Peer Review

Jett Cato Peer Review Homework     10/29/13

For the Action Events project, my group, consisting of Ferneri Febus and Jose Vasquez, had done it quick and simple. Although we did not have more than one camera angle because we did not move the camera for the whole shoot, we were able to focus on where the ball as much as we can during the soccer game. Some shots we made were short but eventful while others were long but were able to be used.

We had no specific roles because we took turns on taking control of the camera. When I took control of the camera, it was easy for me to pan it to show the field. However, it was difficult for me to take control of focusing on the soccer ball when it was kicked around between the two teams. It was easier for me to record the corner kicks instead, panning it so that the ball can be seen getting kicked across the field.

My group members, Ferneri Febus and Jose Vasquez, were great and I was glad to work with them. Ferneri had interesting ideas on what to shoot that I would probably have never thought of, such as the establishing shots of the train station, the boardwalk, and the globe. He also knew which side of the field looked best for the camera to be placed on. Although he decided that we should’ve had more camera angles, we didn’t follow through and continued shooting on the same place. Jose on the other hand, was helpful during the project because he knew when each shot will start because he knew how soccer works. For example, he knew when there was a foul and what will happen after it. He also gave us ideas on what to shoot such as the corner kicks and the kickoff. As for taking control of the camera, both Ferneri and Jose had similar difficulties on focusing on the ball. Sometimes the ball would be too far to be focused on that we would zoom on it, only to find it kicked near the camera, getting out of the shot. Although it was hard to focus on the ball, we were able to show the players kicking around the ball instead.

Reflection #7

On your blog (no handwritten entries, please) please talk about:
- what your clip was - each scene that you saw
- how you decided sounds for each scene
- how you decided what foleys to record
- sound effects - where you got them from, how did you alter them, did you find enough?
- How do you think you will do against your peers? Did you find/notice sounds that others may have overlooked? Which ones?

1. The clip that I was assigned to was when Bill Jr. was being overpowered by the strong winds of the tornado. When he got control, he looked for a place to hide. First he got through a stage door, only finding it to fall down due to no reinforcements. Then he reached this stage of a room with a backdrop of an island. After messing around the stage, he eventually gets out of the stage from a door in the back. When he leaves, the stage falls down. Shocked, he runs away as the clip comes to an end.

2. I focused very hard on the steps that Bill Jr. made in this clip. I also focused on his reactions towards the environment such as falling obstacles and horns. After that I briefly worked on what the sounds of the environment would be, such as the ambience and the objects that Bill Jr. interacts with. 

3. Sadly, I wasn't able to record any foleys because I thought that I would find every sound effect that I need. It wasn't til the very end that I couldn't find a sound effect that I needed and that I could've recorded as a foley.

4. Most of the sound effects were from the Resource Central because I found it to be easier to find my sound effects there. However, it also had its cons - one being that some sounds weren't able to be imported. One sound effect that I altered was the steps that I found. I change the speed of the steps to match the steps of the video. I believed I found enough sound effects for the video, but I had the feeling I needed a few more.

5. I thought I was going to be challenging against my peers, having a friendly competition. And it was the opposite, I noticed sounds that I could've used to enhance my video, such as the small humor that Lanz made with cartoon foleys in his video.

Reflection #6

1. How did you come up with the story idea?
2. Was it difficult to find the sounds to your story using Adobe soundbooth? What specific sounds couldn't you find or weren't exactly as you needed it to sound?
3. When animating it with images, what difficulties did you find? What worked really well? Give specific examples from your story.
4. If you had to do this again, what would you do differently? Would you write the story so it would be easier to find sounds for? Images for? Leave it the same? Please explain your choice.
Email the link by the beginning of the class.

1. When I was coming up for the story idea, I wanted something with the most unique combinations of sounds. So when I figured out the whole jet-skateboard and falling down in a pool of sharks, I knew that it would be fun to look for the sounds and piecing them up. 
2. Some of the sounds that I needed weren't there such as how a guy would say "hmm.." when he is thinking. However, I did manage to find sounds that were able to replicate the ones that would sound like in the story.
3. One difficulty of animating my story was the fact that my video had to be shrunk from 2.45 seconds to 1 minute. I only managed to shrink it to 2 minutes and I wasn't able to finish animating. Another difficulty was that the character had to hold a ramp and a jet-skateboard at the same time. I needed to bring all three (not including the jet engine on the skateboard) onto the same backgrounds and animating all of them at the same. 
4.If I had to do this again, I would write a story that wouldn't be as long so that I will have time to find sounds and images without stress. I would've also managed my time more productively and use all the time I can get to work on this project again.

