Project 5 - iPhone Twitter Project Across the Universe

To view my video on YouTube for this project click here. I originally embedded this project on the page, but because YouTube has converted its entire catalog to widescreen, it would not fit.

META TEXT

This project I was really excited to focus on location. I am very interested in traveling, connecting, and in general just appreciate being connected to the internet on my laptop, cell phone, and whatever other device is possible.

When initially thinking about my concept for project 5 I only had a few standards. The first was that I wanted it to be as original of a concept as possible. As a student, I think it's very important to showcase creative thinking and individuality. I didn't want this project to lack in that category. The second standard that I wanted to focus on was to avoid politics in the theme. I had used politics in some way in each of my projects for this semester thus far. I think I may have used the class to push my own agenda, but there is nothing wrong with that is there? Now that the election is over, I didn't want people to get drained with political motivation. Also, I wanted to show that I can produce projects that aren't so emotionally and politically motivated.

Having friends all over the world, in different countries and continents, it's very important for me to stay connected. If it weren't for networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, it's hard to say how close I could keep my relationships with my friends that are abroad. For a while I was very lost with what to do with this project. I had some ideas, but didn't really feel strongly about any of them. I had used Facebook statuses in my previous project, and wasn't very keen on the idea of recycling - staying true to the idea of being more inventive and original. Then, one day I was using the Twitter application and saw that when held horizontal, would show recent tweets from all over the world. As soon as I saw this, I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew that this was something that probably no one would use, and fit the criteria of the assignment nearly perfectly.

The process began with collecting screen shots of my iPhone when people would update. The updates were streaming, and each update would only stay on the iPhone screen for 3 seconds at a time before changing. It was difficult to capture the image without capturing the transition. However, it was accomplished. My method of capturing was completely random throughout one day. I inititally wanted to do all of the updates in a 15 minute period but realized that I couldn't come up with enough captures that were either readable, understandable, appropriate or interesting. I decided to capture the updates that I thought were interesting, and from as many different countries as possible. After I captured 70 screen shots, I sifted through and condensed the collection down to the ones that I thought were interesting in some way for the video. I then added all of the screen shots to iMovie. I then had to figure out what song if any I would couple with the rotating updates. I searched for the term "world" in my iTunes library and wasn't impressed with any of the songs. Then I searched, "earth" and there were only 2 songs, neither of which would have worked. Finally, I searched, "universe." This was it. Staring me right in my face was the Beatles song "Across the Universe." The rhythm is slow and the lyrics make sense with the project. Not to mention, the Beatles are great musicians. I laid the audio in the editing bay of iMovie and realized that I had more screen shots than would fit within the timing of the song. I then had to go in and edit even more by deleting around 5 of the least pertinent ones. I then added the title slide "Ever wonder what people are thinking at the same time...across the universe?" to give the project a bit of an artsy feel, which I think it does successfully.

By the end of the video, I wanted to put an ending slide. However, once I typed "The End" I realized that there were so many different languages within the project. So, I decided I would write "The End" in each of the different languages that were used within the project. The languages that are used are English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese, Greek, Swedish, and German.

Additionally, I am in the process of contacting each of the Twitter users that I used within this project. I think that it would be interesting to see what they think, and am suggesting that they comment in the comments section of the video on YouTube.

In conclusion, I think that this project worked sucessfully. I believe that it works very well with the assignment criteria and showcases an innovative way that people are communicating. Twitter is an up and coming social networking medium that I think will only get bigger as more and more people realize how instantaneous the results are: an element that so many cultures embody all over the world.

Thoughts on Project 5

I was somewhat lost before the last class about what to do for Project 5. But, after the last class I overheard Dr. Baldwin talking about Twitter. For those that don't know, Twitter is somewhat of a mini version of blogging. Basically, people from all over the world have a text box to write anything they want in, whether it be how they are feeling, thoughts on a song they just listened to, etc. They can even place links in to the box to share with people that follow their updates. Check out Twitter.com if you are interested.

On my iPhone I have a Twitter application called "Twinkle." When I hold my phone horizontally it transitions in to a map of the entire world, and places a dot on the map where teh most recent twitter update has been made. For example, if I were to update, "I love Sandy Baldwin's class," a blue dot would appear over Morgantown, WV, along wiht my face, and what I wrote above.

