All posts by : Braden Travers

During my time at high school, I fell in love with the world of media. The photography, the filmmaking, everything about it is something that I cannot get bored of. So when I was looking for programs to go into after high school was hard. I wanted to go into college since I took all college courses during high school and I had free range of any program in Ontario. Plus all of the program’s revolving around media was too much to think of. I wanted to go to Humber for film but I wanted to go to the business side of media, so I found Media Communications at Humber College. The 2-year program spoke to me and I was excited to submit my application to Humber hoping that I could get into the school, Lucky for me I was accepted into the program. 

The first word I heard from the program was from the coordinator Cathy Bidini. Cathy started the program and she is a caring sweet and great person to be around. She sent out an email to me and all of the new students attending Media Communications. She welcomed all of us to Humber College and told us when the orientation was and what we would need for the program. The two main things that we all needed were a good laptop that could handle Adobe products like Photoshop and Illustrator, and a DSLR camera that could record 4K video, after hearing that information. I would get the 2022 M2 MacBook Pro and the Canon EOS SL3 DSLR camera. The orientation was a week before all classes started. I attended the orientation and was welcomed by one of the graphic design professors named Jennie Grimard. She is also great and an awesome professor. After the orientation was finished. I was ready to start my first semester of College.

My first semester in Media Communications was tricky, but I got the hang of it over time. My favourite course from the first semester was digital imaging. The class had some of my favourite assignments like the short film and the doc in stills assignment where I did a PSA for peer pressure. It turned out great, by far one of my favourite projects I’ve done so far at Humber. The one class that I struggled with was Communication Skills. My professor wasn’t the greatest, the assignments were very hard, and the grades for the assignments would come in late, so I couldn’t tell what my mark was 3 weeks before the end of the semester, Communication SKills made my semester more stressful worthy then it should have been.

The second semester didn’t stress me out as much as the first semester but still did non the least. My favourite class this semester was all of them. All of the classes including the professors made the semester fun and exciting. We started doing studio portraits in our photography class, commercials in our Videography class, creating a book cover in our graphic design class, and a media kit in our media writing class which were all fun projects during the second semester 

I am in love with everything with the Media Communications program at Humber College. From the classes, the people in the program, the professors, everything about it is amazing. I am currently in my third semester getting ready to finish the program. If you are inspired by my words and want to attend the program,  the link to the official program page at https://mediaarts.humber.ca/programs/media-communications.html

The “Next One,” Connor Bedard, has been the talk of the hockey world for a while now. He is now the NHL’s representative for the future thanks to his extraordinary talent, scoring prowess, and maturity beyond his years. The NHL may be overusing Bedard’s publicity, even though there is no denying that he has fantastic skill. This article will look at Connor Bedard’s ascent and whether the NHL’s attention on him is obscuring the game as a whole.

Connor Bedard’s ascent to hockey stardom has been nothing short of remarkable. Hailing from North Vancouver, British Columbia, Bedard was granted exceptional player status by the Western Hockey League (WHL) at 15, allowing him to play in the league a year earlier than the typical age for junior players. He quickly made a name for himself by dominating the WHL, setting records, and garnering comparisons to some of the greatest hockey players in history. At just 17, Bedard was already being heralded as a potential generational talent, drawing comparisons to Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby, and Connor McDavid. His performances in the WHL and the World Junior Championship further solidified his status as a hockey prodigy. The NHL’s Embrace of the Bedard Hype The NHL has enthusiastically embraced the Bedard hype is not surprising. The league has been searching for a young superstar to pique people’s interest and spread the word about the sport. Bedard is the ideal candidate due to his amazing abilities and personality. He has been promoted in advertising campaigns, his accomplishments have been emphasized in promotional materials, and the NHL has closely followed his every move in the hockey world.

While it’s natural for the NHL to promote its emerging stars, there are concerns that the excessive attention on Connor Bedard may be detrimental to both the player and the league itself. Connor being in the spotlight of the NHL at such a young age can put the highest expectations on him and if he doesn’t match the outrageous possibilities, fans will be calling Connor a Draft bust.

An example of expectations not being met was in 2011. The first overall pick was a Russian named Nail Yakupov, he was compared to Sidney Crosby right off the get-go, and it wore and tore until he left the league to go overseas to Russia.

