blog #11-reflection

1) With this first project in our class, we made a wiki page. As far as the final is concerned, I didn't really incorporate anything I learned from that project into this final. Again, with the PSA, I don't believe any of that newly learned information had anything to do with our final project. However, the remix helped tremendously. After learning all about mash up and remixes, I instantly started getting interested in that kind of music (such as Girl Talk and Pretty Lights), and now I love it. I think after hearing and being influenced by this new medium, I have a different perspective on music. After all, a famous musician once said, "a mind that is stretched to a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions." I agree completely and continue to say that I have a different perspective on the music I listen to, and how I interpret it. In addition, after taking this class as a whole, I feel more experienced in the world of media, and my part in it. Being the first semester of taking classes that actually pertained to my major was a fantastic journey. I learned such an incredible amount, and am so fascinated with the music and film scene. I look at movies differently now (instead of just viewing them, I relate and react to certain camera angles, and the lighting they use). With this new outlook on media as a whole, my final project's work shows that. For the final, our group decided to make a press kit for a newly emerging band called "The Formless." My specific job of the project was to create flyers, and help Robby shoot two live performances of the band. The flyers were difficult, but I managed to use photoshop and create some pretty cool pictures together, using images I thought the band would like. With this new attention to filming detail, I filmed this band with the most creativity possible. I captured some footage such as one member banging his head, another one with his guitar above his head, another one's fingers rhythmically strumming his instrument, and every close up and mid shot in between. I think that since the beginning of this class and semester, I have a different outlook on film(ing) thus, filmed a much cleaner and artistic video.

2) In the future, I could see myself with this exact job. I had an absolute blast filming this band. I wouldn't mind doing something in the music industry, maybe becoming a producer of some sort. While filming, I realized during some of the shots I was getting, I would say in my head, "wow, that's going to look really cool," or "wow, that was a good shot." I think I really have taken some sort of shape into a music producer or at least have an ear and eye for it. I recognized what shots were crucial, and which ones were garbage, and I worked in final cut pro this semester, learning to edit, so now I have a decent understanding on how to turn that filming into an actual video that I'm proud of. I'm going to continue to learn about camera's and final cut pro, in case this ever turns into something I seriously consider as a profession, I'll know exactly what I'm doing.

THREE PROMPTS
1) This project has showcased my growth as a media maker ten fold. I think since this final, I have an even deeper understanding of what it means to achieve high quality footage while filming, and recognize what is going to look good versus bad in a film while editing. This project challenged me a bit at first with the flyers. I didn't think I had the creativity to represent the band with a flyer I would create. Then, I started to really listen to their music and get into it. After I felt that I knew the music better, I met the band, filmed them, and saw who they were as people. From that point, I really put all my energy into finding images that represent their music and passion, and I believe I did. Robby was happy with the final two flyers we ended up using, and I was too, for I feel I did a superb job of recreating their image with a newer look. My proudest moment was with the filming I did of the band. I used filming technique I learned in class and adapted my own ideas, from what I thought would look cool, and compiled a pretty good amount of material. I wish I could keep filming music, though I probably will.

2) I'm not sure if I can locate the argument here. Maybe just the fact that we can take any person or band, use our creative skills, ideas and editing techniques, and turn their music into a well designed press kit that could put them on the map. We incorporated live footage, songs, flyers, a website and tee shirts to help these musicians get bigger audiences and more recognition that they deserve. We're their middle man almost, their messengers that can allow a larger amount of people to know about their music. I think the argument is that we can help people better themselves by working together, and using media to create. Our project is significant because it's unique. I had never filmed a band before this project. I had also never created flyers. I think our project is special because while I got to learn about all these new applications and mediums, I also got to help a band with their uprising. I also became heavily interested in this field. Therefore, I believe I helped a group while learning something new that I now enjoy.

3) This project couldn't be more interactive if it tried. We met the band, listened to their music, went to their shows, promoted their music, filmed their live sets, and communicated with them on everything (in terms of what flyers they liked the most, how they wanted to be filmed, and even how the website should look). Overall, we did everything we could to interact with these guys and help them, so they can interact with their audience. It's suited for interactive media production because we did just that. We used the power of media production to help introduce a band that will be interacting with their fan-base as they continue to grow in popularity. We hope that the audience will watch our video and enjoy it so much that they start listening to this band. In terms of the band, I hope their popularity continues to rise, which will lead to them interacting with a lot more people.

Entering a video project in various festivals

After you've completed making your movie, you're probably going to be a pretty happy camper knowing that you got it done. However, what happens if you want to go further with your project? Let's say you want to enter your video into a festival so a bigger amount of people can watch it. How do you necessarily go about entering your movie into any various festival? Step one is to look into festivals around the area you live. If you find a festival close, there's a better chance that the festival will allow you to enter your project, being a local. Go online, find and fill out the necessary submission for the specific festival you wish to enter. You then send that submission, along with your film to that festival. Usually, there is a due date, so you want to fill out these submissions right away.

Your next step, once you found your festival, is to look at that specific festival's requirements for entry, for some requirements are rather precise, that one needs to follow to a t. Your next step is to pay the required amount; festivals always have some form of required payment in order to submit your film. Some festivals cost anywhere from 25-50 dollars to submit your film. This cost is smart to add into your film budget, because 99 percent of the time, festivals will cost you money. Usually, there are parties you can attend as a filmmaker, meet other filmmakers, and promote your film. These parties are a great idea, and are completely free-which is the best and easiest way to promote. Finally, you may to edit down some material, as most festivals have a length requirement on videos. If your film doesn't get awarded first time around, don't get discouraged. Keep submitting to festivals and eventually, someone will like your stuff!

