Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a competitive online multiplayer game, with the vast majority of players residing on the PC platform, the game is available on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 but they have never been updated so are at their 2012 edition forever.

Taking a different approach for this week's diary to avoid just writing about music for eternity, I figured I'd just look at a video game. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, or CSGO, is something I play pretty often with friends (and strangers). The main gamemode in the game, 'Competitive Mode', consists of a very simple formula. The aim is to plant the bomb if you're on the Terrorist side and defuse the bomb if you're on the Counter-Terrorist side. The game is split into rounds and halves. If a team is eliminated then the round ends. If the objective is achieved then the round ends. If the timer runs down then the rounds ends. It's extremely generic and incredibly simple to understand but at the same time it's also one of the most difficult games to master.

The game falls under the 'First-Person Shooter' genre and normally has anywhere between 200,000 and 600,000 players online at any time. It's a very mainstream game, mostly due to it being popular with all ages and also it being very easy to run. I'd say that only a small minority of players are actually playing the game on high end machines, most are probably just playing on a laptop. I think that's the beauty of the game, anybody can just start playing it.

Personally, I play the game to get better at playing the game. There's no real storyline to complete, this isn't a Role Playing Game or anything so there's no characters to get attached to. It could come under the idea of escaping reality. It isn't like I often get the chance to go out and defuse a bomb with only 6 seconds left in the round while you're friend shouts at you over Skype so you can't hear where the bomb is. That being said, with the casual nature of the game at parts, I tend to just talk about real world stuff like what I had for tea or the person who fell onto my lap on the bus and then didn't even apologise. CSGO is really entertaining for this fact, you can just hop on with your friends and mess about. There's a huge Russian community for the game so 9 times out of 10, if you don't have a full team of 5 friends then you'll be stuck with a random Russian guy who can't speak English and just is generally unhelpful. It's all good fun really.

The themes of the game if they were analysed are pretty shocking when considering current world events but the fact that the maps in the game are set in pretty nondescript places help to break the connection with our actual world. The Terrorist side are a huge stereotype. Middle-Eastern men with AK-47s as their main weapon of choice.

Terrorist

There is a fair amount of humour in the game, even though it isn't designed that way. Chickens roam the maps and you can press a key when looking at them to claim them as your own. If you claimed chicken is killed then you will get a message in the chatbox telling you. It doesn't sound particularly funny when it's described but it's more of a situational 'haha'.

CSGO revolves entirely around having a team, preferably a team that understand the game and all speak at least some of the same language. Playing with strangers can sometimes yield new friends that you'll eventually end up playing with again. Finding another British person on the game is like winning the lottery, it's an instant everlasting friendship. CSGO is incredibly social, there is item trading features that allow you to trade in game items with other players. There is also features to watch other peoples' gameplays and online livestreams and interact in that way. I personally don't care much for livestreams, I'd rather play the game myself than watch another person do it.

I don't tend to talk much about the game outside of the game itself as it doesn't provide much of a talking point but I know that other people will more than happily talk about it. 

In terms of the Uses and Gratifications model, the game doesn't provide any information apart from telling you're when you are bad at it, I wouldn't really come to the game to learn anything valuable. I kinda touched on it in the other bits of the diary but the game really panders to the Entertainment and Social Interaction models, not much with Personal Identity unless you count being personally attack by your team mates when you make a wrong move. I don't find I identify with being a Terrorist much.

EVOL

EVOL - Future

I've been listening to this album multiple times over the past week, along with other music as this isn't a hugely recent album - it was released back in February this year so the hype around it has slowly died down. It's still Future's latest full album - his 4th studio album. Since the majority of my music habits revolve around the genres of Rap, Hip-Hop and variations like Trap (which is more of an Atlantan style) I came across Future a while ago, in his 'Pluto' days. Basically, Spotify just fuels my Hip-Hop addiction and suggests more and more of the stuff to me. "Top Recommendations For You" is just Spotify's way of telling me to repeatedly listen to the same music over and over. Apart from a few friends, I mostly discover new music like this by myself and I quite enjoy that about it, I like that nobody I know has heard the music before.

