Stuff that Might be Interesting... (Or Not)

Joseph Lunine's blog for the IHS Digital Media class. #WRED

[lunineihs]

What could we have done? - QOTW (6/2-6/14)

I would have liked to do a piece on Ithaca itself, like tourism spots for visitors to the city: nice places to go, cool things to see. I also regretted doing only one movie review, since that would've been cool to continue. The same goes for Clubbing at IHS: it would have been nice to see more clubs and do a piece on them.

I kind of wish a fiction piece had been assigned, because I like writing fiction. But I know it would have been hard to accomplish, getting actors to be in it and all the set-up.

Next year, I think there should be a defined overview (a couple of weeks, maybe) of how to work with Premiere and After Effects. I think that would have helped my earlier videos quite a bit, especially having After Effects to do cool video effects.

[lunineihs]

Final Project Planning - QOTW (5/19-23/14)

A) I haven't been working much on the project yet, since I was consumed with a gov research paper last week, and a chem project as well that's due this Wednesday. I did contact the Library Club advisor today, as you can see in the attached image. I have a pretty good idea of what I will do in terms of filming, getting video of the club working, as well as some interviews with the president and members.

B) I don't really have a question about the end of the year.

[lunineihs]

Plotting out 10 shots for a silent segment - QOTW (4/28-5/2)

1) First-person view of student rising out of bed (go-pro); black screen to seeing the ceiling, to a view of rolling of out bed.

2) Shot from downstairs that follows the student from their room to the bathroom, and from there downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast.

3) Shot from on the bus that arrives to pick up the student, with a view of the student coming out of the house, changing to a view from the student's perspective seeing the bus arrive, and him/her getting on the bus.

4) Move forward from the front of the bus, looking at all the rest of the kids on the bus, then focusing on the subject student, who is sitting quietly and looking out the window.

5) Top-down view (helicopter?) of the bus leaving the house and driving to the school, and the student getting out and walking into the school, changing to a view directly behind the student walking to his/her first class.

6) Pan in a circle from the middle of a classroom that shows all the students and finally the teacher; you hear the teacher discussing something in the background as you pan, and finally see what's being put on the board. Zoom in on student, who's watching the teacher intently.

7) Cafeteria line; camera drives out from the kitchen and you see the students in line, talking with each other, and the subject student talking with someone about the previous class they just had. Pan following the student picking food and paying, walking out, choosing a seat with companion.

8) Last class of the day, show the class, students glancing at the clock which is close to the time when school will end. Bell rings, follow behind subject student who is jostled by people exiting the class and streaming into the halls. Student gets on bus, top-down of bus going along same route and back to student's home.

9) Student gets out; show shot from upstairs of student coming into the house, pan of student going upstairs; follow into room, where student gets out homework, starts working; finishes, dinner, sleep.

10) Same shots and scenes as the previous day to represent how each day is so similar and that they usually blend together.

[lunineihs]

Thoughts about Ithaca - QOTW (4/21-25/14)

I am relatively new to Ithaca, having arrived here in 10th grade of high school (not the best time to transition to a new school). It definitely is a very different town from where I grew up, in southern Arizona, in terms of both geography and ideologies. I am still not entirely accustomed to the culture here, but I enjoy it more than the culture of fear of immigrants and drug lords that prevails in the southwest. For college, I didn't want to stay, but that's mostly due to a desire to move around and see a new place instead of staying here for another 4 years.

[lunineihs]

Improvements & On-Air Presenting - QOTW (4/7-11/14)

A) I made the Buckeye Overview piece more visual than other pieces, with lots of video and pictures as B-roll. I don't think I've changed very much in terms of presentation, but would be willing to in the future if it would make the pieces better.

B) It would be interesting to do a short segment where an outside person is brought in (other than Dr. Brown) to talk about college and what comes next. Someone in the College & Career office, or an admissions officer, for instance.

[lunineihs]

Problems, Questions, Next Piece - QOTW (3/31 - 4/04)

A) I have not had any problems with getting video or script for the inspiration piece.