Festival Packaging

When putting together a festival package, the purpose you're trying to accomplish is to introduce an expert or band to some form of media. Festival packaging is important because it informs media (such as record labels or film festivals) what good emerging people are hitting the scene. It's an important element in today's world, because with the extreme amount of emerging artists/film makers/music directors, the package contains necessary tools that gives record labels or film festivals all the components they need to determine if they enjoy the artist. With sending that package in, it looks professional, and gives yourself a name if you present it in a stand-out fashion.

Contained in a press kit will be necessary information to the media form you're intending. A press kit will contain historical background information about the company or individual. It will also include fact sheets that includes statistics or features about the individual or group. In addition, a good package will contain biographies about the individual(s) with any coverage that the group had previous gotten (if any). Also, it's good to include pictures of the work (such as artists playing music, or film makers in the act creating film). A necessity is a DVD about the group or individual (such as a music video for a band, or a film for a director/producer). All in all, if put together well, the package is one of the most important elements an individual or company can use in today's ever growing world.

Blog #10-Final Project

Our final project, as talked about in class, is to make a press kit for an upcoming band "The Formless". Included in the press kit will be windshield flyers (which i've created), a few songs on a cd (which Robby is putting together), a music video (which we're creating together) a few t shirts, and a url for a website that Magen's creating. In terms of revisions, we all have our specific areas that we're working on, and I plan to focus on my flyers. For those revisions, I'm going to mess around with the script and text. To be honest, I really like the visuals I created; I think the pictures themselves are really cool, and I also believe the band will enjoy it as well, for the visuals are similar to their "style" as a group. However, with the text, I can change font, areas the text is located, and maybe even the color of the font. I know as a whole group, we're going to revise the music video. It's not yet completed, but I know Robby has a vision of how he wants to do it, so I may just be a second pair of eyes for him, in case I see anything apparent that needs editing. I know we have to continue working on the website, and the music video, however, we already have the songs we're going to use and the flyers are close to done. I'm currently reviewing a few of the workshop sheets I received from others in our class, and their feedback is limited. Most of the feedback just says, "I think that making a pr kit is a great idea" and "video is good nice and clear. Audio is nice" which of course is nice to hear, but there's not a lot of feedback to improve on. However, that's ok, because we as a group already know what we need to do to improve and finalize our project. I don't think we need any help in completing our revisions because Robby definitely has this vision for how this press kit is going to look, and with his professional insight, the project will get completed with a fine attention to detail and from a perfectionist's stand point. It's going to look really good when it's completed and I'm excited to present it to the world.

Licensing Music for Documentaries

When making a a film (or more specifically a documentary), many steps have to be taken in order to ensure that you're not doing anything illegal. One important aspect of documentaries is music, and as we may know, music is an important element when creating a film. However, one can't just take pre recorded music and put it in their film, as simple as that. There are a few things you must do first in order to obtain the rights to that music. You need to obtain two different licenses before you use someone else's music in your film. The first license you need to get is a "Synchronization License" (ascap.com). This license allows you to synchronize the music you wish to obtain with the visual images that you're creating in your film. You can usually obtain this license from the copyright owner of the music, who is usually the publisher. The other license that's important to get is the "Master Use License, which is the right to reproduce a specific recording of a song in your film" (ascap.com). The way you get this license is strictly through the record label that owns that specific recording that you would like to use in your film.

Usually, when making these calls to obtain licensing for music, there are a few things you want to include when requesting specific music. It's important to include the plot of the film and the budget for it as well. You'll always want to discuss when you'll be using the music, (what times in the film), how much of the song you'll play and how many times you'll use that piece of music in the whole film. Also include the intended audience for your film. For example, is it going to be a student film viewing with limited people seeing it, or is it getting entered into a film festival? Obviously, the more people that see it, the higher the fee will be to use the music. It's important to negotiate how much the fee will rise if the film becomes shown at bigger venues. It's very important to obtain these rights from the publishers and record labels, because otherwise, you could be sued by these people without using their consent.

Documentary Sound

When filming a documentary, there are many different techniques to use. One important aspect of documentary film is the sound. Of course, it would make sense that we need sound in everything we do (film wise), whether that be Hollywood cinema, documentary film, simple youtube posts, etc. In documentary film, we deal with many different types of sounds. One specific type of sound is voice overs. They are an important element of documentaries, because in between music and interviews, verbal sound should be presented, to sound more professional. With almost all documentaries, shots are taken of the area the presenters are covering and discussing. Usually, while covering that (literal) ground, voice over technique works really well in describing the area, so the audience is on the same page the presenters are as well. Another important aspect of documentary sound is the music. Unless you have written consent, it is illegal to present recorded mainstream music in a documentary. Therefore, usually the music shown is created by someone working on the project. Someone who is maybe playing random chords on piano or guitar works well, and it's created then and there for the intended use of the documentary. Another important aspect is the sound from the interview. That should be the most pristine sound quality possible, because the interview is one of the most important essentials to a documentary. Without audible interviews, the documentary is pointless.

An interesting thought is that documentary sound is different than cinematic sound. With cinematic sound, Hollywood for example, the sound is absolutely perfect. An example could be a song in the movie "The Hangover" When Stu (a lead character in the movie) sings a little one minute song, it sounds beyond perfect. The sound quality was unmatchable. However, later hearing his song on the Tonight Show and Ed Sullivan show, the sound quality was much worse, and at times, even hard to understand. I learned that Hollywood sound shoots for perfection. However, documentaries are much different. Sound isn't meant to be absolutely perfect and probably couldn't be if it tried. The reason is because the documentary is real. In the documentary world, locations are just locations, people stutter and say "um" and lighting might be difficult. With people sometimes being hard to even understand and location terrain being unpredictable, sound is a rather unstable element for a documentary. Cinematographers and editors will do the best they can with sound, but most of the time, they wont get close to as clear as Hollywood, because their movie is real. It deals with real people and locations and ideas; of course sound will be unclear at times.

