Tuesday, May 20, 2014

My Video and Sound Editing Class

It seemed like a great way to allow everyone in my group a chance to show their creativity without the constraints reality would impose. It would also allow us to explore more possibilities with the Adobe Premiere software. So, we agreed that for our last assignment in our Video-Sound Editing class to create a series of dream sequences. People got to direct their own “dream”.

With the use of a green screen, we weren’t limited to location. We could be on a boat or in space or wherever. The opening and ending, which were the parts where we were awake and not dreaming, tied everything together so we had a story. I was amazed and impressed by what my classmates came up with. I am very proud of the finished product. I’d like to give a shout out to my team. You guys are great!

Despite the fact that this was an eight-week course, I feel like we accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. We started out with simply learning how to operate the camera and record video and audio. We each made a video with examples of different types of shots, like the pan, tilt, zoom and pedestal shot. We tested the different options we had for recording audio, like a hand mic, lapel mic and a shotgun mic. We recorded the same sounds with all the different types of mics to see how differently they’d pick up the sound.

We did some practical things in class such as editing wrestling match footage and exporting the video in different formats to compare file size and quality. We learned how to properly light a scene for interviews. We did some silly things when it came to editing sound and adding sound effects to video.

As a bonus, our instructor showed us how to create a DVD with a menu and chapter titles in Adobe Encore.  This will be helpful to know how to do if you want to create a demo DVD of your work. After I learned this, I took a video I filmed of our family’s Easter egg hunt this year, burned it to a DVD and gave it to my grandma.

Since I do have a lot of work to share from this semester, I thought I’d make a demo reel so you’ll be able to see a sample of what I’ve made. Look for it on my blog soon!

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Portfolio Night and Car Show

It was convenient that all I had to do was walk down the steps after class and I was at Portfolio Night. The tables were lined up in the main entrance foyer with students’ work they had completed during their time at MPTC. There were demo reels of animation and video.  Students showed off their graphic design work. The web design students brought their laptops so we could view all the websites they’ve created.

I knew many of the students who participated that day. It was good to see them since some I have not seen in a while. Four of my previous and current instructors were there as well. I was there for two reasons: One, to support my friends and classmates. Two, to get an idea of what to expect for next year’s Portfolio Night when it’ll be my turn to show my work to the faculty, staff, students, local employers and the community.

I was happy I was able to attend. I don’t get to do as much on campus as I did last year due to my busy schedule. But fortunately this week it worked out that not only did I get to go to Portfolio Night, I also got to go to the Car Show in Fond du Lac on Sunday. I’ve never been to it before, but I’ve heard about it and was curious. There were lots of cool cars and the weather was perfect for being outside.  Hopefully we can keep that weather nice from now until the end of the semester.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Part 4: A Week in the Life of an MPTC Student



Note: For better video quality, change the settings of the video player to HD.​

This is the fourth and final installment of my "Week in the Life of an MPTC Student" video series. Join me during the first Saturday and Sunday in March as I explain how I created my videos, spend time with my friends as we play trivia, and as I reflect on the week.

You can view Part 1 here: A Week in the Life of an MPTC Student - Part 1
And Part 2 here: A Week in the Life of an MPTC Student - Part 2
And Part 3 here: A Week in the Life of an MPTC Student - Part 3