Introduction
In this project-through haikus, music, art, video editing, and photography- I was challenged to develop a variety of skills using modern professional software. The main idea of this specific project was to use unconventional forms to express a thought or feeling. Starting in Digital Media, I created this personal website and learned various Adobe applications such as After Effects, Premiere Pro, and Audition. The monthly Photo Blog assignments prompt new avenues in which I can use photography to the fullest extent alongside video editing software where I’m able to creatively express various ideas. In English, I was able to expand several aspects, pushing myself to become a more well-rounded reader and writer by analyzing texts and making some of my own. I have been able to cultivate countless valuable skills that will serve me in the future (and now). Every assignment or mini-project has taught me a lesson in one way or another.
Haiku
English + Digital Media
For this Project, we were supplied a prompt in English that we must then form a haiku out of. We learned about the specific structure and order that haiku’s must have. In Digital Media, we explored the basics of Premiere Pro. Creating keyframes, syncing audio, animating text, uploading media, and audio editing were some of skills that we learned. My prompt was “exploring the feeling of anxiety in the form of teaching.”
This whole experience was extremely valuable in growing video editing skills. More specifically, it taught me to work through challenges and find creative ways to express feeling. Using only text, imagery, and animation, we had to convey emotion that leaves an impact on the viewer.
Why Art? Essay
English
With the borderline scary technical advancements like AI, we were asked to think about the value of art and how it fits it into a world where machines can automate the process. What defines art? Why should we preserve artists and their works? During class we read about and discussed these exact questions which cultivated diverse opinions on the usage of AI (or any non-human tool) to create art. Was robot scribbles art? To what extent does technology like digital drawing programs constitute art from human versus machine? From reading several sources surrounding this issue, I began to see art and creativity in a different light. In my opinion, art’s value lies in the human behind it. Each brushstroke, shade, and material carries intent that foster discussion that has the potential to advance society as a whole.
PDF?MP#/goals of presentation
Looking back, one of the things I value most about English was the collaborative element that cultivates forming strong opinions and being open to discuss topics in constructive, educational ways. In this assignment especially, we had full creative freedom to craft our arguments using artists of the past to argue our stances. It forced us to have a strong grasp on art and it’s significant societal impact.
Photoshop Blend Modes
Digital Media
Everyone knows about Photoshop but you don’t know Photoshop until your screen is filled by a grey mass of symbols and screens. With this assignment, blend modes were the sole focus because the interface is hard enough to work. Before this, we had dabbled with using Photoshop to add text, crop images, create pngs, and compile aspects of photos. In Design, we had only used adjustment layers, paths, and filters to create an edited image. Blend modes were similar to adjustment modes in the way that you can edit the lightness/darkness of an image. Using several tools, we overlaid images to create one, corrected blown out images and lightened underexposed ones.
insert 10 images
Something I valued about this experience was the myriad of uses and possibilities that learning about blend modes provided. I think that being able to properly edit to enhance the qualities you wanted to capture is and incredibly useful tool. I can say that I have used these skills already to help friends edit 2 images together, fix colors, people, blemishes, and other general issues.
Design
REQUIRED: Write a short introduction to the assignments in Design. Include a short reflection on your experience in Design so far. What do you value about being a Design student?
Design is by far the most interesting elective that amplifies my creative capabilities and comprehension of visual literacy through Photoshop and Illustrator. My experience has been one of adaptation. creativity, and quick thinking. The coursework and various projects kept me on my toes. One day we learn Photoshop and in the same breath we use those skills to curate, edit, and format a whole collage. Sometimes it feels as though Photoshop and Illustrator workspaces are burned into my retinas. From the sheer amount of saved projects in my Design folder, I’d say that there’s more than enough content in there to get me through most challenges i’ll encounter with curation and photo editing. However, there’s always an inevitable “How am I supposed to do this” that brings out my favorite aspect of Design: collaboration. In the classroom, everyone is there to help.
Black and White Name Photography
For the B&W Name photo, we were given the task of exploring different environments and look for objects that, untouched, are representative of letters. In this assignment alone, we honed our photography skills as we were required to shoot in manual, adjusting for factors like light to come out with a single good photo. From what I remember, these 4 “letters” were the best out of around 75 total images. From there, we then used Photoshop to convert the raw photo to black and white before applying adjustment layers to increase contrast.
Conceptual Photo
The Conceptual Photo was the primary assignment in Design for the Conceptual Project. From the same English statement used for our Haikus, we brainstormed and critiqued ideas for how to best represent it with only two objects.