The NHL could also start paying attention to other talents in the league. With Conner Bedard being in the league now and all the attention being on him, how would someone like Matthew Tkachuk, a rising star for the Flordia Panthers get all the credit he deserves? it’s unfair to the rest of the players in the league and paints a target on Bedard’s back. There is also a risk of Connor burning out and folding under the pressure. To grow and mature both on and off the ice, young players like Bedard need time. We have observed burnout or mental health difficulties in other young athletes in different sports as a result of excessive exposure and media scrutiny. By putting one player in the spotlight over other players who share the same or possibly more talent them Connor, The NHL risks losing fans who want to see their team being shown on social media or have a prime-time game on live TV, instead of an 18-year-old kid.

Connor Bedard’s rise in the NHL is undoubtedly exciting, and his talent is a gift to hockey fans around the world. However, it’s essential to strike a balance between promoting young talent and nurturing the sport’s overall health. The NHL should continue to support and showcase emerging stars but avoid overwhelming a single player with excessive publicity. While it’s crucial to celebrate the exceptional skills of players like Connor Bedard, the NHL should also remember that the strength of the league lies in the collective effort and teamwork of all its players. The focus should be on the game of hockey itself, rather than just one player, no matter how promising he may be. Balancing the scale will ensure the long-term success of both the player and the league as a whole. Next time you turn on the TV and watch your favourite team, see how long it takes for the announcers or analyzers to mention Connor Bedard.

Throughout the years, music has been in our ears since the day we were born, Making us moody, happy, mad, and sad. But, in the 1940s, folk singer Woody Guthrie created an album called Dust Bowls Ballads where the songs had deeper meanings and combined to tell a story or a narrative

One of the most famous examples of a concept album is Pink Floyd’s The Wall. The Wall explores Themes of isolation and abandonment as the album follows the character Pink, who battles with relationship troubles, growing up, childhood trauma, and redemption.

Another classic concept album is Kendrick Lamar’s good kid m.A.A.d city. Where Kendrick raps about growing up in Compton. The album tackles how Kendrick would kill gang rivals, break into a house, his cousin getting shot, and try to make it out of the hood to stardom. But my all-time favorite Concept album is Tyler the creator’s 2019 studio album IGOR.

IGOR tells the story of Tyler’s alter ego of the same name. Igor falls in love with a boy who isn’t gay and learns to let go. The album is divided into two equal sides, not including IGOR’S THEME which acts as the album’s trailer. In the first half, Tyler falls in love with another man and the half ends with him realizing that the man is hurting him and needs to let go.

The story starts with EARFQUAKE where Tyler is depending on this man but is fearful of him leaving. I THINK is Tyler thinks that he is in love with him and suggests a puppet relationship between him and the boy. RUNNING OUT OF TIME shows the boy being in a relationship with a girl. Tyler gets mad and needs her out of the picture. So on NEW MAGIC WAND, he plans on killing the girl, with a magic wand being a metaphor for a gun, Tyler also says that if the boy doesn’t leave the girl, Tyler will kill both of them. The first part ends with A BOY IS A GUN*. The song tells us that Tyler realizes that the boy is dangerous to him and he never wants to see him again, which leads to the second half of IGOR where Tyler learns to let go.

The second half starts with PUPPET where the strings from the toxic relationship are still there but Tyler learns to cut himself from the strings and finally comes to his senses and becomes angry on the next song WHAT’S GOOD. The song is very heavy and jarring much like Tyler’s old work. But at the end of the song, he sees the light and learns how to let go of the boy. GONE GONE/THANK YOU is two songs combined into one. On GONE GONE Tyler looks back on his relationship with the boy and on THANK YOU instead of Tyler hating the boy forever, Tyler thanks the boy for all the positive times. I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE is where Tyler is ready to move on but wonders if a platonic relationship is possible with the boy. The last song on this amazing album is ARE WE STILL FRIENDS? Tyler doesn’t want the boy to just say goodbye to Tyler. He still wants to be friends with this boy. The album ends with a distorted synth which is very similar to how IGOR’s THEME starts. The album is played on a loop where Tyler is riding around chasing a boy and on the second half his eyes are open and he realizes he needs to let go.

Concept albums are some of the greatest albums of all time. They show that music is more than if it sounds good to the ear, it’s an experience worth the while

Middle8 made a terrific video talking about the story of IGOR. I highly recommend watching the video. The link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI-fyoZqBQI&t=592s&ab_channel=Middle8

A24’s Talk to Me was released on Friday, July 28th, 2023. Talk to Me was written and directed by Australian brothers Danny and Michael Philippou. Talk to Me was praised by famous horror icons such as Stephen King (writer of the book’s IT, Misery, and The Shining), Ari Aster (director of Hereditary, Midsomer, and Beau is Afraid), and Stephen Spielberg (director of Jaws, E.T., and Saving Private Ryan). I was very excited for this to be released. The fact that two YouTubers got a movie they made bought by A24 is very exciting, and I was intrigued from the start. I finished the movie, and I left the theatre with a massive thought process about what I just watched, I came to the conclusion, “That was the best movie I’ve seen this year”.

