This year I decided to take Comm Tech because I've always liked Photoshop, and just graphic design in general. I was really excited to take this course. For our first big project we used Photoshop, which was pretty cool since I was used it already. Then we moved on to Illustrator, which at first was pretty confusing. Then I went home and downloaded the trial and played around with it. Now I find Illustrator to be really fun to use. I love vectorizing pictures, haha.
For our first big assignment we made a multiple exposure picture. This one was fun to do because a bunch of my friends came over and we all took our pictures for the project. Putting the 5 pictures into one was generally easy, though I had a little struggle alligning some things. I think I could've done better on this because the lighting in the pictures is pretty bad x) oh well.
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Next, we had to make circus collages. I decided my circus performer would be a clown because I'm silly and like to joke around. I really enjoyed making the collage. Finding different pictures that I thought represented me, my favourite things and favourite people was fun.
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Now on to Illustrator! At first I thought vectorizing was confusing and took too long. Once you get a good hang of it though, it's really fun (: For my three objects I chose a stop sign, converse sneaker, and a root beer float. I was really happy with all my end results, especially the shoe. Making the pattern was a little frustrating at first because I couldn't get the images to fit together nicely. It took a lot of tries, but I finally got it!
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For my eccentric inspiration, I chose Gordon Ramsey. I love his show Hell's Kitchen, and think he's such a cool guy. I think this project was my favourite in the course. I worked really hard vectorizing this picture and fitting my pattern into it. I'm really proud of it. (: I also really enjoyed looking at everyone else's eccentric inspiration vectorizations.
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Our final project was the ''I am" video. Sandra, Janan and me got together and decided we would be artistic. Sandra was a sketch artist, Janan was a photographer, and I was the musician. It was a lot of fun filming for this video and we had a lot of laughs throughout the day. (: I was also really proud of us for finishing this for the Art show!
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All in all, I thought Comm Tech was a really fun course and I especially loved learning Illustrator!
I decided to do this blog from Media Arts' blogspot because there were only 5 entries on the Comm one!
When I first saw the ads, I really wondered what they were trying to get at. I didn't understand why the ads were not promoting new thinking and new ideas, since aren't those what university should have because it would set them apart from everyone else and really show their creativity? Then I went on the website and understood what the ads meant. They were really for Algoma University. The ads were trying to convince you that in other universities, the students don't get a chance to branch out into new directions and really expand their thinking, whereas in Algoma University, every student is their own person and is completely unique and special.
I liked these ads because they actually make you stop and think about what you're reading or looking at. The ads are a lot more interesting the most of the typical ads for universities which tend to say the same things and all have pictures of happy students. The Colossal U ads have pictures that were pretty random and unusual for a university ad, which sort of stump you for a little bit. The Colossal U ads were definitely memorable and did a good job of promoting Algoma U.
I thought the ad campaign promoting Barack Obama was very effective. For one thing, I think it would interest everyone to watches it, not just the adults who vote, but also people my age, because it catches your attention and does a good job of holding it through the video. I really liked how the video adressed a bunch of issues - Unemployment, the economy, climate change, medical treatment, the war, etc. Because of all the issues the video addresses, this campaign would appeal to many different people, since it is likely at least one of the issues effects every American.
Obama's message to the viewers is clear. He will bring about many changes for the better if he is elected. The ending of the video where the man in Iraq asks the other man what's up, and he replies "Change," is the perfect end for the video. When I had finished watching the video I was left with a really positive feeling, thinking Barack Obama would make a really good president.
Now Barack Obama won the election and is president, so I hope he really does try his best to solve all the issues in his ad campaign video!
I don't play video games a lot. For one thing, I hardly own any.. For the longest time, the only way I got to play video games was when I went to my friends' houses. Pretty lame. Then on one of my birthdays I got a 360 and it was really exciting. (: I ended up getting addicted to Guitar Hero. My friends and me would go to each others houses and spend hours playing it. I've gotten out of that whole Guitar Hero phase, but I would definitely say video games are a lot of fun. Some of them can actually really challenge you and make you think or try hard to keep your focus, like Rhythm Heaven, Big Brain Academy, etc. Then there's the Wii, where you can play sports. DDR could even give you a workout, if you really got into it.
