Major Assignment 3

IT IS DONE!!!!!!

All rights to the music belong to Florence + the Machine as well as Island Universal Records.

Enjoy :)

Major Assignment 3

User Testing

Major Argument
1 Thing Done Well
1 Constructive Criticism

Alex Saari
MA:  There is an immense amount of detail that goes into tattoos.  And yours appear to have meaning.
Strength: Great job with editing the tattoos!
Improve: Is there any way with the program that you are using to smooth out the transition of the tattoos disappearing/appearing?

Chris Cena
MA:  What is control?  Are humans always in control of our surroundings?
Strength: Great job showing video clips that go along with what you are describing. Also the music is sort of depressing, but it goes along great with the idea of your video.
Improve: Maybe create a more memorable conclusion.  The video sort of just ended.

Craig Suydam
MA:  Montages can help accomplish goals.
Strength: I loved it.  I liked that you chose to make a comedic video.  It was really funny.
Improve: Fix the glitch that occurs on the high def. format.  If you can.

Steven
MA:  The world is full of nothing.  If you go looking for something you will never find it.
Strength: Your editing was superb.  I can tell that you make videos often.  The quality was fantastic.
Improve: Increase the volume of your voice when talking.  It was hard to hear you speak

Ronnie
MA:  People have different sides and personalities.  They see themselves one way, but they are different from what they see.
Strength: Great job showing the dynamics of personalities.
Improve: Cut down on the swearing.

Greg
MA: Inform viewers of the site on recent copyright laws and actions.
Strength:  Great job at describing SOPA and the other pages.  I was confused on some of the information before hand and now it makes more sense.
Improve: This is just an aesthetic suggestion.  Could you make it so that the top circles which lead to the different pages move when a person hovers over them instead of on their own?  It’s sort of distracting while reading a page when the top is switching.

Kay
MA:  Children are adorable and every moment matters, especially kindergarten.
Strength: Great choice of music.  I like how you didn’t pick some fufu music instead you chose rock.
Improve: On some of the video in the beginning, there’s the address and phone number for the elementary school.  Since it’s on YouTube, maybe edit it those out for safety reasons.

Kyle
MA:  A resume where employers can see your skills and contact you.
Strength: Great layout.  It’s apparent that you worked hard on the design. It looks very professional.
Improve: There is a useful link box on your homepage and some of the links look professional, however you have NHL and deviant art, which doesn’t really seem to fit with a resume web site.

Jifu
MA: His clan kicks butt in the video game world.
Strength: Great choice of music and also screen shots.  The music goes along great with the action.
Improve: Cut out some of the couple scenes in the beginning where it’s you and your clan running around.  It’s a little dull. Don’t forget to site music.

Converting .WMV to .MOV

How do I convert my video which was made on Windows Live Movie Maker to a format that is viewable on QuickTime?

Those Darn Roadblocks With My Project

Well my project for my Digital Media class certainly came with problems.  I had asked a cousin of one of my friends to be the main character for my video because her style was spot on for my main character.  I sort of got the feeling that after I asked she was going to back out and she did.  I don't hold it against her because I would not want anyone to feel uncomfortable.  So to get around this roadblock, I was my main character.  It's going to be hard to sit and watch my classmates' reactions to my acting.

Another roadblock that has come up is music.  I have very specific songs that I want to use in my video and so I emailed the record company.  To this day I have not heard back from them.  I asked about this issue during class and I received great suggestions for dealing with the copyright.  After discussing it in class it does not feel like an issue.

I wanted to use this assignment as a chance to learn more about Mac computers.  I have a goal for myself which is to become more proficient with Macs because I've always only used PC's.  So I was excited to mess around with Final Cut Pro.  However, I couldn't even get the darn program to open up.  I tried on multiple computers in the lab and it wouldn't open.  So I became defeated and gave up.  I decided to download Windows Live Movie Maker instead.  I had high hopes of creating a professionally edited video, and then I couldn't open Final Cut.  But, I am using Windows Live Movie Maker to it's full potential.  There are some new effects that I really enjoy.  It's certainly not an amazing editing software, but it is a program that I feel comfortable with.

Design Plan for Major Assignment 3

Statement of Purpose:

The idea for my project is that there is a girl alone in a forest.  She is enjoying time to herself, when she is suddenly frightened and begins to run.  There is something chasing her, but the face of what is chasing her is kept hidden throughout the video.  She keeps tripping and falling, when finally she doesn't get back up.  As she's lying on the forest ground covered in dirt and crying, she finds a piece of paper with "Live" written on it.  After reading the piece of paper she manages to pull her strength back together and continues to run and to fight for her life.