That statement still holds value as of writing this review. Everything about Talk to Me is fantastic. I started to fall in love with the opening scene. The one-take looked incredible and gave you what the hand can do to a person without telling you why he was acting like that. It keeps the creepy aspect of the movie if you don’t tell what is happening to people in this place right at the beginning of the movie, which makes the pacing of the movie flow smoothly. Nothing moves too quickly, and nothing moves too slowly. The deeper meaning of the movie is how drugs can affect someone who has lost. It has been said in the movie that using the hand gives you a euphoric feeling, like you’re having an out-of-body experience, which gets the character addicted to the hand.

The actors in the movie are all fairly new to the acting game, but they all put on an excellent performance. Sophie Wilde put forth such a moving performance as Mia; it made me truly believe that’s how someone would act if they could talk to the dead.

Joe Bird, who played Riley, is a young boy whose best friend is his older sister’s friend, Mia. He does a great job being the kid who wants to try it, but the consequences are dire. One of my favourite scenes from the movie is when a group of friends are all using the hand as a montage. The Montage is a very moving scene. Since the hand is a metaphor for drugs, the montage reminds me of a bunch of friends smoking weed together. I love how all of the people at the session are having a great time, having a laugh, and getting a euphoric feeling. Lastly, the ending of Talk to Me is a fantastic way to end the film. Mia dies and becomes the dead person that people talk to when others use their hands.

Everything about this movie is perfect in my eyes. From the acting to the writing, the cinematography, and the pacing make Talk to Me an Indie Horror classic. I am very excited about what the Philippou twins can do with the sequel.

Comment your thoughts on Talk to Me. Have you seen it? Did you like it? What did you like about it? What Didn’t you like about it?

If you want to learn more about Talk to Me, go to https://a24films.com/films/talk-to-me or watch the movie on any streaming service where available.

Frank Ocean released his second studio album Blond on August 20, 2016, after a 4-year plan to get out of his record deal with Def Jam Records. I wouldn’t fully listen to them until early 2021; ever since then, my life has changed.

Frank Ocean, otherwise known as Christopher Edwin Breaux was born on October 28, 1987, in Long Beach, California. Frank signed to Def Jam Records in 2009 and would begin being a ghostwriter for many artists like Beyonce, Justin Beiber, John Legend, etc. but Frank wouldn’t get a solid footing until he met Tyler, The Creator and joined the collective Odd Future. After joining Odd Future, Frank was inspired by members of Odd Future like Tyler, Earl Sweatshirt, and Hodgy to release a mixtape for free online. He would release Nostalgia, Ultra on February 16, 2011. The mixtape would be an underground classic and Def Jam saw what they had with Frank and decided to get him a two-album deal as a recording artist. It would take him a year but he would release Channel Orange, a Critically Acclaimed debut studio album which would go on to be nominated for two Grammys and Frank would win one. After the success of Channel Orange, Frank would go underground for four years. But in the four years, He would find a way to get out of his deal with Def Jam. He would give them a 45-minute-long visual album which is exclusive to Apple Music. Get out of his dead and a day later would release his real second studio album Blond. The album wouldn’t get to my ears until 2021

Before I listened to Blond, I was in a dark place mentally, the COVID lockdown was still in full throttle, and I was a 16-year-old boy who thought I knew everything. I remember the first song I heard from Blond was Nights, the most popular song off of Blond at the time. I brushed over it after 2 minutes of it since it wasn’t rap music. But it took me a year to realize how great the album was, and it also took me another year to realize that the album really saved my life and drove me away from going down a deep dark path.

I now know the importance of Blond and Frank Ocean have impacted my life in the best way possible. I truly believe that there are no bad songs on this album. My favourite song on this album changes every month, but now it’s Seigfried. The vocal range, the violin, and the 4th verse where Frank is talking to my soul about how he is going to have a good cry about me makes me wanna levitate and cry and be happy at the same time, but that’s how I feel with every song on this album.

Please listen to this album on any music streaming service where it is available the link to the album from Spotify is https://open.spotify.com/album/3mH6qwIy9crq0I9YQbOuDf.  This album saved my life. This album is on my wall. This album will hang on my neck until I die. Thank you, Frank.