B Roll

B Roll is a term used in film to describe the section of the film that wasn't necessary to the actual footage. B roll is additional footage that is worked into the main footage of a documentary or interview. An "A" deck refers to the tape containing the meat of the information, such the interviews and important material, whereas the B deck contains additional information such as possible interview commentary, questions or certain descriptions from the person that is being interviewed. B Roll can help to make your documentary stronger, with additional information you wouldn't have had otherwise.

B roll is often played around with by editors, to help improve the documentary. Often times, you will hear actors and actresses say "uh", cough, stutter or do along those lines. B Roll helps to find these imperfections, and eliminates them from the A Roll, and from being heard on the final version of the documentary. B Roll was adopted with the first linear based editing before non linear editing became widely used. The additional B Roll is used in documentaries and fiction for different purposes. It's used in documentaries to additional commentary, questions and anything that can interwork in the main purpose of the film. It's occasionally used in fiction to show flashbacks.

Blog #9-Final Project Brainstorm

We have absolutely been exposed to many different forms of media since the beginning of this class. We've learned how to make wiki pages, public service announcements, remixes, and I blogged for the first time at the beginning of this class. I really had a fun time with all of them, and in addition, every single project i've done in this class has been something completely new i'd never tried before. Looking into the future with the final project coming up, I'm not yet sure what I'd like to do. I know that all aspects of media interest me, but I'd like to go more in depth. The remix project was a really cool new media I liked. Maybe I'd like to pursue something with a remix project again, only with more detail or more in depth with different sources (different and more audio and visual). I do think an aspect of media that I'm very interested in is radio. Really more so, any medium in which I can speak, because I have a lot to say, and I think if I channel that into something beneficial for class, I could present a really well done project. I really did like the PSA for that specific reason. Perhaps I could do something for a final that relates to a PSA, possibly including video as well, just to make it even more visually stimulating. One more idea I can think of right now is something with photography. I've never been very good with photographs, but it has always been something that sparks an interest, that I could enjoy looking into. All in all, I'm not too sure yet what I would like accomplish with this project, because there are so many choices, but I think that when it starts becoming a topic we discuss in class, a lot of ideas will spark from hearing other student's ideas.

Documentary Proposal

Documentary proposals are very important when having the idea to create a documentary. The proposal is created in the pre productions stages of the project, and covers all aspects of the project as well. One of the main reasons for a proposal is the attempts to receive funding from funders, companies, or really anyone who was the power (and money) to help with the budget of the film you are trying to create. Often, a well presented proposal will tell the readers/viewers the story of the film, teach the viewers something new they didn't previously know, gain respect from the viewers while inspiring them, "make human truths emerge through images—not just verbal description" (Filmandmedia.ucsb.edu), and "present a personal, critical perspective on some aspect of the human condition" (Filmandmedia.ucsb.edu). In general, its important that you be interested in your project idea. If you're not interested in it, how are you going to make anyone else interested?

It's important to fill out your proposal completely before submitting it for viewing. Your proposal should include the length of your work and how it will be formatted. You should also include who you think your intended audience will be. This is important because your target audience is everything. When putting out any form of media, you want to have a target audience in mind because that's the audience you're wanting to showcase your stuff to, so make it good in that regard. You should also include what your goals are with the project. It's important to give a full outlined description, as well as the resources you'll need to work with. It's crucial that you'll want to include a timeline in your proposal, so everyone knows the expectations and (hopefully) follows them thoroughly. Lastly, it's very important to label everyone working on the project and their specific roles within the project.

Documentary Interview

There are different techniques you can use when interviewing someone, that'll add to the interview, making it exciting and compelling. While sometimes, yes the interview will take place in two seated chairs (one for the person interviewing, one for the person answering), you can make it more fun and exciting. You could use a hand held camera and follow them around as they do activities. Maybe interview them as they're working around their house, or at work, somewhere fun to watch that isn't too distracting. Also, you never want the person getting interviewed to look directly into the camera. During seated interviews, the person interviewing is on one side of the camera, so the person being interviewed never has to (and never should) look into the camera lens, just at the person questioning them. Another important aspect is that where ever you interview, make sure it's a quiet place. You obviously need the audio of the person speaking, so background noise is annoying and will take away from the whole interview. Make sure your lighting is done well; normally a light on their face is used to accentuate the eyes. If the eyes are lit up, it makes the interview and the person being interviewed seem more compelling and interesting.

Something interesting about interviews is that people are nervous during. Most people aren't very camera friendly, and tense up when they know they're being filmed. A really good technique while interviewing is to re-ask your first questions at the end of your interview. When people first start talking behind camera, they could be pretty nervous, but as the interview progresses, their nervousness tends to fade away and they open up more. Therefore, questions at the beginning of the interview might not have been answered fully, so if you re-ask them at the end, you're more likely to get a more in depth response. Finally, an important thought is to have your questions ready; have them written out so you know what your asking. In addition, you could possibly e-mail those questions to the person who will be interviewed so they're not caught off guard and have time to think of their responses in more depth first.

Editing Transitions Between Scenes

When making a movie, you have many opportunities to make it look as professional as possible. One example is to add and incorporate editing transitions between scenes. This process is adding a certain element to switch from scene to scene in a visually effective way. One could possibly use a dissolve method that makes the scene do exactly that; dissolve into where the other scene begins. This process makes switching from scene to scene look appropriate and in addition, the dissolve process could indicate a change of time, possibly a flashback. Whereas a fade transition (just quickly having the first scene fade to black and the other scene fade in from black or just appear in the shot) would just indicate a scene in current time. Professionals have been experimenting with the best kinds of transitions for years, seeing which ones fit the best for each scene.

