After completing the last assignment of this course, I would say my favorite project during the semester was the Audio Story project. I enjoyed interviewing my parents and my friend Lindsay and then finding the best way to combine all three of their interviews to make one complete story. It was challenging and then on top of that, adding music to try and really tie the whole story together really made me feel like I accomplished a lot after the assignment was completed.
I would say that I believe that I will most definitely be using Photoshop in the future; the other programs are also possible depending on what I end up doing in my career. Photoshop will definitely be getting some use just because I can think of so many reasons why I could use it; whether it be a work assignment or something for a family member or friend.
I’m not entirely sure what my career path will be. I thought that I was more interested in a Public Relations or Marketing field path but having the knowledge of these Adobe programs has made me take a step back and ponder what I could do with these newly acquired skills if I wanted to use them in the future in my career.
I think that this class was pretty well-rounded with the different kinds of programs we used and the different projects that we worked on. I don’t think there was anything I felt like I wished we would have worked on during this semester.
I think that this class will be very useful for students who take it in the future. I wish that Adobe had longer trial periods for students learning how to use their programs for a college class but overall the programs were pretty user-friendly. I’m also glad that the lab times were optional.
Introduction:-Still title: “Baking with Kristin.” (fades in, then fades out) :00-:06
Introduction:-Music begins: “Chocolate” by davidgee
:00-
Video Clips:-First stage, then second stage of baking process take center and then split the screen then slowly fades out. :07- 1:37
-Still Title: “Baking Demonstration: Yellow Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting” (appears, then slowly fades out) :19-:53
Interview:-Music (volume lowers and raises during and after each interview clip.)
-Why I chose to do a baking demo
:20-:34
-When I started baking/cooking
:35-:40
-What I started baking/cooking
:41-:50
-Why I started baking/cooking
:51-:57
-Why I enjoy baking/cooking now
1:08- 1:32
Video Clips:-Third stage of process takes center screen and slowly fades out.
1:38-1:48
-Fourth stage of process (decorating) takes center screen.
1:49-3:05
Interview:-Why I enjoy baking/cooking now (continued)
1:42-2:30
-Best thing about baking/cooking
2:42-2:54
End:-Roll Credits: “Directed by: Kristin Newton, Special Thanks: Caitlin Sevey, Music: “Chocolate” by davidgee
3:06-3:11
End:-Music fades out.
-3:13
I decided to use this section of the class to talk about my passion for cooking and baking. I chose to do a baking demonstration and I thought that cupcakes would be a great process to demonstrate since I believe it’s common knowledge that everyone loves cupcakes. I used the camera on my laptop and had a friend come over and aim the laptop at me while I was demonstrating each part of the cupcake baking and decorating process. I wasn’t sure how this would work out so I decided to film each part of the process in four separate pieces.
I chose to use a sort of “picture-in-picture” technique for the first film clips because I wanted the cupcake baking process to fit within the maximum amount of time we are allotted for these videos. I also chose to increase the speed/duration of each clip. The first two clips were increased to 175%, the third was increased to 125% and the fourth remains at the same speed in which it was shot.
I added some video effects to the front and back of each clip. I chose the additive dissolve effect for basically all of the clips except for the roll credit at the end of my video. I used Soundcloud to find a song with Creative Common License to accompany the audio interview I included of myself. I chose the song “Chocolate” by davidgee. I thought that the title of the song was more than fitting considering the topic I chose for this assignment.
For the audio interview I did of myself, I chose to talk about why I chose to do a baking demonstration for my video assignment, when I started baking/cooking, what I started baking/cooking, and why I started baking/cooking. I also included interview clips of myself talking about why I love baking/cooking now and what I think is the best thing about cooking/baking.
I wanted the music to accompany the video clips but I definitely wanted my audio interview to be the main audio focus so I added keyframes to the audio of the song and lowered and raised the volume of the music before and after each interview clip so it would appear to fade-out and fade-in, in time with my story.
I also chose to include a Still Title of what kind of cupcakes I was making during the sequence where I’m showing the first stage and second stage of the baking process that way those viewing the video would understand what I was making. I also chose to remove the still picture of the other cupcakes that I decorated during the baking portion of this assignment that I had included in my video draft. I felt that because I didn’t include footage of decorating those cupcakes, they didn’t fit in with the story the way I originally hoped they would.
