both Medea and Macbeth lust for the unattainable, and that lust destroys them. It cannot be said which character is a truly tragic figure, because both fit the description. However, if either character deserves more sympathy it is Madea, the jilted wife, not Macbeth the King killer. Macbeth's lust for power and his willingness to please his wife leads to his downfall. He murders the children of his one time friend, and suffers the consequences of that sin. Medea murders her own children in her quest to win back her lover Jason. She does this to seek revenge, since Jason sees the children not as theirs, but as his. She also, like Macbeth seeks to kill her rival, Jason's new lover, the daughter of King Creon of Corinth and a 'real Greek'. Both Euripedes and Shakespeare use the supernatural to enhance their plays. Macbeth is influenced by the prophecy of the three witches. Madea, who is a witch he rself, is influenced by the mythological Gods of ancient Greece. Macbeth's and Medea's ambitions and lust lead to tragic conclusions in their lives. Urged by his henpecking wife, Macbeth lusts for the throne. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is likeable, but we soon see his dark side that will lead to his tragic downfall. The play starts with Macbeth and Banquo as co-leaders of the Scottish army, are returning from battle when they meet three witches. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawder and, later, king. bodyOffer() 1. Witch. All hail, Macbeth. Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! 2. Witch. All hail, Macbeth. Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! 3. Witch. All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King here- after! (Act 1. Sc. III, lines 50-55) They tell Banquo that he will not be king himself but he will have his descendants as kings: 1. Witch. Lesser than Macbeth, and greater. 2. Witch. Not so happy, yet happier. 3. Witch. Thou shalt get Kings, though thou be none. So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo! (Act 1, SC. III lines 70-74) Here we see Macbeth's ambitions begin to appear. He begins to consider the possibility of becoming king! There is a chance that King Duncan might choose Macbeth, a cousin, as his successor, but Macbeth’s hopes are destroyed when Duncan names his son, Malcolm.

Advantege and Disadvange Fo T.V

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: If parents want their children to do well at school, they should limit the time their children spend on watching TV. With the rapid development of our society, there are an increasing numbers of people who are concerned about whether parents should restrict the amount of time their children spend on watching TV. Some people assert that the watching TV could stimulate children’s learning and creativities and it would not cause any harm to children, yet it’s not surprising that others have opposite attitudes toward this controversial issue.Despite many diverse opinions aired by different people based on their personal stance, there can be no doubt that watching too much TV programs would lead to adverse effects on children. The first reason I want to put forward is that there are too many inappropriate images and violent content on TV and those programs would impact children and teens negatively. For instance, student s may consider that violence is acceptable behavior to solve their problems in school.In this way, misbehaving students undoubtedly would interfere with their peer’s learning and add additional stresses on teachers. Studies also show that children who watch too much TV programs would become more aggressive and violent, and perform poorly in study. As you can see, parents should prevent their children from wasting too much time on TV owing to students may imitate the unsuitable behavior on TV. Another reason worth mentioning is that students who spend most of their time on watching TV would result in their reluctance toward school works and outdoor activities.Watching animated cartoons and fascinating movies is the most crucial part of their daily life and children from those indulgent families don’t want to put effort into their studies which is less attractive to them. In order to prevent children from being coach potatoes, parents should reduce their child’s a ccess to TV and encourage them to get some exercise which could help them to refresh their body and mind. There is no denying that adolescents who watch too much TV program would crowd out their study time. Finally, students who spend less time on TV would have more chances to get along with peers.Since human can’t live without interacting with other people today, students have to learn how to cooperate and communicate with others in their early stage. As you can imagine, child who engages in school activities or joins some associations would feel they are part of the groups and this is expected a crucial impetus that spurs students to perform well in school. By and large, students would gain more benefits while they spending less time on TV programs and parents have to assist them to avoid from indulgent lifestyles.After taking all aspects into consideration, I firmly believe that parents have to set rules to limit their children’s TV time and it’s not an exagg eration to say that adolescent who follows this rule would have better performance