For example, if you were to be viewing a slideshow of nature, a slow cross fade (which is moving from scene to scene in a slow fashion) would be the best transition because the scene is calming and the speed is not too quick to take away from the scene or from the viewer taking all the time needed to enjoy the shot. The video below shows an example of scenic shots and the slow cross fade, which makes the transitions seem more professional. Also, the video shows a quicker paced slideshow of motocross. Here, we are showed these scenes with quick transitions to be more visually stimulating to what we're seeing and how quick we're seeing it. All in all, what I learned is that transitions are very important. Not just because it looks well done when completed, but depending on the scene, certain transition speeds are important to making your movie look top quality.

Blog #8- Bootleg Culture

Rojas makes some interesting insights in his piece "Bootleg Culture." He says, "where turntables now routinely outsell guitars, teenagers aspire to be Timbaland and the Automator, No. 1 singles rework or sample other records, and DJs have become pop stars in their own right, even surpassing in fame the very artists whose records they spin" (Rojas 1) I thought this was really interesting, being a teenager now, and relating with the material I just read. To me personally, i'd rather have turntables than a guitar, just because I think I could get more out of a turntable. Why? Because where I am as a person, in the music I listen to, and where our culture is, in the music we as a whole listen to, the turntable is almost a better investment. I remember a line from a Jedi Mind Tricks song, "Anybody with a tape recorder can rap now." I thought that was thought provoking and related to "Bootleg Culture," in a sense, because it's pretty much true. With youtube out there, anyone can make any sort of media and put it out there to be viewed. To go back to Rojas, I agree with his points completely. The "man" of the industry, throwing out what is illegal and what isn't (to a very extreme certain extent) is stifling musicians creativity. Who's to say what truthfully is a creative work. Apparently, according to some, creativity ONLY lies in making something one hundred percent original. Those people don't take into account the time and effort mashup, remix or bootleggers put into collaborating more than one sound (often many sounds), making it sound professional, and making it sell. They believe it's just a crime, when really, as Rojas brilliantly put it, "Pop culture in general seems more and more remixed -- samples and references are permeating more and more of mainstream music, film, and television, and remix culture appears to resonate strongly with consumers. We're at the point where it almost seems unnatural not to quote, reference, or sample the world around us" (Rojas 1).

I choose two pieces of media. This first is a parody of the funny 1996 movie "Happy Gilmore" starring Adam Sandler. As we have all seen, or know, Sandler is a comedic genius, and his early movies were some of the funniest comedies to ever be released (opinion based). Given that, it would be silly to comprehend his movie "Happy Gilmore" to be anything but a hilarious comedy (which it is). However, someone used different scenes in the movie, and scary music, to make the movie look like a horror flick. I think if done well, it's brilliant. Now who's to say that isn't creative? My other piece is the famous rapper Notorious B.I.G, where his song, "Party and Bullshit" is played over the new song "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus. I think it's done well, sounds professional and it's catchy. What more could you ask for in a song? I'm impressed as a listener, and that should be enough without having legality issues brought in. The only thing this song could do (in terms of sales) is promote more for both artist. Seems like a win win to me. What else I think is done well, is B.I.G is purely gangster rap, whereas Miley Cyrus is very new age pop. I think it put together is harmonized excellently which is very impressive to me, seeing as their very different genre's.

Blog #7-Confessions of an Intellectual Property

McLeod, the writer of "Confessions of an Intellectual Property," has a few different thoughts on the copyright of today. He has this idea that copyright today is outdated. Do I agree? I'm not really sure to be honest. I find the whole concept confusing. For example the "Grey Album" by Danger Mouse was highly publicized and deemed illegal because he uses samples from other artists. McLeod says, "Under the current copyright system, owners insist that it’s illegal to sample without permission, even if one offers to pay royalties" (McLeod 2). However, McLeod discusses Eminem's tracks being put over an 80's pop song "Come on Eileen" and that's completely legal. In fact, McLeod adds, "His powerlessness illustrates how he, as an author, has little control over how his music is received and understood—that he literally does not have the final word, as Roland Barthes would say—no matter how hard he tries" (McLeod 6) I find this whole spectrum here rather confusing. Therefore, I suppose I do agree that copyright is outdated. There's so many different elements that come into play, that it's hard to even tell what's legal and what isn't. In addition, there's a lot of jargon that comes into play that might be used to confuse some, so they don't have the best grip on what is legal, or what needs to be obtained for legality purposes.

In terms of "mash-ups", I actually really enjoy them. There's a lot of people in the industry now that work with compiling different artists together, and when it's done well, it's really enjoyable. For example, lets look at the artist Girl Talk. Girl Talk is completely all just mash ups. He has four albums now, and every song is just artists on top of other artist's songs, and the way they all fit together is phenomenal; it's like the song was meant to be recorded that way in the first place. I chose the following example for a few reasons. One, Eminem has a part in this Girl Talk song (called "No Pause"), and Eminem was referenced in McLeod's piece, so I thought it would fit well together. Next, I find this song incredibly well done; if you go to wikipedia and look up the song, there's 26 different artists, all with segments of their songs playing over each other. However, it's compiled so well, that it all fits perfectly, sounds great, and seems like the song should have been made this way originally. I find this work incredibly hard to do, thus requiring much talent in sound editing. I applaud these types of musicians from breaking free of the typical norm of making music and finding a new medium that's interesting, sounds professional and is fun to listen and dance to.

Linear Structure

When making a movie, you have many choices on how you can film it. Of course, it depends on the direction that the director, cinematographer, producer, etc. want to go in. There are certain films out there that are cut up. Meaning, the end scene(s) of the movie might come before the middle or even the beginning scenes. Directors have been playing around with this film technique for many years, as a way of possible foreshadowing or letting the audience in on something the characters might not know yet. A good example of this is the blockbuster hit Pulp Fiction. The very first scene in that movie is actually the last scene that brings together the whole plot. Therefore, the ending came even before the beginning, and gave the audience clues as to what's going to happen in this film. It's a great way to keep audiences on their feet and leave them until the last scene to really understand why that scene was shown first.

