Let's Begin
It's been a bit of a ride this semester, and with the end of it in sight, I am glad the most difficult part of the year is coming to a close. One might point out that the second semester should be the more difficult of the two, however in my case, with Media Culture and Research behind me, all that will be left are some less-stressful times - that is to say, the pressing issue of passing the last two papers needed to get my degree.
Of course, I still have to find out my results, and the final two submissions for those two papers comes this week - my Semiotics presentation for Media Culture tomorrow, and my Self-Evaluation for Research due at the end of the week.
Research
With the 3 Minute Thesis done and dusted, of which I feel I did okay, presenting-wise, all that is left to do is my Self-Evaluation. It will be relatively simple enough, though I am sure I have enough to talk about in that.
The slide for my 3 Minute Thesis was represented showing (mainly) the categories and their charted trends (with pie (chart kind of pie (which isn't as good as apple kind of pie (now I'm hungry for apple pie (and now to end this collection of parentheses))))), and showing in smaller details the sub-results (the separate categories, and their trends for each technique).
The fun observations, for all those hungry for trivia, is that the Welhelm Scream was used 5 times over the course of 20 episodes, and there was one sexual allusion technique, regarding mayonnaise.
And the final numbers in the corner, with 3,466 techniques observed overall.
And yes, I drew a pony-me in the other corner, presenting the findings for all to see~
Media Culture
I won't deny that essays are not my forte. In fact, they really aren't. Probably my best talent is creative writing, this being implied by the fact that I wrote a story of which someone else admitted they would never, EVER read. And yet, somehow, my style of writing had enchanted them to want to read more. And when I started writing a novel a while back, and had one of my friend's elderly aunt read it, she wanted to know when the next chapter would be written. So maybe creative writing is a flair of mine.
That can't really be said for essay writing - there is no unbound horizon there, and the rules of how to write and what not are tighter than a virgin dust mite. Grappling these concepts is not really something I get, and in fact, it's an area in which I will be in most danger of failing, and thus, the areas of this year which have been my main focus.
Creativity is my game.
That said, my essay for Media Culture on the Mass Culture of Frozen did not get me the mark I was hoping for, despite doing my best to follow the proper etiquette. Since my first assignment for Media Culture got a high grade, however, all that should be needed in the last assignment is a low percentage - and I plan to get a passing mark.
That said, I can't say for sure. But I will cry if I don't pass.
Drawing
Drawing continues to go as it does, and last week saw not only the appearance of our model, Jemma, but also her dog, Spud. It did not take long for Spud to seem to take a liking to me, and proceeded to fall asleep on my foot - and she is a BIG dog.
Anyway, the task of drawing Jemma and Spud in monumental fashion was the soup of the day, and my first attempt was quite poor. My second attempt was suddenly the best in the class, so it seemed, so... I went from bottom to top, boy am I a quick study! The next piece was also exceptionally well done, and it shall go towards my end of semester submission, which is due this week - no set day, so it must be the end of the week... or is it on Thursday, during class?
I do believe I will bring my folder with my selection on Thursday, just in case.
Also, I must make a selection of which digital drawing to submit. Peter has seen all three of my pieces, however suggests just one, so I am left to decide which one.
Video Edit
With the last of my blogs for Video Edit due in the morning, I feel I should give special mention.
That is to say, WHY TOMORROW? I mean, we still have an assignment due on Thursday, wouldn't it make sense to hand it in at the end of the week, so that we can also talk about the assignment in our blogs?
Oh well, that's my thought. Though it is a pretty valid one, and I'm pretty sure everyone knows it.
Maybe Patrick is scared. Yeah, that's it. Scared of having to read through our blogs over the break... it's a real shame, I haven't got a scary picture to put in here at this time.
Anyhoo, it probably can't beat that scarring-for-life scene from Rugga Joe. I will have nightmares tonight.
I'm not entirely sure what to cover... we went over some colour correcting techniques last Friday, in which we tinkered with two lots of video from two of our fellow classmates.
My jealousy rose as I was reminded I never got to play in the ball pit.