and achievement in school. Parents should limit children’s time watching TV and playing computer games, do you agree or disagree? Though they may love it, parents should limit their children’s time watching TV and playing computer games due to the bad effects upon their children.In contrast, they should encourage their children to read books. Today’s TV programs and computer games are often fit with violent behavior such as abuse, kidnap, murder, fights and so on for commercial purposes. Children who view these events are likely to believe that the world is scary and something bad will happen to them. This fear is simply caused by the inability of children to tell the difference between the fantasies presented on the TV and the reality. Besides, children may also imitate the bad behaviors and attitudes shown through the TV programs.Therefore, children should be discouraged from wa tching TV and playing computer games. Meanwhile, watching TV and playing games are said to be unhealthy Based on research, the obesity level has increased among children because they are inactive while watching TV and playing games as they do not exercise or play outdoor games. Moreover, fast food and junk food advertisements such as soft drinks which are shown in TV also influence children to consume them and similarly leads to obesity due to high cholesterol and sugar level.Conversely, parents should encourage their children to read more books for it is benefiting. In fact, reading can increase the ability of children in understanding new subjects and information. Reading out loud also exposes children to proper grammar, phrasing and language skills. On top of that, reading books can also allow children to enlarge their knowledge of fractural information, learn more about the world and increase their understanding of humanity.All these positive influences from the right books supp ort parents to insist their children to read books instead of watching TV or playing computer games. In conclusion, parents should insist their children read books instead of watching TV or playing computer games. Accordingly, parents can actually set up a schedule for their children to ensure that they spend their leisure time in the right way by reading books and have a limited time to watch TV and play computer games.This could indirectly discipline their children too. Television and Childre Why and to what extent should parents control their children’s TV watching? There is certainly nothing inherently wrong with TV. The problem is how much television a child watches and what effect it has on his life. Research has shown that as the amount of time spent watching TV goes up, the amount of time devoted not only to homework and study but other important aspects of life such as social development and physical activities decreases.Television is bound to have it tremendous impa ct on a child, both in terms of how many hours a week he watches TV and of what he sees. When a parent is concerned about the effects of television, he should consider a number of things: what TV offers the child in terms of information and knowledge, how many hours a week a youngster his age should watch television, the impact of violence and sex, and the influence of commercials. What about the family as a whole? Is the TV set a central piece of furniture in your home!Is it flicked on the moment someone enters the empty house? Is it on during the daytime? Is it part of the background noise of your family life? Do you demonstrate by your own viewing that television should be watched selectively? Since television is clearly here to stay. it is important that parents manage their children’s TV viewing so that it can be a plus rather than a minus in the family situation. Violence on Television It has not yet been definitively proven that viewing violence on television will lead a child into violent behavior.But even experts agree that it’s not good for a child to be exposed constantly, several hours a day, day after day. week after week, to television violence. Research has shown that such exposure has at least four effects: children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others; they may become more fearful of the world around them; they may be more likely to behave in an aggressive manner toward other people; they may get an unrealistic sense of the amount of true violence that exists in the world.One interesting theory is that children choose active violent programs because it gives them a feeling of activity with all the sensations of involvement while enjoying the safety and security of total passivity. They are enjoying a simulation of activity in the hope that it will compensate for the actuality that they are involved in a passive, one-way experience. http://www. english-test. net/forum/ftopic75922. html http://www. jamesabe la. co. uk/exams/sampleanswers/Parentingessay. pdf

Foley

