Music Video

I have always thought that producing a music video would be cool. This semester, I have the opportunity to make a music video. I have done tons of audio editing of music and vocal clips as well as putting together several songs into a medley. I will still get a chance to do just that, but I will also be adding a visual aspect to it. I am not very good at using video editing software so I'm hoping that this experience will help me become a better video editor because editing music and video together to make them sync is a very important skill to have.

I have decided to do the song 5:33 written and performed by Strike Out Kid. This is a local band featuring several students from Shepherd University. They are a pop punk band that perform songs that relate to high school and college students while still attracting older fans.

I am still trying to come up with ideas for the video. I might try and so some double exposure work of the band performing. I might try and create a story line for the song to relate what the song is about with a couple shots of the band performing. I also might create a story in color using tinting and filters on a camera or in the editor in order to create a certain mood for the viewer. Whatever I end up doing, I hope it turns out well and I will definitely enjoy the experience.

Sequential Art

Maus is a graphic novel by Art Spiegelman. It depicts a families escape from the Nazi's and the different obstacles that entailed. It portrays the main characters of the family as mice, the police and medical staff as pigs, and the Nazi's as cats. The character depiction is an entire discussion in and of itself because of the ingenuity but I am only going to focus on one aspect of it. I am going to discuss something that was brought to my attention by Scott McCloud.

Scott McCloud is the author of Understanding Comics. He has made comics and graphic novels very accessible to the intellectual which is a revolutionary endeavor. From a semi early age, I always thought that comic books were for nerds and children. My journey through the Shepherd University communications department has definitely changed my opinion but not so much as Scott McCloud's book. It shows the intellectual and academic value of reading and understanding comic books as well as foster a growing appreciation of their entertainment value.

One of the aspects that McCloud discusses is Sequential Art. This refers to the ability of the artist to add body to a scene or to tell an entire story, simply by putting images together as shown in the image to the left. This can be done by putting hundreds of images together to explain very minute details, or by putting just two images together and giving a sense of the action. Maus is full of examples. It would be very difficult to portray every aspect of the story in Maus through images, but the artist is able to shorten the space drastically by strategically placing images in the story line. One of my favorite examples is when Lucia comes to visit Vladek and in the space of two frames goes from having a standing conversation to grovelling on the floor. The intriguing part is that the story is not slowed down or made more confusing at all. In fact it gives a sense of the urgency that she feels and makes us feel for her as a character. The artist's ingenuity is phenomenal.

Dream Weaver

Dream Weaver is a web development tool created and published by Adobe for Mac and PC. I have used this tool to develop a website all about voice acting. The site contains about 25 pages of content with 2 or 3 links to external sites with a couple YouTube videos as well.

I think Dream Weaver is a great tool. I like the simplified coding aspect of it. It also has predictive tags which makes it that much easier to develop the page. I recently discovered that it also has templates which makes it even easier to develop the site. It allows for a more professional looking site without doing so much coding work. One of my favorite features that it provides is the ability to automatically update all the links to the entire website if you change something on the original template. If you've made a mistake on the original template and based most of the site on that flawed template, it would usually entail having to go through every page and making the necessary changes. Fortunately, using the template feature, you can make the change on the original template and Dream Weaver will update all the links and make all the changes to all the other pages automatically.

The only thing that I don't like about Dream Weaver is the amount of training it takes in order to learn how to use it. It takes quite a bit of training in order to be able to use the tool effectively. Of course, that is the case with many new software today but there are other programs that are much simpler in their navigation and usage. Aside from that, the program is very efficient and a great development tool.

Syllabi

All University level classes have a syllabus. Some even require you to read them. Most of the time however, students simply find out what assignments are due and then let the syllabus gather dust or forget about the web page it is found on. The syllabus is supposed to be a guide in how to succeed in the class. Professors are to blame just as much as the students however because they only put the bare minimum requirements for a syllabus to pass inspection. It can be frustrating if one is looking for information on how to do a specific assignment or has a question about grading procedures.

In contrast, the syllabus for COMM 333 (Music Video) covers every aspect we would need to cover in the class. It not only tells us how to succeed in the class but also shows us how to succeed in our careers by giving valuable information.

