April 8th

Hello!

In case you didn't notice, we didn't have class Friday (oops I forgot)-which means this is our last class before our summative on Wednesday! You should treat Wednesday's class an an exam, if you will be away for any circumstance, you must contact me immediately. You need to write this test to pass the course. Today is your last day to submit any unsubmitted work (although past Blog Posts/participation marks have already been recorded). There will be no exceptions to this.

Today we will review our knowledge of GIMP and finish working through the images that were posted on the blog last Wednesday (New York Times image and Celebrity hybrid). When you are done these, be sure to post them on your blog and ask lots of questions for clarification! If you finish this, I'd like you to work through the questions on the review handout that I submitted to you last class. For the test, you will be editing an image using GIMP without any support from tutorials, the internet, etc. You will need to be familiar with the layers tool, the selection tool, move tool, paint bucket tool, text tool, eraser tool, scale tools, and drawing tool. Practice using these tools in class if you've completed all of the above!

April 3, 2013

Hello and welcome back,

   If you can believe it, it's April 3rd. This means we only have 4 classes left together (including today) and our summative will be next week, April 10th. In class today I will give you a handout that will be information that will be testable information. This test will be worth 30%, but only for this section of the course. That means if you're in the M, W, alt. F section it is worth 15% and if you're in the period 3 section, it's even less. I encourage you to study ahead and begin preparing now, reread through the tutorials posted and good luck!

At the beginning of class today, you will have some time to do your final edits and send them my way. You will not get long to do this, so use your time wisely. After this I will give you a demonstration/tutorial using GIMP. GIMP is a graphic editing/creating software that has A LOT of potential. It is similiar to Photoshop in it's capabilities, but free and you can download this at home! If you are interesting in design, photography, layout, communications, etc. I highly encourage you to get familiar with this kind of program-you will need to be comfortable with graphics for these types of career.s

After the tutorial, I would like you to create your own "layers sandwich" and show this to me. No need to email it, I will come around and check. After, I'd like you to do the following mini assignments:

Assignment A.)
Manipulate the following image to create a monster attack on Times Square. Use google search to find a monster image, or if you are feeling creative, draw your own. If you use an image from google, you must manipulate the colour or another component. There are an artist behind this drawing and we need to be respectful of this and not copy it directly!Try manipulating a billboard, changing the colour of the car, etc. When you're done, post the jpeg onto your blog. 

Assignment B.)
  I'd like you to create your own celebrity hybrid image! Celebrities are photoshoped all the time to add/subtract parts of them and place together. I'd like you to combine 3 celebrity images together to create a new person. Feel free to manipulate the images as much as you'd like. You will need to use your selections tool to do this! Here are some images to get you started.

March 27th

It's early dismissal day!

The first priority is to finish your video, and complete the edits using iMovie HD. These videos must be submitted to be by the end of the day.

After you have completed your edits, you can work on the following:

Part A

Part of the ComTech curriculum is to take a look at what jobs are available in the high-tech sector.

Brainstorm job sectors and key words to research employment in our area ( we will do this as a class)

After our discussion, use popular job sites (monster.ca, workopolis.ca) to research available jobs.
Find 4 jobs and summarize them in a posting on your blog:

1. Job Title
2. Job location
3. Job description
4. Qualifications needed
5. Pay (if provided).

Part B
Another part of the ComTech course is to be familiar with current high tech news.

Your task

1. Find two current articles about the high-tech sector that are published online. Pick ones that you find interesting and that are relevant for Canadians. (Hint: try CBC.CA as a good starting place-also try Canoe, and Google News).

2. Summarize the articles in your blog using point form (around 5 points per article). Be sure to also include the author, source (website name and URL, and date). Be prepared to share one of your articles with the class.

March 25th

Hello,

     Today in Comm Tech we will be filming our final video.  I would like to conference with all of you to find out what you are doing for your Final Video project and discuss any potential issues. It is essential that you are finished this project by Wednesday(including Wednesday)-I am unable to give extra class time due to our very short number of classes left together! We will also view any final stop motion projects that we have not seen as a class. If you are finished your video before the end of today, please speak with me.

*It is essential that you keep up with the blog posts, there are MANY of you who are not doing this. You are loosing marks each time you don't respond to these blog posts in a timely manner.

March 20th

Happy Wednesday!

At the beginning of class today I will give a demonstration using iMovie HD. This is an older version of imovie but works well with our network and has some great features. When using iMovie HD please remember that you need to SAVE TO THE LOCAL HARDRIVE in the movies folder. This means that you MUST WORK ON THE SAME COMPUTER. After the presentation, please do the following:

1. Edit your matched action video. Each person must submit a video to me. You must edit your video to create the most effective sequence/matched action as possible. Try to add in some sound effects and a video effect-it's cheesey but fun!

2. Once you are finished this please do the following 2 tutorials on Sound and Lighting. The blog questions below for these will be due on Friday.

Here's the URL for the next lesson (click on SOUND):  http://video101course.com/

Questions to Answer

1. What does a TV company spend more time on - video or audio? Why?

2. Make a point form list of all the types of microphones discussed in the lesson and how they are used/different from one another.

3. What is automatic gain control and how it is a problem for audio recording?

4. What is equalization?

5.  List and describe the four sound technique rules described in this lesson.

March 18th

Videography Assignment One: Matched Action

Along with your group, you will storyboard, film and edit a four shot sequence of someone going through a door. Consider what is on the other side of the door to add expression and narrative. This mini-assignment will be due at the end of class of Wednesday, March 20th.
Your video must contain:

• a wide shot, to establish location
• a medium shot, to establish character
• a close-up for detail
• excellent matched action (tip: be sure to cut DURING the action, instead of before and after). Pay attention to detail so that they match in both shots.

You will plan and film the segment in your group, but you will edit the assignment individually.

Part One: Planning

1. Find a suitable location with your group. Visit the site and discuss your plans for each shot. Be specific.

2. Storyboard each angle/shot type on the handout provided. Be as specific as possible. Part of your mark will be how closely your storyboard matches your final product. NOTE: Each group member must submit a storyboard.

3. Hand in your storyboard sheets.

Part Two: Shooting

1. Assemble your equipment: camera, tripod, memory card

2. Shoot your footage. You might want to consider shooting each shot twice.

Part Three: Editing

1. Copy the footage to each group members account.

2. Edit the footage to create the most seamless matched action sequence as you can.

March 6th

Today, we are going to start our unit on videography. To begin, we will watch this humorous but informative video on vimeo:

Shooting Basics

Then we will review the information that was on the site from last class on Editing, and also discuss lighting and subject placement.

After our lesson, I'd like you to respond to the following:

1. What is your experience with video, if any?

2. What film (blockbuster or independent) have you seen that you thought had successful videography and why? I.e. think of how the frame affected the scene.

3.a.)  Look at the following film stills on major motion pictures. Why do you think these frames are successful? Consider the main areas of video discussed today (line, light, composition).

b.)    Find one of your own and post on your blog with details as to why it is successful.

After this, you may finish editing your stop-motion videos and send these to me.

If you have completed this, I'd like you to begin this tutorial on shooting.
 Shooting Tutorial