EVOL, or LOVE backwards is generally a relaxing album. I don't know whether it's just Future's unique voice or what but it's definitely something to chill out to. Especially 'Low Life', which is one of Future's most popular songs these days, it's a chilled out song that is just easy listening. It has a kick to it if you pay attention to the lyrics but the beat and general vocal style is easy on the ears. The song features the popular line, "I'm reppin' for the low life" which throws back to where Future came from. Most artists do this at some point. Future also mentions stereotyping in the song, obviously embracing it though.

The album's tone changes quickly after Low Life, with 'Fly Shit Only' bringing a guitar track into the mix and a different voice that we rarely hear from Future. Instead of his usual husky voice, he sounds noticeably clearer at the song's start. Only the hook of the song is the usual Future style, with the verses featuring what appears to be actual singing. Future is sometimes criticised as being 'mumbly' so for him to come out with this song, it puts those people in their place. Granted, he is pretty mumbly a lot of the time. You only have to listen to Maybach on this same album to hear that.

Whereas DS2, Future's 3rd studio album, promotes a lot of drug use and the drinking of lean, EVOL is more about love (hence EVOL/LOVE). Future had been pumping out albums and mixtapes for a while before EVOL was released all with slightly different themes, it's not unusual for an artist to do this. Not many audience members who listen to this style want the same thing over and over.

Personally I love the album, I do find that DS2 is more enjoyable and Honest even more than that. Honest has 'I Won' which features Kanye so of course I love that album. Pluto is still a classic to me, which I guess makes my least favourite Future album EVOL despite it being absolutely fantastic. Future has worked a lot with Drake, which is still surreal in the fact that Drake is an child actor from Canada called Aubrey and Future is a criminal that used to go by the name of Cash to avoid police catching him. Some would call them complete opposites but I find that music brings all kinds of people together. Future's real name is Nayvadius by the way.

The reason I keep coming back to this album is purely because I know I will find something I like in it, and it's something I haven't quite listened to death yet.

JEFFREY

JEFFREY - Young Thug

4th Mixtape from Atlanta Hip-Hop artist Young Thug. Released almost a month ago, 26th August.

JEFFREY starts off in a very different tone to Thug's previous album, Slime Season 3. It's a lot more relaxed and almost tells a story right away. Young Thug, or his real name Jeffrey Lamar Williams continues a similar tone throughout the album, referencing culture and even in the song titles with titles like 'Harambe' who was a gorilla who many thought didn't deserve to be killed.

Thug is clearly influenced by Kanye West, embracing himself. The album cover shows him wearing a lilac dress, covering his face with a matching hat. Thug has recently started moving toward the fashion world which is also something Kanye has done. Kanye has his YEEZY/YZY SZN clothing line and his collaboration with Adidas for the Yeezy shoes (350, 750 Boost and 950 as well as unique shoes made specifically for Kanye). Thug has been seen at many high end fashion shows, even jumping out of the crowd in one to fix a model's outfit very recently.

The album should really be listened to as a whole, it's essentially 45 minutes of art. I'm definitely not the target audience for this album in any way at all ever. But I still really enjoy listening to it, there's definitely passion put into it. I'd recommend listening to it, even to somebody who isn't particularly into the music style.

'Jeffrey' is repeated in 'Pop Man' but it isn't just repeating, it's more passion than that. Thug shows love for the music in every song, Little 'micro-hooks' I guess they could be called, are repeated through a lot of the songs.

The album artwork is as much of an art as the music. It's admirable that Thug goes against the norm for Hip-Hop artists, even against how other artists that are featured on the album are presented. While Thug is from Atlanta, he is unlike other Atlanta rappers like Future, whose style is undeniably unique. Thug's voice is clearly similar to Future's with them both being from Atlanta but there's more within it. Williams' has more of a tone range, he expresses a lot. Future is more deep and just chilled. Example of Future being Future would be Low Life, he's extremely typical of himself. I'm as much of a fan of Thug as I am of Future, there's just a difference that is noticeable.