We used various key points in the parade, to attempt to make each primary colour spectrum (red, green, blue) line up and look the same as each other. This usually helped the colouring overall, bringing out the white (as white is a combination of all three primary colours, at full value (255).
Some where a little tricky, however, and I would be inclined to believe that even if you matched the light patterns across the parade, it isn't entirely reliable in the final stages - however, it does give a good stepping stone at least, if not a good final, if not near-final, result.
In terms of the showreel, it has yet to be started. As I had mentioned in my last post, I am taking care of the various assignments left over, and after the presentation for Media Culture tomorrow, then the showreel assignment is basically the last workhorse for the semester.
I have gathered all of the BTS data from the resource drive, so I have plenty of footage to chose from - however I will need to make sure I don't spend too long on footage selection.
Another thing I need to keep in mind is software compatibility - the Mac Lab's computers have a more up to date version of Premiere Pro, whereas my computer here at home has version CS5.1. This means that any work I do at SIT will mean I can only work on at SIT - my Premiere Pro will not recognise the newer file version. Given that I will have more time outside of Video Edit class to work on it, and also given that there is no guarantee I will have access to any labs (due to other classes), I need to work on the bulk of the edit at home - this way, I have a guaranteed workstation at any time outside of my own classes.
The final stages of the showreel will need to be done in the Mac Lab, as my version does not have the loudness meter.
The happy thing about this, however, is that the Premiere Pro version at SIT WILL open my CS5.1 version, giving me a lot more time to work on it than I would have otherwise.
So... that is the plan.
And it is an amazing plan.
Gaze in awe of my amazing plan. Shed a tear. For it is perfect.
And then my house catches fire.
Tarri RAM freed up
Well, I'm still alive, so I suppose that is something. With all the major major assignments consuming every aspect of my life, updating this thing once again fell to the wayside... I guess I should have knew this would happen, after all, time is precious. Yes, I do realise this counts towards marks too, however, whatever amount of time this might take to write out on a weekly basis could ultimately cause problems with stuff like my research, or essays, or anything else which consumes too much time where I may feel a blog would simply sap what precious time I have.
...okay, I also forgot about this thing. But who can blame me? My brain for the past five weeks has been all on my research project. I mean, it's 75% of the paper, so it's a make or break deal.
Even with my written exam for Video Edit, my brains wasn't soaking up the necessary information like it normally would, all because research was constantly flowing through my mind.
As it is, even though I feel relieved and the pressure is finally off, I still feel incredibly drained. I am delicate, and need rest. Can I really attempt the rest of these assessments?
DO I EVEN HAVE THE STRENGTH??
That said on the subject, I still managed to get a B+ for that exam. Huh.
Research
Guess I should start here. With time mostly going to planning and data collection, as well as report structuring (and emerging worries whenever the schedule got pushed back further and further, whether it was due to discrepancies in the method, or in the terminologies of the techniques I researched, or things such as other assignments cropping up and forcing time out of my planned schedule, creating a bit of a mess), Research seemed to have moments of sure-fire status, and issues-arising.
In the end, I had to cut down my content analysis from the entire Season 4 of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic to 20 episodes. Rachel said half the season, which is 13 episodes, but I am half dutch and three-eighths croatian.
That makes me seven-eighths stubborn, challenge accepted.
But I got the data collection done. Some episodes of collecting humour-related data varied on each episode - the more humour techniques present, the longer an episode took to analyse.
And then I tallied up the numbers. If memory serves, in the 20 episodes I studied, I think it was 3,466 humour techniques observed. Some may be missing, as I am only human - so I can say that this was at the very least.
Each technique recognised (using techniques from Berger, Buijzen and Valkenburg, and Juckel), was employed, including the techniques I myself introduced ("Fourth Wall", "Visual Cue/Reaction", "Absent Mind/Realisation", and "Utterance, Laughter, Curse").
Each technique fell under the categories Language, Logic, Identity, and Action/Nonverbal.
The results are listed below:
This showed that the majority of techniques employed in Friendship is Magic are Action and Nonverbal, while Language techniques, Logic techniques, and Identity Techniques, all occurred at a similar rate as each other.
The separate categories themselves are displayed in charts with greater detail, however those can be found in my report.
