Second Semester Review

Second Semester Projects:

Natalie M Fashion Show Poster:

This project was client work for junior committee to promote the Natalie M Fashion show which would help fund prom. On the poster I included the necessary information that allowed people to know what they fashion show was for, where it was located, and when it was. This project only took around two weeks since it was a simpler design. While designing the poster I didn’t face many challenges but when it was being sent off to print I faced some obstacles with the sponsor of the program. There were multiple issues with the poster being printed wrong and my designs were not correctly printed. Along the way I learned about how to deal with people who are foreign to the ideas and concepts of graphic design, I learned how to gently help them without getting to frustrated. After designing the poster I presented it to the committee and I was given feedback based on what they wanted on the poster and with that feedback I was able to change the concept and make it better than before. I changed the layout of the information because their were a few minor detail changes. After completing the project I was happy with my overall design but I wasn’t pleased with the way my poster looked when it was printed. Since it was printed wrong a lot of my poster design became disproportionate which was a bummer.

Travis Stewart Magazine:

This project was the second project assigned in second semester and yet it took the longest and had the most challenges associated with it. The basis of the project was to find a real graphic designer in the KC metro area and then interview them and finally make a magazine spread over them and their work. This project took around two months to finally complete. Some of the challenges that I faced was that about halfway through the project the server crashed and I lost all my progress on the project. So a lot of the class had to basically start from scratch again which was very frustrating. Another challenge that I faced was that I was struggling to push out of the grid, I stayed within the oxes and I had to work very hard to add more of my own creative flair to the project and make it my own. As I worked through the project I learned how to create a document for a magazine in Adobe In Design since this was one of my first projects using the software. I also learned how to push my creativity and not get stuck within grids and columns. Along the way I was given lots of useful feedback that helped me push my concept. I got multiple critiques on not staying within the grids. Based on that feedback I worked harder to make the magazine my own while also basing the design style on my designer that I interviewed. Overall my opinion of this project was mixed. When I started the project I was very excited to try something new and I really enjoyed the project up until he time of the server crash. After the server crashed I didn’t enjoy the project as much because I was struggling and I didn’t want to start over. After I completed more of the project I began to enjoy it more because it was a foreign topic and something that I had to learn how to improve on. By the end of the project I enjoyed learning how and I was also happy with the way my magazine turned out, but I do wish that I had pushed my creativity a little bit more.

Prom Posters:

The next project began in March because Olathe Northwest was nearing prom night. This years theme was a 1920’s jazz theme that was named “A Touch of Jazz”. This project took around three weeks to fully complete. Some of the challenges that I faced as I completed the project were that we were pressed for time and we were all struggling to get it done on time. Another challenge that I faced was trying to have originality and uniqueness with my poster and help it stand out from everyone elses. Through his project I learned more about how to create a poster that is both informative and visually appealing. Some of the feedback I received throughout the project was that it blended in too much with everyone elses and that I should expand my comfort zone and try something else. Using this feedback I changed my entire poster concept and reverted back to my original idea and designed my poster based on that. Overall I am happy with how my poster turned out even though it didn’t get picked. I liked the uniqueness to my concept.

The Aviary (ONW Lit Mag):
Throughout the semester I worked on designing the cover and the layout for the Aviary. This project took the entire semester because it was a very long and extensive project. Some of the challenges that I faced throughout the semester was working with some hard people who were indecisive on what they wanted and I had to make around fifteen different copies of the magazine before they were satisfied. Even with the challenges that I faced I learned very valuable lessons throughout the semester. I learned how to work with people who don’t know what they want and I also learned how to stay calm through frustrating critiques and through constant emails asking me to change more things. Some of the feedback that I received throughout the semester was this including changing the cover design, changing the overall layout of the lit mag, and small things like title changes or insertions or deletions.  After finishing the spring edition of the Aviary I feel very relieved and less stressed about it. This project was very stressful and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I was going to, but I did learn valuable lessons.

OASIS Branding:

This project included creating a company or service and from their branding it. Branding included web ads, infographics, merchandise items, tickets, a brochure, a billboard, and more. This project took around one month to complete fully. Some of the challenges that I faced throughout the project was the lack of creativity as the project went on. I found myself struggling to come up with design ideas that reflected the company and also looked unique. Another problem that I faced was the lack of motivation. As the end of the year was approaching I also found myself struggling to put my best effort into every piece of the project. As I faced the challenges I also learned how to combat the lack of motivation and also how to extend my creativity even when it was hard. I received feedback on different pieces of the project and it was helpful to get other people’s opinions and perspectives after staring at the same screen for a long time. Overall I am very pleased with how my project turned out. There are some pieces of the project that I could have done better but I am overall pleased with how the company’s brand looks. I am extremely proud of my brochure because I put a lot of effort into it since I have never created anything like it before.