However, what was just described above is called NONlinear structure, where the scenes in the movies are not placed in sequential order, but rather mixed up. Directors use this method sometimes to express the characters memory, and the scenes switching from past to present often shows the characters remembering what has happened to them throughout the film, thus helping them to figure out certain clues in the plot. We here are discussing just linear structure, which is the exact opposite. With linear structure, everything in the movie goes from beginning to end, no necessary switching from past to present. This filming style is basic and used in most movies that have been produced. While it's a very easy technique to film, it's not typically as exciting as nonlinear structure, because the film may be more predictable. Either way, linear structure is common, and easier (in my opinion) to follow.

Sound in Editing

Sound in editing (or just sound editing) is a process that's used in mainly all television shows, video games, movies or media that requires sound mixing. As the title almost says it all, sound editing is going through the (we'll say movie) and completing the final stages of editing with sound. Sound editing is rather essential in today's popular films, for it creates very smooth transitions from shot to shot, making the audio and conversation clearer, and the background noise not as noticeable. This is a very delicate process, because the audience hears everything in the theatre (while there's dead silence). If the editing isn't done well (or correctly) everyone will be able to hear the lack of smooth transition, and the film wont get as much praise. Like any specific role someone has in making a movie well done, the sound editing is by far one of the most important.

The sound in editing is a specific role that is taken on by someone called the "sound editor." It's this person's job to accomplish these smooth transitions. Within the role of film editor, there are three different "divisions of sound". Those are, dialogue, effects and music. According to wikipedia, big filming areas such as California and New York's sound editors are given the role of just one of those divisions, because it's such a big project to work on. However, in smaller filming locations, sound editors are expected to do all three divisions. Editing can often be challenging for in addition, sound editors are sometimes expected to use mixing skill as well. "Editing effects is likened to creating the sonic world from scratch, while dialogue editing is likened to taking the existing sonic world and fixing it" (Wikipedia). Usually the program for sound editing for Mac computers is called pro tools.

Fiction Project

For this project, I am working with Lori, Chelena, Mark and Avery. We have chosen to use Chelena's script to make our fiction project. The title of the script is "Ripples of Hope." The story is about a guy named Aaron who throughout the first part of the story, is made out to be a jerk. He doesn't help when someone falls on ice, when someone gets their car stuck in snow and he eats his roommate's cereal. Throughout the story, there is a voice over for Aaron describing how he feels alone and the scenes become very dark. As the story progresses, we find out that all of this behavior from Aaron has been made up; none of it was real. Instead, Aaron has been a very positive character, lending a helping hand everywhere we previously see him avoiding it.

I personally really like this story and am excited that we get to develop it because it's touching. It really hits home and delivers a good message that is going to leave our viewers thinking. I like how we're keeping the people on their feet about Aaron's character. Until the final pages of the script, Aaron is really someone who viewers will dislike. It's going to be interesting to watch their perspectives of him change as they see the whole picture and understand the plot. If done correctly and well, this story is going to be top notch.

For this project, we have all chosen a role to make this film. The choices were producer, director, editor, cinematographer, and production designer. While everyone has picked one, my specific role is going to be the cinematographer. My specific duties are all about lighting and camera, so in retrospect, I have a pretty essential role (not to say the others don't). I constantly have to be on my feet. My specific job has me coordinating with pretty much everyone in my group to make everything flow well.

I am all about the lights, camera, action. I work with the sound designer in renting out equipment, I'm always ready with the lighting from wherever we're filming (inside, outside, cloudy or sunny days), with the camera ready to shoot. I work hand in hand with the director as well, because the director gives their insight to what lighting he/she wants to use and different camera angles he/she thinks will work and look the best. During scene, I'm going to be responsible for moving the camera around (if need be) to really capture the best shot I can. I'll also be working with the editor to make sure we have all the scenes we want, and all the bad lighting or bad camera shots can be edited out. I'm excited to get started!

Postman Amusing Ourselves to Death

Neil Postman has written a book very similar to the other books we're reading in this course. Postman also even references McLuhan, including that McLuhan was Postman's english teacher 30 years prior to "Amusing Ourselves to Death." This book discusses the fact, (Like Brave New World, only in a more "realistic, in the present" sort of view) how we've come to an age of being unintelligent. We are so accustomed to the age of television now, that “we are people on the verge of amusing ourselves to death” (Postman 4). He discusses how during the printing press era, America was more a more intelligent discourse community. We relied more on intellect and using our minds to live life rather than being subjected to a television screen. Since the boom of television, the American mind has been warped and molded into the shape that the media controls, thus we've become dumber as a nation. He claims that the reason television is making us less intelligent is because "Television gives us a conversation in images, not words" (Postman 7). Basically, Postman is saying that we're not having to learn anything watching television, we're just being entertained and becoming mindless blobs in front of a screen. It is true; television is a major advancement in technology leading to more and more kids putting down books and picking up XBOX controllers. Postman also discusses americans in the media saying, "Indeed, in America, God favors all those who possess both a talent and a format to amuse, whether they be preachers, athletes, entrepreneurs, politicians, teachers or journalists" (Postman 5). He means here that the only people on television are good looking behind camera, and entertaining. Whereas the people who aren't fortunate enough to have camera skills are the ones who sit at home, being amused by those on TV.

In terms of media surveillance, this book so far has made me think of the medium of video games as a whole. Looking deeper into video games, take World of Warcraft for instance, WoW is one of the most successful online video games, with 11.5 million monthly subscriptions. Now, if there's another medium out there more addictive than WoW, please share. Imagine the amount of kids every day, who get home from school, and the first thing they do is log onto their WoW accounts. No longer do kids come home and take out a book for some easy reading; instead, kids subject themselves to sitting in front of a screen for hours upon hours everyday. Postman is one hundred percent accurate in claiming that our society is becoming dumber. We're no longer learning on our own, but instead being programmed by all forms of media every time we're at home. Is there a solution? Who knows, but hopefully some benefit will come from the constant attack of media soon.

