Week 12 in Digital Media: Farewell

Goodbye Digital Media... but not really. As this is an integral part of the whole radio and television industry, I do believe I will be running into it again in some form.

When I first saw this class on my schedule, I did not think I was going to enjoy it. I mean, I like creating things on the computer as much as the next person, but I figured since there was a lecture and lab dedicated to this course, it would be much more in depth than simply just computer stuff. I was pleasantly surprised however with what the course brought forward and introduced to me. I usually don't have the patience for this sort of thing, the precise clicking and timelines and layers and masks and effects and render options, but I actually enjoyed learning how to do all of it. Having said that, I believe that this course has also turned me off digital media, but in a good way...if there is such a thing. I knew going into this program that I was leaning towards the audio side, but I did want to see what the digital media side offered as well. Like I said, I was happy with everything it taught me, but it has also confirmed that my skills and true talents lie somewhere else, which is not a bad thing at all.

The fact that the this course had both a lecture and a lab was really helpful. If it had just been a lab we would not have learned how the work we do in the course is actually part of a much bigger picture... and I do mean picture, or poster, or card, or screen. The lecture taught me a lot about the history of media and how it has affected the world in the long and short term. The examples shown in lecture helped me understand how each aspect of media is put to use in the world around us. Knowing all these aspects better prepares any of us who wish to pursue any sort of career in this field.
The lab taught me a lot about the technical side of digital media. All the programs and such that are used in this business. I must say that I thought it wouldn't be that hard to use some of these programs but they turend out to be quite a challenge. As digital is not my forte it was actually a challenge in a half but I enjoye dit and was pleased when I was able to open up a program and know exactly what to do, and i can thank this course for giving me the skills necessary to do so.

All in all, I think this course was a fun and crucial part of the foundation required to continue in this business....duh. Although I was not the best at it, I still had fun figuring stuff out and creating stuff I didn't know I could do.

Week 11 in Digial Media: Interactivity + Web Media

Interactivity is pretty cool. Things that seemed impossible not that long ago are now a reality. We can now have conversations with computers.... and actually result in something constructive. Things like figuring out what the weather will be like or having something searched up. Not only interacting with computers is cool, but also interacting with the world around us in different ways. Of course we interact with the world around us, like when we go out, but now there's a whole new dimension to interacting with the environment. By combining our digital world with our physical and natural one, we've opened up so many new possibilities. Imagine you're walking down the street one day and a picture jumps off a billboard to advertise something to you. We're not quite there just yet, but we are well on our way. This whole interactivity thing also has it's.... mehs.  Sooner or later, there's going to be no such thing as an individual because there will always be some sort of connection to the rest of the world. Just when you think you've found a quiet spot to relax a hologram pops up and starts talking to you, like the doctor from Star Trek.

When a brand allows it's fans to do the creating is pretty cool too. One recent example was from the Walking Dead where they got the fans of the show to create a teaser trailer for the first season and chose the best one. Now that the audience has become a part of the creating process, it's hard to figure out who the artist is. The lined between fan and artist has become blurred in a sense but this isn't really a bad thing. With everyone creating, there are a surplus of ideas. No matter how good or bad these ideas are, they usually get to put to use in some shape or fashion. Whether its an idea for a tv commercial or poster for a movie, the audience takes the creating part in to there own hands and does there best to make the vision they have for a particular brand, a reality. From youtube videos to blog posts to facebook uploads to tumblr posts, the "fan" these days has many ways of getting their views seen by lots of people.

Week 10 in Digital Media: Show me your motion!

For my motion graphic, I tried to recreate a teaserette for one of my most favourite television shows, Man vs. Wild. 

This show is about a man who goes out into the most dangerous environments this earth has to offer and shows you how to survive. The intensity that this show possesses is something I tried to recreate, whether I succeeded or not, is still up for debate. My assignment is not flashy, and there aren't many complicated functions when it comes to after effects, but what I lacked in flash I tried to make for with INTENSITY. I also had to recreate the music from the show. I did not have access to an amazing orchestra unfortunately, which is a must for heart pounding intensity, but sadly all I had was my keyboard at home set to orchestra. For me, the music evokes feelings of courage and bravery and makes you want to run through fire, jump off a cliff, and eat a scorpion. The host of the show, Bear Grylls actually does this stuff in the show. I do my best to follow in his footsteps, but there aren't many scorpions around so I usually find equivalents from my life.

As far as actually creating the piece, After Effects was less than cooperative. There were moments where I felt like quitting and just not bothering at all. I'd try an effect out, to see if it would yield even greater results, and I would immediately regret doing so. Suddenly everything would change and then the undo wouldn't work and I would have to start different processes all over again. As I've stated before, After Effects is a beast to be tamed, and I can say most definitely that I do not want to be it's ring master. Photoshop was cool, the images stayed and for the most part were easy to get along with, but After Effects just said: "Hey dumbass, you're going to hate this, and I'm going to laugh...cool beans."

All in all, I believe that this has been quite a learning curb in my digital media experience. Also, after watching the great work done by my classmates, I feel encouraged to keep creating digital "masterpieces", and maybe even one day, becoming well versed in After Effects...but I dream. If After Effects had the same sort of interface that Tony Stark's Iron Man suit, I think I would enjoy it a bit more but, until that happens, I'm just going to have to push through.

Week 9 in Digital Media: Freestyle #2

After Effects...... oh after effects.

This week I was shown some amazing things on after effects. I think what I learned this week saved my enthusiasm for after effects because I was beginning to lose faith. Due to copyright issues my original idea which i was very much in love with was crushed an did not feel like going on. However, I was brought back from this dark abyss of digital depression by a simple technique which made all the difference. At first I was going to give up on my idea, I wanted to persevere but I could not find the will to do so. Jedigital (Digital Jedi) master Ginger Jarvis showed me how to create an effect which gave my project a whole new feel which re-ignited my creative fire and faith in my assignment. There's a very special you get when you create something exactly the way it looked in your mind when you first thought of it. Sometimes when you have a really good idea it can be difficult to create it. It might be the technology you are using which cannot fulfill your desires or maybe you just don't know how to do what it is you want, which is usually the most frustrating thing ever.

I do not think that it will receive hte critical acclaim i think it deserves though. In all of my digital media assignments, I don't try to do anything super flashy. I'd rather do something simple and solid and do it right rather than try to add too many flashy components and make it look terrible. I don't have the patience for most of the stuff we do in this course, which I guess is a hurdle I will have to overcome at some point, but until then, it is going to be an interesting and painful journey.

Week 8 in Digital Media: After Effects

As we established in our lab this week, After Effects is Photoshop on steroids. In fact, it's Photoshop on steroids and a high protein diet. Our ability to make things move and bend the laws of the dimensions to our will is quite fascinating. Like cats with yarn. However, with all the amazing things in After Effects comes with a lot of new gadgets and toys that we have to learn how to use. After Effects is definitely more complicated than photoshop, in that it has more complicated "Operating Procedures" than photoshop. Not only do you we have the details of still images to worry about, we always have to worry about what those images (or videos) will do when we start moving them around. All those lessons are worth it though. After Effects is a great addition to our digital design arsenal.

For my motion graphics assignment I was hoping to do a title sequence of sorts for a favourite movie or t.v show of mine. I've always wanted to put my spin on things like that, to see if I can kick them up a notch in my own way. Right now I'm thinking of doing a title sequence-ette for one of my favourtie shows, Man Vs.  Wild. It's an awesome survival reality show with a guy named, Bear Grylls.

There is a particular landscape near my house I think would be perfect for shooting some kind of video I could use for my assignment. I enjoy editing videos so I hope to combine that with my new found interest in After Effects. I hope to create the intensity Bear creates in his show when he jumps off a cliff or eats a wild snake, but with only five seconds this will be a challenge. Much like the challenge of surviving the heat of the sahara or the cold of the arctic.
I am also considering doing a title sequence for The Waling Dead, another amazing show.

Trying to create the horror and suspense that this show has in five seconds but if there's a will, there's a way. I don't know where I'm going to get a zombie from, but I live in Toronto... Shouldn't be too hard.

Week 7 in Digital Media: Type

Font selection in design is a subtle art. The right kind of font can subconsciously suggest certain themes to the audience and therein conveying a message without the audience even knowing.

This is a poster for one of my favourite movies, The Boondock saints. The movie is about two Irish brothers who live in Boston. They become vigilantes and do everything they can to destroy the criminal underworld, through any means necessary. As the title "Saints" would suggest, the brothers are religious (also implied by their Irish background) and their mission of justice is one of biblical proportions. The type they use is suggested of this biblical proportion. This type looks like that "Times New Roman" we find in microsoft word..... Times New Roman - Roman Catholic - Catholic - Catholic Bible - Bible - Biblical proportions. The type they use helps suggest that religious intent that can be seen in the movie

 

This is the title screen for one of my favourite Television shows, Spider-Man The Animated Series from 1994. The type used here is pretty coll in my opinion. I think it help illustrate that although this is a cartoon it still has teeth (Which the show actually has, which is why it is such an awesome show). For me, the sharp tails of the letters give the impression of the webbing of a spider and also the legs of a spider. This type was also used in the video games and comics that also came out at the time, which were also amazingly awesome. I've watched the show so many times that whenever I see a font that even looks a little bit like this one, the first think of is spider-man.

This is a "screen shot" of the iconic computer seen in the movie, The Matrix. Now you might say: "Waaaait a second... This isn't even a real font or a type..."   To which I respond....SO??????  In the movies, we never find out what all the different symbols mean but the characters in the movie are always able to interpret them. This type falls from the top of the screen in a sort of waterfall effect. So now whenever I see a bunch a patterns falling on a screen in any way, I think of the Matrix. This is effective because now when I see this, or anything like it I think of something computerized and mechanical. Which is basically what the Matrix is all about. Humans hacking into computers and transporting themselves through computer software to fight the machines who have driven the human race underground. Literally. Also, the colour green is very effective because, to the right viewer, it would evoke memories of the ancient computers that were once used. The only colour they could produce was this pale green. It all adds to the theme of human vs machines.

Week 6 in Digital Media: Motion!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQGCen355Ns&feature=related

This is a link to an example of motion graphics that I love. It is the opening title sequence for the HBO series Dexter. I remember when the series first started and I saw the title sequence for the first time my mind  was blasted by the downright coolness of the opening. Before the show even started I was in awe of everything that was going on. The Music and visuals work together in such an amazing way that as soon as it starts you forget where you are. Well, maybe that's just me, but no one can watch it and not be interested or entertained. Six seasons into the show and the title sequence hasn't changed one bit, and for reasons I think. I believe creators know exactly what kind of genius that sequence is and how it compliments the show so well. Even if they wanted to change it they would be hard pressed to find something that works better than the opening they have now.
When I say the opening compliments the show, I mean that it sets the stage so well for the what show is about. The series, Dexter, is about a man who is a serial killer, but the good kind....if there is such thing. he kills for, what he thinks, the betterment of society. This weird approach is illustrated through the opening sequence as well. In the sequence, we have the main character, Dexter, going through his morning routine. Eating breaking breakfast, shaving, and getting dressed. But if you notice, he does everything backwards. He puts his shoes on before his shirt and drinks his coffee before his juice. This jumbled order of events is one that represents his "jumbled" personality. He is a police blood spatter expert by day, and a serial killer by night. If that's not messed, I don't know what is.

I actually had trouble finding an example of motion graphics because these days, there is a very fine line between cartoony animation and motion graphics. My biggest question is what constitutes what. How do we know what is animation and motion graphics. I guess they are the same thing, depending on what context you are looking at something in. If it were two separate categories, then both would borrow from the other different aspects each had. Hopefully some digital guru comes to write a dictionary that defines these two so that we can differentiate the things we see.

Week 5 in Digital Media: Album Cover

This is a prototype album cover for my band Crimson Rice. I say prototype because even though it is finished for the moment it is still a work in progress. I designed this with the idea that if we were to come out with our first album this very day, what would it look like.The yellow/orange like colour scheme for the whole cover is based on the instant the background picture was taken. It was taken before we played our very first show (the very first show we put on and sold ticktes for). The title of the album "Red Knights" comes from a life long obsession with star wars the whole band shares.  The'Knights' part coming from the term 'Jedi Knight' and also a word play on the time of day, 'night'. The 'Red' just comes from a variation on the colour crimson which is part of our band name.I think one of the most important parts of the cover was unintentional, is the sculpture in the background. It is call 'The Pieta', by Michaelangelo. The show we played was in the basement of a church which is why they had it there. This is significant to me personally because my favourite band and life long heroes Rush, played their very first gig in the basement of a church as well.
The font I chose for "Red Knights" looks like it has been etched ans scratched in, my hope was that this font gave the the impression of that "Teenage Angst" that many teens talk about. When we write, we like to stick to things that we know, that "Angst" is part of it. So hopefully a teenager who feels the same stuff we feel looks at our cover and is able connect with it, even if only on sub-concious level. The faded picture of human like figures is actually the band itself. I wanted to have our faces in it some way so that people knew who we were, not a new brand of rice coming out or something. The purple in the band name "Crimson Rice" is used for a few reasons. Firstly,  because purple is one of my favourite colours and secondly I thought it contrasted very well with the yellow/dark orange colour scheme. For this particular piece, everything seemed to jsut fall into place. I had the original idea before I started and it turned out even better than I first expected. The colours didn't need any adjusting and all the layers complimented each other very well.

Check us out: Facebook, Youtube, and www.crimsonrice.webs.com

Week 4 in Digital Media: Freestyle

Computers are going to take over, it's only a matter of time. How is digital media significant you ask? Well, what if one day we digitally design a world so realistic, that we cannot distinguish it from the world we really live in. This is where concepts like The Matrix come into play. The machines we create could one day become so intelligent and good at creating false realities, that they realize the power they have, and design a false world to trap us in... call me crazy, but it could happen. Anything is possible.
Creating digital media is good and dandy but will we stop ourselves when the time comes. Humankind's biggest weakness is also its biggest strength. We are able to advance so far and invent so much, we can probably even invent our own destruction. Who would have guessed that one tiny paintbrush could lead to so much. It hasn't happened yet, but it could. Imagine the day where we wake up and pick the world we want to see from a selection screen. You wake up one morning and say: "I want a pale coloured sky, I want to the the roads to have 45 degree gradients with contrasting colours and i want the design on my shirt to jump off the fabric and come to school with me."
I've always wanted a computer interface like the one Tony Stark has in Iron Man. Also his computer butler Jarvis who can do anything. I basically want to be Tony Stark, but that's another blog post.

Anyways, as I was saying, it might not be long before we create our own digital prison made up of bitmaps, vectors, and a whole mess of other things. Like a mime, we won't see the invisible box we're creating until its too late.
But who knows, maybe this is all just kooky talk.

Week 3 in Digital Media: Crap

CRAP seems like an easy way to help categorize the way images are presented to us. Here are some examples I've found on my dad-to-day travels around the city, they we're all found while I was commuting on the TTC.

C - Contrast:

This is the Ad for the provincial elections here in Ontario. I believe this Ad uses contrast by using two most contrasting shades, of black and white. Also, by adding the yellow "x" with the black text, it too contrasts in terms of colour. By using the these opposites together it helps draw attention to the ad and more importantly the message. Getting people to vote in any election is an important issue due to the lack of actual voters turning out to vote. Also, by adding the yellow "x" with the black text, it too contrasts in terms of colour.

R - Repetition:

This is an Ad for the breath mints, "Mentos". This ad uses repetition by using a picture of the actual tube of mints, many times. I suppose they use this technique to make sure you know what kind of breath mints you should use to freshen your breath. Also, maybe since they are giving away ten thousands dollars/a years supply of Mentos, they should compliment that by trying to make the mass amounts into a visual. I think this also uses contrast by using the white of the mint itself to contrast with the blue font on the packaging.

A - Alignment:

This poster, and more just like it, are usually found in subway stations on the train platforms. This poster, for the T.V. station Global, uses alignment to help advertise their fall line up, this one is specifically for the show Prime Suspect ( There are also ones for the shows House, Family Guy, and others as well). The way they align the picture of the character from the show with the yellow "I" in the middle of the big "BIG".  I guess this another way of making the character the focal point of the Ad. I think this is a good way to advertise their shows because they use the "Greyscale-ish" picture of the character in conjunction with colourful lettering.

P - Proximity:

This final ad, found on the TTC is actually for the TTC. This bus ad is for the consumer-corporation interaction between TTC users and the company itself. This ad uses proximity to advertise the various ways consumers can stay connected with the TTC. They've grouped together all the various ways people can connect, this includes e-mail, mobile capabilities, and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. By using proximity, people who want to stay connect get all their questions answered in one ad. 

These elements in design are a good way to keep track of how design can be manipulated. This is not only useful when being in the audience of a piece of design, but it is also useful when trying to create our own design works. Knowing techniques and the results they can achieve are important.

Week 2 in Digital Media: Digital Footprints

In this week's lecture we found out that traces of ourselves on the internet run deeper than maybe we first thought. It seems that everything that has ever been on the net, no matter how big or small, has left a permanent mark in the digital fabric of the world. Even if something is made "private" or even if something has been deleted, the web remembers. So if at anytime someone really wanted to find something about you, they probably could. Even the most security conscious people can't help having something about them uploaded to the world wide digital miracle, as some have called it.

I myself usually do my best to stay as off the radar as possible, when it comes the digital world. I have resisted many social networking sites such as facebook, twitter (until this course deemed otherwise), and multiple others. Not only because I do not wish to share every little detail about myself, but also because I not believe them to be of any use whatsoever. Call me old fashioned or sentimental, but I stand by those ideas. My band and my Karate organization are both on the web, which just about it when it comes to my exposure in the digital world. Pictures and videos of performances and a little info on our own website.

When it comes to anyone's digital identity, I think that people should be free to share as much about themselves as they like, it's their funeral. People lose jobs, friends, and scarily a lot more than that due to altercations that occur over the many digital interfaces we have at our disposal. When we are given the opportunity to share and explore with each other, we are encouraged to do so. This modern age has granted us the tools to connect with people all over. Now we can be as close to people from another country as we can to neighbors who may live right beside us. This being said, some people can go a bit overboard. Some people may call it outgoing or emotionally generous, but I call it really annoying. In my opinion there's an unwritten code of conduct online that many people either don't know or just choose to ignore. How we present ourselves online is of our own doing but we must always be cautious. Decisions made in the heat of the moment online... shouldn't be made.  One click in the wrong place can turn a persons life upside down in the blink of an eye.

Also, who keeps track of all this anyways? Is there a digital Mantracker who can pick a scent and track us down?     Who knows...    someone does...

My Vegas Postcard

This was surprisingly fun to make. Week two and already we've got some magic going on.

Week 1 in Digital Media

Well, here we are in a Digital Media course. With everything "going digital" these days it makes sense that media is one of the first and most important things to be analyzed in our modern lifestyles. I actually had a pretty good idea of what digital media was before our first class. This isn't hard when I'm exposed to so much of it on a daily basis. Most of the images I see and most of the sounds I hear, whether it's at home or downtown, are presented to me through various digital media. After the first lecture, my ideas on digital media had been confirmed. Basically anything on a screen could be considered digital media but the good examples are those that target a specific audience and deliver a message to them. What I learned that I found most important was that learning how we are affected by it is a very useful asset, especially when it comes creating our own pieces of work through digital media. Being in RTA, I think this course can do nothing but benefit me. As the RTA program is preparing us for the future of media and communication techniques, learning about digital media is one of the crucial foundations for such preparation. As we progress in all our courses, I think we'll find that everything we are learning about is much more connected to one another than we first thought.

I do believe McLuhan was right when it comes to the media and the message, and unfortunately so in my opinion. What I find distressing is our dependency on our media. You can't swing a cat without hitting some form of it and I think people these days are too focused on the medium and have forgotten that there are messages, which I believe, are the most important part.