Transformative Screenwriting: Charlie Kaufman’s Postmodern Adaptation of Story

The essay's investigation of postmodern storytelling and transformative screenwriting, in relation to how Robert McKee's Story is reflected in Charlie Kaufman's Adaptation – in text and subtext, form and content – shows that the film's form is that of the classical archplot. It is only Adaptation's content, reflecting the dream of an art film/antiplot that is critical – while the form is a complicitous Hollywood form. The ideas and discussions in the film are original, but not its form of storytelling. This is reflected in Adaptation's doubleness, its postmodern mix of complicity and critique, and in how it uses the postmodern device of parody to play with what's real and what's not, and how the film – in a sense – is a conscious failure. The film’s illusion of writing itself, however, forces the viewer to active engagement, creating a critical, Brechtian verfremdung effect – most notably in the film’s third act. Adaptation proves to be a process of evolution and adaptation through transformative screenwriting. The real and fictional Robert McKee's idea of story as change is reflected in its plot, and the fictional Charlie Kaufman himself is transformed at the end. Adaptation's form is conventional, and the film was a box office success – but neither the real nor the fictional Charlie Kaufman managed to express what they originally intended; stasis. The real McKee's ideas are made fun of, but his Story ideas are surprisingly deeply inherent in the film’s formal backbone. With Adaptation, the real Charlie Kaufman wasn’t yet able to free himself from his TV/Hollywood background to write the antiplot he dreamed of, and when he finally fully did so – with Synecdoche, New York – viewers deserted him

Commentary on "Comparison of Word Intelligibility in Spoken and Sung Phrases" by Lauren Collister and David Huron

We note that the intelligibility of vowels is reduced at high pitches, and propose that decreased decoding of vowels may partially account for the reported findings. Analysis of performance as a function of pitch is recommended. We surmise that reverberation associated with the large microphone distance might have generated reverberation that interfered disproportionately with identification of consonants in sung stimuli, which usually have greater sound intensity than spoken stimuli. Finally, we note the potential relevance of vibrato for speech intelligibility

Faktor - Faktor Yang Berhubungan Dengan Kejadian Tb Paru Pada Anak Umur 0 - 4 Tahun (Studi Kasus di Puskesmas Halmahera Semarang 2007)

Tuberkulosis paru adalah suatu penyakit infeksi menular mengenai parenkim paru yang disebabkan oleh basil Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberkulosis sering dijumpai pada orang dewasa muda dan anak - anak umur kurang dari 5 tahun. Pada orang dewasa, dua pertiga kasus terjadi pada laki – laki, tetapi ada dominasi kejadian tuberkulosis pada perempuan di masa anak – anak. Di Indonesia masalah TB Paru merupakan masalah kesehatan masyarakat yang cukup besar. Laporan WHO ( World Health Organization ) tahun 1997, menyebutkan Indonesia menempati urutan ketiga dunia dalam hal jumlah kasus TB Paru setelah India dan Cina. Pada tahun 1999 WHO memperkirakan, dari setiap 100.000 penduduk Indonesia terdapat 130 penderita baru TB Paru dengan bakteri tahan asam ( BTA ) positif. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan antara variabel bebas ( jenis kelamin, status gizi anak dan kepadatan hunian ) dengan variabel terikat ( kejadian TB Paru pada Anak umur 0-4 tahun ). Dalam penelitian ini kasus adalah penderita TB Paru pada Anak umur 0-4 tahun yang mendapatkan pengobatan di Puskesmas Halmahera sedangkan kontrol adalah bukan penderita TB Paru. Data diperoleh pada saat penelitian dimulai. Jenis penelitian ini adalah Case Control ( retrospektif ). Adapun instrumen yang digunakan adalah pedoman wawancara dan observasi. Dari hasil penelitian diperoleh distribusi frekuensi jenis kelamin responden terbanyak adalah perempuan (55,6 %), status gizi anak terbanyak adalah gizi baik (55,6 %) dan kepadatan hunian terbanyak adalah kepadatan hunian yang padat (70,4 %). Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan adanya hubungan yang bermakna antara terjadinya TB Paru dengan jenis kelamin ( P:0,027 ) dengan OR = 3,571, kepadatan hunian ( P:0,028 ) dengan OR = 3,455 dan tidak ada hubungan yang bermakna antara terjadinya TB Paru dengan status gizi anak ( P:0,783 ) dengan OR = 1,164. Peneliti menyarankan agar dilakukan peningkatan pengetahuan dan pendidikan masyarakat tentang penyakit TB Paru pada anak dalam hal perbaikan gizi anak, program gizi dan program Keluarga Berencana ( K

ACOUSTIC AND PERCEPTUAL ANALYSIS OF VOCAL REGISTERS

analysis of vocal registers in childre

Three applications of analysis-by-synthesis in music science

The article describes how my research has applied the analysis-by-synthesis strategy to (1) the composition of melodies in the style of nursery tunes, (2) music performance and (3) vocal singing. The descriptions are formulated as generative grammars, which consist of a set of ordered, context-dependent rules capable of producing sound examples. These examples readily reveal observable weaknesses in the descriptions, the origins of which can be traced in the rule system and eliminated. The grammar describing the compositional style of the nursery tunes demonstrates the paramount relevance of a hierarchical structure. Principles underlying the transformation from a music score file to a synthesized performance are derived from recommendations by a violinist and music performance coach, and can thus be regarded as a description of his professional skills as musician and pedagogue. Also in this case the grammar demonstrates the relevance of a hierarchical structure in terms of grouping, and reflects the role of expectation in music listening. The rule system describing singing voice synthesis specifies acoustic characteristics of performance details. The descriptions are complemented by sound examples illustrating the effects of identified compositional and performance rules in the genres analysed