Blog #6- Podcasting in the School Library Media Center

I personally have never heard a podcast before. I know what they are and how to find them, but I never actually took the time to download one. I remember that when I was looking at them (through itunes), I noticed that all of them are free. This was a new concept to me, seeing as everything in today's world costs money. However, podcasts are almost like a free subscription to an online magazine. After reading both these articles, I would say I'm definitely more interested in the podcast. Besides the fact that it's free, it's also very informative. You can find podcasts on current events, poetry readings, author interviews, and virtual tours. It's easy to access, locate, download and listen as well. All you need is an internet connection, and you can really find anything that interests you. The world of technology today is so incredibly advanced, "anyone with a microphone and access to the web can create a podcast" (Lamb and Johnson 3). This astonishes me, in the sense that really anyone can create their own technological world, if you will. Look at youtube phenomenon's, where people just post videos of themselves and they actually get so popular, that those people become famous. Anyone can do anything in this day and age; you just need the motivation.

Podcasts seem like a news source of the future. They're free, easy to work with, and accessible anywhere with an internet connection. Now when the question arrises about if Fort Lewis needs one, I say, why not? We're already coming to a point where we as students use e-mails rather than letters, and blogs rather than papers. The educational world is vastly changing, because we as humans are vastly changing; we tend to learn the best with the newest advancements in education. Therefore, I agree that podcasts could really benefit the students. We all know that students are prone to being on the internet many hours a day. Why not then make the education available online where it'll be looked at, rather than a newspaper source downtown that kids would never take the time to go get? The structure of a podcast is similar to a radio show because some podcasts are radio shows. They have people to interview and topics to discuss. it's virtually the same thing, only a podcast is downloaded and not put on through the radio, but the computer instead.

How to Pitch a Script

The first thing I learned is that a pitch is not a performance. "It's a conversation to discover if there's a match between what the listener is looking for and what you have to offer" (http://www.scriptologist.com/Magazine/Tips/Pitch/pitch.html). When discussing your pitch, make sure you describe the genre in which your story will be and some background information about the story. When describing your pitch, you want to use articulate language. Make sure that you sound like you know what you're talking about, because the people you're pitching to will appreciate if you just get down to business and already have in mind what message you're trying to get across without wasting too much of their time. Also, before anything meeting has happened, re read your script. Make sure you have everything in there you want, and everything out that you don't because there could be changes you want to make.

In things to avoid, don't oversell your pitch. If you're discussing it too heavily or have too much information, it could possibly over flood your points and have the producers not even want to consider it. For example, don't discuss every scene word for word with every character and action that happens. Instead, discuss important scenes with primarily your main characters. Another thing you want to avoid is disagreeing with the people you're pitching your script to. Even if you disagree with their ideas, take it with constructive criticism, rather than arguing, which'll probably get and your script no where. Instead, use those ideas and possibly retransform your script into something you and the producers agree upon.

Blog #5- Mars Is Heaven

After reading "Mars Is Heaven," it made me think. I really enjoyed this short story. It was engaging, interesting and had an incredible amount of twists and turns. Every time you had an idea about what was happening in the story, it took it a completely different direction. In addition, the ending kind of left me hanging, still wanting to continue to read. If this were to have been a radio show, I would have just cut it up into segments. After one session, leave the audience hooked in and wanting to know what happens. I think every time there was about to be a new twist, end the show there for that day, just so your audience will tune in to find out what happens. As I said, I really enjoyed this story; I wouldn't really make any changes. I don't feel the need to change something that is well written and engaging. I would keep the actors, scenes and brilliant details alive such as, "Showers of petal snow sifted down when the wind touched the apple tree, and the blossom smell drifted upon the air" (Bradbury 324). Reading very exquisite sentences like this over a radio show would be awesome in giving a full graphic picture for your audience. I think this story would do well as a radio show because it's catchy, so it would pull people in, it has twists, to keep people listening, and it's well written which people very much enjoy. In addition, back when this story was written, people were all about radio shows, and even one came out about aliens which people tuned into every time it was on.

If your were to switch the genre of this story (or any story really), it would completely change the entire storyline. For example, if "Mars Is Heaven" was a romantic genre, first off, none of them would have died (assuming so). The captain would have most likely awoken in the morning, had some delicious mom-cooked waffles, gone to see the woman he lusts for, and fallen in love with some trials and tribulations first. Switching a genre completely changes everything. I think before any film or book is created, the genre is already known. That author/director/writer already has a direction in which he/she wants the story to go, and that starts with knowing the purpose of the movie, how the characters will act and why. However, what was interesting is there seemed to be a switch in genre in this movie. At first it seemed very happy and upbeat in the process of discovering new land. Then it turned evil towards the end, which was a complete surprise. All in all, the story was done well, however, with a change in genre, the text is going to be interpreted, if not literally different.

McLuhan the medium is the Massage

The book "Medium in the Massage" by Marshall McLuhan is by far one of the most interesting and visually stunning books i've ever read. You could almost call it a picture book, however the pictures are intense and i'm sure have symbolic meaning behind them. The first thing that stood out to me was on one of the first pages it says, "You. Have you ever contemplated suicide?" (McLuhan 12) Right away, with that quote, I was drawn into this book; I wanted to know what followed such a dramatic opening line. Each page has a different topic. "You", is followed by "Your Family", then "Your Neighborhood", "Your Education", "Your Job" and "Your Government", all of which describe those certain aspects of all of our lives. Then followed by "The Others", which says, "We have become irrevocably involved with, and responsible for, each other" (McLuhan 24). That was interesting because it's true; we all have connections as humans and should have a responsibility for one another. This book is an easy read but is rather hard to really grasp. It discusses technology and our roles within current technology but in a seemingly dark manor. I like the quote he says, "The wheel...is an extension of the foot", "The book...is an extension of the eye" (McLuhan 31). This book really makes you think about your life and the way you live it, with the current technology available.