Foley effects are sound effects added to the film during post production (after the shooting stops). They include sounds such as footsteps, clothes rustling, crockery clinking, paper folding, doors opening and slamming, punches hitting, glass breaking, etc. etc. In other words, many of the sounds that the sound recordists on set did their best to avoid recording during the shoot. The boom operator's Job is to clearly record the dialogue, and only the dialogue. At first glance it may seem odd that we add back to the soundtrack the very sounds the sound recordists tried to exclude.But the key word here is control. By excluding these sounds during filming and adding them in post, we have complete control over the timing, quality, and relative volume of the sound effects. For example, an introductory shot of a biker wearing a leather Jacket might be enhanced if we hear his Jacket creak as he enters the shot – but do we really want to hear it every time he moves? By adding the fole y sound fx in post, we can control its intensity, and fade it down once the dialogue begins.Even something as simple as boots on gravel can interfere with our comprehension of the dialogue if it s recorded too loudly. Far better for the actor to wear sneakers or socks (assuming their feet are off screen! ) and for the boot-crunching to be added during Foley. How is Foley Done? Foley is usually performed by Foley artists. Ideally they stand on a Foley stage (an area with a variety of possible surfaces and props) in a Foley studio (a specialized sound studio), though any post production sound studio will do with a little modification.The Foley artists can clearly see a screen which displays the footage they are to add sound fx to, and they perform their sound effects while watching this creen for timing. The actions they perform can include walking, running, Jostling each other, rubbing their clothing, handling props, and breaking objects, all while closely observing the screen to ens ure their sound fx are appropriate to the vision. Increasingly, many simple Foley sound fx are done without Foley artists – the sound effects are stored electronically and performed by the post production sound engineer on a keyboard while watching the visual.Done poorly this type of â€Å"Foley† sounds bland and repetitive, and it is nowhere near as flexible as the real thing, but t is much cheaper than renting a Foley stage and paying Foley artists to create the foley sound effects. Why do we Bother with Foley? Without Foley, a film sounds empty and hollow – the actors seem to be talking in a vacuum. The sound recordist, if they did a good Job, has given us the dialogue and excluded everything else, but our films needs more than this for the picture to come alive.We need to hear the little sounds of clothes, furniture, etc – but we need to control those sound effects so they don't obscure any of the dialogue. Another historical film seems lifeless when it is screened without sound, and adding foley to it elps bring those long dead images to life. Next time you watch a history documentary that uses silent archival footage, listen closely and you should hear at least minimal Foley sound fx, mostly footsteps, behind the narration. Foley can also be used to enhance comedy or action scenes.Watch most comedy films and you'll notice that many of the sounds are enhanced for comic effect, and sometimes the Foley sound is the Joke. As for action, most fist fghts do not involve the actors really hitting each other, and even if they did we would not be able to record a satisfying punch sound. By punching and variously molesting such objects as cabbages, celery and sides of beef, Foley artists can record unique and much more ‘realistic' action sounds. What is Foley and Why Should You Care? What is Foley and Why Should You Care?Here's everything you need to know about Foley. Foley effects are sound effects that are easier and more efficie nt to perform to picture. You project the movie in a studio and one or two people actually perform the sound effects to the picture. The sound effects are recorded live and are used in the final movie. The most common Foley sound effects are foot steps and clothing rustle. Some specific effects are actually much easier to do in Foley than cutting them individually. In Finding Forrester, there were lots of scenes with basketballs.The main character was a high school basketball player. It was much easier for us to have the Foley artists do the basketball dribbling for the movie then to sync each basketball hit by itself. Foley is used mostly when you have to deliver a foreign mix of your movie. You use Foley footsteps when you can't use the footsteps on the production recordings because you have to remove the dialog so that it can be dubbed into whatever language a particular country uses. We had the basketball effects on the dialog (or production) tracks and they were in sync.If ther e was any conversation going on during any of the dribbling, then when it came time to deliver the foreign version of the sound mix, we couldn't use any of the production basketball effects. There was dialog on it. In the case of Far From Heaven, the Todd Haynes film, Todd wanted us to do all of the Foley footsteps so they sounded like they came from a sound library that was put together in the 1950s. In fact, he wanted all of his sound to sound like it was from the 1950s and this was a studio picture. That was a challenge. Any time you do a period film it's a challenge.I had to find telephone effects with bell ringers, typewriters, and real V8 automobile engines. Most sound libraries don't have these effects anymore. And finding the real thing can be tough. As a sound designer, you learn to be resourceful trying to find some of these effects. We went out and recorded