#uni research

[spark-study-blog]

The Vaping Culture of New Zealand: Final Log

With the conclusion of my project now having finally arrived, I can say that while there were certainly ups and downs to my efforts on this project, overall I am happy with what I was able to achieve with a topic that I didn’t have a great deal of information about prior to this project.

Both of the podcasts and the cinemagraphs were fun for me to create in their own ways, though one certainly seemed more successful than the other.

The two podcasts have been uploaded to YouTube while my two cinemagraphs have been converted into gifs for viewing purposes.

[spark-study-blog]

The Vaping Culture of New Zealand: Project Start - Log 8

After completing my podcasts, there were several issues with my cinemagraph's production.

For one, any reshoots I could have wanted to do was nullified by my original model's inability to attend, with him no longer being available with his current work schedule.

In addition to this, the gathered footage was shaky and made it difficult to work with. And in particular, my choice for my second cinemagraph was far too ambitious for someone of my more recent knowledge of cinemagraphs to pull off without some hiccups.

In the end, I was able to use the key images from my raw footage and add an effect or switch through the images to add a gif-like effect similar to a cinemagraph, but I have a long ways to go before I am able to create these effectivley.

[spark-study-blog]

The Vaping Culture of New Zealand: Project Start - Log 7

As of current, both of my podcast entries have been completed.

In addition to the audio that I had already recorded for the podcasts showing no errors or glitches when being ported to Premiere Pro, I was also finally able to fully complete my title cards for the podcasts.

Not only are these a good evolution on the title cards I had preferred previously, but it also includes an additional image and a more unique title font in order to properly convey what my podcast is about and the vibe of the overall project.

Using royalty free music from the website Uppbeat, the intro and outro chosen for the podcasts is the beginning part of Orimasu by Yawnathan, further emphasizing the relatively laid back vibe of the podcasts.

[spark-study-blog]

The Vaping Culture of New Zealand: Project Start - Log 6

After several fellow students have evaluated my Presentation Pitch, feedback from them has been largely positive. Many of them reported that they believed my concept was interesting, though a few pointed out that it would have been nice to utilize actual vapors in my cinemagraphs, something I would have been happy to do had the one used by my model not run out of smoke prior filming. I will definitely take reshoots into consideration for the future.

Otherwise, it seems as though everything is going according to plan. As such, I feel confident in continuing as I have been planning.

[spark-study-blog]

The Vaping Culture of New Zealand: Project Start - Log 5

While external factors have made my attempts to finish my Project Presentation a little difficult, I was able to make it in the end.

This combined with my current raw footage for both my podcasts and cinemagraphs has me in high spirits about completing this project.

[spark-study-blog]

The Vaping Culture of New Zealand: Project Start - Part 4

As of today, I have managed to record 35 minutes of audio for the podcasts (Which I was recently informed required two entries, but I can simply split the audio in two) and record some small videos to attempt to turn into cinemagraphs.

In this current stage, I have what I would consider to be the raw materials for my projects. What is required of me now is to hone them to something closer to my final goal.

[spark-study-blog]

The Vaping Culture of New Zealand: Project Start - Log 3

I now have a set of questions for my guest on the podcast.

Question 1: What do you believe the public perception for smoking is like?

Question 2: What do you believe the public perception for vaping is like?

Question 3: Why do you believe/not believe there is a difference in these perceptions?

Question 4: What might make vaping more accepted in public? 

Question 5: What have been your experiences with smoking/vaping?

Question 6: Are there genuinely any benefits to vaping over smoking?

Question 7: Is it an aesthetic thing?

Question 8: Is it a question of flavor?

Question 9: Do you think that vaping has become a core part of New Zealand’s culture

Question 10: Can something like vaping or smoking become a core part of a culture?

These questions feel as though they cover a broad enough spectrum within my particular topic in order to fill a time of 35 minutes.

[spark-study-blog]

The Vaping Culture of New Zealand: Project Start - Log 2

For my podcast, I had been experimenting with various types of Title Cards for it.

The initial idea was to use the greens and blues mentioned in the previous log, as well as a simple transparent smoke effect to relate to the idea of smoking/vaping. While this was decent as a basic idea, I do admit that it's currently a little dull.

I went in a vastly different direction for the second attempt, but this one was even duller, not really having much of an identity aside from being a stock image of smoke.

Going back to that first template, I experimented a little with the shapes and added a bit of sheen the colors in order to avoid flat visuals.

Test 3 ended up inspiring a few pallet swaps, with Test 5 in particular being quite appealing to me, on top of conveying the three major ideas wanted with this title card (Calm, Metallic and Smokey)

Test 6 proved even more appealing as the different angling of the shapes can allow for the eyes to be focused on the centre of the title where the text will appear, while still keeping that appealing color pallet.

Test 6 prompted another round of pallet swaps. This wasn't massively successful, with Test 8's color choices being strangely sickening to me for a reason I cannot explain, but I did end up liking Test 9 more than I was expecting.

Currently, my favourites for the Podcast Title Card are Tests 5, 6 and 9.