In the last couple months, I've noticed that recently, a lot of movies have been released that are apocalyptic based (Legion, 2012, The Book of Eli, The Road). All of these movies somehow in one way or another, reflect the advancements in technology and humankind, thus leading to the downfall of our civilization. Now, whether that is myth or not is yet to be seen, however, this book, Medium in the Massage, really reminds me of these examples. This book puts a serious, dark note on the advancements of technology and how far we've come to this day using them.

Blog #4-Disrupting Intellectual Property

After reading about Intellectual Property and Wikis, I had some new insight to the conversation. One thing I realized while reading this piece was that wikis are assembled through a team. Even though everyone has their own ideas and thoughts put in, people still have to work together in collaborating those ideas in order to make that wiki really functional and visually stunning. This reading connected me with our wiki projects now, in the fact that we're working together. If we had to do individual wikis, yes it would be possible, but not nearly as good. Ideas from others, using each other as peer revisers, editors and idea thinkers really expands the amount of quality work we can put into our wiki project. I also made the connection that with growing technology, copyrighting is intended to be enforced ten fold because it's probably harder to regulate online. However, now with Limewire Kazaa, and other downloading sites, stealing music from the internet is now as easy as clicking a button. The connection there is that we're learning what is legal and what isn't (in terms of copyright infringement) through this wiki project, yet here we are using technology (similar technology) that we can use to very quickly and easily illegally download music.

The authors claim, "They must also accept that the wiki document or entry does not belong to them individually, which in many ways goes against how students are trained via tests, grades, and papers to view their work" (Vie and deWinter 114). After reading this quote, I learned the realization of that truth; this is not fully your work. You will either rise well as a group or fall together; but regardless of time and effort put in, it's harder to tell your individual work progress with a wiki. In addition, I learned that some teachers really try to avoid using wikis because of the potential problems it may have, (such as people deleting information, kids not putting in the effort they would otherwise, and it's unlike old teaching styles that have been around for centuries).

I believe that these authors possibly struggled when collaborating with one another while writing this piece. It's hard to tell, but I would assume they did considering the main focus of this piece seems to be the complexities when collaborating with others. In addition, everyone seems to be very opinionated when it comes to wikis. Therefore, I feel that writing this work could have been difficult; are these people advocates for wikis or not? While we do see insights and arguments in both favors, it's hard to truly form an opinion about a wiki because of that fact. However, regardless, I still feel I learned more about wikis and the processes to complete them, which overall is a good thing for me as a student to know.

White Balance

When referring to white balance, we're talking about the use of it on a camera. White balance is used in different lighting areas that allows for the shot to look a certain "color" depending on how you adjust the balance. The white balance changes the tint or hue of the image your photographing. You could change the setting anywhere from getting a blue "cooler" tint to an orange "brighter" tint. Basically, the white balance is used to capture an image that would look the exact same as something you see through your own two eyes. In addition, the white balance can and should be used in different places. You could have a setting for white balance when inside with fluorescent lights, outside, during daytime or night time, or if it's cloudy or sunny to achieve the best picture possible.

In addition to manually changing the settings on the white balance, you can also set your digital camera's to automatic mode. Auto mode automatically changes the white balance for you, depending on the lighting in the room, so you don't have to. If auto mode is set, you can practically take the camera wherever you would like and the camera adjusts itself so you can have the best image quality possible. Recently, since the birth of the automatic white balance, it has become widely used for it's simplicity and quickness. All in all, the white balance is an important element in the use of a camera, because it makes the shot you're trying to take much more realistic, and much more visually stunning to the naked eye.

Blog #3-Cathlena Martin and Lisa Dusenberry Wiki

Prior to reading this piece by Cathlena Martin and Lisa Dusenberry, I was somewhat familiar with wiki's already. However, prior to this course, I had never heard of one. Though, I was showed the video "Wikis in Plain English," as to which I learned the basic features of a wiki page. I learned from that youtube video that there are primarily two buttons: Edit and Save. A wiki is a webpage that can be edited at the click of a button. You simply push the edit button, type anything anywhere you would like, click save, and that easily, you added to a wiki page. From this article, I learned some new things such as, "Although there are many benefits to the wiki, I see one drawback: No one's thoughts and entries stay untouched by others" (Cathlena Martin and Lisa Dusenberry 209). I never really considered that fact. One can post something on a wiki, but that information can be seen or messed with very easily. For example, they say, "A whole essay could be deleted with the click of a button" (Cathlena Martin and Lisa Dusenberry 209). From that new information, I recognized the fact that your privacy, (or time and effort), can very quickly be re arranged, or deleted entirely, leading me to ask, "How beneficial are wiki pages really?" However, these flaws could be fixed entirely if the web browser administrators review what is posted on their wiki sites. Therefore, if unacceptable or hateful intolerant posts are put up, that person could be kicked off the server and their posts could be deleted.
According to Martin and Dusenberry, an advantage would be the fact that it's quick, easy and engaging for students. They claim, "By giving students the means to edit class pages, they are granted more agency in the development of class assignments and can actively contribute in a manner so that other students can view class work and progression" (Cathlena Martin and Lisa Dusenberry 205). However, a disadvantage, as explained earlier could be that anyone can post anything, and anyone can view wiki posts even if those posts are meant to be confidential or private. All in all, wiki pages seem to be a very beneficial idea for students in collaborating with one another, and while there are set backs (which there are for everything), they can be fixed, just as easily as they can be created.