some old automobiles to get some realistic sounds of heavy old car doors closing. I mean, let's face it, a 55 Buick door certainly sounds a lot different from a Honda door. But back to Foley. If you're doing a small ndependent movie, the odds are you're not going to use much Foley.With Kicking Bird, I did all of the Foley myself with two of the effects editors, and we recorded it effects right in the editing room. I knew exactly what I needed, so I Just did the effects that were absolutely necessary. I had decided all of the running sequences would be done to music so I didn't even worry about doing footsteps for the runners. That would have driven me crazy if I had to do all of that. I Just fgured out what I needed to get the Job done and did exactly what I needed. Since I was going to be doing some f the mixing myself, and after 20 years of doing this, I knew what I needed and what I didn't.It may have passed you by, but the packaging for cornflour is changing – and, in one tiny part of the British film industry, it has created panic. Foley artists are responsible for beefing up a film's background noise – to make it sound as â€Å"real† as dialogue. For instance, they recreate the sound of a bird flapping its wings by blowing up a pair of kitchen gloves and then slapping them together in time with the action on screen. And, by squeezing paper cornflour packets tightly together, they recreate the sound of somebody walking on now. But now theyre starting to pack cornflour in tins. And tins won't do.When directors shoot a film, theyre worried about capturing the action and the actor's voice. Nothing else. Not the sound of a sword scraping against a tree, or a court shoe tiptoeing across a marble floor. Well, the sword is probably made of plastic – and the â€Å"marble† floor is probably painted plywood. So, when it comes to the edit, things don't sound like they're supposed to. Which is where the Foley artist comes in – to make the film sound â€Å"real†. A few years ago Alex Joseph, one of the countrys premier Foley uperviso rs, was asked to recreate the sound of a head being chopped off for Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven. Some people would have gone with a watermelon,† he tells me. â€Å"Or a frozen cabbage. † Instead, Joseph opted for green coconut: â€Å"The outside is fibrous. So it cuts like skin. And the hard shell sounds like bone. Inside is the Jelly, which sounds like blood. When you slice into it, it sounds Just like a human head. I imagine. † When Joseph is using organic material, he will buy or cut it on the day of recording. That's because, in the rarefied world of Foley, a plant that was picked two ays ago will sound different from one picked five days ago.For the scene in Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire, where Harry has to negotiate a living maze, Joseph says he went to great lengths to get â€Å"the sound of a privet maze and all its nuances – it had to sound alive and dangerous†. For Quantum of Solace, Joseph hired in some scaffolding and mocked u p a Tuscan roof with tiles that he bought on eBay. And, in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, he actually Jumped into a makeshift swimming pool with a sack of Nutrient Agar powder to make sure the chocolate river sounded thick enough. l was swimming about in the stuff all day,† he says. But it was very gloopy. I had to take four showers to get it all off. † Related Articles Sound of Hollywood could soon be virtual 030 Jul 2010 over 2 you 013 Jul 2005 The art of sound began in 1927 – when Universal employee Jack Foley helped turn the film studio's â€Å"silent† Show Boat into a full-on musical extravaganza. Because microphones could only pick up on dialogue, Foley had to add in the other sounds later. He projected the film onto a screen and recorded the footsteps, the movement, people. He acted out the film, all over again. Digital has made the business of Foley much easier.In the early days, the â€Å"sync† was fundamental – the sound had to m atch exactly what was going on. Now, it can be manipulated to fit. Technology has moved on, but Foley is still all about the â€Å"performance†. â€Å"A Foley artist can be playing a big brute one minute and a cute little girl the next,† says Joseph. â€Å"A footstep is not Just a footstep – it can be angry, happy, sad, confused, clumsy, slick, swaggering, light, heavy, wet, dry, young, old, male, female, slutty, sophisticated†¦ the list goes on. It's the performance that gets across the meaning to the viewers.And that performance could only ever come from the human mind. † Down a tiny lane, in the Buckinghamshire countryside, is the only studio in Britain to specialise solely in Foley. From the outside, Universal Sound looks like the home of a successful accountant. There's a swimming pool in the basement, where the audio effects for Narnia were recorded, and the sounds for the Harry Potter computer games. In the middle of the house is the heart of the operation – three studios, with bunker-thick walls. The main studio of Universal Sound looks like a student bedsit.In one corner there's a car door, eat and steering wheel. In another there's a kitchen. There's also a bathroom and a living room with a sofa. â€Å"Each Job brings a new prop,† says Foley artist Paul Hanks. And, by the looks of it, they never leave. There's a suit of armour