My Group

Me, Amanda Whitten, Ryan S.

We are doing our project on copyright laws.

Critique - Georgivis

George,

I think this photo is really well done. I was amazed at the insertion of your fingers on the bottom of the image, and how it wasn't part of the original image. I also really like the crystal ball. I thought at first that the ball was surely part of the original drawing, but now that I look at it more closely I can see that is a bit more clear than the dragon. I think the clarity of the crystal ball is what really brings this image to life, which is what brings me to what I think could be edited / improved upon.

I think the only drawback to this amazing image is the fact that the crystal ball is clearer than the dragon and fingers. But really, with a little touch up in Photoshop, that would could be easily changed. I think if the entire image was the same sharpness / clarity, then it would seem more "real" and could easily be passed off as professional work. In regards to what I'm confused about, I'm really only confused about one thing. Basically, I'd like for you to add a bit more explanation on what you did in Photoshop and how you did it. Not being a Photoshop expert myself by any means, I love the changes you made to the image, but really don't come away knowing exactly how do to them myself. Maybe if you just add a little more commentary on that, it'd really help to better my understanding.

In regards to what I would change, I can honestly say I wouldn't change anything other than the clarity of the image. I love it. I love the images inside the crystal ball - that is just so amazingly well done. And basically, about what ideas / techniques I want to use: basically everything. I love the polishing techniques you used in Photoshop. Once I figure out how to use them, I will. Great job, George.

Remix Project

I couldn't seem to format this blog without having an error, so to read my explanation for the Remix Project, please visit the link below. Thank you.

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I'll try to paste explanation below.

Remix Project Overview The remix I chose to do for this project was that of making two music videos made through the combination of videos found on the blip.tv Creative Commons video search engine and Jamendo music, which is Creative Commons content as well. The project primarily consisted of downloading and editing videos on Creative Commons in Windows Movie Maker, followed by the addition of music and text to the background that flowed well with the video footage. I also manipulated the videos to portray something they were not; for example, on Video #2, I added a subtext to incorporate a story and thus further manipulate the meaning of the works. Sources The sources used for this project included both content and remix sources. The content was pulled from the Creative Commons website, the blip.tv search engine, Jamendo music, and Flickr image search. The remix sources included Windows Movie Maker, which was used in order to edit the video footage and incorporate additional media to the background, the Acez MP3 Wav Converter, a tool used to convert the Jamendo music types from MP3 into Windows .wav compatible types, and WinAce, a program that converted (or unzipped) the Acez MP3 Wav Converter from .zip to .exe so that it was compatible with Windows. There were no video converters used in this project simply because I only downloaded .avi files from Creative Commons, which are easily compatible with Windows and Windows Media Player / Movie Maker. Below are the original videos and songs used in the project: Video #1: Clip - "Hypnotic Hick" episode of Woody Woodpecker Music - "Dropping out of School" by Brad Sucks Video #2: Clip - "Robot Rabbit" episode of Bugs Bunny Music - "Chinese Drop" by Major Major Techniques The techniques primarily used in this remix project included the editing, cutting, and manipulation of video content. I will list a step by step process of how I edited the videos. 1) Firstly, downloaded the video file from the Creative Commons website, and the music from www.jamendo.com. 2) I opened Windows Movie Maker and loaded the saved video files. 3) I clicked on the uploaded media, right clicked, and used the technique "Create Clips" to separate the file into various parts, which made it easier to string together and edit. 4) I loaded the downloaded song, and then dragged both the music and video file down into the media timeline. 5) I proceeded to take portions of the video clips and have them coincide with the songs by shortening each "clip" created. Sometimes I would only use three seconds of a particular clip and then use three seconds of another clip right after it. In essence, I remixed the playing of each video file. 6) I used various tools and effects provided by Windows Movie Maker, such as “Fade in” and “Fade out.” 7) I also adding titles, subtext, and credits all found within the “Title and credits” section on Windows Movie Maker. 8) I finished editing the video to the music, making it so that certain clips of the film matched up well with the music. When the tone or beat of the music would change, I tried to have the video match up so that it flowed well. The process of these combined steps took about two to three hours per video. 9) I then proceeded to use the "Publish Movie" option on Windows Movie Maker, changing the project from a Windows Movie Maker file (.MSWMM) into a .wmv file. 10) After saving and publishing the file, I uploaded the video to YouTube so that I could embed it into my website for class. The upload took about 3-5 minutes per video, though the first attempt took fifteen hours, and then failed, simply because there was an unnoticed glitch. Purpose The purpose of these remixes was to mainly put together an entertaining music video that shows how digital manipulation can truly change the meaning of a works. As stated, by the many editing processes used, I completely changed the context of the Bugs Bunny video clip. The Woody Woodpecker clip, though not changed in meaning as much, was still manipulated and altered. Also the purpose behind this was to further enhance my skills in the Windows Movie Maker program. I have only made one video prior to this assignment, and had little knowledge of the program. Also, as I was informed by the professor, I found that the musical artist used for the Woody Woodpecker video (Brad Sucks) takes all remixes of his work and posts them. Lastly, the purpose of this remix project choice was to be creative! This is a creative writing class, and I felt that I could insert a small portion of text and add a story behind the Bugs Bunny video. Overall, this project was extremely entertaining and informative. I learned more about digital manipulation in this short frame than ever before. Licenses Each video used in this remix project were located under the Creative Commons search engines that allowed for works to be modified, adapted, or built upon. In addition, the music was found on www.jamendo.com, a Creative Commons music website that states it is "a community of free, legal and unlimited music published under Creative Commons licenses" that allows users to download and modify the work. The downloaded song from the band Major Major is under the Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. The downloaded song from the band Brad Sucks is under the Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license. Both allow for downloading, remixing, and adaption.