Period 1 - Reflection Journal #4&5

Project #4 

4 How can the Pen tool be useful as a selection tool?
5 What is the difference between a bitmap image and a vector graphic?
6 What does a shape layer do?
7 What tools can you use to move and resize paths and shapes?
8 What are Smart Objects, and what is the benefit of using them?

4) The Pen tool can be a really useful as a selection tool because it is able to pinpoint a straight or curvy line to your liking and convert it into a selection. You can use the Pen tool if you want to be extra careful and detailed when you want to make a selection.

5) A bitmap image is also known as a rasterized image. This type of image has a detailed amount of colors that are shown as pixels. A vector graphic image has a less amount of colors because it uses formulas instead of pixels. The difference between a bitmap image and a vector graphic image is how you want to edit it. When you resize a bitmap image, it loses quality as the pixels enlarge instead of changing colors to keep the quality. Where as a vector graphic image would keep the quality of the image however you want the size of the image to be.

6) A shape layer is a layer that contains only one shape that you create. It helps to edit certain objects that are meant to be distinct from the other things in the work space. Such editing could be changing it's foreground color or clicking on the fx symbol for more editing options.

7) Some tools you can use to move paths and shapes are the Direct Delection tool and the Move tool. To resize them, you could use the Transform or Free Transform tool.

8) Smart Objects are non-destructive images that can be used in a Photoshop Document. These images are beneficial because it can be resized and it will always go back to it's original image.

Project #5

1 How does Photoshop treat type?
2 How is a text layer the same as or different from other layers in Photoshop?
3 What is a clipping mask, and how do you make one from type?

1) Photoshop treats type as if it's another image. You can edit it, resize it, possibly anything you would do to an image.

2) A text layer is the same as other layers because like other layers you can change it's size and color, or edit it with shadows and other things in the fx dropbox. However, it's different because you could give a message and change it to whatever you want by just typing it out unlike other layers.

3)A clipping mask is a mask that you can use to cover parts of an image and edit it to your liking. You can make one from type by placing a type layer on top of a background layer, then clicking on Create a Clipping Mask in the Layers Palette menu when you select the background layer.

Period 1 - Reflection Journal #3

Reflection Journal on your blog or written in word doc - Due Thursday, Nov 29th (3 paragraphs): 1) Briefly explain what your task was. 2) Describe what the following tools do: the magic eraser tool, the blur tool, the dodge tool, the burn tool, the sponge tool, paint bucket tool and gradient tool. 3) What other projects can you think these tools could have helped you with? 4)Which tool did you find the best fit for you?

1) My task was to utilize the tools: magic eraser tool, blur tool, dodge tool, burn tool, sponge tool, paint bucket tool, and gradient tool. The teacher assigned five pictures for me to edit according to the directions I'm given. Some of the pictures require a specific tool while the others require more than one. For example, pic D needed to be edited using the sponge tool.

2)The magic eraser cuts out a specific color completely out of a picture until it touches another color. The blur tool is used to, hence, blur the image by letting you drag the pointer to areas you want to blur. It's mostly used to help focus on a specific part of an image. The dodge tool helps the image to have a lighter color. It does not change the color of the image, but to lighten the shade. The burn tool is the opposite, as it helps by darkening the colors of the image, again not changing the original color but the shade. The sponge tool "soaks in" the color of an image. It basically desaturates the picture so that the color that is being desaturated is turning into black and white. The paint bucket tool obviously paints a color that you selected onto one body of color until it is in contact with another color. Lastly, the gradient tool creates a color that is generated by blending two colors using blending options.

3)The burn tool would've definitely helped me with the project of putting myself on an image with three layers because the image I picked was very dark and I was too bright to blend in with the image. The project that involved picking an image then desaturating the background of part of the image that you focused on probably would've been easier by using the magic eraser tool, unless I already did use the tool in the project. But the tool that best fit me would be the sponge tool because desaturating is easy for me, unlike the gradient tool. The sponge tool can also help focus on parts of an image just by making the parts of the image I'm focusing on have all the color.