Video Reflection

Basics 

In this video class communication is key. I found that I used communication well during this semester, getting other peoples opinion and also giving my opinion to others. Communication and collaboration skills are very similar. With out communication then you wouldn't have any collaboration skills. My project this semester  was defiantly all over the place due to a concussion lasting a couple months. I got very behind in video and animation because of all of the set backs and effects concussions give you. My technical skills were good. I used the 6 shot system in all the videos that I made. Extreme wide shot, wide shot, extreme close up, close up, over the shoulder, and medium shot are the 6 different shots that I used in video. The sound was an easy fix when editing. Before editing you have to film and if your audio is not on then you have to restart your whole project. I only had the problem once. Lesson learned. Once in editing I could turn my sound up or down to match my voice over so that it would flow better. Lighting wasn't a problem for me. Lighting is a good key for filming because you want to be able to see your interview person with no shadows or glares on them. Editing in premier pro was different then it was last year. It was quick to learn and most of the tools are the same. My overall experience with feature stories and news stories was okay. I still liked to o it but for sure I want to go into entertainment to get the audience more involved and to feel. By doing video it made me be more experienced for the years yet to come.

This semester in video (final video)

The project that I was working on was a video about a student made movie. It took 3 class days to work on this. Some challenges that I faced were creating voice overs. It took me a while to figure out what exactly to say in my video. Along the way I learned how to edit faster and make my b roll volume quieter so it wouldn't over power my actual interview. Feedback that I was given was to make more voice overs because it seemed like one person was talking for to long and the viewers would lose interest. I would add more voice overs if I could. My overall thought about this project was that I put in the best work that I could in the last final project.

Time management 

Due to my concussion I was held back and was not able to complete most projects. I couldn't work on my projects because most days my headaches got so bad I would have to leave school early. When I was able to stay after school I had to work on animation because of the fact my teacher was failing me because I wasn't able to complete most of his projects and it took me a lot longer to do than it would if I didn't have a concussion. I also had my parents by a new laptop and get all the programs that I would need for animation and video,  so I could work on them over the weekends. I even had a doctor note and an athletic trainer note to extend work times and other restrictions that was given for me. Overall, this semester was a mess, but I was lucky to finally be concussion free recently so I got my final project done on time because I now could. I know that next semester all of my work will be turned in on time with no exceptions. 

Strengths 

In video my strengths were the technical side. This is having to do with the different lighting, 6 shot system, sound, and camera work. I'm also good at editing fast. I maximize my strengths by running into problems and then asking others around me for their input to help me and then I now have a new strength. 

Weaknesses 

My weakness in video is time management for sure right now and also voice overs. I just don't know how to make my voice sound up beat and preppy so it would be interesting to the viewers. I definitely would need to improve, which  I will next semester, project management. 

Overall

I loved being able to relax and do video because after a long day of learning I want to do something I'm interested in doing. If I could change anything like I said I would finish my project on time and good quality of work. This semester I was able to learn new tools premier pro, sound (getting the audio levels to match), and also how to create a feature story and what to say and what not to say. For instances not to say "I'm here sitting with (name) and likes photography, but instead say (name)shares his passions about photography. I've probably said this a million times, but to get all my projects in on time because I have no excuse. My final thoughts would be that I'm very excited to learn about entertainment and just start out fresh once we come back from break. 

Communication Portfolio Reflection

Ice Cream Model

  
In the ice cream animation we used a program called maya. I learned a lot of new things. I learned how to bullion, cut tools, short cut keys, how to make objects bigger and smaller, how to move the objects up and down, and to move them side to side. I also was able to figure out how to change the colors of objects. I could also download a picture and put it on an object, which that was really cool. I learned how to do this project by following the directions of the teacher and experimenting with new things. I picked this project because I liked how it turned out and it looked normal. I think this one was my best projects I have done this year. My strengths in this project was having an idea in my head and being creative. My weakness were making the ice cream scoop, but I got it figured out. I improved by asking people for their help and then helping other people with the information that I learned. I'm going to use what I learned for future projects in maya. If I could change anything I would make more things in my ice cream shop to make it look legit. Overall, this was the most fun out of all the projects that we did this year. 

Hammer Time

  I created the Hammer faster than I thought I would. I also created the hammer in Maya. I learned to make a hammer head. I learned to do a cutting object which was really cool for the hammer head. I learned to do this by experimenting all the different tools. I picked this project because even though it didn't look the best I tried to make the hammer head look perfect. My weakness for the hammer was the handle. Somehow it looked curvy. I didn't know how to fix it without restarting the whole thing. My strength were the hammer head to line up all the vertices to look the same on both sids. I improved by learning to take less time to make things. I'm going to use what I learned for the next thing I do in maya. If I could change anything, I would change my hammer so it would be straight. Overall, this was a good learning experience.

Pen Final

  For my final before the christmas break we created a pen. I learned how to make all the different edges and different tools to use to make it look identical to an actual pen. I learned how to do this by also messing around with a bunch of different tools. I picked to do this project because I chose to take it a step further and add a picture of my idol and have it look as if he was holding the pen in his hand. The project was to just create a one with a floor and a couple side walls, so there wouldn't be any black when we render out the project. My strengths were creating the pen cap and my weakness was the pen, but I got it done and it looks great. I improved by doing my own thing and testing up tools. I'm going to use what I have learned with other things I do in Maya or anything like Maya. I would probably have a video of the pen instead of screen shots. Overall, I got this project done with very few mistakes. 

Polything

To create the polything I used Maya. This was the very first project I did in maya besides making random shapes. I learned about different lightings to use to create the best shadow of the polything.  I followed step by step instructions provided by my teacher to create the polything. I picked this project because it was the easiest to create in maya. It took me 10 minutes or less to create this. My strengths was being able to turn this project in on time. My weakness was figuring out how the lights worked. I improved by mastering how to do lighting. I'm going to use the lighting with other projects even outside of maya. Lighting can be used with almost everything. I wouldn't change a single thing about this project. Overall, this was quick and easy and a fun way to learn about lighting. 

Glass 

Recently I created a glass. I really like how it turned out because it looked almost real. I learned a new thing where we had to use a stenciling type of tool to create this. I learned this by following some directions, but mostly I did it on my own with the help of a couple people. I picked this project because it didn't completely look all that bad. I mean... I'd drink out of that glass if it were real. My strengths were making the bottom of the glass look skinny as a glass would look like. My weakness would probably be the color I chose it looks too blue for a glass. I improved by learning new tools. With the things I learned I also made a salt shake. I would change the color and make it look like there is liquid in the glass. Overall, It was a cool concept to learn. 

Polything

The scope of this project was to create a cube and bullion it out to make a polything in Maya. I looked up the directions on google classroom. I followed step by step and ended up getting this project done really fast. I would have never thought to use the cylinder shape to complete this project. What I did was first create a sphere and made sure all the measurements were exact. I put the cylinders inside the sphere and made them pop out in the middle, back,front, and both sides. Using bullion, I basically cut out the shapes from the inside and ended up with the final product. I had to put some lights to get the polything to have shadows. I then created the texture of my polything and I picked the color purple. My final thing to do was move the lights around each time to then take a screen shot of the polything.


  Along the way, I learned the principles of how to bullion shapes into other shapes. I was able to help out a few people around me also create this project because they couldn't quite get it. Instead of telling them to look back at their directions...

Overall this project was fun and really easy. I learned new things and better tools to use in maya. 

Multi-Layer Project

  The scope of this project was to create three different parts to then make it look as it would go into one. I first decided to make mine an ocean multi-layer because I figured that no one else in my class would have thought about doing that. Once I got started on making the water, I looked around and saw that other people had the same idea. I had to figure out how to make each of my layers move and the different speeds I wanted them to move in. I wanted my background layer to move a lot slower than I wanted my front layer. The back layer made it look as if it was far away, so it made since the farther away then the slower it would move and visa-verse. I started to create on my front (beginning) layer sand at the bottom and make the whole project look at the bottom of the ocean. I added some fish and other creatures to make it look a part of the ocean. Some of the fish really didn't make sense that it was at the bottom of the ocean. For example, a Dolphin wouldn't really be at the bottom of the ocean depending on how deep the ocean waters got. Now I am nowhere near as skilled as I would like to be. I could have gone all out on this, but we were on a bunch time limit and I really didn't know how to do a lot of things on Photoshop to make my project look kind of more real meaning it looks like I drew everything (which I did), but it would be cool if the dolphin looked better. 
   
