For the last round of the year, multimedia class is more likely to be working independently on some specific projects that has been introduced to us from the past. I chose to work on Adobe Illustrator because I want to do some digital art, not just drawing on paper. Adobe Illustrator was introduced to us since the beginning of the year. This leaves a challenge for me because I don’t remember the tools, so I have to go on Youtube and watched the tutorial. Researching is hard. When I have question, I couldn’t ask anyone but searching and finding the right video of what I wanted to know. Sometimes I spent my time on the video that doesn’t even relate to my question. So what I did was trying to find the official website for Adobe Illustrator. I found it easier to look for tutorials on the official website than on Youtube since there are varieties of videos that are already sorted into categories for me. Even though I chose to work on Adobe Illustrator, but I found myself not enjoy doing it due to the time limit and the lack of skill that I have related to Adobe Illustrator. I felt like I didn’t learn much in Multimedia class this round. I prefer learning as whole class.
Learning how to outlineLearning how to add color to the art piece
Round 4 of Multimedia was still about Python coding, but we were learning about new materials such as Python functions, Python lists and Python dictionaries. While we were learning that we also got to do some hands-on project in Code Club. There were different tasks for different material and I found it really helpful because when I set things into practice, I received a better understand of that material. Beside working on code club, we also met as a team for Q&A session to help anybody who is having struggles. By doing that, we can share our knowledge of coding with each other. Below is my project on Code Club that is related to Python functions.
Python is a language of programming that is known throughout the world, but it’s really new to me. The only code language that I’ve heard of are Java script and block coding. Since it’s new and I missed a lot of hours of coding, I was having a hard time understanding , but with the help from classmate and doing a lot of practice, I felt catching up with the lessons. The last course of Python in January to was about Boolean, comparisons, if statement, for loops and etc. Down below are some exercises that I’ve done.
Stories are told in many different ways not just words. You can use photos, videos etc, but you need to have good structure and skills in order to let people understand your story. I was introduce to Pixar story structure.
Once upon a time, there was …… ( Introduction )
Every day………. ( What do characters usually do? )
One day………. ( Turning point )
Because of that………… ( How the story change based on the turning )
Because of that……… ( What happened next after the turning point )
Until finally……….. ( Ending )
A Non Typical Girl ( Pixar Story Structure )
Once there was a 13 years old girl who wants to become a basketball player but don’t know how because her legs are paralyzed since she was 9. So she has to stay on the wheelchair every time. Everyday after her home school hours, she always watch basketball match, nor her father playing in the court. Until one day, she has seen a match with players who are sitting on wheelchairs like her. Because of that, she decided to ask her father for basketball training. Because of that, she could join the a wheelchair basketball team. Until finally she has succeeded her goal which to become a basketball player.
A lot of times stories need pictures to support and we can tell stories throughout pictures too. That require photography skills basic understanding of camera.
Composition tips :
Straight horizon : make sure the background or anything in the picture is straight
Rule of third : try to line something on any of the line
Photo by: Cindy Lui
Head room : give some head space to the picture
Lead room : give some leading space to the picture if it is moving
Symmetry : divide one picture equally by two thing
Depth : give order to items is the picture.
Frame : put something in front of the view
Leading lines : there are some lines that point to one thing
Camera shot types :
Long shot : see a lot of views
Full shot : we can see someone from head to toes and there are also some space
Medium shot : we can see half of a person body
Close-up : we can ¼ of a person. Usually from chest to head
Extreme close-up : only show one specific part of anything
Low angle : we are standing at lower angle than what we want to take
High angle : we are standing at higher angle than what we want to take
Eye level : same level as where we are standing
Dutch angle/ tilt : we take tilted picture on purpose to make the picture looks good
Over the shoulder
Photo by: Cindy Lui
Bird-eyes view
Photo by: Panha Ly
Basic understanding of camera :
Exposure is the amount of light that come into your camera sensor and that determine how dark or light the photo will be. There are three things that affect exposure :
1.Shutter speed
Shutter speed is how fast your camera take to get one picture. It affect how much light go into your camera. If it takes long times to take one picture, there are more light coming. It measure in fraction of a second. It also affect the motion of the picture. If we take pictures of action, we would want to use fast shutter speed or else the picture won’t be clear.
2.Aperture
Aperture is how big you len is open. It affects the depth of feel and it measure as f-stop. The smaller number the f-stop, the wider the lens open, the more light coming in and it has shallow depth of feel.
3.ISO
ISO is how sensitive your camera is to light and it mostly refer fake light that is added to your picture. The higher of the ISO, the sensitive your camera is to light and your picture will be brighter.
It is also great to tell your stories using video. Here are some tips
1. Steadiness : don’t zoom and pan constantly and make sure each video is at least 10 second. Use tripod if needed. You should hold your camera using both hand and make sure it is close to your body and also bend your knee a little bit.
2. Sound : use a microphone to record because good sound can make your video more effective.
3. Lighting : find a good spot of light that make your video bright ( people don’t want to see dark face )
4. Different types of footage : A-roll is an interview video of one or two people. B-roll is action video that can gives details to A-roll.
5. Shot set up : choose good background. You don’t want anything to distract your video while shooting.
Multimedia was introduced by a facilitator named Cindy. I got to learn how to use the Adobe software such as Adobe Indesign, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom which I could use it for my learning. I first didn’t like it because I was new and I couldn’t catch up with the lesson but then I found that it was fun to edit things after asking a friend to explained all tools in those software to me again. I have made a poster to show that I learn something. The last week of class, I was introduced to coding which I learned the basic code and how it works.
