Moody Media Moods

     Personally, I have been aware and even focused on how different media for music compliment completely different moods. If I'm conflicted about something or just bored and looking for an escape and a little adventure, I'm going to get into my car with my phone plugged into my aux cord and the volume and bass turned up. If it's late, I'm going to be listening to something calmer with my headphones on. If it's a sunny afternoon on the weekend, and I'm about to clean the apartment, I'm going to be listening to Carly Simon on the record player.

 

     Even if I was to listen to the same song through these three different media, a different effect would be instilled within me each time because of the different sound qualities and how the sound is localized and dispersed differently through each media. It is great to have all three forms, and one doesn't seem to lack anything that the other has. It's just about using the right medium during the right time.

     The second types of media I'm most focused on would be the different forms for watching movies. Deciding where to watch a movie isn't as much about deciding which mood you are in as when listening to music, mainly because you can only access certain movies at certain places. Nonetheless, the different locations do have different feels to them. If I want to be laid back and not fully invested in the story, I'm going to watch a movie I find while flipping through the channels on my TV. If I'm really interested in the storyline, I'm going to watch it on my laptop on Netflix with my headphones on. This makes me feel more personally involved with the storyline and characters. However, if I'm looking for a full on experience, I'm going to go to the theater that has the big screen and surround sound. Here the storyline does not matter as much than if I was to watch a movie up close on my laptop due to the added effects the theater provides, but it does matter a little more than if you were to watch a random movie on the TV because you are trapped in the auditorium and completely enclosed  by the sounds and visuals. 

     As noted so far, I'm interested in the effects of sounds and visuals when I seek out entertainment, so as far as social media goes, I mainly stick to Instagram where the focus is on the pictures, and you can even add short little clips with sound. When trying to get a message across especially on social media, I believe visuals are the best forms because they have the potential to convey so much more in a stronger way and in much less time. Instagram even allows you to add a caption, if it's needed, to further direct the thoughts of your followers when they look at your post. Instagram is even good for saying nothing at all and posting a picture of your cat or the shoes you wore for the day.

     If I do want to actually sit down and read something, I want all the details. I want to feel the full capacity that the ordering of words can bring, so I also want full control of my experience. I want to be able to hold a hardcopy and flip back and forth throughout the story as freely as possible. With reading on a screen, there is something that makes the reading experience a little more impersonal. Screens are for visuals, and while reading, you are more in control of your entertainment experience since all you have to work with is words. It's better to have the right tools to be more in control. Something hands-on like the pages of a book give off that hands-on effect.