KC Metro Logo:

This was the final project of my junior year and it was to design a logo for the KC Metro College expo and they would choose their favorite. It took around two weeks to complete and during the process I faced the challenge of having very little information to go on. We were given very little information about what the event was and on what the company wanted. So based on that it was very interesting to have complete liberties to design whatever I wanted. Along the way  learned how to create something from little information and I also learned how to push my comfort zone and design something that I usually wouldn’t design. Some of the feedback I received was on the layout of my logo and how to make it the best it could be. After receiving the feedback i did change the layout of the logo and moved some things around. Overall I really enjoyed this project and I thought it was exciting to design something that had the possibility to be chosen to be used in the downtown area.

Time Management, Strengths, Weaknesses:

I feel as though I used my time very well in class this semester. I was able to take advantage of the time I had in class as well as time during power 50. I was able to get all of my projects done and turned in on time and I also was able to work on numerous client work projects after finishing class projects. After I feel that I have completed a project to the best of my abilities I worked on another project that I had whether it was client work or a second in class assignment. Outside of class projects I worked on  numerous client projects that I had. I worked on the Lit Mag, posters to promote events, and now I am currently working on a high school retreat logo along with a BBQ logo.I feel as through my areas of strength as a graphic designer is to create visually appealing work that has a nice layout along with nicely paired fonts. I feel that I am also strong at communication because whenever I need help or advice I would go to my peers for help and it would in return strengthen my project and make it better because I sought out others perspectives. I think my weaknesses include working with difficult clients. I feel as though I have improved with this but I still struggle to work with people when I don’t see eye to eye with them and I can get easily frustrated. Throughout this semester I learned how to deal with that frustration and remain calm when working with people who are hard to communicate with.

Overview:

Overall my favorite part of this semester was working on the magazine spread because it was something new that I have never done and I enjoyed being pushed outside my comfort zone. I also really enjoyed working with a professional graphic designer and learning about his work day and routines since that is what I would like to do in my future. The only things I would do differently is that I would try to push my comfort zone and creativity a little bit more. Throughout the semester I have learned how to design new types of products including brochures and magazines. I also have learned how to use Adobe InDesign more and expand my knowledge of that software. A goal that I have for next semester is to continue to expand my creativity and learn new graphic design skills.

Graphic Design First Semester Review

What did you do this semester?

Name Typography:

To begin the new school year we began with a name typography project. The assignment was to come up with twelve phrases about yourself with about your personality of what you enjoy. The goal for this project was to learn about type and focus on making the type reflect the idea behind it. Our name typography project took around two and half weeks. In that time, we spent time sketching out ideas, designing in Illustrator, and then putting it all together on InDesign. Throughout the project I faced a few challenges. One problem I faced was coming up with enough ideas to translate into a type. The other major challenge that I faced was when we began to mount our projects. This was the first time I had ever mounted and it was a challenge to get everything evenly spaced and make sure it didn't stick to me. Along the way I learned how to use InDesign because it was also my first time using that and I was able to learn when to use use that program. One other thing I learned was that type should reflect your ideas and make your project even better. During critiques I was able to gain valuable feedback that gave me the ability to make my work even better. I got feedback that I needed to make sure I didn't focus to heavily graphics around the type but instead just focus on the type itself. Using that feedback I made sure that there were minimal graphics but if there were graphics that they enhanced the type. Overall I really enjoyed this project because it allowed me to learn more about the importance of good type instead of throwing it to the side and focusing on the graphics in projects. In the ned I was happy with the way my project turned out and I feel that it represents me.

Holiday Greeting Cards:

The second project we did was creating a holiday greeting card from scratch, and like the previous project this was also type based. This assignment was to come up with a phrase and then handwrite the phrase and place it into the card. We began by using pencil to create a basic design and then we would go over it in pen and finally place it into the computer. This project took around three weeks to complete. I faced many more challenges in this project than I did in the previous one. In this project I had the problem of being a perfectionist, I wanted my type to look perfect which was really hard because it was hand drawn. Once I got over my perfectionism I was able to continue with the project and finish it on time. Along the way I learned that I have the ability use hand written type and I learned the process for creating it. Along the way I also gained feedback on the visibility of my card, I was told that from far away it wasn't clearly visible and I had to fix it before turning it in. I changed the weight of the type which allowed it to be more visible. The feedback I was given gave me the opportunity to make my project better. Overall I wished I was able to finish my hand written type faster but I am still happy with how it turned out.