Skirt was made by an Italian designer called Alessandro Trincone
https://www.notjustalabel.com/designer/alessandro-trincone-0

The Fault In Our Stars: Movie Review - Media Diary Week 1

The Fault in our Stars- Movie Review

The film adaptation of John Green’s cherished young adult novel ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ has become one of the most highly talked about films of the year and not without good reason. The film revolves around sixteen year old Hazel Grace Lancaster who has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Thyroid cancer. While attending support group, which she was forced into by her concerned mother, she meets the handsome, charismatic and endearing Augustus Waters. This movie, despite the generic, been-there-done-that set up of the basic plot, adds a very unique and truly heartbreaking atmosphere to the story and with such lovable characters it’s almost impossible for viewers not to be sobbing loudly in the middle of a crowded cinema screen. 

During the film there are a wide range of extremely intense and emotional scenes that where portrayed remarkable by the entire cast, Shailene Woodley (Hazel) truly embodied the character and pulled her life and soul straight from the pages of the book. The chemistry shown between not just Hazel and Gus but between all the characters was so heartfelt and believable that at points it made me forget that this was not based on a true story. Despite on the surface this being a teen love story, an aspect that made this film truly remarkable to me was the family dynamic presented throughout. The interaction between Hazel and her family was so believable and relatable to people in any walk of life not just people in her situation. 

Cinematography wise, the movie was shot in a way that felt completely real and perfectly naturalistic, nothing felt too shiny or high end, ensuring that the main focus of this movie was the beautifully compelling plot and characters. A very nice addition to the film was definitely the way Hazel and Gus would text back and forth to each other. The texts would appear in speech bubbles across the screen, which not only allowed the movie to flow well but also allowed for some very adorable moments from the novel to be included in the movie. 

Throughout The Fault in Our Stars the score and soundtrack included is perfectly fitting with every theme of the movie and each piece of music complements the scenes flawlessly. The score is so beautifully and carefully composed that each time I here a song included in the film it leaves me with chills, this movie is a prime example of a delicate soundtrack with a large effect on the audience. 

Despite this movie being branded primarily as a film for teenagers and young adults, I believe that any person could enjoy this movie. It is a human story at heart without no special effects or large outlandish sets, it is a story about people and the tragedy of life itself which anyone can relate to. The Fault in Our Stars, is a tragically beautiful movie, that embodies everything good about films made for teenage audiences. It combines comedy and heartbreak to create the perfect balance for a film that stays with you for a long while after the credits role.  

 

Media Diary Week 2

Recently I've been watching a short fashion series on YouTube called "Future of Fashion with Alexa Chung." The latest episode I watched was titled  "How Do You Become A Fashion Designer". I came across this series when I did my usual browse through Vogue's YouTube channel to only find the trailer for the series and every Tuesday since I've caught in with what Alexa's mission has been for that episode. The soul purpose of this series is investigate the most frequently asked questions about how to break into the fashion industry.

Vogue have produced this text to an audience of Aspires, mainly a demographic of young fashion students who are struggling to find their way into the fashion world. the Aspirer loves all things superficial and one of the most superficial things in this world is fashion. It can range from high-street to high-end. Mainly this documentary focuses on high-end with designers such as Balmain and Alexander McQueen.

As I have a love for fashion and documentaries, combing the two makes my reaction ten times better, There is always something to take away from each documentary consumed and I feel so much as been taken out that I will hopefully benefit from later in life. I've always heard the phrase "fashion is an impossible thing to get into" however the documentary is out to prove this statement wrong, it is a real eye opener for young aspiring fashion lovers to achieve a goal that has always been said to be "unrealistic." From the moment this series began, I instantly fell in love. People may consume this purely to fill time, like I was in the beginning, but now I use to just to extend my love further and further for fashion and just to hear Alexa Chung's monotone voice, there's something about it that has a calming and humbling aspect to it. (P.S I highly recommend her book, such an amazing read.)