B) I will be starting on a segment overviewing the Buckeye Regional robotics competition that Code Red Robotics went to in Cleveland, Ohio. I recorded a lot of video while there, along with taking many pictures I can use. All of the elimination matches were recorded, along with the final math where our alliance won.

[lunineihs]

Graduating HS, Entering College, and Finding Work - QOTW (3/24/14)

- SAT / College Apps: A segment could be done discussing strategies for taking the SAT and completing college applications. This could include setting up a Common App page for yourself, and good tutors for the SAT. Tutors could be interviewed describing the benefits of a good SAT score, and maybe teachers about the Common App.

- Choosing a major: Some advice could be given about choosing an appropriate major, such as ones that could provide good work when you leave college. Also, advice on what classes to take if you don't choose a major straight away. College students could be interviewed, along with professors, about the major they chose and why they chose it.

- Doing job interviews: This is probably a topic that many people need advice on, and a segment describing proper job interview tactics would be interesting. Some employers could be interviewed to see what they usually seek in someone applying to their business.

[lunineihs]

Three Projects with Digital Media - QOTW (3/17-21)

- Info on college: Instead of going to meetings about the SAT and college applications, media students could create videos that others could watch about those topics. For example, videos about available SAT tutors, people willing to write recommendations, people willing to help with the college essay, etc.

- Job openings around town: Media students could search for open jobs in Ithaca, and interview the owners/managers about those job openings. The info would be useful for IHS students who are searching for work in Ithaca.

- School issue talk: IHS isn't a perfect place, and neither are the elementary and middle schools in Ithaca. Media students could go out and report on these issues, proposing solutions and asking teachers/principals what they think can be done to fix these issues.

[lunineihs]

Interesting Things - QOTW (3/10/14)

A) Bicycling, watching and browsing Netflix, watching and browsing YouTube, The Sims, Civilization, Breaking Bad, House of Cards, watching great TV shows, video editing, and video filming.

B) 1 - Video editing, I believe, is not talked about enough. People always praise the filming of a movie, but the editing behind it is usually what makes it the best (adding in music, cutting at the right spot, etc.) 2 - Breaking Bad has most of the focus on a man who took a turn for the worst, turing to cooking drugs for money. But the editing behind it, and the directing, paired with the actors' amazing performances, were what made it a great show. One thing that I think is not appreciated about it are the transitions: there will be, for example, a gun going off transitions to a car door slamming. 3 - House of Cards is another great show that focuses on one man's journey to the Presidency. He uses any means possible to reach the end of that journey, no matter the costs (killing, defaming, etc.). It makes you think if it would be that simple to achieve the Presidency. 4, 5 - The Sims and Civilization are both good games. In general, simulation games I think are pretty impressive. Unlike level-based games, they can be played over and over without losing their shine, since there's no direct storyline (in fact, you create the storyline).

C) I enjoy bicycling, so I guess I have a personal connection to that. Both the Sims and Civ I have been playing for quite some time. I started back with the Sims 1, and back at Civ IV. Since I also do a lot of video editing and filming, that is a personal connection; I also have a connection (sometimes) to the things I film, such as the bio piece on Mary Mulvanerton, since she is a family friend.

[lunineihs]

3 Locations for the Inspiration piece - QOTD (3/6/14)

- Beebee Lake: wide angle showing the whole lake; angle from on the middle of the lake on the island, panning around; walking around on the ice; show the upstream bit that's clogged with ice - Fall Creek Waterfall: bottom to top of waterfall; helicopter view of top of the waterfall, view of gorge; work in interesting transitions between Beebee Lake and waterfall - Bicycling (somewhere, not sure of location): Go-pro footage of bicycling down a road, in multiple locations; still shot of road, I go by on a bike; footage behind, in front

[lunineihs]

Inspiring Things - QOTW (3/02/14)

Locations: - Beebee Lake (I have enjoyed how it has frozen this winter; usually, it’s not very incredible, but the ice makes it pretty incredible) - Fall Creek waterfall (standing right up next to it, hearing it thundering down) - Shore of Cayuga Lake (mostly during the summer, looking out to the far shores)