Some notable things to mention in my findings, however, just as fun trivia:
1. Parody techniques included parodies from DC and Marvel, Indiana Jones, various advertisements, movies, etc.
2. The Welhelm Scream was identified on five separate occasions during the study.
3. One sexual joke was identified in an episode in which Weird Al Yankovic was a guest voice actor.
Fun, fun stuff. And now that the due date for the report is gone, that is one huge load off my shoulders, and I have not felt as relaxed as I had in a long time... despite the fact I still have five more assessments to worry about in the next 11 days.
I feel relieved, and cruisey.
Currently, preparations for the 3 Minute Thesis has top priority, which is due in a couple of days.
The self-evaluation following after.
Media Culture
On top of the Research Report being due last Friday, our second assessment for Media Culture was also due that same day. Surprisingly, I somehow managed to make a good start, and keep a good momentum going, with the essay - this is quite something, since essay writing is not my forte, and it generally takes me days to even make a start.
Yet I wrote 999 words on the first night. That was a surprise, but hell, I'll take it.
I managed to get the essay pumped out rather fast, which leaves me in disbelief... maybe I'm getting the hang of writing essays? Or maybe I just knew what to write at the time? Perhaps that same fire that had been ignited, driving me to get my research done, was also existent in terms of this essay?
Whatever the case, it drove me right through two papers in which elements exist of which I struggle at the best of times. I don't know how it happened, but I'm not complaining.
I pumped out that Frozen essay like no one's business.
Next up is the final assessment - the presentation.
Mine will be on semiotics in some of my own work - I have elected my graphic novel, Dreamspace/Splash, of which apparently (according to Kim) terrifies Karl in the manner that it seems to attract small children.
I wonder what would happen if we put him in a room with no exits, and filled with kindergarteners... another project for another day, perhaps.
The presentation is the second assignment to worry about this week, after preparations for the 3 Minute Thesis for Research.
Drawing
Drawing is the same-old, same-old. Although we did have Jemma back as our model - and she recognised me immediately. Apparently there is one in every class, and I just happen to be that one.
In a good way, that is. :P
In one of the weeks we tried other things in the drawing studio (downstairs) where we messed with inks and paints and whatnot. It was great, however maybe I should have dabbled in fingerpainting, to prove what a big kid I am now. :P
I still have yet to ask Peter about some of my digital drawings, as to whether or not they can count towards assessment submission next week. I guess that is something I should do once I am done here.
Video Edit
Patrick's class.
Not important.
...just kidding. Sorta. :P
Well... it's true!! Research and Media Culture are the bigwigs. And while I do take all my papers seriously, with a hunger to pass ALL papers, the two major ones are the most pressing. Probably, like I said before, how I still had research flooding through my head while trying to study for a Video Edit exam.
I have to say, I did mess up though. During the Interview assessment, I wanted to make sure I had everything covered... and I thought I did. Perhaps it is no surprise though, the entire time I was editing that interview, all I was thinking about was how badly I needed to get it out of the way, like some trivial task, because that very time I was editing was already designated as the time I would be collecting my data for research. It wasn't like I could bump the data collection back, either. It had to be that weekend. And since I was only thinking of research, the checking of safe levels on parade completely gave my mind the slip - I had even gone over the checklist, as tattered as it was (research-focused mind, you sneaky little bastard), so... that was a royal botch-up.
I did correct that issue in seconds when Patrick brought it up, though - it wasn't a major fix at all.
But it might be a good idea to get the new version out to Anne, if I can find her soon. I'll just ask Kreepy Kimberly.
The only thing I guess I have to worry about, not counting the blogs, is the showreel. I should be fine with it - after all, with the Research Report done and dusted, that frees up a LOT of mental capacity, and I mean a LOT.
Given that the 3 Minute Thesis for Research is this week, and the final presentation for Media Culture is next Monday, the showreel will be one of the last things to worry about. However, the next few assignments before it should be relatively easy, so I guess I could start on it as early as this weekend.
That reminds me. I will need to bring my black external to class tomorrow, so I can get all of the footage for the showreel.
What else... I guess nothing else right now?
Tarri out.
