These are animations I made in MDIA 1300 Digital Media Production Basics.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
Campus Celebrity: Future Mr. and Mrs. Willis
I created this video for Her Campus OhioU, an online magazine ran by Ohio University students.
I am Co-Editor-in-Cheif of the site.
Wahama Football Unites the Community
I created this video package about the community aspect of Wahama high school football in Mason West Virginia.
It begins at 16:45.
It begins at 16:45.
Opening Two Refections
Where do Ideas Come From?
Yes I agree that it is something that just comes to you in a moment and if you don’t pay attention to it in that moment there is extreme fear that you may never get it back and for me at least it makes me feel as though I am losing a piece of myself or a bit of my creative thoughts, but upon further reflection I realize that that thought or idea wasn’t mine at all.
Sure I had a part in it by seeing it and conceptualizing it in my own terms, but to me, that idea came from things around me. Most every thought you have is in some way or another influenced by what is around you whether it be people, experiences, contrasting beliefs, shared beliefs or a psychotic lapse of sanity. It is something that isn’t inherent to you alone but rather something that when you find it, discover it, or loathingly lose your mind inside of it, is then transformed from whatever it was conceived as in another beings brain, another beings experience, or another beings emotions, tangible and intangible, it forms from your creativity, and has a way of shaping you in return.
The Power of Myth
I really connect with and agree with how George Lucas believes we are all mentors and we are all teachers and that we teach by living our lives not necessarily by lecturing. I think this is very true because all our actions have an impact on others, some of which cause learning experiences whether intentional or not.
Video Games and Storytelling
I’ve never really thought about how different it is to write for a game rather than a movie. The fact that the audience participates in the story you are writing is a complex idea and I can see how it would be challenging. It is interesting to think of it as passive versus linear storytelling, a comparison that opened my eyes to how writing a video game significantly differs from normal story writing. It is definitely unfortunate that well written games don’t typically sell. But I feel if publishers actually pick them up, there would be a large market of buyers willing to buy well-written games.
Musical Language
I find the idea of perfect pitch very fascinating. I also think it is very cool how certain languages are pitch languages. I never explicitly realized that certain languages are characterized by pitch variation. It also seems as if they are more in touch with one another through this. With English, in my opinion any way, we can recognize a change in someone’s tone and it may indicate a change in mood but this change in meaning of the words as it transforms with the change in pitch is something I don’t think is extraordinarily perceived among native English speakers.
The Power of Music
I find it very interesting that music has this sort of power. We all know it has the power to evoke emotion but I never realized how much power it had outside of that and how different tempos can completely change the song and completely change how it effects the world around it. I found it incredibly mind blowing that after 150 decibels, sound actually could become plasma in the air. The fact that sound can literally physically change matter is incredible. I think a lot can be taken away from the notion that how sound varies can really affect how the listener feels and is something worth a lot of attention in creative works which a majority of media pieces are.
Joke Video
The Greedy Lawyer
Original Story Board by Tyler Putnam
Video Adaptation by Brett Maszczak and Carly Maurer
This creative project went fairly smoothly except for a few minor mishaps. I started by looking through all of the different storyboards. Most of them required many different actors, and I knew I would not be able to accurately represent them. I was pleased when I finally found "The Greedy Lawyer". One of the most difficult shots for me was creating a wheelchair. I used a normal chair and my bike, with some clever cropping it sort of appears to be accurate. The most difficult part of this project was correctly reading the lines, I believe there are a couple instances where I say a word that was not in the original script. There were no errors that had an impact on the overall story though. While shooting I did not notice that the "United Way" logo displayed on my laptop was minimized for the second half of the United Way employee's lines. Also, I did not notice that the employee's tie was showing underneath the collar. I worked with one other MDIA 1020 student Carly Maurer. She did well for what I asked of her, but the other actors I had to use for one of the scenes were not as enthusiastic as I would have liked. At one point I thought I would need to do all of the roles in this video by myself so I am grateful for being able to find people to help me. For the most part I am happy with the outcome of the video.
Audio Documentary Pitches
*These are ideas that I am working on.
