Okay, it appears that everything has been successfully burned to my DVD! I just have to make a copy for myself, and I'm all set.
Finishing the iWeb project turned out to be a little harder than I thought, because I wasn't very good at stylizing it to fit my theme. I tried, however, but I feel like there must be iWeb tools that I don't know about.
The instructions say that the final work must be linked in blogger, but I'm not sure what that means. I didn't notice that part of the instructions until today. I have a link to blogger in my iWeb project, but I'm not sure how to go about putting a link to the iWeb project in blogger, since it's not actually online. Here is where it is on the desktop, however: file:///Users/higginrc01/Desktop/Rachel-iWeb.sites2/
I'm not sure if that means anything, but hopefully it does! I guess that the assignment sheet must mean to have a link to blogger in iWeb, because I don't know how that would work otherwise.
I hope people enjoy seeing my stuff tomorrow--I did try hard to make it as good as I could with time and knowledge constraints. Fingers crossed!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Finished
My documentary is complete, at last! It's nine minutes and twenty seconds in length. I had to edit it a bit to get it even that short, and I would like to have it a little shorter so as not to bore people, but I can't really figure out what isn't necessary to the video.
Reflections:
While up until today I was having issues with the audio, everything seems to be working okay now. I think a strength of my documentary is that I actually went out and interviewed people that I did not know, and got opposing perspectives on a controversial issue. In this way, I think I fulfilled the requirements of the assignments. I think a weakness of my documentary, however, is that it does not have enough of a particular style. I tried to give it some style by using the "cross blur" transition throughout and the faded, "gradient-white" subtitle, which almost look kind of smokey, but it certainly was not as styled as other videos, such as the skateboarding documentary. I rather like my intro, however, which plays Bon Jovi's "One Last Cigarette," which is obviously relevant to the documentary, while showing many shots of discarded cigarette butts. The cigarette butts are things that were once used but are now tossed and forgotten, much like smoking in general on campus soon will be.
My main concern is that my documentary won't be captivating enough. I would like it to be fun to watch, but after the intro, it gets a lot drier. I can't really think of how to make the subject more "fun," however. Having never used iMovie before and rarely ever used a video camera, I'm relieved that it came out as good as it did, even if it could be better. Meeting new people to interview also was not as scary as I initially thought. All in all, the experience was a lot more enjoyable than I would have imagined when we were first assigned the project.
Reflections:
While up until today I was having issues with the audio, everything seems to be working okay now. I think a strength of my documentary is that I actually went out and interviewed people that I did not know, and got opposing perspectives on a controversial issue. In this way, I think I fulfilled the requirements of the assignments. I think a weakness of my documentary, however, is that it does not have enough of a particular style. I tried to give it some style by using the "cross blur" transition throughout and the faded, "gradient-white" subtitle, which almost look kind of smokey, but it certainly was not as styled as other videos, such as the skateboarding documentary. I rather like my intro, however, which plays Bon Jovi's "One Last Cigarette," which is obviously relevant to the documentary, while showing many shots of discarded cigarette butts. The cigarette butts are things that were once used but are now tossed and forgotten, much like smoking in general on campus soon will be.
My main concern is that my documentary won't be captivating enough. I would like it to be fun to watch, but after the intro, it gets a lot drier. I can't really think of how to make the subject more "fun," however. Having never used iMovie before and rarely ever used a video camera, I'm relieved that it came out as good as it did, even if it could be better. Meeting new people to interview also was not as scary as I initially thought. All in all, the experience was a lot more enjoyable than I would have imagined when we were first assigned the project.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Voiceovers
One of the last things to complete are the voiceovers I need at the beginning, ending, and middle sections of the documentary. Here is my intro:
At the University at Buffalo, one practice that 30 to 40% of college students do everyday has gone up in smoke: Since August 2010, UB has had a completely smoke free campus, which has been applauded by some students, but others believe it is in violation of their rights. Buffalo State students, who will soon be facing a similar policy, have to ask: Is the policy fair? Effective? Or does smoke-free also mean freedom free?
I have a song about smoking "one last cigarette" in the background to the intro, and it leads right into the opening titles. Here is the conclusion:
It's obviously debatable and a matter of opinion if the Smoke-Free policy has been a success. Some will be motivated to quit. Others will continue to rebel against a policy that cannot be enforced. The campus culture is indeed changing against smoking, however, and a campus with fewer smokers is perhaps even better than a zero tolerance cigarette ban. Buffalo State can learn from UB's experiences, but we will soon get to find out the fate of smoking on campus for ourselves.
Thus, both the opening and closing voiceovers remind the class that while this is a documentary about the Smoke Free Policy at UB, the issue is of particular concern to Buff State students, as the policy will soon be here. The documentary is therefore framed by the fact that what has affected UB will now affect Buff State, even though only one shot at the end actually takes place on Buff State Campus.
At the University at Buffalo, one practice that 30 to 40% of college students do everyday has gone up in smoke: Since August 2010, UB has had a completely smoke free campus, which has been applauded by some students, but others believe it is in violation of their rights. Buffalo State students, who will soon be facing a similar policy, have to ask: Is the policy fair? Effective? Or does smoke-free also mean freedom free?
I have a song about smoking "one last cigarette" in the background to the intro, and it leads right into the opening titles. Here is the conclusion:
It's obviously debatable and a matter of opinion if the Smoke-Free policy has been a success. Some will be motivated to quit. Others will continue to rebel against a policy that cannot be enforced. The campus culture is indeed changing against smoking, however, and a campus with fewer smokers is perhaps even better than a zero tolerance cigarette ban. Buffalo State can learn from UB's experiences, but we will soon get to find out the fate of smoking on campus for ourselves.
Thus, both the opening and closing voiceovers remind the class that while this is a documentary about the Smoke Free Policy at UB, the issue is of particular concern to Buff State students, as the policy will soon be here. The documentary is therefore framed by the fact that what has affected UB will now affect Buff State, even though only one shot at the end actually takes place on Buff State Campus.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Importing photo troubles
I'm working on my documentary right now, and I'm having trouble importing a photo that's from the internet into my project. I tried the "save image as" method, and I tried to take a screenshot of it, and then drag the screen shot into iMovie. I'm not sure why it won't work, as I've dragged other screenshots into it before. The image isn't vital, but I wanted to use it so I had more visuals that weren't the interviewees talking. I even tried taking a screen shot of a screen shot, but that didn't work, either.
Another problem I just discovered is that some of my clips that aren't supposed to have their own sound because they are when I do the voiceover are now not muted. I had them muted before, but now they play sound and won't let me adjust the audio. No idea what would make this happen! Actually, it seems like it's not letting me make any changes to my movie at all...I don't see what I could have done to cause this. I'll probably have to email Professor Bae to ask for help, because I don't see how I can fix it so I can proceed working on it.
Phew! After restarting iMovie, everything seems to be working. I guess I always have to remember that when something goes wrong, simply restart the program. I also just figured out a problem I was having with my voiceovers. When I would insert an image or video in between two clips of the interviewee talking, with her various carrying on during the image/video part, her voice would fade in and out. I didn't realize I had to manually make sure that did not happen.
I've been trying to think about what I want in terms of background music, but so far I haven't been able to come up with something I want to use. I'm also not sure if there will only be music in the intro and beginning, or if it should be spread throughout. I've got to figure this out pretty soon!
Another problem I just discovered is that some of my clips that aren't supposed to have their own sound because they are when I do the voiceover are now not muted. I had them muted before, but now they play sound and won't let me adjust the audio. No idea what would make this happen! Actually, it seems like it's not letting me make any changes to my movie at all...I don't see what I could have done to cause this. I'll probably have to email Professor Bae to ask for help, because I don't see how I can fix it so I can proceed working on it.
Phew! After restarting iMovie, everything seems to be working. I guess I always have to remember that when something goes wrong, simply restart the program. I also just figured out a problem I was having with my voiceovers. When I would insert an image or video in between two clips of the interviewee talking, with her various carrying on during the image/video part, her voice would fade in and out. I didn't realize I had to manually make sure that did not happen.
I've been trying to think about what I want in terms of background music, but so far I haven't been able to come up with something I want to use. I'm also not sure if there will only be music in the intro and beginning, or if it should be spread throughout. I've got to figure this out pretty soon!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Done with shooting
Last week I decided that I have enough footage for what I want to do. I've attempted to interview smokers who oppose the ban, but I've gotten a lot of people saying they don't have time to be interviewed, or that they're trying to quit so they support the smoke free policy (which is an interesting perspective, but wasn't what I was looking for). Now that my documentary is pieced together, I see that I have more than enough material, and the tricky part now is figuring out what is best to cut out.
The last visuals that I have gathered are from the Campus Smoke Out that happened last week. This took place on both Buffalo State and UB campuses. I took some photographs of the Buffalo State version, and there are pictures of the UB one online, so I will incorporate those into my documentary as stills when somebody is talking, probably when the Quitting workshops are being discussed.
The documentary project is going slower than I'd like. I want to finish it soon so I still have time to have it checked by Dr. Bae before we have to hand them in for a final grade, but my other classes have been so demanding lately. I'd like to bring it home to work on over Thanksgiving if I can figure out a way. I have another video project coming up for a different class, so I want to finish this up quick before I have two on my hands!
The last visuals that I have gathered are from the Campus Smoke Out that happened last week. This took place on both Buffalo State and UB campuses. I took some photographs of the Buffalo State version, and there are pictures of the UB one online, so I will incorporate those into my documentary as stills when somebody is talking, probably when the Quitting workshops are being discussed.
The documentary project is going slower than I'd like. I want to finish it soon so I still have time to have it checked by Dr. Bae before we have to hand them in for a final grade, but my other classes have been so demanding lately. I'd like to bring it home to work on over Thanksgiving if I can figure out a way. I have another video project coming up for a different class, so I want to finish this up quick before I have two on my hands!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Stumbling Blocks Part Two
Between being sick and very busy, I've had a hard time interviewing more people. I went online and posted on some Buffalo State discussion boards (such as Ask Buffalo) that were talking about the new Buff State no smoking policy. I asked some people who were opposed to the policy if they would be willing to be interviewed, but I haven't heard back from them.
Yesterday, I was supposed to get a video camera and then today I was going to ask Buff State students "on the street" what their opinion of the smoking ban was. While I had reserved a camera, nobody had turned any in yet, so I couldn't get a camera until today. I got the camera today, and was going to immediately interview people while it was light out and the weather was nice. Unfortunately, the camera's battery was completely dead, so instead I'm charging it and typing this blog post instead. Hopefully, it charges in time for me to interview people before I have my next class, as it gets dark so early now.
I have gathered more materials to incorporate into my documentary. I have several pamphlets on the UBreathe Free policy, which I will show while doing a voice over on the policy. I also have the newspaper article that stated that Buff State was going to have a similar smoking ban. I have already taken many photographs of cigarette butts, no smoking signs, and videos of students walking around campus to also show when doing voice overs. I want to get a few more videos like this on Buff State's campus, as the others are all at UB.
I am still concerned that my documentary won't seem balanced, because I have someone on the one side that is very knowledgeable, and it is her job to know the facts and arguments. Because the anti smoking ban is not organized (all Facebook pages, even, that protested the ban are now defunct), there is no one that I know of to interview that will be able to give such lengthy and informative answers. I already have two opposing interviews, however, and I hope to get one or two more, so hopefully this will do. The main problem with these two interviews is that they seemed a little too apathetic about the issue, and I'd like someone who seemed a little more passionate (As Jamie would have, had she followed through on the interview).
Yesterday, I was supposed to get a video camera and then today I was going to ask Buff State students "on the street" what their opinion of the smoking ban was. While I had reserved a camera, nobody had turned any in yet, so I couldn't get a camera until today. I got the camera today, and was going to immediately interview people while it was light out and the weather was nice. Unfortunately, the camera's battery was completely dead, so instead I'm charging it and typing this blog post instead. Hopefully, it charges in time for me to interview people before I have my next class, as it gets dark so early now.
I have gathered more materials to incorporate into my documentary. I have several pamphlets on the UBreathe Free policy, which I will show while doing a voice over on the policy. I also have the newspaper article that stated that Buff State was going to have a similar smoking ban. I have already taken many photographs of cigarette butts, no smoking signs, and videos of students walking around campus to also show when doing voice overs. I want to get a few more videos like this on Buff State's campus, as the others are all at UB.
I am still concerned that my documentary won't seem balanced, because I have someone on the one side that is very knowledgeable, and it is her job to know the facts and arguments. Because the anti smoking ban is not organized (all Facebook pages, even, that protested the ban are now defunct), there is no one that I know of to interview that will be able to give such lengthy and informative answers. I already have two opposing interviews, however, and I hope to get one or two more, so hopefully this will do. The main problem with these two interviews is that they seemed a little too apathetic about the issue, and I'd like someone who seemed a little more passionate (As Jamie would have, had she followed through on the interview).
Stumbling Blocks
I'm not sure what happened, but there should be a third blog in between this one and the "First Shooting" blog. When I am on the profile screen, it says that there are three posts for my "Technology Journey" blog. When I actually go to the blog, however, I only find the first two.
The third blog records my interview with Sharlynn Daun-Barnett, who is the spokesperson for the University at Buffalo's UBreathe Free policy, and helps people who are trying to quit. She was very eloquent and provided long, detailed responses to my questions. She was very fair, and sympathetic to the problems the policy brings to smokers. The only problem is that it will be difficult to find someone who is so knowledgeable on the other side of the issue.
I then mentioned, in the post that disappeared, that I still have had no word from Jamie Major, the person that was supposed to be the main opposing view. I was really looking forward to hearing her perspective and seeing her anti UBreathe Free artwork, but I guess there is no chance of her responding to me at this point.
Luckily, I had little trouble getting Ms. Daun-Barnett's interview on iMovie. I had to restart iMovie to get it to show up, but then it imported smoothly from there.
The third blog records my interview with Sharlynn Daun-Barnett, who is the spokesperson for the University at Buffalo's UBreathe Free policy, and helps people who are trying to quit. She was very eloquent and provided long, detailed responses to my questions. She was very fair, and sympathetic to the problems the policy brings to smokers. The only problem is that it will be difficult to find someone who is so knowledgeable on the other side of the issue.
I then mentioned, in the post that disappeared, that I still have had no word from Jamie Major, the person that was supposed to be the main opposing view. I was really looking forward to hearing her perspective and seeing her anti UBreathe Free artwork, but I guess there is no chance of her responding to me at this point.
Luckily, I had little trouble getting Ms. Daun-Barnett's interview on iMovie. I had to restart iMovie to get it to show up, but then it imported smoothly from there.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
First Shooting
I have gotten ahold of a couple of people who are willing to be interviewed for my documentary. One of them is Sharlynn Daun-Barnett, a tobacco specialist of UB's Wellness Education Services and member of the UBreathe Free initiative. She said she would be happy to meet with me sometime after October 17th, though I haven't heard from her since then.
I also haven't heard from a former UB student who I was supposed to interview this past weekend. She seemed somewhat eager to do it, but since then she hasn't been returning my phone calls or texts. Hopefully, I can still work something out with her, because I think she would be an interesting voice in the discussion. She has created artwork protesting the UBreathe Free policy, which would be nice to present in the documentary.
I did, however, go to UB and have quick interviews with random people on campus. Two of them smoked, two of them did not. I was surprised at how difficult it was to find smokers to interview--it seems like UBreathe Free is actually working! I also took a lot of photographs and video of cigarette butts on the ground and "UBreathe Free" signs that were throughout the campus.
The issue I'm having now is that I can't get my videos to import into iMovie. I don't know why--I was able to do it last time, and I think I'm following the same steps this time. I hope I can figure out a way before I have to turn my camera back in! The photos are able to be imported, but not the videos, for some reason.
What seems to be the case is that my video files are MTS format, and they need to be converted in order to work in iMovie. I tried to do this, but the free version of the converter creates a watermark on the video. I don't want this, but I also don't want to spend $40 on the full version! I'll try to figure out another way to do it.
I also haven't heard from a former UB student who I was supposed to interview this past weekend. She seemed somewhat eager to do it, but since then she hasn't been returning my phone calls or texts. Hopefully, I can still work something out with her, because I think she would be an interesting voice in the discussion. She has created artwork protesting the UBreathe Free policy, which would be nice to present in the documentary.
I did, however, go to UB and have quick interviews with random people on campus. Two of them smoked, two of them did not. I was surprised at how difficult it was to find smokers to interview--it seems like UBreathe Free is actually working! I also took a lot of photographs and video of cigarette butts on the ground and "UBreathe Free" signs that were throughout the campus.
The issue I'm having now is that I can't get my videos to import into iMovie. I don't know why--I was able to do it last time, and I think I'm following the same steps this time. I hope I can figure out a way before I have to turn my camera back in! The photos are able to be imported, but not the videos, for some reason.
What seems to be the case is that my video files are MTS format, and they need to be converted in order to work in iMovie. I tried to do this, but the free version of the converter creates a watermark on the video. I don't want this, but I also don't want to spend $40 on the full version! I'll try to figure out another way to do it.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Documentary Project Theme
For my documentary, I would like to explore the “culture” of smoking, and on-campus groups that are trying to ban it. As a non-smoker, I tend to be on the latter’s side, but this will give me an opportunity to see the positions of people on both sides of the issue. I thought this would be a particularly relevant topic to document since it was just announced that Buffalo State was taking steps towards eventually banning smoking on campus.
I think a majority of my documentary would focus on the University at Buffalo (which I attended for four years), for they have had a smoking ban for several years now. By focusing on them, I can investigate if the ban seems to be effective, what motivates the people who enforce it, and what student opinion of the ban is. I would interview the UBreathe Free organization, investigate what exactly they do, and what options they give smokers who are either trying to quit, or refusing to quit. I would also interview people who are against the ban. I would try to get in contact with a fellow art student I knew who created artwork protesting the ban, claiming that the ban was anything but “free.”
I would ask UBreathe what they think about people who think the ban is going against their rights, and ask smokers (or those sympathetic to their plight) if they believe smoking is infringing on other people’s rights to breathe clean air and have a cigarette butt-free campus. I would then turn to Buffalo state faculty and students, and see what they feel about the impending loss of smoking culture on campus. Possibly, at the end, I will compare these on-campus bans to national and worldwide trends of eliminating smoking in public places, and what this means for the smoker who is finding fewer and fewer places to light up.
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