Tannen Fighting for Our Lives

Deborah Tannen's chapter, "Fighting for Our Lives," is a very engaging and interesting view on our culture as a whole. She discusses how we as a culture use debate, attack, and criticism as a means of being the victor of an argument. She claims, "When you're having an argument with someone, your goal is not to listen and understand. Instead, you use every tactic you can think of-including distorting what your opponent just said-in order to win the argument" (Tannen 5). Reflecting upon life in an honest manor, we argue daily; some could claim that it's almost human nature. When reflecting upon silly arguments with friends or family, (at least I personally), attempt to approach the argument with force and harsh delivery, not only to win, but to put down the other person's idea(s). Why do I do this? Is it culture based or from growing up in the family environment I did? I'm not the only one who does this either. In terms of media surveillance, lets look at the show "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia." "It's Always Sunny" is based upon a group of friends who exhibit extreme dishonestly, disloyalty, selfishness and lack of respect for one another. In every episode, this group of "friends" creates ridiculous ideas and schemes which always leads to each one exploiting one another, conspiring against each other and doing whatever necessary to boost one over the other, regardless of consequence. Now, had this show been real life based, it would be plain disgusting to see what people do for personal gain. However, this show is one of the funniest shows on television. Why? Why do people enjoy other's downfalls? Is our culture defined upon doing all necessary to be the "best" even if that means physically or emotionally destroying someone else? This ties into Tannen's chapter in the sense that we as a culture don't attempt to win arguments through, "exploring, exposing, delving, analyzing, understanding, moving, connecting, integrating, illuminating" (Tannen 24). Instead, we win arguments by mocking, attacking, and distorting to emotionally destroy your opponent. Let's attempt to change the ways we argue and communicate with one another.

Blog #2-Takayoshi

From what I understand, it appears that Takayoshi and Selfe’s main argument is the notion that we're coming to a time where we're seeing a transfer from old style writing, (using just text) to "multimodal texts—texts that incorporate words, images, video, and sound" (Takayoshi and Selfe 3). Also, these multimodal ways of communication happen through computers, networking through computers, DVDs, etc. I think these two authors believe that with our future changing, especially with leaps in technology, this multimodal way of communication is becoming vastly dominant over regular text on page. I do agree with these two authors because I am the youth. I know what makes sense to me and what is easy for me to learn as a student. With the changing technology out there, blogging/internet networking and multimodal ways of communication, especially within the classroom are incredibly easy, more fun and quick paced. Daley's piece touches on how we as a community are in constant touch with our technology. We stare at screens multiple hours throughout the day. I think Takayoshi and Selfe are recognizing the fact that students will continue to use technology as much as possible regardless. Therefore, with that mind-set, why not allow schooling to be done through those channels? If kids will continue to be on their computers all day, let them do certain things involving their schooling on the computer and kill two birds with one stone? As far as Walker and Nardi are concerned, both texts discuss the values of blogging and the importance they have on individuals as well as businesses. I can relate that to our class completely, because we've created our own blogs which are special to each of us as individuals.

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Lebron James!

Storyboarding

Storyboarding is the process of creating small square illustrations or picture sequences (about the size of thumbnails), and lining them up next to one another in plans to create a show or motion picture. Storyboarding is practically like a comic strip that you would see in a magazine. Directors as well as others involved in the creation of the film use these storyboards to "map" out the scenes, in order to be able to view them in a "play-by-play", juxtapose sort of way. Storyboards can be created from hand drawn art, or digitally produced from computers. In addition, the storyboard sequences are meant to be shown through the eyes of the camera. The storyboards are very helpful in the first stages of creating film, in terms of being able to identify possible problem areas, or areas that just need more work put in. Finally, storyboards are crucial to the film, because they create the basis in which the scenes are to be filmed and in what order.

Media Surveillance

I see the media as a major part of our world today. Media influences our culture on a day to day basis in terms of the food we buy, the clothes we wear, the opinions we create and possibly even the way we strive to be. Media comes in many forms, such as television (which consists of entertainment, sports, news, acting shows and others), radio, newspapers, books and the internet. In today's world, you can't look around you without some form of media that's shaped your or someone else's life. What kind of shirt are you wearing? What's the brand name? Did you buy that shirt because of the brand? Finally the media is a fashion statement. For example, lets look at Shaun White (who is sponsored by Burton). Although many people may dislike like Mr. White, he gets a lot of television attention. When Shaun rides and wears Burton gear, people notice that, which results in more products being bought from Burton. Everyone is a consumer.

Blog #1-Daley

Albert Einstein once stated that, "It's clear that our technology has far surpassed our humanity." Now, whether that's true or not is up to every individual to decide, but Elizabeth Daley has a certain perspective on this issue. Since the invention of the internet, the cell phone, the iphone/ipod, facebook, myspace and more, kids have become more attached to these devices. Daley has noticed these trends and what seems to be her main argument is that kids are constantly sitting behind a screen, (whether that be computer or television). In addition, her main argument is also the fact that literacy is changing; no longer is plain text on paper the only form of literacy. We now have computers, media, images, pictures and sounds as forms of literacy. Daley quotes, "In short, our shared experiences as human beings are more often than not derived from the images and sounds that exist on screens." I very much agree with Daley because first of all, I'm living proof; I get home from school, work or just being out, and you know what the first thing I do is? Grab my computer, sit in front of the television, interact with facebook and text my friends. I just counted, and that's three screens at the same time... I find myself asking, "Why am I so obsessed with these devices?" or "Why can't I just be with the people I'm with and lay off on the texting?" I also wonder, "What did my parents, and their parents, and their parents do for fun?" In addition, since I've been writing this blog, I've heard at least three people's cell phones go off and vibrate. Can we no longer wait one hour without texting? Should we get waterproof cell phones so we can take them in the shower with us too? Oh wait, we now have waterproof phones... Thank god. I believe this article directly affects us, not only as kids in general, but in this class as well. Now that we're acknowledging that technology will continue to advance, we're at least attempting to create technology that betters humanity. We can now post things on youtube, blogs and other sites that lets our voices be heard. I think it's a good direction (hopefully) in which we're traveling and I'm glad Daley has presented these issues, so we can see where to go from here.

What students have transformed into.