What was your favorite project(s) during the semester? Please explain why.
My favorite project during the semester was the video one. In middle school and high school I loved to make little videos with my friends and taught myself how to use several different video editing programs. I feel like that prepared me for this project. It also helped that, I enjoy making videos, especially ones on topics I like. I also liked getting to learn about the adobe Premiere program because I had not used that video editing software before. It allowed me to learn something new, while also using my past experience.
What skills did you learn in the course that you believe you will use in the future?
I think the photoshop section will prepare me for the future because I am majoring in communications, and I want to help represent non-profit organizations, as a Public Relations Officer. Part of the job will most likely include having to design a logo that represents the companies image so by understanding photoshop well and illustrator, I will be able to create something worthy.
What coursework or career path do you see in your future? Did this class influence your decision-making in choosing a career path?
As mentioned before, I am majoring in comm, and hope to represent a non-profit organization. To be honest, the class made me second guess myself with making the right choice in majoring in Communications, but the more I did the work, the more I learned and felt confident that I could potentially work with internet media design in the future. 🙂
Is there any skill that you wished you would have learned in this course that you did not learn? If yes, what skill is that?
I wish I could have learned how to do excel. I know that isn’t exactly part of media, but it is an internet software that many of us will NEED to know in the professional world. I know slightly how to work with the program but I don’t know the more intricate uses of excel. It would have been interesting to learn.
Did you find any websites or resources not posted in the class material that were especially useful?
Nope. I found the tutorials to be extremely helpful! 🙂
I chose to do my video about my passions: Being a Cougar, Gamma Phi Beta, and people. I find passions to personally be something that is important to each individual person. What I love those, is when you have a passion it’s like the ink to your pen as you write your life story. I have a blog that I had before this one, and it was about passions. I think passions have the power to inspire, motivate and create special experiences. I Love being a Cougar at Washington State University because of the environment, and people. I feel like no matter what we all share at least one interest, being a WSU Coug! I’m also passionate about my sorority because it’s a once and a life time experience that not many other women get to have. When ever I can I take the opportunity to encourage other women to pledge a sorority too. Lastly, I am ultimately passionate about people. If it wasn’t for the people who make up WSU, Gamma Phi Beta and this world, life would be boring, I wouldn’t gain the same relationships and experiences.
When Making my video I wanted to make it more personal. My classmates mentioned how before I sounded scripted, and I agree. So this time I didn’t read off a script and I spoke from the heart. As a result of that, I think my narration sounded more natural and honest. I also decided to include a video clip that I didn’t have before, and delete a few others. In this video I added the scene of my feet walking on campus to give a different camera angle effect, and I deleted the picture slideshow I had had in my draft because I felt I could not get the pictures to be the same length and size and I figured if It did not look nice, I should not have it. Instead I included the few pictures I felt where the most important, my big and my littles. Another suggestion someone made was that I label when my passions change. I took this into account and added titles on each passion after the transition. I think this helps to clarify to my viewer which passion they are about to learn about. Overall, I am proud of my video, and I hope you enjoyed it. 🙂
COMM 210 Storyboard 1
Time Video/photos Audio
Song “Fingers Feeling Better”
by: SmilingCynic
0:00-0:18
Title effect: Iris cross
transition additive dissolve Title: “Everybody has a passion… and these are mine.”
PAN view of driving through Moscow, Idaho
Narration by Brittany Kurtz
Music volume decreases
“Every person has a passion. Some know what that passion is and others are still finding it. I think passion is what fuels our desires to accomplish our dreams and goals. Passion is like the ink to our pen as we write our life stories. Everybody has a story and this is mine”
0:18-0:50
Transition: cross-dissolve
Black and White effect Interview of self from camera “Im passionate about so many things, one of the things is being a cougar here at WSU and while being here I joined Gamma phi beta, and the biggest thing I’m passionate about is people.”
