Semester Reflection

So Video I is over...and I'm kind of sad LOL It's going to be weird not going to the media lab for almost 3 hours every week. But I'm grateful to Jay and Grey Comm Studios for everything I learned. I now have a project DVD to put in my writing portfolio, showing that I can not only report and blog, but I can also do a bit of filming, directing, editing, AND I can put a DVD together!

Though my skills aren't as great as I want them to be, I am going to continue to learn. I'm taking the skills that I learned this semester over to my job at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in a few weeks, and hopefully grow from there. I know that the hands-on experience that Jay gave us is really the reason why I was able to learn so quickly. I'm not a pro or anything, but before this class I hadn't even touched DVD Studio Pro, and I had done really basic editing in Avid Express. I hadn't done lighting (though I really need some work ha) or really recorded, and now I can say that I have. It was a really fun class to take, and I even recommended it to some of my other friends in communication.

PEACE.

Reflection: DVD Tutorial

This past week, we learned how to put together a DVD using DVD Studio Pro, putting in the elements of menus, background pictures, etc., just like how you see on a real DVD. It was all relatively simple to piece together. You can use different pictures for a background, and add in boxes for special features, chapter selections, and playing the full movie. Basically whatever you want or whatever you would see on a DVD menu and link it to video that you would import in.

Jay gave us a tutorial so we could learn to do it for ourselves. Being that it was the last day of classes before break, not many of us were there, and it was a little hard to focus but I got it done LOL It was really simple, and now I can say I know a bit about how to make my own DVD, if ever the opportunity arises...Maybe. Who knows where this communication degree will take me???

PEACE.

Reflection: Twitter Event

Last week, Dr. Neil Alperstein, a professor in the Communication Department, discussed "Imaginary Social Relationships Regarding Twitter." He spoke about 3 paradoxes. Place, meaning we can be in more than one place at the same time. Imagination--we have and use our imagination but society tells us not to. And Togetherness. We can be together and alone at the same time. Place affects our use of Twitter because we can think about where we would rather be, instead of where we are. Our imagination runs wild as we have fantasies about "relationships" with celebrities that feel real. Togetherness comes into play with Twitter because we can be tweeting hundreds of people, feeling like a part of a huge social circle, but really be at home, alone in our rooms.

II was intrigued by the lecture. I am a faithful Tweeter myself (I have TWO accounts lol). And I follow a bunch of celebrities including Wale, Drake, and Rihanna. I remember one time a few weeks ago, I tweeted Wale, and he actually responded! I went insane! lol Twitter makes you feel closer to the celebrities that you already love! Social networking in general is like that. You can have "relationships" with people you never even met.

PEACE.

Week 10 Reflection: Teach Me How To Dougie

Hahahahahaha! This week was funny! Our group, Chuck, Meghan, Lana, Brian, and I decided to film a video for "Teach Me How To Dougie" by rap group Cali Swag District! May I just say that our footage was hilarious and amazing haha! We filmed some scenes in the studio, then took the shoot outside, hitting the Gardens Volleyball Pit, the huge staircase by Dorothy Day, the N. Charles St. bridge, the Quad, and even the soccer field! We pulled in some friends that happened to be walking around during the shoot and asked to show us their dougie lol while we played the song through some speakers Brian brought.

Piecing the video together was hard at first. We had trouble actually logging and capturing, but with a little help from Jay, we figured out the problem. When we finally got the footage together, it came along slowly but surely, piecing together people dougieing (sp??? lol) with my rapping (I can't stay away from the limelight haha). We still have a bit of work to do, but it's looking good so far.

PEACE.

Week 9: The Music Video

Woww....so this week's class was too much fun! This week, Jay gave us the music video assignment, so he showed us quickly how to put one together. Meghan suggested "Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer, and it was HILARIOUS! I, Meghan, and Kathleen served as back up dancers while Jay was MC Hammer, since most of us only knew the chorus haha. Other members of the class went out and got footage around Loyola for the video, and Jay pieced it together perfectly! It was so funny!

So now it's our turn. We're putting together music videos in our groups. Brian, Lana, and I are still working together, thinking about "Run This Town," as our song. If we do that, I already have some ideas. I want it to be a school spirit type of thing, doing different shots of our school basically running Baltimore. I'm sure whatever we do, it will come out great! So I'm excited! Wiith all of the different things that we have learned in class, I'm expecting us to come up with an amazing music video!

PEACE.

Week 8 Reflection: Filters and Transitions

This week in class, we got more into the special effects in video editing. Learning about different filters and transitions to add to recorded video. We worked hands on with the editing using different effects, and it was cool to see how different filters worked. Definitely a good way to spice up a clip!