Scholar's Bowl Shirts:

This was my second client work project. I was given the ability to design the Olathe Northwest's Scholar's Bowl team shirts. They came to me with a design hastily drawn out on paper and I was able to turn it into multiple concepts to present back to them. This project took only about two weeks outside of class to complete. Some of the challenges that I faced was learning how to deal with a hard client, the person I was working with wasn't very informative and it was hard to keep in touch with her. Along the way I learned that I should treat the client as if they are always right even if I don't agree. Along the way I was given helpful tips on how to work with hard clients and when the client had feedback for me I changed it for her. Overall this was not my favorite project at all because of the difficulty in communication, but I am happy with the way my designs ended up.

The Aviary Posters:

I got the opportunity to be added onto the editorial staff of The Aviary which is Olathe Northwest's Student Literary Magazine. I was the graphic design editor and was given the assignment of creating a poster to promote the submission of work into the Lit Mag. I was given a list of essential information and I was given creative freedom and was able to present them with multiple concepts. This project took around two weeks outside of class since it was a client project. Some challenges I faced was making sure the poster wasn't all type and it had some eye catching elements. Along the way I learned how to communicate with clients better which made the overall process easier. While presenting the posters the group of editors found a few errors and changes that they would like me to make and I made them and sent them the final copy and everyone was pleased with the way it turned out. Overall I am pleased with how it looks and I think it was a cool opportunity to have my work put up around the building for everyone to see.

Raven 50 Poster:

This set of client work was handed to Amelia and I on short notice so it was very sudden. This assignment was to create a poster to show the essential information about the school's new lunch system. It had to include a schedule, a scalable QR code which led to sign up sheets, and also the teacher's schedules. This project took around two weeks to complete due to the fact that the poster was needed around the school. Some challenges that we faced was the overall design had to be simplistic but also be eye catching and easy to read. We created multiple concepts that didn't work so we had to go back to square one a few times. Even thought the project was hard I learned many valuable lessons including how to work with a partner on the project. I gained the ability to fully communicate both of our ideas and then combine them to create the a good poster. We were critiqued multiple times along the design process of the poster. With every comment we were given we took it into consideration and were able to fix the problem which led to creating a better poster. Some critiques included the need for a small logo on the poster and also creating better hierarchy within the poster. With all the feedback the poster slowly began to look better and look more unified. Even though this project demanded lots of creativity on spacing and hierarchy it was very fun to make and it is also very rewarding to see hanging around the school and the stickers that we also created on student's planners.

Company Branding:

This project was our next in class project and it was learning how to brand a company. We started by getting four items which had to be turned into a company we created. The items that I received were an elephant, amethyst, the number 7, and the letters z and y. I was able to combine those items into a safari company named the Gems of Africa based in Zimbabwe Africa. We spent the longest amount of time on this project over the semester because we spent around a month on it from start to finish. We spent time sketching ideas, and then creating the logo, creating business cards and letterheads for the company, and finally creating mockups for it. Some challenges that I faced was overcoming the lack of creativeness, as the project progressed it was hard to come up with original and creative ideas that benefited the overall look and feel of the company. Once I overcame that I was able to continue creating a brand from scratch. Along the way I learned how to brand a company from scratch and I also learned how to create a look that represents the brand but also looks unified across all the different aspects. Some feedback I received throughout the critiques that took place was that I needed to change the type on my logos because they didn't feel unified. Once I changed those the logo looked better as a whole and made the brand better as a whole. Overall this was my favorite project of the semester because I enjoyed turning four objects into a brand and seeing the whole thing come together when I got the project mounted. I am really pleased with how my company turned out and how the different aspects look when they are put together. 

