Wizards

After watching the wizards movie, we have been assigned to post about it.  So, I think the internet has changed the way we consume media because now we can see the original copy of a movie, parodies, and fan made remakes of the same story lines.  We can see it from different perspectives and communicate about things that to people we wouldn’t otherwise be in contact with. The balance of power between Warner Brothers and the fans is an interesting relationship to me. While Warner Brothers has all the money, the fans have the power.  Though it is important to note that Warner Brothers also has the authority.  Although the fans keep them in business, Bros is the one with the legal rights to the material and they can control the content.  I don’t think fan culture has changed much in the past 3-4 years, not more than anything else.  Obviously, the internet and youtube, facebook, and things changed the creation and distribution of fan made media.  I think that the movie in general focuses on an extremely popular movie with a large fan base and culture, but it is similar still to other sagas.

Random Post

Ecollege did not specify if there was a blog post due this week, so I’m just doing this to be safe.

Last Friday Nina, Melissa and I filmed our whole project!  It was really fun and I totally wish that this was a real job.  Editing took forever, about an hour per minute (as our actor, Chris, had warned us), but it was worth it.  Seeing the (almost) final product is satisfying and makes me feel a whole lot better than seeing a 10 page paper completed.  I think our video might be a little too long as it runs for about five and a half minutes, so if Aaron asks us to cut it down we could.  All that’s left to do is add in the voice over for the actual PSA part and upload it to youtube.  I hope Gayle likes it because we are all so proud of our work.  I can’t wait for it to be done so I can show my friends.  I’ve never made anything like this before so it is really exciting for me =D

Stupid Mountains….

This group project is so fun for Nina, Melissa, and I.  I wish it was out only pressing assignment so we could really make it outstanding. Regardless, we’re doing the very best that we can.  Two milestones for us I would say, so far, are: 1) getting the idea OK’d by Gayle.  I was a bit worried that the theme of our video wasn’t going to fly, but she  really liked the idea and gave us some valuable advice and a clearer direction to take the project in.  2) getting all of last class to get a head start on this project was very helpful.  We completed probably 1/3 of it in class.  We still need to tweak and do the voiceovers (and add in the filmed portion!)  Even though everyone wants this to come out great, I do see some obstacles that we may come across, mountains to climb, if you will: 1) coordinating our schedules is nearly impossible.  It seems the all of our free time is in complete opposition to other members no matter the day (or only 2 of us will be around for it, without the third).  Since this is such a highly collaborative project, I feel it is necessary for us all to be there for filming, but it may not be possible.  And, I just don’t know where to go from there.  Picking a day when someone isn’t available might make them feel excluded and slighted, which is a major problem in virtual work (essentially what we are doing).  I just hope it works out.

Creative Commons

This week in class we learned tips for recording our group projects and about copyright laws.  Because of the way these laws work, it is illegal to use certain images, videos, and/or music without the proper licensing agreements. A way around this is to use Creative Commons (a website online) where artists can upload their media into a data base so that others can use it under different sets of guidelines.  To assist in our projects, we were assigned to find one example of each that we might be able to use in our projects.  So, here are mine:

Picture This photo, found on the creative commons search engine, may be useful in our group project.  If we are unable to find pictures of real victims of domestic violence, then pictures like this of people afraid and defensive may work as well.  We would use it in the second section of our video which relays information on warning signs of an abusive relationship.

Video this video, also found through the creative commons search engine, could be a great addition to our video, and possibly even a replacement for the second section if need be.  It highlights seven main facts of domestic violence in a clear, concise manner.  We plan to do a more in depth and informational review of the warning signs, however, using this would make our work load a lot lighter.

Tunes again, through creative commons, I found this song.  Well, actually the link directs you to the whole album, but the first song called “Attrition” sounds cool and could be used as our background music.  Hopefully, we can find a heart monitor sound, but if not a song like this may work well.  I like that it is called attrition, as it basically means slow destruction or loss.

Post-Storyboarding…group work is hard

After producing my part of the storyboard, I no longer feel as confident as I did earier this week.  The storyboard section came out good, but working in a group undoubtedly has its challenges and it is starting to sshow.  Communication and interaction is becoming diffiult and, therefore, affecting the creative process.  As I wait for the storyboard’s completion, I realize we have not decided who will screencast it and meeting up to do it together seems out of the question.  Coordinating our schedules seems next to impossible and quite stressful.  We cannot make a list of the materials we need until the storyboard is completed, but I don’t anticpate needing more than an actor, a camera, and the editing software (as the videos tend to not be the highest quality anyway).  It seems the creative process stayed mainly in tact. Probably because the idea has a solid foundation to it.  I do believe that in editing we should condense the amount of information onthe slides to a length that is more appropriate, however, this can probably only be done later on whe we get a btter feel on the end result of the project.

