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.