For project 5 I want to take screen shots of these maps for 1 minute every day at the exact same time. Say, 3:00p.m. I will do this for 5 days, and then put all fo the screen shots together in to a movie or animation. These updates or "tweets" as they are called, are coming in from all over the world, so I will truly be using the entire earth as my location.

Below is an example screen shot of my phone that I will use in my project.

Even More Thoughts on Project 5

I am starting to understand the real life component to this project thanks to the examples given in class today. I was thinking about using GPS of some sort. I have an iPhone 3G which has GPS built in to the hardware. I was thinking about maybe doing screen shots of my location from now until the project is due, to show where I am at all times.

That is just a starting point for me. I think the more that I think about this project, the more likely I am in coming up with something a little more unique and a little more creative. With each of my projects I have wanted to do something political, but I think I want to stray away from that now that the election is over. Maybe something a little more personal regarding the way I live my life.

Questions

Are there any resources online that I could use that could take my GPS data and formulate it in to something more user friendly?

Thoughts on Blogging

I think that blogging has evolved drastically in many ways over the last couple of years. I began my first blog when I was 17, almost 5 years ago. For me it was a way to log what I was writing and never having to worry about losing it. I would just write anything usually. How my day went. What I was thinking at the time. Things that got on my nerves. Anything really. Now, I have my own website and blog that has a bit of a following. I use my blog not just to talk about what I am thinking but to use as a medium to promote things that I believe in. When people started responding and commenting on the things I was writing, I started to realize that this blog and website wasn't just for my own good: people were actually checking it on a daily basis. Once I realized my audience, I knew I could use it as a tool to spread ideals and opinions that I hoped others would share with me. Specifically I was a firm advocate of Barack Obama in the last year or so. I would use my website to support his campaign in any way that I could. Would Barack Obama have been elected had I not supported him through my blog/website? I guess we'll never know.

I think blogs have a very powerful command over people. Just today I was reading online (probably a blog) that the gossip website PerezHilton.com was rated the most viewed blog in the world by people. His website, for what it is worth, influences media and marketing in many ways. This website generates nearly 10,000,000 hits per month. When Perez Hilton posts a blog about an artist no one has heard of, it is obvious to see the direct impact when the artist's sales dramatically increase. People look to these types of blogs to stay current and know what's new.

Thoughts on Project 5

I really have no clue what I am going to do for my fifth project. I know that I want to gather information from every day life. I have always been fascinated by sociology and the way people think, as expressed in my fourth project. I think displaying what a mass amount of people are thinking is so interesting.

With my fourth project, I used peoples' facebook statuses to showcase a collective thought on the election. This election was very personal for many. People seem interested in showcasing their emotions via Facebook statuses, which I think is very unique and interesting.

I was thinking about Photoshopping some ridiculous picture of me doing something, or being somewhere, or something extremely controversial and posting it on Facebook. I would then tag everyone I know in the picture just to see what kind of responses I get. Usually something religious gets a lot of feedback. Maybe I will make some radical religious assertion (like, oh I don't know: Barack Obama is a Muslim) and see how people react to it.

I think about how I am going to work with this fifth project a lot because I want to do something unique, so hopefully something will come to me.

Project 4 - Nobody Knows Me

After much input from various people and an extensive editing process, my project 4 can be found by clicking here. It's very important to click "watch the video in high quality" just below the project display screen.

I was going to just embed this video to my blog but I can not embed the high quality version of it for some reason.

Meta Text

I knew from the first time that I read the syllabus for this project that I would end up doing this fourth project based on something political. This election season has been filled to the brim with all kinds of scandalous, radical and ridiculous assertions from all over the political spectrum. For some reason the American people had become enthralled with voicing their own opinions on the subject--in a way that I don't think has ever happened.

Leading up the Presidential election, I didn't think that there were a lot of strong opinions towards the Presidential candidates. Everyone had a couple of things that their candidate stood for, to give as examples if he or she were ever in an argument. But, there wasn't an onslaught of emotional reactions.

Finally, the hours after the election, I was watching as my Facebook newsfeed was flooded with varying degrees of emotional reactions from my friends. Most of them seemed elated about Barack Obama winning, but there were some rather ignorant ones that caught my eye. It was these statuses that really sparked the lightbulb in my head for this fourth project.