This would showcase the farmers market in Athens as well as the vendors that frequent the market. Sound bites I plan to get include the vendors setting up, the selling of the goods, what the food they are selling sounds like when eaten, the exchange of money for the good and other aspects that go into creating the atmosphere of the farmers market.
I also plan to interview vendors and customers about why they sell or shop at the farmers market and what they think it contributes to the community. This is important because it will help create the theme of the community aspect of farmers markets.
The central audience would be community members of Athens whether they frequently go to the farmers market or have never been. The narrative spine will be finding out the answer to the question ‘why do these vendors decide to sell here and what makes the buyers buy here?’
Chipotle’s motto is ‘food with integrity.’ They try to use the best food possible with commitment to the animals, the farmers and the community. I would twist this idea a little to adapt it to the Athens Chipotle and what that commitment means to those who work there.
The theme would be workers with integrity and it would interlace with the food with integrity motto. The central audience would be the general public but more specifically people who are interested in sustainability and local grown food. The narrative spine will depict Chipotle’s dedication to their customers and to creating healthy and fresh food as well as how that dedication radiates on their employees.
This piece would showcase a single person, the guy that drives the horse-drawn carriage in Athens. The theme would be what his reason for doing this is and what it means to his life. While tying into the theme, another central idea would deal with the passengers he has met throughout the years.
The Narrative spine would start with him in the present day, driving a carriage, and trace back to the inception of his interest in this, whether it be the very first time he rode a horse or the very first time he rode in a carriage or what ever event it was that began this passion.
The central audience could be anyone, although not everyone is interested in horse drawn carriages, most people are interested in other people and learning about their passions and how those passions affected their life and the lives of those around them, which is why the train will focus on this aspect.
This would be another showcasing piece that would instead showcase a group of people rather than a single person. The group is cops in Athens.
The theme of this story will focus on why these people decided to become cops and how that affects their lives. It will also focus on the principles they live by and work under and how those differ or compare with stereotypical views people have about cops.
The train of the story will begin with a look at the family life of a cop who is a father and will jump between his role as a police officer and his role as a father and how the principles he has learned on the job add to how he raises his child.
This story would be a glimpse inside the job of a group fitness class instructor. The theme would focus on why they decided to become a fitness instructor and the challenges and rewards that come with the job.
Sound bites I would use would include the background music from the class, the instructor shouting to his or her group members, the sound of the exercises and the sound of the fan in the room.
The narrative train would begin with the event or events that pushed the instructor down this path and would follow that path into the present and the future. The central audience could range from people interested in fitness to those who have struggled trying to stay in shape or possess a positive self body image.
Farmers Market
This would showcase the farmers market in Athens as well as the vendors that frequent the market. Sound bites I plan to get include the vendors setting up, the selling of the goods, what the food they are selling sounds like when eaten, the exchange of money for the good and other aspects that go into creating the atmosphere of the farmers market.
I also plan to interview vendors and customers about why they sell or shop at the farmers market and what they think it contributes to the community. This is important because it will help create the theme of the community aspect of farmers markets.
The central audience would be community members of Athens whether they frequently go to the farmers market or have never been. The narrative spine will be finding out the answer to the question ‘why do these vendors decide to sell here and what makes the buyers buy here?’
Chipotle
Chipotle’s motto is ‘food with integrity.’ They try to use the best food possible with commitment to the animals, the farmers and the community. I would twist this idea a little to adapt it to the Athens Chipotle and what that commitment means to those who work there.
The theme would be workers with integrity and it would interlace with the food with integrity motto. The central audience would be the general public but more specifically people who are interested in sustainability and local grown food. The narrative spine will depict Chipotle’s dedication to their customers and to creating healthy and fresh food as well as how that dedication radiates on their employees.
The Guy that Drives the Horse Drawn Carriage at Halloween
This piece would showcase a single person, the guy that drives the horse-drawn carriage in Athens. The theme would be what his reason for doing this is and what it means to his life. While tying into the theme, another central idea would deal with the passengers he has met throughout the years.