0:50-0:53 Transition: Swing in
0:53-1:00
1:00-1:08
“Being a Cougar Title”
PAN library
POV walking on Terrell mall
PAN Martin Stadium
Narration by Brittany Kurtz
“I’m passionate about being a Cougar because Everytime I step onto campus I’m automatically surrounded by people who share at least one interest and passion as me.”
1:08-1:12
1:12-1:19
1:19-1:23
Transition: Cross-Dissolve
1:23-1:30
Transition: Dip to White
1:30-1:44 Black and White
Transition: Cross-dissolve
Transition: Swing in
1:44-1:46
1:46-1:50
1:50-2:03
Transition: dip to white.
Title: “Being a Gamma Phi”
Zoom in on Gphi sign
Pictures of my big and me
Pictures of my little and me
POV walking into dining room
Title: “People”
Video of Marissa and I
Video of Family
Video of Village Narration by Brittany Kurtz
“I’m also passionate about Gamma Phi Beta. Being here, I’ve gotten a big who answers my questions and helps me, and then I’ve also gotten my own littles who I mentor and support. Being part of Gamma Phi Beta you automatically have 160 people there for you and people share meals with and do life with.”
Narration by Brittany Kurtz
“One of my main passions though, is people.”
“It is people who motivate me to get out of bed in the morning.”
“It is people who teach me about the many perspectives on the world.”
“and it is people who have, and continue to shape who I am”
2:03-2:11 Stilled picture of me.
Credits Volume increases then decreases completely at the end
Title: “Everybody has a passion… and these are mine.”
PAN view of driving through Moscow, Idaho
Narration by Brittany Kurtz
Music volume decreases
“Every person has a passion. Some know what that passion is and others are still finding it. I think passion is what fuels our desires to accomplish our dreams and goals. Passion is like the ink to our pen as we write our life stories. Everybody has a story and this is mine”
0:18-0:40
Transition: cross-dissolve
Interview of self from webcam
“I don’t think I really knew what I was passionate about until my first year at Washington State University. While I’ve been here I’ve grown a passion for being a Coug, representing my sorority, and a passion for people.”
0:40-1:12
POV walking on Terrell mall
PAN library and Martin Stadium
Narration by Brittany Kurtz
“Being a Coug is almost like a virus, it doesn’t take long before you find yourself ducted out in all Cougar gear and yelling GO COUGS at strangers. “
“Being a Cougar means getting to be a part of a school with faculty who cares and classmates who support you”
“I know I’m passionate about being a Cougar because I can’t help but want to tell everyone about WSU and how it’s helped me grow as a person”
1:13-1:17
1:17-1:19
1:19-1:28
Transition: Cross-Dissolve
1:28-1:30
Transition: Dip to White
0:00-0:00
1:30-1:40
Transition: dip to white
Zoom in on Gphi sign
POV Walking up the outside stairs
POV walking into dining room
POV walking up the inside stairs
Photos slideshow
Narration by Brittany Kurtz
“I’m also passionate about Gamma Phi Beta because nowhere else can I walk into a house and have such a big family.”
“At Gamma Phi we all sleep in the same room and share meals together”
“Being a part of Gamma Phi Beta, I have been able to create relationships with other women, make fun memories, and have an organization I can proudly call mine.”
1:40-1:54
1:54- 2:00
2:00-2:04
2:04-2:12
Video of village
Video of family
Video of Marissa and I
Photo slideshow
Narration by Brittany Kurtz
“One of my main passions though, is people.”
“It is people who motivate me to get out of bed in the morning.”
“It is people who teach me about the many perspectives on the world.”
“and it is people who have, and continue to shape who I am”
2:12-2:27
Stilled picture of me.
Credits
Volume increases then decreases completely at the end
This has been my favorite assignment in this class so far. When I was in middle school I used to make little videos with my friends and I spent hours teaching myself how to use a video editing program. Unfortunately, it was nothing like the Adobe Premiere Plus, so I came across a little more difficulty remembering how to use all the different tools. Before I started this project, I literally sat down and jotted down ideas of the different types of video I could make. Ultimately, I came to the decision to make my video about my passions because they are huge parts of my story. The first one I chose was my passion for Washington State University. The spirit, support, and community has made such an impact on me and now I love when I get the opportunity to brag about my school. My Second passion is Gamma Phi Beta. I have mentioned my sorority before on my blog, but that is because it has made such an impact on me. Everyday I am surrounded by at least 50 women and each one of them have taught me something. Lastly, my biggest passion is for people. I have a desire to interact with different types of people and create meaningful relationships with as many people as possible.
When making my video I knew I wanted the intro to be simple, so I decided to PAN the scenery out my car window while on my way to Moscow. To make sure I knew what I was saying during the narrative that I played during the PAN of the scenery, I wrote down my script. I feel like this was beneficial because I didn’t forget what I wanted to say, but I noticed it came off very “read” and not natural. When doing my interview part, I had to record in my telephone booth in my sorority, and the lighting was not very great. So, I think for the final video, I may try to record in a spot with more natural lighting and less echo. As for the rest of my video, I did a lot of POV because I felt that would be more natural and relate-able to my audience.
Overall, I like how my video turned out and will probably tweek it a little bit for the final.
I’m so sorry! This is late because I was really sick the week the raw video footage was due so I wasn’t able to get the video footage I wanted. I have a complete script and video idea already planned out, and these are some of the video clips I plan on using in my video.
In my final audio blog, I took what my peers had to say, and decided to narrow my story in on one main topic. So, for my final story, I chose to do it on Washington State University and why it is amazing. Making the choice to come to Washington State University has been one of the best decisions I have ever made, on a whim!! I had never even seen the college before applying so the first time I saw the campus was when I stepped foot on Pullman soil at my alive session. As mentioned by my friend Bri, Washington State University has such a friendly atmosphere, that no one can deny when they visit. WSU has become such a big part of my story and is helping to shape my future! When I graduate from college, I will have the privilege to look back at my memories and remember the spirit at the football games and the compassion shown to me by the professors. When making my final audio I knew I wanted to share about Washington State University, since it’s become a huge part of my story, but I also wanted to make it so that if a potential Coug was listening, they would get a little insight to the perks of WSU.
In my final audio clip, I chose to place a song called , ” full moon” in the background because I felt it was a soft tone that could easily fade to the background. In the introduction, I had the music fade in at full volume, then I faded it to the background of the audio. I was able to piece the interview audio from my three friends by using the razor tool and placing them into the proper sections. Overall, I think my final audio is a huge improvement from my draft. I was able to narrow in my focus of the story, share on a topic that means so much to me, and use the skills I learned from class to create my final product I wanted.
For my audio story I decided to do a self interview. I figured that was the best choice because my blog is about me and I know myself best. When recording my audio I had to re do it several times because I kept leaving out things I wanted to say or saying things I didn’t think were relevant. Eventually I came upon the audio clip I felt was the best suited to represent me and uploaded that one onto Adobe Audition. Once I did that I zoomed in on the audio to allow me to see the lines more clearly and be able to make cleaner cuts when I had to edit. After that I listened to the audio over and deleted all the “ums”, “likes” and quiet sections that needed to be removed, by usuing the razor tool. Then I listened over the audio again to make sure it sounded natural after removing parts of it. After I thought that it sounded good, I decided that the audio was missing an ending because it ended so abruptly. To fix this problem I recorded an ending that I felt wrapped up the audio nicely, and then uploaded it to the program. Then the next thing I did was combine it with the already edited audio and made sure it was cohesive.
To be honest, I find this unit to be more difficult because I am more creative using image, rather than sound, so being creative with this draft was challenging. I’ll be the first to admit this needs some improvements, such as music, so I plan on coming to class and getting help on how to properly spiff up my audio.
Brittany Kurtz 