For instance, it has a section specifically on how to write blogs. This is of course valuable information since the modern community will read a blog about as much as they will read a magazine article. This means that a blog should somewhat resemble a magazine article in its presentation as well as the aesthetics. However, an advantage of having a blog be on the internet allows the publisher to include media and references easily by hyperlinking and posting videos.

Another section in the syllabus covers creative and creative thinking. This not only comes in useful in the class but also in other aspects of your life and career. There are many institutions that require you to think critically but they never tell you what that statement means. This syllabus covers it extensively and gives examples on how to do this. It is a resource that I can use many times in the future no matter what the endeavor may be. 

Annoying Technology

There exists a list of the 12 most annoying pieces of technology. I agree with most of them on there. Technology for the sake of technology can be pretty ridiculous. Using technology just so that we can gets annoying when there are other ways to accomplish something that are far less annoying. The only thing that I don't agree with on the list has to be the "touchless bathrooms." Granted there are times when you can't get the sink to work, but there is usually more then one sink right next to each other so you simply need to move over. It cuts back on water consumption and germ spreading. Another of the
technologies that i don't really have a problem with is the voice recognition technology. I understand that there are those that get frustrated with it when they can't get the software to understand what they are saying. I personally don't have too much of a problem with it because I am a voice actor and have become accustomed to over enunciating my words. If you are having trouble with the voice recognition software then I suggest you speak slowly and ridiculously in order for the software to understand what you are saying. 

One bit of technology that I find incredibly annoying is the email notification feature that comes with any website that you signed up for. This includes Facebook. I DO NOT need an email sent to me every time one of my friends updates their status or someone makes a slight change to an event I'm attending. I have my email linked directly to my phone which is incredibly convenient and helpful especially with school emails and such. I can't stand it though when I get 15 emails in 10 minutes from Facebook because one of my friends is bored and it ends up blowing up my phone.

Another piece of technology I find incredibly annoying are the bluetooth ear pieces. When people go into a store and are shopping around, you will see them and it seems like they are talking to themselves. Often times I will walk by someone and they are looking in my direction while they are talking and then there will be that awkward moment when you're not sure if they are speaking to you or not. How lazy do you have to be to walk around a store and shop that you can't take the time to hold a phone to your ear for a few minutes. These wireless devices should only be used in a car where the situation requires you to use both of your hands. If you are too busy that you have to take a phone call during every moment of your life, then you need to take a step back and realize there is more to life then that.

Technology History

I am astounded at the progress that our scientists have achieved in the field of technology. To think that barely 30 years ago we had computers that would take up entire rooms in order to compute a series of numbers and now we can talk to people around the world and even communicate with a rover on a different planet with a device that fits in our pocket. It is a credit to our species that we have been able to achieve so much.

With every advancement comes problems though. We are seeing an increase in those that become addicted to the technologies developed. Which will lead to the decreased ability for humans to survive without this technology. If you go to Malawi Africa, there are people there that wonder where their next meal is going to come from and live in huts in the dirt, but they have cell phones. This is an example of how technology has helped this country stay connected but if the increase in technology is not regulated, it could have a detrimental effect on the country.

Social Networking

A recent study found that 1/3 of the U.S. population do not use Facebook or Twitter. They stated this fact as if it were a horrible statistic. I believe that it is a good thing. There is way too much stress, drama, and pressure put onto people because of these sites. It gives me hope that there are still people out there that know how to socialize with a handshake instead of a keyboard. I personally have both a Twitter and Facebook account. The main reason is that there are certain announcements and postings that are critical to my education and career posted on these sites, though I do use them for entertainment purposes as well.

If the internet was shut down today, our world would collapse. The 1/3 of Americans not umbilicalled to the internet would be able to survive with very little difficulty. However, that means that about 210 MILLION people would be without a lifeline to their lives. I understand that not everyone that uses these sites are addicted to them like myself, but it is disconcerting that so many people are linked to them and the people that are not are being chastised for it. I say let them live their lives the healthy way and let us learn from them.