   My project editing was spot on. All I had to do was move each scene all the way down and then set a keyframe. While creating the Multi-layer project I got to learn new things. I mainly learned all the new things in photoshop. I learned a bunch of little shortcuts that helped me get my project done faster compared to if I didn't know the shortcuts. Technically I had no problems in the hardware or software. It all worked out smoothly. 

  My collaboration with other classmates worked out well for me. I asked others around me to help me out to create my project. That leads into teamwork. I also helped a couple people around me with ideas on what to draw and I also even drew a turtle for someone else's project (even though it wasn't good.. I still helped her out). My deadlines are probably the weakest for me as long with some of my other classmates. It takes me a little longer to figure out all the different buttons and to plan out what I want to be able to do. I do come in every now and then before and after school to try and work on it outside of school hours. 

  If I had to do this project again I would probably figure out a way to make my project come alive so it wouldn't look plain. I would still have the idea of doing the bottom of the ocean. My experiences for my next project will help me out because I learned a bunch new shortcut keys to make my project go faster. My general thoughts about this project were that it was okay. I didn't love what we had to do, but I didn't hate it. Personally, animation is not one of my strong suits and I'm trying to do my best. 

Castle in MAYA

The scope of this project was to create a castle with four walls and four pole things and insert a door. I first started to make the pole things aka things that connect the wall. Not sure what I should call them. I used a cylinder for this and raised the top of the poles up so it would look as if it was a real castle. I had to use many different tools to get the top of the edges to stick up and have groves on them. At first I couldn't figure it out, so I asked a partner by me to help me out. I copied and pasted the pole four times, so I could have it in each corner. I then took the cube tool to make the walls. I only had to make one wall because I could just copy and paste the other three. I had to use the face tool and then change the subdivisions so that I could make the ridges on the walls as well. I copied and pasted the other three. I had to figure out different buttons to rotate my walls and get them in the exact position that I wanted them to be in. Making the door was probably the easiest part of the whole project. All I did was make another cube and raised up. Then I positioned it on the wall where I wanted a whole to be for my door. After that I went up to one of the tabs to bullion and then I hit difference button. That got rid of both the cube and where I put the cube on the wall. I then added a texture to both the walls and the poles. I did that by selecting all the walls at once then right clicking and go down to add new and then select lambert. After I did that I went to the channel box where it should say lambert. I changed the color texture in the tab there. To get the actual color to appear on my screen I hit the number seven on my key board. 

  Technically, I learned how to bullion new objects to create a door. I could use this in the future when creating different objects. Maya helped me expand my knowledge to learn new things. By learning different programs it will help me be able to understand and try new things for a new program faster. My teamwork worked out because I got help from others and also helped other people with certain things. Project deadlines weren't so good for me. It took me a little longer to do this and I feel like the teacher moved on too fast, but in the real world I have to suck it up. Next time I will know the keys better, so I should be able to finish on time. 

  Next time I would figure out how to add a brick door instead of it just being blank. I would also try to add some flags on the castle and maybe a knight guy. I would not do my poles any differently because I think they came out perfect. The experiences with maya will help me in the future to create more things in maya or in any other software like maya. I generally thought this castle could have been better. I think I should just look over shortcut keys before we learn a new software program.

Below are screenshots of my castle!!!

Hammer Time

The scope of this project was to create a 3D model of a hammer and a nail in Maya. The process of this hammer was a lot of steps. I first made a small cube to the raise it up. I created the hammers handle. I then tried to make a hammer head. I messed up so many times before I decided to look at the directions. The actual hammer head flat part in my opinion was the hardest to do. I couldn't get it to look round. I finally realized all I had to do was change the vertex to make them look all around. I then had to add a texture to the handle so it wouldn't look boring. I wanted my floor layer to be purple due to the fact that my favorite color is purple. I created my nail without looking at the directions because I just wanted to wing it. 

