Personal Logo

In graphic design, we were to create our personal logo. I made a few different styles to give a variety of ideas with pencil and paper first before moving on to computer designs. A few basic ideas of the designs were put down on paper but evolved once I placed them onto the computer. One involved and avatar for the "i" that represents me with my red hair and glasses. The gray "Mitchell" was my final product of this idea. Reed Rock was one of the better representations. My middle name is Reed and I listen to rock and roll as well as metal. While I made black designs, I prefer either in red. The MH simply involved my initials in a circle. It was a little simple for my taste but had straight edges while still flowing together.

Floating Mountain

This was a lesson in photoshop that was to teach us how to place objects seamlessly into photoshop pictures. We were to create a floating mountain in the given sky photo and then add a couple more objects and title the piece. The project showed us how to remove pixel fringe effectively to make the added items look realistic in the environment. We also learned how to add coloring to help make lighting more realistic as well. I titled my work Brilliance because of the look of the piece and the layout of it. I also added the airplane to add a little more realism to the height and environmental factors. The lightning was to add intensity and intrigue the viewer.

Constructive Blood Drive Reviews

Evan

Positive - The concept of when, where and why the blood drive was happening was well conveyed and understood by me.

Constructive - As with many of the other students as well as myself, the audio levels of the video could have been made more similar to one another.

Courtney

Positive - The stories that you selected were told well and kept the viewer entertained.

Constructive - The interviews seemed to be good, but did not flow together. This forced you to chop and splice them together which makes it hard to concentrate on the interesting story presented.

Nic

Positive - The shots you used in your B-Roll were nicely varied to keep from seeming repetitive or similar to other videos.

Constructive - The beginning nat noise was a little too extended. I would shorten in by maybe 1/2 a second or so just to grasp the viewer more quickly.

Dema

Positive - The voice overs provide good transitions to the next interview pieces.

Constructive - Some of the shots seemed too long and made me lose interest or the shots were so fast I wanted to go back and play it over to see what was being put on the screen. Just lengthen or shorten accordingly.

Allison

Positive - Your audio levels were some of the best in the class, they were kept equal throughout and didn't distract from the story.

Constructive -Your voice overs sometimes seemed to almost get cut off by the interview soundbites, just give the voice overs a little more time.

Rosie

Positive -The story and angle you had was unique and interesting and kept away from the overly common theme while sticking to the main ideas.

Constructive -The voice overs and interviews both seemed to be tinny sounding. I'm not quite sure how to fix this or if it was a speaker issue, but I would ask to make sure.

Kyrsten

Positive -The voice overs you recorded were well put together and had the right amount of emotion to keep the viewer intrigued.

Constructive - At the conclusion of the package something was played or said that I couldn't hear very clearly and it seemed quite abrupt.

Rylee

Positive - You explained the overarching idea from all aspects quite well and with precision while still keeping the viewer engaged and interested.

Constructive - Some of the interviewees names were not listed, not a fix for post-production. Ask before you interview in order to know what it is if you don't already know.

Catherine

Positive - The interviews mixed the different personal stories to have a heartwarming story while showing each person is not alone.

Constructive - The voice overs seemed stale. As though you were tired of the story and the experience. Just put a little emotion into recording.

Alex

Positive -Your story was quite feel-good and helped to instill a good feeling about the blood drive and the experience involved with it.

Constructive -Your voice overs seemed uninterested, like you didn't care as much as the interviewers or viewers did. A little vocal emotion is necessary to tie this story together.

Mitch

Positive - The story had a good feeling associated with it, between giving and saving lives.

Constructive - Audio levels were off and a random bit of nat noise interrupted a voice over and made it completely inaudible.

Nicole

Positive - The video was informative on what the blood drive was while still telling the personal stories of those involved and kept the overall feel heartwarming.

Constructive -You were looking down on the interviewee with not only your person, but also the camera.

Drew

Positive - The video made the viewer feel comfortable while not coming off as unprofessional or sloppy.

Constructive -The biggest issue with this package is that it is missing the core aspect of telling a story, interviews. Only one was either obtained or used and almost blurred the focus of the story.

Emily

Positive - This package has all the different viewpoints, STUCO members, donators, and people that are unable to donate.

Constructive - The B-roll didn't have much variety and didn't set itself apart from others.

Conlin

Positive - The angle you had was very intriguing and differed from the common package view.

Constructive -The voice overs seemed to be awkward and didn't transition very efficiently from soundbite to soundbite.

Cyle

Positive - The interviews were varied and didn't leave the viewer wanting to know more from people who experienced the process.

Constructive -Voice over mentioned someone who hadn't donated before and what they might experience and continued on to someone who confirmed that they had donated before. 

Jake

Positive - You explained the situation of someone who cannot or will not donate quite effectively.

Constructive - In Austin's first shot, the improper lower third was used and made the name unreadable.

Delaney

- N/A -

Abbey

Positive - The explanation of the process from start to finish was well put together and was relatively cohesive.

Constructive -The final quote at the end of the package was cut off before the speaker could complete their thought.

Amy

Positive - The interviews had great content to inform and entertain the viewer.