The Narrative spine would start with him in the present day, driving a carriage, and trace back to the inception of his interest in this, whether it be the very first time he rode a horse or the very first time he rode in a carriage or what ever event it was that began this passion.
The central audience could be anyone, although not everyone is interested in horse drawn carriages, most people are interested in other people and learning about their passions and how those passions affected their life and the lives of those around them, which is why the train will focus on this aspect.
A Ride Along
This would be another showcasing piece that would instead showcase a group of people rather than a single person. The group is cops in Athens.
The theme of this story will focus on why these people decided to become cops and how that affects their lives. It will also focus on the principles they live by and work under and how those differ or compare with stereotypical views people have about cops.
The train of the story will begin with a look at the family life of a cop who is a father and will jump between his role as a police officer and his role as a father and how the principles he has learned on the job add to how he raises his child.
Fitness Class Instructor at Ping
This story would be a glimpse inside the job of a group fitness class instructor. The theme would focus on why they decided to become a fitness instructor and the challenges and rewards that come with the job.
Sound bites I would use would include the background music from the class, the instructor shouting to his or her group members, the sound of the exercises and the sound of the fan in the room.
The narrative train would begin with the event or events that pushed the instructor down this path and would follow that path into the present and the future. The central audience could range from people interested in fitness to those who have struggled trying to stay in shape or possess a positive self body image.
Opening One Reflections
Rip: A Remix Manifesto
I think it's interesting that medicine ideas are patented too. With this patent comes no room for growth, development or change.
The amount of money that the lawyers and companies take from people that copyright is ridiculous, especially when you consider the fact that most of these people who copyrighted were not doing it for money. So who really is the one exploiting the other for money?
The future cultures really do build off the past. We are controlled by a small number of people and things need to change.
Whispering in the Leaves
I think it's incredible to be that in touch with the sound and the world around you and to really pick up on and hone into things a lot of people don't hear and go their whole lives without even trying to hear.
I think you become a lot more one with yourself when you focus on all the little things that make up the life around you
Stories like this have a great facet on the radio because it's truly about the sound and what it makes you see in your head rather than seeing it and creating what you think it would sound like from that image.
Radio Lab: Who Are You?
I had never listened to a radio lab segment before, and I was definitely missing out. I really like how they give spaces of silence and just music to allow the audience to think.
I really enjoy the discussion they are having about how well you really know a person. How well can you ever really know someone and truly know that person? Which really makes me wonder, how well do you know yourself? Undoubtedly, you know yourself better than anyone else does but do you look past or shrug off certain parts of yourself as if they aren’t really you? Or do you pay attention to everything about yourself and accept all parts.
I really enjoy how they start the discussion about this topic by looking at babies and how their minds function.
I agree that you have to work off these leaps of faith because one day these babies will really experience these moments and learn from them.
One of the women featured on the segment wasn’t acknowledging certain aspects of her husband, and then when they came in, she didn’t think it was her husband at all. This goes back to my question, is there parts of yourself you refuse to acknowledge and then at times when those parts come in you convince yourself it isn’t you but rather just what the situation turned you into? So are you ignoring yourself? Or do you not want to know yourself or accept yourself?
Which leads well into deception, if you can deceive someone consciously, then you can get into their mind intimately. Perhaps you can just get lucky with the guess that it will work. But when it comes to knowing yourself, deceiving yourself enough to tell yourself that it is the situation that turns you into the person you tell yourself isn’t actually you, means that you truly do know yourself and deep down whether you want to accept it or not, you know the parts you chose not to acknowledge are a part of you as well.
But maybe this deception and self-convincing is what we have to do to survive with ourselves and love ourselves. Or maybe we don’t truly love ourselves with all our self-noted flaws until we stop deceiving ourselves.
So then can it be said that you don’t truly love another person unless you never deceive them?
I thought it was very interesting that the actor mentioned that Hamlet’s ability to put to words what he was discovering at death, ended before he discovered it. This is somewhat in reverse of the theory of brain growth in newborn babies that was discussed in the beginning. In both instances, the body and mind was discovering something it couldn’t entirely fathom at the moment. The inception of growth and awareness with the world around you and yourself.
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