Overall, I am very happy with how my video turned out. I had a lot of fun making the assignment, maybe the filming more than the editing of the film footage but overall the entire assignment was a lot of fun.
Introduction:-Still title “Baking with Kristin.” (fades in, then fades out)
Introduction:- Music (to be decided; fades in)
Interview:-Picture-in-Picture showing first and second stage of baking process.-Then 3rd stage of process takes center screen.
-Then 4th stage of process (decorating) takes center stage.
Interview:- Music (volume lowered)-Interview with myself?
Still Photo:-Interview clip fades out.-Show picture of some of the other cupcakes I decorated for the video project.
Still Photo:-Music (volume raised slightly)
End:-Credits/Special Thanks
End:-Music (fades out)
I decided to use this section of the class to talk about my passion for cooking and baking. I chose to do a baking demonstration and I thought that cupcakes would be a great process to demonstrate since I believe it’s common knowledge that everyone loves cupcakes. I used the camera on my laptop and had a friend come over and aim the laptop at me while I was demonstrating each part of the cupcake baking and decorating process. I wasn’t sure how this would work out so I decided to film each part of the process in 4 separate pieces.
I want to make a point to say that the volume on your computer is not broken. I haven’t been able to decide on exactly what I want to say and what music I would like playing in the background so I removed the audio portion of each clip and that’s why you can’t hear anything when you are watching the video.
I chose to use a “picture-in-picture” technique for the first film clips because I wanted the cupcake baking process to fit within the maximum amount of time we are allotted for these videos. I also chose to increase the speed/duration of each clip. The first two clips were increased to 175%, the third was increased to 125% and the fourth remains at the same speed in which it was shot.
I chose to add a still-photo of some of the other cupcakes I decorated while filming this demonstration. I also added some video effects to the front and back of each clip. I chose the additive dissolve effect for basically all of the clips except for the roll credit at the end of my video.
I would love to get some feedback on what should be covered during my interview. I believe it will be just an audio interview, for now, but I can definitely make it a video interview if I get that kind of feedback. My plan is to talk about how I started cooking and baking and maybe the types of things I like to cook and bake. I have also thought about adding a photo collage to the video of some of the other things that I’ve made and that I have showcased on my other blog One Life. Many Loves. Again, these are just some ideas that I have and I’ve left myself some extra time to work with if stuff should be added. Basically what I’m saying is, nothing has really been decided and feedback would not only help me perfect what I’ve already started but it will also help me decide what direction I should go with this assignment. Thanks for watching my video and can’t wait to see what everyone thinks.
For my audio story, I decided to interview my mom, dad and my best friend Lindsay. All three interviews tell a slightly different story about me and my determination to succeed with the example of when I played volleyball in high school. I interviewed my parents together before we left for spring break and I was able to interview Lindsay after spring break. I decided to include an introduction and conclusion clip at the beginning and end of my audio story. I also chose to include clips of myself introducing the next person who would be talking in the audio story.
I took the skills that we learned from completing the Audition tutorials and put them to use in the execution of my audio story. I mentioned in my previous post that I had a little trouble with Audition when I was editing my audio clips. I continued to have this problem while working on the final version of my audio story. A few too many clicks in too short of a time and the “rainbow wheel of death” would pop up and Audition would force itself to close. I didn’t let this deter me, however, but I now have a total of 9 versions of my audio story since after a significant amount of changes, I would have to export the file as an .mp3 so that I could pick up where I left off the next time I began working on the assignment. Each time I would export the track into an .mp3, however, the little squiggly lines (for lack of a better term) would get smaller and smaller which also made it harder and harder to edit out any “umms” or “ughhhs” as I progressed farther and farther into my process.
I wasn’t entirely convinced that I needed to add music to the background of my audio clip but after listening to a fellow group member’s rough draft for her audio assignment, I was very impressed with how she combined the music she selected and the interview clips for her audio story. I found a song on SoundCloud that was listed as a “Creative Common License” and decided to download the song and use it for the background of my audio story. The song I chose was called “30 Pieces” by Eyes Closed Audio. I chose this song because I liked how it had a quiet intro and the song reminded me of a sort of “pump-up” song… sort of like a great song to include with an inspirational message of some kind. I felt that the song really added a little something extra to my audio story and I’m really happy with how it turned out.