For this project, I wanted to showcase the range of emotions that my friends on Facebook were experiencing minutes after the election was called. I think it is so interesting that I am able to understand how people are feeling via a social networking site. So many people use this website as a medium for expressing themselves, and I couldn't think of a better way to portray my friends' feelings.

I struggled a bit coming up with a song that would fit as an anthem for this project. The project actually began with the idea of focusing only on the statuses that were disappointed with the results of the election. As I started taking the screen shots I realized there were a lot of very powerful, positive messages that I felt should be displayed as well. I came to realize that a lot of people seem to think they know Barack Obama and John McCain personally. Asserting that Obama is a Mulsim (which he is not) and that our country is going to fall apart (it already has) as well as McCain is going to die soon, so why choose him, were all statuses that portrayed the unrealistic impression that my friends actually know these candidates personally.

The song I settled on was a song by Madonna called, "Nobody Knows Me." Click here for the unofficial lyrics. This song was on one of the only Madonna albums that I liked, "American Life." This album was basically centered around the ideals and culture of America. The song really seems to vocalize what I feel Barack Obama or John McCain would be thinking if he actually met any of my friends and their assertions of either candidate. The reality is, none of my friends actually know either of them, yet they believe that they truly do.

I used a few different methods to create this project. First, I took screen shots using my Mac, of each Facebook status that I thought was significant or powerful in one way or another. I took about 40 screen shots, and after reading through and editing, settled on the ones that fit the overall idea of what my friends were feeling at the time. I then used Photoshop to blur out each person's name and photo. I did this to create anonymity amongst my friends and so that they weren't offended by my using their information for a public video. I then imported every edited screen shot in to Final Cut Express and created a cross-fade effect for each. After I created the image rotations, I imported the song, "Nobody Knows Me." The final image I used asserts that America is "doomed." I thought this was ironic considering America is in the worst shape that it has ever been. I decided to do a zoom in on the word "doomed" to show some of the irony that I was trying to portray throughout the piece. Also, it adds a bit of drama to the otherwise steady movie. I exported the video in YouTube's preferred codec, H.264, but as with other videos I have tried to do for this class, was unsuccessful in the finished file. It seemed to skip just like the others. I finally tinkered with the export codec and found settings that were perfect for the YouTube upload. I suggest watching the video in high quality (an option on the actual page) to get the best viewing exprience for this video.

More Thoughts of Project 4

As mentioned in the posting, I think that this project is going really well so far. I think the material of the project is awesome but it's a matter of getting the video quality to a point that will work on YouTube. I know that YouTube uses H.264 codec, but when I export my video using this codec it makes my video skip and lose frames: the same thing that happened in my Obama video for project 3.

I just bought Final Cut Express and have been using it to edit my video but it is pretty advanced. I am still getting used to the interface but will hopefully know enough by the due date to export it in the highest quality video for YouTube.

Also, I've Googled "Best quality video export for YouTube" and have had some various results. Some of them work really well, but are too small while others want the video to be exported using H.264 which seems to always make my video skip.

Anyway, I am rambling. I think my project will turn out the way I wanted and I am very excited to see what people think about it.

Project 4 Draft

So here is the link to my draft of a video I made. Basically, I was amazed by the racist, ignorant, and frankly absurd Facebook statuses that were popping up after the election last week. I was stunned by how many of my friends were racist or just severely out of touch with reality. What I did was take a screen shot of every Facebook status that I thought was interesting, whether it be inspirational, racist, ignorant, or satisfied.

I wasn't sure what music to set the screenshots to, however. A friend of mine suggested this song called "Nobody Knows Me" by Madonna. Not a huge Madonna fan but the lyrics of the song sort of fit with the tone of some of the statuses that you'll read.

For the best results, click the link, and make sure you click "watch in high quality" just under the right hand corner of the video. I have to find a good codec to export my video in to so that it can upload to YouTube in good quality as a default. That is being prepared for the final draft. I understand that some of them are hard to read, so I will be adjusting that in the final draft.

Click here for the video -- don't forget to watch in high quality.

Thoughts on Project 4

As of right now I am not 100% sure where I want my focus to be. I made a list for last class but I don't really know how to incorporate these things in to any sort of educational project for this class. After reading over some other peoples' lists in class I had some good ideas. I really liked Vanessa and Megan's ideas.

