11 x 17 Infographic Blog

       For this project, I decided to make an infographic about something to do with Rubik's Cubes. Since I have recently been competing with someone in my state for a state record, I decided to do a head to head graphic, between myself and Samuel Pollom. It was cool to see all the different ways I could compare our statistics. I decided that a head to head format would create a very intriguing and visually appealing graphic to compare myself to Pollom.
       In order to find all the statistics I needed for my infographic, I went to the World Cube Association website. Worldcubeassociation.org has a database that holds times and other stats for every event that has ever been held at every Rubik's Cube competition. All I had to do was search for my own name and Samuel Pollom's, and all of our times and placing at every competition we have been to were right there, on the website.
       When creating the layout/wireframe for this infographic, I went back and forth between a vertical and a horizontal design. I ultimately decided to go with horizontal, even though I had created both designs in Illustrator. I decided to make the title be rather large and in the center, with images of people on either side of it. Then right below, there would be the main stats, showing our times for four main cubes, with vivid colors that would attract your eye. And then there were two more things I needed to add to my design; number of competitions, and number of medals. I ultimately chose to put these on the edges of the infographic, with the number of competitions represented by buildings down a street and the number of medals represented by colored circles that looked like medals.
       As mentioned in the process of creating the wireframe, I experimented with vertical and horizontal designs for the infographic. The horizontal design looked less crowded, so I decided to go with that particular look. The people I created with the pen tool, coloring their shirts to go along with the building for number of competitions. For the cubes, I designed them using the different shape tools in Illustrator. I also chose a light gray background, so the white colors on the cubes would pop out.
       Most of the feedback I recieved after the presentation of my infographic was positive. My peers and fellow classmates enjoyed the infographic, and my teacher, Mrs. Smith, seemed to like it as well. The thing they liked the most was how it was easy to understand, even for someone who doesn't go to to Rubik's cube competitions.
       I really enjoyed creating this infographic. I hope we are able to do more things like it. So far, it has been the project with the most individuality, because we were able to do any topic we'd like. Those are the best projects because we are able to get the most out of our designs, and we generally like the topic we are creating the graphic about. It brings out the best work that we can, and is a great way to evaluate our skills in designing graphics.

Professional Article Review

       For this article review, I read "At a certain age, nothing is more important than fitting in," by Tom Hallman Jr. In the article, Hallman describes the life of a 14-year-old boy who has a dangerous skin disease, and how he just wants to fit in, but can't. Using a narrative style, he shows how the boy is just like everyone else, except for his deformity. This gives the article a sense of reality that regular news stories don't have. It also paints a very clear image of the boy's life using written words, in a way that is extraordinary. The article is so well written that I don't really know how to describe the feelings you get when you read it. And the article doesn't stop there. Besides being very entertaining, it is very informative. It shows how doctors have to deal with a child like the one in the article, shows the statistics about the disease, and other necessary info in order to learn from the article. The best writers are able to combine entertainment with information, and Tom Hallman Jr. does just that. I got a chance to read some of his other reports, which are just as good as this one. I have also found out that he has a blog, and writes regularly on it. He has written a few books as well. The link to get to his blog is here. 

What Makes a Good Feature Story

       Many people make feature stories. Even more people watch feature stories. Lots of news stations will have at least a few feature stories created every day. However, not all feature stories can be the best, but they can all at least be good. A good feature story has a lot of elements, and each element helps support the overall video. The elements that you need are a good voiceover, good b-roll, good nat-noise, good lighting, good interview shots, good interview questions, and an interesting subject.

Subjects

       The most important element is the interesting subject. You need to pick a subject of your video that is able to appeal to people, where most people will enjoy the subject. That does not mean picking the most popular thing when you create videos, it means picking the subject that you are excited about and won't be boring for people to watch. Of course, if the rest of your video is exceptional, especially your voiceover, then people will be interested no matter what the video is about.

Voiceover

       The second most important element to your video is your voiceover. That is where your own personal touch comes through the most. The only way for a viewer to know who you are is through your voice. You need to speak the best way that you can. That means reading your voiceover as if you were talking to someone about something that you really enjoy. If it sounds like the person saying the voiceover is really bored, then the whole video will seem boring to the viewer. However, if you have the voiceover sound like you are excited about the topic, it doesn't matter how bad the camera footage looks in the background, the viewer will be excited about the subject of your video.

Interview

       Interviews are essential to a feature story. It is the main topic of the video. The number one rule for having your interview in the feature story is to make sure to never have your voice in the finished video. If you talk during the interview, then someone watching the video will think that the interviewee is not talking to them, and it should not fell that way. The interviews need to be set up and introduced by the voiceovers. There also shouldn't be any jump cuts within the interview, so that there isn't a weird spot where the person is moving one way, and then they are suddenly moving a different way in the exact same setting. When setting up the interview, the interviewee needs to be positioned in the right third of the frame, looking to their right of the camera. It allows the most intriguing shot for a viewer to watch, and makes it seem like the interviewee is talking to them personally, even when they really aren't.

The Other Elements

       The b-roll footage should be visually interesting to someone watching the video, but not too interesting that it distracts from the voiceover. The b-roll should also be about the subject, and relating to the overall theme of the feature story. The six shot system using close-up to wide shots is the perfect way to film the b-roll footage, if you want it the viewer to be interested throughout the whole video. The lighting in the video also needs be pretty good, or else someone will either be blinded by the brightness of the shots, or unaware of anything happening on the screen because it is too dark. The b-roll needs to be filmed in a well-lit location, but the interview portion of the video requires a little more effort on your part. The best way to have lighting set up for an interview is a bright key light 45 degrees in front of the subject, a back light that isn't as bright behind the subject, and a fill light to the other 45 degrees of the subject, that isn't as bright as the key light. The natural noise isn't as important as the other elements of the feature story. The main point is to have natural noise throughout the entire video, but you need to keep it a minimalistic level.

Feature Story Experience

       Making a feature story video was very different than writing a feature story. Making a feature video means finding the right shots, making sure angles are good, asking the right questions in an interview. In a written feature story, you have to use all the right words and phrases, choosing the best adjectives and verbs to make your story the best it can be.
       When making a feature story video, you first need to figure out your topic and concept, then write down 21 interview questions. Then you need to start filming your b-roll. This can be any clips of the person doing their activity or the event, as long as it relates to the overall concept of the video. Then you should film your interview. There are many important tips for filming this. First, you need to make sure you have good lighting. The optimal positioning would be to have a light in the front, 45 degrees to the subject, a light behind the subject to get a back shadow, and a light to the other 45 degrees of the subject, so you have not too much light directly shining on the person. If you cannot have three lights, you should try to have a light that is 45 degrees to the subject, and that their face is clearly visible in the camera. When framing the subject in the camera, place them in the right third of the shot, looking to their right of the camera, for the best effect. After doing this, you can interview them, then get to editing. While editing, you will probably figure out what you want to do for your voice over. When you feel like you're ready, record your voiceover, and put it into your video. When you finish editing your video, export and upload to youtube.
       When writing your feature story, you need to make sure to have a central idea you want to show before you even write a word. That way, you know what your story will be about and you'll never start running off into other subjects as you write your story. The first two or so paragraphs need to have a narrative hook, so that when someone reads your story, they will be hooked from the beginning. The best way to do this is create a scene for them to imagine in their mind, and then they will want to finish that scene to the end. Throughout the middle, you don't want to lose your readers with boring information, give them facts and quotes that light up the topic you are writing about. Also make sure to have a strong ending, with a summarizing point that doesn't leave your readers hanging off the edge of a cliff.
       I definitely enjoyed doing the video feature story more than writing it. First of all, I am at least pretty good at making videos, and not as good at writing. Secondly, writing the feature story is a lot less exciting than editing a feature story. The writing part you just have to sit there and write or type words. For the editing, you get to see the result of the video as you edit it, and that is just a lot more exciting than just words on a screen.
       Below, you can see the feature story video that I have made, and below that, you can see the written feature story.

Written Feature Story

            The Sun starts shining into your eyes, you pull your helmet down a little, and get ready for the jump. You can feel your own heart beating to the rhythm of the other heart below you. You tell your horse to get ready, and you whistle quietly. Your horse starts trotting, and you bounce up and down slightly as you ride around the arena. The horse starts going faster, and you can feel every time the horse’s hoofs hit the ground. Suddenly, right before you hit a barrier in your path, you lean backward and sit up straighter and your horse jumps over a hurdle, kicking up dirt behind you.

            This is an experience Kaylan Johnson gets to have every week. She is a sophomore here at Olathe Northwest, who goes to stables to trains to ride horses. Johnson participates at many activities here at ONW, including AE and debate. However, she is able to find time to go horseback riding and is really good at it.

            Horseback riding is very difficult, and even the really experienced can make mistakes. The first time she tried to jump her new horse, Gracie, she almost fell off completely. Johnson really enjoys riding, and she has been doing it for almost 7 years.

            “I’ve always been interested in horses… when we moved my parents signed me up, so about 7 years I’ve been riding now,” Johnson said.

            There are all types of horseback riding; Johnson does some of the many types of jumping, with a few different horses. “I jump or show jump and that’s within an arena, and there will be different jump horses that I ride,” Johnson said. Sometimes, she will do one jump at a time, or multiple at once, and other times she’ll work on positioning on the horse as well.

            Johnson also works with a trainer, so that she can learn to ride better. Her trainer helps her keep the right position on the horse as she is jumping so that the horse will react to her and have a perfect jump. The trainer is a very good rider herself, so she knows how to critique Johnson and other people’s riding as well.

            Horseback riding isn’t for everyone, but Kaylan Johnson knows that it is for her. She loves riding every week and getting to work with the different horses at the stables. Horse riding is a very good way for her to take a break from the fast-pace world around her and make a connection with nature through her horse.

Tutorial - Organizing Clips in Adobe Premiere Using Bins

When I edit videos, I normally organize my files in Adobe Premiere like shown to the left. This is done by creating bins. They hold all the music and footage that I will use in my video. It is a very useful, but also basic function within Adobe Premiere Pro. In order to find out how to create a new bin, follow the instructions below.














First, click the new bin button.



A new bin appears, and you may name it whatever you'd like, I just named it "bin."


Now you can see the bin you have created. Double click on it.


Now double click on the empty space in window you opened up.



Then select the files you want to add to the bin.


And click the "Import" button.


Now, you can see all of the files in the bin you have created.

If you close the bin's window, you can just click the white triangle next to the bin and see the files that are in the bin.

Raccoon Postcard

       For this project, I had to follow a tutorial to create a raccoon. It was a very descriptive tutorial, and even told the RGB numbers for each color that you needed for the raccoon. It was easy to follow, except for some functions within Illustrator that we needed to use. The tutorial used an older version of Illustrator, while we had a newer version, where some of the buttons changed places within the program. Other than that, doing the tutorial was really fun, and allowed you to have some creativity while doing it, even while following the instructions.

       When we had to create the postcard, I figured I would do a bachelor's party, because I had put a suit on my raccoon to meet the something you did yourself requirement. I figured I should have a black background, with white text saying, "you're invited, Bachelor's party." I also decided to add circle-like objects, that looked like spotlights in the back. I also added a mustache to the raccoon, to fit more into the bachelor theme.

       The final project had the raccoon I designed using the tutorial. I added a suit to the raccoon, and a mustache. Following the tutorial for designing the berries, I added berries, and made it look like the raccoon was holding them in his hand. I made some handwritten typography, and Mrs. Smith helped me scan it into the computer to add it to the postcard. I made it into white text and added it to the postcard, with the raccoon, and added the spotlights to the front of the postcard. On the back of the postcard, I used the provided template, and put six spotlights in a pattern, with more berries in between them.

      This project was also my first one posted on Behance. I feel like the Behance project turned out really good. I added each design I made with my raccoon to it, and added the finished postcard to it. I added a description to the beginning of the project, and put captions under each piece of the project. I also added my signature to the bottom of the project so it is like an official project made by me.

You can see the images for this project on Behance.

ONW 1 in 2000 Video

       In this video that I have created, I interviewed August Berthold. We had to learn how to conduct an interview, and how to actually ask questions to the interviewee. I ended up having over seven minutes of footage, and ended up using only a minute of it. I also had 1 minute of voice over, but only used 15 seconds of it. But it's always good to have more footage than you need for your video. You can see the video below.

       August was a big part in the making of this video, and brought a lot to the table for the making of it. I learned all about his Summer while filming the interview. He worked construction and demolition with his Grandpa, which he enjoyed doing, and is hoping to go into that field when he is older. I also found out that he wanted to get back into sports, after not doing any for four years, so he has joined a recreational league, and hopes to join a competitive league soon. He also participated in band camp, which he wasn't really happy about, but he did have some friends there to keep him company.
       When I had to write my interview, I made sure to include anything I might want to add to the video, even if it wasn't actually going to be in the video. I did want to have an interesting intro, that would grab the attention of anyone watching the video. The hook is always an important part of your video, because, without it, people will stop watching your video as soon as they started watching it. I also made sure to have a good outro, so the video would have a clear and nice flowing ending, so that you aren't surprised that the video was ending.
      In order to shoot the video, the first thing we did was set up a camera on a tripod, and just filmed us sitting on a bench talking to each other. It wasn't too hard. The next day of filming, we shot each other walking down hallways, or opening doors or staring at things. It wasn't very interesting film, but by putting it on top of the interview, it made the video a lot more interesting.
      I really like how the video turned out. I liked the way the voiceover worked out on top of the footage and the interview. August was very helpful for doing the interview. The footage of August walking in and going through doors flowed very well with the rest of the interview, and the overall video turned out great.