Class Reflection

I am really happy the semester is about to end. I want to let go of my thoughts about Medp160 class during this semester. First I could start up on what I don’t like about the class. I don’t like how it was very disorganize this semester. I didn’t know what blogs were due until like the last moment. During our first project in Medp160 with final cut. I do admit that I was struggling with final cut pro because I was unfamiliar with its mechanism. Directing a movie was hard work for me because I have no experience with it. I enter a different realm of media that I did not know much about. I also struggle because of the time the class start and end. It was very hard for me. There were several things that I like in this class or enjoy. I enjoy the hands of experience in making media. Just going out there and applying on what we learn from class was a fun experience. I get to add new skills such as knowing how to use final cut pro. I like the videos we were watching in class. My favorite one was that clay animation in making a human figure. It was pretty entertaining. I also like to watch what other people made in class for the final cut pro project. The students were very creative with their work. I also like doing the flash project assignments in the class too. Professor Miranda provided good information on how to use adobe flash. I do admit that it was very tough at first. Much more worst than using final cut pro, but eventually I got the hand of it. I believe the number one priority in making this class better is to have it earlier like in the morning. In addition, the lab should be earlier too. I do think that there should be more options on what time starts. Another suggestions I have for class for next semester is the professors should give us more in depth look in using software like final cut pro and adobe flash because it was very confusing in the beginning. Overall, the class was fun.

Animator vs Animation was epic

Animator vs Animation

I came across an interesting animation in youtube called “Animator vs Animation.” I find the animation very humorous because the creator created an animation that is attacking the animator. It works very well for the audience. It brings a sense of feeling on what you created can come and attack you. This is what is being shown in the animation. The character articulation is very lifelike rather than mechanistic. It gives off the feeling that the animation has a mind of its own. The liveliness of the animation makes it work very well. For example, we see a lot of movement in the animation. It’s a battle between the animator and the animation. It is a rebellion. The animation itself is trying to fight to save its own life from the animator that is trying to destroy it. The sense of space is strong within the animation. The timing of the animation, for example, is well time in making the animation. We see the character start moving and the animator have the perception of what is going on with the creator’s work. This animation resonate to the audience on what you create can go against you or something that has a mind of its own. Also, the style of this animation was overall clever. In term of dimensionality, the animation is 2D. It makes sense to put 2D for character articulation as it makes it more direct as in what the creator is trying to say. Rather than showing the animation in a 3D perspective, the creator would rather show it as 2D. The color of the animation itself is flat. The color seems to go well in the animation. There wasn’t anything wild.

The production of the video assignment

The video assignment my partner and I made took some planning. We first had to have some of a broad idea on what to make for the video. The general idea of how it should look like when it’s finish. Our topic for this video assignment is a documentary showing the pet peeves at Hunter College. We first drew out the scene from square boxes then proceeded in making the shot with our handheld cams. We started out with showing a scene of the hunter college logo showing what it will be mostly be about. I was the person holding the camera and filming the problems that are at hunter. We started with the escalator problem where too much people crowd the escalator. Sometimes the escalator doesn’t work, which annoyed the students who are trying to go to class. We then ask for help with fellow classmates for our next scene about the elevator taking so long to come to the floor. He and his partner were filming us at the same time because their project was based on documenting other students doing the video assignment. It took some several shot to get it right. Originally, I wanted him to just go wait for the elevator, go to the elevator, and look like he was late for class. He added something new by dropping his books on the floor, but it work out in the video shoot. Our last couple of shots was based on the interviewing with random students about the café at hunter. They all seem to fixate on one problem about the café at hunter. That it was too overpriced and the foods aren’t tasteful. After collecting all our shots we carefully pick out shots that work and shots that didn’t work out the way we wanted. Using final cut express, we began to edit but went into complication with software issues. I edited the sound, video, and the whole feel of the video. My partner and I wanted the video to be humorous. After all the editing process using final cut pro we finally finish with our video assignment and submitted it for our classmate to critic and see.