Constructive -The audio levels were everywhere and need to be equalized throughout.

Chelsea

Positive - You had a unique take on a botched donation from last year that separated you from the rest of the class.

Constructive -There was a cough in one of your interviews and I'm not sure if it is in your control to quiet it and keep the interview heard.

Alyssa

Positive - The interviews were varied and kept the viewer interested and didn't say the same thing repeatedly.

Constructive - Only during interviews was there nat noise, you seemingly muted it during your voice overs.

Personal Reflection

Overall I think I finished the package in too much of a rush and it seemed quite rough and was definitely not my best possible work. It didn't meet time requirements, it didn't have a variety of J and L edits, and it certainly was lacking audio leveling and substance. I hope to put in a little more effort for the next package and get a little more time on the camera to satisfy the shots I need. I know now that the questions can also be even more personal than I made them depending on how comfortable someone is.

Creative Anarchy Review

    This article is about how the rules of design need to be known before being broken. These rules should be broken in the right way for the scope of the project. The author claims that poor design creates chaos. This is true, because if certain important rules aren't followed and a design is made improperly, the world that sees it will not understand it. It is important to know the rules and only bend or break the rules of design. Denise Bosler uses examples of rules from everyday life that are crucial and anecdotes of actual client scenarios to support her argument.

    Much of the article is well written and I can relate to. Unfortunately some paragraphs contradict one another in the way they are written. The article also seemed quite vague when mentioning the actual rules of design. They were never clearly stated. 

    Ms. Bosler concludes that a project is never complete until the creative anarchist within is fully satisfied. The designs one creates should never stop evolving and a designer's learning is never finished. She states that designs should be outside of the box and more personal and relatable. I enjoyed the article, it was very intriguing and involved. It was a fascinating point of view on design. The author argues that each idea should begin with previous creations and then your idea should be similar but changed in a risky way. And always keep your eyes open to new ways of creating. 

    The overall article was interesting and well written but sometimes contradicted itself. I enjoyed it and connected with it throughout reading and annotating. I also learned things I can apply later to design class.

Silhouette Overlay Tutorial

  Before I begin with the tutorial, I would like to show you the final product to give you a simple idea of what the finished product can look like.

    The concept is to put something as a silhouette with words over a photo that helps to create the environment around the silhouette and sets the tone of the lettering used.

First begin by creating a new document, as seen above. I just created it as a normal piece of paper although you can make it any size you want as it will be finished as the size of a photo you choose.

After you have created your document begin brainstorming different ideas for the lettering and overall concept, I will be showing you the bird "Free as a Bird."

Once you have chosen your concept, simply search for the main subject (in this case the bird) and the background (in this case the sky and sun photo).

These are the two photos I will use.

  Drag or copy and paste your first photo (the bird) into your document. Then, using the pen tool with no fill, outline the subject (the bird) fully.

Once this is done, remove the photo and fill the outline in black. Take away the stroke and select the Blob Brush tool. Give it a white fill and write whatever you would like on the black subject. In this case the bird will have "free as a bird" on it.

Now drag in the the secondary background photo (the sky here). Then resize it and place it behind the main subject. The only thing left to do is select everything but the background photo and make the opacity 80%.

You should then have something similar to this, you can move around the silhouette as you please in order to get the desired finished product.

 

Japanese Patterns

   My motif is many different ellipses rotated five degrees. It then has squares and hexagons within it done in a similar fashion in one solid gray. It resembles some pieces on backs of cards. I was actually inspired by cards and simply started rotating ellipses to see how it looked. The idea of this project was to make something that radiates out from the center and creates a pattern.

   My repeating pattern is hexagons and diamonds moving downward and left and right. It looks similar to beads that hang from doorways or streamers. I was inspired by a hexagon pattern that used multiple different colors but because it did, I couldn't use it here so I made my own. The idea was to make a pattern that repeated from all sides.

Pensacola News Journal Article Review

   This article was about how a Florida newspaper became profitable after going through lay-offs and restructuring its entire process. The newspaper has changed from doing stories only about "bureaucratic bungling" to doing explanatory articles about things that matter in the community.

   The author argues that the Pensacola News Journal is becoming a more profitable and enjoyable place to work. The evidence given are mostly quotes from people that help run the newspaper or gather stories to supply the newspaper. The article is strong when talking about how the business has soared after almost failing, but is weak when analyzed to see that many workers lost jobs and raised unemployment for the sake of the paper. The author concludes that giving writers freedom in the newsroom helps to make the papers profitable and enjoyable.

   The author did a splendid job of supporting her main point and gave significant evidence for them. Although, some statistics could have been added to show how the newsroom had improved. As a videographer one could get shots within the newsroom to show how the morale had been boosted by the changes intermixed with interviews. The article was well written and followed a clear path that helped keep the evidence organized.

    The article itself was not one I would have chosen to read, it just doesn't jump out at me. After reading it though, I found it was an interesting perspective on the current problem newspapers are having. It was intriguing and had good diction. Overall the article did well.

Article: How one Florida paper is doing better work—with a happier newsroom