CAP 105 Weekly Blog

Week 1: Intro to Adobe Creative Suite

 September 5th, 2017 
Intro to Creative Suite
I have always loved to design things, and draw. As a little girl, I even had a Hello Kitty portable (in the car) desk. It was filled with crayons, makers, drawing, sketches, and shavings from my pencils. However, I grew up thinking I was going to be a doctor. Finally, sophomore year, I realized how unfulfilling it was. There was a whole side of me not being used, so I switched my major. 

I became an Advertising major and a studio art minor; I was finally in the right place. However, before our first class on Tuesday, I didn't have a lot of familiarity with Adobe Suite. I knew mostly about Illustrator and InDesign based on my internship with the Johnson Center, and being the Editor-in-Chief for my high school newspaper. I was really glad to know that we were going to be learning other programs such as Au for audio, Pr for video editing, and After Effects (animation). After Effects and Premiere are the programs I want to learn most because my sister and brother are both in film school, and I want to understand everything too. 

 Luckily, I was already very familiar with the term, "vector." A vector and a regular image (like a jpeg) has different pixelations. Vectors are very clear, while images (zoomed in) are not. Being a creative mind, and wanting to pursue something in the advertising industry, having basic knowledge of design like vectors is vital. Almost every document nowadays has vectors on it. However, one new thing I learned was the differences of vectors and rasters. I never really knew what they stood for, or what the difference even was. File names (vectors): .ai, .eps, .pdf, .svg). File names (rasters): .jpg, .gif, .png, .tif).

I think this is very important to learn the basics of Adobe Suite, whether or not someone is headed into the creative field. I am eager to learn the rest of the applications and build a better repertoire for my skills. 

I did some further exploring about Adobe's Premiere application. I stumbled upon this video, and it really helped! Maybe in due time, I'll be as good as my siblings. 

Check out the video here! 

Week 2: Viral Stuff

 September 12th, 2017 
Contagious: Why Things Catch On



For the class this past Tuesday, we read and watched some of Jonah Berger's Contagious: Why Things Catch On. There is an animated video clip explaining Berger's book on Youtube. You can watch it below! Why do things go viral? 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfSs_hOAkzY

So for this class, we learned about viral marketing (6 factors):  

1. Social Currency
People share what makes them look good or cool. 
                 Example: Starbucks, Micheal Kors, Instagram feeds: foods
2. Triggers
How are you reminded of a idea or product?  
                 Example: The song “Friday” is link to a day of week, so people were triggered on that day every week. Kit Kat did the same thing, Kit Kat = Coffee (5% every year then went up). 
3. Emotion 
Strong emotion make people want to share; they is a desire to share. Stay away from sadness, that's why no one like Sarah McLachlan.
                 Example: ASPCA commercials, Pure Michigan
4. Public
What is everyone else doing? Can people see when they are using our product?
                 Example: The owner's convenience for Apple products. The MacBooks apple actually faced the other way but noticed that people were seeing the product upside down.
5. Practical Value
Is it helpful? What is the practical value?
                 Example: "My New Favorite Way to Read," something that will make our life easier and better so they will share it. 
6. Stories
Is the product relevant, is it part of a cool story?
Share stories. 

                 Example: Belly flop into the pool with Casino name written on his chest. Not the most effective ad. The blending show, the product was a part of the story. 

I absolutely agree with this six steps. Our society, unfortunately, has become more about others than the individual. It is really interesting to see what is becoming viral, and what is not. People love other peoples' lives so therefore all of these steps accurately apply. 

In this class, Prof. Penney brought up The Blair Witch Project film. It is a cult classic. This movie was only made for around $25,000, and the movie profited big time. I am one of those people that believes that the movie is dumb, and poorly made film (then again I don't like horror). But regardless of my opinion, there's no denying the fact that this movie was successful by the 6 factors listed above. Most of the audience questioned if the movie was fake, or not but fans from all over were made like, "Hey dude! This movie is nuts, you have to go see it." And thus, the cult fiction was born and it went viral. 

Week 3: Intro to Photoshop

 September 19th, 2017 
Intro to Photoshop
I have never been a master of Photoshop. A while ago, I felt like I needed a Graphic Design basics course because I was falling behind on the technology and how things work. Prof. Penney assured us last Tuesday that we would learn the basics, and he understands that most of us are "newbies."

Photoshop is a photo editing program (mostly). There are are over 20 tools and more ways to help you edit an photo. This is photography for experts. What photoshop allows someone to do is to professionally enhance photos using a multitude of lighting, shading, blending, etc. Prof. Penney showed us at least 7 of the tools to help guide us while using the application. Then he showed us examples of how Photoshop is used. In particular, there was an image of a grandma who was made to look younger. The photographer literally turned back time (digitally) in the photo. Another example he showed, were the movie posters. Prof. Penney gave an original movie poster as one of the examples. There were so many layers, and effects. But it was cool to see the "behind scenes" aspect of the enhanced photo. I think both examples show the flexibility of Photoshop.



One of my favorite series of pictures was done using photoshop. The artist's name is Jirka Vinse Jonatan Vaatainen and he's based in Helsinki, Finland. He specializes in digital compositing, photo manipulation, and digital painting. These pieces of art show excellent creativity, composition, and effect. 





You can find all his artwork under 'Work," then 'Disney.' 

I am also in Art 335, so at the end of class, Prof. Penney let us have free reign on Photoshop. I continued to work on my project for my other class which was to make a postcard in Photoshop. There are so many things that could be done in photoshop, in this instance I took the Disney (Peter Pan) approach too. In that class, I learned additional tip on how to work with photoshop this is the postcard I created. 



Week 4: License Plate 

 September 26th, 2017 
Photoshop License Plate Tutorial 

Last Tuesday, we were given the opportunity to work in Photoshop some more. This little project was a little harder than I was used to because I had never used any time of embossing, or chisels in my work. In class, each student was to create their own license plate in Photoshop. We were given an instructional video, and a set of written instructions for this project. 

The video we watched can be seen below! 


I really liked this project because it was something new to me, and it was a little harder because I am still unfamiliar with certain tools, and how to navigate my way through the application.


Week 5: Photoshop Layers

 October 3rd, 2017 
Photoshop Design and Layers
This past Tuesday, Prof. Penney gave us a Zip drive to pull images from. The images were provided by Prof. Penney from a set her worked on. He asked us to create our own movie posters based on the images. This was a good class, because I was able to learn more controls thank to Prof. Penney. 

The tools we used: 
Magic eraser 
Free transform
Color effects
Opacity
Layers
Image effects 

During class, I think everyone struggled a few different times. However, we had the time to learn and explore with the images we wanted to create. I think one of the best ways to learn Adobe Creative Suit is watch tutorials. Each time we've learned something new in Photoshop, we have been able to watch it happen either by Prof. Penney or instructions on Youtube. I highly recommend Youtube to learn. 


Week 6: Photos

 October 10th, 2017 
Photography
I absolutely love photography. I think pictures are worth so much more than 1,000 words. Pictures are a way for the forgotten to be remembered. When my grandmother began to show signs of dementia, it was heartbreaking. Short term, and memory retrieval went  downhill very quickly. However, once we began to show her photos, many memories came back to the surface. It was pretty magical to see. 

This past Tuesday, our class in CAP 105 discussed the basics of photography. Next week, we have a trip planned to a photography studio so that should be pretty rad. Prof. Penney showed us a powerpoint that explained the basics needed for photos to be successful and the different elements that go into photography. That class, we learned the fundamental (and necessary) parts of a camera and different techniques used by professional photographers. 

There is a lot more science that goes into photography than people realize. For instance, there are multiple lenses that can make a picture better or worse. Also, those lenses have focal lengths. Which are wide angles, and standard lenses depending on what someone is photographing. Most professional photographers use a manual setting because they are going for an effect. However, for amateur photographers like myself, there are camera modes that work well: automatic, and aperture priority. 

Things a photographer needs to look out for: 
Shutter Speed 
ISO 
Depth of the field 
3-point lighting system 
Aperture 
Perspective 

and last but certainly not least, 

Rule of Thirds. 

When a photographer keeps those in mind, they are also creating the idea composition for that photo. There are multiple angles, and controls that benefit the photographer during a shoot. Prof. Penney made sure knew that light, focus, rule of thirds, exposure, color, and perspective were some of the few elements in a photography. 

One of my favorite photographers is Annie Leibovitz. She is an American portrait photographer who has captured some of the most beautiful people in the world. However, a series of photographs came out--celebrities as Disney characters. I think Leibovitz uses many of the elements needed to make a quality photo including: lighting, rule of thirds, exposure, color, focus, perspective, and resolution. 


Week 7: Field Trip

 October 17th, 2017 
Green Frog Photo
Class Field Trip 
This past Tuesday, the class took a field trip to a professional photography studio in downtown Grand Rapids near the Pew Campus. Unfortunately, it was hard to find riding a motorcycle because there wasn't a large sign for the building or the company. Perhaps they don't want people knowing about the thousands and thousands of dollars worth of equipment being held there. 

Anyways, our class had the opportunity to meet a colleague of Prof. Penney, JD Hage. Hage was a lively individual. He was full of knowledge, and passion about what he does for a living. He was the primary speaker during this class time. He began by asking us questions: what is your major? what do you want to do with your life? I personally I hate those questions, then gave his advice on everything we said but ce la vie. He then began to explain photography in depth. 

What is photography? 

Hage mentioned many things about the equipment, lights and the effects of lighting on a subject (lighting and camera are the most important parts of any good photo). He talked a lot about what we learned earlier in class, the 3-point system and how it effect the photo. It was really cool to see the different lights, and especially how one light can give off absolutely no heat while another light could burn your skin right off. 

Hage is a partner at Green Frog Photo. He has been a "doer" for all of his life. He began to have experience with photography in middle school in a dark room. Since then, he worked his way up through various jobs (some good, some awful) until he became an owner. He said that his job comes with many forms of stress but at the end of the day he works for himself, and loves what he does. Which is something I aspire to do. JD Hage is a great photographer, and his specialty? Food. 

You can take a look at the services and work by JD Hage here! 


I really loved the structure of this class. I found it interesting, and it applied to the real world. It was really inspiring to see a professional (who didn't graduate college mind you) love what he does, and gets paid for it. Right now, I'm at a little loss of what I want to do but whatever that may be I want to have as much passion at JD Hage. 



Week 8: Intro to Video
October 24th, 2017 
Intro to Video and Editing
My brother and sister are the film people in my family. My sister goes to Columbia College in Chicago for film editing, and my brother goes to USC for the Peter Stark Program (Directing/Producing). 

But, I am the writer at least. 

Last Tuesday, we began to learn about video editing and how long it really can take. The powerpoint went over basic editing tools, strategies for creating a film, and other various tools used in Adobe Premier. Prof. Penney taught as the Basic Film Paradigm which is set up, confrontation, and resolution. All videos should have this. Then the basics of a script, this is part of the planning process. Have you ever heard, location, location, location!? Well it's important. In a video, location, lighting, sound, editing, and even the angles of the camera all play a vital role in its success.

Here's a short film that accurately shows us the power of editing/effects: 


I really liked the video! I have seen many short films (by friends and siblings), and this one was just as good if not better. Editing allows the people who make the film to add effects, and give meaning and emotion to the video for the audience. 

 Prof. Penney was kind enough to begin to help us with color, sound, and clipping the videos together. For next class, we should be able to have a 2-3 minute video. I haven't used Premier prior to this, so I'm sure it won't be easy. 


Week 9: Video Making and Editing 
October 31st, 2017 
Video Making/ Editing 
Three Minute Short Film

 https://youtu.be/RbtN1Z3exw4

Week 10: Video Production Blog Post 
November 7th, 2017 
Side by Side Documentary

 The Side by Side documentary film t hat we watched in class was really cool to see. I don't normally like documentaries, as I get bored easily - ADHD - but this one was interesting. It was basically a history lesson on film making and the behind the scenes of Hollywood. This past Tuesday after class, I even messaged my sister (she's in film school in Chicago at Columbia) and asked if she had watched it. She said, no and I was shocked. I thought as a film editor she would be interested to watch it too. 

 The film was directed by Christopher Kenneally and produced by none other than Keanu Reeves. I like him more as a director/producer than an actor. Later, I found out that it was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival. 

 Film will never go out of style. Many colorists, cinematographers, and directors still love the experience they have with film. The movie itself focused a lot on the development of the video production: the movement from film to digital. Each person (directors, actors, camera   people) gave their perspective on the switch. Mostly, it was said that digital was easy to use more so than real film especially when reviewing the takes. The movie shows the process of film. 

Hollywood, and the movie making industry will continue to advance (especially into the digital age according to George Lucas). It seems like film itself is moving out of the way, but many doers in Hollywood are still holding on to the magic of film. However, camera companies have stopped producing film for big movies, so the questions begs, in 70 years will there be anyone left who still loves film?

 Overall, this was a great documentary. I'm really glad we watch it. I would like to think that film is on the way out but I also think that there is a magic behind producing and making something by hand. It's old school, but priceless. I do believe the quality of digital is much better than real film, but perhaps that's because I am an amateur. Also, I think that digital has the capability of crossing the line as realistic vs unrealistic whereas film is very realistic. 

 Below you can watch a video to see the differences! 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVAv0Xx6Un8

Week 11: Photo Blog Post 

November 14th, 2017 
Professional Photo

Although we didn't meet for class as Prof. Penney had a conference to go to. He asked us to meet with our groups for the final project. During this time, our group was able to meet, plan out what we we're doing, and film the final parts of the commercial that Cole is putting together. 

Our final project has multiple moving parts including: website design, graphic design, commercial, social media and photography. Amanda Hume in our class is the photographer for our final project. Earlier in the semester, we visited the Green Frog Photo company downtown Grand Rapids for class. It was a great way to learn about the real world. The company's building was an old brick structure which my team and I thought would be a great background for professional photos. Amanda took all our pictures on her iPhone because no one in our group had a professional camera. 

However, we took the knowledge learned at Green Frog Photo, and in class, and applied to the photos afterwards. In the photo below, I used photoshop to edit the photo so that it's "beautified" and to make sure that the 3-point lights, white balance, tone, contrast and cropping to enhance it.

The first image is the original, the second is the edited version. 



Week 12: Logo Blog Post

November 21st, 2017 
Logos in Canva 

This class period on November 21st, 2017, there was probably five people in the class. We weren't able to accomplish much with that class size. However, Prof. Penney spent a little time discussing logos, and how to create them. We used a site called Canva, which is a wonderful design website. On Canva, there are many different templates that could be used for a company or a personal brand. Below are the logos that I helped created. The First two logos are used with Canva. While the last logo, Nikki designed for our class project. The first logo is something I thought of when we first started the project and the middle logo reflects who I am as a person. 

Each logo has a simple design and legible print. The Fresh Creative Company logo was meant to represent fresh, healthy, farm foods relevant to our project. My personal logo reflects my blog, and my connection to my home state Hawaii. 




Week 13: Website Blog Post 

November 28th, 2017 
Website Design






The two diagrams above were mentioned in the power point this week. It's important for companies to have working websites that are user friendly, and pleasing to the eye. The first diagram is to ensure that you have all the basic necessities for a website, and the second diagram is used to pick colors out that make it "look pretty." 

A website must have the following to be successful: 

  • Easy to understand navigation 
  • Proper use of color
  • Proper use of animation 
  • An easy to use layout
  • Please to the eye
  • Appropriate to the topic
  • The design elements don't get in the way of the content
  • Great content that's easy to find, navigate, consume and share.

Also keep in mind these helpful hints: clear and consistent navigation, click rule, load time, F-pattern, San Serif Fonts

For our final group project, we had to create a working website. Our team member Zack Berkemeier was the website design at Fresh Creative Co, so he created the website for us. Although it's off to a great start Zack is still working on the page to make it finalized. I believe that our website follows many of the requirements for a successful and used friendly website. 

Click below to visit it! 
https://berkemeierz.wixsite.com/freshcco​




Week 14: Postcard Blog Post 

December 5th, 2017 
Postcard Design

Last Tuesday was our last normal class. It's been real. It was fun designing this postcard in InDesign. I love InDesign as an Adobe application, I think it works much better than Microsoft publisher. There's so much you can do with it!   Anyone can design posters, postcards, flyers, brochures, magazines, and even books. During class last Tuesday, Prof. Penney explained to us that, "Adobe InDesign is a desktop publishing software application produced by Adobe Systems." 

One of the most important elements to InDesign is the Bleed. 

Bleed -  Is used for print only, extra space in addition to your page size that’s cut off when artwork “bleeds” to the edge of the page, so you don’t have any white border which what we all want. 

Check this out for beginners in InDesign:


This was the link used to make the postcard: 


Here is the finished product! 






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