Visit with Natalie Almada

Natalia Almada was a wonderful visit. She presented interesting documentary during the class. One of her documentary is called, “All Water has a Perfect Memory” is symbolic because of what water represented. Her take on it was quite interesting because her association with water and memory represented a moving piece with the added effects of tragedy and memory through a family. When I think of water I think of the flow of memory as it links from beginning and the end. Her visited brought up many questions in the audience. The film won many award for it showing in the film festival. Natalia also presented more of her work, which was an award winning feature documentary. The documentary is called, “Al Otro Lado.” It was about immigration and the difficulties and challenges that immigrants face when crossing the border. The scenes shown in her work were sad as the picture brings up emotional effects. We hear interviews of the hardship of the Mexican people traveling across the border to make a good living. Her visited tells a story about the challenges face by a film maker, such as borders that prevent her from filming because of the law. She would have ended in jail. As a film maker you have to plan out if it is worth the risk to show the video to the world. It was truly inspiring for the students at Hunter College. It also brought up questions about risks involve with film making and what you need to do as a film maker.

Edit and Be Organized

The piece of linear media I will be choosing is one of my many favorites. The movie is called “Way of the Dragon.” The fight scene with Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris has made a significant influence in the story telling of the movie. Based on the actions of the actors, such as the kicking and the punching, it eventually leads to a story on who will win in a duel in the end. The eye contact between the two actors in the film is the cause of the fight scene with their hands clutch signifying a battle will start. The setting of the story also determines how the shots were organized. They are in a room where there is nobody but them. It is basically like an arena for like two men going at each other seeing who best who. During the start of the fight, Bruce Lee was being kicked around by Chuck Norris and then Bruce Lee made a comeback. The shots were organized in a way where whoever is knocked down the camera focuses on that person. It is time on the movement on who will make the next move. In the scene, we see Bruce Lee throwing kicks and punches, and then it switches back to Chuck Norris doing the kicks and punches. It is order through those movements. During the beginning of the scene we see Chuck Norris winning and gaining the upper hand then alternatives back to Bruce Lee winning and gaining the upper hand. Eventually, Bruce Lee won the fight. There is a right place to do the cuts, for example, we see the camera focus on Bruce Lee then to Chuck Norris, and then switches to a view were we can see them both. The cuts in the shots seem obvious because you get a clue that the camera will switch to the other actors through the body language. The eyes stare and clutch fist will eventually lead to a cut scene to a fight.

Websites

The media has change drastically in the past decade. Old media was highly specialized, expensive in production and distribution, is central in controlled programming, passive consumption and control by property owners or bureaucracy. Today we are in an era of new media where it is quite the opposite of old media. New Media is: non-specialized, inexpensive in production and distribution, on demand, interaction and feedback by user, collective production, and social control by self-organization. There are thousands and thousands of website that are spread out in the internet. There are a couple of sites that I love to visit often. One of which is a social networking site called “Facebook,” a site where you can communicate with your friends, family, and coworkers. What makes me come to the website is to keep updated on what my friends were doing in life through the feeds. Interactivity and speed is what makes Facebook so great. Another site which I love very much that makes me coming for more is engadget.com. It keeps me up to the latest updates on technology. It is where I go get my information on reviews on the gadgets that are coming out. What’s great about it is that I can leave comments for other users to see and interact with the people that share my share interest. It also keeps me informed about how other people feel about a certain product, such as the iPAD that came out last week. So what’s my relationship with media? Well frankly speaking, it mostly interaction with other people and to keep me informed about events.

MEDP Reflection

This course has helped me realize the potential tools in media that I could use to communicate. The material I learned in class has gave me a new understand of the term media. I never knew much on how television works, but taking this class I learned the anatomy of a television set. Media today is really different than back then. For one thing, producing media back then was much difficult. People had to carry heavy cameras with a crank. The evolution of media was quite fascinating. It opened my mind to the media world. We seem to be consumed by media because it’s everywhere, such as films, newspaper, advertisement, and the internet. The way that something is designed can convey meaning was also interesting. Something such as an image composition can tell us something about a picture. It led me to think about what works and what doesn’t work in a picture. For example, the way a person is position in an image could tell us if it communicates to us effectively. These camera techniques could help me on what I want to achieve when I am filming something. I find out that I enjoy designing my website in this class. It is a really fun experience to be displaying my works so other people can see it. Although, I could of done better if I put in more effort. I can see myself progress in learning about html and css. Overall, this course was enjoyable. I hope to expand my knowledge of media.