My New Schedule

An animation I'm creating in After Effects

It may take some time adjusting to my new schedule this semester. Last week was the first week of the spring semester, and with a new set of classes comes a new routine for me. Since I have class twice per week, I have to make up my hours at work by going in early and staying late certain days of the week. But, it seems to be working out just fine.

My class this semester is called Motion/Visual Effects. We will be learning how to use After Effects, a program used to make those pretty cool graphics you see in movies, TV shows, on the news, and the Web. We started going over the interface in class. My homework for this week included working with some exercise files. After we get a handle on how the features work, we’ll move into some more creative projects.

Despite the fact that some of my days are really busy, I do have one day every week where I don’t have work or class during the winter. I use this day to work on homework, do some cleaning around the house, and continue my volunteer work for a local educational non-profit.

Unfortunately, I can’t attend as many fun activities on campus as I like, but there are a few I’ll be able to take part of in the future. I was looking at the upcoming events on the myMPTC portal, and I was happy to see that many of the acts I suggested we have on campus are booked for this semester. I discovered these speakers and performers at the conferences I went to with Student Senate last year. At the conferences we got to watch these people speak or perform, and we also talked to them one-on-one. Please check out the events calendar and attend some of these events. I’m sure one or two of them will spark your interest.

My schedule will change yet again in March for the second half of the semester. The class I’m taking now is an accelerated course. Once this class is over in March, my other class, Video/Sound Editing, begins. I have been looking forward to this class for a long time. I noticed it a few semesters ago in the course catalog when it was first offered. Having made a video as an assignment for one of my other classes, I was really interested in learning video editing. I am fortunate to be in a position now to take it, along with other classes in the Audio-Video Certificate.

Good luck to all those who have begun classes. It’s going to be a great spring! (Especially after the snow melts and this bitter cold ends!)

Don’t Let Your Brain Turn Into Mush This Winter

It may sound a little strange to say, but I already miss going to class on Monday nights. It’s been three weeks since we’ve finished, and I miss my classmates and all the cool stuff we’ve gotten to do together. I am still in contact with a few of them, and that has been nice. Some of us are continuing our education through the break by working on building our portfolios and doing extra research online. One of my classmates has an interview for an internship, so I’m crossing my fingers for him.

At work we’ve purchased a new camera that takes excellent photos and HD video. So far I’ve only taken photos, but soon I’ll be filming. I have learned enough in class this past fall to do a few short videos. I’ve jotted down some promising ideas.

During the winter I have an extra day off of work each week, so I’m choosing to spend time teaching myself more about filming and editing. I also don’t want to lose any knowledge I’ve gained in class. I’m also hoping that there will be some awesome events on campus on my day off so I can attend them. I haven’t been able to participate as much as I did in the past recently.

I was watching a YouTube blogger today, and he was talking about New Year’s resolutions. Instead of resolutions, which tend to be pretty generic, he suggested making a list of New Year’s accomplishments. This would be a short list of things you want to accomplish by the end of 2014. I love that idea, especially since it’s attached to a timeframe. And, if you accomplish them by New Year’s Eve, you really have something to celebrate! I want to write down three things to accomplish this year. I want them to be attainable and something I’m proud of completing, so I’m going to give myself some time to think about it.

If you’re on winter break too, enjoy the rest of your time off, and don’t let your brain turn into mush! Keep learning and you’ll fall right back into place come spring semester.