I found it really hard to keep my interview under 4 minutes. When I added the third interview, my audio story was over 5 minutes long so I ended up removing a section of my dad’s interview and I removed a section of Lindsay’s interview so that I could at least get my audio story to 4 minutes and 30 seconds.
I decided to use our audio story assignment, to share how playing sports over the years has helped shape me into the person I am today. I downloaded the Call Recorder application for Skype and used that tool to record the video interviews with my parents. I decided to just work with their interviews for the Audio Story Draft because I wasn’t completely sure what story I wanted to share and I also may collect more interviews from friends who played volleyball with me in high school when I am home for spring break. I spent a lot of time breaking down each interview and removing any sort of filler talk (like “and” and “ummm” and “uhhhh”). When I began compiling the interview recordings of my parents and the recordings of myself introducing them and adding information to their interviews, etc., my computer and Audition decided that they didn’t like working together. Every time I would start to edit one section of audio on Track 2, the “rainbow wheel of death” would pop up and Audition would close. I would attempt to re-lauch my previous work session, but any changes I made were lost and I would have to start all over. Finally, I realized that I needed to make the compilation a step by step process; so I now have 4 audio stories saved to my mac (each being slightly longer and more detailed than the previous).
Once I had all of the recordings (my own, the recording of my mom and the recordings of my dad) compiled into one .mp3, I spent about 30 minutes going through the .mp3 and getting rid of any unnecessary breaks in recordings that could be removed. For example, I removed as many breaks in my dad’s recorded interview so that the audio recording wouldn’t sound as though my dad was talking for 2 minutes straight without taking a single breath.
From there, I saved the final audio into another .mp3 and uploaded it to SoundCloud like we had to do when posting the previous assignments for this audio unit. During the interview process, my mom and dad were basically in the same room listening to each others interview and so every now and then you can hear someone move or make a noise in the background while the other person is talking. I just wanted to point out that I am aware of this and that I will try and find a way to remove any excess background noise, if it’s possible, for my final audio story. Please feel free to share your thoughts on my Audio Story Draft; I am open to any and all feedback.
For our logo assignment, I decided to create a logo that could be used for this blog, Pier 24 Design. When I decided to create a name for the blog that would be showcasing the visuals that I would create for Com 210, I wanted to pick a name that had some significant meaning to me. I’m turning 24 in a little over a month, so I will be 24 when I finally graduate from college. I liked the idea of including the word “Pier” in the name because I’ve always loved the Huntington Beach Pier. Growing up in Huntington Beach, CA, I’ve met friends on the pier, and spent parts of dates walking on the pier, and the pier has been in the background in many of our family photos. I was enrolled in the Huntington Beach Jr. Lifeguards program for 2 consecutive summers when I was in middle school and have swam around the pier at least 4 times as part of some of the mandated activities included in the program requirements.
I decided that I wanted a really clean, simple logo. I made sketches of different angles of a “pier” with “Pier 24” written next to it. I decided that I liked the idea of a black and white logo with maybe a minimal amount of color. I worked with the rectangle and rounded rectangle tool to create the pier and the pilings. In my first draft, the pier was half the size it is now and it was placed to the left of the name “Pier 24”. After receiving feedback in regards to the lack of color incorporated into my first draft, I decided to get rid of the small, crimson balloon I had floating off the pier and resting above the “i” in “pier”. I always think of the beach in terms of how it looks at different times of day so I decided to incorporate a “setting sun” into my logo design instead. I decided to move the “Pier 24” from its first location which was next to the pier and instead placed it on top of the pier and made it a smaller font. I liked the idea of placing it at the end of the pier because there is usually a structure at the end of large piers. I used the ellipses tool to create the larger orange-colored sun and added both an outer glow and inner glow effect to create the slightly opaque rings around the sun. I used the flare tool to create the very light, bright center part of the sun. I made the drop shadow effect on “Pier 24” different than the drop shadow effect of the pier because I wanted the shadow to actually appear to be caused from the sun. So, the shadow effect on “Pier 24” is shifted more to the right, and the pier structure has the shadow resting more below the pier since the sun is still slightly above the pier and is shining down on the pier. I’m very happy with the feedback I received and with my final logo.
Pier 24 Design 