 I want to convince my audience that life is important.  I want to move them visually while leaving them with things to ponder.  Survival is important no matter how hard the situation is.  My audience will be my professor and classmates while my secondary audience will be anyone who views my project on YouTube.  I expect questions from both my classmates as well as YouTube viewers.  My project will be shown in class to my classmates while my professor will most likely view it first in her office alone.  Because I will be showing this video in a college setting it will not contain any obscene language or material.  It will however be powerful and moving.  For my project, I hope to communicate the importance of surviving.  I want the audience to realize that no matter how hard life is, they have to keep living.  I hope that my audience will be entertained by my project, as well as moved.  The message in my project can be interpreted many ways. Some people may think that the character is going to be murdered, for others their first thought may be that she is getting raped.  I want my audience to assume whatever comes to mind for them.  I want my piece to be an open canvas where they can project their interpretation while figuring out my message of survival. The best outcome would be that my audience can clearly understand my major argument.  The worst outcome would be that my audience is bored with my video or they cannot understand what my major argument is.  I want to make a piece that will move the audience as well as motivate them.

Strategies:

I plan on creating a video that will move my audience and allow them to make their own interpretation. However, I want to emphasize my major argument which is survival.  I plan on using dramatic music and sounds to help create a scared and urgent atmosphere.  I believe that music and sounds create a piece of video.  If the music and sounds are taken away, the overall feeling of the piece is lost.  I will also keep the face of  the monster hidden.  This is so that the audience can make their own assumptions about what is chasing my main character.

Choice of Medium:

I wanted to create a video because I feel that I can get my message across well.  While a picture would have done the same, it would not have allowed me to tell the full story that I want to tell.  I can also add music to the video so that the sounds reflect what the main character is feeling.  The sounds and music will create the atmosphere of my video and give a sense of urgency and empowerment.

Arrangement:

I plan on beginning my video with fast clips of the tops of trees as well as a quote about survival.  I would like to add shots of the main character as well as shots of the monster before it starts its pursuit.  I would also like to go back and forth between the monster and my main character quickly while they are running.  For the middle of my video I plan on getting the camera close to the ground so that the audience can view the situation through the main character's eyes while she is struggling with survival.  I feel that ending the video suddenly as she is running will allow the audience to make their own assumption on whether or not she was caught.

Production:

I plan on using a flip camera borrowed from the HDMZ lab to film my video.  I would like to mess around with Final Cut  Pro or some other video editing software on a Mac computer because I would like to become familiar with Mac software.  If for some reason I cannot figure out those video editing software, I will resort to the good ol' windows movie maker because I am most familiar with that program.

Testing Communication

To test my communication during production, I plan on showing my project to my boyfriend and other friends as well as maybe one or two classmates to see what their opinions are.  I really want to keep my project a surprise to my class.

Revised Statement of Purpose

I want to convince my audience that life is important.  I want to move them visually while leaving them with things to ponder.  Survival is important no matter how hard the situation is.  My audience will be my professor and classmates while my secondary audience will be anyone who views my project on YouTube.  I expect questions from both my classmates as well as YouTube viewers.  My project will be shown in class to my classmates while my professor will most likely view it first in her office alone.  Because I will be showing this video in a college setting it will not contain any obscene language or material.  It will however be powerful and moving.  For my project, I hope to communicate the importance of surviving.  I want the audience to realize that no matter how hard life is, they have to keep living.  I hope that my audience will be entertained by my project, as well as moved.  The message in my project can be interpreted many ways. Some people may think that the character is going to be murdered, for others their first thought may be that she is getting raped.  I want my audience to assume whatever comes to mind for them.  I want my piece to be an open canvas where they can project their interpretation while figuring out my message of survival. The best outcome would be that my audience can clearly understand my major argument.  The worst outcome would be that my audience is bored with my video or they cannot understand what my major argument is. I want to make a piece that will move the audience as well as motivate them.

Statement of Purpose for Major Assignment 3

Senses of Purpose:

For my project, I hope to communicate the importance of surviving.  I want the audience to realize that no matter how hard life is, they have to keep living.  I hope that my audience will be entertained by my project, as well as moved.  The message in my project can be interpreted many ways.  I want to make a piece that will move the audience as well as motivate them.

Audience:

The primary audience for this assignment will be my professor and classmates in Intro to Digital Media.  I am creating this project for them.  The secondary audience will be anyone who views my video online.  We have to upload our project to an online source, I plan on uploading my video to YouTube. Any person who views my video through YouTube will be my secondary audience.  I imagine that the majority of the viewers of my project will be younger college students.  Most of the people in my Intro to Digital Media class are creative and intellectual.  I expect them to dissect my project.  The worst possible outcome is that they dislike my video so much that they completely dissect it with many many questions or silence with no questions.  The best possible outcome would be that they like my video and gave me compliments.

Context:

I will be showing my project in class.  For this reason, it must be appropriate.  While creative freedom is generally wide in college,  I will try to make my video appropriate for a college audience.  This means that there will be no foul language or obscene material.  I will be present when I show my project.  Because I will be present, I assume that my classmates will try to be polite even if they dislike my video.

Statement of Purpose:

I want to convince my audience that life is important.  I want to move them visually while leaving them with things to ponder.  Survival is important no matter how hard the situation is.  My audience will be my professor and classmates while my secondary audience will be anyone who views my project on YouTube.  I expect questions from both my classmates as well as YouTube viewers.  My project will be shown in class to my classmates while my professor will most likely view it first in her office alone.  Because I will be showing this video in a college setting it will not contain any obscene language or material.  It will however be powerful and moving.