Self Portrait

It is actually finished! Editing was much smoother than I expected it to be. I did not have much trouble until I tried to print to video. But with much help from Amir, it finally worked. Everyone in the editing lab was very helpful, every time I encountered a problem, someone helped me out. I really appreciate it. While I was filming, I wanted to get a good shot of the sky with clouds, so I could speed it up. But there was not a cloud in the sky at my house the entire time I had the camera, so I experienced how the weather can affect production. There were clouds yesterday when I left my house. I enjoyed working on the project and I am glad to have completed a film on my own. I gained a lot of experience with the camera and final cut pro and I feel a bit more confidant about future projects. Thanks again to everyone who helped me.

An Experience in Light and Sound

I enjoyed working on this long-term, connected assignment. I learned quite a bit about the cameras and the Final Cut program from all the different people I worked with. I appreciate and need the added knowledge. Working with sounds was especially interesting to me. I love music, but I did not really realize how much you could play with pre-recorded sounds before the assignment. I was impressed with the way each group came up with very different sounds from the same source. I also love black and white photos and I was very happy with all the great pictures we had to choose from for the final project. Although I am always nervous at the beginning of each project, (and on workshop day) because of my lack of technical experience, I feel good about each phase as it was turned in. I am looking forward to seeing each group’s finished project.

Afternoon at the Pool

I took my daughter to the pool in the full sun of the afternoon; again I always seem to be attracted to water. The bright yellow-white light reflected off the water in the pool creating bright sparkles of light here and there as the water moved. The light was coming from almost directly above so everything was very well lit. The shadows of the fence, tables and chairs and the buildings were very short and falling towards the north. When my daughter got out of the pool, she was covered in drops of water that reflected the full sun, so she was covered in the same sparkles of light that are on the pool water. The sun shining on top of her head reflects the gold in her hair, making it very shiny. The sparkles disappeared as she dried herself off. It seemed to me to be a good time to film outside because of the full sun and the ability to hide the short shadows when necessary.

Full Moon over the Ocean

I went to the beach around 9:00pm the day before the moon was completely full. It was beautiful. The white-silver light of the nearly full moon reflected off the waves, creating a bright, shimmering strip across the water. The water became progressively darker, until it was almost black, on either side of the shinning strip. The moonlight also reflected off of the sand making it appear almost day time on the beach itself and creating deep, dark shadows along the row of houses at the edge of the beach. As I walked with my family I noticed the moonlight shinning on both of my daughters’ hair, giving them a lovely halo effect. Their faces and bodies were very well lit on the side facing the moon, but the other side was cast in the same deep shadows of the houses, showing a very interesting contrast. It was absolutely beautiful and inspiring.