If somebody had a different reaction to me they would still see this in a positive light but look at it from a different perspective. They could have different reasons to be watching it. If viewed negatively all I would ask is, why were you on British Vogue's YouTube channel anyway?

Oxy-Moron by ScHoolboy Q

7:48 AM 22nd September 2015

I found this album being discussed by other artists about a month before its release in 2014.

It is in the Rap/Hip Hop genre.

The purpose of this album is to encourage the audience of the text to do what they want and to get away from their lives if they do not like it.

The institutions that produced this text were 'Top Dawg Entertainment' and 'Interscope Records'.

The target audience of this album would be young working class men aged between 17-23 in the E, D, and C2 classes who may be an aspirer.

My reaction to the text was that I thought it was a very empowering piece of media text and was very outgoing and experimental. It had a very positive feel and was very hard hitting.

I think people would consume this text because it discusses certain issues that may appear in young peoples lives from working class backgrounds who live in working class areas. It may inspire them to do things they never thought they could do. It gives them hope and it can be used for escapism from their lives.

Some people may react differently to the text by saying all it is, is just a man using very bad language and rapping about money, drugs, alcohol and women. They may think this because they might not listen to the lyrics properly or understand what they actually mean, what the theme of the album is.

Media Diary: Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan - Film Review

Director: Steven Spielberg

Written by: Robert Rodat

Starring: Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi,
Adam Goldberg, Jeremy Davies and Matt Damon.

Certificate 15

Running time: 169 minutes

Saving Private Ryan is a Steven Spielberg movie released in 1998.The is based in World War 2,
The movie is based around a real life story which serves to follow a troop of soldiers set on a special PR mission through Normandy to find a Private James Ryan and take him, home to his mother, who is shortly to learn that her other three sons that went off to war were killed in action. In the movie a real life letter sent to the Ryan's mother is shown which informs her of the deaths of her 3 sons written by Abraham Lincoln.

The opening scene is the most unforgettable scene I have ever encountered, the scene is the American Soldiers arriving on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944 in a way that is as graphic as any war footage. The cinematography of this scene is outstanding as the ECU's of the characters faces as they set out onto the beach really sets a feeling for the whole scene as you can see the fear in the eyes of the men. The whole scene is shot by a hand held camera which really shows you the point of view of these soldiers, and makes you feel like you are their on that same beach encountering this horror. You are forced to confront the chaos that faced the poor troops on the beach, like when a soldier has his arm blown off. He staggers, dazed, open to further fire, and then he bends and picks up his arm, as if he will need it later. Few film makers have ever shown the audience so much 'real life' horror graphics of battle the way Spielberg does in this opening scene. It is a genuinely terrifying scene which really puts you in the shoes of these soldiers and is a tribute to those men who fought and died on that beach.

The plot of this story is really enlightened by the cinematography used by Spielberg as the camera tells a story itself no way id does in any other war film. It really makes you feel like you are among these soldiers and really makes you feel the pain they felt.

Many war veterans who watched this movie have said that Saving Private Ryan is the most realistic and outstanding recreation of what it was really like that day on June 6th on the beach,

At the end of  this scene the camera focuses on the corpse of a soldier lying on the beach with the initials on 'Ryan S' on his back. This was the death of the 3rd son, this leads onto a haunting scene of the mothers informing of the death of her 3 sons, which leads onto the mission which is covered in the movie of the finding of Private Ryan the mothers fourth son.

I would say this is the best recreation of a war film I have ever watched and the most hear throbbing realistic experience of being an audience I have ever encountered. Unsurprisingly Spielberg won numerous awards for this movie including a Oscar for best director in 1999. I would strongly recommend people to watch this movie.



