Technical Tutorial- How to Do Lower 3rds

In order to begin the process of making lower thirds, you need to be logged into the server with the username: tv and password: a1w@ves.  After that, go into the ONW Now graphics folder and select the lower thirds file set to open in after effects.  Make sure you drag that file onto your desktop beforehand because you want your own version.

Once the file is open, it will say things are missing; dismiss those and select OK for them all.  Then, double click the v@-Lower-Thirds.png and open the v2-Lower-Thirds.png file.

You then need to select the line in the bottom "Comp 1" area that says "Add Name Here" then go to the actual Lower Thirds and type whatever your subjects name is.  Do the same thing with the line "Add Destination Here".

After you've gotten all the information inserted that you need, you need to file-export-add to render queue.  Make sure it says RGB + Alpha before you OK it. Save it where you'll remember it. Once you have it exported, select the blue "Render" button.  You'll hear a "bing" and then just close out of After Effects (DO NOT save the file) and you're done!

Personal Project Review-Health Expo

This was a video about the ONW Health Expo held by the P.E. Department with help from the Foods Department.  During this event, students enrolled in any weights, physical education, or team activities class had the privilege of learning how make healthy decisions throughout life.  I chose this video because I personally believe this was one of my better videos (done with Gabby Thomas as well) out of the ones I've done this semester.

At the beginning of this project, Gabby and I created questions for our interviewees to answer that would help us create our story.  During actual filming we had 50 minutes to film B-Roll and get interviews which was a little stressful but worked out alright in the end.  Our plan for getting B-Roll was just to make sure we got plenty of variety with wide, close-up, and medium shots.  We also wanted to be sure that all shots we used were interesting and that something was always happening within those shots so the viewers wouldn't get bored.

While this video was one of our better ones footage wise, I believe the set up of the actual video could've been put together better.  During our first interview, it went from interview to B-Roll then back to interview and on and on.  I would've liked to have made the B-Roll shots longer and same with the interview so it wouldn't have seemed so repetitive. Also, because I'm so short, it's hard to get the person we're interviewing on eye level, especially when you're in the moment.  In the future I will make sure to have them be in the correct Rule of Thirds and also at eye level with the camera so it doesn't look as though they are looking down on the camera.

Overall however, I am very proud of this video and all the videos that I have done (with Gabby on some) and am looking forward to seeing what I can accomplish next semester in Convergence.

Professional Article Review-Grease Live!

Last year, NBC put on a live version of the classic movie Grease.  Many famous dancers, actors, and singers came together and created a live interpretation of the original.  While there was a lot that came straight from the movie, there were also scenes and songs included that were made specifically for the live show.  This article went through everything good and bad that happened in Grease Live.

The author of this article believed that the show was slow at the beginning but quickened in pace and got "better and better as it went along".  They gave credibility to the director of the live performance saying that he was able to keep the show interesting yet true to the original.  They also pin pointed specific scenes and songs within the musical such as "Freddy My Love", and "Greased Lightning".  I believe this writer did a good job of incorporating specific examples and talking about almost all the characters/actors individually giving each one their deserved spotlight.

While the article addressed the negatives of the show, it never truly offered a solution for them or gave specific reasoning as to why those certain incidents weren't ideal.  However, the overall composition of this article was very well put together and the author did a very good job at convincing the reader to agree with them and also including specifics about Grease Live!

Professional Project Review- ABC News

This news story was over a girl named Savannah Fulkerson who lives with Erythropoietic Porphyria- a disease which causes her skin to burn when exposed to the sun. Whenever she goes into the sunlight, a pain comes over her that is so unbearable that it brings tears to her eyes.  Ever since she was 4 years old, this medical mystery has taken over Savannah's life. Abbie Boudreau from ABC news goes inside to see what it's like to live a life without sunlight.

Throughout this news package there were interviews, home footage, and present day b-roll.  They did interviews with 3 different people which gave a lot of different perspectives such as Savannah, her mother, and a professional dermatologist.  It helped to tell Savannah's story from different point of views and also informed people more about her illness and what the symptoms and effects are.

While there are many things that went well in this package, there were also some things that could've been improved. I would've liked to see more insight of what actually happens on the inside of someone's body when they have this illness.  Also, it would've been interesting to see what hobbies Savannah enjoys/is able to do even with her illness.  Overall, however, I believe this news package was a well put together and thorough story.