But as fun as video games are, I think everyone should try not to get too wrapped up in them. Remember you still have homework too! June rush is not fun. So play video games for maybe an hour when you get back from school, or even better, work really hard on finishing some units/homework, then play video games for a treat (: That way you can have your fun, but still stay on top of your homework. +Don't forget your family and friends either. Make sure gaming NEVER interferes with your hanging out time.
Technology has become a staple in everyone's lives, no doubt. Gotta love it. It allows us to do so many things -- fly across the world, talk to people miles away with MSN, it entertains us very greatly.. and that list could go on and on and on. I have to admit though, sometimes it bothers me how heavily our society relies on technology. Louis C.K. gets this message out using comedy, in a video I thought was really funny, but which also had a really good point.
I realize how much I rely on technology whenever there's a blackout in my neighbourhood. I seriously dread blackouts, especially if it's the evening/night. When they happen, I always feel like there's suddenly nothing to do without electricity. There goes watching TV, going on the computer, using the microwave! A few weeks ago, there was a blackout in my area that lasted quite a few hours. At first it was alright because I was at my friend's house and it was still bright outside. We killed time playing Spoons by her kitchen window. Then I came home and felt completely lost. What was I going to do now?! I ended up spending the time reading a book with candlelight.....haha. It wasn't so bad, actually. And it made me feel a little good, not using up any electricity like I normally would.
I will always be amazed by technology. Just thinking about all the possible things people will invent in the future is pretty exciting. But at the same time, we need to learn how to live relying on technology a little less. I guess I wouldn't even mind it THAT much if there were more black outs.... just maybe. (:
You can use them to keep in touch with your parents when you're out, text people when you're in a quiet place/don't feel like talking, call your friends when your home phone is busy. With the wonders of modern technology you can even surf the web, send emails, etc. So yes, I quite like cell phones, but at the same time I have to admit, a lot of people just don't know how to use them properly, and it can get pretty annoying.
5 things I think people should follow when using cell phones..
1. No talking loudly in public. Come on, I really don't want to hear about your personal life or whatever it may be. This is especially awkward on the TTC when everyone's quiet and there's just that one person talking on their cell phone to no end.
2. DON'T talk/text while driving. There are hands-free sets for a reason! Are people really not at all worried about getting into car accidents? It's a really good thing there's a new ban on cell phone calls that aren't hand free.
3. Texting like there's no tomorrow when you're with company. Actually, I've been guilty of this one... Oops? But still, when it's come to the point that you're completely ignoring who you're with and giving all attention to your phone, it should stop!
4. Stop playing your music for the whole world to hear. People do this a lot on buses. Most of the time, it's not even good music... So please, use headphones! Or just don't play the music at all. I mean, people can wait till they get home to listen to their music, right?
4. Turn the volume off at school. Keeping your cellphone on vibrate is fine, in my opinion. And I can understand sometimes people forget to turn the volume off, but hearing a song playing indicating a phone ringing can get pretty distracting. And we all have enough distractions at Ward.. I particularly don't like the ring tone that's some sort of high pitched sound. People always abuse it and play it on purpose, which gets annoying.
Soo, I love cell phones as much as the next person, but people generally need to be more considerate when using theirs. Okay, happy texting (: ..and calling, if that's what you like.
To me, Art show week is one of the most exciting of the whole year. I've seen the art show for the past couple of years, ever since my elementary school would bring us to Mary Ward and we'd go on a little tour. The art in the show fascinates me quite a bit. I think I could actually spend my whole day looking at all the pieces, paintings, and photographs, hah.
This year was my first year visiting the Art show on opening night. One thing in particular that I really liked on opening night that I don't think many people got to see, or even knew was there, was some of the live music. While in the hall that had the grade 10's paper lanterns, my friend and I heard some music. We eventually got to some random room, and there was a guy playing the guitar and singing. I happened to really like the music he was playing, and wondered why he wasn't playing in the Comm. area.. He was definitely more than good enough!
In general, I really liked all of the art, but I think I could say that every year.. What I thought was really fun to look at this year were the grade 10's multiple exposure pictures. Some of them were really funny and creative. I also liked the drawings of celebrities that grade 12 (I think) Art students drew. They were really detailed and the one of the Olsen twin caught my eye in particular. I would love to be able to draw like that one day. (:
