(Graphic Design) Semester Two Final

The Big Final Blog (woo)

Three Favorite Projects

One of my favorite projects was the vector portraits. The project took about 2-3 weeks I believe. Some of the challenges I faced included the difficult pen tool, the precision of the triangles and points, and the colorization of said triangles. I did learn a lot more about the pen tool, and vector imaging was another thing I learned. Some peers told me to pick better colors for some parts of the project and I agreed, some of it looked kind of odd before I fixed it. I went from a not very detailed image to a more detailed image, just by adding more triangles. I think this has been my best piece all year, I really like it!

Another one of my favorite projects was the typography project. It took a total of around 2-3 weeks to complete. Some of the main challenges included the difficulty of finding the right font to match the right quote, quotes are very difficult! I learned a lot about color choice and how colors can convey a better message and meaning. Peers had told me to change a few quotes that didn't make sense and they were right. The original idea was vastly different and the outcome was much better, this is like my second best work all year.

Lastly, one of my favorite projects was the logo project we just finished. It took about a week and a half to finish. Easily one of the hardest parts of it all was the actual logo idea itself! Coming up with a logo is very hard to do and the end product is always hard to be 101% happy with. I learned a lot about color choice once again, but I also learned a lot about putting yourself into your own art and it's hard to do art about oneself. Peers helped vote on which logo I should use and I was very happy with what they decided on. The original idea never really existed, it all just kind of came to me. This is a piece I am not sure if I am proud of yet. (I used the red variation of the bottom right).

Time Management 

I feel I used my time very well! I finished all the projects on time and still had time to revise and enjoy some time on my own. Researching the skills needed for some projects is one thing I did often. Figuring out exactly what I am supposed to do for a project can help me, so I can lay a base and expand it from there! I always use my time outside of school to enhance my eCommunication skills, such as video. It does require a focus outside of class to reach a further goal.

My Improvements

Being in eComm for two years has really shown me that I can do amazing things! Graphic Design will always be kind of shaky for me, but I feel like that is very normal! My strengths are mostly shown in my dedication, my love for art, the passion I have for my subjects, and my creativity. Being creative goes a long way, it takes more than just logical and physical skill; the mind os the strongest and most commanding part of it all. 

What to Improve Upon

While I may have been here for two years already, I still have two more years to get better and better. I feel like my technical skills here in graphic design could improve quite a bit. While I am going into video, graphic design will always be a skill I will need for the future and beyond. Seeing beyond just the instructions is something I do often, but maybe I should cut back on that a bit.

Conclusion

Being in graphic design has really pushed me to try new things in the program and to try and incorporate that with my other works. It's been lots of fun and I don't plan to stop anytime soon! I think there is so much to improve upon, and I know I will. Being in video next year makes it harder to build onto my graphic design knowledge, but I know it won't stop me from trying to further myself. It's been good and it's treated me well; that's all I can ask for, right?

See you in convergence!

(Entertainment) God Awful Short Films

Mr Cooper, or really anybody who's reading this, please know; I have never been so disgusted and ashamed of any of my eComm projects until this project came about. No matter how hard you try to make a solid video, and no matter how well you plan a video; everything goes downhill and it will crash and burn.

Pre-Production

Pre-production was how it usually was! Everything was going great, we had actors we had a full schedule; the plan was set! Our story was pretty complex, but nothing impossible, just a matter of getting the right locations at the right time

Production

Everything is awful, I go into panic mode! Never have I ever felt so terrible and panicked over an eComm project, but here we are TWO WEEKS from finals with nothing filmed, actors all quit, no locations in our story are available, and to top it all off: I worked every single day we had to film. I came up with a trash tier story that we filmed in about 4-5 days with wind making most of our audio worthless. 

Reflection

I have come to the conclusion that my passion of entertaining video is nothing but a dream, I truly feel like I won't be able to produce entertaining videos for eComm or anything, ever. If I could change anything, I'd change what production I worked on. I love my story I made, but the story I made never saw the light of day; it was a wasted script that I caused to fail. My team was amazing, they kept up with the painful reshoots and edits and kept it afloat, without them this short film would've been worse. I just wish that for once, ONCE in my eComm career that at least ONE of my projects would be something I am proud of; I don't think I'll ever be able to be proud of just about anything I've made, I can't do my passion.

Anyways! This has been a fun year overall, even with all of these failed projects; See you in Convergence!

Short Film: Bases Loaded

(Graphic Design) Vector Illlustration

Production of Graphic

While we created the vector images, we had to choose a photo that we wanted to replicate. I chose a picture of my dog! I wanted to do the triangle pattern design for the visual style and then the hardest part of the project began. Making the triangular grid on the picture was tedious and difficult. The pen tool is not my best friend, for sure! The colors were difficult, if I selected the wrong color, it would've made the whole piece appear wrong or out of place. Finally in the end, I had to erase the grid and change the background image and in the end we have... 

I think the image turned out great! I am quite proud of it and I think the colors are accurate and appear pleasant to the eye

(Entertainment) Movie Trailers... kinda

Pre-Production

Our movie trailer is based off of the 80's hit classic; Risky Business! We figured we should do a movie that wouldn't suck and wouldn't be too not suck. With this in mind, we started a storyboard by using the movie trailer and I made the sequencing to which we would film with. This process took us about a week, the hardest part of it all was the hiring of actors; because nobody ever EVER wants to be in a eComm video!

Post Pre-Production

So this is where everything we had planned just blew up in our faces and our we ended up with something... beautiful

Production

SO basically I took things into my own hands and filmed a lot of artsy shots at AMC Theaters, my place of work. This developed into a series of weird looks from my coworkers and an overwhelming feeling of failure. I couldn't wait to start editing.

Post-Production

Editing was so much fun, I had such a blast! I got to do some fun editing techniques as well as have a few laughs along the way! I truly think this is my 'peak' in eComm, this is the 'best' video I have ever made and I truly think it will make Mr Cooper and my group proud.

(Graphic Design) Typography

Pre-Production:

For this project I decided to pick fonts I felt best fit me, and I prefer fonts that are more relaxed rather than harsh and professional. For the quotes, I mostly looked towards rock bands and rock music for inspiration because it just fits me so well. 

Production:

During this project, I would've never guessed working in Black and White would be so hard! It really is hard to perceive emotions from a Black and White image, but overall I got a better understanding for the Pen tool and especially the font tools used in Illustrator. It felt better once we moved into color, something about color just makes the product stand out so much and adds a whole new layer of emotion to the product.

Post-Production:

I am (mostly) proud of the final product, I feel some of my quotes could've looked better but all in all I think it turned out pretty nice! I would've liked to change the "Dream On" quote's image, but time ran a little short and I couldn't think of anything else to do or use for it. I think the "Moon" one is my favorite quote and design, and the "The more I see" quote is another favorite just because I love the Red Hot Chili Peppers so much. I definitely know this isn't my best work, but I am still rather proud of what came out of it.

(Entertainment) Music Video Project

Reflection:

This project is the reason I am doing convergence next year! This project was apparently supposed to be a music video recreation, but we took it in a way different direction and made an original video. Our song was "Somebody to Love" by Queen and our video was a story about one money person finally finding 'that' person to love.

Pre-Production:

This part was fun! We had so many ideas flowing and we had what we thought was going to be this perfect project. We made our beat sheet, storyboard, and shot list. I worked on the ideas and layout for the whole video while Nick went and found inspiration and the copyright info, and Addy and River worked on Storyboarding and finding our cast. This entire part of the project went fine and turned out alright... until nobody wanted to be in the music video; that part kind of sucked.

Filming:

Filming was a complete nightmare for both the filming crew and acting crew. Most of the actors were busy all the time and the film crew was busy too; not to mention all the snow days and the freezing cold temps ruining both us and our continuity. Continuity was an issue that was very present in our video just because of adapting to weather and we had to reshoot things on the spot and at some point we just had to go with it. Nick, Addy, and River mostly took care of filming; I helped with all the scenes at my house and provided input for the whole thing. 

Post-Production:

Editing was my job and I loved it... for the first minute of our video at least. We had only a handful of clips to go off of, and when we got more they just couldn't fit in correctly. So what did I do? I made the empty spaces really goofy. I figured that if there was nothing there, I could've made it interesting at least and people seemed to enjoy it! (I hated it)

Aftermath:

So everyone in my group did their job and worked very hard with what we were given.. except one member who shall not be named; they didn't do anything to my knowledge. This project wasn't hard, we just had really really big ambitions and it didn't turn out. I didn't like this project, but after having all this time to listen to all these other songs; I know I could make an amazing music video out of a different song and story. I will definitely be entering the next project headstrong and shooting for the moon.

e9 Final Exam (4th Quarter)

4th Quarter Project:

The project we were given was to create a product and a business that we would eventually present to the other e9 students and staff. This project took all of 4th quarter and there were many challenges along the way. The main issue was creative differences. I feel we all had our own view on what we wanted to do with our production. I feel I have learned that working in a group is very difficult if you don't communicate the same message to all your teammates. Feedback included things such as the safety of our product, the commercial's main focus, and our color scheme. All of which we modified in the best way possible. We changed how our presentation would go and the overall emotions of the product. I feel overall I put a lot of effort into this project and I'm happy with the outcome.

Time Management:

I completed all of my works in class and on time. I've stayed ahead of the game and finished early most of the time with maximum effort. I stayed productive by always finding a way to improve my project, like with the final ball project in animation I was playing with textures and added many more scenes. I was always trying to improve upon what I had already done. Outside of class I am a photography machine and video maker. I'll always have Premiere running and making short clips, I am always on Photoshop making something, I am always in After Effects trying new things. I have learned that experimenting has improved my skills by a long shot! This is my dream after all, I'm not letting it slip away.

Strengths:

I feel as if I am a video focused individual. I feel for any project, if you give me a camera and some time with Premiere and After Effects, I can make something amazing. I feel I can truly express myself with video and that I show off my skills in video production. I am also very decent with Photoshop, I can make something goofy or something intriguing! I maximize my skills by practicing daily! I'm always making something and always brainstorming ideas.

Areas of Improvement:

My area of improvement is Graphic Design, but most importantly.. teamwork. I am horrible when it comes to teamwork. I need just myself and my camera. When I have teammates, they will almost always shut down my ideas and I feel working in a group constrains my creative ability. I think I should be able to express myself on my own! I tried my hardest with this project to work with others, but I had to bite my tongue sometimes. It's hard to accept other creative ideas sometimes. If I want to make a dark and horrifying but my team wants to make a light hearted feel good movie, I can't work with that!

Summary and Closing Statement:

I loved being able to go to school and do what I love. This program truly is guiding me where I want to go! I want to attend Full Sail University and I feel this is helping me get there. I can express myself here! If I had to change anything, it would be how I did my A to B video project because I hate that thing. I learned that this year, I belong here and I can be myself here! One goal is definitely go all out for these video projects and just let loose! Have fun and express myself. My final statement; I'll miss you Mr Olson, and thank you for an amazing year. Thank you to the other e-Comm teachers for setting the bar that I will shatter. I will pursue video with all my heart, that's always been my plan. Next year I am going all out