Monday, May 16, 2016
Friday, May 6, 2016
de Campos, Final Project
All Roads Lead to the Language House
Music: "Ladybird Theme" by David Szesztay (Creative Commons, Source: Free Music Archive)
Yang, Final Project
Hear the Turtle Toastmasters
Come take a glimpse at the Toastmasters club at the University of Maryland Campus. The Toastmasters Club here is lead by a group of students trying to improve their public speaking. Anyone is welcome to come to meetings as guest members to the club to practice public speaking! There are no more meetings for this semester, but feel free to come next semester when the club gets going again!
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Monday, May 2, 2016
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Friday, April 29, 2016
Friday, April 22, 2016
Monday, April 11, 2016
de Campos, Video Assignment #4
A Day In The Life of My Hands
This video illustrates a few of the things my hands, touch, pull, pick up, twist, etc. daily.
The song is called Happy Chances by Nicolai Heidlas (creative commons).
The song is called Happy Chances by Nicolai Heidlas (creative commons).
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Friday, April 8, 2016
Sunday, April 3, 2016
de Campos, Video Assignment #3
Daily Kitchen Sounds
This video highlights the sounds that are present in daily kitchen routines.
Friday, April 1, 2016
Yang, Video Project 3
Tuning and Playing a Scale on a Violin
Eric Yang
A project fusing sequencing with footage of unique sounds of playing the violin.
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Monday, March 28, 2016
de Campos, Video Assignment #2
This video features two prominent places (The University Bookstore and TerpZone) within the Adele H. Stamp Student Union at the University of Maryland, College Park and the types of activities available in each. The video uses sequencing as tool in order to tell the story of two friends going to the Union, shopping in the Bookstore, and playing billiards in TerpZone.
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Friday, March 25, 2016
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Video Assignment #1
You may need to turn up the volume and make the resolution 720p. (One of my interviews is missing but I still have 5 different, great answers!)
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Friday, March 11, 2016
Thursday, March 3, 2016
de Campos, Pre-Video Assignment
Pre-Video Assignment
Example of a good multi-media project:
Making Digital Cumbia in Peru--SUB.Culture Lima by Thump
As I was searching for good and bad examples of multi-media projects I realized there are many talented people who have very vivid and interesting perspectives of the world. I made a list of several great multi-media projects and found that all the fantastic videos had one thing in common: texture. By texture, I mean the cohesion between the music, the word that's being said along with the image that's being shown, the timing of the video, the transitions, and the details; this cohesion makes the audience feel both the visionary's and the people's (in the video) passion for the project. Fantastic multi-media projects occur when there is a clear purpose shown in a clearly complex but well executed way.
This video exemplifies this texture as it engages the audience from the first few seconds as the man's arm moves along with the rhythm of the music and later even the transitions to follow the rhythm. I appreciate the b-roll shown during the interviews that add an additional layer to our understanding of Peru (through a Peruvian perspective) utilizing details, medium, and overall shots. The interviews add an extra layer of authenticity as they are taken from the side angle. Additionally, the angles from which some video (medium and overall shots) is shot makes the audience feel like they are walking down the street with the DJs or are in the record store looking through albums. The video uses innovative techniques and original digital Cumbia music (created by the DJs seen) to create this texture and parallels this to the innovation of Cumbia, a music genre closely attached to Peru's history that is slowly entering the electronic music scene.
I had some difficulty finding bad multi-media projects as they typically seemed to be bad compilations of b-roll during a family vacation; this video seems to have a similar purpose--immortalizing a vacation with friends at Lake Placid. Unfortunately, a few of the more egregious reasons for why this video is forgettable are the following: it lacks in focus, plot, and purpose, the transitions are forced, the quality of the footage is poor and unsteady, the details displayed are not useful or meaningful, the abrupt song change is distracting, and the effects placed on each individual piece of footage does not complement the music. Ultimately, it lacks the texture and cohesion that more successful multi-media projects have as it diverts the audience's attention from the feeling of a free-spirited vacation due to the competing effects, editing decisions, and poorly shot b-roll (b-roll footage feels like an afterthought).
Disclaimer: Although I would consider this multi-media project to be unsuccessful, Tommy Shminko, the video's owner, may have intended for it to be this way for a number of reasons (ex. to make fun/ troll his friends, be ironic, etc.).
Guo, Pre Video Assignment
Bad: This video is an example of a bad video project. This project is meant to be a video interview for why the creator of the video should be the candidate chosen for the Mars One Project. While humorous, the video was not planned very well in terms of location and distractions around. For example, the video has a lot of background noise such as people moving around and talking. The still photos were also very poorly done, such as the three still photos in the beginning where the face did not match the photos in the slightest. The video also was very one dimensional, lacking any angles besides straight on.
Williams, Pre-Video Assignment
Good project:
The opening sequence of this video uses catchy music to get the viewer’s attention right away. The use of music and text for scene transitions helps to keep the video interesting without being distracting. Text is also used to provide extra information that would be awkward to list out loud (i.e. the scientific names of all the animals shown in the video), and occasionally for emphasis.
Bad project:
This video is very slow-paced, with long, awkward pauses in the narration in between transitions. For most of the video, the narrator is basically just listing locations she visited, without any real enthusiasm. The music and constant use of the Ken Burns effect fail to make the video interesting, and the narrator’s pronunciation of British and French words is cringe-inducing.
Samelson, Pre-Video Assignment
Bad Multimedia Project:
This video project consists of a series of videos and a few photos that are clearly shot on a cell phone. While not bad in and of itself, most clips were vertical, which distracts and takes away the full picture of the scene. Almost all clips are in slow-motion and are often repeated, which is a good effect to use once in a while but not all the time. The background music jumps around constantly with no transition, also distracting viewers. Perhaps most importantly, there is little to no context of what is happening and why, with only a few interspersed captions of events and the title itself.
Good Multimedia Project:
This spot highlighting a Thai restaurant in Washington D.C. is crafted very well as an engaging story to draw the user in and build interest in visiting. Interviews are set up with the subject off to the right and looking across the camera, zoomed in to focus on his emotional expressions. The b-roll matches very well with the content of the interviews, giving visual context. These shots are also a good variety of detailed food shots and medium/overall shots of the process of cooking and serving. The music is light, happy, and not distracting. Overall, the context and the story make this an excellent project.
Good vs Bad Projects
The following video is good! It opens up with upbeat music and interesting visuals that hook you in. The layering of audio and exciting visuals with great angles make me want to go out there and try it myself. You can tell that the person who made this put a lot of time in it, and it's probably something they're passionate about. And even if not, they did a good job of making it interesting. What is this it I'm referring to? Go ahead and find out below!
This video is...not so great. It's bad. And I'm not just saying that because of its topic (which can be cringe-worthy to some viewers). The dance in the beginning is alright, but since the greenscreen equipment wasn't working so well, they shouldn't have used it. They could have projected 'AC' behind them using a projector (they were in a classroom) and recorded themselves dancing in front of it. Also, the audio was too silent at some parts but too loud at others. Lastly, the angles weren't so bad, but they needed to watch out for the lighting.
Hsiao, Pre-Video Assignment
The Bad:
This informative video is designed to teach beginners about the basics of diabolo (also known as Chinese yoyo). While the content is decent (and I'm rather impressed with the fact that the video is composed of a single take), the greatest flaw is that the video is incredibly boring. The video could have benefited from incorporating various shots from different angles, both to provide some visual variety and to give the audience better angles from which to view the action. Furthermore, the audio and video eventually become desynchronized, distracting potential audiences and further detracting from the overall effect. Finally, creating a video from multiple clips could have actually cut down on the total video length while still delivering the same content in more concise and clear manner.
The Good:
This video is a great example of effectively combining photo, video, and interview audio to create a compelling multimedia project that tells a story. Introducing the concept of "UrbEx," Matthew Bate interviewed Vic Invades, an "UrbExer," to get the inside scoop on extreme urban exploration and photography. The resulting video is paced extremely well (balancing between dialogue for exposition and a mixture of raw video and still photos for effect) and uses first-person video very effectively to capture what it feels like to be an "UrbExer" for the audience.
Yang, Pre-Video Assignment
This is an example of a good video project for many reasons. Ignoring content, the usage of stable, yet changing, camera angles makes it visually pleasing to the audience. Also, the usage of music to contrast the situation from happy to sad to grief emphasizes and adds to the b-roll clips. In addition to the music, the usage of a child narrator also adds to the emotion because it shows the innocence and honesty, yet understanding from the little girl. Finally, the subject matter was very moving and memorable, because it shows how parents care for their children, and how children can tell (usually) when their parents are putting up an act to protect them. This life insurance commercial successfully blends visuals with sounds to evoke emotions, which makes this video both memorable and unique.
This is a clear example of a bad video project. Firstly, there is no narration. As an informative video on Freud's theories, someone should be verbally explaining the theories that are being listed on screen. Secondly, all of the content is in paragraph form, scrolling like end credits to a movie. All the information passes by too quickly for anyone to read or comprehend. Thirdly, the music is distracting. If the viewers of the project want to learn about Freud's theories and also has to read the slides, the music should at least be less distracting. There are plenty of informative videos that use simple pictures and animations to explain concepts such as:
Wolfgram, Pre-Video Assignment
Examples of Multi-Media Projects
(Intro is long, actual video starts at about 1:20)
Good: This project telling the story of this artist has many unique detail video/photo shots that catch the viewers attention right away. The use of different camera angles and natural light to frame certain shots is extremely eye-catching. The makers of this video overlapped most of the artist's interview audio with footage of things that relate to what she's describing, making the video visually interesting. The short parts where they do show the artist answering their questions is purposefully used, emphasizing what drives her artistic career and how her passion for art can be seen even in her facial expressions. In her interview footage, the artist is positioned to the right of the screen which creates a more interesting image. The music at certain points in the video does not distract from the artist's interview, but still adds another interesting aspect to the video that matches the story being told.
Bad: The most noticeably bad thing about this project is that the whole is shot with the camera held vertically. This limits the amount of image the viewer gets to experience and also extremely limits the choices for positioning people for interviews. This leads me to my next point, that the interviews that were filmed for this project are not very well set up. The interviewees are centered in the shot and at some points move out of shot because the vertical camera frame captures so little. Additionally there is very little visual variety, lacking varying and well employed camera angles, lighting, and shots (detail shots are especially lacking in this video).
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Quintanilla, Pre-video Assignment
Examples of Multimedia Projects
Bad: This project is supposed to be a fictional story about a character who emigrates to the United States. The interview switches between being shot vertically and horizontally, leaving most of the screen black, and the person being interviewed is always in the center of the frame, facing the camera directly. The video/photo hybrid also had distracting transitions between photos and the captions were neon or white and hard to read. The music was also random and distracting, and the camera often shook during the interview.
Good: This first-person video story about a musician's journey features a good variety of shots. The music he wrote is appropriate to the video, does not detract from the narration, and it adds to the inspiration of the video. There are medium shots, close ups, overalls of scenery, time lapses, and smooth panning shots from many different angles - all in a two minute span. None of the video is shot vertically or too wobbly, and there are no simple "static figure in the center" shots. The video does a great job condensing many diverse and interesting scenes into one story, making the viewer feel like they are experiencing the journey themselves. The first line and beautiful mountain scenery also serves as a hook for the rest of the story.
Turner, Pre-Video Assignment
Examples of Multimedia Projects
Bad: This multimedia project has a lot of qualities that work against it. First, it was clearly shot on a phone, which is fine--except that the phone is held vertically, making the screen very narrow and making it hard to capture the moment. The video was shaky and the lighting was often poor. Many frames, like the shots of the street pianoist, would have been much better from a different perspective, instead of being taken from so far away.
(I'm having trouble uploading the video but it was included in this article: http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2012/snow-fall/#/?part=tunnel-creek. It's about halfway down the page, called "Aluure of the Backcountry").
Good: This video incorporates visually interesting footage with personal interviews to tell the story. It draws the viewer in with the initial shot of the skier coming down the mountain. The interviewees are shot off-center in accordance with the rule of thirds. It also included a range of perspectives, ranging from watching the skier come down the mountain to filming from the perspective of the skier.
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Thwaite, Pre-video Assignment
Bad: The images used in this video weren't very exciting or well composed, and the overlaid text was often in colors that didn't stand out well, or stood out by clashing with the image itself. The music didn't go with the images being presented, and there wasn't much variety in what was being shown so you quickly lose interest.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Hans, Pre-Video Assignment
Friday, February 26, 2016
Williams, Photo Assignment #4
The Board and Brew, as the name suggests, is a board-game-themed cafe. For an extra five dollars, customers can choose from a selection of over 500 different games to play while they eat. The Board and Brew also hosts a variety of events, including a trivia night every Thursday evening.
Monopoly (Lead)
Behind the counter (Supporting Cast)
That's a lot of games! (Extra)
"What? Are you kidding me?" (Location Identifier)
This guy kind of reminds me of John Green (Wild Character)
Hans, Photo Assigment 4
For this week's assignment, I decided to attend one of two Bach Cantata performances this semester. They performed for approximately 30 minutes which was full of classical music and various instrumental and vocal solos.
Side note: Although I wanted to, I wasn't able to get up close to take appropriate pictures. Therefore, I had to take some pictures zoomed in (which leads to why some of the photos are blurry and/or not focused).
Lead: Audience members intently watching the concert.
Supporting Cast: Three orchestra performers playing their hearts out.
Extra: One can never separate the bond between a man and his organ.
Wild Character: Although she might look possessed, she is gracefully conducting the band through the music.
Location Identifier: The next performance will occur on April 23 at 1:30 in the Grand Pavilion.
Quintanilla, Photo Assignment #4
Architecture Career Fair
On February 19, 2016, University of Maryland's School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation hosted a career fair in their "Great Space".
The first thing you see is the sign-in table. I was one of the first to arrive, but the staff looks like they've been there all day. This picture was taken directly outside of the Great Space, where I got down on my knees next to the table.
"So tell me a little bit about yourself."
AECOM representatives, like those of the seventy other firms present at the fair, ask and answer questions. They are the first visible table in the space (companies were organized in alphabetical order) so it was very popular with students.
Freshmen Lames and Reyna read the guide to help give me directions. We are on the boundary of the Great Space, resting near a table. In the distance you can see a few more tables with company representatives.
Peeping through a hanging sculpture on the second floor, I can see the representatives for the firm of David M. Schwartz discussing their next move. The sculpture acts like a giant net, blocking out some of the sound from below. To the right of the tables is the large wooden "store" full of supplies for upperclassmen.
From the corner of the second floor, one can see how large the space is and how many people there are. The echoing sound is incredible. I had to lean over the wall and stretch out my arms to take this photo.
Samelson, Photo Assignment #4
The Singapore Embassy in Washington D.C. hosts an annual Chinese New Year Reception for Singaporeans and their families. The Ambassador gives a short speech before attendees mingle over authentic Singapore cuisine that is not easily found elsewhere in the D.C. region. Singaporeans have the chance to reconnect and find new contacts with a similar background.
Thwaite, Photo Assignment #4
This past Saturday night, like countless before it, fans gathered at the University Mall Theatre in Fairfax, VA to witness and participate in a true cult classic--The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Performed by local cast the Transylvanian Concubines, the midnight performance was typical for long time attendees and anything but for newcomers, who were brought onstage to perform in the affectionately-named "Virgin Games" before settling in to try and make sense of the movie and their fellow moviegoers. Onlookers came in costume of their own, and provided the interactive callback lines and hurled props that have made Rocky infamous since its theatrical debut in 1975. After the show, the fun continued at the local IHOP with a traditional post-show diner binge amongst cast members and friends before heading home and falling asleep just before sunrise.
Wolfgram, Photo Assignment #4
Club Basketball is a University of Maryland staple. With over one hundred participants attending on February 24th alone, the club has proven to be an extremely popular outlet for players of all skill levels. Housed in the Armory, the club divides into teams and plays scrimmages, observed by official referees. Win or lose, the player's and club organizer's passion for the game is obvious.
Hsiao, Photo Assignment #4
UMD students taking HONR218T ("Political Theater" On Stage and in Washington, D.C.) go downtown to catch an 8pm showing of "Guards at the Taj" presented by the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. Unbeknownst to most UMD students, Washington, D.C. is actually one of the liveliest theatre hubs in the country and has plenty of theaters that offer discounted tickets for students.
Guo, Photo Assignment 4
UMD students hard at work at Terps Boxing Practice. The practice was short on people since the normal practice was cancelled due to a gas leak in the school of Public Health. The practice, led by President Jeff P., consisted of mainly mitt work and bag work, with less conditioning due to lack of space.
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| Preparing for practice |
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| President of Terps Boxing(right) leading Mitt Work |
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| Working the Heavy Bag |
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| Hands Always Up, Mitt Work |
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| Practice held in Eppley b/c of gas leak in SPH |
Turner, Photo Assignment #4
Men's Basketball, Michigan vs University of Maryland. Students came out to support the Terrapins for their second to last home game and to take part in the annual Gold Rush game. The stadium was filled with cheering fans, waiting in anticipation to see if the Terps could come back from their first at-home loss. After an incredibly close game, the Maryland Terrapins came through with the win, 86-82.
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