2014 Video Final

    With this semester I really enjoyed myself. We did a lot of projects that I enjoyed but there were also some I didn't like. Some of my favorite projects would probably include the final, the blood drive, and the music video. Probably the only thing I disliked this semester would have to be the Lego video. Overall I feel like I learned a lot with editing which I really enjoyed. We also learned more about how to hold the camera and different shots we can film. I can't wait for next semester!

Firefighters

The basic idea for this project was to make the firefighter stand out but not seem to flashy. At first I tried this with color but I didn't like the outcome and while messing with the opacity and blending modes I took out all of the colors from the fire fighter. I feel liked how the details turned out so I continues and found a unique background to go with it. Then to give the picture some character I added another picture over it and messed with the blending and gave the firefighter a blue red glow. This is definitely one of my favorites because of the simplicity. Hope you like it just as much as I did. 

Post Cards

   So with this project we had a lot of freedom. We first had to make a very simple card with just clip art to spell out "fall" then I added the text below it and the boarder to make it more elegant. Next I moved onto more creative projects 

   The first free range I worked on was the "my life in 10 years" picture. This one had some challenges which I had to face. One of the main problems was making the font patch with the rest of the card. Finally I blended several layers to make a very light and airy background. 

   Then I moved onto the happy holiday card for my friend. I enjoyed this one cause it has a collage feel more fun and light hearted. I think this one is my favorite. 

   Finally I made a very simple yet fun picture with the text "One breath at a time". This one gives off the no worries feel and I liked how simplistic and cute it looked. 

   What I want to work on more is finding the perfect fonts. I want all of my posts to be visually appealing and fun to look at. 

sky shadow

Quick project using shadows and different layering styles. Took me less than 30 minutes to make. Super fun and easy

Vampire symphony

With this project it just started out as a extraction project but then I changed it up to have a haunted creepy feel to it. I started out with taking my extracted image and finding a background that fit my ideals. Then I added such extras as blood stains, fog, the ghost in the background, and the red eyes. Super fun project and I enjoyed giving it a scary twist.

Japan

This was a very simple edit that I did. I extracted the temple and tree line. I put it onto a busy city background and They added clouds and the text "japan" Very simple and took me little to no time to make.

Documentary

Legos are a part of childhood 

 

Donating Blood Saves Lives

The idea of this first project was to try to tell the story of Mackenzie's experience with lego's. I wanted to give it a sort of carefree and light feel to it.
   The second Project was the blood drive. For this one I wanted to give it a very professional feel. I feel like it turned out much better than my original "Lego" project. This is probably because I already had practice with the 1st one.
  The process that I used to accomplish this was to find a partner and then start filming. I tried to ask some different questions but it was difficult to keep coming up with interesting questions and not be repeating myself. The next step after filming was the basic editing to find the good shots. I found a select few and dragged them down and made a rough story. After that I got voice overs recorded. They sound a bit awkward and stuttery in my opinion but they worked so I went with it. Finally I uploaded it and that was it! I had made my first documentary styled video.
    I thought this was going to be an easy project but I definitely learned differently. I figured out how to use "L" and "J" edits. They were very helpful from keeping my video seem blocky and cut strangely. They basically kept the flow.
   The next time I do a project like this I would like to do a more interesting topic rather then legos or a blood drive. Maybe something like a walk-threw of the average cooking class. I feel like I could get some really amazing shots and have a fun story-line. Something I would like to do the same is to add music. My lego video had a lot of awkward quiet moments and I felt like the music really made it more interesting.
   My overall view on this project is that I really enjoyed it. The general structure has more rules and makes it a challenge. Also keeping your viewer interested is a challenge within itself. I would very much like to do this again some time.

Sailing

With this project I started off with the idea of a floating pirate ship, kind of like in peter pan. I first started out by taking the pirate ship and removing it from the original image and putting it onto the sky base. Then to give the ship an impression of movement I added clouds to give it a wave look. then I wanted to fancy it up with some lighting. I finished by adding my name and I was done. I really liked working on matching up the images. I figured out some simple tricks to giving it a unique look. Overall I think this turned out pretty cool looking. Next time I want to keep more of the original colors rather than covering them up. 

Re-post Floating Mountain

   

   The idea for this project was to make a mystical floating mountain, kind of like in the movie avatar. My process was to follow the directions I was given but then add my own style with 3 different elements. I added a flock of parrots, a boy fishing, and a dragon. After I had finished the basics I forgot to add my name and title so I have come back and added that in. After that I screen shotted the image and uploaded to this blog.
    I did learn an important skill which is extracting an image without pixel fringe. I used the refine edge tool and it worked out wonderfully. The next time i do this project I need to focus on matching the colors and tones. I noticed the mountain does stand out strangely because my color got off. I would like to use the refine edge tool again. It really helps me get the image out without and problems (usually).
   What I drew from this was that instructions are fir helping and shouldn't limit you. Overall I liked this project, it was very creative and fun.