Academy National Banners:

I was approached by two competitive horse back riders who were attending Academy Nationals. They asked if I had the ability to make them banners to represent them and promote their barn. This project took about one week because of the short window they gave me to get them done. I was given pictures that they wanted included and a small idea of some of the ideas they had and they gave me the freedom after that. Some of the challenges that I faced during this project was the unfamiliarity of Photoshop. I knew the basics going in but I had to constantly google tutorials to create different parts of the posters. Another problem I faced was the bad quality of the pictures, they began to look pixelated when I sized them up. Along the way I learned many new features and the abilities of photoshop. I am now more experienced using Photoshop and have more skills due to the project. Some feedback I was given were smaller things like they wanted a type font or they wanted things moved around which was very simple to change and fix. This project was harder than other set of client work I have been given because of the level of experience hat I have on Photoshop, but once I learned more of the basics I was able to fully create a banner that looked nice. In the end everyone was happy with how they looked including me. 

Natalie M Fashion Show Posters:

This client work project was to create a poster that promoted the fashion show. Junior committee came to me and asked for a visually appealing poster that conveyed the important dates and information. This project took around two weeks outside of class for me to complete. Some challenges that I faced along the way was working with a client who didn't know how to print out my poster. The poster was printed in both the wrong size and the fonts were messed up in the printing process. Once the file got sent to print again and came back I found that the poster was printed again wrong and it became pixelated. Due to the lack of time we were unable to print it out again so we hung it as is. Along the way I furthered my experience of working with difficult clients. Overall I was really pleased with how it turned out and I am happy that my poster is hung around the school but I was a little frustrated with the bad quality of the printed poster. 

Christ Community High School Retreat Shirts:

This project was one of my favorite client work projects. I was approached by my youth pastor with the opportunity to design the high school retreat shirts that would be passed out to the students. I was very excited to design this shirt because usually the camp concepts are designed by either college students or seniors and this was the first time a junior got to design them. This project took around a month because of all the effort I pout into the projects and I spent lots of time communicating with the client in order to design the best shirts I could. Some challenges that I faced along the way were making enough concepts that were various themes even when I had no ideas for that topic. I included multiple mountain concepts and also a fire concept. Along the way I learned what the best file type for print is. I also learned how to design simplistic and pleasing shirt design. I received feedback on the type that I picked because it wasn't his favorite but it was a simple fix that was sorted out quickly. Overall I was really happy with how the designs turned out and I am excited to see what the other students think. 

Time Management:

Throughout the semester I feel like I used my time really well and was able to complete everything in a timely manner. I was able to balance both in class projects and client work due to using my power 50 and after school time productively. When I finished on an in class assignment I would work on my client work until I finished those projects. I usually wouldn't have time to finish both my outside work and my in class work so I wouldn't be able to sit around doing nothing. To advance my skills as a graphic designer I continued to seek outside work so I could learn more and have more client experience and add to my portfolio.

Strengths & Weaknesses:

Throughout this semester I got to learn more about myself as a designer and find both my strengths and weaknesses. Some of my strengths include putting in all my effort to make a project as good as it can get. Another strength is time management. I was able to balance both in class and out of class projects and was able to get them done in a timely manner. Some of my weaknesses included perfectionism. I wanted all my projects to be perfect so I spent a lot of extra time on them. 

Reflection:

Overall I really enjoyed this semester and the projects we did. My favorite project was the company branding project and also the Winter retreat shirts. I also enjoyed updating my behance and seeing all my projects come together. I wouldn't change anything about the semester. Throughout the semester the biggest thing I learned was learning about type and how to pick the best type possible. A goal that I have for next semester is that I want to enter into eMagine and maybe place. 

Video Semester Review

Takeaways

Throughout the semester I learned many valuable skills. I learned things that will help me with future video projects. I learned new skills with the technology and how to work with others and many more things. I also learned more about my areas of strength and my areas of weakness. I also learned how to overcome issues within projects. 

Technology

I learned many things with the filming equipment and the editing softwares. While we were creating entertainment pieces I got to learn how to use different types of microphones and I also learned more camera techniques. I got to also work more with Premiere Pro. I learned more techniques and how to edit different types of edits. I worked more with adding music and effects to the clips. I added fades and transitions to the video clips and I added music to the audio. Learning all these techniques is very important because when someone needs me to film something for them I will be able to edit it and make it look clean. Some challenges that I faced along the way is that the softwares were very confusing and I had a few issues while filming. One major issue that I had was that while my group was filming our short film we filmed an entire section without sound so we had to problem solve. 