We also discussed a little bit about our PSAs/commercials. Lana, Brian, and I finished shooting our PSA on littering on Friday, and we just wrapped up the editing tonight. It was amazing! The different ideas that we all had during shooting came together well. Then Brian chose this song from SelectTracks that I was a little iffy on at first, but it went so well with the edited video. We didn't even have to change anything with the music. It fit so nicely! I'm seriously going to be cracking up in class Tuesday on the music alone LOL. Hopefully Jay likes it!

PEACE.

Week 7 Reflection: More with Final Cut

This week, we just did more with video editing, which I'm getting pretty good at. I'm excited to go back to my job, and show my co-workers what I know.

We also talked about our upcoming project, which will be a commericial or public service announcement. Each member of the group has to take on different roles. Brian will serve as director, and Lana will be working with the camera. I will be doing editing, not that I'm a pro, but I got a little skill LOL After doing some brainstorming with Brian and Lana, and some feedback from Jay, we decided to do a PSA for littering. Lana and I did some work on the script Friday. It's going to be a funny, yet a true PSA stating to not litter, especially here at Loyola because this is our school, our home for the time being.

Week 6 Reflection: Final Cut Pro

Today, we did video editing in class. Using the Final Cut Pro book, we worked on editing to narration, trimming, and other aspects of video editing. There were already uploaded clips from the SeaWorld Believe show featuring the orca Shamu and from the hit show Leverage. Doing these projects from the chapter gave us hands on experience with editing. Lana and I worked together through the chapters and got through fairly quickly. It was fun piecing different clips together, and coming up with a cool video to watch in the end.

We're going to be working on the interview piece soon. I'm anxious to see how that will work out, but I'm working with some pros (lol Meghan and Lana) so we will be good.

PEACE.

Week 5 Reflection: Video Editing

This week, we talked about video editing. It was cool because we went into Final Cut Pro, and actually did a little meshing with some clips Jay uploaded. Again, what I love about this class is that you get hands-on experience.

I don't claim to be a pro AT ALL at video editing, but I learned a bit about it at my job. I worked in Multimedia Technology at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and worked a little bit with Avid Express, which has the same basic set up as Final Cut. I like video editing, because, to me, it's like putting together pieces of a puzzle. You have different video clips and you put them all together for one video and create this amazing result from those clips. It's not that hard, but you definitely have to pay attention to what you're doing. I'm excited for this part.

Lana and I did the interview for the video editing project Friday. Ehhh...it was ok. I was the interviewee so I feel that I didn't do that great of a job. Hopefully, when we edit, the video will turn out nice. We'll see....

PEACE.

Week 4 Reflection: Interviewing

Ok, this is probably my favorite part of general journalism: INTERVIEWING! In class, we talked about how to set up the camera and lighting again for the interview. Jay picked me as one of the demo people, I guess, to show how it's done. "What's my favorite song?" "Who would I compare my singing ability to? Mercedes (Amber Riley) from Glee with a bit of Jennifer Hudson, except I can't hit those notes like them LOL.

But basically with interviewing, as I've learned over the past couple of years, you want to ask people open-ended questions. Questions that you can't really answer with just a yes or a no. You may ask someone, "Are you a singer?" More than likely they will give you a yes or a no. You want to delve a little deeper with your interviewees, get to know more about why they like to do what they do, past projects they've been involved in, etc. Whatever open-ended questions go along with the situation.

I'm excited for this project. Lana, Meghan, and I are working together again. Why split up a good team LOL Should be a cool way to show off our skills, because you know we're pros now! LOL just kidding. Still on this amateur level, but I'm looking forward to learning more and more about video!

PEACE.

Week 3 Reflection: 3 Point Lighting

Today was an interesting class. We discussed three point lighting, and how lighting has an effect on the scene being filmed. The three main lights are the KEY LIGHT, the FILL LIGHT, and the BACK LIGHT.

The key light is the main light normally set to the 5:00 or 7:00 position with the camera in the middle in the 6:00 position, and the person or people being filmed at the 12:00 position. When it's placed at one side, the other side normally has a shadow. The next light takes care of that shadow.






The fill light is placed on the opposite side of the key light. It will probably be less bright than the key.






The back light is, like the name says, placed at the back. It gives a little  more definition to the scene.



Jay took us to the studio to show us how to set up the lighting and how where you place the lights and the height you set them, has an effect on how the person in the scene appears on screen. That was great for me, because I'm a very visual person, so I like to see exactly how you would set things up. I love that we get to go to the studio and really see how everything needs to happen. Jay left us in the studio for a minute and asked us to work together to help set up three point lighting. One of my classmates physically moved everything, and we shouted out suggestions about where different lights should go, and it came out ok for the first time doing that. Lighting takes a lot of good judgment. You have to make sure that the people in the scene are comfortable with how the lights are set up, that it's not blasting in their faces. You have to determine if there are shadows that have to be diminished, have a balance of light on the face, etc etc. It's not overly complicated but you definitely have to pay attention to detail.