that Hanks wore for the fantasy series Game of Thrones, while Simon Trundle, Foley mixer, hit him with a mace. Running along the wall of the studio, a Canadian miniseries is playing out in stop-start chunks. Hanks watches, and listens, picking out the important sounds.He then starts again, and records the Foley. Right now he's struggling with the sounds of able football. If this was a different project – with a different budget – he would have rented a table. Instead, he's ramming the handle of a broom into the spring mechanism of a toaster. â€Å"Too tinny,† s ays Trundle. There's no brief from the director of the Canadian miniseries. So it's up to Hanks and Trundle to decide what needs to be recorded – and how. The best Foley allows for five days to produce a 20-minute film sequence – Hanks needs to have this 50-minute episode finished today.The action culminates in a car, pulling up at speed, as a protagonist runs away. Hanks eaches for his box of â€Å"surfaces†, which contains everything from sand to gravel. He runs his suede gloves across Tarmac to recreate the sound of tyres. He then roots around in a box of shoes for â€Å"running†. He doesn't match what the protagonist is wearing on screen – they wouldn't sound right. miou don't often walk in leather-soled shoes,† says Hanks. â€Å"Theyre too click click. Desert boots are better. † Foley is the director's friend. Often more than 80 per cent of film dialogue isn't recorded â€Å"clean†.Maybe there was noise in the distance â₠¬  a car, for instance. Foley can cover that up. It can fill in blanks, too. â€Å"l remember on The Darling Buds of May,† says Hanks, â€Å"the story required there to be a horse in the stables behind the camera. But they had forgotten to film it. So they created the feeling' that there was another horse – with sound. † Foley can also be used to rectify a continuity problem. If an actor is holding a file, but then forgets to bring it back into shot, a Foley artist can insert the sound of the file being put away off camera.Joseph is in the studio next door, overseeing the Foley on Outside Bet, Bob Hoskins's latest offering. Joseph has been responsible for he Foley on a wide range of film and television. But he still finds it a weird world. You do hear some stories about people doing horrible things to vegetables. † Foley artists need imagination. â€Å"l go around Chinese supermarkets and select rather odd fruit and vegetables – things with odd te xtures,† says Joseph. He likes to use the scaly skin of a dragon fruit, for instance, as the scaly skin of a dragon. And for the floating books in Harry Potter, I went down the Charing Cross Road in London to buy a lot of antique books. A newer book Just wouldn't have made the same sound. Joseph even reworked classic Abba songs on Mamma Mia! , convincing a sceptical Benny Andersson to allow him to re-record the tunes with Foley artists cavorting in the dancers' clothes. Maybe it's because of his training as a psychologist, but Joseph is interested in subliminal messaging. â€Å"Like the way Derren Brown flashes subliminal images to tell you something. But I use sound instead. It's a bit of a dark art. And one that he's convinced will become ever more prevalent in the next few years, in computer games, for example. miou can really play with people's heads,† he says. mfou ould be implanting things that shouldn't be there. I set up characters before theyVe even appeared in a game. Bad guys make a nasty sound, so that when they run on screen, before you even hear them speak, youVe attached some psychological value to them. But you're given the information in your subconscious. † The work that Joseph is most proud of is the entire opening of Casino Royale.It's a high-energy sequence, involving Bond and a villain chasing across a mess of girders and construction materials. â€Å"Most of what dominates the soundtrack of that sequence is Foley,† says Joseph. It was quite a â€Å"literal† piece of Foley, and Joseph started by ordering four huge steel girders from a builder's merchant. It then took five Foley artists to get the girders into the studio. The team then stuck microphones onto the girders – one at each end – with microphones on two Foley artists who then â€Å"recreated† the chase sequence in the studio. It all went brilliantly,† says Joseph. â€Å"But I'm afraid the girders are still stuck in the studio. † Foley doesn't begin and end in the studio – artists like to listen out wherever they go. Which is why Joseph ended up recording his own dental ork – â€Å"l record anything that I don't have in the library. â€Å"When he was doing the Foley for Cold Mountain, the Anthony Minghella film set at the end of the American Civil War, Joseph hung out at a Wild West village near Gatwick. â€Å"As long as it was early in the morning,† he says, â€Å"before the planes started taking off. Foley is bespoke, which is why Foley artists hate the stock nature of off-the-shelf library sound effects. Take the so-called Wilhelm scream – a sound effect first used in 1951 for the film Distant Drums. It has become Hollywood's go-to shriek. It's a cinematic sound clich © – Joke among sound designers – and has now been used in well over 200 movies, including everything from Star Wars to Transformers. â€Å"If you watch 30 films,† says Jos eph, â€Å"l guarantee that you'll hear 100 sounds youVe heard before. After