Collaboration

This semester I worked more with groups instead of individually. Starting with the music video I worked in a group of four and I also worked in a larger group when I worked on recreating the Mean Girls movie trailer. I learned many things while working with others. I had to work with people I didn't enjoy working with. While working in groups I learned how to delegate tasks and help people follow through on their parts. Learning how to work in groups and work with people I don't like is important because I will have to work in groups later in my future and in my future job. Some challenges that I faced along the way is working with the same person multiple times in a row, this is a problem because my group member wouldn't follow through on his part of the project. 

Communication

While working in the entertainment section of video I learned the right was to communicate with others and I also learned the wrong way to communicate with others. One way that helped me succeed in communicating with my group members was creating a filming schedule. I learned that you have to talk to everyone as a group in person to set up the times when we would film. I also learned that I need to talk to them about each shot and talking to the director to make sure it's what they envisioned. These skills are very important for the future because I will need to communicate with my boss at my future job. Some challenges that I faced along the way is that while we were creating our production schedule for our short film we set the days that we were filming a week in advance and when it came time to show up at the filming location one of my group members didn't show up so we had to work without him. We faced miscommunication because no one knew what the plan was. 

Project Management

Project management this semester was a lot harder than it was last semester. Working on convergence last semester was more individual work than working in groups. Because I was working with other people that means that everything got done at different paces. I had to work with their schedules along with my own and because of that it was harder to edit things in shorter amounts of time. I spent more time coming in before or after school to get everything done and turned in on time. Learning how to work with deadlines is very important because I will need to get things done in different periods of time later in life. One challenge that I faced was working on my recreation of the movie trailer because I was running behind and I came in after school to work many time and I wasn't able to get it done by the time it was due. 

Leadership

I learned more about how I can be a better leader this semester while working in video. I learned how to be able to take charge and delegate tasks when work isn't getting done. I also learned how to approach someone and talk to them when they haven't done their part of the project.  But not only did I learn how to be a leader I also learned how to be a follower. I was able to learn that I have to let others take charge and I will do what they told me. Learning these leadership skills will probably be one of the most important things that I have learned this year because I will always have to work in groups and sometimes the work isn't getting done and I am now able to approach someone about it and talk to them. I will also have to be able to obey directions and listen to others who are also in my group. I did have to face challenges while trying to be a leader because I didn't want to sound annoying when I brought up the topic of getting the work done on time.

Strengths and Weaknesses

While creating all the projects I learned more about my areas of strength and weakness. Some of my strengths are working hard and collaboration. One goal I had this year was to make every project as good as it could be. I worked hard all year to get projects in on time and edit them to the bet of my abilities. My other strength was collaboration because I tried my best to work with everyone. Even though I had to work with someone I didn't like I still wanted to make the video look as good as possible. 

Changes?

If I could change anything I want to go back and re-shoot and re-edit my music video. I could have had better shots and I could have created a better production schedule to make the video better. I would then go back and change the way I edited it. I want to make the video better and make it more appealing to watch. 

Summary

Overall I learned many useful skills including working with others, working with new technology and learning the softwares, and I also learned how to be a good leader. All the things I learned are all very important because I will be able to use them in my future career and other aspects of my life. I really enjoyed creating all these videos and I feel like I have improved since the beginning of the year.

Graphic Design Semester Reflection

Takeaways

Throughout the year in graphic design I have learned many useful skills that will help me in the real world and in the design world. I learned multiple things in every area of guarantee. I learned technology tips, collaboration tips, communication tips, project management, and leadership skills.

Technology

I learned many things with technology. I have gotten much more comfortable with the softwares that I use for graphic design. I am much more fluent in Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop than I was in the beginning of the year. I know the purposes of the tools, how to use them, and when to use them. These new skills are very important because I can take what I learned and use it in future designing and i can also help other people use the softwares if they need help. Along the way I faced many obstacles including forgetfulness. After learning the tool I was very good at using it but when I didn't use it for a while then I forgot how to use it. I was still able to overcome that issue because i was able to go back and look at tutorials that would help me. 

Collaboration

I have worked with people since I was little but I still learned very useful tips this year in graphic design about collaboration. I was able to learn how to give constructive criticism when I was in a critique. This is very helpful because now I know how to make helpful tips during a critique. Along with giving tips I also learned how to accept criticism that I receive from others. I was able to receive criticism from people in my class, my teacher, and upperclassmen who are also in graphic design. Along the way I faced the challenge of giving criticism. Before I didn't know how to suggest helpful tips and it took a lot of practice to tell someone how they could improve their project. 