This scene sets the feel for the whole movie

Media Diary: Until Dawn

The game, Until Dawn is an interactive survival horror game. The game was developed by SuperMassive Games who also developed Little Big Planet. Until Dawn received the second best-selling software for the week of 29 August 2015, debuting at No. 2 in the UK retail software sales chart. Although other games such as WatchDogs and The Last Of Us received much higher download percentage the game is popular amongst the horror fanatics and thrill seekers. 

The story of eight friends who get stuck on a mountain getaway gone wrong, things quickly turn sinister and they start to suspect they aren’t alone. This game is highly popular due to its cinematography and graphics. The cinematography includes high angle and low angles to establish who is the villain and who are the 'hero'. Extreme close ups are used to show the true emotion of the character and feel empathy for them. Also wide view shots of forests to make us feel anxious and scared that something is lurking in the shadows and we are not alone. 

The graphics shocked people, the use of S4's full 8GDDR5 RAM but still featuring real time reflections made the game even better. The use of these made the game much more detailed and life like. Each voice actor had their own character which looked the exact same as the real life human. even down to the hair and body builds. For me, this made the game more enjoyable due to being able to see even the littlest actions that the characters did. 

The narrative was not event followed by event. In the gameplay, if you found a certain object it would show an event of the future. This made the game even more exciting as a simple twist as to seeing a clue for the future makes us curious and willing to continue on playing the game. 
 

Rating: 9.5/10

Media Diary Week 2

The amazing spider-man 2, directed by Marc Webb, came out in April 2014 following the first Amazing spider-man and the original comics. I've always been as fan of the Spider-man films as I have all the original films on DVD so when I heard they were remaking them, I couldn't wait to see them in the cinema. The Spider-man films have many genres such as fantasy, action and adventure.

In the second film, we watch Peter Parker as he carry's on revealing more secrets from his father's past. We see him develop as character as he finds out who his true enemies are and he protects the ones he loves. His struggles are shown as he takes on Green Goblin, Electro and Rhino. The film is targeted at superhero fans, children and young adults possibly from the ages of 16 to 24 because I believe you have to love superhero films and fantasy films in order to enjoy a film that was originally a comic. It appeals to the audience due to the original comics, the special effects, the non-stop action and the fact that children aspire to 'become like spider-man'.

The purpose of the film is to entertain the audience and spark the imagination creating a bond between the main character and the audience. As soon as I seen The Amazing Spider-man, I loved the films even more and was eager to see the second one. I loved the new villains and how different they were to the original ones. People would consume this text purely because of all the action,the graphics and  how much they love superheroes. Different marvel films may create different responses from audiences as some might think that a certain superhero or an actor/actress does not fit that part properly.

The text that changed my life!

one text that really stood out to me more than any other was probably the album 'The Black Parade is Dead by My Chemical Romance, I first found this text in 2011 and being young i didn't quite understand what was behind it and what the lyrics meant at the time, but as i continued listening and got older i found that i related to the lyrics of the songs and i formed a personal identity of my own through the music. When ever i felt i had nobody or felt in a bad place i felt this album was the alternative to my problems and used it as an escape mechanism, it worked and gradually i used to feel myself feeling better about everything knowing that i had something to relate to and someone who could actually out into words how i was feeling at a certain point in my life.

The whole album is pretty much up beat but the lyrics still find a way to have meaning and make a person feel accepted, the songs i related to most on the album were probably, Welcome to The Black Parade and Famous Last Words, the whole album is although upbeat is still quite dark and sad but has a way of making people feel better and gives them a place to go to in the darkest times.

I think this album gave me a new outlook on life and showed me that its okay to not be okay and that there's always somewhere to go or something to take your mind off things when you need it. it also showed me that everybody has problems and in a weird way made me a better person and made me a more considerate person to other people. This text has a song for almost everything that could possibly be wrong with a person and that what always fascinated me about this album, it managed to attract over 1 million copies in just the US alone, this album has been bought all around the world by all ages, it just shows that anyone and everyone can relate to this album in one way or another and I think that without me knowing it when i first heard it that's what drew me into it, it certainly did change my life, it helped me out of a place i didn't even think i could get out of, i swear my life by this album and it is and always will be my favourite album because of that.