Megan's idea was to categorize people and collect data based on the type of clothing that other people are wearing...and the type of brand names that they wear. This has always been something I thought was interesting from middle school on. The way people form cliques in middle school based on what type of clothes you wear was fascinating to me as a middle school student.

Vanessa's list was a list of books on her second shelf. I liked how random it was, and am interested in seeing where she takes it. I thought about doing a list similar to this, but not exactly like it. Maybe a list of DVD's on my third shelf? What we understand as entertainment would be an interesting way.

UPDATE

As we talked more I thought that using my original idea of the hateful voicemails that I receive from my friends when I am not available would be a good idea. I wasn't sure how to use it but I think showcasing the severe anxiety that my friends have when they feel out of contact with me is hilarious. I even thought about taking next week and literally not even answering my cell phone. Only communicating with people via writing on a piece of paper or texting/instant messaging. I think the core of this project would really be the fact that no one would know what's going on. Knowing my friends they would be in absolute hysteria.

If anything not answering my phone for a week would be a weight off of my shoulders. Cell phones are definitely necessary these days but there are some days where I really just wish no one would call me or that I didn't have to have a phone. I like the idea of being out of touch every once in a while.

Once I weigh my options and make sure there are no severe ramifications to doing such a thing, I will start next week by either not answering my phone once, or simply not talking to anyone and just texting or instant messaging.

My List

Things I Hate:
Annoying voice mails
hateful e-mails
Bad WiFi connections
Windows XP
Windows Vista
Dell or Gateway Computers
Ignorant Adults
McCain
Morgantown when it's cold

Things I Love:
Nice voice mails
Nice e-mails
T1 Connections
Mac OS X
My MacBook Pro
Kids
Obama
Traveling
Sunny weather
Italy


Not sure how I am going to incorporate these elemetns in to a project. Maybe using music to the text to portray the feelings I have. Things I love: positive major chords; Things I hate: negative minor chords. I am still developing my idea right now.

Project 4 Thoughts

The first thing that I thought of when I read this prompt to list things that you hate would be to collect all of the voice mails that I have received from people who are pissed off that they couldn't get through to me. This is mainly my close friends who think that I am just sleeping at the wrong times or intentionally ignoring them for some reason or another. I have saved 5 or 6 different voice mails with the intention of making some sort of video to showcase the type of harassment that I get when I don't answer my own phone. I am going to test and instigate some people to leave me these kind of voice mails without telling them what I want to do. Hopefully, I will come up with some great material for this project.

Project 3 - Paradoxical Texts

Amy Winehouse - Rehab by God

They tried to make thess swear by the mend It's not just think I'm fine He's tried to make thess swear by the mend It's just need a shot glass They tried to rehab but I ain't got seventy days Cause there's nothing There's nothing There's nothing you think you, it was very good. But if my son, yeah baby so I ain't got no, I'm gonna spend ten weeks have done basely. Thou shalt not gonna, no other gods before Israel. Thou shalt have hardened his man-servant, and this me go, and die. Thou shalt have everyone think you think I'm fine He's tried to make me go, my son of his servants. Thou shalt not take the God of blood according to make thess swear by the avenger of Judah have dried They tried to my people, no other gods before me. Thou shalt not just til these tears have dried They tried to my baby, I won't go, no, flee thou after my daddy thinks I'm gonna lose my bone and the mend It's just need a pomegranate split open, nor his heart, and if the mend It's just ooh I my brother unto him guiltless. Why should this me. Arise, nor his maid-servant. Now therefore thy temples are like a friend I'm gonna, I come back you'll know I can't learn from Mr Hathaway I just my daddy thinks I'm gonna, and the earth, thy womb, clothed in a wife for the God in the border of the LORD came mightily upon him, my son of Egypt; am I delivered thee, this dead dog curse my pride It's not gonna spend ten weeks have done so I delivered thee? The men of heaven! And the time go to these tears have hardened his clothes, no Yes I've been black but when I ain't got seventy days Cause there's nothing you, no other gods before Israel.

The Preamble by Dr. Seuss

We the People of the light of peppermint cucumber sausage-paste butter! And cheese! Now look! And when tweetle beetle puddle paddle battle in a shame! I bet. Take a more perfect Union, sir. Do you chew, funny things are everywhere. Say! It is no good.. Oh dear! Oh dear! It is fun to wink and secure the common defence, in Order to ourselves and that Goo-Goose, promote the wondrous-smelling stacks!