  Along the way I learned a lot about the vertex, face, and other uses to make my objects look different. I had some troubles doing this project and I wasn't able to fix every little mistakes. The handle was kinda cricked and way to tall. I got the height down I think. My collaboration skills with working with others went well. I helped my neighbor create her hammer head by teaching her the different steps she should you. She also helped me by explaining how to add a texture to my hammer. I didn't quite get this one in on time because of the fact animation itself just takes me longer than most kids and I wanted mine to look normal.

  Next time I would make more nails and maybe add a table if I had time. I would also redo my hammer to make it straight looking. I would do my hammer head the same, but it would take me a lot less time making because of the fact I know how to do it. I would use the knowledge of how to create different lights and put them into different positions for my next project. My general thought of this project was just okay, I'm not too found of animation.

  

Below are screen shots of my hammer and nail with different cast shadows!!!

1 in 2000

   



         In this video I interviewed Darby Christiansen on how her 2016 summer went.  Darby's summer was packed. She went to mutiple places but her favorite was her trip to Japan. Darby went on this trip with her father. Her father has been to Japan multiple times and decided to take his daughter over the summer break. Darby says "this is trip I definitely will never forget." She had to go on about a 13 hour plane flight to Japan. From there she and her dad had to take a train to the place where they were staying. Darby explained to me that the food is very different and not what she expected. Darby knew some Japanese before going, but she quickly picked up on more of the language while she was there. I asked Darby what her worst memory in Japan was and she told me "do not go on a subway in the middle of the day!" Darby did in fact get lost on the subway and couldn't find her dad for a while. Darby also told me if she could take anyone to Japan with her next time she would pick her best friend in Texas. She and her seemed to have a really good friendship until she moved to Olathe, Kansas. On Darby's last day in Texas, her and her friend rode her bike up and down the streets at about midnight. I discovered that Darby loves to listen to music and draw in her free time. Darby would rate this trip with her father 100/100. Wow! 

My experience with writing my voice over went really well. I put my name at the beginning and spelled it out for my viewers. After that I had to say who I work for. I did end up having to take multiple shots of my voiceover because I sounded like a robot in just about all of the clips. When I finally got the clip that I wanted and I put the voiceover at the beginning of my interview so that my viewers knew what exactly what I was talking about/ what was going on.  

Filming was different than another video that I would be filming. Instead of creating a story board all I did was come up with about 20 questions to ask Darby about her story. I then figured out a order to ask the questions to Darby. Next I decided to find good lighting throughout the whole school. I picked the perfect spot and started filming. I still had to get the 6 shot system in my video (6 shot system is in my last post). Filming the different positions of the interview was tricky. After filming I edited the video.

In this video I really like how I added clips from Darby plane ride to my video. I also added clips from the subway. I like how I did this because it is different from the rest of my classmates. Also, instead of having clips that just said the question and then have the interview people say their answer... I had my questions as a voiceover. All in all this was a great experience to be able to learn how to interview people and edit in a video. 