The album is based upon a parade that young boys father took him to, he believes its his fondest memory and as he gets older and reaches his time of death, the black parade is what comes to lead him through to the after life, all of the songs on this album link in with that making it to me, a severely beautiful album with so much meaning, it represents the band so well and the members of the band, the album tells a story of life and death and it has not only changed peoples lives but its seriously saved them too, its an album for everyone and welcomes any listeners.

Media Studies Diary Week 4

A media text that changed my life was an album by a Punk band called Anti-Flag.

This album was called For Blood And Empire.        

This album changed my life as it was the first band I properly listened to and became a fan of. As well as this it determined my music taste from an early age. It also made me think more about politics in the western world due to its anti establishment themes and left wing views.

I first consumed this text when I was 9 or 10 years old. I had began exploring different types of music when my uncle introduced me to Dead Kennedys, and so I came across this. This text makes me feel in high spirits due to its upbeat tempo in its songs and catchy lyrics. This text continues to influence me today as it continues to challenge most opinions about the government and the supposed "help" they give us, it made me research into politics more and form my own opinion on politicians based on that research (although the music itself influenced my opinion too). I believe that this album influenced other people to become more politically active as well as bringing new life to the punk genre which had been growing smaller and smaller since the early 90's.

Media Diary - Text that changed my life

Media Diary Week 4 – Album that changed my life, Minutes to Midnight – Linkin Park

This was the first album I bought,  I was getting into music at the time and this had just came out and I remembered being even younger than I was at the time and they were in the charts and very popular.  I picked it up and went home, put it in my CD player and listened, I knew somewhat what to expect as they were a “rock” band but also included rapping in their songs. The first thing that comes to mind when I actually think of this album is the unbelievable scream on the song “Given Up”, that’s what I think help structure some of my taste in music now, but this whole album is why I love music as passionately as I do. It is the reason for all the variations in music I listen to, as it is such a rollercoaster of an album, the songs are so different but they go together on the album in some strange way, “Given Up” being a rock/metal song to “Leave Out All The Rest” being a soft rock/ballad type of song, to “Bleed It Out” being a nu-metal/rap rock song that we are used to from them. It opened me up to so many variations of the same genre, “rock”. This album shaped the foundations of my life as it is at the moment, its because of this /I dress the way I do, because of this I go to concerts in my spare time and get an unbelievable amount of enjoyment from doing so and because of this album I hang round with the people I do, we all like the same music-ish and all have opinions on it. Actually taking time to sit down and reflect on how important this purchase was on my life is quite a weird feeling, if I would of picked up an Eminem album or some rubbish one hit wonder I would very much doubt I would be doing this work today This album made me feel energetic, it opened my mind and made me think about how important music is. Now I know this album is nowhere near as good as this bands other albums and especially not as good as classic rock albums but for what it done, this is easily the most important album in my life, other albums have changed my view on things and how I view things but none have completely change me as a person like this did when I first bought it in 2007. 

Diary- vogue magazine

Vogue magazine is usually targeted at the higher class working woman, between the ages of 18 and 35.This is because of its content and design and also because of its price tag,in comparison it is around the same cost as 2 or 3 'normal' fashion magazines.It is laid out in a sophisticated style that looks expensive and glossy. Unlike lower end brand magazines,vogue has a timeless status among publications, as being the equivalent to a 'fashion bible'.However among the pricey advertisements, and lengthy detailed articles the magazine offers a sense of normality, shown through the famous face that graces the cover each month, from the newer celebrities of this generation such as Lana del Rey and Rhianna to the older yet  iconic Madonna and Cindy Crawford.If people feel as though they can relate with what's shown they are more likely to buy and read into what a magazine or any form of media has to say.