Some observations on operatic singer’s intonation

Fundamental frequency (Fo) patterns are analysed in six recordings of the Romance from the First Act of Guiseppe Verdi’s opera Aida. Two of the recordings were sung by the late Swedish tenor Jussi Björling and the remaining four by other international premiere tenors. Fo tracking was carried out semi-automatically using the autocorrelation program of the Soundswell Signal Workstation™ software. Intonation characteristics were measured in relation to equally tempered tuning (ETT) based on the tuning of the orchestra. Great individual differences are found. The mean deviation from ETT varied between - 15 cent and + 30 cent. Only Björling tended to increasingly sharpen intonation, the higher he sang in his passagio region. Moreover, in the long sustained high note at the end of the Recitative he added a Portamento at the end, while the other singers increased Fo by about 40 cent over the same tone. Vibrato rate and extent were similar among the singers, but spectrum analysis of the vibrato waveform revealed various differences. The final descending octave interval exceeded the 2:1 frequency ratio in all singers except one. The results are discussed from the points of view of interval perception, performance practise and musical expression

Contribution of paranasal sinuses to the acoustic properties of the nasal tract

BACKGROUND The contribution of the nasal and paranasal cavities to the vocal tract resonator properties is unclear. Here we investigate these resonance phenomena of the sinonasal tract in isolation in a cadaver and compare the results with those gained in a simplified brass tube model. METHODS The resonance characteristics were measured as the response to sine sweep excitation from an earphone. In the brass model the earphone was placed at the closed end and in the cadaver in the epipharynx. The response was picked up by a microphone placed at the open end of the model and at the nostrils, respectively. A shunting cavity with varied volumes was connected to the model and the effects on the response curve were determined. In the cadaver, different conditions with blocked and unblocked middle meatus and sphenoidal ostium were tested. Additionally, infundibulotomy was performed allowing direct access to and selective occlusion of the maxillary ostium. RESULTS In both the brass model and the cadaver, a baseline condition with no cavities included produced response curves with clear resonance peaks separated by valleys. Marked dips occurred when shunting cavities were attached to the model. The frequencies of these dips decreased with increasing shunting volume. In the cadaver, a marked dip was observed after removing the unilateral occlusion of the middle meatus and the sphenoidal ostium. Another marked dip was detected at low frequency after removal of the occlusion of the maxillary ostium following infundibulotomy. CONCLUSION Combining measurements on a simplified nasal model with measurements in a cadaveric sinonasal tract seems a promising method for shedding light on the acoustic properties of the nasal resonator

Contribution of Paranasal Sinuses to the Acoustic Properties of the Nasal Tract

Background: The contribution of the nasal and paranasal cavities to the vocal tract resonator properties is unclear. Here we investigate these resonance phenomena of the sinonasal tract in isolation in a cadaver and compare the results with those gained in a simplified brass tube model. Methods: The resonance characteristics were measured as the response to sine sweep excitation from an earphone. In the brass model the earphone was placed at the closed end and in the cadaver in the epipharynx. The response was picked up by a microphone placed at the open end of the model and at the nostrils, respectively. A shunting cavity with varied volumes was connected to the model and the effects on the response curve were determined. In the cadaver, different conditions with blocked and unblocked middle meatus and sphenoidal ostium were tested. Additionally, infundibulotomy was performed allowing direct access to and selective occlusion of the maxillary ostium. Results: In both the brass model and the cadaver, a baseline condition with no cavities included produced response curves with clear resonance peaks separated by valleys. Marked dips occurred when shunting cavities were attached to the model. The frequencies of these dips decreased with increasing shunting volume. In the cadaver, a marked dip was observed after removing the unilateral occlusion of the middle meatus and the sphenoidal ostium. Another marked dip was detected at low frequency after removal of the occlusion of the maxillary ostium following infundibulotomy. Conclusion: Combining measurements on a simplified nasal model with measurements in a cadaveric sinonasal tract seems a promising method for shedding light on the acoustic properties of the nasal resonator

Regional variation in climate impact of grass-based biogas production: A Swedish case study

Transitioning from a fossil economy to a bio-economy will inevitably increase the demand for biomass production. One strategy to meet the demand is to re-cultivate set-aside arable land. This study investigated the climate impact and energy potential of grass-based biogas produced using fallow land in Uppsala municipality, Sweden. The assessment was performed on regional level for more than 1000 individual sites, using the agro-ecosystem model DeNitrification DeComposition (DNDC) in combination with time-dynamic life cycle assessment methodology. The results showed that the system could significantly increase biogas production within the region, which would reduce the climate impact by 9950 Mg CO2-eq per year. Compared with diesel fuel, the grass-based biogas gave a GWP reduction of 85%. However, the site-specific GWP reduction showed large spatial variability, ranging between 102 and 79% compared with diesel fuel, depending on where in the region the grass was cultivated. Two alternative scenarios were investigated, increased mineral N fertilisation and inclusion of N-fixing crops in the feedstock mixture. The highest mitigation per biogas energy produced was found for the N-fixing scenario but, because of lower yields, this scenario had lower total mitigation potential for the region than the increased fertilisation scenario. The increased fertilisation scenario had a lower climate mitigation effect per biogas energy produced, but the highest mitigation potential when the whole region was considered, because of the increased biogas production. The method applied in this study can guide land-use planning of local energy production from arable land, also for other regions. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd