1. Why did you take this class?
I took this class because I wanted to get experience in the field of Digital Media and film-making to give me a head start in college and my future career in film-making.
2. In general, what did you like most about this class?
I loved the projects that we could write ourselves because they gave us the most freedom and creativity to work with what we wanted. Examples include the fictional short, independent study, final project, etc.
3. In general, what did you like least about this class?
I really didn't like the time we were given to complete projects. I understand that there has to be deadlines to get work done, but I feel that they hurt more then benefited as instead of helping the quality of our films it hurt it.
4. What was your most favorite project and why?
My favorite project in the class was the independent study. We had the most time to work on it out of all the projects because of how the break we had was scheduled. This made the quality of my film a lot higher because of how much time I had to work on it.
5. What was your least favorite project and why?
My least favorite project would have to be the video poem. It felt really shoe horned in as busy work with the independent study. Instead of the video poem we could've just had more time with the independent. I also felt it was really hard to give them a unique feel compared to animation, but I guess that was the challenge for it.
6. Discuss the overall effectiveness of the instructor (for example: preparation, availability, interest, content knowledge, expectations, etc.).
I thought that the instructor was very effective, taking into account all of the stuff that we had to do all in one year as well as how much we learned in the year is insane. I think the way she taught us the programs, though long, was definitely needed and very helpful for the future. She was also very helpful when you needed it with trouble shooting and so on.
7. What are the most valuable things you learned in the class?
I think the most valuable things that I learned in the class would have to be the knowledge on the adobe suite as it will almost definitely be used in my line of work. Another valuable thing that I learned in this class is time management, as procrastination is truly the devil.
8. Do you feel that this class will help you achieve your future academic or career goals? How or why (or why not)?
Definitely, this class has given me a lot of the tools I need to become successful in my career path. The class taught me how to use adobe products, editing techniques, and shooting techniques. All of these will be used and not forgotten in my line of work.
9. How could this class be improved?
I think that cutting some of the projects would really help, as then instead of having to try and focus on two or three projects at once students would be able to focus all of their time and effort on one making the end result a lot better. I also think that some of the projects, especially the final, should be allowed to go longer then five minutes. The final should be your best work in the class but having only five minutes really limits the story telling and build up that you can use.
10. What would you tell incoming students to help them be more prepared for the class?
I would try and warn them about procrastination, being a victim to it myself I can definitely say that it is not fun and can really stress you out.
11. Additional Comments:
I think this class is very helpful to students looking for a career path in film (or animation) and is probably the best decision I have ever made in high school. The class is hard and unfair at times, but overall it was a joy to be a part of and I don't regret any of it. Now finally, I would like to say thank you to Miss. Licata for letting me into the class and giving me a taste of what comes in the future, it was a pleasure and an experience I will never forget. Also to the classmates as it was a blast to work with all of you. Hopefully this isn't the last any of you will see of me though, who knows maybe the next time you do will be me on the red carpet on my way to the Oscars. Anyways that is all I have to say for now, but this isn't goodbye just a see you later! Oh and one last thing, CHECK THE GOOGLE CALENDAR!!! :)
Sunday, June 5, 2016
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Serious Time #70 Overwatch and Butts
This article/ video talked about good pose design in the new game Overwatch, specifically the character in the game Tracer. This video talked about a controversy with a pose in Overwatch that some believed over sexualized the character, but it was mostly changed and taken down due to it being deemed "out of character". The video then talks about the basics and principle of good pose design. He brings up that it should be readable by just the silhouette, that it should have a good line of action, and that you should be able to tell what the character is feeling. The video then takes you through a series of tests seeing and demonstrating what the best of the poses being shown are and why. The video then explains that the old pose for Tracer was just visually boring and didn't fit her character at all, but instead just there for eye candy. He then also brings up the point that the most sexualized character in the game, Widowmaker, hasn't seen any controversy yet. Why? Because her poses and physique fit her character. Widowmaker is seen as the character who uses her looks to take advantage of others, while Tracer on the other hand is this fun loving character always looking for a new adventure. This justifies and shows why this works for Widowmaker and not for Tracer. The last point brought up is the new pose for Tracer, compared to the other one it is way better. It is a lot more visually interesting, it gives off emotion, and over just fits with her character. Whether you agree with this or don't, you just can't deny the better pose design.
This video/ article was really good. I thought overall this was very interesting to learn about, especially when it has to do with Overwatch. But this did have a lot of great points brought up and was really great to see why some poses work and others don't. I especially like when the video plays the little game with the poses as it taught you the principles in a fun and easy way. I agree with the pose getting replaced, the old one just was so boring, butt or no butt is was still boring. Since this video focuses on a game that I really like I didn't really didn't dislike anything about the video. The video was also very straight forward and I have no questions regarding it. Overall very good and interesting article.
This video/ article was really good. I thought overall this was very interesting to learn about, especially when it has to do with Overwatch. But this did have a lot of great points brought up and was really great to see why some poses work and others don't. I especially like when the video plays the little game with the poses as it taught you the principles in a fun and easy way. I agree with the pose getting replaced, the old one just was so boring, butt or no butt is was still boring. Since this video focuses on a game that I really like I didn't really didn't dislike anything about the video. The video was also very straight forward and I have no questions regarding it. Overall very good and interesting article.
Weekly Comments #38
This week was pretty stressful to be honest. We are starting to get to the due date for the final project and I still have another day for shooting planned Monday, due to having to end early on the weekend shoots. I have the camp scene done and one of the big fight scenes done and now just have a couple more things to do for tomorrow. The practical effects in my video so far I think look pretty cool as well. But overall as long as I finish all of the shooting by tomorrow I should be able to finish on time. Also another big issue I have been having is time as mine is probably going to be longer then ten min. I honestly think that we should be able to have at least ten min. for the final project, but whatever. As the year comes to a close I am only really looking forward to graduation. This week, though stressful, was overall pretty good.
Here is the Link of the Week:
Here is the Link of the Week:
So many of you have probably seen this already, but I am posting it anyways. This is the new assassins creed movie that is coming out this fall starring Michael Fassbender. It follows a different story line then the games and honestly looks really cool. In all of Fassbender's roles so far I have not been disappointed by one yet, hopefully this isn't the first. He is staring to become one of my favorite actors and I really hope he is great in this movie. The only thing I really don't like about this trailer is the music, but it is just a trailer so it is not that big of a deal. Honestly if the Warcraft movie and the Assassins Creed movie suck this year then I think they should just stop trying to make video game movies because if they screw those up there is no going back. 2016 is either going to be the start of a new notable genre in movies or the death of one.
Friday, April 29, 2016
Serious Time #68 The Birth of Photo Realistic Rendering
The earliest forms of CGI started in the the early 70's. It definitely wasn't perfect and took a lot of hard work. Through the many years though it has progressed more and more and continues to do so every day. How did this all start? With a lot of math, engineering, and computer science. This includes geometry, vector, 3-D coordinates, and matrices. The math and science combined is the way they make the algorithms for the computers.
These algorithms, in lamens terms, are how we get the computer to produce what we want. This is what gave birth to the first ways to render, rasterization and ray tracing. The main difference between rasterization and ray casting was that rasterization was object centric while ray casting was image centric. Rasterization uses rays that intersect with the camera which then projects the image onto a grid showing where the pixels go for the render. This method issues though like, visibility issues with objects overlapping and how to simulate shadows, reflection, refraction. All of this could be solved though through ray casting. Ray casting casts rays from the camera into the whole screen, one ray into each pixel in the grid, all of these rays would then be checked for intersections which if they had one would take the first of the two.
The problem with ray casting though was how much time it took as you had to check every ray for intersections. They solved this problem and the shadows, reflections, and refraction's by modifying this formula and naming it ray tracing. Ray tracing uses a combined use of different property rays to simulate shadows and light reflection, as well as refraction. Basically if it was a reflection ray it would bounce off of an object, if it was a shadow ray it would cast shadows based off of location and shape, and refraction which angles the ray through an object. All of these rays came from the light source that was in the shot of the room the objects were placed in.
As you may have already guessed though their was another issue with this way of doing things and that was the fact that it didn't look to realistic because this method only uses direct illumination, this means that light only reflects directly from the source, which is not realistic at all. Realistically the light should bounce off of everything in the given space, this was called indirect illumination. James Kajiya fixed this though with something he made called the "Rendering Equation" which was an algorithm for computers to produce indirect light. The algorithm was very long and complex though making it subject to change, the Monte Carlo integration was the first to try this. Throughout the years we also have improved rendering time significantly, this refers to Moore's Law. Moore's Law is the statement that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles every two years. Blinns Law balances this out though stating that when technology advances rendering times remain constant. In lamens terms all together this means, the more machines are capable of the more we throw at them.
All in all I feel that CGI is an amazing tool that just shows what we can all accomplish when we put our minds to it. I do think that CGI is different from other art forms because although it can be done very well or very poorly, a lot of it is made from math and science which other art isn't. Whether you agree or not you have to admit that CGI is an amazing tool, created by pure imagination.
These algorithms, in lamens terms, are how we get the computer to produce what we want. This is what gave birth to the first ways to render, rasterization and ray tracing. The main difference between rasterization and ray casting was that rasterization was object centric while ray casting was image centric. Rasterization uses rays that intersect with the camera which then projects the image onto a grid showing where the pixels go for the render. This method issues though like, visibility issues with objects overlapping and how to simulate shadows, reflection, refraction. All of this could be solved though through ray casting. Ray casting casts rays from the camera into the whole screen, one ray into each pixel in the grid, all of these rays would then be checked for intersections which if they had one would take the first of the two.
The problem with ray casting though was how much time it took as you had to check every ray for intersections. They solved this problem and the shadows, reflections, and refraction's by modifying this formula and naming it ray tracing. Ray tracing uses a combined use of different property rays to simulate shadows and light reflection, as well as refraction. Basically if it was a reflection ray it would bounce off of an object, if it was a shadow ray it would cast shadows based off of location and shape, and refraction which angles the ray through an object. All of these rays came from the light source that was in the shot of the room the objects were placed in.
As you may have already guessed though their was another issue with this way of doing things and that was the fact that it didn't look to realistic because this method only uses direct illumination, this means that light only reflects directly from the source, which is not realistic at all. Realistically the light should bounce off of everything in the given space, this was called indirect illumination. James Kajiya fixed this though with something he made called the "Rendering Equation" which was an algorithm for computers to produce indirect light. The algorithm was very long and complex though making it subject to change, the Monte Carlo integration was the first to try this. Throughout the years we also have improved rendering time significantly, this refers to Moore's Law. Moore's Law is the statement that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles every two years. Blinns Law balances this out though stating that when technology advances rendering times remain constant. In lamens terms all together this means, the more machines are capable of the more we throw at them.
All in all I feel that CGI is an amazing tool that just shows what we can all accomplish when we put our minds to it. I do think that CGI is different from other art forms because although it can be done very well or very poorly, a lot of it is made from math and science which other art isn't. Whether you agree or not you have to admit that CGI is an amazing tool, created by pure imagination.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Weekly Comments #37
This week was pretty good. I got a lot of work done on my star wars project and was also accepted into the college I wanted to go to.Still though there is still a lot to be done for the project that I am racing to get done. It also doesn't help that I am starting to get sick but it hopefully will pass overnight. My school lock in was also this week, it was fun but I feel like I might have rather just worked on my project and slept, but whatever.
Here is the Link of the Week:
Here is the Link of the Week:
So this week Star Wars decided to drop their next upcoming movie Rogue One. Was it good? Hell to the yes. This trailer is exactly what a trailer should be, showing a little but not a lot. What I am getting at is that trailers these days show way too much of the movie almost spoiling everything for you before you see it. That being said though I mainly loved the trailer because it was STAR WARS! Definitely check it out if you haven't yet.
Serious Time #66 Shot | Reverse Shot
The shot and then reverse shot is a technique that has been used in films for what for what feels like forever. This is a shot that is in almost every film and is often used to show a conversation between two people. The Coen Brothers do this shot in a meaningful way though to set them apart from others. A couple ways they do this is by just doing single shots by doing this they make it so there is a feeling of actual presence. They also enhance this effect by using a wide angle lens making the effect seem much more personal. The Coens like to isolate characters and put them in uncontrollable situations making the viewer feel the same as the characters. Using a wider angle lens also can be used to tell a lot about the characters and the setting that they are in. All of these are reasons that the Coens use a wide lens. Another thing that sets their shots apart from others is their rhythm. Most rhythm in a scene comes from the dialogue used in it, but the Coens don't do this. Instead the Coens have rhythm non-verbally making scenes flow better and seem faster because of it. With this and all of the other techniques they use the Coens make the generic shot, reverse shot seem unique and different.
I really enjoyed this video, it was very well thought out and said. I think the narrator of the video explains his thoughts really well and gives a good deal of information without boring you. Most of the information he gives in this video about the Coen brothers was stuff I either didn't know or never noticed, like the wide lens shots and the no dialogue rhythm. I am a little curious now to what films they have directed as I am not too familiar with them, but this video got me interested. Overall this video was great.
I really enjoyed this video, it was very well thought out and said. I think the narrator of the video explains his thoughts really well and gives a good deal of information without boring you. Most of the information he gives in this video about the Coen brothers was stuff I either didn't know or never noticed, like the wide lens shots and the no dialogue rhythm. I am a little curious now to what films they have directed as I am not too familiar with them, but this video got me interested. Overall this video was great.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Serious Time #64 Left or Right?
This article explained a theory that has been in discussion for a while but never proven until now. The theory is that left to right movement on screen conveys positive feelings and emotions while right to left movement conveys a more negative emotion to the viewers. This was proven by showing a bunch of people 8 shots of a film from left to right then from right to left the response was what early directors like Hitchcock and such believed in that left to right is positive while right to left is more negative. This also apply's to if one thing is on one side of the screen, left equals bad right equals good. An example of this would be Gollum from The Lord of The Rings. The only question now is when you film will it be left or right?
I really enjoyed this article it was pretty interesting. I never knew about this until now and think it's very interesting when noticed in film. In my opinion the right to left just looks really wierd and awkward in most situations that they showed which I guess was the point, but I feel like films have done right to left that I have seen before and I never felt that way. I just think the idea and the overall way that it is used is very interesting and unique. I didn't really dislike anything from this article and it was also very straight forward. This article pertained to the film aspect of Digital Media. Overall very good article.
I really enjoyed this article it was pretty interesting. I never knew about this until now and think it's very interesting when noticed in film. In my opinion the right to left just looks really wierd and awkward in most situations that they showed which I guess was the point, but I feel like films have done right to left that I have seen before and I never felt that way. I just think the idea and the overall way that it is used is very interesting and unique. I didn't really dislike anything from this article and it was also very straight forward. This article pertained to the film aspect of Digital Media. Overall very good article.
Weekly Comments #36
This week was pretty standard to be honest, nothing crazy really happened. I got my shooting for my fictional short almost done, key word is almost. I guess the biggest highlight right now is watching the Oscars which I am doing right now. I have not seen who has one best movie or best actor yet so I am just going to predict the Revenant or Mad Max for best film and Leonardo Di Caprio for best actor, come on guys just give the man a break. The only thing from the Oscars I have seen so far are Chris Rocks jokes about the Oscars so white thing, which I admit were pretty funny. But come on Chris you don't have to focus on it the entire night! It's like the people who run the show said "Every chance you get make a funny comment about the Oscars so white controversy. Remember that that's the only reason why you are here in the first place." All I am saying is he could've dropped it about where I am at right now into the show which is right where Mad Max has won best makeup. Anyways that is just my two sense on that. Now I think the only thing that frustrated me this week is the fact that I couldn't finish my filming this week. The hardest part about filming is probably getting actors which sucks but I digress.
Here is the Link of the Week:
Here is the Link of the Week:
I have three words for this... I want it. This thing is insane! This is probably going to be the next thing I get for movie making. It is everything I wanted in a camera. The only downside to this thing is the fact that it is really only really good for wide shots due to you not being able to zoom in with it, but that is why DSLR's exist.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Serious Time #70 Office Posture Matters?
So this video tells us the importance of posture when sitting down. It brings up statistics about how it increases the chance of a heart attack and other conditions. The video even brings up that exercising wont make up for it, so what will? Well posture of course! Just sit up straight! The video brings up many different possibilities as well to help the situation, like getting a standing desk or sitting in an active chair. The video also says that crossing your legs while sitting is also bad cause it can restrict circulation. In the end the video states to just pay attention to your body more through out the work day.
I video was okay. On the technical aspect it is great, it's short and gets to the point. I also though the animation was good. I just really didn't care in the end though to be honest. I feel this entire video was based on this one statistic on getting a heart attack and that's really it. I didn't see anything else further throughout the video why it's bad. Some people might see this video get scared and decide to buy a standing desk or so on, but the real question is is it all worth it? Their is nothing that proves anything about this heart condition stat. being higher other then that one study they mention in the video. I don't know, I just don't think it is as big of a problem as the video states it as. And hey maybe I am wrong and who knows I might have a 54% higher chance of getting a heart attack, but for now I guess I will take my chances. Overall, decent video.
I video was okay. On the technical aspect it is great, it's short and gets to the point. I also though the animation was good. I just really didn't care in the end though to be honest. I feel this entire video was based on this one statistic on getting a heart attack and that's really it. I didn't see anything else further throughout the video why it's bad. Some people might see this video get scared and decide to buy a standing desk or so on, but the real question is is it all worth it? Their is nothing that proves anything about this heart condition stat. being higher other then that one study they mention in the video. I don't know, I just don't think it is as big of a problem as the video states it as. And hey maybe I am wrong and who knows I might have a 54% higher chance of getting a heart attack, but for now I guess I will take my chances. Overall, decent video.
Weekly Comments #36
This week was pretty good. I finally finished the competition, thank god! It is probably the project I have enjoyed the least in this class, hopefully this is the last thing like it in the class this year. But now that it is over I can now focus on what I feel will be the best project of the year, the fictional short. I am really excited to do this one and am also excited to see what everyone else does with it. It is the least restrictive project so far so I can only imagine to see awesome shorts from everyone! We didn't learn a whole lot this week because it was mostly work days, there was also that one day of shadowing, which wasn't really that bad. We have one more day of shadowing left now which is great, it just gets boring doing the same thing over and over again. Overall with getting all of that not so good stuff out of the way I am looking forward to everyone's fictional shorts in the future.
Here is the Link of the Week:
Here is the Link of the Week:
This video is amazing. That's the best word to describe it. I don't want to spoil too much for you but I will say that this is the actor from the dust off commercial about how it has changed his life. That is all I can say though. Now just WATCH!
REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!! REALLY!!!
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Weekly Comments #35
This week was pretty good. I finally got all my final exams done for the first quarter at my school and now my documentary is finally done. It stinks that we still have BOCES this week but it beats full days of school. I'm looking forward to the fictional short I have a few idea's but I'm not sure which one I would like to pursue yet. It was an also nice and relaxing weekend.
Here is the Link of the Week:
Here is the Link of the Week:
This is one of the best trailers I have seen in a while, not just because I am excited for the movie, but for the fact alone that it is edited so well! Not enough trailers have done this yet but I am glad this one has. Even if your not excited for the movie like I am you can't say that it isn't one of the best edited trailers you have seen. Needless to say I am PUMPED!!!
Serious Time #68 How to Make your Film Look More Cinematic
This article is about how to make your films look more cinematic with only natural light. In the article they go over many ways on how to do this. These include location, color, emotion, senses, composition, and camera movement. The best thing to keep in mind when making your shot is the emotion as you want the viewer to be emotionally impacted and get a sense of the feeling from that shot alone. To accomplish this you can use weird and unique locations or use a vibrant array of colors in the shot. So next time you try shooting film with natural light keep in mind the location and if it fits the mood you want to convey, or try to get a sense of whether you want the colors to contrast or be similar.
I thought this article was good. It was very interesting and overall very helpful for the future. I knew lighting was important but this showed me how much more important it is then I thought it was.
I how the guy in the video explained the senses part of it as he did a good job clarifying it. The article was very straight forward, therefore I have no questions about it. This relates more to the video side of Digital Media. Overall very good and helpful article.
I thought this article was good. It was very interesting and overall very helpful for the future. I knew lighting was important but this showed me how much more important it is then I thought it was.
I how the guy in the video explained the senses part of it as he did a good job clarifying it. The article was very straight forward, therefore I have no questions about it. This relates more to the video side of Digital Media. Overall very good and helpful article.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Weekly Comments #34
This week was good. It was the first week back to school and was pretty easy to say the least. I finally got all the projects I was working on done and now only have to finish the Documentary which is almost done. The one complication I am having with it is the fact that the last thing I wanted to do I can't at the moment because of another party but I think I will find a solution for it soon. I am looking forward to just getting past this competition as a lot of the categories just aren't interesting in my opinion. Other then that nothing else really happened this week.
Link of the Week:
Link of the Week:
The link this week is a commercial so stupidly ridiculous and funny I don't even know how it came to air on T.V. The writing is just so forced and the guy acting is just so ridiculous about it that it is funny. The first time I saw this I thought it was hilarious it just has so many quotable lines that it's great. So next time before you get your game on, get your clean on with Dust Off!
Serious Time #66 Getting Out of Writers Block
The article focuses on different types of writers block and ways to overcome it. The first way they mention is procrastination, this one isn't really writers block at all. The only way to overcome this one is to sit down and focus, maybe set a due date for your self as well. The second one they mention is not fully committing to your idea, this makes it so your going from one idea to the next. They say to remember that it's not a great idea that makes the writing good but the execution for it, so commit and then see it through to the end. The third they bring up is when you are out of ideas and cant think of anymore. They say to fix this idea you should write about something else, anything else, to get your mind going, it's like a warm up. The last type of writers block that they mention is critiquing everything you write, thinking that what you are writing isn't good enough. The only way to overcome this one is to turn our inner critic off, you need to actually get stuff on the page before you critique it. When your done writing just simply critique from there. They then end the article on a comical note showing a little "comic strip" of a guy getting over procrastination and such.
This article was pretty good. It managed to show the problems and how to solve them instead of just talking about them. I especially found this helpful as I hit a lot of these when writing and these are all great ways to over come them. There isn't anything I really dislike about the article except the part at the end I guess. The article was also very straight forward as well so I have no questions. This article can be referred to both types of Digital Media. Overall great article.
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