PEACE.

My Shots (Wide, Medium and Close Up)

Ok, so the assignment this week was to take three different shots of three locations (a wide shot, a medium shot, and a close up shot). I hope I did ok. I tried to pick places/people that had meaning.

This first shot is a wide shot of my side of my bedroom, complete with posters! I took this shot because this is the place where I lay my head, study, chill with friends, and everything. The posters themselves reflect my love of entertainment. The show Gossip Girl, and singers Beyoncé, Chris Brown, and Michael Jackson, among others are represented.

This shot is a medium shot. This is one of my closest friends on campus, Bethel, at the Activities Fair on the Quad last Tuesday, talking about her new club, the International Student Association. I chose this shot because I thought her placement above her sign for ISA was perfect. It doesn't show her full body, but you see more detail than you would if it was a wider shot. It also shows a bit of the Quad behind her, and tables from far away.

This is an close up shot (probably extreme) of a magnet on my refrigerator from the FAC (Fitness and Aquatic Center) at Loyola. This was a random choice, but I picked it because I like the design of the magnet itself. There are pictures inside the letters, reflecting the different services the FAC offers like swimming, dancing, and rock climbing. I go to the FAC a lot, trying to get in better shape. So as corny as it sounds, the place is becoming a big part of my life.




PEACE.

Week 2 Reflection: Shots

So we are getting really deep into video now. We reviewed a video on aspect ratio, which discussed the difference between the old standard 4:3 aspect ratio and 16:9 aspect ratio, which is more directed at HD tvs. The video discussed taking the 16:9 video shown in movies and making it adaptable to the 4:3 televisions that different people have. The narrator discussed different methods to fit scenes to that aspect ratio, cropping, letterboxing, and pan and scan. Personally I like pan and scan better because cropping takes away from the shot, and I was never a fan of the wide screen format of videos. Pan and scan shows the part of the scene, the actor or object that is most crucial to the scene. That works better to me.

After discussing the video, we got check out the GreyComm Studios, and Jay showed us first hand how to capture different kind of shots (wide, medium, close up, extreme close up, etc). It was really a lot to take in for one class for me. However, thinking about the different shots in a way made appreciate the work of a cameraman a little bit more. It's more than just pointing the camera at someone and filming. You have to have different shots for video and have to consider when you should move in, or when you should back up and get a full view of a scene. It's a lot more that goes into video than people might think. Definitely going to be a learning experience getting into all of this...

PEACE.

Long Take Assignment

Ok, so the long take assignment didn't go exactly as planned. Our original plan was to follow Nicholas (Loyola's mascot) around. "The Life of a Greyhound" or something like that. But we decided to do something different.

We met at Starbucks and brainstormed quick ideas. Then one of my group members suggested that we do a long take of a trip to the bookstore. And I volunteered myself to be in it, the amazing actress that I am haha. Just kidding :)

So we took to the bookstore. The plan was to film me entering the elevator, getting off the elevator, and browse through the bookstore until I found what I needed. The elevator part worked out perfect. I held the elevator for a few seconds while my partners went upstairs to film me getting out. By the time I reached the second floor of the Student Center, they were there, ready to continue the take. I spent some time looking through a magazine, and then looking through the aisles until I found what I wanted (my notecards). The only awkward part was my looking up afterwards and smiling at the camera. I kind of wish we would have cut it, but it was funny to watch and laugh at during class.

All in all, even though there were a few bumps in it I think it was a good long take. I'm surprised at how fast we got it done. It was definitely amateur, but for our first time doing something like this, I think our group did a good job.

PEACE.

Video I: First Impression

Hello hello all. For those who might see this blog, this is a blog for my Video I class at Loyola University Maryland with Professor Jay Dunmore. My name is Brittany Lee, known on my other blog as Brittany Shawnté. So I'm basically going to be blogging about my reflections of the class. Hopefully spice this blog up a little when I have time too, because I like glam haha I like everything I touch to look unique!

Ok, so today was the first day of classes and I had this class. To be honest, I was kind of nervous about the class being three hours long, but we didn't even stay the entire time and it went by so fast! Jay started the class letting us know a little bit about what we were going to be doing this semester. Then he set up his camera and did mini interviews with the class. Basic information, like where we were from, why did we take this class, things like that. We also got to ask him some questions about himself, which was cool. We learned more about each other, and about Jay. It was nice.

We also discussed the in-house intern work we will have to complete at GreyComm Studios which is 10% of our grade, I think. I'm excited for that because it's more hands-on experience in the studio, and we get to be paired up with a mentor that has worked in different fields (graphics, news, public relations, film/writing, and production). So it should be nice to do.