Communication

Throughout the last semester and year I have learned how to work with others and talk to them. I have learned how to ask people for help when I need help or if I want an opinion on my project. These skills are important because with them I have the ability to go to someone and ask for help of ask for something if I need something. Along the way I had to face my fear of asking people I don't know well for something. 

Project Management

With project management I have been able to learn how to successfully meet a deadline. I have been able to use my time wisely and balance different things in order to get everything done. I was able to stay after schools when my project wasn't done so I could get it done and turned in on time. These skills are very important because if I chose to pursue this as a career I will need to be able to get things done in time for the clients. It is very essential that I stay with the schedule so everything is done on time and it is done to the best of my ability. I struggled a lot with project management because I am a perfectionist and I want everything to be as close to perfect as possible. Because I am a perfectionist I had to stay after school a lot to get it all done. The only problem with staying after is that I was a nanny after school so I couldn't stay after everyday so I had to manage my time better in class. 

Leadership

I learned many necessary leadership skills. I am able to help people with a project that they don't understand. These skills are important because I am able to apply them in my career later in life. I will be able to help others and ask for help if I need it. 

Strengths and Weaknesses

Some of my strengths is that I am hard working. I want to get everything done to the best of my abilities even if I don't like the project. Another strength that I have is that I am very good at collaborating with others. I am good a working by myself or working with others. I am also good with project management. I want to get every project done and turned in on time and make sure that it is done with my best effort. While I have some strengths I also have a few weaknesses. One of my major weaknesses is that I am a perfectionist. I want everything to be perfect and if I don't like it then I will change it until I do. The main issue with this is that I would work for a long time on certain projects and I had to stay after a lot. I have improved greatly this year because while I want everything to look nice and be done to the best of my abilities I am not staying after as much to redo it again. I still need to work on communication skills because I don't like presenting any projects in front of the class. I don't enjoy public speaking and when we had to present our graphic designer history project I really struggled. 

Why This is Useful

All the skills that I learned are all equally important. I will be able to apply those in all areas of my life not just in class. I will be able to use all this information throughout my life. I will be able to fluently use the softwares that I have learned this year. I will also be able to work with others and give constructive criticism. I will also use what I learned about communication in future jobs. I will be able to use project management skills later in life because I will be aware of my deadlines and how much time I need to spend working. I will be able to use my leadership skills also in future jobs and areas of my life. 

Changes?

If i could change anything I would go back and change all my early projects. Projects like the raccoon were not done very well and I would use all the information that I learned and I would apply it to those projects. I want to change that project because when I completed it I didn't know much about the softwares but now that I'm much more comfortable with them I could make the projects ten times better. 

Summary

Overall I learned more this year than I thought I would and I also enjoyed graphic design more than I thought I would. When I started the class I didn't know anything about the design softwares and I didn't know how to use them. But now I am much more fluent in the skills that I learned. I also felt very lost in the beginning of the year because I was behind on everything and i didn't understand but now I understand much more and i am not falling behind. 

Movie Trailer Recreation

Assignment:

The assignment was to pick a movie trailer that took place in school and recreate it. Some of the rules for the project were that we had to recreate the trailer shot for shot and edit for edit.  That means we had to do every shot that was in the trailer. We had to have similar costumes, the same camera angles, and the same length as the real trailer. The purpose of the project was to learn about advanced camera shots and lighting. 

Pre-Production:

I was working with a group of two other people and we chose the trailer Mean Girls. To start the project we began by writing the script, we had to transfer all the lines that were in the trailer onto paper that we printed off. The next step was to create a storyboard of every shot in the trailer. By the end of the storyboarding process my group had a total of 130 shots. After story boarding and writing the script we began to create a production schedule, we picked what days and where we were filming and when. After the production schedule was finished we made and cast and costume list. We started to pick people to play the characters. We also made lists of the costumes each person needed to have. 

Production:

Once all of the pre-production was finished we began the production process. The production process took the longest because of the amount of scenes we had to film. We filmed some of our scenes within the school during class but the rest of the shots were filmed outside of class. We came in on a Saturday to film the in school scenes and once we had finished the schools scenes we went to someones house and shot the party scenes, with each shot we filmed it multiple times to get it right.