Vending machines

Ashlee Robinson 

Vending Machines 

The scope of this project would be how you should use the vending machines and also how not to use the machines here at school. In fact anywhere.  I completed a vending machine showing students and adults how to use vending machines buy using the 6th shot method. The 6th shot method are the following; extreme close up, close up, medium shot, wide shot, and finally extreme wide shot. First things first I had to come up with an idea. I didn't want it to be a basic "how you should turn a book to the library". I mean most kids and adults should already know how to do that. I wanted go further. I ended up picking a lesson about vending machines. You would not believe about how many folks I see a day who simply don't know how to use a vending machine. Now I'm sure most people do know how, but choose not to. Why put in a crinkled up dollar in the machine? Maybe that's the only one you have on you, but kicking the vending machine after it wouldn't take your money is not going to get the machine to work.  After I came up with the idea of the video I made a story board, and what that is, is a piece of paper that you write down each different shot in.  An example for one of my boxes I used... I wrote down a guy walking to the vending machine and below that I wrote extreme wide shot. After I wrote all of that down I drew a quick sketch to show how I wanted it to look like. I ended up with a full page of boxes. There is no limit to how many different shots you would like to use. My video however was assigned for it to be no longer than thirty seconds.  Next it was time to film. Personally filming is almost my favorite part.  I inserted a SMS card into the camera and got a tripod. I set up the camera and balanced out my shots. Balancing shots out is very important! Without doing so your shots could end up yellow do to different lighting areas that you use. I followed my story board and shot each box exactly how it was.  I did end up having to be in my video because my partner wouldn't. Which I don't like being filmed but it had to be done.  The next step was to put the cameras back and start editing! I used Adobe Premier Pro to edit my video. It took me a day to film and an additional day to edit.  I had to figure out a completely different software, but I mean it should help me out in the future. After I edited the video making sure each shot was in focus and looked good, I decided my video was missing something. This video was not supposed to have voice in it, but we could use music. I used an upbeat song so that the viewer would be more interested in what I was doing. I uploaded my video and had lots of feedback. My teacher said I had excellent transition and he lighting was great and evened out through the whole video, which other classmates had a hard time figuring out. I also clearly showed a beginning middle and end. One thing that I thought I should really change about my video was the DONTS and the DOS down lower so that the viewer could see what not to do and what to do better than in the first edit that I did.  

I learned a totally different software. The text tool is a lot different on Premier Pro than Final Cut. Personally Final Cut is so much easier to work with. I did learn that Premier Pro did have a better way to mute the sound with one click of a button unlike Final Cut. The software was harder but quick to learn. Once I got all the main tools to use for my video editing it went smoothly throughout the rest of my video. Nothing went wrong with my video. Thank God! Professionally my partner and I got along great. She just moved to our school, so we didn't know much about each other and how we work. During the idea process, story board, and filming we did learn a lot about each other that I would have never known. We had to arguments and we both let each other talk and listen to different ideas. I did get everything turned in on time which is a big key in life. Deadlines! Can be stressful but in the end it is completely worth it. 

What I would do differently in this project would probably get different people in my video. I think you shouldn't be in your own video. This didn't happen to me, but I know other people were in their own video that they were filming and when it came to classmates they said stuff like "it needs a better actor" or even "they look like they don't want to be there" and that got the kids down. What I would do the same is to carefully look at each video because transitioning to the next clip was hard for some people to make it look natural. The two biggest things I think for me to have a good video is to have good focus and good transitions. With out that your video wouldn't be the best, and they could always ask for help if needed. 

Some experiences that I would draw from this is that to be friendly to who ever you work with. Everything works so much smoother. In the past I have had partners who clearly did not want to film or even edit. With partners help it goes so much faster. If I could change anything would be the specific project that we did. I think students would be more involved if they got to film outside of school and or hobbies that they liked to do. I would have also made this video so that it is longer than only thirty seconds. I mean it is our first video getting back to the basics. 


Screen Shots and video down below!!

Beginning

Middle 

End

MIB Neutralizer

Our team name is the MIB Swag. We all agreed to this name because it has to do with our project. If we could make anything happen out of all the possible inventions we chose a Neutralizer. The Neutralizer is from MIB (a movie).  We communicated well. One of our group members was absent a day and told us the night before, so it wasn't a worry and we al chipped in to help with his part. We made sure everyone knew what their job was for the day and if we had free time we would see if others need help before doing any homework. I'd say our most struggle was getting the website figured out. I'd say next time when E9 decides to do this project again have them create the website before doing anything else because it is very time assuming. I have improved by helping in almost all areas in this project. I got a lot better using illustrator and Final Cut.

One of my favorite person ever created this ad. At first it almost looked too busy but we put our heads together and finally had our ad. 

 One of my group members did this I really like how they used a old person to resemble Alzheimer's. 

I designed the coupon. I created each of the check marks. It took awhile so I came in before school to help finish it. 

The locations are to my left. 

 The next three pictures to my left is my animation of the MIB Neutralizer. We all did a part in this. I created the table/floor. Our group didn't seem to have a hard time with this animation.