Thursday, October 30, 2014
Topic 6
For this week's assignment, I made a short film titled "Invasion Nation" using a site called dVolver. This site lets you create simple animated movies using a set of premade characters and backgrounds you select on the site. There's a pretty wide variety to choose from, and it doesn't take very long. You can see my video here, a thrilling epic about a city plagued by giant birds and ineffective aliens: http://www.dvolver.com/live/movies-1026475 I chose this site because I enjoy traditional animation, and it looked like one of the more fun ones. It was very easy to use, taking me less than five minutes to make my whole video. I could see myself using this site to help add some spice to a PowerPoint presentation for school or just for zany fun. The only tips I have are to think ahead when it comes to choosing characters and backgrounds and to have fun!
Friday, October 24, 2014
Topic 5
The first site I used was called ImageChef (http://www.imagechef.com/). It lets you customize signs and pictures with your own text, and is fun enough--but the choice of pictures is very limited for those who don't already have photos on their computer or a camera to take new ones.
The second site I used was called BigHugeLabs (http://bighugelabs.com/) and allows you to alter images into formats like magazine covers, movie posters, jigsaw puzzles, and more. I went for the pop art format with an old photo of mine.
Besides this one assignment, I don't think I'll ever use these sites again. I have some proficiency with the photo programs on my computer, which I can use in case I need to for school, and don't think I'd do this just for fun. However, they could be of great use to someone who either doesn't have access to or doesn't know how to work with the more traditional photo editing programs like PhotoShop.
The second site I used was called BigHugeLabs (http://bighugelabs.com/) and allows you to alter images into formats like magazine covers, movie posters, jigsaw puzzles, and more. I went for the pop art format with an old photo of mine.
Besides this one assignment, I don't think I'll ever use these sites again. I have some proficiency with the photo programs on my computer, which I can use in case I need to for school, and don't think I'd do this just for fun. However, they could be of great use to someone who either doesn't have access to or doesn't know how to work with the more traditional photo editing programs like PhotoShop.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Topic 3
1) Blogging can help me in a school environment by letting me share my work with others and allowing me to see their thoughts, opinions, and own personal questions in return. I can keep in touch with the school community virtually anywhere so long as I have access to a computer, and can ask or give help through posts and comments, respectively.
2) The book I'm reading for my book trailer is called Virals and is written Kathy Reichs, better known for her Bones series featuring Temperance Brennan (yes, it's the basis of the TV show). Two characters in this book are the protagonist Tory Brennan and her pet wolf-dog Cooper. A bit of a tomboy, Tory is described in the book as having flaming red hair, emerald eyes and pale skin. Something of a tomboy, she's determined, intelligent, headstrong and sometimes reckless. She has some lingering issues over the death of her mother a year previous to the events in the book; she was killed by a drunk driver in Massachusetts. Cooper is Tory's pet wolf-dog, the pup of a German shepard and a wolf. He's described as looking more wolf-like, but with distinct dog characteristics. He's extremely loyal and protective of Tory. I would definitely be friends with animal-lower Tory the science geek and her awesome pet wolf-dog if they were to come to Poway High.
3) The setting of the book is an island off the coast of South Carolina. Called Loggerhead Island, it houses a remote research facility for the University of Charleston that studies animal life. Tory and her friends live in the nearby town of Charleston, a real place, in what we can assume is the present day. Modern technology like iPhones and apps and often mentioned, and the Vietnam War (said to have taken place "way back" in the sixties) is a key point in the story line. One very exciting scene in the book is towards the beginning, where Tory and her friends are breaking into part of the research facility and discover one of the scientists is conducting illegal experiments on rabies--with Cooper as the guinea pig! A very suspenseful few pages follow where they have to get the wolf-dog pup out of the facility and back to Charleston without setting off any alarms or being discovered by the security guards. They fail at the first--but you'll have to read the book if you want to figure out the latter!
2) The book I'm reading for my book trailer is called Virals and is written Kathy Reichs, better known for her Bones series featuring Temperance Brennan (yes, it's the basis of the TV show). Two characters in this book are the protagonist Tory Brennan and her pet wolf-dog Cooper. A bit of a tomboy, Tory is described in the book as having flaming red hair, emerald eyes and pale skin. Something of a tomboy, she's determined, intelligent, headstrong and sometimes reckless. She has some lingering issues over the death of her mother a year previous to the events in the book; she was killed by a drunk driver in Massachusetts. Cooper is Tory's pet wolf-dog, the pup of a German shepard and a wolf. He's described as looking more wolf-like, but with distinct dog characteristics. He's extremely loyal and protective of Tory. I would definitely be friends with animal-lower Tory the science geek and her awesome pet wolf-dog if they were to come to Poway High.
3) The setting of the book is an island off the coast of South Carolina. Called Loggerhead Island, it houses a remote research facility for the University of Charleston that studies animal life. Tory and her friends live in the nearby town of Charleston, a real place, in what we can assume is the present day. Modern technology like iPhones and apps and often mentioned, and the Vietnam War (said to have taken place "way back" in the sixties) is a key point in the story line. One very exciting scene in the book is towards the beginning, where Tory and her friends are breaking into part of the research facility and discover one of the scientists is conducting illegal experiments on rabies--with Cooper as the guinea pig! A very suspenseful few pages follow where they have to get the wolf-dog pup out of the facility and back to Charleston without setting off any alarms or being discovered by the security guards. They fail at the first--but you'll have to read the book if you want to figure out the latter!
Topic 2
Notice anything different? I just used my crazy tech skills to create and upload an avatar to my blog! I used a site called http://www.picassohead.com/, which lets you mash together different body parts and geometric shapes in the style of Picasso. It's a really cool site, and it gives you a lot of freedom with creating your picture; you can change a shape's size or color or where you want it in the picture. I decided to go for plain black and white, though, since I thought that looked better. I didn't want too much color to take away from the blog posts themselves. I'm really happy with the results, and I'd recommend PicassoHead to anyone looking to make a unique and interesting avatar themselves.
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