Kanye West - Big Brother by Miss Manners

My big brother Who was not require you feel why it Carleen told somebody you full permission to believe that you should of perfume, a steep hole And I'm at a perfectly polite exchange this shit...... Ya know I get my mentor Now let him another chance pass by other demands. Ya know the mall Coping iceberg and in my mind he could change your life With all these beats I had them hoes at a flow it entirely possible that diamond remix I felt was not injured. Ya know I wanna know the kiss, only proper mealtime activity is why it entirely possible that your hands Fresh off to topics of the hard knock life tour Sell out Party at bay, should give him hear it a mouth with food in it would yell out or pretend to develop passionate attachments by revealing a chance to spit it Carleen told you feel why don't you may cause. Yet Miss Manners is why it a bottle of known. Miss Manners trusts that you feel why I inspired me that diamond remix I could smell um People never known. Ya know the rule. Ya know is why don't want your friends back a free throw I guess beanies style was that diamond remix I could have been a mouth with food in my mentor And them hoes at your friends back room He would bob his head and forget bearing grudges. Miss Manners prefers to be immodest to be nice. Ya know he help me out Party at your heart? So this shit...... Ya know the lady that was momentarily distracted by Back in my mind I'm off to endure it Carleen told somebody else that's where the tendency to be nice. Ya know the city,Rockafella chain Never be nice. Ya know the tendency to develop passionate attachments by the top and go I was thinking a few words from your wedding.

Metatext

My vision for this project didn't seem to come about until the last class when we workshopped some other pieces. I was still a bit lost with what I wanted to do but after talking about the Rihanna lyrics I posted by the word of God with other members of the class, I got a clear understanding on what I wanted to do. I looked at the Shannonizer options to see what were potential algorithmic translations. Three stuck out to me. God, Dr. Seuss, and Miss Manners. I wanted to take those three characterizations and find a text that would basically be the complete opposite of each. I also wanted to incorporate music lyrics in to it somehow, because to me, music lyrics can be very powerful.


Beginning with God, I thought of one of my top 5 favorite artists of all time: Amy Winehouse. This poor girl has the talent to become a legend in the history of music, but becuase of an unfortunate and public addiction to drugs, we as fans just have to sit back and pray that she survives another day. I have always been a fan of Amy's song "Rehab," and decided to Shannonize it by the word of God in an attempt to showcase the paradoxical elements of Amy Winehouse and God. I think it worked really well.

The second text that I used was the Preamble to the United States Constitution. This election season has really hit home for me. Though I voted in 2004, I was still a bit young, and wasn't as interested in the issues surrounding my future. This election season has been cartoonish and at times childish. I thought that Shannonizing the Preamble to the Constitution with Dr. Seuss would showcase the paradoxical value of the fact that this is our Constitution, yet at times we look at the politics of our country as means of humor or entertainment. Again, I think this turned out exactly how I had hoped.

The last text that I used were the lyrics of Kanye West's song "Big Brother." I like Kanye West's music, but don't really care too much for him as a person. There was a recent video that surfaced online and eventually on the news of him grabbing a paparazzo's camera and slamming it to the ground thus shattering it in to a million pieces. In the words of Stephanie Tanner from Full House, "How rude!" I couldn't think of a more rude, egotistical person to put in to the Shannonizer with the Miss Manners setting than Kanye West. His most arrogant song, "Big Brother" focuses on how he rose to fame and how "Big brother saw me at the bottom of the totem, Now I'm at the top and everybody on the scrotum." Hilariously arrogant and pompous, I think some of the Kanye West's lyrics from Miss Manners worked out great for this particular project.

The Preamble by Dr. Seuss

I am still thinking about what I want to write but here is another idea that came to mind: using Dr. Seuss to explain the preamble of the U.S. Constitution!

We the People of the light of peppermint cucumber sausage-paste butter! And cheese! Now look! And when tweetle beetle puddle paddle battle in a shame! I bet. Take a more perfect Union, sir. Do you chew, funny things are everywhere. Say! It is no good.. Oh dear! Oh dear! It is fun to wink and secure the common defence, in Order to ourselves and that Goo-Goose, promote the wondrous-smelling stacks!

As usual I have workshopped with a few people in the class and have come up with some interesting ideas. I think by this project I need to be striving for something a bit more complex than copy, paste, click button. I am considering using some of the text in to a video in a way that we used text in the last project. I seem to thrive and feel most comfortable with video editing.

Google Sonnet - sandy baldwin

And just for fun:


Sandy Baldwin is a teacher, critic, and
Plant has been in operation - Since
- This workshop will take place
Lloyd Ward that she would resign, and

Clerk Deputy. 6 Pages. Kandy. Please find
Harvey, GRI. Sandy Real Estate Office
and the Attorney General’s Office
Fraud. The Utah Division of Securities and

2,540,000 for . ( 0.16 seconds) Tip: Save
is the world's largest business
Results 1 - 10 of about 2,540,000 for .

, 62, had told USOC Chief Executive
Baldwin, James H. Justus LSU Press
from 1984-86, has been named Chef

Google Sonnet - john thrasher

I clicked the Google collage page off of the syllabus, and saw that another option would be to create a Google sonnet. Because I have a sonnet published in a literary review, I was hoping that it would create a sonnet of my sonnet.

That didn't happen, but here is the result when I typed in my name.

anybody know anything about what might
of Atlanta, and a well-travelled
the war, in 2006 John Thrasher proposed
anybody know anything about what might

anybody know anything about what might
- Someone posted
(Talk contribs). (Auto-created
about the million things that go right

effort to convince voters to revoke their
Tip: Save time by hitting the return
key instead of clicking on "search" Search

- Another shot back at 217 were Alisdair
Thrasher .html - John
- - - -john thrasher - Google Search

Rihanna - Umbrella: Shannonized

So I thought that taking lyrics of a popular song and Shannonzing it using the tool that was shown in class known as "The Shannonizer" would be a clever way to do this algorithmic text.

Who could forget the extremely popular song "Umbrella" by Rihanna. It was very famous during the summer of 2007 and even won some Grammys I believe.

I decided to take the following excerpt and Shannonize it under the word of God.

Here are the original lyrics of the song that I used:

When there's sunshine, we'll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be a friend
Took an oath I'ma stick it out till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we'll still have each other
You can stand under my umbrella

Here is what Shannonizer created by the word of God:

"When there's sunshine. Now that it's raining more than ever Know that is thy feet, we'll shine together Told you I'll be here forever Said I'll be put to these ordinances; then the manslayer shall surely be a pomegranate split open, and the land which ye inhabit, we'll still have each other gods before Israel."

I was going to use a rap because it would seem very polarized compared to the word of God, but couldn't find one that worked very well.

More Thoughts on Project 2

I feel very confident about my second project thus far. I think that I have a great idea and it seems to be coming together very nicely. I have created a slide show of images of Barack Obama, along with text and video clips that partially tell the story of his rise to the acceptance of the Democratic Presidential Nominee. I have the entire video set to the song, "I Know Where I've Been" from the movie Hairspray, which is about discrimination and a time when people were supressed because of their race during the 1960's Civil Rights movement.

What's working in the project: Everything is put right where it needs to be. I have every image, piece of text, and video clip where I think it belongs. It has taken a lot of editing but I think I am coming in on a final draft here this week.

What's not working in the project: The one major problem with this video is that once it is uploaded to YouTube the audio is adjusted in the layer somehow and the audio is actually about 3 - 5 seconds ahead of the video frames. I don't know why this is happening because the video file itself does not do this when it is played on my computer or others' computers. It's extremely frustrating, and I have spent the last 2 weeks trying to find a solution and I can not come up with anything. I used iMovie '06 to compose this project, so if that helps anyone with suggesting a solution, it would be greatly appreciated.

What I like best about it: The thing I like best about my video is that I think it will inspire some people to vote. It sort of showcases Barack Obama's unlikelihood of becoming such a historical black figure in American society. The video is one of my favorites!

Project 2 Thoughts

I have collected a series of images of Barack Obama from Google Images that I think are significant. I've only done this because I think his story is fascinating and refreshing. I think I will create a collage of pictures in a time line starting with pictures from his childhood all the way up through his acceptance speech at this year's Democratic National Convention.

I have started on Project 2 by creating a rough cut of this slideshow/video. However, once the file is uploaded to YouTube the audio is delayed by 3 to 5 seconds from the images and video, which is very frustrating. I am working on trying to solve this problem. The problem is not present in the actual file...only when it's uploaded to YouTube. If you are reading this and know of a way around this or a known bug with YouTube, please let me know!