Post-Production:

After we had finished filming everything the next step was to begin editing. We started by going through all the clips and deleting the ones that were bad or unusable. After we shorted through the clips the next step was to import them and name them. Once everything was in Premiere Pro and named I began laying them out in the timeline. After everything was laid out I began to synch them to the timing of the real trailer. I would put both side by side and watch them and edit mine to match the real trailer. After everything was matched up I began to search for the music that was in the trailer. Throughout the trailer there were around 5 songs total. The hardest part of editing was getting the timing right with the real trailer. 

Reflection:

Overall I am happy with my project, I like the shots that I got and how they are very close to the originals. I am also happy with how the final edit turned out, it all came together in the end and looks decent. There are also things that I would change if I could go back. I would make sure we had all the shots because we are missing a few. I would also plan it out better and make sure that we know what shots we are filming and when to make sure we don't miss any. I would also go back and film the night scenes again because they are to dark. the only other thing I would change is that I would make sure that we had the extras that we needed because a few of our shots didn't have as many people as we should have so we improvised. The hardest part of the project was time management because we didn't have as much time as we thought and we should have spent more time filming and editing than in pre-production.

Marks and Symbols

Summary:

Marks:

Logos for companies are everywhere, including on clothes, signs, posters, and billboards. As graphic designers there is an importance to know about the different types of marks. There are six different types and they include symbols which is just a graphic with no words, another type is a pictograph which is a graphic that represents a public place, that includes bathroom signs and handicapped signs. The third type of mark is a lettermark which is a abbreviation for a longer company name. Another type of mark is a logo. A logo is the opposite of symbol, except a logo is just the company name and no graphics. When a logo and symbol are combined it creates a combination mark, most companies have a logo, symbol, and a combination mark. The last kind of mark is a trademark, a trademark is a mark which shows that the mark can't be used without permission. 

Symbols:

Many things make up a good symbol which includes thinking about color, reduction sizes, symbol weight, taking negative space into consideration, and many more. There are around eleven things that make a symbol good. After thinking about each one that will help create a well designed symbol for a company. 

Logos vs. Symbols:

While logos and symbols seem like the same there is actually is a large difference between them. Logos include type while symbols don't, logos are the name of the company. Some advantages of using a logo are that they are easier to promote and they are very unique and easy to understand. Symbols are the opposite of logos, symbols are just a graphic and no type. Some advantages of using a symbol are that they are also are unique and easy to see, a disadvantage is that they are hard to understand.

Key Ideas:

After reading the article I learned a lot about developing a symbols and marks. One thing I learned was the six different types of marks. I learned about the different types and what they each are what advantages and disadvantages they have. Another thing I learned was about close gestalt. Close Gestalt is important in designing a symbol and it means that you need something simple and compact to draw the audiences eye to the symbol. The last thing that I learned was that the symbol needs to be able to reduced down to 1/2" or smaller. While being sized down the logo can't loose any of its aspects and still needs to be easy to see. My favorite thing that I learned was learning about developing a symbol. Learning about symbols will be important late in my graphic design career because every business needs a well designed logo, symbol, and combination mark.

Conclusion:

Overall the article was very easy to read and understand. I learned many things about the different types of marks and the components of symbols. I will be able to use what I learned later in my graphic design career. 

Music Video Remake

Pre-Production

For the first project we did in the entertainment side of our video class was to pick a song and make a music video for it. The pre production of the project was a lot of paperwork and planning. We had to get the copyright information and then print out all the lyrics. The next part was to begin planning the production of the video, we started by picking a location and figuring our who was going to star in the video. After the general planning was done the next step was to plan out and draw each shot and write about it. We listed the angle, what type of shot it was, and what part of the song it would fit with.

Production

Once we finished the pre production work the next part was to begin production, the group I was in decided to film by the Kansas Bioscience Park and we spent a total of 6 hours spread over three days filming the videos. The filming was a long process that included reshooting many shots and filming them different ways and getting different angles. Once we had a large amount of footage of the main singer we then focused on b-roll shots; shot of the plants and location we filmed at. 

Post-Production

After we had completely finished filming we then began the post production stage. We loaded all the footage onto the computers and began editing. Editing was the hardest part because all the clips looked the same and they had to be fit perfectly to the music.

Reflection

Overall I learned a lot on creating and editing a music video,  I learned how to film one and then start to piece clips together. The hardest part was editing the video to the beat of the music but once it was some what edited to the beat it looked very cool. The parts I really liked about my video was the shots I got, I was very happy with the variety of shots I got and how I edited them together. If I could change anything I would edit more to the beat because it could have been done better. Another thing I would have changed is that I would have a better variety of shots.