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.

Video Final Reflection

Video Final Reflection

            This year I was able to learn a lot and experience a lot of new things.  I learned what voiceovers were, when to use them, and how to do them.  I also learned many different ways to hold a camera and how to get more interesting shots.  Some of these shots include tracking, dolly, worms/birds eye view, panoramic, neutral (for interviews) and many more.  Another topic we learned was how to create a script, log line, and storyboard for a short film.  Overall, I will use all of these items in the future.

            The way we learned these things were through many different resources.  We learned the shots with a power point and we also watched examples of each shots.  It was very interesting to learn how to create different shots because we got to try it ourselves and learn how to do it without just sitting there.  We also watched many different examples including short films, trailers, video game introductions, etc.  Some of our main resources were from ONW Now.  It was very interesting to see how the upperclassmen used the things they’ve learned and put them to good use because I’m going to be doing those exact projects next year in Convergence Journalism.

            These items are very important, not just for receiving a good grade in the class, but for much more.  For me, these skills will all be used in Convergence next year to create worthy news stories for ONW Now.  Also, if I ever want to go into a tech class or photography I can still use items to create amazing projects.  I’m very excited to use not only what I’ve learned last year and this year, but also to learn more and find more skills that I can use in my news packages.  I can also use these to help others in the future.  I can help out any underclassmen in their eComm projects and also to critique my future classmates in Convergence next year and my senior year. 

            I believe my greatest strength is being able to come up with the ideas and behind the scenes items to a project.  Some tasks this includes are storyboarding, creating scripts, thinking and collaborating to make interesting shots, and being able to communicate well with my classmates.  This will be important for me to use my next years so that I am able to talk with my classmates to make amazing projects and news stories while also incorporating ideas from everyone.  My weaknesses are actually being able to follow through with my ideas and put them into actual video to use.  I always have a vision but when I go to film them, all my ideas go away and I can never bring them out to create the film itself.  I’ve definitely improved and learn a lot more from last year which makes me super excited for the years to come because I know I’m going to keep learning and making amazing news packages. 

            I’m definitely going to use everything that I learned in my future whether it be with or without actual video.  We not only learned the basic filming and story creating skills, but we learned much more.  There were so many components behind the scenes that we had to use.  We had to communicate/collaborate with all our partners and project groups, but also how to use the technology and cameras and soundboard, plus more.  I will be able to collaborate with people in the future much better now because I know that everyone’s opinion is valuable and that it doesn’t matter what you background is; all that matters is how great your project turns out. 

            If I were to change anything, I would have changed groups more often so I could be more comfortable creating and collaborating on stories with different people.   I also wouldn’t have done the same plot line for our short film the whole way through.  I had a certain outcome in my head and only using that shot down other people’s ideas which is not what you want to happen within a group setting.

            Overall, I am very pleased with everything that I’ve learned this year and am extremely excited to see what the future has to come in Convergence Journalism.

Graphic Design Final Reflection

Graphic Design Final Reflection

            Throughout the year in Graphic Design I’ve learned many things.  Not just stuff we use on the computer, but life skills too.  We’ve learned how to collaborate and incorporate everyone’s ideas in our group.  Aside from life things, we’ve also learned tech skills and techniques to use.  Many things such as how to fix pixel fringe, put multiple pictures on one art board, how to make a 3D bottle/box, create package designs, and much more.  We also learned many aspects of color and type, which we used in our products. All these skills helped us fulfill the 5 guarantees: technical skills, communication, collaboration, leadership, and project management. 

            We learned all of these skills through a variety of resources.  Some of them we learned through a power point, which would give us definitions and examples that we could create our own from.  Another way we understood all the techniques was through watching tutorials and creating our own version.  Throughout the year we watched a lot of tutorials which helped me a lot with the problems I would encounter.  We also would have a group trial, which is where our teacher would do it on her computer, and show it through the projector.  I liked those examples the best because we were all on the same page and could ask each other for help throughout the process. 

            It is important for us to learn all these skills so that we can carry them throughout our lives.  Even if we aren’t going into Graphic Design in our upcoming years, we can still use them to create amazing things in different subjects.  The 5 guarantees especially prove this to be true.  We all are going to have to use technical skills seeing as our world is becoming filled with more and more technology.  Communication and collaboration are going to be the true test; we all are going to have to work in groups or partnerships in the future, which is why these two guarantees will prepare us.  Leadership is also a part of that equation because if there’s no leadership, nothing will get done. Also, if no one takes leadership, there wont be any project management and no organization throughout the time given to create your product. 

            I believe my strengths are the behind the scenes skills and not as much the actually creation of the products.  I’m more of an imaginative person in that I like to come up with the ideas for products and the typography/color schemes of it all.  My weaknesses would then be the actual creating the project such as putting it into Illustrator/Photoshop/InDesign or whatever we are using.  It’s very hard for me to put something together if I don’t understand how to do it.  Even if I understand most of it, I will always end up messing up something even if it’s just a minor part like making a color one shade off.  I have improved, however, considering that I never would’ve accomplished creating a product, package, 3D bottle/box, or logo especially not in a matter of 2 weeks. 

            I’m definitely going to use what I’ve learned this year in the future.  I’m going into convergence, which is in the video strand.  Although I won’t be making actual graphic design products, I could make the logo or segment intro which does require graphic design.  I also am going to use the 5 guarantees especially in future project when working in groups or partnerships. The collaboration and communication will substantially help me with classmates and teachers in the future.

            I would probably make sure we have a more organized time slot so that we wouldn’t be flustered when it’s time to turn the projects in.  That was the biggest problem I had this year: clarification.  Overall, however, I am extremely pleased will all of my projects and am excited to see what the future has in store. 

Detention Acts 2&3 With Bloopers