In this song, Queen Latifah or "Motormouth Maybelle," sings about the struggles of African Americans in the 60's. It as a very dramatic climax to which I will parallel with video clips of Obama announcing his acceptance for President of the United States of America.

In this project, I will use a number of elements. Images, video, sound effects, video transitions, and text to tell the story of Barack Obama coming from an African American, one parent home, to the possible President of the United States of America. It is truly inspiring.

I used iMovie to create this collage. I think that this is the easiest, most user-friendly way of creating these types of projects. You literally just drag and drop the images in to the program and cue them up with whatever music or effects you want to add. Using a Mac is perfect for this type of class because it comes with very powerful, user-friendly applications.

Link to Project 2

Click here to go to my Project 2 blog! :)

Project 1 Final Post - Veni, Vidi, Vici

I was really excited about this project when I was reading about it on the syllabus. I love using Photoshop, and I love that I am able to have fun with a program and it be worth something in a classroom. Although I have learned everything I know about Photoshop on my own, I still enjoy these types of classes because I get to experiment with other programs and diversify my understanding of different software.

As soon as I read the idea for Project 1, my immediate reaction was to create an image regarding my recent trip to Italy. I’m not sure why but the idea of Italy popped in to my head instantly. This summer I traveled to Rome, Italy to teach English at a summer camp for kids. It was a very exciting, life-changing trip. I did this same thing 2 years ago, with a different program, in Milan, Italy, but I have to say my trip to Rome was very different and a lot more enjoyable. While there, I learned so much about Roman culture—a culture that I already admired in so many ways. During my trip, we would prance around the streets of Rome in the evenings taking breathtaking, gorgeous pictures of the scenery. For this project, I used a picture that my colleague took one evening while visiting the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuelle II. Layered against the severe orange, and red sunset, the silhouette of the godess Victoria riding on quadrigas symbolizes the famous words by Julius Caesar, “Veni, vidi, vici.” “I came, I saw, I conquered,” matched against the orange and red (symbolizing blood, and passion—both of which are appropriate for these famous words) make this particular photo historically significant.

To me, though there are only three words being used in this multimedia project, they are some of the most influential words in history. These words are partially applicable to my journey to Rome. Nervous, excited, and determined to do well at my job, I came to Rome, I saw Rome and all it’s beauty, and was able to conquer Rome in the sense that I was able to live there for a month without any problems. I now feel like I could live a happy, worry-free life in Rome, knowing my way around and understanding the culture and its beauty. Though “Veni vidi vici” does not apply to me in a political sense in the way it was originated, it does apply to me in a challenging, academic, and life-changing experience sort of way.




*It is important to click this image for the full quality file as the image has been reduced to fit on to this blog.

To access the meta text file via Google Docs click here.

More Thoughts On Project 1

I think that my post during class yesterday qualified as the required post but if not, I suppose I can elaborate a bit here.

I want to use a poem for my project, I realized after class yesterday. Originally, I wanted to use the text, "Veni, vidi, vici"--words made famous my Caeser when he conquered Rome. Being a big fan of Italy, and have lived there for 2 months, I have a certain affinity towards it.

The picture that I used below was a picture my friend Rafael took when we were in Rome together teaching English. I love the picture and it's severe orange colors, and I think that it stands out and captures attention no matter what.

I want to use embossed text to give the text a bit of a depth. I am familiar with Photoshop so I think that is what I will use to edit the actual text of the document. I look forward to developing, editing, and changing my document as more creative ideas come my way.

Veni. Vidi. Vici.

Thoughts on Project 1

I think that I have a firm understanding about what this project is about. At first I was somewhat confused because of certain terminology but after the last class I know what I wanted to do.

At first, I wanted to create a Flash file showcasing some of the travels that I was part of this summer. I wanted to have particular countries that I had visited outlined on a globe and use different animations and graphics to create and end-user experience that is just as visually stimulating as it is when you read about what I was doing, and where I was doing it.

But, I don't have much experience with Flash. Though I would absolutely love to do this at some point, I've realized that it's really not feasible to do everything that I want to do in time for the submission deadline.