Pre-Storyboarding

This week we got together in our groups to try and come up with a craetive direction to take our project in.  We went over everything that we were going to do and I feel a bit better about it now.  We are staying with the first idea of makinga “Shit people say” type of video that winds up pulling at the audiences heart strings by way of surprisingly depicting an abusive relationship.  The video will start off humorous and the take a shocking turn for the worse as the boyfriend turns into an unreasonable, irrate psychopath (for lack of  a better word).  In theory, our final presentation feels like it is going to be really great and has the potential to be truly awesome.  I plan to depict th first part of the storyboard, which is my responsibility, by simply drawing stick figures in paint and pasting hem into the powerpoint slides, with the descriptions to the right and the notes about sound along the bottom.  Because there will be so many short clips used, I plan to lump the clips together in more general topics.  Each slide on the powerpoint will note if it will be comprised of many short clips o that Gale can have an easier understanding of what the presentation will look like.  Also, as we talked about in our in class group meetings, we will be attaching sample videos of the “Shit people say” type so that she will have a very clear view on how and why this project is going in this direction

Google Doc

So, this weeks assignment is on how to make a google doc and share it.  Killing 2 birds with 1 stone, we practiced using this within our final project groups.  Getting familiar with google docs was easy, the hard part was figuring out our project.  I think we came up with a really good idea for our psa type video, but I just hope that it is practical and possible to accomplish on the level we want.  There was one funny confusion in this process: last semesters charity organization was still listed on the google doc format.  That was school libraries.  One of my group members answered all the questions about libraries, how to get kids to use them, and to think they’re cool but, through her text, she was clearly confused.  We cleared this up quickly though.  But, I was still laughing.  Cross your fingers for us as we try to make this project the most it can be (especially because we don’t really have a back up plan! Shhh).  Until next time…

 

*Fingers Crossed*

My Top 5

After looking through the blogs from the midterm assignment I’ve narrowed down my favorites.  Although I liked everyone’s, these are the blogs that stood out to me.

The Lazy College Girls Guide to Fashion

I really liked this blog because it’s interesting.  I am into fashion so it’s appealing.  The background picture of Snooki on the runway is funny, though I’m not sure if it is photoshopped.  There are lots of posts for such a new blog, all of which are informative and have style.  I love the font used in this blog.  It looks very modern. There’s even a cute little poll at the bottom.  However, the main reason I like this blog is that it give me ideas for my own blog and makes me want to go and learn how to do new things in WordPress.

The Psycollegey Girl

I’m a sucker for wittiness, so I originally went to this blog because of the clever name.  Though I don’t know if the name has a lot to do with the content, I still really enjoyed the blog.  It’s full of healthy snacks that (for the most part) will lead to a lifestyle of wellness.  The main rooms and garage of this blog are really great!  There’s a q&a section, a rss feed, and a motivation section in addition to the regular tabs.

News in New Brunswick

This blog is so crisp and fresh looking!  I like how it is almost like a quick and easy newspaper covering Rutgers culture.  Anyone that is new to the school or area could use this blog to find out what was going on at that time and where they could go for fun.  As for the layout of the blog itself, everything appears to be very organized and the theme is great as well.

Comfortable Calories

Comfortable calories is another blog that helps it’s viewers with healthy living.  However, it is not just tips but recipes as well.  It looks professional, trustworthy, and inviting.  All in all it is achieving that aesthetically pleasing thing we’ve been talking about all semester (and the “recipe room” is so cute!). And, now I want a strawberry oatmeal bar!

For the Love of Gossip

This blog has such an entertaining vibe to it.  The layout is oppopsite of what I am used to on wordpress, but I really like it.  The theme is bubbly and contemporary in different shades of black, grey, lime green, and blue.  The information is fun to read and the pictures are really cool.  The main rooms and the garage are clearly organized and easy to navigate.

 

Midterm Blog

Our assignment this past week was to create a new blog for our midterm and to write a 4 page paper to go along with it.

I had a few different ideas in mind regarding what the topic of my blog would be.  However, ultimately I went with a public relations theme because 1) that’s the career I want and 2)it would be most useful for me.  I created a blog to organize the bunches of emails and articles I read every week that related to public relations.  I am subscribed to multiple sources so I gain lots of information.  I wanted a place to “file” the articles that I find most useful, practical, and informative, so I made one!  I think it will be easier to keep up with then a traditional blog, as it will take less time to compose each new post.  To my surprise I didn’t have many problems with creating the blog.  Forming the layout is the most fun in my opinion, and I am really happy with how mine turned out (even though not many people have seen it ): ).  The paper seemed like a daunting task, but it really went pretty quickly.  We had a format to write it in and, basically, just had to summarize the process of creating the blog from start to finish.  The mediated component was fun for me this time around because it worked (on my first try no less)!!  But, if I had a Mac, then I would definitely have spent much more time making and perfecting my podcast.  I hope someone out there finds the answers to their questions within my blog.

Now I’m going to go post something =D

My Yoshi Video

This post is only for Aaron.  Just reminding you that we tried to save my iMovie file for about 45 minutes in the satellite lab and it wouldn’t work, so you watched the video there.  I included all the necessary “effects” but unfortunately could not upload it to youtube.