a while it's annoying.It's not Just the Wilhelm scream. There's a fox you hear in Just about every film – including Gladiator, in the middle of a desert, even though it's a fox from the UK. I suppose there's nothing wrong with it, but that's what I like about Foley. It's absolutely unique in every film. † ball hitting ball ball going into pocket Foley does not cover sounds like car engines, explosions or other mechanical stuff – driving a car around in the studio or blowing up a building is usually not possible although we have tried!We don't do birds, laser blasts, dog barks or rain storms either! These are the domain of the Sound FX Editor who draws upon a sampled Sound FX library and computer technology. Everything from helicopters to thunder can be layered and mixed in to an SFX track. FX Workstation While a Sound Editor can do very precise and repeatable effects, they have a harder time when it comes to footsteps for example, since every step is different and unique, he pace changes and the mood of the step is always different.With a good pair of shoes and years of practice, a Foley Artist can perform an actors walk perfectly on the first take while making it sound natural! In fact, one of the great ironies of Foley is that if you can tell it's Foley, then it isn't very good! My Job is to make the sound so real that the audience would never know it wasn't. C'est domage†¦ An Example†¦ Let's say in a scene the actor grabs his gun, walks to his motorcycle, starts it up and drives away†¦ Foley would recreate the sound of the leather Jacket and Jeans as the actor walks, ootsteps (heavy cowboy boots! , the gun pickup and handling, handlebar grab and bike moves – and maybe some key sounds as he puts them in the lock. 0 The Sound FX Editor would create the roar of the motorcycle engine starting and driving away, a tire squeal and background ambi ances (birds, wind etc. )0 In an ADR studio the actor would rerecord his line, â€Å"I'll be back†¦ â€Å", which was inaudible on location with the motorcycle engine running. The Dialogue Editor would conform the production and ADR into one. When played together, the tracks produce a seamless tapestry of sound.

How to bridge language barriers - Emphasis

How to bridge language barriers How to bridge language barriers A new dictionary is set to make sense of that most inscrutable of languages: teen speak. This comprehensive reference book, called Pimp Your Vocab, aims to allow bemused parents and teachers to comprehend such teenglish terms as owned (meaning embarrassed), smacked it (to have done well), and teek (adjective for very old; from antique). Understanding your child or pupil may help you to save face (though its probably best not to adopt these words yourself); but being completely clear in business communications can be the difference between winning and losing a client. Thinking globally In the modern world of global commerce, chances are at some point youll have to correspond with someone in another part of the world. We know technology can instantly transport information to just about anywhere on the planet, but are you sure your message will be completely understood once its there? If you are writing any work document (including any letters and emails) for someone whose first language isnt English, there are some rules that you must follow if you want to be understood. 1. Think of the reader and keep it simple This advice really applies to all business writing, but it is particularly important across language barriers. Use the most straightforward words and sentences you can. So, instead of saying, we have been thinking of implementing some alterations, please see them outlined in the attached document, try descriptions of the changes we want to make are in the attached document. Usually you should try to avoid tions (like description, recommendation etc.), as they tend to make sentences heavy with extra words. However, in this case its good to use them, since other languages often have recognisable equivalents. 2. Structure thoughtfully You want to make the readers journey through your document as smooth and easy as possible. Plan thoroughly first to make sure you structure it in the most logical way and use clear subheadings to guide them. If they have to work even harder by following a haphazard stream-of-consciousness, you risk irritating them and losing their interest entirely. 3. Be literal and explain yourself Be very aware of the language you choose. English is bursting with idioms (expressions that dont make sense from literal translations), like put the project to bed, cut the mustard and clear as mud. Avoid these entirely. What is an everyday term to us could well be utterly bewildering to your reader just imagine them looking up each individual word to understand the sentiment behind think outside the box or a different kettle of fish. Even such simple phrasal verbs as turned up and stand for dont make literal sense. Use came and represent or mean instead. Abbreviations and acronyms should also be used with care, or left out if possible. If you really cant avoid including them, make sure you explain them at your first use, or add a glossary. If you stick to these principles in your global dealings, you will reap the rewards. But when you do, just try to resist telling your colleagues that you totally smacked it.