I am still undecided about what I will use exactly, but because I am decent using Photoshop, I think I will use that as the program to construct this particular project. I know I want to base my projects around life experiences, and use that as sort of a running theme throughout the class, so whether it be about my travels or about other things in my life, Project 1 seems to be on its way.

One question (or comment) would just be to showcase different mediums and file formats in class to give us examples of what would be considered ideal for the first project.

On Karl Young

The Karl Young article was very interesting to me. I found all the different mediums, and notations to be very informative. It was fun to compare strategies in learning from back then to now. Below are some notations that stuck out to me.

1. Chinese calligraphy - I particularly enjoyed reading the idea of how the Chinese revered the beauty of the style of poetry just as much as the content of what has been reading. In current western culture, a lot of poetry reading focuses on content and the visual imagery that can be created in the head rather than what is actually written on the page. According to this article a dual art form was created in poetry written in calligraphy.

2. Chinese brushwork - The article outlines the skills that were used to be a successful calligrapher. Young asserts that holding a brush stroke on the page would assume that the calligrapher was unsure of himself, and unsure of what he was writing. The most beautiful calligraphy was made when the artist was either spontaneous and quick, or very prepared for the most detailed of symbols.

3. Chinese chanting and songs - Continuing with my fascination and appreciation for the Chinese art forms, the chanting of poems was very interesting to me. The Chinese found this as a way of stimulating minds, and soothing the souls. Not only was the singer vocally talented, but he was a skilled lutanest. People were encouraged to turn their poetry in to music in a culture where their vocation was based around variations in pitch and timbre. Further, in modern culture music and emotional affect is something that people of even the youngest ages find to be particularly significant.

The way we use the internet now is somewhat similar to the way the Chinese did in the year 810. We still use writing as a form of expression -- blogs for example. But long before there were blogs, people wrote in journals, newspapers were published, and music was written. We live in a world, and in a society where any person can find a computer, open an account on blogger.com, write something, and share what they are thinking to literally every single corner of the globe. Before the internet, even 20 years ago, this thought of INSTANT access was something people thought would never happen. How will technology develop next? As technology advances and new means of communication are presented, new opportunities for written work to be displayed will present themselves.

Being Online Autobiography

I grew up using a computer of some sort. My earliest memory was playing games on an original Apple II that my elementary school had. I loved Number Crunch and Oregon Trail -- two games that are now considered classics by most people my age. Get a conversation going about Oregon Trail and you are sure to reminisce on how your wagon had to ford a stream or how your ox got dysentery and can not go on. Good times.

When I was younger I would go to my grandparent's house on the weekends. I remember being in 4th grade and using America Online dial up (that took nearly 10 minutes to connect) to play games on the internet and chat with family members from California. It was fascinating to me that I could sit in front of a machine and talk in real time to someone across the continent. I think this is what started my love for technology and gadgets in general.

I definitely consider myself a digital native, and am usually the person people come to when it comes to figuring out an issue with technology or devices. I owned my first computer when I was 17. I bought an Acer laptop from a friend, and loved it. It eventually fried itself to irreplaceable, and I then converted to my Apple iBook in 2005. After dropping that laptop on the floor and ruining the hard drive, I upgraded to a MacBook Pro which is what I use now. Whether it be for school, music, video production for the English department or Writing Center, or as an alarm clock, my MacBook Pro is a huge part of my daily routine.

Some of my bookmarked websites that I go to daily are: Facebook, MIX, Twitter, Yahoo! Tennis, Macrumors, and MuggleNet.com. I also write a personal blog that I have had since 2004, when I was a senior in high school. I updated it often and use it as an outlet to post thoughts, random blurts, anecdotes, and just about anything that I find interesting. My blog, Giovanni's Room, is connected through this account, but can be found here: http://thrash5.blogspot.com One of my best friends is a senior staff editor for MuggleNet.com, the leading Harry Potter fan site on the internet, and hosts the very popular podcast that goes with it.

My web experience changed dramatically a year ago when I purchased an iPhone. Until the iPhone, I always used my laptop to use the internet, check e-mail, and chat with friends. This all was now available in my pocket at any time thanks to this device. Being able to check my e-mail, get up to the date information, and connect with people in real time was very exciting and just the type of technology that I crave. A year later, and I still can say that I am grateful for every dollar that I spent on it. It's truly a great investment.

Needless to say, this class is the type of class that showcases my interests. I anticipate doing well and learning a lot about what I already love.