Works of art: - Breaking Bad (the sweep of the show was very interesting, showing changes in every character) - LEGO Movie (the way the movie was made, how much work probably went into creating the animations) - Beethoven’s Symphony (the whole thing together is wonderful, and wondering at how it came together)

People: - Steve Squyres (works incredibly hard, travels a lot, wants to explore the cosmos) - Mary Mulvanerton (worked through an incredibly hard period of Crohn’s disease) - Jonathan Lunine (the work he does to keep his missions on trace; trying and getting more missions into the cosmos)

[lunineihs]

Drug Cartel "Meet the Press" Analysis - QOTW (2/24/14)

What about the Meet the Press piece is engaging / exciting / attention-grabbing? I liked the information about the drug lord. I haven't been following the drug war going on in Mexico currently, and to get an update with good news in it is always nice.

What moment is your favorite, and why? What is happening visually / aurally in that moment? I enjoyed the little song they did in the middle, and the information they gave about his early life. It's interesting that he escaped in a laundry truck, since it seems like that happening now is very unlikely.

How effective is this piece in presenting a limited biography about the subject? What is missing - and would it have fit in this piece? I found it intriguing, what little info they gave about the drug lord. I am currently watching Breaking Bad (I know, bit behind), and recently they caught the Mexican drug lord who was working with the American one.

[lunineihs]

Good & Bad about Small & Big News Sources - QOTD (2/12/14)

- I think that one good aspect is obvious: with so many news sources, some from first-hand footage, it is easy to spread and share important events that are occurring anywhere in the world. It is hard to edit the truth on one of these first-hand video clips. However, one BIG thing you get with having so many news sources is all the different opinions and biases. Going to Fox News will get you one side of a story, while NBC might get you another. Seeing all these opinions is a good thing, and allows us to possibly understand how each side thinks about a certain issue or topic, and even understand why they think that way. If you just go to NBC because you're Liberal, you will just get the same opinions there that you yourself have anyway. Going over to a conservative news station once in a while might show you another side to the story.

- I have noticed that YouTube is being used more and more, by small news companies (such as Sourcefed, The Philip DeFranco Show, and even vloggers), as well as large ones like CNN, MSNBC, and The New York Times. CNN even has the iReport feature that allows its viewers to submit their own pieces for everyone to see who visits that section of CNN. This is great, and allows the general public to simply submit interesting news that is happening right in their hometown. Most of the video from the Russian meteor striking is down by dash cams from the populace there.

[lunineihs]

Using skills from Media - QOTD (2/3/14)

- I have not noticed it in other classes, but I do use skills I have learned here while working on media in Code Red. I have used interview setup skills, video camera shots, and editing skills to make videos for the Code Red media team.

- I am considering taking TV Production or Video Production as a minor in college, so I believe I will use these skills in those classes.

- If there are any projects this semester that require a video or speaking in front of the class.

[lunineihs]

Imaginary Closing of Route 13 - QOTD (1/13/14)

- Mayor of Ithaca: I would probably ask him if he knows about this road closing. If he had no idea it would be closed, does he know who had something to do with it? These questions would give us a perspective on how he manages his staff, if it was indeed them that closed the road down. If it didn't have anything to do with the town of Ithaca, we could go to the State/Regional Director of Transportation.

- State/Regional Director of Transportation: Contact him/her to find if the road work is warranted, and what is being done to the road that caused those two lanes to be closed in the first place. Also, ask who the contractor is who is working on the road. This would allow us to see if contractors were indeed hired to work on the road (if they weren't, why?), and also possibly interview that contractor about the roadwork.

- Contract construction companies: Since the road is closed for "road work", you would assume that the city/state/region hired contractors to do that work. You could interview them to find out what they're working on, or even if they are working on anything at all.

[lunineihs]

Positions - QOTD (1/8/13)

I would like to try out an anchor position for next time.

[lunineihs]

Biographical Piece - QOTD (1/2/14)

- Could interview: My father; Steve Squyres; etc. (not sure yet)

- Things that should be shown are their failures, but also their successes that most likely followed those failures. Some details might include childhood influences on their occupations, and even later influences that changed their path to a new one.