Final Evaluation

Overall I'm fairly happy with my final project. I hit a few bumps along the way, but I feel I overcame them quite smoothly. One of the biggest obstacles I had to overcome was a shortage of footage. Unfortunately I did not film enough footage to accomplish the effect I wanted in timing the video to the music. And, of course, it didn't rain again after I came to this conclusion. So, after some careful reorganization of the clips and a second listen to the music, I finally found an order I liked. I think I accurately portrayed a fun day, despite the rain, which was my original goal. I was also really happy with the quality of the shots I took. Along with being better quality (because I used a better camera), I was happy with the composition.

Good Day for a Duck

Shot List

A majority of the shots will be decided on the day(s) of filming, but a few key shots I would definitely like to include are:

• Girl in rainboots splashing in a puddle
• Girl twirling umbrella
• Girl walking down steps
• Girl dancing in the rain
• Water droplets on various surfaces
• Water drops on a puddle

Final Proposal

I have a decent amount of experience with FinalCut and am very confident in my skills. However, all of the projects I have done before were strictly narrative. For my final, I hope to attempt something a little out of my comfort zone. I plan on collecting a variety of shots, many of which I will decide upon spur of the moment, camera in hand, and then setting them stylistically to music. Weather permitting, all of the shots will be taken outdoors on a rainy day, providing for interesting close ups of the water drops on different surfaces. As of right now, I am unsure of what music I will be using and that decision will be made after I have seen all the shots I collected.

Editing with FinalCut

In this assignment, we were to use the 10 shots we did earlier and edit them together using FinalCut. This is what I came out with. It's a very rough cut, and the video is only 20s long (although the song continues on).

10 Shots

Here are still images from the 10 shots I compiled. Some shots included a pan, a zoom, or a focus pull.

(rack focus between foreground and background)

Abstract Photos

Midterm - Portfolio Pieces 5 & 6

(original)

(originals 1, 2)

For these images, the goal was to have a real-life image in a setting that feels like it's animated/illustrated. The photos were first color corrected to make them more vibrant. Then, the poster edges filter was applied to the background of each photograph and the blur tool was used to soften the difference between the subjects and the background. In the wintry scene, the background behind the feet and log was a completely different photograph, duplicated, to provide more interesting detail.

Midterm - Portfolio Pieces 3 & 4

(originals 1, 2, 3, 4)

(originals 1, 2, 3)

For these pieces, I mainly used the poster edges filter for the backgrounds (the sea and the leaves). For the leaves, some color correction (contrast) was also done to enhance the colors). The man, octopus, and owl were created in separate documents first, where pictures of them were selected then painted over black to form the silhouette feel (same process was done to the tree trunk on the original tree image). Then they were brought in and placed appropriately on the picture. Lastly, the magnetic letters were brought in (after being altered with the xerox filter). For the tree words, the letters were rotated and skewed to get the effect of going up the tree.

Midterm - Portfolio Pieces 1 & 2

(original)

(original)

For these pieces, I wanted to use a realistic background with hand-drawn characters and details. To begin, I color corrected the photographs, mostly adjusting brightness and contrast. Then, I drew the submarine, fish, and seaweed (each on different layers) flat. After the drawing was finished, I used the skew and rotate adjustments to make them appear to float above the books and give them depth (to an extent). Finally, I used to the burn tool to add shadows.

Midterm Proposal (Revised)

Still staying along the lines of children's animation/illustration, in my portfolio I now plan to explore several different styles of animation, mixing illustration and real-life photography.

Narrative - Mini Mel

Midterm Proposal

For my midterm, I propose to make a series of 6 images based on a sentence formed out of magnetic words (such as in this post). The primary audience of this portfolio will be children ages 5 to 10. The sentences will have a whimsical, slightly nonsensical meaning, as if taken straight out of a children's book. All components of the images created will be taken by myself. The final pieces should be fantastical and full of imagination, as if they were taken straight from a story book or even a frame from a children's show or film. Overall the portfolio should be fun and entertaining and aimed toward children.

Composite 3 - The Window

Photo Correction 2 - Fish

edited.

original.

Photo Correction 1 - Camp Counselors

edited.

original.

Composition 2 - Man & Tendril

Composition 1 - Card Flourishing

Composite 2 - Filters

Photo Composite 1 - Abstract

1 Hour Drawing - Self Portrait

30 Minute Drawing - Landscape

15 Minute Drawing - Free Draw

About Me

I'm a senior Communication Studies (Radio/TV/Film) major at TCNJ and my socks never match. In my free time I like to sing and make movies, and I'm learning to play piano. My favorite place in the world is my grandmother's lake house in Maine and if I could visit any country, I'd choose Finland. On campus, I'm the President of Lions Television (LTV), a DJ for WTSR, and a member of the Treblemakers (all-female a capella). When I graduate, I hope to work in Children's Television or go on to earn a degree in Education.